Drew Dowdell

I let my friend with the Streetfighter ride the r nine t and now he's considering trading for one. His issue with the Ducati is that he finds it hard to ride calmly.... he can't just go out and cruise because the bike wants to go fast all the time. That's a problem if you just want to commute to work on your bike a couple of days a week because it make the commute exhausting. I've taken the bike to work 4 times now and it's just perfect. It is completely happy just puttering along at moped speeds while we slog our way through suburban rush hour traffic.... and when I want to pull on the throttle it's ready to go fast. You can get on my bike at a lower cost, mine only cost what it did because of what I was looking for. But you can get a 2014 R nine T original (lower to the ground, higher end suspension, higher end brakes, more instrumentation, shorter rake) for $8,280. Or you can get a 2018 R nine T Pure (my bike, lower to the ground, shorter rake) for $9,250, but this one has upgrades, including one that I plan to do which costs about $700. Mine was $10,900, but it only had 2,600 miles (hit 3,000 last night) and also has upgrades like the wire wheels, heated grips, and stability control. The seller also threw in the bag + mount, phone mount, and a throttle lock. I feel like I got a fair deal because even though I plan to do upgrades, absolutely none are necessary like that bag + mount would have been had I bought it without. I've had it at speed now that I agree with the reviewers that more higher gears would be good.

In my area at least, they now have more doses than they have willing recipients. If you've been waiting for your shot, look around to see if there are some new appointments available.

Did you ever get it to spin?

MMm... pie.

I'm just waiting for Jimmy Carter to come out and tell me to put on a sweater... that thing just yawns malaise...

In this era, that is correct. The consolette was an option on the Deluxe trim and only existed as a storage box between the front seats and did not intrude into the front flat floor. I don't think the Toronado got a console shifter until 1986, but that one was a horseshoe shifter.

I know, but you see the point I'm making. The trouble with Ford's claim is exactly what you're pointing out, that the infrastructure isn't there or it's broken or locked behind a gate or inside a <Dealer Brand> service center. However, if you limit yourself to just Ford's network when charging, you're going to be frustrated. Jumping on ChargePoint, it shows way more than just the 2 fast chargers he found in NYC on the Ford app. He could have used other networks, he just chose not to. It would be like saying you'll only fill up with one brand of gas and then complaining when your one brand doesn't have a station nearby but Exxon does. What would any sane person do? They'd just go to the Exxon.

My only issue with the article is that he pretty much stuck with the Ford charging app to find chargers. Sure, Ford claims to have the largest charging network (by location, not by number of chargers), but limiting yourself to just that network is foolish.... you wouldn't do that with gas stations, so why would you with charging stations. That would be like me writing an article about driving across country but only filling up at Costcos and then complaining when there wasn't one on my route but there are 15 BPs, 7 Exxons, and a couple other local chains.

Fixed. The Cherokee Trailhawk and certain equipped levels of Forester and Outback are certainly more off-road capable.

yes, in HP/Liter.... if you're spinning them to 7,000 rpm... they are the highest HP/Liter they've ever been.... But all of the manufacturers putting these sub-1.5liter I3 and I4s in things that really need more displacement is what I think @Davidis referencing. My Encore was an overall great vehicle hampered by the 1.4T... and now they've made a bigger version powered by a smaller displacement motor. eAssist couldn't hurt.

Sometimes a bunch of us thinking out loud helps the overall understanding for the group.... it's all good.

They are just marketing BS. Unfortunately, we have a whole new class of people now who look fit but have next to zero cardio stamina. Covid has caused permanent lung damage in many of those who caught it. Good friends of mine who are(were?) arguably more athletic than I am, now get winded climbing the steps to their second floor apartment and they had Covid over a year ago. One of them was a wrestler. It's not always about what the legs can do but what the heart and lungs can do.

I can't tell if it is AWD or not... but I'm guessing not with those specs of only having 1 motor.

Not everyone is as fit as everyone else. The E-Bikes allow for an assist for those who need it.

