regfootball

http://www.insideline.com/bmw/m3/2014/2014-bmw-m3-preview.html front drive BMW's, v6's.........

Encore was at our autoshow, and it looked fantastic. It's a great size also. Funny thing, the dimensions are about the exact size (the Encore) as the sx4's i try to give away every day. The Encore is an amazing styling job. It is an extremely small rig yet it has a ton of presence and looks substantial. The size is such that it it's on the small platform that should give nice mpg....and it looks to be space efficient. It will probably be 7-900 pounds lighter than an Equinox. Cheaper to buy also. My guess is if chevy brings it here, sales will explode, and also i bet this is why there is no Orlando here. One of the easiest ways to make small cars actually desirable is to raise the roof and make it a crossover so people can be comfortable, and get some ground clearance for winter. If chevy does not sell this here, one of their competition will and will take market share.

CVT's will continue to evolve...... i am sure a pittance of resources has been spent in the R&D and manufacture of CVT cars over 50+ years vs. traditional automatics. Nissan itself has made huge strides alone in the last 5 years. Versa mpg is up quite a bit. Look at the new Subarus. Believe me I know how they can feel rubbery especially if you are not used to driving them. Drive one a week or so and it gets more natural. Once they get the efficiency up and the programming better, and keep refining it, I believe you will see more and more cars go to it. Maybe not trucks and crossovers, but small to midsize cars. I think dual clutches will add use too, but boy I can tell you, FOrd has had a rough go of it with the Focus.

cruze definitely makes out best for mpg in the eco manual config. really, testing mpg at 55 or 60 mph is kind of crazy. when you get on the open road, driving inbetween major metros on wide open interstates, you won't be going 55. you'll be going 70-80. it's one thing to pass an epa test, its another to get better real world. my cobalt will only at best manage 32-33mpg when i do a 200 mile jaunt with almost no stops on open interstate at that 70+ speed. However, in town on metro freeways when not stopping and keeping in the 55-60 range i have seen anything from 38 to 41 mpg. Speed kills on the car with too small of an engine. cruze engines should really be a 2.0 di gas, and a 1.6 turbo di gas along with a diesel. i bet a 1.6di probably would only lose a little mpg on the test but be better real world. Should be interesting to see where the Verano comes in real world.

after seeing the new Escape and CX-5 at the auto show, Ford will be in real trouble possibly with the Escape. It's a 180 over the current version. While I am sure mechanically it will be top tier, its appears much smaller and more importantly it really looks way different than the successful butch truck its been. Over time, I think Escape will win its buyers back (and they may be a new bunch) but what I am saying with this is that GM potentially can stand to benefit from the Escape's stumble. I think GM will pick up even more buyers now. At least for a bit. Ford's size difference now between the Escape and Edge will be enormous. But they will bridge that by making sure a base Escape is not a lot more expensive than now, and they will possibly put out a few more cheaper Edges as well, especially now with the ecoboost. The edge is many years old now, and is still fresh in the market practically.....it will probably run with the same body for a few more years. The Nox/terrain combo will be inbetween so FOrd will have to market around the GM twins. So I think the Nox and Terrain will do well for awhile as long as they keep investing in it. The CX-5 though shows how to get basically as much space out of the crossover with several hundred pounds less weight. This is where GM needs to take a lesson. I know the Terrain feels more sunstantial, but the companies that can give the same benefits in a 4 cyl crossover without it being 4000 pounds may be better off in 3-5 years. And of course RAv4 and Crv are always selling away... I'd like if the vehicle that replaces our Taurus X someday is the Traverse, but really with the flexible seat in the rear of the Equinox, that may be more of a possibility due to cheaper price and better mpg. But really to me if the Edge's price is close to the Terrain etc. the Edge is an attractive option also. And then there is the notion that there will probably be a lightly used Ecoboost FLex or MKt sitting out there that would if i could stomach the gas and extra dough, be even more appealing. I am eyeballing a stick base CX5 as a possible next 2nd vehicle. All that is a pipe dream anyways. I won't be getting new rides any time soon....

sounds good but all the auto rags would rip on it for low power / displacement. they would say you have 7 litres why not maximize the hp. the flip argument is you could design an all new block around smaller displacement and borecenters etc and it would make the packaging even more efficient.

impala rear window kink is similar to the maxima....

CHEERS! Love it

Buick sort of needs to promote that they are still out there. The LaCrosse is the only name with any carryover since most folks wrote the Regal off long ago. Overall, I think people probably see the Buicks as overpriced...even if they really are not. Buick was ambitious to promote their moving 'downtown' but I think they may need to step back and re-educate some folks that they do exist in new form with new models. Buick badly needs a halo model right now. I suggest a special edition LaCrosse and a Verano coupe. Also, I think the Encore may do some positive things.

Regal is a sweet car, Buick is marketing well, I just think no one really knows Buick's changes.....Regal packaging is tough too and the Verano mucks it up even more. I think if the base Regal gets the 2.5 it will help and really Buick needs to bring down the pricing on the Regal overall..... Regal is a bit austere too for a lot of AMURCHANS who now love sheet like the creepy Camrys and such Buick needs to be small enough so that if it fails CHevy is large enough to be the unfaltering torch bearer for GM.

stupid center speedometer........

Mini needs to change their ridiculous dashboards before i would even consider one ever

like I said, others in the crowd were saying Neon, outloud. Family resemblence is working then, I guess. As long as they don't have ads saying "Hi"

I walked by the Dart on the display at the autoshow this weekend and thought... "Neon 2.0" the exact same time some kid was commenting to his buddy on how it reminded him of the Neon...... me thinks the public in general will probably say that a lot...

at a minimum, the same people who made stuff like 'who killed the electric car" should be showing the sequel on TV "how GM brought it back"

kills me how greenies cried and screamed when GM got rid of the EV. Now GM again builds the most advanced alternate propulsion electric, and now people are still complaining. In adjusted dollars, the Volt is probably cheaper than the EV. Where are the libbers and greenies stepping up to the plate to save the earth?

it's ok, will probably sell, anonymous, but hyundai advertises so much and builds stuff cheap....... this could be quite a few asian makes....

You sort of read the subtle teardrop shaping on the cadillacs when you see them from a great distance. it's all the surface detailing caddy does that add definition up closer. the fusion doors were open today, touched the plastic. i sort of got the idea that inside had a similar level of finish as the Passat, which is to say not fantastic. The level of finish inside isn't at least on my glance any knockout. In fact, i might tend to think they missed it a little bit here. Not lavish enough. Sat IN the new Malibu today. A few things are apparent...one, the plastics are much better on the whole....particularly the dash top. The seat leather is nice. Interface is nice although the radio controls and such a tiny bit cheap and the flip up display could feel more substantial. That's nitpicky. The seats probably are Regal clones with a little different padding and stitching. I thought they felt good, front is very roomy. Big flaw though, rear seat is not big at all. Leg room is tight! and so is head room for that matter. I don't think this car will not get a rep as a roomy car AND the additional width inside wasn't terribly noticeable right off the bat either. Ford screwed the pooch on their new Euro bubble designs.....Chevy effed on not leaving enough wheelbase for adults to get in the back....

poked around a new 013 Malibu....... not overwhelmed.........definitely an improvement inside, but that back seat looks pretty small. think regal size. Overall in white the car was quite anonymous.

more later this week. my phone died today photoing the new Escape....I wonder if that was foretelling anything.