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^ re: barbers—I was a regular Great Clips customer for years, across 3 states. But for the last 2 years, I’ve been DIY with my Wahl clippers, 2-3 times a year. Bzzzt

Once upon a time ago, when I had hair and was a young adult, I too, got my haircuts from a family business that happened to be a bunch of older, crusty but funny Italian guys. Right in the middle of Saint Leonard. On Jean-Talon street. A borough of Montreal on the island. Saint Leonard in the '70s was Montreal's Italian mafia headquarters. Never occurred to me then, that these guys might have clipped some mafiosos back in the day. And yes, I do mean clipped with a double entendre.... But I do miss the hot shaving cream and straight blade when they shaved my neck hairs and that cologne they would dab on me after.

Also, why? It isn't like Mercedes is making everything off-roady because they make the G Wagen or they're making everything track-oriented because there's a GLE Coupe AMG,

Also the EV Blazer better be an off roader we like the 4Runner, Wrangler, Bronco, etc. Maybe not a removable roof, but off road focus, which is what they should have done the last time rather than another front drive 4-cylinder crossover.

Welcome back. Nice write-up and time does fly. Next month C&G will be 15 years old!

I think I found a barber / hair stylist I can stick with. I liked the local Great Clips ... and their periodic coupons. This chick who did a great job was working on her B.S. in Business Logistics remotely from a decent enough state school and, when she graduated, she moved on to get a job in her field. Then, this guy with ink everywhere and who I didn't think I'd gel with, also did a good job and, for me being "the establishment," relatively speaking, he was much more relaxed and well traveled than I thought he might be and I got along with him just fine. I called to find out if he was cutting hair about a month later and was told that he was no longer working there. Fast forward - I stumbled onto a barber shop about 30 minutes away (because I had to do some things in this area) that got good reviews and that's a family business ... crustier but funny Italian guys. They cut my hair for about the same $ as Great Clips (before the coupons) and they did a great job. I think I just have to drive the distance since I don't seem them flaking out like they do at the chain haircutting places.

Who freakin cares? You keep finding ways to take a $h! on it when you’re the only one who seems to care. Again, they have other off road vehicles in the form of the mid-size and full size pick ups. So, based on your “Benz has an off-road SUV” logic, let me ask you this. Which Benz pick up beats those off road?

Meanwhile GM makes and sells several off road pick ups while Benz has ZERO pick ups for being with. And they sell plenty of them. And big whoop! Benz makes one true off road SUV (that 99.999% of their never take off road). It's also a low volume seller but hey, numbers only count when they work in your favor right? BTW, as good as the 4Runner is, it is outsold by every other CUV Toyota makes so not really convincing argument. One last thing. Blazer sales are down for obvious reasons that you should already be aware of. It's the same reason why most sales figures are down. Most CUVs have that but I will agree with SMK, that GM messed up calling it a Blazer (throw in the Trailblazer for good measure). However, they sell plenty of them still.

GM makes the Tahoe and Suburban Z71. That is a pretty strong off road SUV! You can also get the off-road High-Country package on the Traverse in AWD. The Blazer comes with 5 different drive modes, get AWD and you get additional includes Off-road, sand, snow, mud. These are the same by the equal GMC labels also. So how do you say they have zero off road SUV?

I agree with you that it is not weird and quirky, but as @surreal1272 stated boring or for me TOTALLY FORGETABLE! Mercedes seems to be building true appliance autos that one will forget as they do not stand out and that could be the biggest failure of Mercedes BEV strategy. While not a fan of the Toyota Rav4 Hybrid, you do not forget them, and they are easily identifiable. Mercedes has moved into the generic realm so bad that they are totally forgettable as most people will not be able to define them from one another. IMHO

Agreed. It is just boring though.

Speaking aesthetically only, I think the EQB is one of the better looking vehicles on that list. It isn't being weird and quirky just for the sake of being weird and quirky.

It's got an 8-foot bed just like my Avalanche does. put the rear seats down and open the mid-gate. I'm on multiple Avalanche forums/Facebook groups and tradesman drive Avalanches all the time..., there just aren't as many of them because the Avalanche was sold as a more premium/lux vehicle than a work vehicle. The big lament on the forums about the Silverado EV is the lack of saddle bags. I didn't get a First Edition... too much stuff that I didn't want. All I want is extended range and SuperCruise. No need for 4-wheel steering or the Multi-pro tailgate.

They basically hit my wishlist exactly. I do want SuperCruise and extended range but have no need for 4-wheel steering or the multi-pro tailgate. So I'll be at the upper end but not topped out RST model. I'd want 20s if possible, 22s are too rough over our bad roads. Adjustable air suspension is nice... I didn't realize how much I used it on the Avalanche when I had the bike on the back. We rented a Wagoneer to take with us to Florida over the holiday and without air suspension the bike was making the rear end squat noticeably. To your point regarding it being a "real" pickup... this is clearly a body engineered platform mate to the Hummer. I haven't looked, but I bet the wheelbase is identical or pretty close. The whole point the the Ultium platform is that the chassis is pretty agnostic and in theory you could take the body off a Hummer and put it on the Avalanche Silverado EV. I still think GM marketing department has ZERO imagination.... they even could have named this an EValanche.

Many many 10s of thousands. You don't have electrical service in the back garage?

Deep thoughts that are always appropriate---'reality is complex', 'there are many things'.

