Drew Dowdell

Because now it looks a lot more like the CT6.  They're going to keep building the car till 2020 and possibly longer for China. 

I'm not a fan of capacitive touch controls in any car brand.  You can't operate them with gloves on. 

On the highway, diesels nearly always beat their EPA estimates by a good margin. 

And yet... Mazda and Chevy are coming out with diesel vehicles.  BMW is still building theirs... and if the rush on 2015 VW diesels is any indication, VW may not want to step out of the game there either if they can get their cars right.  There is a buying contingent out there that likes diesel cars. 

I am still very much in favor of electrification, but the hybrids are still too far on the eco side of things for my taste.  If you're going to go to all the trouble of electrifying the powertrain, at least add the benefit of the large amounts of torque that electric motors provide. The Volt is the one that sort of gets it right, but even then it's technically not a hybrid.

I'm interested in trying a CT6 PEV

I spotted a CT6 Platinum today in bright white... Beautiful car

I want to say another manufacturer got hit with something similar about a year ago... airbags that didn't go off in certain situations and it was programming related.

I know from researching the GM ignition switch recall that the NHTSA already knows there is a certain percentage of crashes where the airbags do not deploy... and even in the GM scandal, the percent of crashes where the airbags didn't deploy due to switch failure was well below the national average.  It makes it really hard to detect a defect in coding or the series-of-unfortunate-events-on-an-ignition-switch that ends up causing a fatality.   You're talking a sample size of a percent of a percent of crashes at best, and then you only start to see the defect when large numbers of vehicles are cranked out. 

Too much like my old kitchen floor

I actually like it.  I hope the V-Sport continues, though I doubt it will. 

Well I stopped by @balthazar's place on my way from DC to Edison NJ for him to take a look.  I popped the hood, he shook his head and said, "The problem is that you have too many vacuum hoses".

Kidding aside. I continued on my trip another 12 miles after I left Balth's, parked the car at the hotel, made a quick run to Target (5 miles round trip), and this morning I barely got it started when I was leaving for work.   I tried to find an open place the sold AC Delco batteries, but their website must be pretty out of date as the first one I got to looks like it had been closed for years.  I gave up on AC Delco and went to PepBoys. 

I am now the owner of a Bosch AGM battery. $143 out the door. 

Thanks for the advice everyone.

AGM?

Update. I just started it 4 times in a row after going through and snugging up every connection I could find. I removed the wired from the alternator, resnugged them.

Let's see what happens.

One thing I forgot to add... about a month ago, I took the battery to Autozone for them to test it.  They said it was fine and just very very low. They recharged it and handed it back to me.  However, I feel a little suspicious... if it was as low as they said, they "recharged it" very quickly.  It was done in 30 minutes. 

Alternator was done in November

So, recently I have been needing to jump the Toronado if I let it sit more than a few days.   Last night, in anticipation of a road trip this morning, I put the battery on the charger for about 4 hours.  This morning, it fired right up, no trouble.  I head out on my road trip, 250 miles total. I had my headlights on for most of the trip due to rain.  During the trip I made at least 3 stops where the engine was shut off.  Each time, on restart, she fired up like she just rolled off the line at Linden NJ. 

I arrived at my destination around 1 pm.  At 4:30pm, I run out for a quick errand, no more than 5 miles each way No problems starting at either of my stops.  I pull into the driveway here to unload the car, intending to move it out of the driveway after the car was unloaded.  When I went to move it, the starter tried to crank, but died and the lights died.  My digital clock reset back to 12am. I was able to jump it fairly quickly (albert drove down in the Encore also). I made sure the posts were tights... they weren't finger loose, but I was able to snug Neg up a little bit with a wrench.

 I moved it to it's parking spot and shut it off... disgusted, I didn't bother to try and restart it. 

I don't know the exact age of the battery, but it's over 5 years. I replaced the battery not long after I bought the car in July of 2011. 

