Drew Dowdell

Lots (all?) of the electric card articles that I or Mudmonster have written added value to the site as they are news of the current direction of the auto industry. That hasn't stopped you from rating them down. Clearly you feel that my and mud's writing don't contribute to the site.

Situations change all the time. The cts fit my daily routine until it didn't. Suddenly I needed a truck so I bought the Avalanche. Then my financial situation changed and I had to sell the avalanche and end the CTS lease and drive a $750 Buick Wagon that I borrowed. Then I went with no car for a while and just used Alberts CRV and the bus. You don't buy a car today based on what you think you might need in 5 years. Lots of families are 2 vehicle families, thus the leaf or focusEV or SparkEV do make sense.

You vote down every post about an electric car no matter what. Since you can't vote on your own posts, I voted it down for you.

Simply untrue. Even the Leaf/FocusEV/SparkEVmakes sense for certain people. I posted this article on Friday from the Acela train to DC. The guy in the booth next to me and I were talking about electric cars. He's on a wait list for a Leaf. He lives in D.C. and takes the metro for most things. If he goes long distance it is normally by train or by car. He only needs a car for the occational trips out to the suburbs. His wife has a crossover for hauling the kids around. He is trading in a Jetta for the Leaf and it seems to make a lot of sense for his needs. No need for the Volt because he doesn't need the range in his second car. Even my Albert could make the Leaf work as his primary car if he wasn't so insistent that he needs AWD. We would still need something for distance runs, but for his run to work, he would have 85 miles of range left over at the end of the day. Just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it doesn't work for everyone.

"barely better than the base 2.4" isn't at all correct. The base 2.4 in the Lacrosse was barely able to eek out 30mpg highway and got an abysmal 19 in the city. You had to work that engine hard to wheel around the weight of the Lacrosse. I did 36mpg highway / 27 mpg city in the eAssist Lacrosse. Now, some of the eAssist increase in mileage does come from an improved 6-speed transmission, but not that much. The 2.4 is aging. I wouldn't expect it in any form to be on the Wards 10 best anymore. Watch the 2.5 though. If there is anything holding them back on the Volt it is the gasoline engine. It is an old technology family zero 4-cylinder that is tuned to run on premium. As advanced as the rest of the Volt power train is, the 4-cylinder in there is about as old-school as GM has on the shelf right now.

The advancement in batteries has been in size.

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Don't care... which is the whole point about electrics! You don't care where the electricity is coming from as long as you're getting it. You like to $h! all over the Volt and Leaf and even the eAssist Lacrosse for using electricity. So the source of the electric doesn't seem to matter to you. As the technology continues to improve, battery range will get you further. In the meantime there are vehicles like the Volt to mitigate that problem. Electric is the power of the fastest land based vehicles on earth that move through the force of their wheels. So no, I don't care where the power is from. The point is I'm running at 125mph under electric propulsion which is faster than ANY of the vehicles you have owned can go. IF by chance you did own one that could reach 125mph... in an hour I'll be in the 150mph zone.

Not with more cut lines than a 92 Silverado it doesn't.

I'm doing 125mph right now in an all electric powertrain. Just saying.

The entire Lexus line rests on the RX and ES. I don't think Lexus can afford to screw up the ES... and I also don't think that interior is a step forward for them.

Marketing seems to be almost entirely word of mouth right now.

Teslas are a ton of fun. So are the mini cooper electrics.

New Lexus ad points out 3 new techs on the GS that have been on GM cars for years, even decades. Heads-up, Blind Spot, Night Vision. Amusingly, the beginning of the Lexus ad talks about leaving old technology behind.

Yes it officially was available in March.. all three of them that actually shipped. I think they sold a very respectable amount for what is essentially a new brand in the US again, has a limited dealer network, and honestly didn't really get inventory moving in until about July. So, let's call ~18k six months worth of sales or 36k a year. It's not 50k a year, but it is respectable for the first year of a niche car from a new brand.

