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just another probable point that the EPA cycle doesn't do a good job of showing real world gas use. and another that any company can claim the cycles aren't representative.

Talk is cheap-show me the results.....

Unfortunately for GM people do look at the label. And when ever people say "we beat the label" well maybe Ford or Ram beats their label too.

“I can’t believe we’re going to make it” This thought passed through my head as I brought the vehicle to a stop on an off-ramp. Somehow, I was able to travel from my house in the outskirts of Metro Detroit to my hometown of Midland, Michigan on just a quarter-tank of gas. That may not seem like a huge accomplishment except when you look at the vehicle I was driving, the 707 horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Originally, I wasn’t planning on traveling to Midland in the Trackhawk. Earlier in the week, I had driven it down to an event in Ann Arbor to drive a couple of Mitsubishi vehicles. The trip revealed the thirst of the supercharged 6.2L V8 by using up a third of the gas tank. My plan for the rest of the time would be running errands and some small trips to get a feel of the vehicle. Over the weekend, I would get some work done and take photos. But that would be thrown out the window when my brother brought up the idea of heading to the Northwood Auto Show in Midland. The Northwood show takes place on the grounds of Northwood University. It is a unique auto show as the students of the school run all of the aspects of the show ranging from the planning to being the product specialists for each brand. This is part of their automotive and aftermarket degree programs. When I lived in Midland, the show was something I looked forward to every year as I would get the chance to sit in various new vehicles. Also, I would come home with a big bag of brochures that I would be reading throughout the year, letting all of the information seep into my brain. This may explain why I became so crazy about vehicles. It had been a few years since I last attended the show due to various factors such as not knowing when it would be put on. But I was surprised that it would be taking place around the same time I would have the Trackhawk. At first, I was hesitant to go. But then, my brother said the magic words, “I would be willing to pay for gas. I want to go for a ride in the Trackhawk.” Once those words came out of his mouth, I had decided that it would be a good idea to go to Northwood. But something else crept into my head. Would it be possible to travel to the show on a limited amount of gas? I decided to put it to the test. Saturday morning, my brother and I got into the Trackhawk to head towards Midland. Starting up the vehicle, the supercharged V8 thundered to life and the gas gauge rose to just a hair over a quarter of a tank. My plan was to put the vehicle into Eco mode and use the radar cruise control to travel at a steady speed of 75 mph. The instant fuel economy screen would be up in the instrument cluster to let me monitor and make adjustments as needed. I would stop for gas when the distance to empty notification reached 15 miles or under. As I began to pull away from the house, my brother noticed that the vehicle was in Eco mode. “I think its more of a suggestion than an actual mode,” I said when he brought it up. To demonstrate what I meant, I pushed the throttle to almost the floor on an on-ramp. The V8 engine roared into life with the supercharged screeching. Even in Eco, it is quite shocking how fast this brick picks up speed. “I get what you mean by this being a suggestion,” my brother said to me as we merged onto I-75. The trip from my house to Northwood is about 90 miles. The trip computer told me that I would be out of gas in 90 miles. Cue “Challenge Accepted” picture. The first 15 to 20 miles of the trip was a bit nerve-racking. Watching the instant fuel economy fluctuate between 10 to 15 as the vehicle would slow down and accelerate as other vehicles came into its path. I began to worry about my goal of reaching Midland was all for naught. But as we traveled further on I-75, my confidence began to grow. The engine settled down and cruise at just a hair above 2,000 rpms. The fuel gauge was steadily going down, but my average fuel economy was rising. It wasn’t till we passed the small town of Auburn, that car flashed its low fuel light. The vehicle said it had 30 miles till it reached empty. I knew that Midland was only ten or so miles away and decided to push it. The gauge continued to fall as did the distance to empty. I held my breath until we got onto the off-ramp. Just a few hundred feet away was a gas station. We had done it with just 20 miles to spare. According to the car, I had an average of 15.1 mpg for the trip. I know there will be someone who will be saying: “Why did you this? Aren’t you missing the point of this vehicle?!” No, I know the point of the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is to go stupid fast. Defy the laws of physics. But that is what every review (including mine that will be coming in the near future) goes on about. I wanted to do something a bit different and look at it from a different angle. I think my brother said it best about this whole experience as I got back into the car after getting some gas, “I wasn’t expecting that to happen.” View full article

I've never really understood the issue with that.. Even non-boosted cars, if you're putting your foot into it you get bad fuel economy.

Will be interesting to see how many people actually spend time in their booth. I honestly think this will backfire on them for driving interest in their products especially for the cost of the booth space.

It will be interesting to see how this engine option is accepted by the market. Still seems like a radical idea to have a 4cyl in a full size truck..

It's just weird they would actually come out and say this.

Hello from wine country all! Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. Gotta say I love the latest ads from Korea Cadillac on instagram.

