regfootball

time for a Silverado my friend! A nice turbo 4.....or the work truck with the v6.....

Congrats to her! I happen to like the Soul a lot, one reason is because it was a unique original design and they have kept that VIBE. One of the best survivors from that PT Cruiser, Cube, HHR, Element, unique box sort of club. One of the few Kia's I would Konsider in my garage. this thread is useless without pictures BTW

DRIVEN: 2020 Chrysler Pacifica AWD Launch Edition: Well, the lease end is approaching soon and time to get into market to see what the newest is in the family haulers. We currently lease a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and its been fantastic. But as you know, the market never stops. And, my curiosity was piqued, to find out that the 2021 Pacifica coming out soon was to arrive with an all wheel drive option! Not that is it always needed, but living in a snow state, all wheel drive can always be a benefit, especially on those really tough stormy days or when you need to get up a slick driveway and need the traction wherever you can get it. And best thing...no functional compromises for the all wheel drive...the Sto N Go seats into floor system that has made FCA vans famous remains in tact and fully functional with the all wheel drive. No sacrifices! Have we finally hit family hauler holy grail? (The Sienna all wheel drive has had run flat tires). So much to my surprise, one day, surfing my local Chrysler dealer who is 2 miles from home, I found something strange. They had listed some ---2020--- Pacificas with ALL WHEEL DRIVE. WUT? That's not supposed to be till 2021! Well, a trip to Chrysler.com confirmed....Chrysler snuck in a late end of model year trim package for what they are calling the all wheel drive 'launch edition' Pacifica. It will be a unicorn among Pacifica's with the 2020 design and not the upcoming refreshed body of the 2021. Well, figuring my wife has suggested that maybe she doesn't want another minivan (while full well admitting she loves the function and space), I figured I had to at least drive the all wheel drive Pacifica to see how it compares from a ride and drive standpoint to the current front drive only Pacifica, which is a great driving minivan. IS anything sacrificed in the ride and drive? Here's my prior review of the 2017 Pacifica for prior notes, so i won't go deep into the review other than just comparing the new all wheel drive vs the current: And the thread on the vehicle we lease currently, the 2018 Pacifica. soooooooo DRIVEN: 2020 Chrysler Pacifica AWD Launch Edition: HIGHS -The all wheel drive pricing is not expensive. Chrysler is keeping it within reach for budget conscious family buyers. A decked out Pacifica AWD still comes in less than similarly sized and decked out AWD crossovers. -eye catching looks still there, the "S" package of tested unit even looks sporty as heck, for any vehicle. Inside, as well. Our van has the tan interior, but this one with the black interior, makes it feel sporty inside as well. -no functional compromises. Chrysler has in fact pulled off a great effort here. The Sto N Go was not sacrificed to incorporate the all wheel drive. -Pentastar v6 remains strong, although it bit slower off the line...unless you stomp the gas. Then it snarls and takes off just as the current van. I imagine maybe 1/2 second is lost in 0-60 if i go on feel. -The transmission shifts the same / similar. So no noticeably different transmission behavior. -No changes to the seating floor or cargo floor, either. No one would suspect this car has a driveshaft going underneath to the back. No clues at all. LOWS -There is a 2-3 mpg hit on the fuel economy. But when gas is closer to 2 bucks a gallon, that is not a huge deal. Plus the gas mileage was great to begin with; when the snow flies, the minor loss of fuel economy is well worth the trade in traction on bad days in this case. -The extra weight of the AWD system can be felt. Probably not by most casual observers unless you mentioned to them on back to back test drives. Still, the Pacifica was car like....the AWD dulls the agility of the vehicle some. It doesn't feel ponderous or anything, though. -The addition of all wheel drive doesn't transform the van into a crossover (the cool group). It's still genuinely a van...maybe they should have added cladding. LOL. -Let's see if the newly engineered AWD system is reliable. Some folks avoid AWD vehicles due to their occasional penchant to break down and cause problems more often than their FWD counterparts. -New dual level full console with real armrest and place to put phone is only being made available on Pinnacle trim in the 2021 refresh. SUMMARY This is a full win for Chrysler here. They turned their successful Pacifica van into a better competitor to the crossover market by adding the all wheel drive option, and did so without a compromise to the core assets of what drivers look for in a van. All the function is preserved with no sacrifice, and the performance penalty is not much. Most drivers would never even know whether they are driving the all wheel drive version or the front drive only version, unless you told them. And with the plethora of trim and appearance packages Chrysler offers, it is possible to get a luxurious van with AWD, or a sporty looking van with AWD. Chrysler was supposed to die...maybe this keeps them on life support. Here's some photos...

