Drew Dowdell

Who would like a donut? This 1936 Packard 120B Convertible Coupe was simply stunning at the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio over the weekend. It has a 232 c.i. inline 8 cylinder that makes 120 hp @ 3800 rpm and 225 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm. In spite of its size, it only weighs in at 3,535 lbs, less than a base Ford Maverick (3,550)

I think anything outside of Caprice in the Chevy line in the 70s is questionable as a luxury car. Yeah, you could option up a Monte Carlo, but it would still have the base model dash materials, base model switchgear etc.

I got a really short drive in one in a Grand Wagoneer. It's smooth with gobs of low-end torque. You don't miss the very nice 6.4 eTorque at all.

Sweep is one of two things, the account is emptied out overnight into a treasury account to earn interest at a higher rate and then put back first thing in the morning. Not usually available to us peons, but for some reason one of my credit unions offers this on an account I have there. Or it is for sales transactions: Think a retail shop that takes in daily sales. It fills up to a specific amount, and then anything excess is swept into other accounts. This is common in chain stores, so each store has an account but the profits get funneled off to Corporate.

I've never understood larger companies (several million in revenue a year at least) that put everything in a single bank. I work for a small municipality and we've got bank accounts out the wazoo.

What's funny is that I can fit my skis transversely in the trunk of my Toronado. Those look like some old-style long jump skis in the ad.

There is a huge, Grand Canyon sized divide, between marketing to people who think they want a "lifestyle vehicle" and people who actually do that stuff. Most of these lifestyle vehicles are marketed to suburban and city dwellers who's biggest lifestyle outdoors is walking a groomed rail-trail for a mile or two on Saturdays with their $10 coffee in hand before going to brunch at 10:30 downtown. They don't need a Land Rover Defender to do that, but Land Rover markets to them that they do. It is a vanity purchase, nothing more.

It's for people who buy an REI subscription, puffy jacket, and leave their ski rack on the roof of their FWD CVT Pathfinder year-round, even though they only "go to the cabin" twice a year. Oversized, front-wheel drive luxury coupes can be "lifestyle vehicles" too. China's economy is in deep doo doo and could potentially exacerbate the emerging banking crisis here. There is the potential even that inaction here could push China over a cliff and create a causality loop.

Not in any appreciable numbers. About the same number as those who buy a new 4-Runner to off-road or camp in and actually do it. The truck could be a useful parts delivery vehicle or a campus landscaping vehicle. I don't see it as anything close to a mass market machine. The people who want vanity off-roaders will buy something that looks more capable of going off-road even if they never actually do it.

A hotel shuttle curiosity at best. It's about as "lifestyle vehicle" as a Chevy Lumina APV with about 1/4 of the personality.

While the number of models offered is increasing in percentage, there are still some significant bottlenecks in the supply of EVs such that nationally, sales are still only around 6%. Until these new battery plants come online, I think that supply will remain constrained. Genesis, for example, only sells its EVs in a handful of states so far.

The electric booster idea is primo! I love the tail-end views. It reminds me of the tail car from the famous Hiawatha luxury train. But if I'm spending 6 figures, I don't want it to look like I just bought the furniture from a hospital cafeteria last remodeled in 1987

I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love to drive, but all the idiots out there ruin it for me. I would much rather everyone else be using autonomous driving. Let them march along like lemmings and I'll finally get to enjoy driving again. But then when I need to go on a long trip, I'll switch it on while I'm eating my burger.

Ok look... it goes faster than 35mph

Rivian has their hands in Jeff Bezo's pockets. They'll make it or Amazon will just buy them outright.