Drew Dowdell

Long time no see on this one. The fairing has been incredibly difficult to source, but about three weeks ago one turned up in the UK in great condition. I bought it and had it shipped over. On Saturday, I rode 2 1/4 hours out to State College, PA, area on my 2019 BMW R NineT Scrambler to test ride some Moto Guzzi bikes. After riding there for a few hours, I rode the 2 1/4 hours back. The seat on my NineT is horrible for long-distance riding and by the time I got home I was exhausted and everything hurt. Some of the Moto Guzzis were touring bikes and were really comfortable to ride, making me think that I might like having a touring bike instead. But wait.... I already HAVE a touring bike. So as soon as I got home, and before I even got my riding gear off, I went and pulled the R1100 RS out of storage, put the battery back in, and it fired up. By Sunday, I started cleaning the grime and grease and finished up like this. Yesterday I ran around getting some bulbs, small parts, and fluids for a fluid change, but you can't do a fluid change on these bikes until they've been ridden for at least 20 minutes and then cooled for 20 minutes.... so, my next step was clear. Put it back together. As of last night: I took it for a short shakedown cruise this morning and it ran great. It still needs the fluid changes, and I'm going to replace the valve covers (I already have them), and a few other odds and ends, but it's getting pretty close to being ready to ride.

Starting today, owners of General Motors EVs will be able to charge at more than 17,800 Tesla Superchargers when using a GM approved NACS charging adaptor.  The adaptors are available for purchase through the branded mobile app for $225 USD.  That same app will also allow for seamless location of Tesla Superchargers, location status, and initiate and pay for charging sessions. Earlier this summer, we reported that Hummer EVs had access to Tesla Supercharging when a change appeared on the GMC website. Several Hummer EV owners reported being able to charge at Superchargers by adding a Rivian R1T to the Tesla App and using a Rivian or Ford NACS adaptor, meaning that their vehicles VIN had been whitelisted on the Tesla network in preparation for rollout.  A few days later, the website was rolled back, and the language scrubbed as there was an apparent delay.  As GM and Tesla complete this project, GM EV drivers will be able to access more than 231,800 public Level 2 and DC Fast Chargers in North America. This number will increase as GM's investment in the new IONNA Charging Network and the GM Energy Network at Flying J and Pilot locations continues. View full article

Yes, all of the hybrids and EVs have some sort of jetsons sound that plays when at low speed in EV mode. I see its purpose, but at the same time, now I can hear my neighbor back out of their driveway when I couldn't when they had a basic ICE crossover.

Sure, but none of that is what we're talking about. This started because EVs have the best low-end torque curve, with maximum torque at zero RPM. It also means that peak horsepower is now an irrelevant measurement for 99.9999999% of EV buyers. 250 lb-ft @ 0 RPM = 0 horsepower. The base Kia EV9 has 258 lb-ft of torque at 0 rpm which means it moves along nicely as city speeds.

The 2019 GM 6.2 makes 320 lb-ft at 1700 rpm, eventually increasing to 366 at 4,000 rpm. That torque curve at 1,000 rpm lower makes for easier and calmer driving. I don't know which engine you have, but if that torque curve is flat, you're also running turbos, which isn't what we're talking about here. In normal suburban driving around the city, the 5.3 liter in my truck shifts right below 2,000 rpm and I keep up with traffic just fine. Also a turbo, and not what we're discussing. Yes, and the only way they could get away with that is with turbos and three additional gears, but it hasn't improved drivability. A 3.4-liter variable displacement pushrod V6 paired with the current 8-speed auto would have been nearly as efficient while offering better around-town feel. I do think you're right on this one. Putting an advanced DOHC turbo with a 9-speed in a budget auto just isn't feasible in the long term. People buying in that market don't typically maintain their cars as well. The first to market with a budget EV that can charge anywhere and doesn't look like a dorky egg (Bolt, LEAF) could do very well.

Fair about the door-mounted belts, but I'd survive. I don't mind the composites, I think they look decent for the era.

I'd pick the '96 Fleetwood or the '92 Brougham with the 350 over the Town Car, but I'd still like a Town Car.

