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G. David Felt

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Everything posted by G. David Felt

  1. G. David Felt
    Yes MB does not take the same lousy auto and put a different brand name on it, they create new garbage labels under the same mb label. Take an A class car, create a new badge CLA and throw it on the same garbage auto with a new body kit and a few tweaks no matter how it bad it is. We saw this with GM, Toyota, etc. Toyota seems to be doing it the worst right now with their Camry badged Lexus IS250 garbage.
  2. G. David Felt
    Clearly Mercedes is not happy enough being a Luxury auto company, they want to follow old Cadillac down the road into garbage badge engineering. Pathetic. As to why they are no different than GM, FORD, Toyota. An auto company that is trying to be far too many things to everyone.
  3. G. David Felt
    G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Magna Powertrain Building options for EV's Around the World Magna has started off by showing Tesla they can build a superior power train and why 3 motors is better than 2 in that you gain torque vectoring that allows less HP and Torque to accelerate a car even faster. So just how does a Magna powertrain Model S hit 0 to 60 faster than 2.3 seconds in the Model S P100D? Torque Vectoring. Just so people can understand, the P100D Tesla S is a 762 HP monster. Magna yanked the power train and replaced the dual motor powertrain with their triple motor power train. This is three motors each rated at 188 HP for a total of 564 HP. Two motors are in the rear, one on each wheel and the third is in the front. Magna is clear in their press releases that they are not interested in the dragslip but in giving the safest most controlled drive system for the auto industry. As such, we will see this come out in the upcoming Volvo and Audi EV's. Both have signed on to use the Magna Powertrain "Highly Integrated eDrive System". This package integrates the inverter, gearbox and the 140 kW motor into a single package. Why should one care about Torque Vectoring? Controlled turns and movement at speed. That is right, with Torque Vectoring (T.V.), one is able to maintain speed without slowing down by overdriving the outside wheel. This T.V. allows the car to align itself turning strongly than just normal steering would allow defying inertial forces that would drag normal auto's off the road. Faster, Stronger and superior to any ICE setup according to the company. This powertrain is being matched up with a 140 kWh battery pack which depending on the style of auto it is put into will give anywhere from 300 to 400+ miles range. Competitors to this is Bosch who is also building a EV Powertrain solution that covers from 1 to 4 motors depending on the performance once wants which will compete with Magna's 1 to 4 motors powertrain solution. Since Magna has signed with both Volvo and Audi as their EV powertrain supplier, you can see that especially for Audi, we are probably seeing their new Quattro Ultra All-Wheel Drive System. Interesting note is that Magna has signed with FCA to supply the new EV powertrain for the Alfa product line. Magna Powertrain
  4. G. David Felt
    G. David Felt - Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.cheersandgears.com Tesla less safe than a Slaughterhouse? Seems Tesla cannot move fast enough to replace their workers with Robots and as such the Unions are pushing to get into the Tesla factory especially after an employee turned safety records over to a Union connected group showing that in 2015 the latest year for available records that Tesla was 31% higher than the average in the auto industry for accidents on the assembly line. In fact according to the story, Tesla is worse in safety than Sawmills in Pacific Northwest and Slaughterhouses in the mid west. UAW has been pushing for years to organize Tesla and still the majority of their employees refuse to Unionize. The trend is troubling for Tesla as Tesla moves to automate their assembly line beyond the average auto company. The figures show that in 2014 Tesla was 15% higher than the auto industry average for accidents and then jumped to 31% higher than average for 2015. The government has not released reports for 2016 yet, but one does have to wonder. Some say this is not unusual for a startup company like Tesla where they are speeding up the development to production timeline compared to existing auto companies. LA Times
  5. G. David Felt
    Makes one wonder how long before the pressure from the badge snobs changes to O'h MY GOD, MB is nothing but a GM, Toyota, FORD Equal and they flee to the next considered snob badge. After all as has been well pointed out, SMK went from a competitor to MB and now thinks there is nothing better, yet already we all see the dropping down by MB as others rise. Interesting times we live in.
  6. G. David Felt
    If your into progressive jazz, just love piano or Japanese woman, Keiko Matsui is just Awesome. Was introduced to her in College at Kobe University. She came to America and spent years traveling and learning about American Jazz. She now is doing her own take on it and she was just in Seattle at Jazz Alley!
  7. G. David Felt
    Logical part of the road map and a win win for them.
  8. G. David Felt
    Still a Fanboy! When your 40+ you become a FanMan!
  9. G. David Felt
    Nope GM is not the best but then no one is and I have had far too many auto's from Ford, Dodge and GM to be a fanboy of GM only especially when I am a FanMan of American SUV's and Trucks! I let you keep the Fanboy label to yourself after all your still what 19 or 20 something compared to my 50?
  10. G. David Felt
    I always thought it was more like this:
  11. G. David Felt
    WOW, The CLA is destroyed by the BMW, VW and Especially the Buick. MB needs to step up their game, everyone else is eating it according to the MT writeup. NewCar is a nice comparison and for the most part since they did not drive the CLA they go on specifications where Buick wins. So the Auto world clearly shows the CLA from MB competes against all the other mid level luxury sedans but needs some updates to get competitive.
