Drew Dowdell

... or CNG

Daft.

Didn't I read a while back that the 3.6 could be enlarged up to 4.0 by swapping out cylinder sleeves? Chevy could have the 3.6, Buick could have a 3.8 for historical reasons, Caddy could get a 4.0. Boom! The impression of unique engines with minimal cost.

It's only a matter of time.

Isn't the 2.0t putting out roughly the same power as the V8 the last Town Car had though? Running it through a 6-speed auto instead, it should feel roughly the same in power as the outgoing sedan.

Saying that they are the same is akinned to saying the the Toyota Tundra DOHC V8 is the same as the IS-F or LS460 DOHC V8 just because they share the same valvetrain configuration. Why would anyone want to buy a Lexus LS460 or IS-F when the Tundra Pickup uses a DOHC V8?

You know... the real news here is that they are calling the thing a Town Car.....

Cadillac needs to bring back the name "Northstar" even if has nothing at all in common with the Northstars of old. There is name recognition out there for it. It's just like Chrysler using the Hemi name again.

Caliber is dead already

Get a cat.

I have a Dodge Caliber as my rental for a few days with 40k miles on it. It is an absolute pile... the best thing Dodge could have done is take it out back and shoot it. But that got me thinking, even just since the Caliber, the quality of vehicles has improved dramatically. So sound off, what are the worst new cars in production and on sale today?

that requires comments only appropriate for the politics forum.

a 5 liter hybrid that gets 30mpg? I get 30mpg out of a Hemi on the highway.

A friend of mine's brother owns a company that modifies GTRs into insanely fast machines. I visited the facility a few weeks ago and the sights there were simply awesome. They are getting 1,200 hp out of these engines. (if you read Jalopnik, they did a story on the company a few weeks ago also). they are moving to a new facility soon, and I may go out to do a story on them and their new space.

We'll be doing a Roadmasters version of this car in a few weeks as well when Abert and I take a TDI on a 1,000 mile trip.

Why are you rebuilding it? Some problems will be fixed by rebuilding, but others can be adjusted out. Judging from your mechanical prowess, I would say try it. The rebuild kits are $35 and aren't as complicated as we think they are... I would also replace any vacuum or solenoid parts on the outside. I would check how much play you have where the butterfly pivots are... and see if the kit has bushings that can be installed, otherwise, this can become a vacuum leak once you clean out the carb. Buying a second carb for cheap might be a good idea if you think you have bent parts (or just rebuilding the second carb, so you limit your downtime). I've rebuilt 2 carbs in my days... about 18~20 years ago when I was much more the newb (and didn't have the Internet as a crutch)... the first one was a Monojet and it came out so-so... but the carb was really clapped out. The second was an older Quadrajet and it came out sweet. I would have rebuilt more, but my '80s cars didn't really need it... and then fuel injection became the norm. It was a very satisfying process. The reason for the rebuild is this: the throttle position sensor is bad and it is buried deep enough into the carb that if you're digging that deep you might as well do a full rebuild. This carb model also has an issue with gas leakdown requiring epoxy on 4 spots under the carb. I don't think there is anything drastically wrong with the carb other than being 30 years old and pushing 100k miles. The leakdown does make her run a bit rich and it isn't something you can adjust out.

Happy Birthday! Sorry I missed it yesterday, but I'm in NYC today till 3 if you'd like to go out for lunch.

Time for a carb rebuild.... I'm deciding if i'm going to tackle it on my own or just send it out.

well, I pushed the Malibu review out another week, I want to get a different car in ahead of it.

It's probably more telling that Kentucky felt the need to specifically outlaw the practice.

An imposter Opel?

If it isn't running the car won't either. The question isn't "is the fuel pump running?" It's "is it putting out enough pressure?" The test above addresses that.

As has been mentioned in other threads, the Nissan CVT is pretty much best in class.

As much as people hate on the CVTs and the Sentra in general, that CVT is a great feature of the car.

this.