That is exactly correct. With broad, flat torque curves, it was less necessary to have a bunch of gears. That's why, except for the Taycan, EVs don't have multi-speed transmissions. Having 9-speeds or 10-speeds is what allows manufacturers to put these dinky little 1.3 and 1.5 liter engines in and still have them be driveable even though it really isn't a pleasant experience. It's why Cadillac was able to lower the horsepower on the 2.0T in favor of low-end torque while still keeping acceleration in the acceptable range. More low-end torque makes for a more relaxed and pleasant driving experience. The insistence by the boy-racers and @smk4565 that all vehicles have high revving, high horsepower, and DOHC with poor low-end torque got us where we are today.

I suppose it is supposed to look like a gaming laptop inside. It seems marketed to that kinda crowd.

Optispark is one of those things that GM got right just before they canceled it. These days, if you have trouble with it, the modern optispark replacements are rock solid and last forever. So do it, replace the water pump at the same time (because, why not? you already have to take it off) and drive another 300,000 miles

A Town Car L would be in my Dream Garage.

I don't know how I've survived all these years with the 8.7 0-60 I have in my Avalanche. But I will say I rarely ever have to race it to get on the highway. It was more true back in the old days than today, but yeah, that's a benefit of pushrod over DOHC. The GM Pushrods engines, even the V6es, made really good torque at low RPM but ran out of breath at high RPM. It's a really unfortunate side effect that the boy-racer craze from the 1990s robbed us of some perfectly good engine designs because enthusiasts wanted engines that rev to eleventy even though the typical family hauler would be more efficient and more relaxed with a torquey pushrod. It's why the first few generations of GM 3-row crossovers (Traverse, Outlook, Acadia) are all absolute pigs on highway MPG. They constantly have to shift out of top gear to spin up when torque is needed, while pushrod wouldn't have needed to as much. It's telling that a Tahoe and a Traverse were capable of similar highway MPGs I don't know if the 4.3 V6 would have physically fit in the Traverse, but I bet it would have had better efficiency and similar real-world performance to the 3.6 Way back in the day when GM was putting out the giant 6, 7, and 8 liter engines, those were the ones that were all torque at low RPM. Even my weezy old 307 puts out most of its 250 lb-ft from 1,000 - 3,000 rpm. Red line was 5,000 rpm. It's not fast, but it will glide effortlessly up to 60 right along at traffic's pace only using 3 gears.

As I was coming down onto a bridge this morning on the motorcycle, a black, mint, final-generation Town Car made a long sweeping cloverleaf to come up and merge next to me. I know they were antiquated when new, but they still have a grace and presence that I miss in today's 2-box egg-shaped crossover designs.

See, this is where you're getting tripped up and why horsepower is really irrelevant to EVs. Horsepower is measured as a function of RPM. An EV can have 1,000 ft-lb of torque but 0 horsepower because the motor isn't moving (lets pretend the parts between the motor and the ground won't snap or spin for now). Most naturally aspirated V6es don't make their peak horsepower until high in the RPM band. The engine has to be screaming at 6000 or 7000 rpm to get that horsepower. EVs start their max torque at ZERO rpm and eventually the torque rating backs off. Take a look at the EV9 link @G. David Felt posted. The torque rating for the EV9 base model is 258 lb-ft from 0 - 4000 rpm, after 4000 rpm it likely tapers off. The 3.8 liter makes 262 lb-ft, only a 4 lb-ft difference, but it doesn't make it until 5,200 rpm. That means that from every point from 0 - just about 5,000 rpm, the EV9 is producing more torque. Also remember that there is no spin-up delay for more torque in an EV, if you want more torque, it is instant. They actually have to soften the pedal reaction times significantly because people are used to driving gassers and the on-off power abilities of EVs are too sudden. If you ever get behind the wheel of a Lucid Air GT or Model-S Plaids and put it into whatever the highest sport mode setting is, you'll see the difference in pedal responsiveness and how much they have to really dial it back for the peasant models. An EV motor doesn't need to spin faster to make more torque, a gas engine does. Who's racing 3-row crossovers? The EV will be a more pleasant and satisfying acceleration experience. People make way too much noise about EV weights as if vehicle weight hasn't been ballooning for 20 years. I'm going to sneer at a Model Y's weight, but does an X5 or Ford Explorer Limited 4-cylinder weigh the same? A Model-3 LR weighs 200 lbs less than my Chrysler 300C AWD, and I manage to get a normal amount of life out of my tires. It's the heavy right feet in the EVs. I know you have a lot of other things on your plate, but if you ever get free time to go test drive something, take it.

