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The final styling test model for the newest Chevy Blazer.

Have you ever wondered by all the Bi-turbo V6 engines are always less impressive than you expect? Specific Output always seem to be worse compared to 4-cylinder counterparts. Maximum Torque seems to always arrive later and the engine always seem a tad lethargic. In short, they always seem to SUCK relative to the 4-cylinder turbo engines the same manufacturer puts out. They really SUCK compared to Inline-6 legends like the Nissan RB26 or the contemporary BMW N55. For example:- GM made a 2.0T (LTG) with 272 hp @ 5,500 rpm with 260 lb-ft at 1,700 rpm. That is 136 hp/liter and 130 lb–ft per liter. This same engine is later tuned to permit more mid-range boost with torque rising to 295 lb-ft @ 3,000 rpm (147.5 lb-ft/liter). This engine operates on 18 to 22 psi of boost and is able to get to full torque at 1,700 rpm or 3,000 rpm. At the same time, GM made the 3.6 Turbo (LF3) with 420 hp @ 5,750 rpm with 430 lb-ft @ 3,500 rpm. That is 116.7 hp/liter and 119.4 lb-ft per liter. This engine operates on a paltry 12 psi of boost but can’t seem to get to full torque until 3,500 rpm. Throwing really fancy and expensive stuff like Titanium Connecting rods and turbine wheels at the engine helps a bit. But, even the uprated 3.6TT (LF4) still took 3,500 rpm to reach 18 psi. A boost level the ubiquitous Malibu engine has no problem hitting at 1,700 rpm. Why? REASON The reason is very simple. And, it is not something you can conquer with expensive turbos or fancy materials. Just look at the diagrams below... In a 4-stroke engine, the exhaust valve opens once every two rotations of the crank for about half a rotation of the crank. In a 3-cylinder engine, or any bank of 3-cylinders, exhaust flow to the turbo is interrupted for significant periods with the exhaust valves closed on ALL cylinders. A V6 Bi-turbo engine is essentially two Inline-3s with each turbo is feeding off one bank of 3-cylinders. In an Inline-4, one exhaust period is always beginning while another is ending. Hence, while exhaust flow diminishes, it never really falls flat completely. In an Inline-6 the periods overlap generously ensuring a continuous exhaust flow to the turbine that does not diminish appreciably throughout the entire cycle of the engine. SOLUTION The solution is to use ONE Turbo for both banks of cylinders in an V6. But that is problematic. You either have to route the exhaust from one side to another -- which is both a packaging nightmare, a source of leaks and a measure which causes it to lose a lot of energy (heat) getting to the turbo. Or, you can use a Hot Vee design with the exhaust exiting in the valley of the Vee. A Hot Vee is problematic in the V6 because most of them are 60 degree engines which has little to no room in the Vee for a turbocharger. In addition, a single large turbo will stick through the hood in a Hot Vee. Hence, a Hot Vee is seldom used. When it is used, it is employed in a 90 degree V6 with two turbos -- which defeats still results in interrupted flow to the turbines. Hence, V6es continues to suck in turbocharged applications -- then, now and (probably) into the future!

Nancy Hubbel abovementioned PR for Toyota and white house press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders seem to have equally desirable jobs given much of Toyota's hideous product lineup. That the car in question looks like it was dropped on its face by its mother or the sales drop?

Visually better yes...but especially the GMC still look fine. Your GM hate is more pathetic than my Ford hate...and that is both sad and impressive at the same time.

Probably $100k w/ a 50 mile range, and weighing 7500lbs w/ 2000 lb towing capacity..

I'm talking more about the attempts to replace V8s with Turbo V6es of a lower displacement. The Cadillac 3.0T and Lincoln 3.0T are both nice enough engines, but they're no V8. I'd much rather have a 6.2 V8

We will just completely sidestep the fact that one of those “rotting vines”, the Tacoma, is still the best selling mid-size truck by a mile and was just redesigned a few years ago (the 4Runner also continues sell like hot cakes despite the rise of CUVs). It’s sales numbers NEVER wavered but yet SMK can’t apply his G-Wagon “logic” to Toyota. Fanboy logic 101.

Why anyone would choose a Frontier over a Tacoma or the GM twins is beyond me.

Done

Mercedes has evolutionary styling, nothing wrong with that. Nothing is the same between the 90s and current model, but certain styling cues are still present. I like evolutionary styling...Audi, BMW, MB and Porsche usually do it quite well..

dude... spinach... you're welcome

Did you put a bag on its hood while you were driving it? ('cause its sooooo ugly) But then again, all black like that and it becomes a 'butterface'...

Does a handkerchief come standard in the glovebox with these trucks? A roll of paper towels, at least? Because this truck is gonna drool more than a St. Bernard if it insists on angrily gritting its teeth like that.