  12. G. David Felt
    Call it what you will, I do not see them as blinders as Moore's law is clearly being applied to battery cell density and way too many reports show that battery density is doing to the EV industry what capacitor density did to the CPU industry. Every auto company is going to have 1 or more EV auto's out by the end of next year or early part of 2019. The engineering evidence makes one wonder why a company does not apply certain tech to every product line. So just as I wondered why we were not seeing more CNG auto's, the day of CNG and fuel cell I think is over and the simplicity of an EV auto is here now to become the new norm. Technology and Software is clearly changing how things happen along with Tesla pushing the line.
  13. G. David Felt
    Yes this will piss off the Diesel fans, but I wish the EPA had dug in and required VW to scrap all of the first generation Diesel rather than put the coal huffers back on the road.
  14. G. David Felt
    Not unexpected and very understandable. I would expect it to be a V6 which could end up being an upgrade diesel option for the mid size twins then.
  15. G. David Felt
    Thanks for posting this, had not seen it yet and some good info there on the cars. Agree with them, shame Ford did not send the GT. Gotta wonder why?
  16. G. David Felt
    Yup You betcha, after all the company pays me to bus in and gives me a food stipend to supplement my lunch at the company cafe, no reason to put wear and tear on my auto, time commuting alone and money out of my pocket. Funny thing is that at least here in Seattle, I can get from the North end into Seattle each morning and back out on an express bus in about 20-30 min. Driving myself in takes about 45 min to 1hr and then the crazy cost of parking which runs about $225 a month. Nope, like going to the park n ride and buzzing in my friend.
  17. G. David Felt
    EV Blinders? Have you looked at my posted auto's I own? Escalade ESV Platinum, Trailblazer SS AWD, Suburban SLE, Durango 4x4, My son has added a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. No EV Blinders, but just looking at the technology of the auto industry from my computer engineering view of where we are going and having tested and spent considerable time in both auto's what fits me, what clearly gives me more room and allows me to be comfortable. Being an owner of full and Mid size SUV's I feel I have a good feel for sitting in an auto and saying this is comfy or this is tight. I am glad you love your Focus and have been in a Range Rover and G-Wagon. Keep in mind at 6'6" tall 280lbs and very muscular as a retired body builder, I am far more bulky than most. Put this up against the average US standards of 5'8" 165lbs for guys and hopefully you can see how I do have to take my bulk into account when I see how roomy one auto is over another. Enjoy the banter and your contributions CCAP41. Hanz and Franz are here to PUMP YOU UP!!!
  18. G. David Felt
    You mean you want us to live like sardines in a can for the sake of public transportation? Nope not gonna happen, I hate the cities, love the suburbs and only go into the city when I have to work.
  19. G. David Felt
    Having spent plenty of time in a Murano as a car pool buddy and in the Bolt, it is not shit, but how I perceive the visibility of the designed auto with how I can see out of each auto. To each their own. You enjoy the Murano and I will enjoy the Bolt.
  20. G. David Felt
    Yup clearly stated in both the gov web site and the cars.com web site. Washing of titles. crazy.
  21. G. David Felt
    Agree with so many options coming in 2018 and all stating 300+ miles, that this 150 mile range is DOA. I also have to say that I am not impressed with a 225 mile 60 kWh battery for the Long Range. I think Nissan Blinked and got scared so they have rushed the Leaf 2.0
  22. G. David Felt
    As I posted here: I think with all the options out there that many will rethink their leaf 2.0 purchase in regards to others that have better battery range. My gut tells me that those waiting for version 2.0 will be about 50/50 split as that battery and range is not that great. They could have really put away Tesla and followed the SAE standard rather than their own stupid charge port and put in a decent long range battery. This is too little for version 2.0.
  23. G. David Felt
    Interesting, just learned that many norther states do not have these laws like the south as to why gently used auto's with low miles end up north and end up with issues due to being a flooded auto. https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/09/storm-surge-beware-of-title-washed-cars/ With this I then found the gov site that covers this and even it states some norther states do not follow branding of an auto. https://www.vehiclehistory.gov/nmvtis_consumers.html What a crazy interesting world. Sad for auto buyers since it is buyer beware.
  24. G. David Felt
    Based on the stingy way insurance companies are paying out today, I suspect only 50% of these auto's will be replaced with new ones. I also suspect that many of these will find their way to the north and be resold as a clean low mileage auto. Buyer Beware! GOV should require all the auto's be crushed.
  25. G. David Felt
    No Joke, you can take two similar recliners and while they might look the same, depending on the materials used, the padding and the underlying way the seat is designed. Two different people will have two different experiences of comfort and ease in those chairs. Same goes for the auto industry. two cars with the same seat measurements and yet the design of the chair, side supports, thigh supports, etc. can all affect the comfort and room that is perceived by two different people in the same auto. Putting both the Bolt and Murano seats all the way down, and all the way back, when I sit in both, the more upright BOLT has more headroom for me. The curving roof of the Murano cuts into the headroom and I end up having my head against the liner. They might supposedly have the same headroom from the center of the seat to the roof, but the way they apply the interior headliner and the over all design of the roof can actually have vary big affect on people especially someone large like me.
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