Drew Dowdell

Politics is somewhat necessary when discussion of the rules and regulations of vehicles comes into play, or tariffs, or taxation. I leave a long leash for discussion of the subject because I have the somewhat idealist hope that we can all behave like adults in here, though I am repeatedly proven wrong. So yes, we do allow some discussion of politics in so much as it pertains to cars. Some people here push the limited of that by injecting unneeded political commentary into posts that have nothing to do with the subject at hand.

Fixed that for you. I think that 20 somethings would buy them if they could afford them.

$25M did seem like a pittance in the grand scheme of things. But I wonder if he's relatively cash poor out of his billions in assets. He'd probably have to sell off stakes in other entities to buy all of the Tesla shares.

I've had to carry two smart phones with me for 19 years now, back when they were blackberries and palm pilots. These days my work phone isn't that important. I haven't been on call in years.

They'll just try and stretch a Camaro face over it like they did with the Blazer.

Drove one for a week... I could see out of it just fine. It's actually a very comfortable car to drive once you get into it... it's the getting in and getting out that is an issue. Americans aren't as young as they use to be.

It really depends on what happens with the Alpha platform. I do wish they'd make the Camaro larger inside. If Alpha can support a car as big as the CTS, they can make the Camaro somewhat bigger. That the Challenger is outselling it really says something. The V6 with the 10-speed is probably a really sweet ride. I drove the V6 + 8-speed convertible and I found it to be plenty fast. The V8 is good, but very few people would be disappointed with the V6.

Tesla is seeking to raise nearly $2.7 billion to add to its sagging balance sheet according to a filling. It would offer 3.5 million shares priced at $243 per share and a $1.6 billion convertible debt. Elon Musk will be buying $25 million in shares and currently owns around a 20 percent stake in the company. Wall Street seemed to find this capital raise promising as it boosted shares 1.5% before the opening bell. Analysts were calculating that Tesla, which burned $1.5 billion in Q1-2019 alone, would not have enough cash to continue working on its Model Y crossover and the new Tesla Semi-truck, and also getting production rolling in China. In the backdrop of a sagging US auto market, Tesla has seen demand for its cars soften dramatically in the US over the past two quarters, though demand for EVs in Europe has increased. View full article

Ford said that it would be cutting a shift from its Essex Engine Plant in Ontario starting in October. Ford says the move will "better align with consumer demand". The likely cause? Ford F-150 buyers are shifting more of their purchases away from the 5.0 liter V8. F-150 buyers have a choice of 5 engines when selecting a truck, the 2.7-liter Ecoboost, the 3.3-liter V6, the 3.5-liter Ecoboost, and now a 3.0-liter PowerStroke Diesel, all in addition to the 5.0-liter V8, and the customer mix appears to be skewing towards the smaller displacement engines. The cut in shifts will not result in job cuts as those workers will be transitioned to another engine plant to build the 7.3-liter engine due to be installed in the 2020 Ford Super Duties. That transition will happen in November of this year. View full article

Overall sales for the whole US market were down 2.3%

Chevrolet has updated the Camaro for 2020 with some new styling updates and packaging changes. Most notable is the updated front fascia which received much criticism. The new front end appearance comes for the SS model based on the Camaro Shock show vehicle that debuted at the SEMA show last fall. The Bowtie emblem is now higher on the grille, and the bar between the upper and lower grilles is now body color. Also new is a new LT1 model that takes the Camaro LT trim and adds the 455 horsepower LT1 engine. This makes the LT1 trim the most affordable V8 Camaro with a starting price of $34,995 including destination charges. The LT1 will be offered in both hardtop and convertible configurations. Other additions to the LT1 are the vented hood from the SS, black bowtie badges, 20-inch SS style wheels, and an available technology package. Buyers of the V6 will also see a boost as the engine is now mated to the 10-speed automatic from the SS and ZL1. Chevrolet has struggled with sales of the Camaro in recent years, often coming in third place in sales behind the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger. The 2020 Camaro with all of these updates will go on sale in Fall 2019. View full article

Wait till you learn to search for car parts from it while you're still under the car.....

Because they're using that money to try and revive dead Italian brands. Something over a billion dollars spent on the Alfa platform, and what have they got to show for it?!?

Must be a platform limitation.

My impression of the Chinese billboard was more that they were criticizing Tesla's customer service and long repair times. Cars of every make break down at some point, but 45 days average repair time is unacceptable no matter what brand it is. They'd be putting the same billboard up in Time Square if it was Camrys that were taking 45 days to fix also.

There's plenty of money. They have no debt. They already have the platform. They could build two or three crossovers off the Pacifica. Build a Terrain sized crossover for Chrysler off the Cherokee and give it a Buick Envision type of quiet luxury. Jeep is gushing cash and that cash is being spent poorly on trying to give CPR to Alfa Romeo and Fiat instead of Chrysler. As far as making it global, they could be sold as Chrysler in China and as Lancia in Europe. Just swap the badges. Chrysler isn't meant to compete against the German brands directly. It should be more of a Lincoln brand/Buick brand type of thing. Porsche and Audi are no more different than Chrysler and Jeep... if anything they are much closer in mission than Chrysler and Jeep are.

