Leaderboard

I don't own it yet, but this is what I've decided on if I can ever stop having big bills biting me in the ass and Trump stops tanking the stock market. (That's not a political statement, his actions have a direct effect on the stock market in the past two months, all bad ones)

@Drew Dowdell Nice bike! I love naked standard bikes I always lusted after the Ducati Monster 796 but the wife said no bikes until kids grow up So I will have to buy a Mustang probably

You tell me. The XT5 outsold the GLC and the X3 individually that it is priced against. RWD introduces packaging issues for the passenger compartment. Cadillac does what it always has... offer a size, comfort, and power advantage over the German imports for the of the same price. The XT4 will do the same against the cramped and tiny GLA. You can't get over the fact that people don't shop for cars with a measuring tape, but with their checkbook. If you're writing a check for $35k or $45k, you don't care what the exterior length is... you want the most comfort and amenities for your dollar. Cadillac offers that.

The CVT thing is a little confusing to me as they already have development costs wrapped up into a 9spd.

Guys, I've split the motorcycle chat into a new dedicated forum. I've been wanting to have a motorcycle discussion section here for a while, so since we got into it today, I figured now is as good a time as any. The dedicated motorcycle forum - feel free to start new threads in here that might be more specific than "general discussion". A general motorcycle discussion thread where the conversation from this thread was moved to.

Nine R T? Or something along those lines? I love it. I finally convinced my dad to buy a BMW. He's wanted one all his life and last year he was just throwing the idea of a new bike(he had been on a Honda ST1300 since 05) and I said what about the BMW you've always wanted. Without even looking he said it cost too much blah blah blah.. I just grabbed my phone and checked some prices real quick and showed him and it peaked his interest like "No way? That's not out of reason at all". I told him to just finall buy exactly what you want because if you don't, you'll still always say "I want a BMW motorcycle some day". Two or three weeks later he test drove one and a week after he picked up his BMW F800 GT. It isn't the prettiest thing to me but he loves it. I think he puts around 5000 miles a year on his bikes as he commutes on it in the summer(only a 6 mile round trip to work). His doesn't have the center bag, yet. I'm sure he will eventually get one if my mom wants to ride on the back again.

BMW Loaned me an R Nine T about 18 months ago and I fell in love. I'm trying to keep under 500lbs in order to use the mototote (500 lbs + 100 lbs for mototote = 600 lbs hitch weight = Avalanche / Durango / Grand Cherokee / Canyon). Since then, I've also been loaned a few Hondas and the CB1200 is a close second, but a bit too heavy. I also like the Kawasaki Vulcan S, but at 650cc, it's only a backup option. the Vulcan S can be found for like $4500 used though. The R Nine T is just about the biggest motor you can find (1200cc) on a bike under 500 lbs that isn't a pure sports bike. I've never liked riding crotch rockets. I've got too much crotch for it to be comfortable.

But then certain Mercedes lovers would harp on Cadillac for not selling at the volumes they sell now. I never will understand why people set different standards for Cadillac than they set for Mercedes.

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.

Volt powertrain should be in like 5 vehicles at this point. I hated the first gen too though.. just something about it. Actually, exactly what Drew said about it is why.

Sadly, I think that's just a sign of the times now... Modern crash standards and styling leave massive blind spots and sadly(again) blind spot monitors or the little extra angled mirrors within the mirror are almost necessary. My escape had a terrible blind spot because the size of the tiny furthest window and most of the CUVs are like that.

I've got an apathy softy for it. I think GM messed up on the Acadia in styling and interior. They saddled it with the weaksauce 2.5 liter 4-cylinder which I'm sure is only sold to rental fleets. The put a lame base AWD system in it and charge a bunch more for the slick twin-clutch AWD that the XT5 and Lacrosse get. Most trims come with the 6-speed auto instead of the 9-speed (From memory, only the All-Terrain can some with the 9-speed, but I could be wrong) It drives dull, it does nothing special, it gives you no reason to buy it over the competition. It is the epitome of mediocre. I would pick virtually any other vehicle in the class, including the Edge and any of the imports, over the Acadia. I'd even pick the Traverse or Enclave over the Acadia as both are substantially better looking, both come with the 9-speed, and neither get the lame 2.5 liter. It the most forgettable in the sea of forgettable crossovers out there. Yet GM sells about 12k of them a month..... so what do I know. The fact remains that it is only about $1500 more than the Edge and Ford sells about 12k Edges a month. With or without that third row... they compete with each other. Ford has an advantage here in that they also have the best selling Explorer in the same showroom, GMC no longer has direct competition to the Explorer, and the Explorer is about to get a heck of a lot better than it already is.

