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G. David Felt

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Everything posted by G. David Felt

  1. G. David Felt
    When you disagree you really help sharpen my game. If you just debate with yes men you lose your edge! LOL! Are you sure you lose your edge? The Yes Man might just be wanting to use the diamond sharpener to refold the Samurai sword for better slicing! After all , I love a good debate to a fault also and yet have no problem playing devils advocate to see if one might change their mind!
  2. G. David Felt
    Thanks Drew for the reminder, I had forgotten that many have done the V8 to V4 increasing fuel economy.
  3. G. David Felt
    They used to... and they should never have stopped. Agreed, Cadillac should have kept a truck going in the brand. Many people I know still have theirs and wish there was a new one to buy. Cadillac is missing a profit opportunity.
  4. G. David Felt
    The very latest generation of Mazdas have fantastic FANTASTIC interiors. The CX-3 far far exceeds it's class and would put an Audi Q3 to shame. Easily best in class. I sat in the new CX-9 in LA and it is every bit as good as these press photos suggest. Drew, is that nav screen move up and down into the dash? Looks like it could. Reply back from Mazda - The NAV screen does not retract into the dash. Bummer that would give it a very clean look when the end user did not want the nav / screen use. Much appreciated on getting an answer. Thanks Drew.
  5. G. David Felt
    I think Hyundai has been working on this for a few years at this point. No clue where/how the progress is at this point though. I just remember reading something on it quite awhile ago and I thought the idea was awesome. Definitely make diesels irrelevant in passenger vehicles. I don't know what kind of energy difference there is between a given amount of diesel vs gasoline but if you can get diesel efficiency with gasoline prices, we're talking monster jump in the industry. Well, it's not not going to go into HD trucks, it doesn't have the torque. Overall, the power characteristics of the engine don't change, because anything above light throttle and it switches back to being a conventional engine. The only advantage is in fuel savings during light load times.... You'd get fantastic highway fuel economy, but city would be the same as any other conventional gasoline engine of the same size and features since that's when you're into the throttle most often. Wonder how this engine might work in a Hybrid style of auto for long distant road trips. Have electric for city driving and an HCCI engine for road trips and recharging of the battery pack.
  6. G. David Felt
    Indeed.... the key is that an HCCI engine cannot run in that mode all the time. It only runs in HCCI mode under light loads... put too much fuel/air mixture into the cylinder and then things don't work right. The big issue GM was having when it was working on it back in the Saturn days was the transition from HCCI to normal spark ignition. The engine worked fine in either mode, but it was the switching of modes that was less than graceful. Even then, I think that Aura would only run in HCCI at stead speed from 35 - 55 mph, but don't quote me on that. Latest computer technology I believe will change the switch over problem. Just like the days of the V8-6-4 engine which was a disaster, it was before it's time of having the electronics, computer smarts to make it work best. Today, I would not be surprised if a V8-6-4 engine would work very well and smooth. Sadly emissions is a viable issue that needs to be addressed and I think HCCI engines with alternative fuels will be a stepping stone much like CNG towards the eventual day of pure EV auto's. I can see a day when a standardized electric cell will work on any auto and you just stop as an EV station and swap cells and continue on your way.
  7. G. David Felt
    Sweet little car that should appeal to the youth.
  8. G. David Felt
    First release is fine with the 6sp, My gut tells me that as China moves for better MPG and cleaner air we will see the 8sp in the 2nd year possibly as they move the china market forward.
  9. G. David Felt
    FYI, If the BMW i3 is such an awesome auto then why has everyone I know including my neighbor who is a BMW snob unload the leased auto less than a year afterwards and go back to a gas powered one. I see so many used now available. This also shows me that people are not afraid to change from petro to electric if it gives them their freedom and no range anxiety. My gut tells me that the weird interior on the i3 and the piss poor range is causing people to dump them fast. My neighbor who drives 50 miles round trip to work each day said it would have been fine but if he worked closer to home and could still run errands and get what he wanted done during the day but the auto delivers less mpc or miles per charge than advertised and the interior was not at all user friendly. End result, if the auto truly gave a 200 mile range like a bolt he would have kept it but he needed the ability to drive more than the auto gives. Same issue with the Nissan Leaf and 500EV or spark EV. These 80 mile range auto's do not fit into today's society unless you only drive a very short distance or live in the city. Suburban drivers need a much bigger range. Bolt I suspect will easily sell everyone they build in 2017.
  10. G. David Felt
    We should see some reviews on this soon as they had it at CES for driving by the masses. Wife loves the car and the interior is way better than the Mess BMW i3 as is the exterior.
  11. G. David Felt
    I wonder how much the West Coast Electric highway played in GM's plans for the BOLT? We know Tesla has affected GM, Ford and FCA are scrambling to come up with their own solution to the BOLT. Wonder if the East Coast will see a build out of EV charging along their freeway system.
  12. G. David Felt
    The Electric Highway, I wrote about this here: http://www.cheersandgears.com/topic/84688-electric-highway-west-coast-style/ Plenty of options for charging and most are free as of now. I see no problem with a level 3 fast charger being offered to EV buyers for home use. I am seeing more and more around as Tesla grows. You can also use Tesla to quick charge also.
