regfootball

DRIVEN: thanks to an egift card incentive, 2017 Chrysler Pacifica (not even sure what trim) Quick spin, and even less time to write here. Here i can legimately make comparison to the Town and Country in our garage HIGHS -eye catching looks inside and out, minvans now have style -all the positive assets of the minivan are maintained....and enhanced -updated Pentastar v6 remains strong and feels faster, and promises improved mpg (if possible) -update to the 9 speed vs the 6 speed means much better and quicker shifting (note: my short spin exhibited none of the 9 speed foibles written about in the buff books). It bangs off shifts smoother and quicker and therefore the van is a legitimate hot rod. -You do notice the feel of reduced heft. -improved road noise isolation. In fact, the ride itself is smoother and more compliant and trending more towards a sedan ride than the big cushy tank ride of the current van. -the current van is easy to see in and out of, the Pacifica is positively stupefying in how airy it feels inside the cabin, and how good the visibility is for the hulkiness of such vans. -Low and compact dash and large window glass, reinforces how much easier this is to drive more like a sedan than a bus -simple and attractive interior on all counts -cleverly improved stow and go function, it's ridiculous how beneficial this is, and it even preserves a center center seat in the process. -U Connect screen is possibly the best out there. Super high res, gorgeous. Lots to pick from on the menu, but this alone is a huge improvement in the model change. -lots of available trim levels, you can go as basic or loaded as you want. -i think this platform could work for a large sedan...? -current vans feel out of date in minutes long drive of the new one LOWS -lack of heft may make vehicle feel less vault like to some. I'll be clear, it's not a tinny feel at all. It's just not feeling like a tank anymore -This more of a base model, the ride softness and easiness / light mush of the steering may have been due to the tires being softer. I would be interested in seeing if the reflexes sharpen up a bit on upper trims with the larger wheel packages -trending to a sedan like drive may be offputting for decades long hardcore Chrysler van drivers who actually want more of a truck like feel. -According to sales guy, AWD option is a year away SUMMARY -You're either van averse, or open to the option. If you're stubbornly against them, there is nothing you can even do to get someone in to drive one, but if such a person did..their aversions would be cut away at pretty well. It's ok it's not a robust market, but this vehicle should create new attention and a renaissance to the minivan. Vans can often cost less than the consistently skyrocketing SUV prices. Whatever the case, this is the top of class and will deserve all the rewards it gets from the efforts. Grade A

i think we've hit a plateau on annual sales rate. I think the economy has frozen and probably has election jitters now too. Buick's jump, is it due to the envision?

mega congratulations!

650 hp doesn't make the back seat bigger, doesn't make the vehicle any easier to see out of or feel less bunker like. the prices are a lot of what is killing the sales. they really could reskin this car with a taller roof and thinner pillars and keep a look of say, the 69. fantastic car. Give it another 6 months, GM will or should adjust the pricing and packaging and get rebates going. They'll probably get more profits off the special editions like this than v6's with a few options.

pretty hilarious. on a GMC facebook page, the posters / commenters are railing all over GMC for downsizing the Acadia. But of course, that was easy to predict.

it just demonstrates, I think, that the powertrains being designed and put in all our cars globally are done so to excel on tests more than anything. Our pentastar v6 van can just flat out kill it with mpg even at 70-75 mph. It has the lungs for that. But maybe that's a displacement argument. We all know how well cars like the Corvette can do when untaxed. I think Toyota brought hybrids to prominence with the Prius, but they haven't advanced it much beyond what they originally did. The Malibu hybrid is based on Volt bits and by accounts (and my own account) an advancement of the hybrid system. I think now with that and other companies we will see more effort put into hybrids to solve the fuel economy / CAFE problems. The Mali hybrid really is good but i didn't get enough time in it to know if it can do well on real world highway driving. Hate to bring it up, but something competing with Ford Fusion Sports new 2.7v6 turbo would be super balls up in this car.

G coupe was always a hit, this still looks the part.

awesome! congrats! new body style?

http://ask.cars.com/2011/05/at-what-speed-is-highway-mileage-calculated.html The EPA derives its estimates from driving simulations done in a laboratory. The highway simulation covers 10.3 miles at an average speed of 48.3 mph, with about half the time spent at 55-60 mph. Not exactly real-world. Since 2008 the EPA has included an 8-mile trip that adds more aggressive acceleration, spurts up to 80 mph and more than half the time over 60 mph — somewhat closer to reality. Neither test runs at a steady speed, the kind of driving you will likely do and an approach that should improve your mileage.

i am guessing it will break in. I didn't notice any extra juice with 91. If anything it felt a bit different. The Cobalt was horrible after 60-65 mph. What speed is the EPA highway test at? That is probably the speed they tune the powertrains to. A still 60 degree day or light tailwind with the sun mostly gone down, with non ethanol fuel, and following behind a semi, on flat grades at 65-70 mph and no braking or slowdowns I am sure this will get between 45-50 mpg.

