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@USA-1 Great link ... with a lot of history. As good as GM V-6s are today, I did get to experience the odd-firing (Buick) variant back in the day ... and it was not pretty. I'm sure the basic engine structure would go for the long haul but the timing chains would not. I wonder how many of those V-6s of 1975-1977 vintage are still on the road today, even if with ridiculously low mileage. I always look at the badging of the vehicle if I see one of these on the road. The link lauds the Chevrolet in-line 6. Our family had one. I don't know what the moniker (not stovepipe, Fireball, Vortec) was for the 250 c.i., 1 bbl., L6 that was around in the '70s. My dad had this engine in a base LeMans. The sound was different than that of a GM V-8, that's for sure. However, it seemed to be every bit as smooth and dynamically balanced. My dad preferred Olds and Buick; however, this basic Pontiac was the most reliable car he had ever owned. And, isn't it nirvana to look at an old inline 6 and be able to touch every spark plug ... with nothing in the way?

They spend a billion on that platform, they're not going to just throw it away when Georgio, and the LX, and the Maseratis are the only RWD car platforms in all of PSA and FCA combined. I think they'll spread Georgio around as much as they can to recup their costs on it.

Keep in mind that none of Peugeot's, Citroen's, and Opel's current models, except for the Regal, are legal for sale in the US. They can't just rebadge them and sell them here. They don't meet US regs. PSA will have a bunch of work to do on their next refreshes to get them legal enough to rebadge for the states. I would expect that FCA's current plans for the next 2 - 3 years will remain completely unchanged with the possible exception that Fiat brand possibly exits North America. That means, the next Charger would still be on Guilia platform.

Those are all important, but cabin tech is something you deal with every time you get in a vehicle.. if it's dated, a bad design or works poorly that would be a source of constant irritation.

Infiniti's infotainment system has been among the worst for years now. It wasn't even good when it was new. Any improvements are welcome. Cadillac has the best pairing system at the moment. Just hold your phone up to a certain spot on the Infotainment system and it will pair automagically. This is on the XT6, CT4, and CT5. No, but the infotainment system being frustrating to use is one of the things that struck the Q50 from my list. They depreciate like a rock, so they were on my radar for low-mileage used options.

I had this out on about 50 miles of highway driving last night, and I will say it feels a lot more nimble than your typical small crossover. @ocnblu I don't hear the sound you're talking about at cold start.

Why electric muscle? The Dark Side of the Force!!!

Alfa Romeo still has some crossover rollouts coming, however a recent peak at the quarterly earning statement gave a clue as to what else is happening at the brand, and the truth is, it isn't much. During the earnings call this week, CEO Mike Manley said that Alfa's "future product lineup has been significantly scaled back with a corresponding reduction in capital spend." Alfa currently has two products on the market in North America, the Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover. Those will both be getting a refresh for the 2021 model year. That same year, a new C-segment crossover will make an appearance. This model, previewed by the Tonale concept car, will ride on the same platform as the Fiat 500x and Jeep Renegade. It should eventually be offered as a plug-in hybrid as well. After that, a B-segment crossover should appear as well. Once the crossovers are on the road though, there isn't much left. The expected return of the GTV and 8C Competizione don't appear anywhere in the plans. View full article

The French made the Italians scrap the mid-engined Alfa Romeo 8C in order for this merger to happen is how I understand this whole thing. Knowing that the French always loved the Dodge Viper, here is hoping that the Americans and the French will come to together again like with the |Revolutionary wars and give us a mid-engined Dodge Viper instead!

USB key or Acura radio memory equals music for the traveling or the trusting AM dial listening to sports talk radio equals decent commute for me. I wish T-Tops was still an option for cars. *SIGH*

Thanks, although the article is wrong about GM V8's all being assembled in Mexico. The GM Tonawanda powertrain plant in NY has been assembling the V8's for some time and they have the contract for the 2019 5.3L and 6.2L engines. It's a pretty high tech. plant too. ???? http://gmauthority.com/blog/2018/05/2019-silverado-v8-engines-gm-selects-tonawanda-plant-to-produce-5-3l-and-6-2l-mills/

Oh I know what Several solid wet drops of rain are, I grew up in the PNW in rural Oregon in the Willamette Valley. The Oregon Coast has drizzle inland in the Valley it's solid drops of rain. I also worked for two different companies based out of Seattle is why I was jerking your chain ?

Blah....a Charger on FWD/transverse platform would make no sense. The 208 is just a FWD/transverse engine generic. At least the Guilia platform is a proper RWD platform. The 208 is a good Golf competitor, but would it sell here? In this CUV/SUV/truck dominated market?

