G. David Felt

Most people could care less about the engine size other than true performance people and people with little person syndrome. I am going to call it here that the days of V8 and V12 are over and limited to the next 3-5 years in limited releases. Electric engines and turbo / supercharged engines are the future in 4 & 6 cylinder size along with hybrids.

Per a conversation I had with Jet performance chips. Their own engineers say it is easier to tune a custom chip for a pushrod than a DOHC engine especially if it has VVT. Per liter at least according to my conversation with this individual, they can get more raw power out of the pushrod engine, but marketing has made a case for the DOHC engines for those that like the high revving engines and complexity. Comparing Pushrod to DOHC engines and especially VVT you get more weight and more complexity but not necessarily the simplest and fastest way to power efficiency. I am sure engineers for both versions can make detailed cases why I am right or wrong but this is how I see it.

Washington has the second lowest electric rate in the country at 7.38 cents per kilowatthour. Makes having a Heatpump / AC system worth it.

Over all transparency works for the best in most cases. Not all but in most it is best to be transparent in what goes on.

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com UnOfficial State Auto In spending time looking over stories in Popular Mechanics, I came across their story on what was the top selling auto in each state or better known as the UnOfficial State Auto. Popular Mechanics Story Link Some I could easily see why the auto was a top seller in comparison to the state and what the state is known for from a gross product producing standpoint. Others clearly surprised me and some have happened truly due to special interest groups and the politicians eating out of those interest groups hands. It is a well known fact that the High Tech Millionaires of Washington state are focused on making everyone drive an Electric auto. Tesla and the less than pleasing to the eye BMW i3 are huge sellars here along with the ugly Nissan Leaf. Yes my personal opinion is that Tesla is the best looking of these 3 EV's. I have high hopes for the Chevy Bolt which is highly pre-sold here already. Per the Story I quote the Washington state finding: "In Washington, the Nissan Leaf sells at 407 percent of the national average. In addition, three electric vehicles, including the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and Tesla Model S, each sell at a rate more than twice their national rates. This is likely because in Washington, all electric vehicles are exempt from state motor vehicle sales tax and use tax." I want to also point out that the state right now pretty much pays for your home charger also along with the second lowest electrical rate in the nation at only 9.38 cents per kilowatthour. Somehow Louisiana comes in at 9.27 cents per kilowatthour for the lowest electrical cost in the nation. Price chart here from EIA. I will say I was also surprised by one state, Indiana where the Buick Encore, an outstanding compact CUV sells at a 249% above the nation average and a big surprise is the world of Subaru that sells triple digits on their whole product line above the national average in Alaska. So check out the story and post your thoughts on your state unofficial auto.

According to the Tesla Forum, the doors have sensors so you can just like GM SUV rear doors set how far up they go before stopping to not hit the ceiling. The demo on the tesla web page shows that you can pull in tight in a garage and still open the rear doors. They are powered doors. http://www.teslamotors.com/modelx

I have no problem as I usually do not vote on most items but I admit that there are those occasional posts that deserve a positive or negative vote. Over all I have no problem with people seeing who I voted up or down.

Disagree totally on the performance crowd. I will take a pushrod over dohc engine to win every time. My performance autos can win without breaking a sweat. You get the low gut feel of rush from the torque pushing back into the seat and the ability to fly with carrying on a conversation compared to the V8 juice can rattle of 4 and 6 turbo charged engines that get terrible gas mileage when you push them to move. Just admit each have their fans neither is better than the other to a certain point in regular driving. We are just talking apples to Orange's.

Would it be a big one or little one? Remember no Chunky Tips allowed!

I disagree, you do not need an expensive Alfa to have a new platform for the Charger, Cuda, or any other Dodge, Chrysler auto. Yes some cost would go up but like VW if they build the platform right you can use is across all the auto divisions that are currently alive and not have to bring back a dead name plate.

I wondered the same thing as I know a few people who have the Tesla sedan and were excited for the X thinking it would be around the same price and I now know that 2 people have canceled their purchase due to the price.

