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Ford made $8.4B in profit last year; Lincoln could sell 1000/mnth and FoMoCo would be just fine. Only American brands are held to this unyielding white hot spotlight on 'volume'. Put another way; guess how many cars Lincoln sold the first year of their iconic, oft-emulated, suicide-doored styling tour de'force (1961) : 25,164 units.

It will be a combination of the first two.

CAFE is largely what has moved people into crossovers and trucks. If CAFE were to continue, it should be equally enforced on trucks and SUVS. Imagine how fuel efficient an F-150 could be if, instead of inflating it as quickly as American asses are getting fat, they kept it the size of 20 years ago.

Here ya go!

I know Drew loves molasses-slow Oldsmobiles ( ) but man could this be a killer 'run for the money' machine! Police-package akin to the Toronado GT powertrain, 390 HP 455 car. One-hand-behind-back simple to build this to 500+ HP. Go cruise and take people's money all day (even that mercedes they show beating a top fuel dragster in a straight line). https://www.ebay.com/itm/123066417340?ul_noapp=true

I've been driving it for about two months now and it's serving it's intended purpose. About two thousand miles and roughly 10 gallons of gas used. Truth be told I prefer my truck still. But my situation at the time made the choice for me.

I think automakers could hit the standard with more electrification, which would make cars more expensive, but they can price war it out and cut profits if they wanted, none of these car makers are hurting. That being said I could see keeping the 54 mpg standard but pushing it back to 2030 to give carmakers more time. I also think adding a 25 cent per gallon federal gas tax would promote fuel efficiency better than CAFE, and we need tax revenue to pay roads since the Gov't has such a ridiculous deficit. And that being said, what the EPA wants to do doesn't matter because California doesn't want to play this game. California will win any legal battle because CARB was there first, and there is ZERO PERCENT chance that car companies make a car they can't sell in California (or states with it's emission laws) because 1/3rd of all new cars are under California rule, no one is throwing away 1/3 of their volume.

I recommend every manufacturer make at least 10 crossovers. Starting at 160 inches long and going up every 5 inches to 205 inches long.

The Velar interior is picture pretty, but fades quickly once you start casting a critical eye over the details. Q7 has to have a better interior because it is trying to play in the Escalade/Navigator/GLS class while also bridging down to GLE pricing. The fact that we're even talking about a mid-size Lincoln crossover in the same conversation as the GLE and Q7 is testament. The possibility that Lincoln could possibly sway would-be German intenders is not even close to zero. One really couldn't say that before today.

Nothing unusual about that...plenty of models have a $40k or more spread between base and fully loaded...like the F150.

This would require some fairly substantial engineering changes on the current car. I'm sure it could be done to the current one, but at what cost? There should be a next generation Continental on the new platform already in the works, my guess is that it shows up there. I'm starting to wonder if Ford isn't doing a big media fakeout on some of this doom and gloom news surrounding the car lines.

Looks good to me. The 'made in China' aspect has be iffy if I'd ever support that with a purchase.

Interesting, they're no longer calling the infotainment system MyLink? I asked about Intellilink at the GMC do in NYC last week and they didn't have an answer. The GMC systems are no longer branded as Intellilink. Needs some looking into. That would make a really nice looking coupe.

I wish Cadillac would have introduced the XT5 and the new XT4 on a version of the Alpha platform instead of the FWD based models they have now. They would be more competitive with REAL luxury crossovers like the Stelvio and the MB models leaving Buick to do the luxed up FWD based crossovers giving Cadillac a more Premium image. With the Sigma platform they had the right idea having the CTS and original SRX based on the same RWD based platform. That first SRX drove and handled wonderfully much better then any nose heavy FWD based model can.

It's offered on other Buick models currently. It was standard on my parents 2006 Lucerne CXL. You've never had your wipers at a certain speed only to have a car plow a wave of water at your windshield? The rainsense usually reacts quicker than you... or how about being at a red light and hearing the wiper chatter go over a mostly dry windshield because it's drizzling, but you stopped... but the wipers are on a preset intermittent cycle? Or how about when the weather keeps changing between downpours and lighter rain... and your wipers just take care of it because they're automatic...

I have a former coworker who has the title Chief Awesome Officer at a major software company. I've never been much into titles, my current one is nominally Java Consultant/Technical Lead. I've been w/ my client in Scottsdale for over 3 1/2 years..at times it's really boring, but there is no overtime, I have a good bill rate and benefits, and I work from home 100%. Can't complain too much.