They probably should dump Fiat. Even in the 2nd world countries, I imagine VW, Skoda, Seat, Nissan/Renault or Toyota do way better and Fiat probably doesn't even do well in counties that crave cheap small cars. I don't really see the need for Maserati either. As a high dollar car it should have good margins, but it doesn't because they can't sell enough and you still have some amount of fixed costs to cover. Really you could transform the Ghibli into a mid/large Alfa Romeo sedan then Alfa has 2 sedans, give them another SUV and they have 2, give them an 8C $100k sports car as a halo product and that makes Maserati pointless. Jaguar to some degree is in the same situation. Just because Jaguar and Maserati are storied brands, doesn't mean they are relevant today. Blockbuster Video and Sears were successful, segment leading brands are one point, irrelevant today. I don't see any path in which FCA competes with the German luxury car brands. They are too good at what they do and too far ahead.

Unfortunately, GM is competitive with the other brands as opposed to class-leading in the fuel efficiency department. There are two ways to fix this: either cut weight (at least 700-1000 lbs.) or improve engine MPG. Maybe that turbo 4cyl needs to be tuned better; alternatively maybe the 4.3 V6 was not as bad as rumored.

Hm, where to get the money for better product? May I suggest ending FIAT and funneling that cash towards upgrading Maserati? Makes a lot more sense than wasting a dime on FIAT.

Their problems are 100% product and not any pairing with Alfa Romeo. Maserati cars have poor build quality, low rent interior plastics and their whole deal is supposed to be performance, and any of the Germans will sell a better performing car and at less money. Case in point, Levante Trofeo is $170,000 base and the GLE63 which is dated itself is just as fast at about $125,000. Or get a Cayenne Turbo or the new X5 M. The most powerful Ghibli has 424 hp, you can get more than that in an E53, and the top Quattroporte has 523 hp, you get 630 in the AMG GT 4-door and the AMG GT is your Nurburgring lap record holder for a 4 door car. Maserati is just a disaster, only way to fix it is better product, and clearly they don't have the money or resources or engineering know-how to do it.

Yes, kind of pricey..that's in the upper Outback price range. I wouldn't buy one of these over an Outback at the price.

I have to say $36k is way too much for this. Regular Crosstrek gets 29mpg combined and hybrid is 35mpg with almost $10k premium price.

edit, it forced me into the Platinum because I wanted the light color interior. The sport is either Auburn or black inside.

I can't wait. I will be glad when all automakers have two platforms: one BOF and one unibody. That would solve a whole lot of problems and radically reduce costs.

A million up votes. And it would seem that you can be a financial genious if you lie about the numbers.

You could say he is "Ghosn with the wind". I'll show myself out.

An AWD option in the Toyotas to help put down the power would be nice, but not happening any time soon, maybe after the ES gets it.

Personal use of company assets, imagine if everyone who did that was charged with a crime ;).

So it sounds like 'Le Cost Cutter' is actually 'Le Tax Dodger'.

Performance is more than straight line. In my experience, the V6 versions of both of these cars have trouble keeping traction as it is under full throttle from stop.

Im a lot less picky these days lol, if i were not kinda old, very married with children i would be happy to spend time with just about any girl in this dance class in SK but since i like petite and cute May J Lee in the adidas halter would be my first choice.

Interesting..way more flashy than previous Toyota sedans. Maybe they can come up with a slogan like 'we build excitement!'.

For years & years (as an 'auto youth') I thought the LeSabre was full-size, until I saw a pic of people standing next to it. Even pics with Harley Earl, who was 6'4", still made it look full size to my eye. Wheelbase: 115", overall: 201" EDIT :: I know, I know; to all you guys that IS "full-size". Nay-nay, I say. 115" is decent (but on the light side), but 201 is short in my book. My B-59 is 217", and I'd prefer it was the Electra coupe (221").

Oh, it will make you scream alright......? Rear of the car is nice though......

Like, when I get in a customer's conventional car now, I am like whoa dude, am I getting ol' or is this thing a PITA to get in and out of?

I think it looks good in this trim guise. And it has the big block, so it should SCREAM.

CUV's are popular because people don't have to bend down so far to get in and out of them. And people will pay stupid cash extra because of this.

Hummers are fantastic

I wonder how crossover resale value will be in a couple years when used car lots are flooded with them and Ford and FCA have quit on sedans. There is also a consumer falacy that an SUV is more rugged and longer lasted than a car is, when a Fusion/Edge or Camry/Highlander are basically the same chassis and power trains coming out of the same factories.

Currently advertised in Hemmings. Asking price : $65,000.

It’s not surprising to see Wranglers and GCs less than five years old still sold close to new... All of this long lasting stuff means nothing to me, as the bottom line is that it still comes down to the care taken for a vehicle. When I got my Cobalt an oil change last weekend, there was yet another lease turn in Cruze that had not seen an oil change in over 20k......