Drew Dowdell

I had hope that the Bulli would get released.... but then all of those "It Gets Better" videos were release to combat bulli-ing.

January 16th, 2012 - Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com In a statement released on Friday the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC), a political action committee formed by General Motors, Chrysler Group, and Ford Motor Company, announced opposition to Japan joining the currently running Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations. The original members of the TPP formed in 2006 are Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore. From 2008 to 2010, five additional countries, Australia, Malaysia, Peru,United States, and Vietnam, announced they had entered negotiations to join the trade pact. On November 11, 2011, Japan’s Prime Minister announce his country’s intention to join the negotiations. AAPC’s objection to Japan’s entry into the negotiations stems from Japan’s closed automotive market. They claim that 70% of the U.S. trade deficit with Japan comes from the auto industry with 201 cars exported from Japan for every 1 car imported. The Japanese car market had sales of over 4.7 million vehicles in 2010, however only 225,000 of those were imports. Of that, only 8,000 of the imported cars were built in the United States contrasting sharply with the 1.5 million vehicles that Japan exported to the U.S. Japanese officials claim that the reason imported vehicles don’t sell well in Japan is because they don’t meet the diminutive size needs of the Japanese customer. Most Japanese parking spaces and garages will only fit sub-compact or micro cars which are not a specialty of U.S. manufacturers. While the Japanese claim against U.S. manufacturers may hold some water, that claim falls flat against manufacturers from other parts of Asia and the European Union. Indeed, South Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai stated in 2009 that they would withdraw from the Japanese market after only moving 1,875 cars per year. AAPC is suggesting a two year “time out” before Japan is allowed to enter negotiations. During which time AAPC wants to see drastic changes for rules regarding imports that honor an agreement signed by the U.S. and Japan in 1995. In Japan, the TPP is causing controversy as well particularly among the agricultural community. Japan protects its agricultural businesses with high tariffs on imported food products and subsidies for domestically grown ones. The tariff on imported rice is set a 777.7%, wheat is 252%, and sugar is 325%. The proposed removal of those tariff as part of the TPP agreement has been causing more headaches for the already increasingly unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Noda. On Thursday, 6 members of Noda’s own political party told U.S. officials that despite PM Noda’s enthusiasm for the treaty, they would vote against it and Japan’s Parliament would not ratify it. Source: American Automotive Policy Council, The International News Photo Credit: Gobierno de Chile View full article

well they've shared resources on transmissions before.

email sent this DIRECTLY effects the future of Cheers and Gears.

Oh noez!!! you got mud on a jeep!?!

Happy Birthday Croc

One of the nice things about being a webmaster is with the right tools you can find out what your visitors are interested in without them telling you directly. With these tools, I can learn what the people who visit this website are interested in by the search term they used on Google to lead them here. Out of all models from any brand currently in production, none bring more visitors to Cheers and Gears than people searching for information on the GMC Terrain. Armed with that knowledge, I requested one from the GM Press fleet and they delivered this 2012 Terrain SLT-2 with AWD and nearly every bell and whistle you can think of for your reviewing enjoyment. One of the first things that struck me about the 2012 model is how much firmer the suspension feels. We've had both a 2010 GMC Terrain and its brother a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox in the past. Both of which were noted for their comfortable, car-like ride. I'm not implying that the 2012 Terrain has an uncomfortable ride, but let us just call it more "Professional Grade". The Terrain is GMC's entry into the mid-size crossover segment. However there is no smaller CUV in GMC's stable. In fact, no brand from General Motors offers a CUV smaller than the Terrain/Equinox siblings at least until the sub-compact 2013 Buick Encore joins the lineup sometime early next year. This Terrain came equipped with a 264 horsepower, direct injected, 3.0 liter V6. While that sounds okay on paper, things aren't so hot when you read the torque figure. You get just 222 ft-lb of torque at 5100 rpm. That relative lack of torque means the transmission is on a constant Easter Egg hunt for just the right gear. Equipped with all wheel drive, the Terrain V6 is rated an almost GMC Acadia like 16/22 city/highway. So what are your other engine options? Well there is the 2.4 liter direct injected Ecotec 4-cylinder rated at 182 horsepower and 172 ft-lb of torque. That engine won't get you there faster than the V6, but you'll at least be getting 22/29 city/highway. While the V6 is smooth enough, I've had a good enough experience with the 2.4 4-cylinder to tell you to skip the V6 in favor of the 4 and pocket the savings at the fuel pump. So that's it for the drive for now. We'll cover the interior and other options in future updates. In the meantime, gear up your questions for this 2012 GMC Terrain SLT-2. View full article

Nissan has cake. Nissan also eats cake.

I like my cigar too, but I take it out of my mouth once in a while....

Too far gone for the price. It will take more than that just to get it restored.

LOL

Short wheelbase - Charger Long wheelbase - Polara

this is how rumors get started....

should be a fun little egg

12 - 14 months. I don't think even Buick knows the official color palette yet.

I like this momentum

is there any manufacturer that has changed their look less over the years than Porsche? I can think of only Jaguar till the current generation and Rolls

It is probably a looks change to bridge to the next vehicle. The Acadia still sells well.

Would Dodge get another car above the Charger then? Losing some bulk from the LX platform wouldn't be a bad thing. If they can make a mid-size RWD that can scale up rather than trying to squeeze a larger RWD platform down, I see that as a plus. That also leaves room under the Dart for a sub-compact.... unless Fiat intends to fill that spot.

Ditto. Fix the charger and get a RWD platform (shared with Alfa probably) for the 200.

Ok. In that case, the port injected 2.4 is out of production in cars.

Yes, the Encore is smaller than the CX-5. Overall, the Encore is slightly larger than the Nissan Juke. I was unable to sit in the rear seat of the Juke and fit my knees in. I was quite comfortable in the Encore.