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Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    I'm split. For us it is feast or famine with regards to the number of passengers we have. Usually we could get away with even just a BMW Z4 because it is only the two of us... but sometimes we have the parental units so we need a rear seat.... then on top of that we sometimes also have some fraction of our 7 nieces and nephews riding with us. There are times I want a Suburban and there are times I want an ELR. If we get an SUV, right now the Durango is the top of the list, JGC and Explorer are tied for 2nd. I may still end up in a crew-cab pickup though.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    I prefer the mini-van based Rendezvous myself.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    I actually have looked into it.... and the RX cousin. As our esteemed @William Maley pointed out in his Review of the 2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the benefits just are limited. Of the vehicles available today, the XC90 is highest on my list of PHEV SUVS. You'll note however that I haven't purchased anything in 5 years... so it's not like I have brand new Durango sitting in my driveway..... yet. I might still end up with an Avalanche, but it is very likely that whatever big SUV I get will be counter balanced with a PHEV for daily commuting. When we don't take the bus, Albert and I drive together into the city, so one car just sits. Right now, that's the 2004 Honda which hasn't been driven since last Wednesday or Thursday? Possible hybrid replacements for the Buick include: Fusion Energi Titanium, Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, MKZ Hybrid.... and if I can talk him into it... an ELR. I have to sell more property before any of that is happening. You could perhaps take the time to understand the CAFE requirements better.... and also get back to the point that increasing fuel economy standards do not compromise safety. So basically, a Pacifica doesn't even need to hit that 54mpg, but in hybrid form it can raise the average for the whole FCA fleet if they sell enough of them. Edit: To put it another way about the Highlander.... I'd rather go with the Pacifica if it weren't being vetoed by Albert. I actually like that minivan a lot.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    What's funny about it @ocnblu? It's the best of all worlds. It has fantastic low end torque, much better NVH than the Volvo XC90, 85ish mpg on my commute to/from work. 35ish mpg highway on a long trip.... but much better than that while I coast from Blue Mountain downhill to your place while recharging my batteries.... and it still makes vroom vroom noises.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    I know I'd drive a Grand Cherokee with the PHEV powertrain from the Pacifica (turned 90 degrees of course).
  6. Drew Dowdell
    Cars are already outpacing consumer income, but that is an economics debate that this site is not capable of having civilly.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    Just no... let it go. There is no way a live axle, 15 year old, body on frame SUV is going to out-handle a brand new, unibody crossover with independent suspension and an advanced computer controlled AWD system. Even just the center of gravity is going to be a giant disadvantage on the TBSS if nothing else not to mention weight.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    Electricity is flexible. It can be as clean or as dirty as you want it to be. The components of the propulsion system can be much more easily recycled.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    More Voltec / Fusion Energi / Pacifica Hybrid powertrains across the board. You picked the three most ugly vehicles too... Pacifica gets 84 MPGe. It will be getting vehicles like that which are normally pigs to get good fuel economy that will make the difference. Getting a Corolla from 40mpg to 54mpg isn't where to attack the issue. But all that is beside the point. Increasing fuel economy standards doesn't hurt safety. A Pacifica Hybrid is not less safe than a regular gas powered version.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    I'm fairly certain.... no... super certain... that the CX-9 will beat a TBSS the moment a corner is involved. The TBSS was fast for its day, but it was never a renowned handling vehicle.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    I didn't say they were identical... just that the CX-9 is less roomy than most others in its class and has more of an emphasis on sport. Someone buying one of these to haul the rugrats around usually is going for the most cubic feet per dollar. For that, there is the Atlas, the Pilot, and the Traverse. On looks alone, the CX-9 every day and twice on Sundays.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Fantastic write-up. The Mazda is an excellent vehicle, but for the mission statement of a large crossover, the Atlas is just a better vehicle all around. I view the CX-9 the same way I view the Infiniti QX70, a sportier crossover best for singles or DINKs.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    So.. TL:DR, someone in the GOP administration fudged the data to try and meet a specific agenda.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    The 6.0 is in the HDs and the Work vans. It's an iron block engine The best way to describe that motor is "stout". It's numbers are all about hauling.. torque comes on low and hits max torque and a relatively low RPM. They are tough motors that will last 300k or 500k miles, well past what the rest of the vehicle is capable of. But they're thirsty and not great for anything with sporting intentions. They did make an aluminum block version of it, but that version has been out of production ever since the Caprice PPV died.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    So we're going to try and put the Camaro look on everything in the Chevy stable I guess?
  16. Drew Dowdell
    A laser wide-format..... getting spendy! ????? Also, I just re-read what the guy was telling you about the Epson.... all ink-jet printers have a self cleaning mechanism, not just Epson. I've never had one break on me like he described.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    I have to add a second vote to Brother printers. I've had a brother inkjet for years. The ink can be purchased cheap on amazon so you're not paying HP ... or even Brother prices. The ink on my model can sometimes be a little messy when loading it if you're not careful however.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Think next-gen Encore body with a GMC face. The new Encore is suppose to be coming soon too already, though they could probably hold off since it is selling so well.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    The guy in #1 is full of crap. Unless you're running it at full capacity all the time, the heat will never be an issue. Today's chips run amazingly cool for the power they have. That said. I've been happy with my HPs... But not so happy with Win10. I'll probably go Mac next time around.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    The 6.0 is old and thirsty and hasn't had any of the upgrades the 5.3 and 6.2 have gotten.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    I think the point that @dfelt and @A Horse With No Name are making is that the F-150 and Mustang are, until very recently, the only things holding FMC together. I would argue that the Explorer, Edge, Navigator, and Escape, and MKC are pulling their weight as well, but otherwise largely agree with the sentiment.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    They needed the bailout before the crisis happened... they just did it before all the banks imploded and there was no one left to finance them. GM was actually fine, not great, but slightly profitable, just up until the banks melted down. Gotta remember the timeline 1. The banks melted down 2. Credit for healthy companies dried up, this is important for financing of operations, buying inventory, etc. Target suddenly found themselves unable to buy inventory because their primary bank was in the process of failing. This happened to lots of companies. GM ended up in the same situation as Target, but being so huge and with long days to cash (time from purchasing parts to getting the cash from a sale) it put them into a major cash crunch. 3. There was no where else for big, cash hungry businesses to turn but to the federal government. Banks and Automotive were saved, many others weren't. But before all that happened, Ford was already in trouble. Some wiz in Finance saw the same writing on the economic wall that I did and mortgaged the entire company right up to the name on the door before the crap hit the fan. It wasn't by some miracle of management or superior vehicle design. It all came down to reading the tea leaves before a major storm. If anything, because of all the debt they took on, Ford is now behind their Detroit competition in many ways. They need to address that debt in order to catch up. They got their bailout... and they are still being bailed out by those giant loans they took. This really isn't the sign of a healthy company....
  23. Drew Dowdell
    The pic issue should start clearing up now.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    The Catera belongs to @HoLottaBuicks, my friend Dominic. He's also my Buick dealer. He took my Encore in for service and left behind his Catera for a few days. We have a check engine light on the Encore that needs fixing before it can be inspected.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    I’m 1 mile from the city line and 12 miles from the center of downtown, but there are plenty of places in the city like this.
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