It is an issue they pay a price to deal with. A price in smaller cabins. A price in a heavier engine. A price in a heavier car with unnecessarily long wheelbases. As far as the M256, that is an S-Class only engine for now and not even on US bound S-Classes. Looking at the C-Class engine bay it may take a platform change to fit it in the C-Class. Well, the C8 has a big displacement, Naturally Aspirated, Pushrod V8 for you with 500 hp (give or take)! And, it is probably the cheapest engine on offer. Expect at least 17/30 mpg (already achieved on the LT1 with AFM on) from it which is no worse than anything else making 500 hp either.

Yes, and a supercharger has (practically) zero lag too. But that is not the point of this thread. The point is that a V6 bi-turbo is architecturally inferior to other turbocharged arrangements. Displacement or not, you'll have the same problems turbocharging a 4.7L V6 as you'll have a 1.8L V6.

Nissan didn't suffer a sales hit either... the customers came from other non-truck vehicles. Nissan still sells the Frontier without incentives and keeps up a pretty good pace.

YEAH! GM WAS SO GOOD WITH ELECTRIC CARS, THEY REALLY ......... (wait for it) CRUSHED IT!!!!!!!!!!

There is still no replacement for displacement. A naturally aspirated V8 with variable displacement can "switch on" its off cylinders substantially faster than any normal turbo can spool up.

Depends on the vehicle..in a low roofed car, I have to sit low so my head isn't touching the headliner. In an SUV, I like to sit up moderately high. In pretty much any vehicle, I like to be high enough to look through the top 1/3rd of the windshield. I generally like the seat bottom fairly flat (not tilted) and the backrest slightly tilted.

LOL... I think you'll "like" the Lexus RX350L Hybrid 3rd Row. The top of the seat cushion is about 4 inches from the floor (which is higher than the regular RX350L due to the battery). You seat with your legs up like an "A".

The I6 is very long and undesirable for that reason. A compromise is the VR6. Remember that? The staggered bore 12 or 15 degree V6? That keeps all the exhaust on one side too. Intake and exhaust port geometry, as well as the slant top pistons are sub-optimal, but not significantly so.

Yup, The current CEO seems to think all electric, which I am very excited about especially now that they are looking to electrify the GMC Sierra!

I want my K5 Blazer in Deep Forest Metallic Green, with BF Goodrich A/T tires please along with detroit lockers front and rear and a 65 to 1 crawl ratio like the Hummers had. Sales numbers would indicate that while the Taco faithful have stuck to them every other brand suffered and lost sales to the GM Twins.

Random association can be a weird thing. With snow throwers or snow blowers, I reflexively think of one of the best 007 flicks in the series - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (OHMSS) ... and this scene, courtesy of YouTube. (rated PG +, yikes) Possibly the best movie in the James Bond collection. Might have had the best musical score - the cuts without lyrics, that is. High school and college friends and I used to recite many of the great one liners. Their lack of political correctness was pretty damn funny. MOVING ON, Sunday is National Chocolate Cake Day. Plan accordingly.

Sounds like you've got a couple of kids you're proud of. That's quite an accomplishment.

Good. Let the market decide if EV pickups are worth it. Gotta love the competition.

My biggest complaint on the MDX is that the seat cushion DOES NOT go down low enough. I have no desire for a high hip point, to seat higher or to look over other cars (or the steering wheel) more. I do very much prefer to seat closer to the floor board for two reasons -- I like head room and I like feet in front of me not at 90 degrees. Hey, I like couches I don;t like bar stools! This is why I don't buy SUVs (the MDX is Wifey's car) and why I always lower the seat as much as I can when riding in an SUV (or any car for that matter).

Again, I’m not debating that. I did some part time work last year at a Chevy dealership and got a lot of time behind the wheel of several Colorado’s. They ride nice, sit comfortably, and have some nice engine options (for once) but it is hard to put a chink in the armor of the Tacoma because even if the Colorado is better, it’s not like the Tacoma is totally slacking off. Tacoma owners are a loyal bunch as well and their word of mouth has helped keep the Tacoma ahead in sales for years. I’m convinced of that fact.

Well, good for you. But, that is like saying none of the math on car values matter if you hit the jackpot on the Powerball Lottery. Well... yeah.... of course not! The GMT900 Escalade has more "gimmicks" like the fake side vent and the Suburbanite interior though. The K2 cars are nicer inside and out. But the K2 is a big missed opportunity for The General in that they could have gone Aluminum like Ford did, but they didn't. Consequently the K2 is not any lighter than the GMT900. The Escalade is also at a price point where it can easily absorb the LT4 V8, but they didn't do that either. This resulted in an Escalade that is neither fast nor miserly on fuel. Being AVERAGE is how you get beat up on when you are the flagship bling car.

For me this will never be something I would use as most people do not take care of an auto the way I do. Most people treat an auto like a disposable consumable and so why would I want to share an auto and pay on something that the other person would just possibly trash. Nope, not for me and never will be. Want proof of how bad it is look at how rental auto's are treated and trashed.

True but the Colorado seems like it's better by a larger margin and AMERICAN company selling trucks. I just expected the twins to have more of a negative sales effect on the Taco. As a Taco fan, I'm glad a better truck came out as competition.