just a quick posting of some interesting FE numbers from Monday night. a 254.4 mile stretch with about 90 percent highway and 87 octane non ethanol, near optimal conditions... 254.4 miles, 40.5 mpg (DIC indicated) Best 50 mile stretch 46.3 mpg (60-70 mph) If i get this on trips all the time, I will be giddy. want to be clear too, not calculated. I am sensing the DIC may be slightly off...either shows too many miles traveled or doesn't show enough gas used. Over time i will find that out. The other thing is one leg the day before in 90+ heat into a strong prairie head wind with 91 octane ethanol free only got me about 32 and change, even if the DIC said 35. And the oil life meter took a hit. I think extreme conditions of wind and heat really affect the small motor. And, I think this car does not like 91 octane / premium. I seem to get a happier motor and best FE on 87 octane. The car when it settles into a zone and a nice long run purrs like a kitty and sips fuel. There is a huge drop in FE between 65mph and 70mph ........and 75mph. The 1.5 is challenged at times in extreme conditions but most of the regualr time works well on the highway. I think, just like whiskey, a 1.75 would be a nice deal. It would be nice to have those deeper reserves for interstate driving......so i guess if you really drive a lot of long distance and FE is not the big concern, definitely go for the 2.0. The fuel stop is sensitive in fueling. If you try to get another tenth in to top it off, you will spill over on your new rig.

let's see if VW stays in business first.

but still the back seat is deficient even for that group of buyers and overall for the brand. Go to many other forum sites. Lots of folks who are interested in the ATS ultimately say they gave it up for consideration and bought other brands. No point to building a car line that won't sell then. It's also far less commodious than the competition in its group.

i think part of the focus should be 'energy diversity'. And by that, to me is accomplished right now with say, an E85 capable plug in. Like a Volt that is E85 capable. That way you can fuel your car with electricity, or gas that could include a shift back to renewables if those developed more. That said, i am not a big ethanol fan normally, due to it's lower energy output compared to pure gas. If ethanol can become more cost effective without relying so much on subsidy, ever, at least that the cars running around if E85 capable are set up for gas fuel diversity.

nice work

no wonder they are shopping so hard for platform mates

^^^^^^^^ do i buy a Cruze or a Malibu........mid size sedans are becoming the new class of economy cars. Price difference is minimal, mpg difference is now minimal too. The extra room and space makes all the difference in the world in terms of usability. That's for us why we did the Malibu instead of the Cruze. The Malibu feels light (you can definitely see and feel the lightness of the parts and the vehicle). At the same time they pared it to the bone on weight and it doesn't feel like it will crumple from normal use. I would say from driving it for 3 weeks now that they've probably done all they can on weight loss for a car this size now. So it makes perfect sense to start adding room back into the vehicles again. You see all the room in the back of the new one, and compare it to the 2013-2015 and you see the consumer response and you really wonder wtf the GM is thinking when it makes botches like that. Look at the ATS and its useless back seat. Seriously GM wtf get a clue. Malibu - i can't wait to take the first long trip in it. On the right pavement surface the car is tomb quiet with no tire noise and the engine purrs like a content little kitty and sips fuel.

setting said goal was political theatrics anyways. And now relaxing that is also theater, 'hey we are letting up our choke hold on you". Still, 50 or 52.6 is kind of absurd too. In the meantime, it's still good to have gradual mpg requirement changes. Enough to help give a little bit of a boot to more hybrids etc......as long as that consumer burden is not overwhelming.

when i was selling we had the old style 135i m package. nice car but it really was niche, wasn't really about transportation, and with the 3 series around, redundant. If BMW wants the 1 series to truly become their entry level fashion car, front drive is fine, even if hypocritical. It's all about capturing the next generation of buyers. You gotta cut weight and give more space back to the cabin and trunk and fwd does that.

no lie, a couple days ago i was wondering about your and your cars whereabouts! nice write up.

Verano did sell well for awhile. Regal wagon would really just be niche but may provide needed attention for the brand.

Part of why GM's stock has risen is it's advertising and PR and willingness to throw cars up for the ungrateful car press to devour. There is lots in the news in terms of PR with GM and electrics, ride services, autonomous, etc. I always see stuff pop up in Google and Facebook where Mary Barra is on some PR mission and it's portrayed in a great light. Ford's product rush was 2011-2013, they just need to get new products going again, but getting an actual PR department that works may be of great service to them. Still doesn't mean the buff books and buff sites aren't stupid rags, and their posters too. So many pimple faces that probably don't even have licenses and live in their parents' basement. Give it two years and Cruzes will be at the bottom of comparos again too.

Car and Driver is really trying hard to be car snobs and brand snobs again. I think that era of humanity has passed. Motor trend has more mainstream views on the car world. If C/D just backed off their Mazda / Honda / Mercedes / BMW snobbery a bit i think it would help them.

With the prices of everything these days, a loaded turbo sonic for 16,000 would be a killer deal. One thing with Sonics I noticed though, the used market is flooded and prices are not good. If you bought a 22,000 Sonic even at 16,000, if you'll be underwater for a LONG time. Try to trade that Sonic 18 months from now, and you'll get a 10,000 dollar offer. Chevy is driving leasing on the Cruze and Malibu right now because they are new. They give the big buy discounts on the Impala and Sonic right now. In three years, if you want a used Cruze or Malibu, the prices will be high still because GM will get the lease returns back and have their dealers re-sell them as CPO's etc. Since Sonics don't lease, and there is not much of a first tier used market for them, their street value will nosedive quickly.

Here's a PEACH LaCrosse super available for purchase...less than 30k miles. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2017&zip=55379&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=%5BBUICK%5BLACROSSE%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&modelCode1=LACROSSE&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1981&makeCode1=BUICK&firstRecord=0&maxMileage=30000&numRecords=100&searchRadius=0&listingId=431490675&Log=0