That would be a disaster..given the LX platform models are the only thing Dodge has going, I'd assume they will survive and evolve. Without the Charger and Challenger there is no Dodge. The Durango will probably be replaced by the 3 row next-gen Grand Cherokee, the Journey could be replaced by something derived from the next Cherokee.. I'm not sure if Dodge needs CUVs/SUVs since Jeep has plenty. For Chrysler, I don't see the Voyager/Pacifica going anywhere, not sure about the 300.. It will be interesting to see if we see Peugeot/Citroen/DS dealers eventually if this goes through, or if those brands get integrated into the existing FCA JRCD dealers. Though I can't see PSA-branded FWD midsize sedans or compact hatchbacks doing well in the US, given the CUV-dominant market we have now...

sucks to be the 13 people who bought the 2019 models

Dart was an economy sedan. They're all forgettable. 200 was actually a pretty good car, positioned incorrectly by Chrysler to try and cover too many bases. It should have been lined up directly with Regal instead of trying to compete with CamCord.

Will anyone really miss FIAT and Alfa Romeo? Hell no to FIAT and not really to Alfa Romeo. Will anyone miss Chrysler and Dodge? That is unknown. Rebadging Peugeot as a Chrysler or Dodge might work IF they replace the 200/Avenger or the smaller cars. The 300/Charger/Challenger would be a much harder sell to convert (and should not be rebadged Peugeot cars anyway). Jeep and RAM will be fine and ultimately left alone since that is where the CASH FLOW really is.

We don't have and recent evidence of that either way.

fiat is dead; a vegetable. Sold 900 vehicles in Dec '18 (U.S.). Alfa sold 1900 the same month. Chrysler sold 12,425 and Dodge sold 32,xxx. Bury the dying and invest in the living.

Ill tackle it again on a different angle... Since the Empire's army (and the First Order for that matter)is quasi-based on Nazi German soldiers and the like...and ummm...the mustachioed dude rode in a Mercedes and along the lines of Vader shuttling himself in a shuttle from place to place... I present to you...Vader's shuttle bus:

This is STILL a great-looking car [I just can't get past the 80s interior].

Welcome back @oldshurst442

If memory serves me correct, I think a car mag along the lines of Car and Driver or Motor Trend ran an article saying exactly that about a certain sinister G-Body from Buick. The best I could do is this pic, but I swear I remember the GNX being called Vader's ride before the Impala. I could be wrong though and selective memory is kicking in. I remember that Impala commercial too though...

Better bundle up for the freezing Pacific North"Wet" Fall and Winter weather. ? Drizzle?! Is that what you guys call steady rain now just to feel better about it? ?

The seats are actually a very dark brown, but you're right, it is rather dark in there. I don't mind an all black interior. The dash is a very stiff rubberized product on the top, and softer materials on the face of the dash. I will say the seats are pretty comfortable and I found a good position really quick. Plenty of legroom in the driver seat, I can't touch the firewall with my feet when the seat is adjusted for me. I'll go over the interior a bit more when it's not raining buckets here... probably over the weekend.

Yep, Robert is correct he gets a gold star for the day ? ??? https://www.enginelabs.com/news/mighty-chevrolet-stovebolt-six/ Some guy on a Velocity car series show (MT TV now) was trying to say it was actual stove bolts used to fasten the heads. Technically they'd have the chemistry in the steel to fight a high heat environment and that type of hardware was probably hard to come by for early auto manufacturing so you never know, the first ones in 1929 might have been!

Without googling it, I believe it dates to the 1930s...something to do with the head bolts on the engine resembling bolts on old stoves..a distinctive design..

Rental car companies use invalid size categorizations.

The 300 is a full size. The wheelbase is only a couple inches shorter than the CT6. It just has shorter overhangs. In fact, the wheelbase is about 9 inches longer than the full size Impala. The weight is fine.

The 8-speed is substantially better. If you haven't driven one since 2009, that's probably why you feel the way you do about it. A 2019 300S is a great car.

That's just it.... a new car built on an older car platform is still a new car... it doesn't need to be all new just for the sake of being new. The LX platform already can do things like lane monitoring and automatic cruise control... what else should it have that it doesn't have now? It gets competitive fuel economy, has competitive horsepower, they just need an interior refresh and they'd be good. They're my favorite long distance cruiser when I'm renting a car.

All it needs is a visual and interior refresh and it would be fine to run another 4 or 5 years. The powertrain and performance are plenty competitive.

The LX platform is not an old E-class platform. They used the rear suspension, the transmission, and some of the switch gear from the E-Class and that was it, and that was only in the first generation. By the time the second generation rolled around, there was no Benz left except for the 5-speed automatic in the V8 models.

And what are fiat & alfa doing??

FCA needs to discontinue Chrysler model vehicles already, they're just hogging capital and plant space.

There apparently is a new Charger on the books based on the Guilia platform. But if it survives is another question. They should still make a premium version of it and call it 300... but they won't.