This is my exact reason for hating, while admiring Toyota. That split goes about 9-% hate, and 10% admiration if U need numbers. They pull this BS off all the time.. no flack.. no long degrading articles.. Corolla is an example. They take a vehicle and milk the sob for 5, 10, 15 years and get to tweak imperfections in reliability all the way thru.. while GM has to change their vehicles every 5 years and have new tech be vetted til its perfect, then start new again on new tech.. repeat. This is hands down, along with the GWagon and Nissan/Infiniti Quasimodo looking mofos, SUVs I wouldn't buy with your money. They are ugly, old, and have little that I find desirable. The off road thing is nominal for most, as I have not once found a person who takes a brand new $85K+ SUV out on a rock climb. It just doesn't happen. And if the badges are pretty much where the "Heritage" ends then I've truly lost faith in the Yuppies of the world. Hey Chevy. PLEASE GO TAKE A TAHOE Z71, MAKE IT A TWO DOOR, WITH A DROP DOWN TAIL, POP UP GLASS, GIVE IT A COMPLETE RUBBERIZED FLOOR, RAISE IT 3 INCHES, GIVE IT ALL TERRAINS ON A 15-16 INCH WHEEL, WITH A SPARE BEHIND THE SEATS.. AND CALL IT THE BLAZER K5 HERITAGE EDITION AND USE THESE EMBLEMS.. PITTED AND EVERYTHING WITH A HINT OF RUST

Could everything around here not devolve into the S class...God....we could be talking about the breeding habits of the rats living in the decaying shell of the Packard plant in Detroit and it would go to a pissing match about the S class. Granted small furry animals Fornicating is probably more interesting than the actual S class. All of the current full-size domestics look great. Tundra looks like the abovementioned animal amorous activity though.

Yet what Toyota has been left to ROT on the vine as you say like the G-Wagon was. Rotting from 1972 inception till 2018. Yes according to MB they did updates and tweaks, but the core of the auto was the same for 46 years. Yes if you go by Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_G-Class) you will say it was new due to a revised chassis so 1990 to 2018 was a new model compared to 1972 to 1989. So if we go that route you have 17 years before any major changes to the core and then 28 years. Toyota has not left anything that long on the same platform.

SIlverado looks great. The 'blinders' regarding the Ram is every road test/review I've seen has been of the $60K+ Limited (which I'll not argue- is very pretty). The base Ram trucks do not appear any better on the interior than the base Silverado, and the lower trims for both lines are going to be the bulk of sales.

Actually, yes it does! It does no tmatter how long you keep the car. It applies to you the first 3 years you had the car. Yes, you have lower annual depreciation costs from year 4 to year 10. But you will always average out worse than the guy who only foot year 4 to year 10 depreciation. Let's do the math... Buy a $70K car new, keep for 10 years and sell it for $10K. You lose $60K total, burning a average of $6K a year. Buy a $70k car used at $40K, keep it for 7 years and sell it for $10K. You lose $30K at an average rate of $4.3K a year. You are spending 39.5% more money on an annual basis. And, these numbers are about right for an Acura which retains 57% of value over 3 years. It gets worse if you buy a car that depreciates more.

The Yaris Sedan is built by Mazda anyway and is sold as the Mazda 2 in other locations.

Take it easy there old timer. My wife too, has high blood pressure. Its been about 5 months she's been taking pills. Doctors think its hereditary. She thinks its me.

I’m guessing, by your Toyota logic, that Mercedes was also strapped for cash (and similarly pathetic)...for four decades? I see some things haven’t changed around here. Fanboys will always be fanboys, even when logic is completely thrown out the window.

Says the fan of the recently updated, after four decades, G-Wagon. Even if money were no object, I’d still take a Land Cruiser over any G-Wagon. Even if their looks are a little dated, they are still built like tanks and will literally run forever with normal maintenance. I see someone beat me to the punch lol.

It was until 2019* when it was brand new.

The LC is probably way more reliable and cheaper to maintain in the long run... Probably just means production started in 2007 for the 2008 model year...

Personally, I would take this Land Cruiser in a heartbeat over the G-class (which starts at about $125k)

4.7L V8: 278hp, 5spd auto trans 5.7L V8: 381hp, 8spd auto trans Just kidding.. the 5.7 was introduced in 2008(making 381hp). Looking further into it, it appears this is basically the same from 2008 to now. Wiki says 2007-present but maybe that was global and in 2008 it was new here. The biggest mechanical difference is in 2008 it had a 6spd auto and now it has an 8spd auto.

Pinto Sold for eighteen gran d at Barret Jackson... https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1974-FORD-PINTO-HATCHBACK-224920

what's really pathetic is that with the head start on the market that GM had, after all this time, they could have truly wiped everyone else's ass off the floor by now and owned the market. Side note, how cool would it be for GM to re release the EV1 with modern electric powertrain?

Wow they are really getting the last drops of milk out of this old cow.

I usually walk about 5 or 6 miles a day. 100 is a good number for living or driving fast. With luck...I can drive 100 when I am 100.

I learned that I need to value each day uniquely....you only have so many. time flies...I am 53...will turn 54 in September.