The new Jetta is the best new small car for people who don't like the looks of the new Civic.

Sorry, but your statement about Sonic safety is rubbish. Sonic was one of the earliest small cars to get top crash test ratings. Indeed the gamma platform gets great ratings across the board. The crash test ratings for our Encore were a selling point for us. Sonic is built in the US at US wages and sells at a low price. Trax is built in Korea at Korean wages and sells at a higher price. Aside from the AWD available in the Trax, they are the same vehicle in terms of material costs yet there is a $5k spread in base price to the Trax's advantage.

I am going to enjoy this...watching stupid people do stupid things means we have the right to laugh at them. Rest of the world will pass us by methinks. Tesla is starting to go in the tank and will not recover IMHO. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facing-u-s-tariffs-china-plans-countermeasures-1521632332 Just like trade wars are coming back to haunt us, this will come back to haunt us. California and the rest of the world.

I believe a tax would would have a similar effect as well. However the government would just squander any additional revenue from the tax. Knowing government, they would probably use the tax to start a new/additional agency devoted to how to force more fuel efficiency.

This 2.0T is all new and for now is a Cadillac exclusive. More details will be released on it later, but I have an in with Cadillac and plan on getting the information ahead of time so I can release as soon as embargo is lifted. What he did tell me is that the engine is tuned heavily towards favoring low end torque (258lb-ft at 1500rpm!!) and they plan on making full use of the 9-speed gearbox. It should feel plenty fast. Just like my Encore has a rather pathetic 138 lb-ft but with very low gearing in first and second, it feels just as peppy in suburban driving as cars with 160 - 180 lb-ft. An additional 120 lb-ft and 3 additional gears with only marginally more weight... it'll be fine. Plastic Cladding.... only acceptable on European cars I guess. Look at all this plasticy plastic plastic.

HAPPY EASTER

That would NOT be the consumer's fault... THAT would be how your PAY structure is formed... Like I said, the industry needs to change. If you are getting paid ONLY if you sell a car...take it up with your industry. I read about the part where the conversation lead to the service industry... YOUR job as a salesman IS to service everybody that comes in to your dealership. If I wanna take 1 year to look at cars THEN to buy....lit is MY right to do so as a consumer... YOU say its a waste of time for a salesman to cater to folk like that? If YOUR industry PAID you by the hour, if YOUR industry PREPARED YOU to SELL cars PROPERLY, if YOUR industry COMPENSATED YOU like YOU deserve and NOT like a piece of meat, if YOUR industry TREATED YOU like a PROFESSIONAL than MAYBE consumers would TREAT YOU like professionals too... Instead what we got...is salesmen looking at consumers like THEY are the problem like shyte you just told us... YEAH! There are some cars that DO NOT change in 2 years... Sure, the kid's opinions on what kind of car he like to own WILL change, but you know what? The more cars you see, the more you know what YOU LIKE! A dealership IS A STORE!!! FIRST AND FOREMOST!!! Who are YOU to tell a consumer when he can or cannot visit? I told you, do NOT put the onus on the consumer for the downfalls of YOUR industry... What difference does it make to a salesman what the consumer tells you? If a consumer has his guard up...there is a REASON for him to be THAT defensive... Maybe it is true that he is looking to buy 6 months from now... Like I said...if YOUR industry gave salespeople ALL the TEACHINGS on HOW to sell properly, lessons on what the car you are selling, what features it has got...yes...real lessons, instead of just making the salesperson learn on his own, paid salespeople an hourly wage, a FAIR hourly wage, a recognition that car salespeople are professionals, that the industry itself BECOMES professional...then salespeople would NOT look at consumers like they are a problem... Like how phoqued up is the phoquing industry when salespeople are looking at people coming into a store a when salespeople do NOT get the answer they are looking for...they view THAT as wasting time? Wasting time? Yeah...lets tackle this... Its a STORE! A DEALERSHIP IS A STORE.... OPEN FOR BUSINESS. And look....all those people...kicking the tires on all these products... What is the point? Technology changes every 6 months, right? So why bother informing yourself? yes, a used car that you like today will not be there tomorrow if you dont buy it now! And yes...decisiveness IS a waste of time....BUT ITS A FACT OF LIFE IN YOUR INDUSTRY!!! LIKE I SAID...LET THE INDUSTRY PAY FOR YOUR TIME... No...you dont sell cars, your ass is gone. But maybe, if the industry ADAPTED its technique, maybe just maybe, consumers would be more sympathetic towards their salesperson...