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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Just like any other CUV... so does that mean from a design standpoint it's not at all aspirational? ? lower front fascia looks very cheap / one-piece molded. And I LOL'd at the faux exhaust outlets : I have always thought an EV should be akin to an engine option, and not look significantly different from the existing product. We'd all (consumers & OEMs) would have a controlled analysis of just how desirable EVs are if as much else were equal as possible. Not sure why it was ever a thing to have a wildly different design just because of the powertrain. Bolt looks absolutely fine in it's segment, IMO.
  2. balthazar
    • Cadillac CT4 or CT5, grey with all black trim, came ripping around a tight-ish corner, going uphill, was on it hard. Sounded decent from behind. • Porsche Taycan, Frozen Blue, waiting to pull out of a side street.
  3. balthazar
    Wheelbase is the prime factor. Which is why it's so puzzling the R1S has so much less.
  4. balthazar
    ^ That's a step backward in packaging efficiency. But overall length isn't irrelevant- to the largest degree it determines interior space. Can't get Excursion interior space in an Escape. If manufacturers are optimizing packaging efficiency, Rivian should at least have close to 5" more legroom (total), instead of 3+ inches less.
  5. balthazar
    It was plastic that were the culprit. Cheap & easy to make black slurry & pump it into a mold- pop out 100,000 at a clip. Disposable mindset. My lament isn't colors as much as it's materials - far too much plastic in cars since the '80s. Yuck.
  6. balthazar
    My buddy’s ‘stanger :
  7. balthazar
    That wasn't the point- there ARE Tahoe owners, there are no Rivian owners. Rivian needs SUV buyers to switch to the new nameplate, and the segment leader in full-size SUVs is basically the Tahoe, and the two are only 5 inches apart in length, but there's a significant room penalty in the R1S. '20 Tahoe Premier starts at $63K, so close to the supposed R1S price.
  8. balthazar
    Rivian is 2 or 3 price tiers above a Durango; I don't see them being cross-shopped. But comparing interiors is logical. I was figuring a Tahoe owner (starts at $50K) is far more likely in the market for a Rivian ($70K) than a Durango owner (starts at $30K).
  9. balthazar
    • Wheelbase doesn't determine head or hip room, but it certainly has everything to do with leg room. I included the other stats since we were talking about front seat room/fitting in general. I also found it interesting given the common claim that EV powertrains should provide 'much more' interior room. There; that logically could go to head room too, but perhaps that's conjecture. • Hip room is the #1 issue with vehicles IMO, and that's purely an engineering/planning decision. 55" is nothing to brag about, and since they were starting from scratch, it would've been nice to see something closer to 58-60" there. Tahoe was just engineered as a full-size SUV, and anyone considering a move to a Rivian would definitely notice the much tighter interior. I may be spoiled; working on a car with 66" of front hip room and driving a truck with 61" of hip room (despite having a console taking up from that number). • Pickup vs. SUV is completely valid when talking about front seat dimensions. Front seat in either doesn't care if the bed out back is covered or not. Any modern manufacturing efficiency would utilize as much shared components as possible- I expect most of the front cabin of the R1T and R1S to interchange, or at least be dimensionally identical. No reason to start from scratch on that.
  10. balthazar
    I love a black interior. Blues or greens or reds I would get tired of, but that's just me. In general, yes; there should be more like 6 colors in a given vehicle. Tesla also really cheaps out - there's only 2 Model 3 interiors: black, and black with white. Pretty common.
  11. balthazar
    Sta-Bil would have you believe you need a stabilizer if a vehicle is going to sit for over 30 days. Imagine how much product they could sell if everyone followed that recommendation. You could chalk that up to increased maintenance, if you buy the narrative. I've most commonly seen 6 months as a more realistic time span.
  12. balthazar
    What’s even BETTER is no modifying adjective at all.
  13. balthazar
    You have to admit: he's got you there.
  14. balthazar
    '65 Riviera roared past me couple afternoons ago, dark blue, some sort of rappy mufflers on it. Clean but unrestored/ not perfect.
  15. balthazar
    I don't think it's estimated, specifically because of the dis-concerning wording "effective" head room. WTH is 'effective', other than an interpretive definition of the SAE standard? They certainly could have used 'estimated'. Something is up... and it looks QUITE unfortunate.
  16. balthazar
    And :
  17. balthazar
    Huh. Despite having fully 20" more wheelbase and being an EV, the R1T is WAY down on interior dimensions vs. a '20 Tahoe; 2" LESS head room 3.3" LESS leg room 6" LESS hip room What's the excuse there, I wonder?
  18. balthazar
    I don't think so, Tim. 5.3L is DOWN on power vs. the 3.0L : 383 TRQ vs. 460. 6.2L equals the TRQ, but requires premium and is only rated at 15/19 vs 23/30. Even tho the 3.0TD costs more up front, over the long run it'll save you money, it's equals the top engine's power, gets much better MPG and likely holds it's value better over time.
  19. balthazar
    Ultium, not 'Ultima'.
  20. balthazar
    You've made your anti-diesel stance clear, but as far as the Silverado goes, the TD has significant build rate, out-producing both the 310 HP 2.7L I4 and the base 285HP 4.3L V6. It's on pace with the 5.3L V8, but the 5.3L DFM far outsells all of those others. Still, the 'baby DuraMax' has made significant inroads into the segment, even tho it's a brand new engine. I suspect, with higher ATPs and possibly more hauling than the SIlverado, that the Tahoe/Suburban might see even higher take rates. It gets leading edge mileage (23/30 in the Silvie), something appealing to long-haulers.
  21. balthazar
    I’m probably doing 85% of my 2019 mileage now, and some of that 15% decline is by choice.
  22. balthazar
    Interwebs tell me “A fatal car accident is practically inevitable at speeds of 70 mph (or more). Volvo may wish to reprogram their governors.
  23. balthazar
    Would like to see their data showing the fatalities in Volvos at -say- 115 MPH.
  24. balthazar
    Total Recall :
  25. balthazar
    Hangin out in the Home Depot lot :
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