Great review, as usual. And, good to see ya yesterday! Now, the Malibu write up! The Charger lines look great in basic white. People seriously need to know how greatly fuel efficient that Chrysler 3.6 can be.

https://www.motor1.com/news/388495/bmw-big-grille-positive-feedback/ IF THEY REPEAT IT ENOUGH IT MUST BE TRUE

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a34220888/2021-bmw-x2-edition-m-mesh-revealed/ The void of Pontiac EXCITEMENT!!! is long gone BUT IT LOOKS LIKE BMW IS OUT TO FILL THE VOID!!! MESH GRILLE!!! RED STICKERS!!!! some day, maybe more CLADDING

an electric hybrid wrangler or an oil burner?

I think the design of the current one is ok enough in the small numbers sold, and to have a 2 seater with big motor and stick that isn't too cramped for cheaper prices (compared to better sports cars) is ok. For example, I know Miatas are revered, but before i could write a check for a Miata i may go drive the 350 which is faster and then i would not be shopping for a Miata. But after all that, i am a domestic brand guy and so therefore if i even wanted a sports car on the cheap I'd get a Camaro.....v6 or v8 depending on budget. I think there's enough buyers out there that just prefer the Asian marques and to have a true 2 seater with no back seat due to the exotic nature of it. You might get the Nissan also instead of the Supra or FRS because of the accessible price.

this is likable from a design standpoint. Not stunning but well done. Jettas are dirt cheap. This EV will clearly be niche at that price and with Jettas in the showroom. Dealers here advertise Jetta leases with low down for like 129 a month. Which is 200 a month by the time the fine print is accounted for.

to underscore my earlier point, i don't believe the average human would be able to tell much is different between the two. Its very possible this is a heavy reskin with a different rear window / hatch shape. Let's wait to see the wheelbase, length, track specs, etc.

Geo Storm GSi

I've read this on other GM related web sites as well, Cadillac, Buick etc. FINGERS CROSSED. maybe you'll get a TRAILBLAZER for the loaner

One year CARVERSARY today. WOOT.

Trailblazer is well done and NICE inside. Shame the Equinox isn't as interesting inside, or outside for that matter. Never makes sense to get an L or LS chevy. Wait for discounts and get an LT, this applies for just about any Chevy model. You will hardly pay a scosche more and those will be the ones actually on lots. By the dozens. I wouldn't think about getting anything besides the 1.3 and 9 speed in this rig. As such, its still slow, that will be its achilles heel. It should have been the 1.5 + 9 speed or even a 1.6. Chevy really nailed the market with this apart from the weak engine. 5 years from now I don't think anyone will have a clue what a Hyundai Venue is, much less spot it in a parking lot anywhere no matter how long they look. Where's our 2.0 "SS" Trailblazer? or 2.7

meh, IS IT STILL 2005 looks like a heavy rebadge job

coming up on one year. Love this ride. Yes, it's not an SUV..... this rogue little ride has not been getting the use due to COVID and as such, when i purchased almost a year ago to the day as new demo with around 4,000 miles...I am now at only about 12,000 on the odometer. Lots less family travel with father in law passing away and not taking many trips to see mom. But did just get the oil changed at a Buick dealer last week and then drove about 500 miles with it. The gas mileage really took a jump, post oil change. I averaged about 33 mpg over two long legs of the trip and even in town its been pulling higher in the twenties. This may just be an anomoly as it mostly has returned 24 mpg over the vehicle life so far (trending towards 25). For a fuel sucking turbo AWD this is not bad. I've fed it premium fuel exclusively since i have had it...most fill ups at Costco with their top tier fuel, including one at about a 1.50 a gallon earlier this summer. This 2.0 is being retired on many GM vehicle lines now....but I will enjoy the 250hp and 295-lb ft of torque while i have it. It's not a burner but is still perhaps the quickest vehicle I have owned (except for my v-6 89 Taurus SHO...its faster than my v8 SHO). Still yet I would always enjoy more speed.... Everyone who sees this car for the first time thinks its really cool, and then they ask what the hell it is. Then i get the 'I didn't know Buick made that car'. Or the 'that's a wagon...a good looking wagon!'. Even the service manager who assisted me the last week said, 'I've only ever seen 1 other one', shaking his head as if to imply, that is a good looking car why didn't they sell more? I explained to him that i felt they overpriced the car and that the option packaging was terrible. I said trying to find one with all options or at least the way you would accept it was near impossible. I could have gotten into it more that the whole Regal line was botched from a price and marketing / packages perspective....but its a waste of time since the model was cancelled here. Such a shame, because the enthusiasm people get when they see it tells me greatly that if promoted and packaged correctly, it would have seen many more buyers in the market. I visited a completed job site a couple weeks ago to view an apartment tower our company completed. One of my fellow team leader coworkers whose project it was also has a Regal...a Sportback in the same Smoked Pearl Metallic. As we both pulled out of the parking lot at the end of the tour, with some of our other coworkers looking on they made the remark that managers drive gray Buick Regals apparently. Clearly they were making jokes but they all thought our cars were cool. Sometimes its fun having something unique in a market flooded with the usual compact CUV suspects. I just read on another site about the 2021 Regal refresh in China. A 1.5 is standard on the Regal there but the new LSY 2.0 motor is now available on their Regal. It's the same 2.0 with 237hp and 258 Lb ft that is available on many North America GM vehicles. I would be interested in seeing how that compares to the 2.0 in mine. I do know the LSY gets better mpg, and although it is for sure slower, I imagine its a very good match for the Regal, and it should be put in the Malibu here as well. Here's some pictures of over the last few months.....