That's OK...you get a long distance hug from me in Columbus. I still want a Trailblazer SS. Would tow a trailer when I need it and also haul a$$ when I don't..... Higher speed passenger rail service was overdue 25 years ago. I deeply despise driving across PA. Turnpike is NOT fun to drive...ugh.

Yes it would be additional development costs of course... but just like we now have 25 "different" sizes of crossover in a single brand that are mere inches apart in size, I think it would sell. Imagine another Ford truck, the F-100 say, that is 5% smaller than the F150 but has a more light duty build that cuts 10% - 15% of the weight out. If the truck maxes out at 5k or 6k towing capactiy, they can build components lighter. The F150 right now ranges from 5,500 lbs to 12,000 lbs towing, but even on the 5,500 lbs configuration, there is no difference in major components like drive shaft, differential, frame, axle, suspension... etc. So the 5,500 lbs capable truck lugs around a lot of extra weight that it will never be able to utilize. If Ford could swap out a bunch of those components for lighter duty parts, they could save a significant amount of weight, and weight is the biggest killer of fuel economy. The truck could probably be powered by the 2.3 liter 4-cylinder as a base engine and save additional weight over a V6. Once you don't have to engineer the platform to handle such high weights, it cascades a lot of vehicle mass away. Cutting 15% of the weight out of a SuperCrew 4x4 2.7 Ecoboost drops the weight 720 lbs from 4805 to 4085. That would be huge. Even a 10% drop would be 480 lbs. The Ranger is the quick and dirty answer to the problem, however, it doesn't address the needs of passenger space or bed volume that get people into an F-150 in the first place. The Crewcab is not suitable for putting my inlaws in for 5 hour drives.

Googling turned up this neat photoshop image someone created...this would be cool.

A Grand Cherokee EXT would be the bomb! Give it a 6,000 lb tow rating and it would be perfect.

I like the idea of a midsize truckish SUV with a nice interior, a small bed, and decent towing capacity. A Jeep Grand Cherokee based vehicle that is similar in function to the Ridgeline would get my interest.

Since I am in favor of ending the war on drugs I am quite happy to see that Montreal has indeed allowed hallucinogens...I would spring you some but you seem to have found quite the supply. (Ducks from wrench thrown my way...) (Thankfully Canadians can't aim a wrench any better than they can aim a hockey puck....watches wrench go through neighbor's garage door window) Have a good day my friend! Chris

I am asking Drew to leave this up. I disagree vehemently with Bill but will fight tooth and nail to let him express his viewpoint. Also, let me be clear-I actually want the 6.2 L of Suburban Manly suburban thing to survive in some way shape or form, as does David-you won't find a bigger supporter of SUV's here than David. From a personal standpoint, I would love to see humanity come together, reclaim the Sahara, and use sunlight to grow algae based or plant based stock for liquid fueled internal combustion vehicles. Would love to see things like the Boeing 777 and Airbus 350 keep flying even after the stocks of natural petroleum are (eventually) depleted. And now for the counter point...just because people want to spend their money on something does not make it moral of right. There would be a huge market for child porn if it was legal.

Oh yeah... This one I HAVE to get rid of. One of my 150 ft. yachts that is docked at...um...Hon..Hong k...Hono...Honolulu...yes...Honolulu needs a new...um...tillermajig and my money is all tide up in stocks and bonds and stuff and well, to make a long story short, the folk that rent this place from me, well, they are a nuisance so I decided to cut them loose, so the house is up for sale. If you think this is a nice house, you should see the one I have at the Hamptons...

Oh yeah- Rain-X is one of those very few products that works better than you expect. Last 1-2 months, depending. Now Rain-X has product-infused wiper blades, tho I haven't tried them. In mixed driving with a good application of Rain-X, you can almost use you wipers about a third or more LESS often. The water beads tightly, so it either blows off upward (@ speed), or trickles downward at low speeds. I don't apply it regularly enough.

Don't discount the weight contribution of all the sensors and cameras & 18 airbags and TPMS and adaptive CC and rain-sensing wipers and .....

1.5T + CVT v. 1.5T + CVT 2.0T + 9speed v. 2.0T + 10speed Hybrid CVT v. Hybrid CVT The offerings are pretty darn close. Each one has pluses and minuses. The Malibu and Accord are quite competitive here. For the interior, add in the newest Mazda 6 and you have probably the three top interiors in the segment.

Good. Now that some negatives have poured in, I could now unashamedly do some bashing of my own of the re-freshed Malibu. The new Big Mouth Billy Bass face of the Malibu looks like shyte! On the Cruze, it aint that much better. The Fusion re-freshed face is a million times better. And that too is a year older than the Malibu.... I CANNOT believe Ford is thinking about ditching the Fusion. About the CVT transmission. I heard a rumor that CVT transmissions are really not all that reliable. Nissan's CVT to be exact. The steel belt...unlike Superman, is not indestructible. So why for the possible headaches?

