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William Maley

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Everything posted by William Maley

  1. As I'm writing this, Michigan along with various other states is under the grasp of a polar vortex. It is currently -6' F (the wind chill drops that to -29' F). I was keen on getting the driver who was dropping off my next test vehicle into the Silverado quickly so he could warm up. That vehicle is the 2019 Buick Regal GS. As much I would have loved to get my hands on the new TourX, I have a bit more experience with the GS. In 2015, I spent a week in the previous Regal GS and came away quite impressed. The turbo-four, all-wheel drive system, and suspension made for a surprisingly taut sedan. This new one (introduced in 2017) gave me a bit of pause as it would swap the four-cylinder for the 3.6L NA V6. This engine has not been a favorite of mine as you have really to bury your foot to get the most of it. In the case of my tester, it happens to be brand spanking new with less than 400 miles on the odometer. Base is $39,070 and with a few options comes to $43,115. My first impressions? I tend not to be a fan of red on vehicles, but the Regal GS pulls it off. The wide, long fastback shape wears this color quite well. Also, the wheels on this are quite sharp. The seats are quite snug for me, mostly due to wide shoulders. There appears to be some adjustable bolstering and I'll see that helps. WHY IS THERE NO OFF BUTTON FOR THE STOP-START SYSTEM BUICK?! Though the current weather kind of acts like an off switch. The AWD system is biased towards the front as some experimentation in a snowy parking lot. I'm able to get the back step out provided I get a bit of throttle. I'll have some more updates and a small gallery in the next few days. If you have questions, be sure to drop them below and I'll do my best to answer them. Also, I will have a final update on the Silverado sometime tomorrow. View full article
  2. As I'm writing this, Michigan along with various other states is under the grasp of a polar vortex. It is currently -6' F (the wind chill drops that to -29' F). I was keen on getting the driver who was dropping off my next test vehicle into the Silverado quickly so he could warm up. That vehicle is the 2019 Buick Regal GS. As much I would have loved to get my hands on the new TourX, I have a bit more experience with the GS. In 2015, I spent a week in the previous Regal GS and came away quite impressed. The turbo-four, all-wheel drive system, and suspension made for a surprisingly taut sedan. This new one (introduced in 2017) gave me a bit of pause as it would swap the four-cylinder for the 3.6L NA V6. This engine has not been a favorite of mine as you have really to bury your foot to get the most of it. In the case of my tester, it happens to be brand spanking new with less than 400 miles on the odometer. Base is $39,070 and with a few options comes to $43,115. My first impressions? I tend not to be a fan of red on vehicles, but the Regal GS pulls it off. The wide, long fastback shape wears this color quite well. Also, the wheels on this are quite sharp. The seats are quite snug for me, mostly due to wide shoulders. There appears to be some adjustable bolstering and I'll see that helps. WHY IS THERE NO OFF BUTTON FOR THE STOP-START SYSTEM BUICK?! Though the current weather kind of acts like an off switch. The AWD system is biased towards the front as some experimentation in a snowy parking lot. I'm able to get the back step out provided I get a bit of throttle. I'll have some more updates and a small gallery in the next few days. If you have questions, be sure to drop them below and I'll do my best to answer them. Also, I will have a final update on the Silverado sometime tomorrow.
