Drew Dowdell

dul

SAAB Can't Pay Wages for August Marks 3rd month in a row August 23, 2011 - Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com Struggling Swedish automaker Saab N.V. announced to workers today that some of the funds committed by investors have yet to be paid and thus may not be in place in time to make salary. Production of Saab vehicles in Sweden has been offline since March 2011. Saab was planning on restarting production on August 29th, but this recent announcement regarding payroll puts that idea into question. Source: Saab Media DD - Question to readers: How much longer till I have to move this forum into the "Heritage Marques" group?

So if only the CTS-V coupe had a center armrest and some extra aluminum it would be as good as the Germans? .... if only the Germans had 556hp and the exterior styling to match.....

There were lots of problems. I would talk to Toyota Motor U.S.A. and stir up some trouble.

There is no wood in ANY CTS-V unless you go with the Black Diamond edition. It's piano black all around and the trim between the rear seats matches it. Again, as long is Doane is not driving, I would have no problem going on a somewhat longer trip (hour or two) while riding in the back seat.

but what does he think of it?

Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me A CTS-V? My [/url]full review of the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

I found nothing lacking about the rear seat accommodations other then ingress and egress mostly because I was too lazy to wait for the power seat to move forward. I was perfectly comfortable in the back for a while until Doane started driving. The M3 - smaller and not as powerful, just barely as fast The M6 - bigger rear seat, not as powerful, not as fast, $45k more. The C63 AMG - no coupe yet, not nearly as powerful, not as fast, rear seat is a foam slab. The E63 AMG - no coupe, not as powerful, not as fast, $20k more The E550 coupe - Only 382 Horspower?, not as fast, but yea, the rear seat is bigger The Audi S5 - 200hp deficit, 225 lb-ft of torque deficit (and the peak is within 200rpm of each other), but yeah, the rear seat is bigger.

Chrysler Ending Dakota Production Tomorrow August 22, 2011 - Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com Chrysler will end production of the Ram/Dodge Dakota on August 23, 2011 which will cause layoffs at the Warren Truck Assembly in Warren Michigan. Some workers will be re-deployed to other plants. The Dakota currently shares a production line with the Ram 1500 pickup. In 2010, Chrysler sold just around 13,000 of the mid-sized pickup, down substantially from the 177,000 sold 10 years prior. The Dakota shared components and the platform with the 2005 Dodge Durango. That vehicle has since moved on to a redesigned CUV platform shared with the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, leaving the Dakota to be the only vehicle using those components. Chrysler will be releasing a new smaller pickup on a CUV based platform that Chrysler is calling a "lifestyle" vehicle. One of our long time members laments: The Pathetic State of Dakota Source:Detroit News