That Lyriq could get Cadillac back in my good graces, I really like it.

Dragging their ass like an old Lincoln Continental with blown air springs...... so dumb

How are they for biking? (the pedal kind)

No one is going overlanding in a Santa Cruz, the hardware under there is still car based. This is for people who walk paved Rails-to-Trails paths at Ohiopyle and call it hiking.

Exactly! I keep seeing the Zephyr all over my Facebook feed and people going gaga over it.... I'm here like "It's just a refreshed Fusion/MKZ". And really, the only difference in the profile is that instead of flipping the end of the top of the trunk up, they flicked it down so it's "like an A7"... but that's where the similarity to the Audi ends.

The Ford Maverick will be more trucky but just as small.

I got the down low torque though. and my car isn’t listed for sale nor would it be listed as “power everything”.

Thought of the day - If you're listing a car with the 4100 engine.. you really can't say "power everything" can you...?

If it’s a conventional filter, sure, but there nothing indicating that it is aside from the outside shape. Even still, regular synthetic motor oil is good for up to 12,000 miles in a gas engine. This would not have the heat nor the pollution from the combustion process to deal with. So, conservatively, double the life of the oil and filter right there. Or transmission fluid... that runs 100k through a filter these days just fine. There are plenty of examples out there of oils lasting that long when not in an engine.

No, we don’t agree. Because with the weather I can see when a hurricane is on its way. I don’t know exactly where it will land but I know it’s coming.

There is just enough competition out there that someone will do it. Once all the biggies get into it, someone will break. Of the major manufacturers, I would guess Hyundai/Kia will be the first to do it as they like being a disrupter. If they can do this as a way to further undermine Toyota/Honda who are way behind everyone else (and in Honda's case, relying on GM for technology) they'll take that shot in a heartbeat. If not them, it will be Ford. GM has taken the stance of everything they make being "premium" and "premium price". They aren't even interested in catering to the lower end of the market even in ICE vehicles. Take away the Spark which no one buys, their lowest priced vehicle is the Trailblazer in base trim... but that's a catalog only model... nearly all of them are LT or higher trim starting at $25k. Then so is the weather report. If the only weather report you believe is the raindrops on your head, there's not much I can do to help you. You see, I also have an app on my phone that shows me the radar and wind direction in Ohio so that I know that rain is still coming my way. Right now, the majority of the cost of BEVs is in the batteries. Electric motors are relatively cheap compared to a turbo V6 or something like that. They're substantially easier to manufacture. Will a 2025 Silverado BEV be cheaper than a 2021 Silverado? Of course not and neither will the ICE 2025 Silverado. But just like hybrids the cost difference will diminish until they reach an inflection point. There will also be a period of time where manufacturers will hold prices higher because they can. Just like Tesla working what you don't pay in gasoline into their monthly payment, the other manufacturers will "sell" that aspect as part of the advantage of going electric. And they'll be able to do that until one of the manufacturers breaks in order to try and corner the market as I mentioned above. Again... There will come a time when the manufacturers stop spending money on developing these parts. A few manufacturers have already stated they're not creating any new ICE engine families, what they have now it going to be it for the next 15 or so years. They'll do tweaks where they need to, maybe pair a smaller engine up with an electric motor, but I think we have already seen our last all-new V8 from a major manufacturer. GM and Ford may each squeak out one more big revision of their current V8s, but it won't be a clean-sheet design. V6es won't be far behind... with the current trend in turbo-charged 4-cylinders, there is zero reason for a manufacturer to invest in a new clean-sheet V6. The newest Jeep I6 could be the last new 6 from a major manufacturer that we see. GM's latest engine developments were the I-3s... GM probably already developed their last V6. I don't expect any more revisions to the 3.6. The 3.0TT will live for a while in Cadillacs, but the Lambdas will go Turbo-4 and I4 Hybrid next go-round. The 3.6 will live on in the Canyon/Colorado for a while until they put the 2.7T in there instead, probably at the next full-redesign. As always... follow the money.... and the money flowing to ICE engine development is trying up.