Honestly, I wouldn't bother. If you're going to rip the dashboard apart anyway, then just put something modern in.

Why would Cadillac sell at lesser volumes? I could argue if they had done more rear drive products their sales would be higher. SRX sales didn’t increase because they switched it to fwd, they went up because they cut the price $10,000. Cut the CTS down to $34,995 and the ATS to $28,995 and they would start to sell too. The XT5 sells because it is $12,000 less than an X5 or GLE and because Cadillac has no other crossover in the showroom when most luxury brands have 3 or 4. Waaaay back in 2002 Cadillac said we need to scrap the front wheel drive and the platform sharing with large Buicks and build globally competitive product with ride and handling luxury buyers expect. They seem to have forgotten the mission, and they never really executed it right in the first place. And this is the big challenge Cadillac has, is execution. We can talk about will Escala be a crossover coupe, Panamera competitor, 7 seat SUV, etc. But can they actually get the mechanics, interior, styling, and build quality all spot on? Or will there he corners cut?

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 like the R Nine T and the Honda CB1200 because they're modern bikes that look retro without looking like a Harley. I am not a classic Harley guy.

That and the styling of the sedan. The 5-door I thought looked great, the sedan was awkward looking. People tend not to buy hatchbacks though.

WEEEEEAAAKKK!!! They're built to ride not trailer! lol What kind of bike do you have anyway?

True. And the tiny opera windows in the Terrain C-pillars are useless. My GC (WK2) has decent outward visibility, the blind spots aren't bad, but the total glass area seems much less than my old WJ GC had.

Yeah, that's a significant amount of weight. Thanks!

Well, it's certainly not a surprise, but GM never let this car reach it's potential. It had a nice chassis, quirky styling, a nice size, but was always just a few steps away from being fully baked. The RS model should have had another 40hp.

I am as much an Idiot as Anyone else in this world and have to continue to learn and change all the time. Growing with Humanity to live in our universe and get our butts off this rock into space. Life is ever changing and static is what kills off things not change. Embracing change is why I love and care about everyone and everything and even you Blu. I would never want you to not speak your mind but please try and put yourself as I do in other people's shoes to understand why we need to evolve and why rolling back rather than extending the date of improving things is a mistake. Wishing you the best in your life.

circle the wagons, the XT5 is the only size and configuration match to the Edge. So GM can support Cadillac in this size class, but is not doing so with Chevy and Buick, which both of those brands could sell the hell out of that size of 2 row crossover.

Yeah that's quite often as well.. Makes sense why you'd want the extra space.

In the case of the F150, there are still all of the turbo equipment to account for. Most F150s are already sold in Ecoboost form... go going from 2.7EB to 2.3EB is really just dropping one turbo. I have a meeting, but I'll see if I can find an example of what you're looking for. I'm thinking ATS 2.0T v. V6 or Camaro 2.0T v V6 will likely be the examples used.

EDIT : Something more... 'automotive badge/3-D' might spice things up a bit.

I got plenty of those in the past! *SIGH* Unfortunately, those kinds of points are not redeemable for prizes though...

