Drew Dowdell

2 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Like you, that wasnt my goal either.

Further down in the thread after that post you quoted, you get a glimpse of my thought process. And yes, I do think the Continental's interior is fine in its price range...

Why I am whining?

Its because I kinda wished Lincoln (and Cadillac) dont only give us "just fine for their price range", I want Lincoln (and Cadillac) to punch ABOVE their price  range to REALLY WOO badge snobs...or at least match Audi because Audi, in my opinion, are the industry leaders in their interiors no matter what price range we are talking about. And the Continental does not match up to a comparable Audi.

As for Tesla, high tech wizardry gives them a pass in that regard.

HOWEVER, soon, as other brands delve into EVs, Tesla better start investing in their interiors as many would not be as forgivable  as they are now concerning the interiors as their tech advantage wont longer be.

Lincoln had been below its class with the MKS for years... I'd say even going back to the first FWD generation of Continental.... after the last RWD Continental, Lincoln gave up on competing on interiors.  Today's Continental I'd put on par or higher than other vehicles in its price class. 

As an experiment, I just priced out a CT6 Platinum. Checking every box got me to $91k... That is a lot of car, features, and options compared to an S-Class that start just around that same price.  And you don't get any of the fancy options in the S-class at that price that the Cadillac has. 

1 minute ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

But he's no different than every other car reviewer at Motor Trend... and C&D when it comes to an American vehicle. The first thing mentioned in any of their articles is "whether Cadillac is up to snuff with the Germans..." The CT6 when viewed objectively.. is a better, more luxo car than the S550. It looks, and feels the part inside and out. The Continental looks and feels luxo inside.. but the outside screams "everyday car" to me. I would say the LaX is more elegant.. and even the ES350.  There.. its been said.

One of the original reasons I pushed C&G from just being a forum and into a review site was after I read two articles on C&D.  One where they knocked a Buick Lucerne for its slalom capabilities compared to a BMW..... and another where the Aveo's 0-60 time was being criticized... and at the time it was the least expensive car on the market.  We review cars specifically to avoid dumb comparisons like those.  

Black label is mostly some nicer trim pieces, more interesting color combinations, and a wheel package. It's like a Designo trim at MB.

10 hours ago, smk4565 said:

I don't think Tesla has $100k car interiors, or even $65k car interiors, but it isn't like the glorified Fusions and Escapes that Lincoln has are setting any new standard.  Even the Continental is pretty weak inside.  The CT6 is nicer than a Model S on the inside.  I do think Tesla needs to improve their interiors, but they are competitive with other American luxury car interiors, maybe just not the top Cadillacs, but the lower Cadillacs.

You mean you think a $100k car is competitive with a $30k ATS? And somehow you are knocking Cadillac for that?

9 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

That is debatable.

Compared to other $50 - $70k vehicles, I think the Continental is very strong. I don't want to be like @smk4565 who tries to compare every freaking vehicle to a $150lk S56 SMG Designo Edition and expect vehicles 1/3 of the price to match it. 

4 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I will be interested in your feedback,w e drove a gasser Cruze and liked it a good bit, but would like something sportier.

Ah okay. I thought you were looking for as close to a Jetta TDI replacement as possible. 

6 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Not that far of a drive, actually.

He's like 20 minutes from the house where I grew up.  I know the drive well. 

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

Oooo Baby; automotive royalty there!!

Off topic, I know... but posting for @balthazar. At the party was the Cyclone...

and these two:

20 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Back on topic, I know of several people who have bought these new 2015's.  My wife brought up finding a 2015 TDI Beetle manual for her to drive, i may look at one...still wildly unsure of what I want to replace the Jetta with.

I'll be test driving a Cruze Diesel Manual on May 18th. 

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

I should scan pieces out of my 6500-count ad collection. Problem is, I don't know where to start.

Were we closer, I would love to be able to build an online database of that here on C&G.

9 hours ago, balthazar said:

One of the handful of Olds' I'd strongly consider owning is the second-year '62 Starfire hardtop, and I do like this 'cut-off' ad, that's pretty unusual in car advertising:

 

Also always liked this ad from '50- a ripping car and huge towering '88' numbers:

I have that second one framed and hanging up

3 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Telsa sells $100k sedans, something Lincoln or Cadillac are not capable of.  Tesla also makes a car much faster than any Lincoln or Cadillac.  Based on performance and price point, and brand image, they mop the floor with Lincoln or Cadillac.  I don't think Tesla interiors are the end all be all, but they are on par or better than any Lincoln for sure, and I'd say better than most at Cadillac.   

 

That last sentence is where you went off the rails. Tesla interiors still feel very kit-car and much of the switchgear is Chrysler based. The $100k Model S 100 has the same switchgear as a Chrysler 200

I think @balthazar would especially appreciate this. I took these at the NY Auto Show at a party thrown by Cadillac. 