Lincoln style crossovers based on Pacifica. It could be done just fine. Why does Porsche, Audi, and VW all have SUVs that overlap?

Porsche Reports April U.S. Retail Sales First four months up 2.7 percent ahead of new Macan, 911, electric TaycanAtlanta, Georgia. Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (PCNA), importer and distributor of the Porsche 911, 718 Boxster and Cayman, Panamera, Cayenne, and Macan model lines, today announced April retail sales of 5,018 vehicles. The total was an increase of 5.0 percent from March but down 9.9 percent from a record April 2018. The primary reason for the year-over-year decline was the transition to the new Macan, the best-selling Porsche model that is due in U.S. dealerships this month. U.S. retail sales in the first four months were 2.7 percent ahead of the same period in 2018, which itself was the seventh record retail year in a row for PCNA. “We are already feeling the excitement for the refreshed Macan and later this year for the eighth generation of the iconic Porsche 911,” said Klaus Zellmer, President and CEO of PCNA. “In September we will unveil the first all-electric Porsche, the Taycan, so all in all we have a thrilling year to look forward to along with our 191 U.S. dealer partners.” April results were driven by strong demand for the new Cayenne, with a notable 86.1 percent increase compared to April 2018. The mid-engine 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman together were up 1.3 percent from a year ago. Porsche Approved Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) sales in the U.S. totaled 1,975 vehicles in April, up 9.4 percent year-over-year. Model April Sales Year-to-Date 2019 2018 2019 2018 ALL 911 655 804 3,549 3,315 ALL 718 612 604 1,277 1,956 ALL PANAMERA 992 1,026 2,690 2,942 ALL CAYENNE 1,645 884 7,204 4,171 ALL MACAN 1,114 2,252 5,322 7,140 GRAND TOTALS 5,018 5,570 20,042 19,524

Chrysler needs product. Jeep and Ram are thriving because they actually have new product. Chrysler will too if given the chance.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported April sales of 22,949 Mercedes- Benz models. Mercedes-Benz Vans reported April sales of 2,682 units and smart reported 85, bringing MBUSA to a grand total of 25,716 vehicles for the month. On a year-to-date basis, MBUSA recorded sales of 94,120, adding 10,158 units for Vans and 316 vehicles for smart, bringing the year-to-date sales volume to 104,594. "Sales in April were again impacted by model changes and availability constraints of our high-volume SUV and compact model lines," said Dietmar Exler, president and CEO of MBUSA. "We expect increased vehicle availability in the coming months." Mercedes-Benz sales leaders in April included the GLC, C-Class and E-Class model lines. The GLC lead totals with 5,378 vehicles followed by C-Class sales of 4,054. The E-Class rounded out the top three with 3,372. April sales of Mercedes-AMG high-performance models totaled 2,796 units (+3.3%) with 12,480 vehicles sold year-to-date (+20.9%). Separately, Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) models recorded sales of 10,311 vehicles in April, an increase of 10.9% versus last year. On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 40,676 vehicles, an increase of 4.2% from the previous year. Mercedes-Benz Passenger Vehicles Apr-19 Apr-18 Monthly % YTD 2019 YTD 2018 Yearly % A-CLASS 804 _ _ 1,694 _ _ B-CLASS 1 7 -85.7% 4 129 -96.9% CLA 986 1,910 -48.4% 6,196 7,365 -15.9% C-CLASS 4,054 5,148 -21.3% 19,056 18,498 3.0% E-CLASS/CLS 3,372 3,945 -14.5% 13,766 16,380 -16.0% S-CLASS 958 1,535 -37.6% 4,109 6,100 -32.6% SLC 303 197 53.8% 812 783 3.7% SL 193 202 -4.5% 629 842 -25.3% AMG GT 340 178 91.0% 984 559 76.0% GLA 1,770 2,011 -12.0% 6,491 8,535 -23.9% GLC 5,378 5,853 -8.1% 20,744 22,113 -6.2% GLE 2,566 4,110 -37.6% 9,101 15,766 -42.3% GLS 1,678 1,794 -6.5% 7,695 7,290 5.6% G-CLASS 546 317 72.2% 2,839 1,321 114.9% TOTAL 22,949 27,207 -15.7% 94,120 105,681 -10.9% Vans 2,682 2,815 -4.7% 10,158 11,001 -7.7% smart 85 93 -8.6% 316 414 -23.7% MBUSA Combined Total Apr-19 Apr-18 Monthly % YTD 2019 YTD 2018 Yearly % GRAND TOTAL 25,716 30,115 -14.6% 104,594 117,096 -10.7% 1 Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner Sprinter and Metris Vans are sold and marketed in the U.S. by Mercedes-Benz USA and Daimler Vans USA, respectively.