Oh Lord, Won't You Buy Me A CTS-V? style="width: 457px; height: 343px;" alt="CTS-V Coupe front" src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/gallery/album_144/med_gallery_51_144_3267146.png"> July 26, 2011 - DrewDowdell - CheersandGears.com With apologies to Janis Joplin: Oh Lord, won't you buy mea CTS-V? My friends all drive bimmers, they go faster than me. Worked hard all my lifetime, now I need something for me So Lord, won't you buy me a CTS-V? 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe -Full Review It is hard to write about a car that is so amazing. Where do you start? The awesome suede trim interior? The unending thrust? The handling when pushed hard? Or the ride when driven soft? I have a template that I use to write automotive reviews, but it feels inappropriate to use it here because this car doesn't fit any template out there. alt="2011 CTS-V Coupe" src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/gallery/album_144/gallery_51_144_1904383.png" hspace="20" vspace="20">The CTS-V Coupe is Cadillac's ultra high powered version of the CTS Coupe we havereviewed earlier. That CTS coupe comes with a 300 horsepower V6 thatmakes for satisfying thrust. The supercharged 6.2 litre V8 in the CTS-Vputs out enough horsepower to be about equal to the coupe's V6 plusthe V6 from the base CTS sedan for a grand total of 556 snorting ponies. All of that power is fed through a 6-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. Pick a gear... any gear... and the thrust is amazing. You know that part in the opening credits of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the Enterprise stretches out and goes to warp? That's exactly the feeling you get when you launch this car. The exhaust note is tuned to be refined, but you still get a hint of the old school muscle car burble in there. No soulless mechanical sounds here. During my time with the car, I averaged 13.1mpg while driving it hard and was able to get EPA on the highway at 18.5mpg. This is exactly in line with its main competitors the Mercedes Benz C65 AMG, the BMW M3 and M5. The CTS-V isn't just fast in a straight line, this heavy coupe can perform some extremely gratifying cornering maneuvers despite its 4,209lb curb weight. All in all, the curb weight isn't much of an issue as it does not detract from the driving experience. However, it also makes one wonder what Cadillac could have done in the handling department had the car been 500lbs lighter. Thankfully, out on the open highway, Cadillac's magnetic ride control smooths everything out into a quiet comfortable ride. Where other sports cars with tight handling might beat you up on a highway drive, the CTS-V coddles you. Inside I wasn't so sure about the suede inserts and covered steering wheel... until I needed them. Not only do they feel great in your hand, but they also give you an easier grip to keep your butt and hands planted where they should be when the road gets twisty. The piano black finish can get dusty quickly. Spend the $3 for a glove box sized California duster. The climate control and stereo work well enough, but the layout of the buttons for the combined sound system/navigation system could probably use a re-think. alt="2011 Cadillac CTS-V rear leg room" src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/gallery/album_144/gallery_51_144_57135.png" hspace="20" vspace="20"> alt="2011 Cadillac CTS-V center stack" src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/gallery/album_144/gallery_51_144_4002433.jpg" hspace="20" vspace="20">The optional front Recaros are sublime... as they should be for a $3,400 option. Rear seat legroom is still surprisingly good for this car. Certainly much better than GM's other 4-seat V8 coupe, the Camaro. People often wonder about rearward blind spots from the large. I never really had a problem with visibility out the back. It isn't the best, but it is by no means bad. In fact, I had a far harder time seeing out the back of the Camaro Convertible that followed this CTS-V. If someone is in your blind spot, just tap the pedal on the right... that should clear up the situation. The trunk opening is small, but over all space is reasonably large. If you think you're going to get yours and three of your buddy's golf clubs in there... 'taint happening. Here is a small plug for OnStar. Towards the end of one of our evaluation days, a family emergency came up. We were in a very rural area and my cell phone cut out. I used the on board phone to call back and get an assessment of the situation. After hanging up, I realized I didn't get the actual name of the hospital I would need to drive to. While on the road, I contacted an OnStar rep and explained to him that I needed to get to a hospital very close to a certain mall (that's all the information I had) and I didn't know the name of the hospital. The OnStar Rep was able to search the maps to locate the hospital nearest to this mall and have the directions downloaded into the NAV system. Try doing that with your Garmin. I engaged the warp drive and was there in record time. Thankfully, the family emergency ended with happy news 4 days later. Everyone around seems excited by the CTS-V. I get stopped to talk about this car CONSTANTLY. Everyone from 18 year old kids to 90 year old coots stepping out of their '98 Devilles want to talk to me about the car. Budget for extra time at the grocery store. style="width: 411px; height: 308px;" alt="2011 CTS-V coupe spoiler" src="http://www.cheersandgears.com/uploads/gallery/album_144/gallery_51_144_1198025.png" hspace="20" vspace="20"> In the end you can find minor quibbles with any car. I don't particularly like the location of the emergency door release handle and the switch gear on the dash to the left of the steering wheel is right out of Grandma's Buick Lucerne, but there is absolutely nothing about this Cadillac that would stop me from buying a stack of scratch off lottery tickets. So.. dear Lord, please, won't you buy me a CTS-V? Gallery: 2011 CTS-V coupe 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe (HD) from Chris Doane on Vimeo.

Could be a hint of what to expect in the ATS-V, but if it is to be 3.6L it has to be a heavily reworked block. There's a reason GM turbocharged the 2.8L version and not the 3.2L or the 3.6L versions of the HF V6. EDIT - But since there was a 2.8L installed on a 9-3 and doing 400hp (that car was once photographed at the Trollhättan parking lot), maybe the 3.0L can approach these numbers with ease. I'd want dwight's opinion on that.

I'm betting they'll test out how the Cruze does with a diesel first before coming to a decision. Cruze is their best selling car right now, that's where to test it.

I still think a Cruze diesel is in the picture for us eventually. The only sad part is having to buy an automatic for Albert.

Absolutely. They are probably going to build one for the EU anyway.