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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. The selection of sedans was poor. I ended up in an Acadia Denali. Android auto in GMs is still rubbish.
  2. 4th floor garage? Looks like another one above it.
  3. Good riddance then.
  4. from my co-worker: Z4, Atlas, X7, 124 Spyder, CLS53
  5. Help me pick out what cars I need to focus on. I usually can get 7 to 8 drives in maximum. You tell me what you want me to write about. Acura NSX Acura TLX PMC Edition Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio BMW i8 Roadster BMW Z4 sDrive30i BMW X7 50i xDrive BMW 330i Adaptive M BMW M850i xDrive Buick Regal GS AWD Buick Envision AWD Cadillac XT4 AWD Sport Chevrolet Bolt EV Chevrolet Blazer RS AWD Chevrolet Silverado Trail Boss Chrysler Pacifica Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Fiat 124 Spider GMC Sierra Denali 1500 4WD Honda Civic Honda HR-V Honda Passport Hyundai Veloster N Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line Jeep Gladiator Lexus LC 500 Hybrid Lexus LC 500 Hybrid Mercedes CLS53 Mercedes GLE450 Nissan Leaf Plus Ram 2500 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid Toyota Corolla Hybrid Toyota Rav4 Hybrid Volkswagen Arteon Volkswagen Atlas Volkswagen GLI Volvo S60 Motorcycles: Honda Super Cub 125cc Honda Monkey 125cc Honda Grom 125cc Other manufacturers which have registered (but not submitted vehicle models): Kia, Ford and Mazda
  6. BMW is renowned for their inline 6-cylinder engines, Mercedes and Land Rover are jumping back in the game, GM has a new diesel inline 6, now add Mazda to that list. Jalopnik combed through the Mazda financial report and found references to the new engine line. Mazda is apparently working on a 6-cylinder version of their Skyactiv-X engine for use in longitudinal applications. In case you need reminding, Skyactiv-X is Mazda's spark controlled, compression Ignition technology that allows the engine to run in spark-less mode part of the time. This allows for lower emissions and higher fuel economy. One of the trade-offs is lower engine refinement when in SCCI mode. Now that Mazda has it working well on 4-cylinder engines, it is apparently going to try its hand on mathematically better balanced inline 6-cylinder engines. Mazda is also planning on including 48v Mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the engine as well. Also on the plan is an inline-6 Skyactiv-D diesel that Mazda is calling a second generation. This likely builds on the know-how gained from the development of the Mazda CX-5 Diesel that was finally released at the New York Auto Show. What both of these engines point to is a new large vehicle platform which is rear-wheel drive based. It's possible that the next iteration of the Mazda CX-9 could ride on this new platform and Jalopnik even speculates a new Mazda 6, though we have our doubts on that. Either way, this continues Mazda's slow but steady move up-market.
  7. BMW is renowned for their inline 6-cylinder engines, Mercedes and Land Rover are jumping back in the game, GM has a new diesel inline 6, now add Mazda to that list. Jalopnik combed through the Mazda financial report and found references to the new engine line. Mazda is apparently working on a 6-cylinder version of their Skyactiv-X engine for use in longitudinal applications. In case you need reminding, Skyactiv-X is Mazda's spark controlled, compression Ignition technology that allows the engine to run in spark-less mode part of the time. This allows for lower emissions and higher fuel economy. One of the trade-offs is lower engine refinement when in SCCI mode. Now that Mazda has it working well on 4-cylinder engines, it is apparently going to try its hand on mathematically better balanced inline 6-cylinder engines. Mazda is also planning on including 48v Mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the engine as well. Also on the plan is an inline-6 Skyactiv-D diesel that Mazda is calling a second generation. This likely builds on the know-how gained from the development of the Mazda CX-5 Diesel that was finally released at the New York Auto Show. What both of these engines point to is a new large vehicle platform which is rear-wheel drive based. It's possible that the next iteration of the Mazda CX-9 could ride on this new platform and Jalopnik even speculates a new Mazda 6, though we have our doubts on that. Either way, this continues Mazda's slow but steady move up-market. View full article
  8. I won't be surprised when I have to write the article "Talks between Workhorse and GM fell through after Workhorse was unable to obtain financing...."
  9. I don't know how Workhorse, which has been losing lots of money, is going to afford to buy the plant much less keep the lights on. Lordstown was greatly underutilized when they were building ~250k Cruzes a year there. How many trucks can Workhorse think they're going to sell with no dealer network.... even at that price.