You and everyone else like me know that Sergio is an Idiot and he is killing Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and Ram all for trying to bring back a dead brand. Money should be used to pump up the 4 American name plates and not Alfa. RIP Alfa, leave it in the history books. More than anything this is his way of socialism in trying to make jobs for lazy people in Europe at the expense of america.

Thanks Drew for the update, was wondering what happened, though Washington was hit with a Hurricane level 1 storm over the weekend and most of western Washington was in the dark for the weekend including me, did not get back online till Monday when power was restored.

G. David Felt Staff Writer Alternative Energy - www.CheersandGears.com Tesla X AWD, 762HP, 155MPH Top Speed The Tesla Forum finally opened up the Model X configurator to all pre-order customers so they could finalize their model X according to the web site www.insideevs.com. So what does the Tesla Model X cost one might ask, first available model is a Model X Signature edition. Base price $132,000. What does this get me you ask? AWD, 762HP, 155MPH top speed, 240 mile Lithium Ion battery pack, 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, quarter mile in 12.3 seconds, seating for 7, though I would say 5 adults and 2 kids based on the pictures. Standard equipment is the Falcon Wind rear doors, auto rear spoiler, rear accessory hitch for bike or ski carrier, daytime running lights, power-folding and heated side mirrors, free long distance use of Tesla's Supercharger network, 8yr infinite mile battery and drive unit warranty, auto keyless entry, GPS homelink, parking sensors and blind spot warning system, auto emergency braking, Signature model includes autopilot convenience features with self parking and auto lane steering, smart air suspension with gps memory, ultra high fidelity sound system with satellite radio, premium interior and lighting with power lifegate, ventilated leather seats with heating and cooling, independently operable 3 adult second row seats and flat folding 2 adult third for seats. So what about options you ask? Tow Package $750 Ludicrous Speed Upgrade $10,000, 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, 11.7 seconds quarter mile. SubZero weather package $1,000 Plenty of info to appeas all and intersting enough some info that inside evs did not have I found on the NY Daily story released this morning also. Interesting is inside evs did not mention this, but NY Daily says the true base Model X should start somewhere between $100,000 and $110,000 dollars.

I do not know why but I have this gut feeling that I will not be impressed with the new Volvo line up. Just seems to conservative and same ol same ol.

They should build this as the new Police Interceptor! Or at least for a new Mad Max edition!

Good Luck with your new project.

Only ever had one FWD car and that was my 91 escort GT which was a blast till a moron truck driver rerended my wife totally it and hurting her bad. Loved the car, but glad it took the brunt and protected the wife. After that event in 1993, I went full size SUV and never looked back, only have 4x4 or awd suv's and want nothing else.

Before putting windows 10 on any older computer 1yr+ look at the windows 10 supported hardware list. Many 2-3 year old systems will not support it without major upgrades. Video Cards, HD controllers and memory are the top 3 areas. CPU's, I have come to hate anything AMD as I never have a good experience with them running windows, Linux or Solaris. Most name brand computers if only 2-3 years old should do fine with windows 10 but will need to be tweaked and I will say if you have less than 8GB of ram then do not move to windows 10. I agree, I like overhangs also and they offer great impact protection.

Wonder what it would take to import a GTS-R into the states? This would ROCK!

Yahoo has this great video on consumers reports review of the new Tesla P85D model. https://www.yahoo.com/autos/tesla-model-s-p85d-breaks-the-consumer-reports-127707921452.html Pretty interesting to listen to them, they admit it is not a perfect car, but still blew everything away with a 103 score. Your thoughts?

Wonder how often a person working on the body damage of a Hybrid or EV ends up getting shocked even when they follow all the safety guidelines. It's shocking enough that ppl actually buy this stuff, even in limited numbers. I was wondering how you got your fizzy hair and now I know!

Believe it when FCA actually funds it and stays committed to it.

Glad yours has worked out for you. I truly believe all auto companies can build auto's that last, depending on how you maintain them.

Sounds like the drinking deep of the Cool Aid bowl and the mix was changed again so is the tune now that FORD is talking of bringing back the Ranger. LOL