Drew Dowdell
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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Well, some nuance. 1. Use your own charging brick, or buy a USB data blocker (USB A Data Blocker) - (USB C Data Blocker) * we get a small commission if you purchase through these links at no cost to you. 2. Use the free airport wifi, but don't do anything financial on it OR subscribe to a credible VPN service for your phone. No hacker is going to care if they get your C&G password. These rules apply just about anywhere, not just when flying. Hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, your car dealership service center waiting room, etc. The taco bell near me has been remodeled to have USB ports, workstations, and free wifi, and those are every bit as insecure as an airport, just lower traffic.
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I can't watch the video yet, but I think getting all the knowledge and know-how out of the legacy automakers and then casting them aside was the long-game for the Chinese the whole time. Doesn't matter if it is Benz or GM or Ford or Stellantis. Apple has put themselves into the same position.
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These rode nicely, but after its much larger predecessor, they were a bit of a letdown because they felt tight inside and smaller than the CamCordTima. I'm sure Chevy did that to push more people to their new Impala but instead it pushed them away. I assume this is the 2.5 or the 2.4 eAssist since you would have mentioned the engine if it was the 2.0T. The eAssist gets a bad rap because people expected Pruis-like fuel economy out of it and it just wasn't that kind of hybrid, but it did alter the torque curve enough at low speeds to give it more oomfph than the basic 4-cylinder and you could still tickle 35mpg highway in something as big and heavy as the Lacrosse.
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Do you feel I need to disclose per photo or will just an addition and explanation of this type of modifications in our existing AI policy be sufficient? I might even put those photos above as the example in the policy. My goal here is to be completely above board about AI on the site. I’m not against AI, but I am against AI for this type of creative opinion and editorializing. I don’t feel that touching up a photo in this manner violates that since the subject is an actual photo, but I want to get the group’s opinion on it.
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It's not even that companies can't make money building sedans (except you Nissan), it's that the profit margins are so much higher building what is essentially a tall hatchback economy car and marking it up by $5K. Because the margins are so much better on something like Trax which sells for the same as a Malibu but is lower tech/quality/content, it forces management to look at sedan margin and ask "Why are we even doing this when we could just make a Trax 2-inches longer and sell it for more as a new model?". Manufacturers who want to stay in the game, Honda mainly and to a degree Toyota (though I see them faltering), they have to push their sedan prices higher to justify continuing to build them. A Civic costs every bit as much to engineer and build as an HR-V and CR-V, but it starts at $24k while the HR-V starts at $26k and the CR-V at $30k. You can't really blame manufacturers with numbers like that. -
I can't tell if this is AI generated (I suspect it is because of the way the logos are) or if it's a bad illustration. It looks like a bad mish-mash of a Regal and Cutlass and Grand Prix. That opera window you mention is from the GP. The front clip looks like a Regal shell with someone's imagination of a Cutlass insert, but they got mixed up and used an 88 instead. The tail lights are horizonal and wrap around slightly like a Regal. The back glass is too sloped to be any of them and looks more like 77/78 B-Body coupe. The rear side reflector, when so equipped, would always be red.
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All, I'm looking for your feedback on the Generative AI policy and where I might make a modification. Do you/Would You have an issue with my using AI to retouch photos that I took? I would never modify the vehicle in a review (aside from adjusting exposure, contrast, and color intensity as I always have), but I might us AI to remove a trash can or pole in the background that make the photo ugly. Basically I want to pretty up the picture without altering the vehicle in the picture. These two are the same picture, after and before. Using AI in my photo editor, I removed the handicapped parking markings and a telephone pole in the background, lightened the car, and I enhanced the fogginess for effect.
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Largely, I agree, but some do it better than others. In this case, the VC isn't refine enough and doesn't have enough output. the 2.5 in the GM crossovers is more appropriate from a power output, though still not as refined as a V6. I recently drove the Explorer Platinum with the 2.3-Ecoboost and it doesn't have the NVH minimization befitting a $53k vehicle, but at least for another $4k you can get the 3.0V6 Ecoboost that should be smoother. Infiniti does have a 3.0 V6 V6 Turbo that they could have used here, but they chose not to.
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Red Alert. A buddy of mine recently acquired a 1998 BMW K1200RS from facebook marketplace that didn’t run. One fuel pump later and we took it on its first shakedown cruise today for a couple hours.
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I’m sure it only makes financial sense to lease one.
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They never served out of Pittsburgh in any meaningful price effective way. Sure, they didn't charge for bags, but their prices where as high as American was with bags. Then I was also frequently an Gold status member with American and got domestic bags free anyway.
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Exactly, it's just not enough engine for this size vehicle. That's reflected in the fuel economy which only increases by about 2mpg over the big 3.5 liter VQ.
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Toyota News: 2026 Toyota RAV-4 Released as Hybrid Only
Drew Dowdell replied to Drew Dowdell's topic in Toyota
Correct. There's no way it's 150kw at those charge speeds. My guess is 40k - 50kw. The Chevy Bolt at 55kw can do slightly faster than a mile of range per minute when you're charging from 0-100% which is roughly the same as this RAV-4 PHEV speed at 10% - 80%. -
Toyota News: 2026 Toyota RAV-4 Released as Hybrid Only
Drew Dowdell replied to Drew Dowdell's topic in Toyota
So, just to be clear. This new RAV4 can actually charge at 11kw, same as the new Toyota BZ and Toyota CH-R. The previous RAV-4 Prime was 6.6kw, which was the same AC charge rate as the BZ4x. So yeah, they did use the same AC charger. -
Toyota News: 2026 Toyota RAV-4 Released as Hybrid Only
Drew Dowdell replied to Drew Dowdell's topic in Toyota
If they're built for off-roading, CVTs can actually do really well for low-speed crawling, but they have to be configured that way. Technically, you can get the equiv of 4LO that a proper 4WD would have if it's built for it. Will Toyota do that? I think it's unlikely. -
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
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From the album: 2026 Infiniti QX60