  3. Before January comes to a close, Tesla has announced some more changes for the Model S and X. Instead of using 100D and P100D to designate models, Tesla will be using the naming system found on the Model 3. This is how it will break down. 100D = Extended Range P100D = Performance P100D with Ludicrous Mode = Performance with Ludicrous Mode There will also be base models known as the Model S and Model X. They'll get the same 100 kW battery as in the extended range models, but range will be locked to 310 Miles (Model S) and 270 miles (Model X). You can pony up $8,000 to gain the extra range (335 for the Model S, 295 for the Model X). Earlier in the month, Tesla dropped the 75D and made the 100D the new base model (which in turn raised the base price by $15,000 or more). Source: Tesla Hat tip to @dfelt for tipping us to this story View full article
  4. Before January comes to a close, Tesla has announced some more changes for the Model S and X. Instead of using 100D and P100D to designate models, Tesla will be using the naming system found on the Model 3. This is how it will break down. 100D = Extended Range P100D = Performance P100D with Ludicrous Mode = Performance with Ludicrous Mode There will also be base models known as the Model S and Model X. They'll get the same 100 kW battery as in the extended range models, but range will be locked to 310 Miles (Model S) and 270 miles (Model X). You can pony up $8,000 to gain the extra range (335 for the Model S, 295 for the Model X). Earlier in the month, Tesla dropped the 75D and made the 100D the new base model (which in turn raised the base price by $15,000 or more). Source: Tesla Hat tip to @dfelt for tipping us to this story
  5. Carlos Ghosn has been sitting in a Japanese jail cell since mid-November on charges financial violations, including under-reporting compensation. It is unclear what awaits him in the coming months, but he believes that his downfall is due the result of "plot and treason" by Nissan executives opposed to plans of a merger between Nissan and Renault. Today, the Nikkei Asian Review published an exclusive interview with Ghosn from the detention center he is currently being held at. This is quite surprising as Ghosn has been "barred from meeting with his family or Nissan employees". During the short interview (about 20 minutes), Ghosn dismissed various accusations ranging from his 19-year reign at Nissan being a "dictatorship," to the numerous financial charges he is currently facing. One of those charges deals with $14.7 million in payments to a company run by Saudi businessman Khaled al-Juffali. Ghosn said "the executive in charge of the region signed [the approval]," and the funds came from Ghosn's "CEO reserve," a pot of money that he was free to decide how to spend. "[Have I] done [something] inappropriate? I am not a lawyer, I don't know the interpretation of [such] facts," Ghosn said. "These are known by everybody, why didn't they tell me?" Ghosn also talked about the plans for the deeper integration of Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi. The plan was to have the three closely integrated to ensure "autonomy under one holding company." Ghosn also revealed that he wanted to have Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko in the talks about the integration, but Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa wanted to keep the talks "one-on-one". Allies of Ghosn believed some Nissan executives were worried that Ghosn's power could increase under the integration, prompting them to work with Tokyo prosecutors. A Nissan spokesman told Bloomberg that Saikawa previously refuted the notion of a coup. “Nissan’s investigation uncovered substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct,” the company said in a statement. Source: Nikkei Asian Review, Bloomberg View full article
  6. Carlos Ghosn has been sitting in a Japanese jail cell since mid-November on charges financial violations, including under-reporting compensation. It is unclear what awaits him in the coming months, but he believes that his downfall is due the result of "plot and treason" by Nissan executives opposed to plans of a merger between Nissan and Renault. Today, the Nikkei Asian Review published an exclusive interview with Ghosn from the detention center he is currently being held at. This is quite surprising as Ghosn has been "barred from meeting with his family or Nissan employees". During the short interview (about 20 minutes), Ghosn dismissed various accusations ranging from his 19-year reign at Nissan being a "dictatorship," to the numerous financial charges he is currently facing. One of those charges deals with $14.7 million in payments to a company run by Saudi businessman Khaled al-Juffali. Ghosn said "the executive in charge of the region signed [the approval]," and the funds came from Ghosn's "CEO reserve," a pot of money that he was free to decide how to spend. "[Have I] done [something] inappropriate? I am not a lawyer, I don't know the interpretation of [such] facts," Ghosn said. "These are known by everybody, why didn't they tell me?" Ghosn also talked about the plans for the deeper integration of Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi. The plan was to have the three closely integrated to ensure "autonomy under one holding company." Ghosn also revealed that he wanted to have Mitsubishi Motors CEO Osamu Masuko in the talks about the integration, but Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa wanted to keep the talks "one-on-one". Allies of Ghosn believed some Nissan executives were worried that Ghosn's power could increase under the integration, prompting them to work with Tokyo prosecutors. A Nissan spokesman told Bloomberg that Saikawa previously refuted the notion of a coup. “Nissan’s investigation uncovered substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct,” the company said in a statement. Source: Nikkei Asian Review, Bloomberg
