G. David Felt

Not bad ccap, good start to the day!

Marketing might think they need to follow everyone with turbo this, turbo that, but GM is more than capable of building a high quality long life NA DI V6 or V8 that would fit the bill running on regular gas or going the Hybrid or EV route.

Keep in mind that the 1300 to 1500 range is for a person out of shape, needing to drop stored body fat. As you get lean and mean and you are growing yourself in working out, 1800 to 2200 is pretty common for a man looking to maintain being lean and fit. If you want to bulk up then you have more intake. Course then you have peeps like Michael Phelps and his 12,000 calories a day to feed his swimming practice of 2 - 3 times a day. Crazy!

So if I am reading this right, 14.7 billion settlement with the feds and another 603 million with all the states, so a 15.3 billion cost and this is only one engine. VW said they set aside 18.2 billion for this issue globally. I suspect this will cost them $30 Billion or more when all done. After all this is just one engine in the US and they still have the rest of the world to deal with. OUCH!

Welllllll... I'll give my opinion on the matter but this is not fact.. hopefully dfelt can answer. If you're cutting way back on your overall calories and working out, aka burning more calories, are you taking in too few of calories now? And because your body is getting what sounds like higher quality foods maybe your body is also absorbing the foods and utilizing them much better a long with fewer calories and burning way more you might have swung a little too extreme for your body.. Do you count your calories? if so, about how man have you taken in and burnt a day for this week? CCAP has hit on a very important point, calories. Average male needs only 1200 to 1500 calories a day. If you are below that, then you body will use everything up and you will not have much waste, above this and you will have a hard time loosing the fat, but fat will burn off and muscle grow depending on how hard your workout are. If you have fat, want to slim down, then you do need to stay around 1200 to 1500 calories a day for your core 3 meals. People are surprised by the amount of calories in fruit and veggies and with that said, everyone in the work out industry has their own idea of what is a free munchie / snack and what is not. I tend to go with the not everyone likes the same thing and a small amount of fruit or veggies is better than a candy bar any day. http://www.calorieking.com/calories-in-fruit.html Good place to check calories if you need a source, many others out there also.

Yes, Diet will change the way your body removes waste. Cutting breads and increasing vegi's can cause runs as the body clears itself. Also if you have reduced your food intake and increased your activity, then the body will use it up more and reduce the #2 out put. If you are not going #2 at least every other day, then you need to increase your vegi's and fruit intake. You need to be regular! Also drink, drink and drink. You should be peeing far more often as you clean out your body and it will thank you.

If you have not done stomach exercises in forever, then start out slow and start out with crunches and variations. Here is a great link to a large selection of ab exercises so you can tone without killing yourself. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/finder/lookup/filter/muscle/id/13/muscle/abdominals

Clearly interesting but an exaggeration as Opel has not been proven that they cheated yet.

They were Michelin tires.

I would totally agree with what Europe is staying, yes VW could probably reduce what they have to pay out but by treating Europeans on a lesser level, VW is also saying screw you we will take the cheaper route cause we can and we really do not care about you. We just want to get back to selling auto's and making money. I think if Europe is OK with the US settlement, it would be in VW best interest to role out this settlement worldwide.

Frozen is fine, but stay away from canned herrings or sardines, way overload on the salt which causes bloating. There are plenty of good frozen fish options. Even breaded fish that you instead put in your oven are not too bad compared to frying them. Plenty of good ways to poach various frozen fish and still have a yummy protein based meal.

So my sister loves this auto and took it for a second road drive. Very positive, so she asked me what competed against it from BMW or MB. I was not totally sure but looked up and emailed her the comparisons. So fully loaded Envision AWD with Premium II package MSRP $50,240 Equal BMW X3 equipped the same is MSRP $55,520 Equal MB GLC 300 4matic equipped the same MSRP $58,577. Both BMW and MB are in the mid 183 inches long like the Envision, but the rear seat room is much smaller than the Envision. Also both 4 banger motors are much less HP and Torque. Over all Buick built a superior product than the Germans.

