Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    55,281

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    481

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    More information about "Detroit Preview: 2019 Jeep Cherokee"
    Ahead of the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Jeep released images of the refreshed 2019 Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. By far the largest change is the face which now more closely resembles the Jeep Grand Cherokee and new Jeep Compass. The front light clusters have been merged into a single unit and are no longer low in the bumper with turn signal "brows" in a separate cluster. The rear hatch is no longer a giant flat slab, gaining more contouring and updated tail light clusters. Interior of the Cherokee looks to be a carry over. Jeep hasn't released any information on powertrain. The current Jeep Cherokee is powered by either a 184 hp 2.4 liter 4-cylinder or a 271 hp 3.2 liter V6. A new 2.0T 4-cylinder from the 2018 Jeep Wrangler that debuted at the 2017 LA Auto Show could make an appearence. The 2019 Jeep Cherokee will be fully revealed on January 16th at the Cobo Center in Detroit. Related: Quick Drive Review 2017 Jeep Cherokee Overland, Review: 2017 Jeep Compass Limited Click here follow all 2018 Detroit Auto Show news.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    The CT6 is a larger, roomier E-class competitor. E-Class comes base with a 4-cylinder turbo. Case Closed.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    What would your preference be?
  4. Drew Dowdell
    V6 is dying in Mass market cars anyway, so that's less of a consideration anymore. A RWD only I6 could be useful for Cadillac, Camaro, trucks and the RWD SUVs. The FWD 3.6 V6 can soldier on in the Impala, Lacrosse, Regal, and big crossovers. XTS is dying. Nothing else FWD still uses it. If Impala and Lacrosse go away... Well....
  5. Drew Dowdell
    It makes me wonder if the Americans should consider going back to I6 engines and add some boost. They make great truck engines too because they have more journal bearings than a V6 which makes them naturally more durable. In naturally aspirated form, they tend to have better torque delivery than a V, but that's not a hard rule. I'd not mind a 3.5 boosted I6 in a Silverado. I mean, why does C&D or Motortrend hire writers... They just reprint the same review each year and change the snark.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    If they do that, it will force the hand of the Americans and their truck offerings.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    Why not? There is a 4 cylinder turbo E class and the CT6 weighs less. The ATS is a substantially superior vehicle to the CLA in every objective measure... But brand whores prefer the fake pleather Gucci bag over and actual entry luxury performance sedan.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The new battery part is interesting... I wonder what that will involve.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    I will also point out that these VIN cards are not set in stone. GM can add to them at any time.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Well it's just my own guess. They could keep it on Alpha and have it RWD/AWD.... but the CLA and A3 have proven that RWD is not needed for sales success. Mercedes is selling as many 98-Taurus-Shrunk-In-The-Wash as they can while the superior chassis of the ATS doesn't move that well. If Cadillac can sell 1.8T/2.0T powered rebadge Cruzes for $30k, I totally see them going for it if the sales are there.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    Come to think of it. I think I've only driven the PHEV XC90 which may have different NVH characteristics than the others. I'm that case, I never found the power train objectionable. A Toureg V10 would have to be CPO. The only way I'd own one is if VW is picking up the repair tab.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    What sucks about the XC90? Not that it's on the list, it doesn't have the capacity... but I've liked it whenever I've driven it.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah... it's sort of a process of elimination. They've said that the ATS sedan is going away and that Cadillac is cutting down on the number of sedans. But there will be a CT4 that replaces the ATS in the lineup, so what will that car be? We know they won't do coupe only, it doesn't make economic sense to. We know that a CT4 won't be a crossover, that's what XT4 will be. So that leaves hatchback and wagon as possibilities. Given that there is technically no longer a Regal sedan, I'm guessing the correct answer here is "hatchback" or "sportback" if you want to use Buick's terms.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    ABS is a safety thing and more safety is more gooder.... Electric power steering, I don't think they could even articulate why/how it is different from "normal".
  15. Drew Dowdell
    The reason it got dumped was packaging. I6 engines are tall and as such they reach maximum displacement for a given engine bay a lot sooner than a V engine. Where an old I6 might have topped out around 3.5 liters with no room to grow, V engines could get larger even up to including V8s and V10s. Add to that European pedestrian hood crush standards and there was no way MB was going to be able to keep up with the power race. BMW did it with turbochargers and moving to 4-cylinders.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I think the vast majority of Jetta buyers don't care about the torsion beam, and for those who do, there is the GLI.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    I'm reading this slightly different. Yes, the ATS sedan will be dropped, but that's because the CT4 will replace it and likely won't be a sedan but rather a hatchback in keeping with JDN's very qualified statement about Cadillac sedans. What this sounds like to me is that there won't be a CT4 coupe, at least at first, and the ATS Coupe will stick around for that role until a replacement is ready to go. I'm guessing the CT4 will be a more direct competitor to the CLA/A3... meaning FWD and 4-cylinder turbo only. It will be some sort of sport hatchback coupe crossover with 4 doors. The CT5 will be only slightly smaller externally than the current CTS, but will have better packaging and ride on the Omega platform with the CT6. Here is where the giant question mark comes up..... If ATS and CTS are going away, what happens to Camaro when its platform mates are dead? The only possibility I see is if GM has some sort of Alpha 2.0 in the works for CT4/CT5/Camaro to ride on that has the weight savings enhancements that come with Omega.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Well the house is clearly blight. Time to bulldoze it.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    Neither. Using mixed materials was a technical breakthrough that first showed on the CT6. It doesn't always pay off to use aluminum on every part of the body. High strength steel, ultra high strength steel, and Aluminum each have different properties. On the CT6 the found they might save 5 pounds switching a body component to aluminum, but then they needed 8 pounds of sound deadening due to the different acoustic properties of aluminum. They built an entire technology around using mixed materials.... It wasn't some phoned in thing.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Those are the easy favorites. I was looking for additional options that I hadn't thought of. I don't much care for the previous Expedition interior, but I do like the new one. Won't find it as a CPO yet though, too new. The X5 can come with air suspension, so I would seek out one equipped that way.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Thank you. This is what I'm saying. Regardless of what the numbers say, the Passat feels as big or bigger than the Avalon.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    You really have reading comprehension issues. The Passat feels substantially larger inside than any of the other midsize do. I did not suggest that VW increase it's exterior dimensions. Just that it feels bigger and roomier than Accord or Malibu. Those larger sedans aren't tanking based on size, they are tanking based on cost. An Avalon is $30+k base, people start looking at Crossovers for less than that.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I'm not saying make the Passat bigger. It is already one of the roomiest feeling midsize sedans on the market. In spite of the numbers, it feels cavernous inside compared to Accord, Camry, and Malibu. It feels on par with Avalon and Impala. So, that said, I can see VW moving the Jetta up to Malibu/Camry size and leaving the Golf where it's at. That would give VW a small, medium, large car lineup with the Arteon being the specialty car.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    Well VW thinks differently apparently.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    And we all know that exterior length is the only measure of a car.
×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search