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The I6 should make a comeback, and not just at FCA. GM and Ford need to do the same. Turbo 4cyl are overrated.

Whoops! @ccap41 This might be your answer.

"old car cheap that looked like this" - good luck with that!!

Me! Me! I have a good home! I have a very relaxed dress code where I work. It's all the other painful bueracrazy that I'm finding I can no longer handle.

A lot. Battery costs have already come down significantly.

Do you think the Grand Cherokee or Durango or Wrangler have a risk of going out of production in that amount of time? I could see a Turbo-4 being added to the first two, but not a removal of the V6 in the next three model years. Hell, they're still running the Hemi V8 there. Also remember the Pentastar is available in a 3.2 version in the Cherokee. This I could see dying and going to 2.0T only... or just getting upgraded to the 3.6 the Pacifica has. Ram still uses the Pentastar as a base engine. Also... will the Journey ever die? It's another one with the 3.6. The long and short of it is that the Pentastar is still a pretty efficient V6 today. I also think Wrangler buyers and Dakota buyers will be particularly resistant to a Turbo-4 as the only option. Keep in mind there is talk of the Pentastar getting a twin-turbo version to replace the Hemi in some applications.

Yeah, even when I was at Wells Fargo I didn't have to wear a tie... and they really were locked down and IT was in it's own buildings separate from everyone else..

@ocnblu @ccap41 @Cubical-aka-Moltar Seems it was a real concept project to build a Hellcat Pacifica. https://www.topspeed.com/cars/chrysler/2017-chrysler-pacifica-hellcat-ar172693.html

I would think using the Turbo 4 banger from say the Wrangler so 300HP with Electric assist hybrid powertrain would give it a nice Pacifica RT package.

spontaneous side thought, when is the next Hyundai Vercruz hitting the market? Cx9 to me has been a laggy little bitch. At least when i test drove it couple times when the turbo 4 first came out. Plus its intrusive console, a no go. Again, Mazda getting too much love from whomever is writing about it IMO. Sometimes I wish Mazda would just go away (toyota too). CX9 is compromised in function too. Unless its the DINK scenario like you mentioned earlier. I liked the Atlas, but that was the 6, and the Atlas 6 is a gas hog. And while not turbo / lag, it's slow for a v6. I should try the turbo 4. In the end why even waste the time. Skip em both and just go get a friggin Enclave and be done with it. Or a Traverse. They are both really good!

Clothing- a necessary evil.

Well, I have the cabin in the woods on 150 acres 90 miles from here... but I would need to remove it's current resident. I don't think I will ever live there again, though..too far from civilization...likely can't get high speed internet, no Starbucks within 25 miles, no Dunkin Donuts within 50 miles, no DoorDash service...

Anyone ever just want to liquidate everything and go live in a cabin in the woods away from everyone?

As of 2016, 90% of global lithium production was done by just 3 countries. What if they decide to form a consortium ALA OPEC and set global prices? With so many countries going out on a limb and 'setting dates' for 100% EV production, future demand may be more defined than in any other industry/commodity. A governmental mandate can be a pretty weighty fulcrum. Some energy industry analysts have predicted demand to reach 925K tons by 2025, or 5 times the current global production. New facilities aren't coming online fast enough to meet near future demand. Time for investment opportunity research.

fun to play with Opel's configurator. I wish the AGR seats without the stupid track back was available here..... or custom colors

Amazing isn't it? Must be radiation from Japan.

Yes, because as price goes down, demand goes up. I know what you're getting at, but your cause and effect are reversed. Right now there are multiple major companies gearing up to make major increases in the capacity to manufacture batteries. That will not only increase supply, but increase economies of scale, dropping the price. Right now the cost of the batteries is said to be close to one third the price of the Bolt. For argument sake, let's say the Bolt is $36k on average before tax breaks. If GM can drop that price $6k or more due to battery costs dropping, that makes the car much more affordable and potentially demand go up.

Buying brand new is by far the least efficient use of one's transportation dollar.

Used car prices are already rising.

And now the latest rounds of CVTs are going to have artificial steps in them to fool people into thinking they are regular automatics. I wonder if someone who is efficiency minded could go get those steps removed from the program to get ultimate efficiency.

Even the most American Made vehicles will see a price increase. Just the older tariffs on steel and aluminum were going to increase the price of an Avalon by $1700.... that's before the tariffs that just happened this week.