No I do not think so as this was a petro engine, that really did not deliver the MPG of a hybrid in competition. I think this is the over all casualty of VW finally doing what they should have done years ago in reducing the number of models that really made no sense. Poorly executed Hybrid is what this was.

I agree that Enthusiast buyers will know the power of the engines, but most BMW / MB badge snobs will not.

So here is my 36 years of working out input: You have hit on the 3 points of the healthy crown, and cardio is good but not King. Yes you will burn fat but without core weight lifting Cardio only gets you so far. Food is the 3rd point I will cover at the end. Stretching is a requirement each time you go to work out first. Then start out with 10-15 min of cardio at MOST. Proceed to your weightlifting routine and alternate upper body with lower body every other day. Also remember, start out with lite weights for the first month to allow your tendons and over all body to tone up first before you push to heavier weights. Remember when you have not worked out in a long time, your body will drop some weight at first and then go into conservation mode to see if the diet changes, regular feeding and working out will stick. This is what is called the 30 - 60 - 90 day process. First 30 days body will drop some fat, body will tone up some, mostly just tightening in the muscles and strengthening the tendons around joints and muscle attachment. The next 30 days most people will not see much change due to the body is in a phase of change and not sure if you will stick with it or not. The Day 31 to 90 is the hardest and where most people drop out of working out, only those sticking it out see the long term benefits. Remember, even when your tired, a sucky tired workout is better than no workout and the body will thank you for it. Day 61 to 90, the body will start to continue to drop weight and tone up as you push yourself. Sticking out this far is a hard thing to do for many people but those that do are rewarded with some amazing changes. This is also when the body will make some weight gain due to increased muscle mass as you tone up. You will drop size in clothing due to body fat loss but also get tighter in other places due to muscle mass growth. All normal and of course how big one gets depends on the weight they use. You stated you wanted to be toned and lean so you will need to as you train increase the number of reps you do in comparison to increasing weight. You will still need to increase the weight as you get stronger but not for bulk. 3 sets of 15 reps is your goal and when comfortable you increase the weight by 5lbs and plan for 3 reps of 12 building up to 15 before increasing weight again. Final part is Food, remember that there's good fats and bad fats. Sugars in natural form in moderation is fine also, but moderation is what it is all about and having trained for so many years, I will go against the grain of all the fad diets with just cutting out sugar, cutting out carbs, etc. This is a recipe for FAILURE! Your body will drop weight fast in the early days but bounce it will come and hit you hard. You have to reduce over time or at least reduce to moderation and give the body time to adjust as well as your taste buds time to adjust and you will notice the change. 3 Health Benefits of using Virgin Coconut Oil or Virgin Olive Oil. 1) They contain antioxidants that can decrease oxidative stress. This help to reduce blood pressure, reduce buildup of plaques in the arteries and overall lower inflammation in the body. 2) They reduce total and bad cholesterol. Both oils help in the removal of bad fats from the body leading to a lowering of bad cholesterol, triglycerides and total cholesterol count. 3) The oils help with weight loss through increased calorie burning. They contain medium-chain fatty acids that your body uses as efficient energy sources increasing calorie burning and promoting weight loss. Right now more data is on Olive Oil, so I would use that for cooking. Here is some good comparison data from the health clinics trying to help people live better lives. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/10/olive-oil-vs-coconut-oil-which-is-heart-healthier/ Here is a great short read with a suggested mixture for a solid pre-workout drink of Creatine, Beta-Alanine with Caffeine mixture. http://easacademy.org/research-news/article/caffeine,-b-vitamins,-amino-acids,-creatine,-and-beta-alanine-before-exercise-delays-fatigue Here is another good medical info supporting the mixture also. http://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-9-28 Remember that a High Veggie / Protein diet with a large breakfast is the best way to go in reducing fat, increasing muscles and leaning out. Just keep a balance as you still need some carbs.

Not surprised, if it does not outshine brightly a normal gas powered auto, then the Hybrid will not be in position to sell. MPG must be double of the Petrol only model to sell.

This will be interesting to see how it goes over.

