A Horse With No Name

I saw a diesel luv on the road the other day...along within a few hours a BMW Z8, a playboy pink 1968 mustang, a 1959 Mercedes's 190, and a few other automotive unicorns.

If the X6 and 5-series Gran Turismo couldn't bring BMW down, then I doubt M-sport packages will.  BMW drivers love getting a 328i that looks like an M3 because they want it to look fast and show off in it. 

 

I don't know that Mercedes really needs to call anything AMG-Sport, since they already offer "sport" styling on the C-class and E-class and you can get AMG wheels as an option on pretty much any car they make.  The trim packages are already there, plus Mercedes is a luxury car maker first.  The more exciting news is the C-class diesel and plug-in hybrid are going to be sold in the USA next summer, about time we get a diesel C-class here.

 

I have seen more Mercedes Benz owners put AMG badge on their vehicles than any other brand owners. I saw a C230 Kompressor with AMG badge on the left of the trunk.

If we are talking about people who gain prestiegevin their automotive community by slapping on badges, I would say the Honda boys just might have the Benz boys beat!

At this point, reading our constitution in front of Congress is sort of like giving a dead person an aspirin. Our government is overwhelmingly and astonishingly broken.

But I do not think it had to be. Lots of other countries can can attempt to solve their problems as adults. We lack that ability in spades.

It was a darned helpful side as well.  I am thinking of leasing my next car, and it is helpful to know that this kind of loan exists.

Leasing a new one would keep her in warranty.

Diesel Encore and/or Envision please.

This would eliminate the one real advantage a Diesel Golf wagon would have over the Encore as my next car. 15-20 real world m.p.g more advantage of the fee dub washed away overnight with a proper GM diesel engine.

I hope that GM has learned to avoid the mistakes of the last set of diesel cars from the late '70s.  A lot of people became Toyota or VW buyers for that reason alone.  Of course, there should be diesel options in as many types of vehicles as possible, if the demand is there.

 

I think GM has. I wasn't a big fan of the Cruze Diesel for NVH levels, but everywhere else I was amazed how far they had come.

In some ways I think that scaling back has helped GM in its core market of vehicles. I too am astonished at how far GM as a whole has come. The Cruise diesel is just one small but important part of that.

Buick would be a good diesels brand.  I think CTS and ATS could do diesel nice as well.

 

A larger 4 cyl Impala diesel would be a road king.  Imagine 45-50 mpg and a huge tank.  Don't get a large beverage!

This would be fantastic competition to the Passat. I know several people with diesel Passats, and they love getting 50 M.P.G in a car that is not a penalty box like a Prius.

Diesel Corvette! Tri-turbo Baby Duramax making 500 hp. Why not!! Annhilate and destroy German snob-uber-diesels.

This is one of the few lustful fantasies I would be willing to share with you. The others are off limits.

Chrysler has done plenty of great things that have been let down by execution. I am trying to take 2 QuickZ's encouragement to give chryco a fair shot to heart.

Let's raise a symbolic mug of your favorite micro brew in a toast in the hope that Chrysler keeps improving.

Sort of like the reverse process of What Lutz was doing with the fisker Karma deal.

Would be cool if more drive line swaps (off topic , I know) could be done in house on the assembly line. VW has a lot of that capacity...they just showed a Golf/GTI variant called the Golf R 400 at a Chinese auto show... A 400 wheel h.p. 4 cyl AWD beast...

Imagine a Corvette with as many drive train choices as the 1960's...except that now perhaps one could order ( in the near future) anything from full electric to a thousand Horse twin aturbo Veyron Beater...

Just build the Veyron beater as a partial hybrid so Blu keeps chasing those young whippersnappers off his yard as he complains.

Oh and neat photos, Drew!

And as Balthazar (IIRC) pointed out, make sure the actual money goes to roads.

As far as the minimum wage thing goes, yes, in Australia with its high minimum wage a fast food worker can buy a new car. However, due in large part to wage inflation, no one can afford to actually build new cars in Australia.

It does look an order of magnitude better than the current car.

The build quality may not have been great, but most Chryslers have lousy reliability and build quality also.  The idea of the Pacifica, a sort of mid-size SUV that drove like a car with 2 rows of captains chairs and a folding 3rd row was good, the execution could have been better.

Quoted for truth!

 

The build quality may not have been great, but most Chryslers have lousy reliability and build quality also.  The idea of the Pacifica, a sort of mid-size SUV that drove like a car with 2 rows of captains chairs and a folding 3rd row was good, the execution could have been better.

I agree with you hear, and the earlier statement that the Pacifica was ahead of it's time and hurt by a poor marketing/sales execution and poor powertrain line up.

 

Also quoted for truth.  thank you both for making nice, clear, rational and reality based quotes.  it is what I love about C and G.

On the other hand, sweet on the new Supra, and glad a Hybrid Rouge is coming out....that will do nicely for Nissan, I think.

I think Drew's case makes a lot more sense. I would gladly pay a higher gas tax for better bridges, better highways, et al.

...at least when it runs out his ears it does not have to fall far before hitting the floor....

 

I dunno- when the range is in the neighborhood of 75 miles, and the top speed is in the neighborhood of 200, theoretically your car could be stone cold dead in like 22 minutes.

 

The range of the Tesla Roadster was 100 miles... and that was 7 years ago and based on an old Lotus platform. It can run away from an Audi R8 like it was standing still.

 

The Corvette has room for a lot more battery and a bigger "watermelon", so both range and performance would be even better.

 

it will also be what buyers will expect.  I really think Honda will be hurt by their lack of Turbo knowledge and lack of hybrid battery knowledge.   Change is coming, IIRC ELR doubled sales last month, right?

But eventually the market will be an issue. Guys who tow or work trucks often buy diesels, which Toyota doesn't offer.

So the free market is in part also dealing with this.

Do you really think so?

Not sure of Audi's mid level trim line, but I agree that the anti Cadillac bias in the print media is tiresome.

Happy Birthday!

Tiny trunk openings suck.

Quoted for truth!

It may really also change peoples behavior.  how do the rest of the members here feel about having the guzzler tax apply to SUV's and trucks also?  Too much government interference, or a good idea?