  7. Lexus has some has some big plans in store for the F performance sub-brand. Motor1 is reporting that the luxury brand is planning to keep the Track Edition nameplate for some time. “The plan right now is to build 60 [RC F] Track Editions...and it’s going to be 40 of the white and 20 of the matte gray [cars for 2020]. It’s [our] intention to have a version of the Track Edition in subsequent [model] years,” said Cooper Ericksen, vice president for product planning and strategy at Lexus. It is unclear what Lexus has planned for the future of Track Edition. Ericksen said everything is up in the air ranging from improving the performance to possibly applying the treatment to other models (LC Track Edition anyone?). “We’re having fun with the engineers to figure out what [Track Edition] can look like in the future." Another item being talked about for F is building a crossover or SUV. Ericken said that a key topic of discussion is whether or not they should focus on doing an on-road version or buck the trend and do an off-road one. “[What] we're currently trying to figure out is [if] the on-road performance aspect [is] more important [for Lexus] to invest in than the off-road performance.” Source: Motor1, 2 View full article
  8. Lexus has some has some big plans in store for the F performance sub-brand. Motor1 is reporting that the luxury brand is planning to keep the Track Edition nameplate for some time. “The plan right now is to build 60 [RC F] Track Editions...and it’s going to be 40 of the white and 20 of the matte gray [cars for 2020]. It’s [our] intention to have a version of the Track Edition in subsequent [model] years,” said Cooper Ericksen, vice president for product planning and strategy at Lexus. It is unclear what Lexus has planned for the future of Track Edition. Ericksen said everything is up in the air ranging from improving the performance to possibly applying the treatment to other models (LC Track Edition anyone?). “We’re having fun with the engineers to figure out what [Track Edition] can look like in the future." Another item being talked about for F is building a crossover or SUV. Ericken said that a key topic of discussion is whether or not they should focus on doing an on-road version or buck the trend and do an off-road one. “[What] we're currently trying to figure out is [if] the on-road performance aspect [is] more important [for Lexus] to invest in than the off-road performance.” Source: Motor1, 2
  9. It came as no surprise that Toyota decided to drop the Yaris Liftback for 2019 - they only sold 1,940 models last year. In our original report, Toyota spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell dropped an interesting bit of information by revealing they would have news on the 2020 Yaris at New York. Car and Driver has a possible guess as to what it could be - a rebadged Mazda2 hatchback. Some quick background: The current Toyota Yaris sedan is just a rebadged version of the Mazda2 sedan sold elsewhere in the world. It was introduced back in 2016 as the Scion iA and then became the Yaris iA a year later. Car and Driver is expecting the hatchback version to get the same front end as the Yaris sedan, while the rest of the body is unchanged. Power will remain the 1.5L inline-four teamed with either a six-speed manual or automatic. Source: Car and Driver View full article
  10. It came as no surprise that Toyota decided to drop the Yaris Liftback for 2019 - they only sold 1,940 models last year. In our original report, Toyota spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell dropped an interesting bit of information by revealing they would have news on the 2020 Yaris at New York. Car and Driver has a possible guess as to what it could be - a rebadged Mazda2 hatchback. Some quick background: The current Toyota Yaris sedan is just a rebadged version of the Mazda2 sedan sold elsewhere in the world. It was introduced back in 2016 as the Scion iA and then became the Yaris iA a year later. Car and Driver is expecting the hatchback version to get the same front end as the Yaris sedan, while the rest of the body is unchanged. Power will remain the 1.5L inline-four teamed with either a six-speed manual or automatic. Source: Car and Driver
  11. That rumor about Ford introducing a smaller truck below the Ranger from last summer? It seems we have gotten some confirmation on that. Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets confirmed the plans during the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference in Detroit - the same place where he dropped the F-150 electric bombshell. Ford is "investing in more affordable versions of our truck business" and that "you can expect new nameplates below where we compete today," Farley said at the conference. No timeframe was given. Interestingly, a Ford spokesman said “we’ll have more details to share about new nameplates in the future.” Usually, they go with the boilerplate answer of 'no comment." Last July, Automobile magazine reported Ford was working on a replacement for the Brazilian market Courier subcompact pickup truck. The new model would switch from the Fiesta to the Focus platform. Apparently, this project has caught the eye of Ford's U.S. office and there is talk about bringing here by 2022. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