Agree that this is a total black mail by the greedy lawyers and stupid tree huggers here in seattle that might understand the law but really just want to get out of their diesel auto and not be held responsible for their own decision of what they bought. GM should fight this and hopefully tort reform will happen where people who file frivolous lawsuits has to pay. I am so tired of the greedy lawyers going after companies with issues that really do not affect or impact society and only they get money out of it. Sadly, this is why we will see Diesel autos die and the various forms of hybrid will be the new high MPG auto's of the future.

Mazda

Very cool, look forward to hearing about the Fusion drive. So for such a basic auto, what was the one major thing missing that you wished it had?

So I really think we have room to improve the steering wheel and even some of the current concept cars show we can do better. Just wonder if the feds can let go of the stupid Steering wheel airbag or if it can be made to fit into some of these designes. 200c Aston Martin Hyundai GMC & Hummer Ford Peugeot VW Nissan Others

DOH, Appreciate the correction your right, but he did run the engine room for a bit! True, he did when Scotty temporarily resigned es, i am a major Trek nerd and wholeheartedly looking forward to the new movies and the new series Totally agree, I wonder who they will get as the new Chekov? They found such a great set of actors that represented the original cast so well. Such a sad useless accident.

DOH, Appreciate the correction your right, but he did run the engine room for a bit!

So much for standards and figuring out just how healthy or fat we be!