  10. I think they must have such a low take rate that they're simplifying things down until they kill it.
  11. In a series of tweets today, Trump announced that General Motors will be selling their Lordstown plant to electric truck maker Workhorse. Lordstown was shut down in March of this year and formerly built the Chevrolet Cruze. The details of the plant sale have not yet been announced. Workhorse is a Cincinnati based company who builds EV pickups with a built in range extender, similar in concept to the Chevrolet Volt. Workhorse's sole model is the W-15, capable of driving up to 80 miles on a charge before a gasoline powered range extender kicks in. It uses two motors to provide all-wheel drive. The only configuration available is an extended cab with 6.5 foot bed. They can tow up to 5,000 lbs and have a payload of 2,200 lbs. Pricing starts at $54,500 before tax credits. Workhorse intends to start production for the retail market sometime in 2019. Fleet orders have already started. GM is not denying any of the information in the tweets from Trump. Update: General Motors has confirmed that talks are ongoing. View full article
  12. In a series of tweets today, Trump announced that General Motors will be selling their Lordstown plant to electric truck maker Workhorse. Lordstown was shut down in March of this year and formerly built the Chevrolet Cruze. The details of the plant sale have not yet been announced. Workhorse is a Cincinnati based company who builds EV pickups with a built in range extender, similar in concept to the Chevrolet Volt. Workhorse's sole model is the W-15, capable of driving up to 80 miles on a charge before a gasoline powered range extender kicks in. It uses two motors to provide all-wheel drive. The only configuration available is an extended cab with 6.5 foot bed. They can tow up to 5,000 lbs and have a payload of 2,200 lbs. Pricing starts at $54,500 before tax credits. Workhorse intends to start production for the retail market sometime in 2019. Fleet orders have already started. GM is not denying any of the information in the tweets from Trump. Update: General Motors has confirmed that talks are ongoing.
  13. Polestar is doing the same thing with launch pricing.
  14. Drivers in Europe can now place deposits for Volkswagen's new ID.3 all electric vehicle. This is the car that Volkswagen expects to compete with the Tesla Model 3 in the compact EV space. The target starting price for the ID.3 is under €30,000 which translates to $33,585 at the time of this writing. Initial vehicles offered will be special edition ID.3 1st. With an initial run of 30,000 vehicles, the ID.3 1st starts around €40,000 ($44.803) and comes equipped with voice control, navigation system, larger wheels. There is also an ID.3 1st Plus that ads IQ Light and bi-color design while a Max adds a panoramic glass roof and an advanced heads-up display. The 3 in the name ID.3 marks the vehicle's importance to Volkswagen's history as the most important vehicle after the Beetle and Golf, and also signifies the ability for VW to expand the ID brand in either direction. The entry level ID.3 can travel up to 205 miles on a single charge while mid-grade can go 261 miles and top-line models get as far as 342 miles. Volkswagen expect production to start in late 2019 with initial deliveries happening in mid-2020. No word yet on when the model will hit US shores. View full article
  15. Drivers in Europe can now place deposits for Volkswagen's new ID.3 all electric vehicle. This is the car that Volkswagen expects to compete with the Tesla Model 3 in the compact EV space. The target starting price for the ID.3 is under €30,000 which translates to $33,585 at the time of this writing. Initial vehicles offered will be special edition ID.3 1st. With an initial run of 30,000 vehicles, the ID.3 1st starts around €40,000 ($44.803) and comes equipped with voice control, navigation system, larger wheels. There is also an ID.3 1st Plus that ads IQ Light and bi-color design while a Max adds a panoramic glass roof and an advanced heads-up display. The 3 in the name ID.3 marks the vehicle's importance to Volkswagen's history as the most important vehicle after the Beetle and Golf, and also signifies the ability for VW to expand the ID brand in either direction. The entry level ID.3 can travel up to 205 miles on a single charge while mid-grade can go 261 miles and top-line models get as far as 342 miles. Volkswagen expect production to start in late 2019 with initial deliveries happening in mid-2020. No word yet on when the model will hit US shores.
  16. GM has knocked their diesel crossovers to FWD only, AWD is no longer going to be offered in a diesel. Just one step closer to death. I imagine the diesel doesn't make it past the next refresh.
  17. I believe that those two are going to get a refresh very soon.
  18. Well at least it's 2 door. But we were talking about sedans raised over their regular sedan counterparts and having awd. AMC Eagle sedan and Subaru outback sedan sort of things.
  19. It would be... even the Acura ZDX beat Mercedes to the punch.... but a certain Mercedes fanboi likes to think that Mercedes invented everything, so I was just nipping that in the bud.
  20. I've said for a while that if there is such a thing as a 4-door luxury crossover coupe, the Infiniti FX was the first of the kind, not Mercedes.
  21. Mazda is positioning themselves as a manufacturer of cars for other brands. I'm half surprised that Toyota didn't partner with them for the new Supra. I think Mazda will survive. Nissan and Renault need to consolidate their companies into one. They're running as separate entities and could stop a lot of overlap with a true merger. China hasn't figured out the US market just yet and with unpredictable tariffs being thrown about, they may never do. The only way the Chinese quickly is via another manufacturer like Volvo.
  22. What are you doing that your ears are getting caught in windows, but only ones with frameless glass?!
  23. The economy is in such a weird spot right now. GDP was high, but it was mostly an increase in inventories. Unemployment is low, but that's mostly that people who have been out of work stopped looking for work. There were 225k some jobs created last month, but the economy needs about 200k jobs a month to keep up with population growth. The one good thing is that wages for the lowest paid workers are starting to climb and it isn't have an inflationary effect. New car inventories being so high is a bad sign though. Hopefully they'll put out some incentives to move metal.
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Drew
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