  13. G. David Felt
    Love the Style of this and think this is a smart move. AWD with two option groups and you have an awesome CUV for the established working class. 30's to 50's. Very pumped by this new CUV!
  14. G. David Felt
    LOVE THE SMELL OF NAPALM IN THE MORNING!
  15. G. David Felt
    Old School was what you wanted, to be at the dealership in the face of the service rep and yell at them. Baby Boomers and those from the 70's and 80's. Those born in the 90's and after 2000 want to yell at a person over the phone and have them magically update their auto, phone, etc and have it fixed. Just a difference of how you want to interface with others. As Drew points out, Tesla has shown the established auto industry how to do updates on all items remotely and faster than having a busy person take their auto into the shop. The only thing you would take your auto into the shop for would be for a physical change of hardware.
  16. G. David Felt
    Washington State and Oregon State both have a new tax plan. You can switch from paying your tabs and gas tax to a miles tax and have your car inspected once a year and they record the miles driven and you pay your tax then. The benefit about Miles Tax over gas tax is that for those that use mass transit, hardly drive or have no car to drive you do not pay the tax or a very little tax and those that enjoy driving and drive lots pay for the wear n tear they put on the roads. This is from 2013 when the talk went on and the programs had not started yet but a good overview. http://www.opb.org/news/article/n3-washington-oregon-consider-mileage-based-road-tax/ Here is an update on the program with specific figures on cost. http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/northwest/2014/12/10/cost-of-washingtons-pay-by-mile-program/20190527/ Next step is for Insurance to charge by the mile driven. That is now available here in Washington. http://q13fox.com/2013/11/19/new-pay-per-mile-car-insurance-arrives-in-washington/ Here is the coverage about the Oregon pay per mile program. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/03/oregon-launches-program-to-tax-drivers-by-mile.html http://gas2.org/2015/03/13/oregon-testing-orego-pay-per-mile-program/ The actual Oregon Pay as you go web site for specific info on their pay per mile program. http://www.myorego.org/
  17. G. David Felt
    VW needs to step up this GoodWill Program to all their customers. Right now sales are in hell, people negatively speak of VW and the diesels will use more fuel once they get reprogrammed. I think they need to double this program.
  18. G. David Felt
    If the Chinese stock market didn't have that circuit breaker to stop trading after a sudden 7% drop and the Chinese central bank hadn't put the equiv of $200 billion into the market the next day, we'd be having a very different conversation today. Very true, many of my coworkers took this with a who cares, but it could have been a very different situation yesterday if China did not have the circuit breaker and pump in money.
  19. G. David Felt
    The very latest generation of Mazdas have fantastic FANTASTIC interiors. The CX-3 far far exceeds it's class and would put an Audi Q3 to shame. Easily best in class. I sat in the new CX-9 in LA and it is every bit as good as these press photos suggest. Drew, is that nav screen move up and down into the dash? Looks like it could.
  20. G. David Felt
    Torque Baby Torque!
  21. G. David Felt
    Gotcha. Didn't they do a sweet looking 2 door Hummer concept quite a few years ago that would have made a great Wrangler competitor? There it is! Update that with GMC styling and modern interior and I don't think they could keep them on the lot. Yup that would be awesome in a GMC grilled tweak and have both a monochrome and Denali package version. Just think put that little 2.8L Duramax engine in it and you have a winner winner chicken dinner.
  22. G. David Felt
    Mehhhhh, Military green does nothing for me. I love the metallic green of the GM mid size trucks. But to each their own, they have colors that inspire us all.
  23. G. David Felt
    I have to say that my initial reaction is I like this. 373 miles versus 233 miles, as long as you have over 200 miles an EV auto like this will appeal to many buyers as an awesome commuter car with errand running range. In other words, range anxiety will be a thing of the past.
  24. G. David Felt
    Does Mazda even want a V6 anymore though? If they are the most efficient lineup, like Drew said, then they're probably content with a family of 4's. They'd probably prefer to boost a 4 banger rather than throw in a heavier V6 because they put so much emphasis on driving dynamics. Afterthought: I completely forgot about the CX-9. To me, that would be the only application for a V6 in their lineup. Everything else can be done with an I4, boost or n/a. The CX-9 is getting a boosted 2.5 liter 4-cylinder with 250 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque. No need for a Pentastar. Well, there ya go then! lol Also, How large is the CX-9? Is it Explorer side? or more like an Edge? It's a 3-row SUV, right? So I assume it's larger, more Explorer-like. Per their web site, CX-9 has a wheel base of 113.2" with an over all length of 200.6" then a width of 76.2" and height of 68" and ground clearance of 6" Ford Explorer has a wheel base of 112.8" and an over all length of 198.3" then a width of 78.9" and height of 71.0" and ground clearance of 7.8"
  25. G. David Felt
    Does this not come back to bite a company in the books when they have to take the hit or write off?
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