Drew Dowdell

Because Teslas are ugly. Auroras are not. What would KBB say about the value of your Pontiac in its current condition? Why would you dump money into it?

Will any of them be for transverse applications?

Yeah, the independent rear suspension on the Aurora (and Riviera, Eldorado, and Seville) is a pretty compact setup, but it had to be. The Aurora has a tiny trunk relative to its overall size as it was a 4-door outgrowth of the Toronado which was a "personal" luxury car. The Toronados from '79 - '92 have relatively tiny trunks too. I'm sure you could put a second motor back there, but you'd lose what trunk space you did have. You might be able to put the motor in the spare tire well, but then you'd need some sort of transmission/gearing to move the output and half-shafts forward to the axle line and with a motor hanging behind the rear wheels it would cause some .... interesting... driving dynamics.

The rear suspension will be your biggest issue. They don’t have room back there. Doing it on a budget probably want to stick to the original setup.

Depends on location. If you live in suburban Iowa, sure. One of the nicer parts of Philly, not so much.

Apparently Pfizer is seeking FDA approval for 4th boosters. I’m 3x Moderna, but I’ll get Pfizer if it’s approved. Mixing vaccine boosters is supposed to give a slight immune advantage. if it gets approved soon (and there is no reason not to, they already do it for the 65+ set and the immunocompromised), I’ll be eligible at the end of April.

I’d love to find a final year of the first Gen Aurora, but they are almost always beat to hell. People didn’t preserve them.

???????

That BMW is a 1998 or 1999. 1997 or 1998 I'm assuming some of this stuff is getting sold... so maybe.

Well within range of me if you don't mind a visitor

*perks up at the Motorcycles*

I'm sorry to hear that @Robert Hall. And I'm sorry I wasn't around to be aware of it.

I feel like I missed a couple episodes somewhere...

In the Kia Luxury Brand thread. Any luxury SUV competes directly with any other luxury suv of the same price regardless of purpose or styling.

Really? That’s odd. You think a Defender and an X4 are competition.

If it bases at $50k, it’s going to have significant competition when it gets here in *checks notes* two years. Chevy will have 2 EV crossovers and an EV truck in that same range. Tesla will still have their rabid fanbois. Kia and Hyundai have entries too.

I think this will do okay because it’s “cute”. It will likely be the price that’s the killer.

Post pics of your rides, but try and get them all in one frame!

This is the spiritual successor to the Neu Beetle. Retro, cute, but this time a modern powertrain and roomy enough for people/families to actually buy.

Because they operate as separate companies that share tech rather than the GM model of multiple divisions that develop together.

@smk4565, did you hack into @balthazar's account? Jaguar/LR are barely the volume of the Denali trim at GMC. I wasn't speaking of volume, I'm speaking of differentiation of purpose. Defender and Discovery buyers are not cross-shopping against the E-Pace or F-Pace, they're looking at the Lexus GX, or maybe Yukon Denali or Grand Cherokee Summit if they're open to brand-slumming it. E-Pace and F-pace buyers are going to cross-shop with Macan or X4/5 or GLE "coupe" or the Infiniti QX70 if they still made it. The Genesis GV70 and GV80 are direct broadside torpedo shots to the GLC/RX/MDX (the XT5 should be here, but it's so outclassed on the interior I can't put it in the list with a straight face) and the GLE/QX60/Aviator respectively. These are the big cushy cruiser crossovers. What I'm saying is there is room for KLB to do a better Defender / Discovery / GX460... or an Escalade/Navigator/LX (hybrid or EV only of course) then add the Stinger with a substantially upgraded interior and a "rugged" small EV (think Baby Rivian) and you've got yourself a luxury brand that doesn't overlap with Genesis.

You're thinking old style rebadging. That is exactly what I wouldn't want to do. Where Genesis is curvy, KLB should be square. Where Genesis is plush (and their higher trims are very plush), KLB should be firm and restrained. Designed with function in mind rather than flare.

Yes... but they'll compete for different people. The LR Defender and the Lincoln Aviator and Acura MDX and Porsche Macan and Lexus GX460 all start at around $50k +/- $5k Are you suggesting that there is a lot of cross-shopping between those models just because they're the same price SMK @balthazar? I'm suggesting that Genesis looks at the GLE/Aviator/Macan buyers while while KLB does the more off-roady, woodsy Defender / GX buyers There's nobody left that has two luxury divisions around the same price class except perhaps Jaguar-Land Rover. But it is exactly them who I would point to as an example of suitable differentiation. Their issues aren't from competing with each other but a host of other things.

That’s why I’m suggesting that they do not overlap, but hit different “styles” of luxury. Genesis takes on the metro-chic luxury of Mercedes. KLB goes after the woodsy “I own a working estate In Connecticut” like LandRover and the Lexus GX/LX

From the mail bag.... occasionally I get these e-mails regarding this 10-year-old article in protest to @Blake Noble's conclusions.... usually, they're just one-line retorts calling us stupid... but I got this one last week and it was very well written. Dennis says: "I would disagree with your review of the Chrysler 2.2 - I had cars with both the 2.2 and 2.5 - my mom had an 83 Plymouth Reliant with the 2.2 and auto trans - she drove it until she quit driving at about 160,000 miles - when we sold it. I did have the head off once I believe, or maybe just the valve cover gasket - the main thing on this car is that it needed to be tuned just a bit out of specs for it to run right - if set within specs it would not run well at all until warmed up. Frustrating thing is that the mechanic showed me that it made very little difference in emissions tuning it to the place where it would run great. The car was comfortable, had one a/c repair at about 100,000 miles, roomy, and I thought it was an attractive car - hers had a nice dash and interior - unlike the ugly cars of today. I did try to keep this car well maintained - so that helped no doubt. But at over 160,000 miles, it was running great, not burning oil, and got great gas mileage. The 2.5 engine was very smooth, but I would take the slightly better gas mileage of the 2.2 over the smoothness of the 2.5. And the 2.5 still sounded not-sporty at a stoplight in my 87 Daytona" Dennis, we love to disagree with people and we love when people disagree with us. It's part of what makes this site fun. So please consider signing up and join in the fun.