Thoughts?  Should I be battery shopping or should I look at something else? 

13 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

In a big way the Stelvio is competition for the E-class, CTS, A6 and 5-series.  Buyers have been trading out of mid size sedans into small SUVs for years, now comes along an SUV that will set The Nurburgring lap time record for an SUV if it hasn't already and he capable of sub 4 second 0-60 times. You are getting SUV practicality and space with E43 or ATS-V performance.  

Sedans are hurting now sadly, I imagine they will more so as more performance crossovers come along.  And I prefer a sedan, luckily the one I like isn't going away but I bet the RLX and GS go away.

It's a tall hatchback... it's barely even a crossover.

I argue against the idea that this is an RX fighter. The RX is a full size-class above the Stelvio. X3 fighter, maybe.

The 6-series interior is way too tight for a car that large. I get that it's supposed to be a grand tourer and not a 7-series sedan, but it's just too small inside.  The CLS is much better feeling in comparison. 

4 hours ago, allonso71 said:

What's up guys! I joined to gain more as well as share my knowledge to others. I own a 2012 F150 and 2015 Focus. See you around guys!

Glad to have you here.

3 hours ago, lengnert said:

Good morning....  I am relatively new to this forum, but I have found it to my liking.  Still getting used to the format, but I am old so it takes me longer.

Also glad to have you here.  The format will be updated a bit in the coming months.  If you need any help, you can PM me directly. 

It was the long hair that made me know it was you

Just about the most irrelevant model on sale today. 

UK - Off-Roader - Land Rover Range Rover

Germany - Lux - S600 Maybach

Italy - Weekend/Fun -  Fiat 124 Abarth

Japan - Do I have to?

US - Family - Escalade ESV

Sweden - Daily - Volvo XC90

56 minutes ago, aurora97 said:

You mean Sergio hasn't claimed that this would be a great deal for FCA yet?

Maybe Maserati could buy it.

He does have a point.  The entire industry shouldn't suffer just because of one bad company.

In a single picture for your sharing convenience.... 

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Who blessed with the gift of sight would willingly drive this ???

 

I don't find this remotely pleasant from a design standpoint, yet it's 1000 times better than the above repulsive monster :

 

Huh. Looking at these 2 together, I'm struck by the similarity. Was Toyota inspired by the '61 Plymouth?? I need to plant this very seed around the internet!

I think you just did....

If Royal Enfield really has the money they claim to have... I think Ducati is in better hands with a parent company that has billions in cash rather than billions in fines. 

Volkswagen, still under steep financial pressure from their diesel emissions scandal, is apparently looking to put some of its many assets on the auction block.  Up first looks to be famed Italian motorcycle builder Ducati. In July of 2012, Volkswagen originally acquired Ducati for $909 million through a complicated transaction involving subsidiary Audi which in turn owns Lamborghini which is the current holder of Ducati. The purchase was the brainchild of then VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a long time motorcycle enthusiast.  Analysts at the time felt that it was more a trophy purchase for Chariman Piëch than one that made financial sense for VW.

Sources have reported that VW has enlisted Evercore, an investment bank, to investigate the possible sale options for Ducati. Estimates currently peg Ducati with a value of around $1.63 billion (1.5b €).  Speculation is that Indian automaker Eicher, maker of motorcycle brand Royal Enfield is interested and exploring possibly acquiring the brand. While not as well known in the US, Royal Enfield sells more motorcycles globally than famed maker Harley Davidson. Eicher, which also partners with Polaris and Volvo Trucks for production in India is aggressively looking to grow its global portfolio. Eicher Motors recent growth means it has over $540 million* in cash reserves to put towards that global expansion goal. 

Ducati sold 55,451 units in 2016. Other possible buyers of Ducati could include Harley Davidson, Polaris, and Suzuki.

Source: Times of India

Pictures courtesy of Ducati and Royal Enfield

*In an earlier version of this article we converted Indian Rupee to US Dollars incorrectly. -DD

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