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com 2016 Buick Envision Test Drive! June 23rd 2016 started off like most days, up at 4am, in the shower, on the 4:48am 511 bus into Seattle, breakfast at my desk while reviewing email. Work focused and getting things done. A little over 3 hours later I get a call from my local Buick GMC dealership that the Buick Envisions they got in last week are all ready and on the lot for people to come see, test drive, etc. Text message to my sister who has a 2002 Mazda 6 that she is ready to retire that the Buick dealership had the Envision in stock, equipped the way she wanted it and we could test drive it. Her desire is a mid-size to compact CUV with AWD, heated steering wheel, zone control for temp, auto lift gate in back, ability to connect her phone via Bluetooth minimum that she can use for work as she is a Hospice in home nurse and for getting away to the mountains for skiing. Her choices of auto’s to consider is the Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4, Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain, Cadillac SRX, Lexus RX 350 and she was willing to look at the Buick Envision. Being the family auto nut, I have helped everyone in my family buy their auto’s even if it was not something I myself would buy. Test drove over the weekend the Honda and Toyota and they were crossed off her list as they did not have certain features she was wanting plus NOISY. Yup they are very noisy compared to other auto’s out there. She test drove then the Chevy and GMC to compare, GMC was too butch for her, she liked the Chevy but wanted to finish test driving her list. Next came the Cadillac SRX, except for the gas mileage it hit everything on her list including she loved the seat extensions that support long legged people as she is 6’2” tall average size for my family. Next was the Lexus, solid drive but again gas mileage was a concern for her as she lives in her car driving it all over daily. The inside front seat area was nice but she saw I was straddling the seats in front, rear seat room is lacking for tall people and no zone temp control or radio like much lesser models from other vendors. The amount of hard plastic inside was also very disappointing as the CUV is considered a luxury level but had a very Toyota look and feel to it. We headed to the Buick dealership to only be informed that the person who told me on the phone they had the Envision in stock was wrong and they had none. As it was a late long Saturday, we headed back to my house and she stopped at the Acura dealership to check out the RDX. That became a failure from the word go as the sales person when asked about things like heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats, rear zone control, etc. he just said no no no no. So she wrote off even taking a test drive in the Acura. So 6 days later after starting this quest of test driving and answering questions for my sister on CUVs we finally get to test drive the Buick Envision. We were both excited to see how this stacked up against all the other CUVs she had driven to date. The dealership had 3 Envisions in stock, two black models one with Premium and one with Premium II and a Red or what they call Saffron Red Premium in stock. Editorial Note: For some reason my old Note 3 phone did not take as sharp as it had in the past photos and I did not realize this till this morning. The dealer pulled the Premium II Black model into the showroom for us to check it out as it was a torrential downpour. Started off with the Engine bay, a nice clean package of the Turbo 4 SIDI motor. Nice that they have gone back to the Dual shocks to hold the engine hood up. Everything seemed to be clearly marked and easy to check for maintenance. I did notice and check out that all fuses are in the engine bay now on the right side behind the battery and to the right of it. Everything else was pretty simple to identify, check for fluid levels etc. I noticed that Buick built a double wall insulated hood. Next was onto the inside. Navigation system was nice, easy to manage and use, all screen controls responded with no lag time and all tactile buttons were very nice and did what they were responsible for. Dash was lovely with the wood trim and everything else was either leather or soft rubber squishiness. It gave a solid feel to the touch and yet warm also, nothing being cold and hard. Cup holders were lit by LED lights for easier viewing especially at night. There was plenty of USB outlets with two on the back control section for temperature and still included the traditional cigarette lighter plug. The two vents for either heat or cooling worked very well and were whisper quiet. The center storage system was nice with the two USB plugs, stereo jack plug and the SD card slot plus the Cigarette outlet. As you can see in the picture below, split armrest allows for you to still get into the storage even when the passenger is resting their arm on the rest. Over all flow was very good for the center stack. Doors had nice leather accents, everything was soft and tactile feel warm to the touch. Nothing hard about the interior for either the front or rear seating people. The rear seats were also the most comfortable out of all these CUV’s and the hardest least comfortable was the Lexus. Surprising that the Toyota Rav4 rear seats were more comfy than its luxury cousin. Surprise of many was that with the seat in the front set for me, I got into the back and still had about 4 inches from my knees to the back of the front seat. Compared to all the other CUVs Lisa had test drove so far, the Envision has a huge amount of rear leg room. People will be very comfy for the long drive. You can even recline the rear seat, two settings and get even more comfortable. Also if you do have the rear door open and need to put down the rear seats so you can get something long into the auto, Buick made it very easy with chrome plated pull handles, one on each side of the rear storage area wall which auto puts down the seat, headrest etc. giving you a very large interior storage area. Access to the rear tire was easy and they had a large variety of storage areas under the rear storage floor for your use. Driving started with a surprise, while very quiet from outside the car when running, you cannot hear the motor inside the car. Since the Sales rep pulled the car out of the dealership sales floor, my sister and I got into the car just outside for her to drive it. I sat in back. She started it up then the sales guy wanted to go over the auto with her. So she stopped and listened to him. When we finally went there was a noticeable little rumble but that was it. She pulled down to the street to go and took off. This little Turbo 4 has plenty of get up and go power. Never strained and you can feel the Torque where it counts in the seat as you feel a gentle push back into the chair. We took it onto the freeway where the Envision showed no strain at getting up to highway speed and moving about. My sister loved the blind spot warning in the side mirrors, she also loved the rumble seat reminder when she got close to either side lines on the road. Exiting the freeway a few miles down the road impressed me with just how quiet Buicks Quiet package is, you do not have wind noise, nor do you have street wheel noise coming into the cabin. Overall a very quiet, serene ride. Next we hit the local neighborhood and she was able to try out the backup camera in a parallel parking attempt. This has always been a problem for my sister and yet on the first try, she got parked using the side mirrors which turn down in reverse and the backup camera. She felt the rear of the seat rumble as she got close to the car behind her. She ended up being about 8 inches away from the curb. Overall a success for her first attempt. With this done, she went to pull out and for the 3rd or 4th time felt the little rumble and finally asked what that was. The sales guy said what was what, but I realized it was the auto start / stop of the engine. Since we were only idling at the parallel parking spot and she had it in drive, the engine had turned off. It did this in the local heavy traffic also trying to save fuel,we then headed back to the dealership. One last final surprise was a mini cooper pulled out of a side street and clearly did not see us and yet the Buick Envision handled it with total confidence. The drive was a tranquil, serene success. Wish I had taken more pictures, but you guys have for the most part seen everything from Buick that has been posted. Hit me up with Questions as the 1hr time spent with the Envision left me with a WOW facture of just how great Buick has stepped up to offer a CUV that clearly trumps the competition.