Drew Dowdell

but I thought your mom was at Kinkos running off PFLAG fliers within minutes of you coming out......

they are shortening model cycles, that's probably why they're not bothering with the hatch until the next release.

What?! Two-Door Trooper II w/o any signs of rust Sorry, that was supposed to say "old style Benz grill insert"

The SRX out powers both the Mercedes and BMW.... how is it limited?

A new Lucerne with an old style Benz insert..... oookaaay.....

Not necessarily true, otherwise we'd be using turbines. However, the testers felt the power came on too unnaturally... and the project ended. To expand on what JB said... it's the size of the boat AND the motion of the ocean.

and why not? 25 years ago, V8s were the norm and they typically put out between 160hp to 240hp. 10 years ago the typical Family V6 sedan could come with horsepower somewhere in the range of 160hp to 240hp. Fast forward to 2011 and most 4 cylinders (some with turbo) are capable of .... 160hp to 240hp... with some going higher than that even. V6es have moved into the 260hp to 360hp range.... any V6 with less than 260hp gets laughed at. People buy what they need and can afford.... and the 160hp - 240hp appears to be the range that satisfies most drivers.

2012 Cadillac SRX gains the LFX July 26th, 2011 Drew Dowdell - CheersandGears.com For 2012 Cadillac is dumping the smooth but overwhelmed 3.0 liter V6 and replacing it with the new LFX 308 horsepower V6 giving it a jump of 43 horsepower over the 2011 model. While the 308 horsepower is a good marketing bump, where consumers will feel the biggest change is in the torque rating. The outgoing 3.0 V6 produced just 223 lb-ft of torque at a lofty 5,100rpm. This meant that the driver would have to keep the engine rev higher even just for regular city driving. Indeed, the lack of torque was noted in our earlier review of the 2011 Cadillac SRX 3.0 and 2.8 Turbo. Cadillac remedies this deficiency by increasing torque output to 265 lb-ft and making that torque peak available at just 2,400 rpm. In city driving, this should make the SRX feel substantially faster than the 3.0 model. In fact, this new torque rating pushes the SRX above the base engines of the BMW X3, Lexus RX350, Audi Q5 and Mercedes Benz GLK. The only luxury crossovers on the radar that offer more torque (Lincoln MKX and Acura MDX) make you rev the engine much higher to get it. Along with the new engine, Cadillac is including a revised 6-speed automatic transmission with an Eco mode that lowers the rpm for each shift point, there by increasing fuel efficiency. With all of this increased power, fuel economy does get dinged by 1mpg in each rating to 17/24 cty/hwy for the front wheel drive model and 16/23 cty/hwy for the all wheel drive one. However, my guess is that with the availability of more torque at lower rpm, achiving those numbers will be more realistic.... something that couldn't be said for last year's model. Cadillac claims that 71% of SRX buyers come from other brands. This has helped the SRX to take number 2 spot in the entry luxury crossover segment. With the above changes plus some other baubles and bright work, Cadillac is clear that they are not standing still.

Well... technically... the Intrigue had a wider track than the GP.... so the Olds was the better car.

The reality is this "glorified golfcart" can walk away from an Audi R8 like it's standing still. Electric motors have a distinct performance advantage over gasoline engines. Electric motors have 100% of maximum torque at ZERO rpm. Some of the fastest objects on land use electric motors for propulsion. The Volt was never intended to be a performance car, however it's performance is quite respectable for what it is.

I don't really see the "hyundai" interior in the new Malibu. I felt much higher quality than the Sonata when I checked it out in NY.

My most frequent issue is with people who tailgate. Typically a large SUV with the driver yapping on a cell phone. I am pretty good about keeping to the speed limit.... but I also frequently feel the need to check my brakes... you know.. just in case. More than once I've seen the person drop the cell phone to grab the wheel with both hands. Then my sun roof opens and the finger goes up and out.

I agree with your assessment, however, you keep suggesting cars that are 1.) way over the size limit. and 2.) some of the biggest maintenance nightmares around. I sat in the Kazashi today.... it is a serious contender.

If the engine is as mechanically sound as he claims it is, there is nothing wrong with a fully operational 8-6-4

Twas the Fiesta. The CR-V is fixed (mostly) for now.

2013 Chevrolet Sonic

When I'm heading your direction, I usually find someone with NJ plates going at a high rate of speed and fall in behind them. I've done this before with a new (at the time) Corvette and I followed in my CTS from Pittsburgh to Lancaster at triple digit speeds. The oddest convoy I ever got into was also partially my doing. S-type - C-Class - with me in the FrankenWagen following close behind. Then there was also the day I brought my Toronado home. It doesn't get much more "birds of a feather" than this:

I will be there both days. My car isn't really show worthy, but since I'm going both days, and parking is a $10 "donation" I figure I'd just register it for $25 and then be right on the show field rather than having to take the parking shuttle. I'll look for you on Sunday.

We've been looking at the Equinox and he does really like it, but to buy one new... well, Chevy rightfully isn't discounting at the moment. Heated seats + AWD is typically over $25k. If I could find a Vue Green-Line, that would probably be ideal if they come in AWD. The Cruze diesel announcement put a kink in things. I may try to pursued him to keep the CR-V as a backup vehicle (since it is nearly paid off) and use the Cruze diesel as his daily driver. The CR-V would still be around for winter driving and I could get a set of snow tires for the oil burner since I'm not afraid of driving in snow without AWD.

Start thinking back to Compass/Impreza sized. SRX will be a tough sell for size as it is. There's no way he'll go for an LX car. C-class 4matics?

Cool. You making any money off it yet?

Beautiful car! Not digging the wheels, but I can understand the likely reason for doing it. Finding the proper whitewalls in the OE size is difficult these days. Side note, are you coming to the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, ClassyEldo? I thought I remembered you being in Pittsburgh also. My car will be on the show field.

Really? Seriously? No where near the goals we are trying to reach.

I think bigger outside factors killed GM's pushrods. Their utter refusal to pair the 3.4 and 3.9 with a 6-speed auto really held those engines back. The 3.6 is a HUGE HEAVY V6 compared to the 3.9. Sure the 3.9 didn't make as much power, but it also doesn't have direct injection either. As for smoothness, I don't know how many times I can tell the story of my driving one on the highway in 3rd gear for 20 miles and only realizing it when the MPG average dropped significantly. I took 66stang out for a ride in the Lucerne, we had it to 80mph and downshifted into 3rd. There is simply no visceral or audible change. Yes, the 3800 was old... we get it. But the 3900 was as smooth as any modern DOHC V6.

^^^ I may consider buying one for Albert to use as his daily driver and then keep the CR-V for winter back up duty. The Honda's last payment is end of Sept, so we'll have some time to put some extra money aside for this. My only hope is that they don't sell the diesel as an economy model only. I still want the creature comforts on it.