BMW never stopped making I6es... so Mercedes is just following them. Regal, Lacrosse, XTS, XT5, Enclave, Acadia, Impala, Traverse, Fusion, Taurus, Flex, Edge, Explorer, MKX, MKZ, Continental, S90, XC90, CLA AMG45, RLX, MDX, Maxima..... off the top of my head... all have 300+ available horsepower in a FWD chassis..

Sounds like FCA heard Mercedes which heard BMW. Jabroni. It does make sense for all manufacturers to do this as I4's are super common so building an engine family off the most commonly produced engine makes sense. Tell Honda that a FWD chassis can't handle more than 275hp.

again, it's the batteries. Take away the batteries and the powertrain would be cheaper in an EV.

I approve!

Seems really stupid for companies to enforce a mandatory tie policy of fancy clothes for everyone especially when the bulk of the employees never interact with the customer.

What I found funny about my place was is after 17 years in IT (at that time), I'd never had to wear a tie. Maybe a cultural thing about being a Caribbean-based insurance company. I can understand for sales people and execs, but I'm a software consultant in IT working in the bowels of their systems and websites..I don't interact w/ the upper management or sales.

That is exactly how my current position is/was. When I first started it was the tie from Labor Day through Memorial Day except Fridays and then last year they canceled the tie unless we were meeting with people where business attire was required. I loved losing the tie. Perfect, imo.

Also like the Redline package, just sucks that you cannot get it in other colors as a Redline package in Ivy Metallic would be awesome. Weird that they also do not allow the sunroof option though that I could careless about for myself, others in the family like the big panoramic roof.

Yes, FWD minivan w/ Hellcat..great idea. Not. ...though a mild performance trim wouldn't be too crazy, remember the turbo Caravans in the 80s..

Right. Makes so much sense. The Hellcat engine would fit SO WELL... sideways... under a van hood...

I get that, when I was in sales, I was personally dressed at Nordstroms so that I hit everything right in the tech sales. Once I flipped to Engineering, my most casual dress is clean nice jean shorts and Polo shirts, I have a nice selection of Tommy Bahama as they are worth the coin. Last long and look good. I honestly get dressed up once a year now for our big trade show in Vegas and that is it.

I wonder if they will do a Hellcat version of the new Ram.

I have several Tommy Bahama shirts in my summer wardrobe. Working from home, though, I usually wear gray hoodies and t-shirts, sweats or shorts and flip-flops. Everyday more casual than casual Friday... I have a closet full of dress clothes for when I have to go back to an office...

I never got into collar popping, but I did wear Izod and Polo Ralph Lauren from high school into my 30s..

Yuppie. I bet you still pop the collars on your Izod shirts.

No need. GM already has some of the best in electrification out there. just use that instead.

The Beetle is one of my favorite VWs. They are comfortable, they handle great, they're just plain fun to drive.

No need for Cadillac to have a diesel engine vehicle for the first time since the early 80s. A fully electric Cadillac XT5 would be really sweet these days.

Totally makes sense, Diesel is dead in regards to cars and basic personal transportation. I expect diesel to continue on strong in the trucking sector, mass transit for a while as they slowly change over to CNG/LNG and other forms of hybrid use. Hybrid Personal transportation is the future along with EV.

After an all-nighter doing a production deployment for my client (went to bed at 5am EST this morning), at the end of a two 50+hr weeks, I finally had a day to relax. On the freeway this afternoon, saw a primer gray '55 Chevy 2dr sedan w/ a black hood. Went to the casino for a concert tonight, came out and saw a black Ferrari 488 GTB w/ a temporary tag parked out front. But parked in front of it and getting more attention, was a sharp clean white 4th gen Camaro IROC-Z convertible from around '89-90, top down.

Can VW make vehicles looking more dull and generic? It is like they are trying to be as ugly and as generic looking as possible.

I prefer the mini-van based Rendezvous myself.

The Buick Rainier is a much nicer vehicle than the Envision.

Fantastic write-up. The Mazda is an excellent vehicle, but for the mission statement of a large crossover, the Atlas is just a better vehicle all around. I view the CX-9 the same way I view the Infiniti QX70, a sportier crossover best for singles or DINKs.

and safer, and more efficient, and quieter, and more powerful, and cleaner, and more reliable

I was going through old pictures today and found this one of GM's new 9-speed fwd auto.... With my cocktail for size comparison. Look how small it is.