Yes, for those states where you have idiots in office that have resisted change, this will hurt more than help the poor to low income. In places where states have embraced the change to no tail pipe emissions, charging on the street is plentiful. Per this web site (Seattle, Washington EV Charging Stations Info | ChargeHub), Seattle has 724 public charging stations and requires all condo and apartment buildings to have charging spots that allow the owners to charge and then move their auto to their assigned parking place. If it is a historical apartment place, the city has made sure there are public charging spots close by allowing the apartment occupants to charge before moving their auto to another parking place. Yet let's be honest, many who choose to live in congested downtown cities do not have auto's as they use the local public transit or other services.

Electric charging is 6 cents per kW of power versus Diesel at $3.87 per gallon. Knowing that @balthazar I think said he was getting about 24 miles per gallon, diesel cost for 300 miles would be $48.375 per fill up. Battery charges up from zero to full in F-150 Lighting pickup 125 kW battery pack standard or extended 170 kW battery pack: 125 kW = $7.50 170 kW = $10.20 Either way, I come out way ahead on fueling cost on an Electric truck over Diesel and I can do it from home starting out every day with a full battery pack, no need to run to the gas station.

I think one of the biggest hurdles EVs will face is everybody that lives in lower income apartments and inner city homes that parking is on the street. Those places aren't putting a charger in front of every parking space. If you're paying public charging prices, the "savings" falls to near zero.

Again, not an apples to oranges comparison and you know it Balth. It should be noted that it is FAR cheaper to juice up for 300 miles than it is fill 300 miles worth of diesel into your GMC. You also are skipping over a lot of features that the Lightning offers that ICE pick ups don't. While it may not be "worth it" to you, I bet it is worth it to plenty of others.

I guess Rivian and GMC didn’t get that message. Neither of their EVs have any kind of coupe like slope. You are only making that a point of emphasis because that is what Daimler wants to do.

I’m going to call 100% BS because most automakers have eyes. The Lyriq has a slope but it is nowhere near “coupe” like so that’s not a correct assessment either.

All EV's are going to look like the EQS or be SUV's with sloped rear ends in the crossover coupe vein due to aero. Mercedes is just ahead of the curve, I don't like how the EQS looks, but it has a .20 cD, and that EQXX concept which looks better has a .18 cD. And more importantly that car is 3,800 lbs with 620 mile range. These EV's are stupid heavy, so either they need a battery breakthrough that significantly cuts weight or crazy aerodynamics to get range so they don't need a huge battery.

A hard pass on the vinyl top on this big Cadillac. But lots of love for the uninterrupted linear cowl look over the dash, which reminded me of my last car and the ravine dash I liked so much. (This happens to a sedan, while I had a coupe.) But I had bucket seats and a console that was ergonomically sensible for me. No wonder I'm always looking at old cars to have as a "second" car, which you won't be finding both in excellent shape and for a reasonable price.

They stand a better chance of making that happen than Tesla and their chances are better than Daimlers chances of putting out an EV that doesn’t look like a used VW CC on the outside (wink wink EQS). Besides, no one expects the base price anyway, much like with every ICE vehicle. Most importantly here, at least GM and Ford are releasing vehicles that are actually in demand and have sell like hotcakes (pick ups and CUVs) instead of a $100K jellybean sedan that only Stevie Wonder will want.

Stop it, stop it, stop it with the apples to oranges comparisons. They are even close to being equipped the same plus the EV has a ton more power than a standard V8 Silverado. Furthermore, there are lower trim models (staring at $39K) that will be I that mix as well. Oh and I would pay $100K for the Chevy over that jellybean looking excuse of a monstrosity known as the EQS and it sure as hell looks better and is more capable than the fugly Cybertruck at ANY price point. Oh and the Equinox looks better than any Benz CUV under $50K. Nice job on yet another round of domestic bashing though.

The LED screen is not curved...

oh how an older Fleetwood would be a nice vintage ride. Did all the Fleetwoods have vinyl tops? https://www.orlandoclassiccars.net/vehicles/709/1993-cadillac-fleetwood-brougham ^^^^ they should have rebadged it, CT9 lol

Nice write up....and the car looks great!

A Lacrosse was a very nice W-Body. I concur. Yup. A Lacrosse might have had the most balanced and coherent styling of any vintage W-Body. Although 1st generation W-Bodies were also nicely styled. Very nice write-up.

no lie, a couple days ago i was wondering about your and your cars whereabouts! nice write up.

Glad to see you back, good write up and happy to hear about your ride. Looking forward to the update.

Hey trinacriabob. Nice to see you stop by and give an update on your LaCrosse. W-bodies were decent cars but didn't have the best packaging. Good to see that yours has been reliable for the most part. Perhaps the 2018 Regal could be a contender if you decide to replace your LaCrosse.

Let's see if these $40k EV Silverado's or F150 Lightnings really exist. Much like the $35,000 Tesla Model 3 that never happened, and $44,990 is the cheapest Model 3 you can get now. Maybe GM and Ford will deliver on that, but I wouldn't be surprised if they only build the top trim versions for years and by the time they get to the low trim, it is a lot more than originally promised.

Chevy makes zero off road SUVs, Mercedes at least makes one. The Wrangler sold 204,610 units in 2021, add in another 89,712 Gladiators, increases of 2% and 16% respectively. And the Wrangler outsold all GM vehicles except the Silverado and Sierra. The Blazer in 2021 sold 70,325 down 26%. Toyota 4Runner sold 129,052, up 13% (for a vehicle with a last major redesign in 2010) Ford sold 8,287 Broncos in November, given a full year I'd assume they will be hitting 100k a year, they sold over 101k Bronco Sports already this year. GM missed the mark on the Blazer.

Which of those beats a Wrangler or Bronco off road?