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Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    My physical health is fine.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    Sorry I haven't been around much guys. I haven't been well for more than a month. I don't know when I'll be back here again full time. I am still going to NYC for the auto show because I booked it a while ago, but I'll be keeping a low profile.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    They're thinking of canceling it without replacement. The updates are certainly not going to be enough to topple the Accord or Camry..... but maybe that's the point. Ford knows they will never topple the two kings of the segment, so they only invest minimally in the car and stay satisfied with 3rd place.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    No, in 2013 it was really good. Probably the best handling of the segment aside from the Mazda 6 which it shared a platform with and the Regal which was priced way higher. But that really isn't the point. You point out that if Ford can't make money on it building it in Mexico they should fail... but it's worse than that. They can't make money on it while also being the 3rd best selling vehicle in the segment. So they're using cheap labor and selling enough of them to beat GM, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and VW.... but they can't make a profit on them. That indicates a deeper issue in Ford's accounting department.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    The only way to buy a Continental is in full zoot Black Label edition, but there is a lot of stiff competition at that price. The Continental can certainly hold its own for what it delivers at that price but Lincoln has done nothing to convince buyers of vehicles in that price range why they should consider the car. The Navigator is in a different boat, it has name brand recognition with those who may have bought one in the past and gives them a new reason to come back. The people who bought Continentals new in the past have a good chance of being 6 feet under.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    The Fusion styling has aged well and still looks handsome so a mild MCE is fine, but this might be a bit too mild. Ditto about the transmission.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    This is no big deal. None of the Germans put names on the back. Personally, I think it makes the vehicle look a lot cleaner.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The 3.6 TT in the XT5 would be more than enough. It's already the second best selling vehicle in its segment and the segment leader doesn't have a high power version either. This new V8 is very pretty looking. Plus, I like the updates to the look of the CT6.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    The number of leases v. buys is going to fluctuate with the overall economy.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    That center stack looks positively VW-like.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah, could all be in the setup. 23 horsepower at 6,100 rpm is not a huge increase, so the turbo size increase could be quite minimal, thus any lag change could probably dialed out by adjusting the throttle input mapping.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    It's probably a case of the peak torque output being the same, but the area under that curve being deeper. Bigger turbos will give more boost at lower RPM, but that potentially also means more lag.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Wonder what the approach and departure angles are on that!? I like that the Escala look is being put into production. I wish it had debuted on an updated CT6 first. I had the same objection with the Continental nose actually being released for sale on the MKZ before the Continental was out.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    That's easy... the ATS handles better, has more precise steering, and more standard equipment. Plus, when you option the C43 up to matching the standard equipment of a regular ATS V6, you're within $2k of an ATS-V which moves to a whole different level of performance over the C43. If you're capped out at $58k and not a penny more... yes the C43 will accelerate better than an ATS V6. Spend $2k more and the ATS-V wins. Spend $2k less and you're stuck with a 4-cylinder Benz verse a V6 Cadillac.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    Reasonable hypothesis.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Great write up. I like the idea of a hybrid AWD SUV, but there aren't any that 1. Are affordable, 2. Deliver the promised fuel savings. This was kinda on my radar, but if the fuel savings aren't there, then there is no point.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Different strokes. My enthusiasm for cars has never been about raw speed.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    More power, more gears, but no improvement in performance? Does not compute.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    The 5-cylinder Volvos have interesting maintenance schedules. They have flame traps and oil traps that need to be cleaned out and replaced at like 70k miles or you burn up the engine. 50 cent part, $400 labor to complete the job because once you open the hood you have to dig all the way to Sweden to get to it.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    I've cleared the theme cache. Let me know if the problem continues.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    I'm very trim-level specific in my preferences. 1. '19 Ram 1500 (Limited or Rebel), Hemi 2. '18 Ford F-150 King Ranch or Limited, 5.0 3. '19 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali or SLT, any V8 4. '18 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali or All-Terrain 5. '18 Chevy Silverado 1500 - Z71 of any trim... whatever it takes to get all that chrome off the front. 6. '19 Chevy Silverado 1500 - I might be talked into a High Country for the right deal, but I'm more likely to go for an '18 leftover instead just based on appearances.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I'm still not seeing it. GM specifically targeted the use of aluminum in the bed material, not in body panels. GM has been using aluminum hoods and doors on other vehicles for years. If the carbon fiber bed is more dent resistant than steel or aluminum, there is no hypocrisy there. GM's original "man step" goes back to at least 2002 and was always a far simpler and graceful solution than Ford's. The Ford man step is still a rickity looking piece and is overly complicated. Having a built in cane just puts the cherry on top. Watching the video on the GMC shows it to be simpler in operation than the Ford. I'm not blown away by the GM trucks, I like the new Ram better...but GM did get these two things right.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    See, that seems just odd to me. Those should be pretty standard GM parts. Is the seat belt buckle really that different between an Envision, Encore, and Enclave? If so, then that's some pretty bad product planning there. However, I could totally see internal corporate bureaucracy doing that.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    I'm not getting what you're referencing here with the Sierra tho...
  25. Drew Dowdell
    Up until the coming 2019 Envision, the Terrain had some distinct technical advantages over the Buick, but for 2019 they are more evenly matched. I do think the Terrain is a bit overpriced, but if you can get over that, then something like a $45k Terrain Denali Turbo Diesel does have some advantages over an equivalently priced Envision. The Terrain also does feel slightly more roomy even if the numbers don't play that out. The base model engine of the Terrain is better than the base model engine of the Envision, and for some reason Buick makes you pony up for the 2.0T to get AWD when AWD can come in the 1.5T in the Terrain. Pluses and minuses all around depending on your priorities. Edit: Apparently my knowledge was out of date and you can get the 2.5 with AWD in the Envision. That must have been a first year only thing.
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