  12. That rumor about Ford introducing a smaller truck below the Ranger from last summer? It seems we have gotten some confirmation on that. Jim Farley, Ford's president of global markets confirmed the plans during the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference in Detroit - the same place where he dropped the F-150 electric bombshell. Ford is "investing in more affordable versions of our truck business" and that "you can expect new nameplates below where we compete today," Farley said at the conference. No timeframe was given. Interestingly, a Ford spokesman said “we’ll have more details to share about new nameplates in the future.” Usually, they go with the boilerplate answer of 'no comment." Last July, Automobile magazine reported Ford was working on a replacement for the Brazilian market Courier subcompact pickup truck. The new model would switch from the Fiesta to the Focus platform. Apparently, this project has caught the eye of Ford's U.S. office and there is talk about bringing here by 2022. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article
  13. Only a few months after closing it down, Cadillac is bringing back their Book subscription program. Expected to launch in the second quarter, the revised program will be bringing in their dealers to play a key role. "Book 2.0 really works even more closely with our dealer network because we think there's a lot of opportunity as you go forward. We're going to base it off the dealer network," said Cadillac marketing chief Deborah Wahl. "We have to recognize that all of us — from the manufacturers to the dealer networks — we have to evolve our models to keep up with where consumers are." The first phase of the program launch will see a small number of pilot programs launch in select cities. Interestingly, New York which was one of the first markets for the original Book will not be involved for the time being according to Wahl. Cadillac was one the first automakers to launch a subscription program back in March 2017. For $1,800 per month, a subscriber could pick from a number of Cadillac vehicles and swap in/out with no long-term commitment. The fee also covered various items such as maintenance and insurance. But Cadillac surprised everyone when it announced they would be shuttering Book back in November. “We are hitting the pause button for a brief time to make some tweaks to Book [by Cadillac] based on our learnings,” a spokesman for GM said at the time. It was unclear why Book closed down. Cadillac said there was a small group of customers that took advantage of swapping vehicles. There was also talk that certain aspects of the system, such as the back-end became a bit too costly. Dealers were not too happy about not being involved in this program. Cadillac handled many of the details such as delivery and service. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required) View full article
  14. Only a few months after closing it down, Cadillac is bringing back their Book subscription program. Expected to launch in the second quarter, the revised program will be bringing in their dealers to play a key role. "Book 2.0 really works even more closely with our dealer network because we think there's a lot of opportunity as you go forward. We're going to base it off the dealer network," said Cadillac marketing chief Deborah Wahl. "We have to recognize that all of us — from the manufacturers to the dealer networks — we have to evolve our models to keep up with where consumers are." The first phase of the program launch will see a small number of pilot programs launch in select cities. Interestingly, New York which was one of the first markets for the original Book will not be involved for the time being according to Wahl. Cadillac was one the first automakers to launch a subscription program back in March 2017. For $1,800 per month, a subscriber could pick from a number of Cadillac vehicles and swap in/out with no long-term commitment. The fee also covered various items such as maintenance and insurance. But Cadillac surprised everyone when it announced they would be shuttering Book back in November. “We are hitting the pause button for a brief time to make some tweaks to Book [by Cadillac] based on our learnings,” a spokesman for GM said at the time. It was unclear why Book closed down. Cadillac said there was a small group of customers that took advantage of swapping vehicles. There was also talk that certain aspects of the system, such as the back-end became a bit too costly. Dealers were not too happy about not being involved in this program. Cadillac handled many of the details such as delivery and service. Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
  15. We're expecting somewhere between 5 to 7 inches according to the current forecast.
  16. And now the snow is starting to fall a bit more steadily.
  17. Depends how the weather is later today. At the moment, it is currently lightly snowing.
  18. You have a little storage box that holds the emergency jack. (I have included a picture below). Judging from how this piece is installed - a few bolts - I believe this can be removed. I can't fully tell how the steel wall is attached to the body.
  19. And welcome to what will be known as the @dfelt/basketball player seat space tests. To begin, the front seat does go a way decent way down - but not all way the way to the floor. I was able to stick my hand vertically with no issue. Now, I think most tall people will not have any issues if you avoid the sunroof. My tester lacks it and there is a large cutout in the roof panel. With my seat in place, I have about 5 to 7 inches of space between my head. At first glance, I thought the Silverado would be ok with the front seat all the way back as I found the standard seating position to be similar to a large luxury sedan. But putting the seat all of the way back, I found that I had a small gap between my knees and the seat. I'll work on getting some photos later in the week to illustrate this.
  20. Heh. As my younger brother put it, at least its less ugly. (I think I like it).
  21. Bouncy. Can't tell if its due to the Z71 off-road package or the tires. I think I've been spoiled by driving too many Ram 1500s. About what I expected where I can't fully place where my front wheels or front end at the moment. I expect this go away in a few days time.
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