i think there's some big incentives on the hybrid ones right now......

YEEEESSSSSS love the new GM trucks.. CONGRATS

So, the debate began today....wife wants smaller vehicle but admits the utility of the Chrysler van is amazing. So, we'll see how this progresses as our lease is up early next year...there is always pull ahead. An interesting unknown, Chrysler has touted the all wheel drive as new for 2021 model year....BUT there are actually 2020 'launch edition' ALL WHEEL DRIVE Pacifica's already out ....... 2021 adds the option of a real console and armrest. Not the fold down skinny seat armrests. BUT will it be too EXPENSIVE to get that real armrest? Toyo Celcius 'all weather' tires we put last winter on the van have driven as well as the OEM Michelins. The Michelins were touted as amazing tires in the wet and snow with long tread life. The tread life sucked and the wet and snow performance was average. The Toyos due to 'all weather' design were quite good in snow; not as good as a full winter tire but with deep tread and sipes, better than an all season. But still, this van has been amazing. No issues (knock on wood). Comfortable, great gas mileage. Pulled about 28 mpg on a recent highway trip and it averages about 23 mpg in normal city driving. I am sure mpg with AWD drops some, but it would still be very good for such a large vehicle. Whether we end up with a Pacifica or something else like a Blazer or Traverse or Enclave or Atlas / Cross Sport / Explorer / XT5 / XT4 / 2021 Envision..... I can vouch that this Stellantis is quite good for the family segment. Here's some recent vacation pics....

are you sure it just isn't an overwhelming internal urge to 'shake your booty'?

trax ceertainly has a 'chin'. Trax was dead but SUV boom and trailblazer intro means trailblazer can shoot for the higher price points and the Trax sales may actually increase by being able to sell at low prices. I wouldn't be suprised to see Trax remain in the lineup unchanged until 2025 or so....Trax and Encore came out in 2013 (Trax wasn't available right away in the US). Encore will probably continue also in the Buick showrooms, 10+ year shelf life that is getting to be FCA style vehicle staying power. K5 nice looking indeed I wish they would have kept the Optima name. I wished in the past they had kept the Spectra name also though.

exterior doesn't do much for me. It has a faux look / trying too hard and it ends up looking like it will have been forgotten 5 years from now. interior has a few nice things going on I suppose but the console / shifter / lower part of the dash starts to lose the nicer look and presentation that the upper part has. We may have hit peak sedan a few years ago and this feels like it is trying to keep milking something that hasn't been there for a few years now. I do actually think the 2011-2019 will mark as a classic (the early of those years at least) but Hyundai did make effort to keep it fresh all the time and even the 2019 had a decent desirable look. I think someone is going to have to do something absolutely extraordinary and game changing to get sedan designs out of the 2010's decade look that they continue to be in, but i guess i can't offer up what that exactly is. It sort of makes me wish the Escala concept's exterior had survived to be produced some way. A meticulously clean glossy black Jaguar XJ L parked near me at the liquor store the other day. It stood out and was gorgeous but left me with a though, are sedans too low, too wide, and this long low wide aero design guidlines have taken us to the end of the road on sedan distinctiveness.

can't argue with that. that's why we have a minivan instead of an SUV or CUV. But CUV's are taller sedan replacements as you sort of allude to. This Stellantis one is better looking of the Coupe CUV's than I've seen to date. I could drive this. The Atlas Cross Sport and Forde Edge have large cargo areas, they seem to be outliers in the market. The Cross Sport in particular has a huge and flexible cargo hold area since the 2 row is on the same wheelbase as the 3 row.

this isn't bad, the SUV coupe thing will grow in market, GM can't sell just all trucky Equinoxes Even though Chrysler has the Pacifica platform now, this is not a bad looking passenger vessel