It's a challenging thing to quantify. 0-60 doesn't really measure real-world feel, does it? How frequently are you flooring it all the time? The EVs feel more powerful because the acceleration is so effortless. It's why people burn through tires on EVs so much faster. Even the base EV9 will accelerate up to highway speeds, smoothly, and with gusto while the Telluride has to slap through 8 gears. Maybe it's not something measurable with numbers, but the difference in feel is there. Just curious, have you driven a non-high-end EV yet? I know you had the loaner Benz, but something like a Bolt EV, Kia EV6, or base Mach-E? The Bolt EV is such a dorky looking car, but it will scoot through the mountains just as skillfully as a VW GTI.

You have an AWD Long-Range, you have a lot more power than the RWD models.

Again, horsepower is nearly meaningless for EVs because it is a function of RPM. Spin it fast enough and the horsepower will keep climbing. An EV can have an RPM in the 30,000 rpm range while a DOHC V6 tops out somewhere around 7,000. As you correctly point out, it's the real world performance that matters, but even that is a matter of programming in an EV. They have to limit the output of the motors electronically so you're not draining the batteries in 100 miles. I routinely compare the EV9 to the Tahoe rather than the Telluride because while on the outside, the EV9 and Telluride fit the same silhouette, the EV9 feels a lot roomier and closer to the Tahoe in every dimension besides width. And the Tahoe 5.3 LT (not Z71) has a 0-60 of 7.5 seconds. The Tahoe with the 3.0 Diesel (let's call this the "long-range") is 7.8 seconds. People are still buying Tahoes like crazy, so none of those 0-60 numbers seem out of line for the EV9. Especially when the EV9 GT can do 4.5s, which is ridiculous for a family hauler. But in any case, these aren't drag-strip cars. The low-end torque of being an EV makes them feel effortless around town the same way my Avalanche feels effortless around town without even cresting 2,500 rpm.

I would look at the weight differences there too. I know they're the same platform, but I would assume the MKC weighs a good bit more.

I don't mind the heat pump being optional at the low end of the trim range. For my parents, a heat pump is entirely unneeded, so there is no point in making people pay for it who don't need it. The EV9 gets that 258 lb-ft of torque at zero RPM. The Telluride doesn't get to 262 lb-ft until 5,200 rpm, which, while a decent RPM for a DOHC V6, is still a higher RPM than is typically used in everyday traffic driving. Horsepower numbers are nearly pointless for EVs, and the sooner we can drop them as a point of comparison, the better.

A Bronco Sport with the 2.3T would probably only be sold as a Bronco Sport Raptor..... which could be fun, but expect to pay Raptor prices.

But that's base for base. A base EV9 has more standard features than a Telluride on top of more power. That's where making direct comparisons becomes difficult. The 4-series v. I4 is the most glaring of this. They are super close in price but the I4 has a lot more vigorous acceleration and that disparity only grows as you get to the higher spec units. The Mach-E v. Ford Edge is no comparison in terms of power and a base Edge isn't anything special while a base Mach-E is quite nice. When the Edge was still around, it was only a couple grand difference out the door to get a Mach-E instead.

Unfortunately, that's the direction the manufacturers are trying to go, a subscription model for the whole car.

Sparkasse is a type of bank. It literally translates to Savings Bank. Hamburger is because you were in Hamburg. There are Sparkassen in most (all?) major cities. All Sparkassen are part of a national network of regional government-controlled banks, though they operate independently of each other. It's almost like all of the "First National Bank of (City name)" banks we have here, except for the government involvement. The regional governments do not own the banks, but they do oversee how the banks are run. You can't go into a Hamburger Sparkasse and withdraw from your Frankfurter Sparkasse account, for example. However, they all share the same visual branding with the red logo. They are considered very conservative and safe, unlike Deutchebank, which is known to loan a certain U.S. politician significant amounts of money without appropriate collateral. I find the language very easy to learn. I used to follow Nate Silver closely, but he has since sold out to Peter Theil, so I no longer consider him reliable, even when he's suggesting an outcome I favor.

Eh, they're getting much closer these days. A Model-Y and BMW X3/5 overlap in price quite a bit. Even inside BMW, an i4 beats the performance of the 4-series sedan for just about the same money. There should be a third option. Third-party companies like ChargePoint or IONNA should partner with these developers to manage the charging station installs.