Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    55,891

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    532

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    Tesla reported Q3 2018 Earnings on Wednesday with revenue of $6.82 billion and a profit $417 million or $2.90 per share. Tesla's earnings per share widely out-paces analyst estimates of losses of 15 to 19 cents per share. Revenue on automotive production increased 158% year over year with a dramatic increase in sales during the summer of 2018 due to increased sales of the Model 3 sedan. Tesla also cites increased gross margins on the Model S and Model X due to increased efficiencies. The Model 3's margin grew to above 20% while production rate increased and manufacturing costs dropped. Telsa is now moving an average of 4,300 Model 3s off the assembly line per week. Tesla did not change their overall guidance for the year and production goals remain at 100,000 Model S and Model X units for 2018. Tesla Report attached (PDF) - TSLA 3Q18 Update Letter View full article
  2. Drew Dowdell
    Because people who can't afford an XT4 or XT5 are then lost customers. GM still makes a lot of profit on the Trax. Think about it, it is a Sonic based vehicle that costs very marginally more to construct than the Sonic. Sonic starts at $15k. The Trax is basically the same vehicle and starts at $21k and can be optioned all the way up to $29k. There is money to be made there. Now, I'm not saying that Smart should be building Duramax 2500 competitors, but a family brand that has the typical lineup of crossovers and maybe 1 sedan would cover a market that MB is not participating in. Maybe someone like Subaru would be a good lineup to pursue.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Name brand dilution. By using Smart for the mainstream stuff it protects the "mystique" of the MB brand. It's why Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, Audi, Lincoln, etc all exist and aren't just sold as Toyota, Honda, Nissan, VW, and Ford.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    Family crossovers are still highly profitable and that is a market segment they don't play in at all. They are literally leaving money on the table. Smart has no baggage. No one outside of enthusiasts know what they are, or care.
  5. Drew Dowdell
  6. Drew Dowdell
    That's level 2. The self-driving Volvos in Pittsburgh are higher than that and development is by Uber, not Volvo.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    Price point. SMART can be the consumer brand for Benz just like VW is to Audi or Chevy is to Cadillac.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying make Smart Equinox competitor.... Same size and all. Benz should follow GM here.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    They need to stop holding SMART back as only a micro-car. Make it a full-line brand. Let it compete with Ford and Chevrolet and Nissan, etc.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Their surveys are suspect, yes. I haven't been able to try the Tesla AutoPilot... but yes, the Cadillac SuperCruise is super easy to use and I tried it before the update. I'm not sure how much easier it can be made than what they've got now.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    It is false that most fast food workers are teens. 83% are 30 years old or older. Only 17% are 29 or younger. From the NYT
  12. Drew Dowdell
    For @smk4565 and I, self-driving seems a lot closer to reality than most of the rest of you. Here in Pittsburgh we see self-driving cars so often that they are no longer a novelty. It used to be a big deal to see the self-driving Volvos in downtown.... now we have vehicles from 2 different fleets testing here (Uber has suspended theirs after the fatality in another city). It's just not a big deal to us anymore to see a self-driving car.... oh... there goes another one.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    I found a simple but silly typo on the new GMC Sierra AT4 specs. Wonder if you can find it before they update it. I did alert them to it just now.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    have it done. I don't have time to eff with it myself
  15. Drew Dowdell
    So much of this is just processing power and how much of it they can fit in the car. The ARGO cars have no trunk because it is stuffed with I.T. gear.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I'm going to say that GM is filleting some Red Herring here. At those price premiums, the Camaro hybrid would probably not sell. But where or where in the GM lineup would there be an Alpha platform car that would use such engines and be able to command a price premium like that? Oh hi CT4/5/6...... Just because they say it's a 6.2 liter doesn't mean it's a 6.2 liter. The new 4.5 V8 from Cadillac comes in 500hp and 550hp flavors too. I like that the 2.7 might be potentially used in the Camaro. It would probably be a good CT4/5/6 engine too then.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    News may appear out of order for a bit.... or old articles may pop back to the top looking like they were published more recently. (Tesla autopilot article is my test article currently) This is not a bug. This is me testing software that will enable automatic publishing of our articles to Apple News to hopefully reach a larger audience.
      • 1
      • Agree
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Yes... aren't you like 5'5"? could probably lay you sideways.... but maybe that's the point? ?
  19. Drew Dowdell
    It requires a tremendous amount of processing power and sensory inputs from 360 degrees. ARGO, one of the self-driving developers located here in Pittsburgh uses Fusion Energi Hybrids specifically because of the big battery they come with to run the computer equipment.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    it is different?
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Exhaust manifold gasket.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I have to do a drive to NY today, but because the Honda is broken down again I can't take the Buick... so my Toronado is being pressed back into roadtrip service again.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I think it's probably too long to fit in the relatively narrow XT4.... don't expect to see the 2.7T in there. Expect either a hot 2.0T, something like an ecotech based 2.3-4ish turbo or a V6.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    Getting going is fine on the Goodyear Triple Treads plus the excellent AWD in the Encore.... stopping in snow hasn't always been as confident. The Dunlop WinterSports on the CR-V definitely do better.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    Could be. I wanted something that would be better than a normal All-Season in the snow to avoid going full snow tires on the Buick, but that hasn't seemed to work out.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search