Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

El Kabong

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,099

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by El Kabong

  1. El Kabong
    A 13% jump would be nice. If it's the 5.2 they're going after though, they should attack its weakest point: the torque. If GM could put the redline at, say, 7,500rpm and hold the line on peak torque (470-ish) then they'd have the trump card, especially with the lower C of G and better starting point for the platform.
  2. El Kabong
    I'm not going to argue any of that except possibly the Hummer vs. Jeep thing, since the only shared ground they ever had was the H3 (the H2 was bigger than the Commander and the H1 was bigger than anything). The 200 probably makes a modest contribution to the bottom line, and I admit to overlooking the Jeep lineup's contribution to same.
  3. El Kabong
    No. They held onto the rights to the name.
  4. El Kabong
    I wouldn't say that, necessarily. Today's GTO equivalent is probably something along the lines of a Chevy SS or Challenger R/T. If you told your dad back in the day that you were sad you couldn't match him because you couldn't buy a 707hp Godzillamobile his head would have exploded.
  5. El Kabong
    Sad but true, I suspect. To be honest I'm a bit surprised MT is holding so tightly to this rumour. Have you heard anything about a 7.0DI elsewhere? Or even just a freshening?
  6. El Kabong
    Right now I'm betting the LX, the trucks, and the Ferrari IPO are the only things keeping them solvent. The LX will survive another two, maybe three years simply because Americans are horsepower-crazed and will snatch up every Hellcat and SRT variant they can. Thankfully for Mopar, those are the big-profit margin vehicles. GM had a similar spurt in the late-80s with the Chevy Monte Carlo SS and Buick Grand National/GNX extending the life of an old platform. It's short-term and dirty, but it works. Next thing for Mopar is to get a small Dodge version of the 500. As nice a small car as the Fiat is, the styling ain't gonna cut it over here beyond the hardcore niche guys. That's also why the Jeep Renegade exists.
  7. El Kabong
    I'm onboard with the lack of integration being an issue. I also think that the sooner they spread that Giulia platform throughout the lineup the better. but it's the European operations that are the big drag on the system, and as long as Sergio gives them undue preference things will, at best, limp along.
  8. El Kabong
    Olds is from Montreal. He knows what Crappy Tire is *L* Funny story: out west it's only easterners who call it Crappy Tire. Many of the locals out here are farmers descended from folks who were getting away from the czar back in the day... so out here they call it Ukranian Tire. No joke.
  9. El Kabong
    I just get banned for saying places suck.
  10. El Kabong
    Indeed you were. Good call. :/
  11. El Kabong
    He does get excited... but I do kinda get it. Even though he's got some serious warts to his managerial style and is way too fond of black turtlenecks, I gotta go to bat for ol' Sergio because he's Italian/Canadian. Having said that, the buyback thing is a scary precedent. And on a financial news front: the rumoured shotgun wedding with GM would be a disaster for both companies.
  12. El Kabong
    That's kinda why I mentioned the 80-120 benchmark, but yeah, you're bang-on there: people talk horsepower but drive torque.
  13. El Kabong
    Ya. The half-million potential buybacks won't actually become a half-million buybacks. NHTSA may be a bunch of wombats, but they have enough sense to know not to drive a global automaker out of the marketplace... hopefully they remember Audi anyhow
  14. El Kabong
    ...but it won't be a Cadillac ATS-V Plus. They're insisting it is Camaro-bound, and probably with some updates (full LT-spec? Who knows). I'd provide a link but it's just in their latest edition right now. Personally, I think it's a great idea. A continuation Z/28 with lighter weight. Still, would be nice to see a wet-sump LT4 under the hood as well. Ah well, we shall see
  15. El Kabong
    0-60 has been the acceleration benchmark forever. It used to be because back in the day it was an actual test of a car's all-out abilities. These days it is the most realistic measurement of acceleration most folks can legally access (although the metric 80-120 acceleration number is a good indicator of passing power). As cars with AWD have become more common there has been a bit more emphasis on 0-100 times as a way for RWD cars to measure their abilities once their tires are able to hook up and lay down the power properly. But again, 100mph on the street is a very iffy proposition. "Why do cars need to be fun?" Strictly speaking, they don't have to be. There is a time and a place for an automobile as an appliance. Once again, back in the day having a car so reliable it could be treated like an appliance was a real challenge. The bar has been raised higher since then, though. These days you can get a vehicle in every segment that can carve up an on ramp, or drill your eyes out the back of your head when the light goes green, or set off a smog alert by lighting up the tires. The rule of thumb I use is that there should be something about your vehicle that makes you smile whenever you're in it. And that doesn't mean it has to be expensive, or even new.
  16. El Kabong
    Duly noted. As a guy who loves the product end of the business I don't pay a whole lotta mind to that end of it. I recognize the need for a company to make money, but my bias towards product will probably continue to make such concerns a bit less important to me than they would be for many. After all, the endgame there leads to Toyota-and Toyota struggles mightily with making interesting cars.
  17. El Kabong
    Definitely so. The trick is to use the economics of scale to make your Camaro from a Cadillac, as opposed to making your Continental from a Fusion.
  18. El Kabong
    I do see the logic of that, especially in regards to the V6 EB engine. My question is: how aggressive are the profit margins and to what extent would sales losses have to reach to nullify them? If Ford is able to maintain solid profits by catering to fleets then good for them. In hindsight it's clear that fleet is the more logical market for many EB vehicles because fleet orders are placed based on official numbers, including paper FE ratings. Thus, there are no disgruntled customers to worry about.
  19. El Kabong
    GM is just hitting it out of the park in this segment. The diesel pricing is about as good as you can realistically get.
  20. El Kabong
    Considering those cars don't use any components affected by those recalls, no, but who needs intelligent, informed comments on the internet when we get gems like this, right? Blanket statements only work when third parties supply the wool and knitting needles. Make one out of your own material and it's just fluff.
  21. El Kabong
    It is mind-boggling to me that a company would be so blindly tied to an engine configuration that they would sacrifice sales to keep it in a prominent place in the lineup, even as third-party reviewers continue to poke holes in said engine's ability to get the job done.
  22. El Kabong
    Only needed one example because your opening line was "Every EcoBoost-powered Ford that we’ve tested, Mustang or otherwise, has either delivered decent fuel economy or served up great power-but never both simultaneously." And it was a C/D review, in July of this year.Staff should get on the same page, perhaps (magazine deadlines are weird things). Be that as it may, it is the first review I've seen where they've showered praise on an EB driveline. And let's be honest, the commercial van segment in NA is currently in a pretty unsettled state. Ford, Sprinter, and GM are beginning to transition to Euro-style stuff, while Nissan (?) is sticking with being a 21st century Econoline. I'd like a bigger sample size before I change my opinion, personally.
  23. El Kabong
    Great. You cherry-picked one example. Appropriate that it was a fleet vehicle, but never mind that. Seriously now: why does Ford feel compelled to alienate private customers? Surely they must realize that last month's sales figures mean something.
  24. El Kabong
    It lends credence to TAF's claims that Ford is trying to force EB engines on the buying public, that's for sure. It sounds like C/D is getting seriously fed up with it as well.
  25. El Kabong
    A 55-grand hybrid that still falls nine mpg short on its already-downrated mileage claims? Terrible execution. End of discussion.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search