Leaderboard

I hope so….this one ends up like a nasty stain stuck on one’s seat…..

I don't think the Soul is canceled yet, though its sales are way down and they've been cutting options. The other two are done at the end of this model year. I doubt Tesla will ever be able to deliver on a sub-$30k car in any volume and I can't imagine what kinda hot garbage the interior will be. It's moot anyway because it's still years away. Sorry bud, I hated plenty about the Model-3 interior, but the room was not one of those things. I'm 5'10" and I felt it was cavernous.

Same. I find the Trax kind of pointless since I can't buy it in AWD, and for my area I really need it. If I'm going to buy a hatchback, I'll buy a hatchback, not a wannabe crossover. The saving grace for the Trax on this list is that is one of only two that doesn't have a CVT. The Jetta will be the comfort king here. They're the most spacious of the bunch, ride really well, have a pleasant powertrain, and I wouldn't even mind rowing my own gears for once.

There are some smoothness concerns with a single rotor setup. I could only see that being something they did for low cost hybrids. Not the luxury push they are going for.

This unit is specifically for the rear axle location. Here's my further speculation as to why Lincoln would go this way. Ford already has a front unit ready for the Lightning. They don't need a second design, and the unit from the F-150 Lightning would be fine as the lower power front unit for cruising speed in a Navigator, this is done for efficiency. Also, keep in mind that a Navigator is not a Hummer. While 2,000 horsepower would be neat, it's not really the target demographic that would be more concerned with range. A Navigator owner would sniff and say "Anything over 900 hp is sufficient. I need the range to get me to the Country Club and back." The total horsepower of the current F-150 Lightning's combined units is lower than this single unit. The Lightning's rear unit is set up for independent rear suspension and the drive unit there looks a heck of a lot like this one above. Even though the drive unit might be capable of 972 horsepower, I think it is likely that Lincoln would govern that to a lower top end for range preservation purposes. The Escalade IQ is rated for 750 horsepower and 785 pound-feet of torque in Velocity Max mode. Expect the Lincoln crew to tune it in such a way as to beat Cadillac either on range or max power, if not both. Range is largely dictated by battery size, and Cadillac is already going to need people to send in their old iPhones just to keep up with the battery needs of that beast.

Ford killing the Escape is a dumb move, but they're doing it because they think they can move those drivers to the Bronco sport, which is less car for more money because it's "cute". The Edge is just the last vestige of that platform. I do think it will come back as the Nautilus clone. It's the same platform as the current Escape and the R&D is already done. K5 was just a rename of Optima. That said, I am 190% sure that it will have a direct EV replacement based on the Ioniq 6. Hyundai will try to move Sonata buyers to Ioniq 6 also.

Plenty of good options for a first car for people.

Just like you can't buy software anymore, they want you to subscribe to your vehicle, plus an extra $10 a month to subscribe to your heated seats.

The problem with that is the Ioniq 6 is $15,000 more expensive than a Sonata. Much like the EV6 is $15-20,000 more than the Sportage of the same size. If their plan is to replace all the ICE cars with $40,000+ EV's, good luck with that. And I wouldn't even be surprised if the Bronco Sport gets stale and Ford kills it like Jeep killed the Renegade and Cherokee. They are probably scheming In Dearborn on how to make the Ranger the entry level Ford at a $39,995 starting price.

I sort of forgot the Kicks was still around. I think the Soul, Versa and Mirage are due to be discontinued in 2024. Also if Tesla really does deliver on a sub $30,000 car that has a point of sale $7500 credit, I think a $22,500 Tesla will sell in ridiculous volume when you look at some of these cars are about that price.

AWD is over rated, what you or other people need are snow tires. But we hardly get snow here anyway. Agree though on the Trax is just a slightly lifted hatchback, it may become the new Cruze that gets the reputation for just being cheap junk. Probably a Civic or Mazda 3 hatchback is a better play at that price point.

But most AWD "SUVs" are operating 90-95% FWD and sending maybe 10% of torque to the rear wheels, a lot can't even send more than 50% power to the rear. That AWD Kia Seltos is probably not any better in snow than a FWD Malibu with snow tires. Different story if the AWD system can send 100% power front or rear and has diff lockers and things of that nature. But it is still 4 wheel drive, not 4 wheel stop, and it seems like when it snows, it is the pick up trucks you see sliding off the road more than cars do.