Not the Adriatic sea....That would be North... Ionion sea...that would be South. Greek waters. Ionian sea. And yes...Zakynthos. My dad was born in Montreal. My grandfather, his dad, was born in Zakynthos. Ive never been to that beack. Navagio. My mom comes from the neighboring Island...Kephalonia. Both my mom's parents were born in Kephalonia. I recommend the movie... GOOD movie. True story. Most of the love story is true. My family knew the family starring in the movie. The movie itself, a couple of my friends are in it as extras. They visit Kephalonia on a yearly basis. I got a family house their too. Its in disarray as my aunts and uncles are squabbling in the division of my grand-parents lands, including the house. Nobody seems to want to renovate it either. My grandmother from my dad's side comes from Ithaca. Yes...Odysseus' Ithaca. Many historians now believe that Ithaca actually refers to Kephalonia and Ithaca too. Zakynthos, Ithaca and Kephalonia are side by side by side. They are close together. A swim away. And yes...there are several beaches in Athens. Around Athens is more accurate. A short drive away. Vouliagmeni is one. Ive been to it just once in my life. I dont really remember it. Many Italians visit Corfu. Brindisi. The port city of Brindisi has a direct boat ride to Corfu if Im not mistaken. Ive never been to Corfu. My wife's lineage...My father-n-law comes from Sparta. Ive never been. But Ive been to the Corinth Canal, duh...and Ive been to Olympia on the Peloponnese. My wife's momma comes from Rhodes. Which on our honeymoon, we went. We also went to Santorini and Mykonos and Turkey. Ephesus. I also took her to Kephalonia and introduced her to the literally crazy Kephalonians that inhabit this beautiful but chemically imbalanced island. I got lots of family and friends still living or vacationing there. Ive gone to Greece countless of times. Zakynthos and Kephalonia is where I spent many a summers...mainly Kephalonia. This year, finally, we as a family are going back to Greece. We are gonna introduce our kids to where our ancestors come from. 2 weeks. Only on the Aegean side. Rhodes, Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. It will be the wife's and my first time in Crete. Knossos we will visit. Thank-You for extending the olive branch. I appreciate it! I have a 1st world problem as I am excited to go to Greece this year. I am also not! As Ive been to Greece many times, was even baptised there. In Kephalonia. Agios Gerasimos chapel. The patron Saint of Kephalonia. I now am ready to see the world. Ive been to Boston many times. When a summer was not going to Greece, it was going to Boston. Ive been to NYC 3-4 times. I LOVE New York! I have been to Toronto. Just once. Barely. And that is it. I WANT to see Italy. All of Italy. Just like Greece. Italy has many different regions that are awesome and historical and not one region is the same. You cant go to Italy and just see the Colosseum. One HAS to go to Naples, Florence, Venice, Toscanna, Sicily...which many Greek descendants happen to be there. Many Ancient Greek architecture and temples are present. It is said that Sicily is the Island of the cyclops... Im a car guy...HELLO...FERRARI headquarters. HELLO...the Stelvio Pass. I played video games...HELLO, the Amalfi coast I want to see London...the one in England, NOT the one in Ontario, Canada. Paris. North of France. The South of France...Oh...the South of France...Anything that is on the Mediterranean I want to see. Spain. Italy, Egypt, Syria Jordan, Palestine, Israel...Yes...the last four countries too. Obviuosly on better economical and peaceful times!!! Hungary, Germany, Poland, Austria, Ireland, Scotland, The Netherlands, Finalnd, Sweden, Denmark. China...all of China, Japan, Australia. THE UNTIED STATES of America....other than Boston and NYC. CALIFORNIA. ALL OF CALIFORNA. NoCal, SoCal. Hollywierd. San Fran. Malibu, Venice...the Santa Monica Pier... see those big redwoods and sequoias...Death Valley...Tijuana Mexico right after I see San Diego!!! The OLD WEST. To see the history of Billy the Kid, the James Gang, the Earps..all those old Western Frontier towns starting in Colorado and head out west...west of the Pacos... But...Greece it will be. Not Maui or the French Polynesian Islands or Jamaica... At least Greece's beaches compare to Maui, the French Polynesian Islands and the Caribbean! Classic Greek movie. Classic Greek song . The song talking about...JAMAICA! How, they would get the little fishing boats ready to go fishing...far far away as far aways as Jamaica. Singing and dancing and drinking their wine with their girl...(more than girlfriend but not quite wife yet, but one day.)

Weight, yes, but also capabilities. I'm not against increasing the capabilities of the 150/1500 series trucks, however there is no lower alternative for those who do not need such capacity... the mall runners... etc. A trimmer F150 / Sierra 1000 would be fine for a lot of these McMansion garage queen trucks. Heck, still load them up with the Lincoln level goodies, but they don't need the frame capacity to tow 10,000 lbs. The mid-size trucks are still too small for those who purchase the full sizers. I'm exactly in that demographic. I want a truck capable of putting a motorcycle in the back, but I don't need huge towing capacity. At the same time, I need a real back seat that can be used for long distance travel, the Colorado/Ranger/Taco can't really offer that. The F150 is overkill.

Any further personal attacks will result in warning points being handed out.

Yes. Yes. This is my little red Corvette. I used to race it all the time at the...races. Took it to France one year. I registered it at that 24 hour one. I raced it for...24 hours. Yup, I won...gold. I just traded it for the new Vette. The ZX-1. You know. The new new one. The top of the line fast one. I am planning to race cross country with it. You know, the race that a certain Burt Reynold's raced with a...Trans Am and won.... Yeah! Im one cool cookie!

I like this one!!

I work from other people's homes. Was in this one today, just went onto the market, $1.6M :

I've been doing it full time since moving back here last year. For my type of work, it works. I have a fast internet connection. And a 2-3 hr time difference w most of my colleagues. One to two conference calls a day, an occasional WebEx. Most of my career, I've been in a cubicle or open office plan. I've found that I work very well alone, more focused. Instead of business casual, I'm pretty casual. Sweats and a hoodie usually.

They also do some trick things these days with active grill shudders, super low air dams, tiny spoilers(look at the shapes of the tailgates) to get air off of the vehicle more smoothly.

The story for creating Scion IIRC was to have a brand to appeal to 20-somethings...the young buyers weren't really going for Toyotas in the early oughts.