One of the best commercials imho.

We live in a world where educated people refuse to vaccinate their kids because Jenny McCarthy says she read somewhere that it might be bad for them. 

4 minutes ago, frogger said:

These are great on the inside, a strong contender for those that don't need the cargo space of the top sellers.

They are tweeners.  They start about $2k more than a CR-V, but have more space... or $4k less than a Pilot and have less space. 

43 minutes ago, KevinW said:

In the case of a 2007 SRX V8 in Sport Mode, I seem to invoke Performance Algorithm Shifting quite frequently while merging on highways.  The triggers are likely accelerator pedal movement characteristics and accelerometer data.  Once PAS mode is engaged, it won't upshift even when the accelerator is released; this enables a quicker response when the driver gets back on the throttle to navigate around slower traffic or pull out of a sharp corner. 

Yes, that's what I'm describing from my 2004.  The more recent automatics don't seem to hold that shift like this particular one does. 

Not bad... but getting optioned up will probably push it into the mid-30s with a Denali starting around $37k for a FWD model

The Hemi + 8-speed is probably one of the most underrated powertrain combos out there. 

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

...so what are you and Albert looking at as your next vehicle? Sounds like you might not mind a performance vehicle of sorts.

Well, that's going to be a ways off I think. I'm stuck where I am for now due to job uncertainties.  I still want an Avalanche or Escalade EXT though there may be business reasons to lease a truck for me......For him, probably move him to a Jeep GC or Durango once we have some stability... I just won't mention the Hemi under the hood when I pick one out. 

10 minutes ago, cp-the-nerd said:

I tried finding a gen 1 CTS stock tune to show you screen shots, but apparently the 5-speed automatic isn't supported by HPTuners, so the TCM appears blank.

It's fine. I'm not sure I'd even know what I was looking at anyway. 

4 hours ago, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

That's the Citroen/Nissan/Lexus styling cue I was referring to.  Trendy outdated nonsense.  

Is it just the floating roof? Because that goes back a lot longer. Or is it the pinching of the space between the floating roof and the fender?

8 hours ago, cp-the-nerd said:

Cadillac automatics have additional responses to driver input. For example, many GM performance cars in sport mode automatically downshift when the computer senses steering input going through a sweeping turn. Like I said in my other post, aggressive driving can trigger different things as well.

I don't know all the ins and outs of GM performance progamming, so I can't give a complete answer. I just know that the shift tables and responses to input are written in stone unless a tune is applied.

To give a brief idea of what's in the TCM, all GM 6-speeds I've looked at had 3 separate automatic shift tables not counting the paddle shifters or limp mode. One of them is standard driving mode, one is for cruise control, and the third is sport mode (and possibly tow/haul mode for trucks). In my Malibu, sport mode was permanently dormant.

Cool to know. Like I said, the sport mode in that 5-speed was extra aggressive when pushed hard, sport mode in more recent transmissions don't have such a drastic difference in mode... Even the Cadillacs.

8 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I don't think 3 years is long enough to establish a trend on yearly (at best) styling changes.

Next thing you know, GMC will be putting fender vents on everything.

On 4/30/2017 at 11:25 PM, cp-the-nerd said:

You're talking to someone with experience tuning GM transmissions (including the 6T70 used by the 2014 Impala), what you said is incorrect.

While the transmissions do have a "learning algorithm," it does not affect shift points. It's really pretty underwhelming when you understand it, but it mostly affects shift feel.

The transmission shifts based on predetermined tables of throttle versus speed, written by engineers overseen by beancounters. They are not subject to change. Some GM performance automatics will temporarily switch to a more aggressive dormant shift table when driven hard, but that's the extent of it.

If a stock CTS-V driving 60 mph will downshift from 8th gear to 6th with 20% throttle, it will do the same thing after 5 different owners and 150,000 miles.

Honest question:

The 5-speed auto in my '04 CTS did seem to adjust to my driving pattern when it was in sport mode.  If I put it in sport and drove normally, it would hold a gear a bit longer before shifting, but otherwise drove normally. If I was in sport mode and being very aggressive, it would hold a lower gear longer even after I let off the gas..... if I calmed down, then it would go back to normal sport mode.... but it always took a few minutes of driving before it did.  I realize that it is not the memory that @Cmicasa the Great was talking about, but the transmission did seem to adjust to variations in driving more distinctly.   I will say that I have yet to experience a transmission with that level of variation in attitude since then because just after that model, everyone went to paddle shifters and the sport-automatic modes don't seem to be as aggressive. Did I imagine it?

19 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

And even then the Lancer is extremely bland and dated.

... and nearly dead.