Drew Dowdell - February 24, 2012 - CheersandGears.com Photo by Chris Doane Automotive, LLC - May not be used elsewhere without permission of photographer. The last time we saw a 2014 Spark EV prototype, the front end was covered in heavy camouflage and rear was held together with pop-rivets. Today, we've spied another Spark EV prototype with the production bodywork in place and almost NO camouflage. From our spy photos, we can see the Spark EV will get a different front end from its' gasoline brother. A new, smaller grille is in place, with filler panels that mimic the styling of the panels we find on the Chevy Volt. The Spark EV also has a new lower fascia and new styling around the fog lights. On the driver's side, front quarter panel, the door to access the charging port is clearly visible. The rear fascia on the Spark EV is also new, and looks to protrude from the car more than the bumper we find on the gasoline-powered Spark. This is likely to provide more room for the battery pack. It's also easy to see that this Spark is, of course, NOT sporting any tailpipes. Motivation for the Spark EV will come from a 114hp, permanent magnet electric motor, built at a GM plant in White Marsh Maryland. That motor will get its' juice from a lithium-ion pack manufactured by A123 Systems. GM will hope to have this all-electric Spark on sale sometime in the first half of 2013. Full size photo: View full article

Save that for stunts like the Lutz race in the CTS-V. At least wait till the car has been in production a few months... they aren't even rolling ATSes down the line yet. Get the car into the hands of a few journalists. Do some ride-n-drives with the ATS up against the 3-er, C, and A4. But don't make claims that no one can even go check on because the car isn't in the dealerships yet.

Well after 10 years, it's about time. They are still at STS like sales rates.

A v6 might have sold me.

Crash900s, thank's for joining C&G and welcome. I think the one thing you didn't mention, but maybe touched on slightly, is that of all the bidders for Saab that are possible, it is unlikely that any of them have the cash that BMW has to complete the transaction and do the job right.

I am mostly interested in the cost increase. The power numbers are more than suitable.... it would end up being the most powerful Cruze available.

I suppose GM just couldn't use the LaCrosse to compete w/ the MKS and ES, which is a more natural competitor for those models than something from Cadillac... I don't think Buick competes with Lincoln or Lexus. There in lies part of the problem. The LaCrosse competes with the Avalon, Taurus and Maxima. A Maxima can even hit $41,000, so can a SHO. I'd say the Chrysler 300 and Genesis are competitors also on size and price point, different drive wheels, but they would still get cross shopped I think. Since Buick is not a luxury car, Cadillac has to wear many hats, thus they need an XTS to cater to those in Florida that like pastel pearl paint jobs and seats you sink in to. I question if they really need to cater to this market though. Or if the CTS were as well executed as the E-class that it couldn't attract both those that want smooth ride and those that want performance. The Lacrosse and Enclave are most certainly luxury vehicles. They do quiet, power, and handling better than their counterparts at Lexus I still don't see Buick as luxury. A Nissan Maxima is $2,000 more than a LaCrosse, is that a luxruy car? The LaCrosse and Enclave are also full size vehicles, a car or SUV of that size from a luxury brand would cost far more. Enclave is the same size and seating capacity as an Escalade, yet the Escalade is $30,000 more. So if the Enclave is a true luxury SUV, then why are people buying Escaldes, or why aren't they charging $60k for an Enclave? The reason being the Envlace nor any Buick are luxury vehicles. Cost isn't the basis of being a luxury car. The base Maxima is not a luxury car, but I can see a loaded up model being one. The Lacrosse is a modern interpretation of old school luxury. It is extremely quiet, soft and comfortable, reasonably powerful, and comes with a good amount of technology. What's been updated is the actual handling. It is no 3-series, but it isn't meant to be. It is a vehicle for people who value extra comfort over apexing turns. The Enclave is NOT the same size as the Escalade, nor does it have the same capabilities, nor does it have as much engine.... stop making $h! up. You'd get laughed out of any dealership for making such a suggestion.