Drew Dowdell

Thanks everyone! I have a whole bunch of ideas I'm brewing for the site, both series and article ideas.... plug a whole bunch of reviews to write. @David Imma gonna need your Dell friends and family discount on a new laptop soon! My mid-Obama Era HP just can't cut it anymore.

Agreed, I think the latest Pathfinder is a very close second in terms of appearance, and now that it has a 9-speed they addressed the biggest gripe about it. The Highlander and Outlander are just fugly. The Ascent is meh. The CX-9 is nice, but it has an entirely different mission, it's more luxury than rugged off-road. But that's just the Japanese.... the Palisade and Telluride are a class above the Pilot and really push into luxury territory.

Honda revealed the all-new, larger, fourth generation 2023 Honda Pilot today. This new generation of Pilot gains more rugged looks and significant improvements to the off-road TrailSport trim introduced for 2022. The Pilot gains 2.8 inches in wheelbase, 3.4 inches in exterior length, and up to 1.5 inches in track over the outgoing model depending on trim. Starting next month, the 2023 Pilot arrives in Sport, EX-L, TrailSport, Touring, and Elite trims. The biggest news is the TrailSport trim that features all-terrain tires, steel skid plates, higher ground clearance, off-road suspension that includes a one-inch lift, 18-inch wheels with inset spokes, and exclusive system logic for the i-VTM4 torque vectoring system dedicated to taking the Pilot TrailSport off-road. In trail mode, the i-VTM4 system can direct up to 75% of the rear axle's torque to the wheel with the most traction, keeping 25% reserved for the remaining wheel for quick reaction once traction is restored. While in TrailMode and below 15 mph, the Pilot's 4 exterior cameras help the driver navigate tight terrain with the front camera activating automatically. Hill Decent Control which debuted on the 2023 CR-V earlier this year is standard on all Pilots. Powering the Pilot is a new 3.5-liter DOHC V6 providing 285 horsepower (Up by 5 over the previous version) and 262 lb.-ft of torque (same as last year). This new engine features a more compact and space-efficient design that lowers cylinder head height by 30 mm and reduces the number of parts. Variable Cylinder Management remains, shutting down cylinders in low-load situations. The transmission gains a gear with now 10 forward speeds. The Pilot is rated for up to 5,000 lbs of towing when properly equipped. New Pilot Features: Rugged exterior design All-new 3.5-liter DOHC V6 engine is more powerful New available second-generation i-VTM4™ torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system improves off-road capability More modern and comfortable interior Class-leading overall passenger space First-in-class multi-function removable second-row middle seat provides three discrete seating options (Touring, Elite) Increased cargo volume Standard digital instrumentation 10.2-inch digital instrument display (Elite) 9-inch HD touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay® & Android Auto™ compatibility (EX-L, TrailSport, Touring, Elite) Standard 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay® & Android Auto™ compatibility (Sport) 7 available drive modes, including new Sport, Tow, and Trail modes Standard Honda Sensing® system with new wide-view camera and radar Standard Hill Descent Control Next-gen front passenger airbag designed to reduce potential for traumatic brain and neck injuries Standard driver and front-passenger knee airbags Trail torque logic optimizes off-road performance of i-VTM4 torque vectoring all-wheel drive system (TrailSport) TrailWatch camera system to help drivers navigate obstacles (TrailSport, Elite) Naturally, the Pilot also gets an all-new interior with a clean and uncluttered instrument panel. The extra size of the platform translates to noticeably more legroom for the 2nd and 3rd row passengers. The Pilot can be configured with either a 2nd row bench or a bench with a removable center stowable seat (Touring and Elite only). Occupants in the front seats will find comfort in the Body Stabilizing front seats that reduce fatigue during long drives. Cargo room is up to 113 cu.ft behind the first row and 22.4 behind the third row. The Pilot retains its class-leading suite of safety and driver assist features available from Honda Sensing. Blind spot information has been expanded, now with 82 feet of radar range. Also new are Traffic Jam Assist, Low-Speed Braking Control and Traffic Sign Recognition which are standard. Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow and Lane Keeping Assist have been updated to feature more natural responses. Pilot features eight standard airbags, including a next-gen passenger-side front airbag that uses a three-chamber design with the two outer chambers designed to cradle the head and minimize rotation to minimize the potential for severe brain trauma associated with oblique frontal collisions. Front knee airbags are also standard. The 2023 Honda Pilot will be build in Honda's Lincoln Alabama plant and go on sale in December. View full article

This is actually really cool! I think a rear motor Corvair EV would be beyond awesome.

So the CELESTIQ is 10 inches longer than at CT6… which sounds right for a $300k flagship.

Good ones! Keep it coming! higher end CT6 had Quadra steer too

Question for everyone: I'm working really hard on getting regular feature stories started back up. I have three series themes I'm working with so far and I am looking for suggestions for each one. Ideally, I would do one from each theme each month. Fabulous Flops - We've done Fabulous Flops before with the Renault Avantime and the Chrysler 2.2 Liter - The theme of this is something that was actually pretty good, but failed in sales. It can be a technology or a model or even a whole brand. Forgotten Tech - These are things that were supposed to be the promise of the future, but failed to catch hold. Some examples already in my list are HCCI engines, V2V technology, and Buick Dynaflow transmissions. Guilty Pleasures - These are cars from the past that aren't considered popular (No GNX, Corvette, Mustangs) but for some reason scratch an itch, and if you found a clean one for cheap, you'd consider buying it. If you suggest one that I think is a compelling story, I'll take it to private message and we can talk about it more. So please post here or send me a PM. I'll select ones that I can write an educated article on, but not every suggestion will be selected.

The EQS is such a weird beast. Is it a $150k car? With its performance and the amount of tech... yeah, probably. But that doesn't mean it has a desirable amount of tech. It is WAY overboard and there is way too much going on with the screens in front of the driver. It's brash and intrusive and I feel like I'm piloting the Enterprise (NCC-1701-E). Some may like it, but it isn't what I would be looking for in a luxury car. I did drive another EV the same day from a competing brand... I'm not saying which because I'm working on a story/video of it, but it was roughly half the price and yet a far more satisfying car. Enough so that I texted a picture to Albert and told him it could be the EV that replaces his 300C.

But wait, there's more! Not only are there capacitive buttons on the steering wheel, they are simultaneously physical buttons too. So for example, swipe up or down for volume, but press for mute... all in the same button. I accidentally brushed a steering wheel button with my hand while turning and it changed the screen on the infotainment. There are dials on the steering wheel too. The right one changes the sport/normal/eco modes, but you can also press the button inside the dial to do the same thing. Two controls, literally inside each other, that do the same function. I dunno, maybe they're programmable or something, but they certainly aren't intuitive.