Drew Dowdell

This is a styling concept vehicle.

This is being tested here though

That's why I don't get it. It looks Grand Cherokee sized. Just sell that.

I actually find it amusing more than anything.... But a snowflake really needs to take his meds if he gets triggered by that

Too small to be a Grand Wagoneer, too big to be a Cherokee.... I hope they aren't moving the Grand Cherokee to FWD... especially since the Explorer is said going back to RWD.

This is very good looking. It's unfortunate that it will be so normalized when it comes out.

Yup, that's what I want... I just think the Chrysler gauges have more depth to them. More of a 3d effect that I prefer

Yup, exactly that. I had an Impala last week and all of the brightness from the screen and gauges was bothersome at night.

It looks like an F-150 and a Silverado had a wild night.

There doesn't seem to be an option for what I'd want. I like mechanical gauges for the commonly used items with a small screen for the more in-depth stuff. I think the Chrysler's pull this off well. The gauges have depth and class, but then I can get other info from the center screen. What I don't like is these giant displays... they have so much backlight that it can make it difficult to focus at night.

The short answer is that for vehicles like a Bolt or Tesla, there is little need to have a transmission. The friction losses and additional weight won't be made up for by increases in efficiency or performance. The basic rule is that an electric motor's peak torque happens at zero RPM and it drops from there. Now that isn't always true due to some technological advances, but the overall trendline keeps to that. Computers are able to change the waveform of the current to "grab" the motor and make it more torquey at lower RPM and more efficient at higher RPM. As with gasoline motors, efficiency and power can vary at different RPM. If you've ever heard an electric train accelerate from stop, the sound they make is the computer adjusting the waveforms to maximize torque. You'll hear 2 distinct noises in this clip, a high pitch whine from the coils that changes independent of vehicle speed, and then another lower pitch wine from the electric motors. This is effectively a similar idea to a transmission in that it changes the torque and efficiency output of the motors. The train above is scheduled for 180mph and it doesn't have a transmission. The reason for a transmission develops when the rotational forces from the motive power do not match the delivery needs of a vehicle. A gasoline motor produces zero torque at zero RPM and typically doesn't produce usable torque until about 1000 rpm. After that level, the best torque for most consumer gasoline engines typically is in a range from about 1500 rpm - 4000 rpm. There are exceptions to this range, but that will cover most vehicles. Outside of those ranges, gasoline engines aren't really efficient... That's why you don't want to run around in 2nd gear all the time even though the performance might be better. Electric motors simply do not have that issue. They start at max torque and it's a gentle slope down through the RPM range until red-line. They are also capable of RPM that gasoline motors can only dream of. Where a typical consumer gasoline motor may top out at 6,500 RPM (this is also the design limit for most of the automatics on the market today), an electric motor can keep right on trucking to 10,000 rpm or 15,000 rpm or more. The only time a transmission might make sense is if you are keeping the motor size so small that even at max torque it isn't supplying enough torque to keep the car moving at the default gearing. Even a Chevy Spark can fit an electric motor that has more torque than a 5.3 Silverado.... so I don't see that becoming an issue for cars. All of that said, the power curve of electric motors is such that even if you did put a transmission on it, the best setup would be a CVT, so you'd never have a shifting automatic anyway.

Oh and bobo, you definitely should stick around... I want to add 2-wheel news to C&G this year.

Thanks for this @bobo I look forward to it every year.

I wouldn't say we have any one tradition. Every year we do something different... Our default fall back if we have nothing else planned is just ordering chinese and watching the festivities in NY on the telly.

I looked it up and the SRX was the one Cadillac model left out of the Android Auto and Apple Carplay upgrade.

0-60 means nothing to me, but the torque number does

I won't be going old enough to get an ML

Raising and lowering is not the same as suspension firmness. Airmatic on comfort is cloud-like

GM models depended on when they got refreshed. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay require more powerful in-car processors. I know that in the Cadillac they had to make a physically larger space to put the processing computer.

The Titan needs to go on a diet.

I'm just happy there will be a next generation XJ

The Cayenne is intriguing, but I wonder how comfort tuned they are. On the GLE, at least I can get Airmatic, which I love.

The GLE does depreciate enough to put it in the same running as the GC Summit Hemi. 0-60 doesn't matter to me as much as smooth torquey acceleration. I'm certainly not going to worry about a 1 second difference when either of them will blow away the vehicle it is replacing. That said, there are only a few GLE400s listed on Auto trader.

You can't go by Jeep's overall brand rating. Every vehicle they make is designed by a different company. The one knock I know of against the GLE is no Android Auto.

CPO 2017 Grand Cherokee Summit hemi 4x4 is the price range. Not looking for an SRT level anything. Comfort, torque, 600lb tow hitch tongue weight rating are the priorities.