Drew Dowdell

Because N is more than just a turbo engine. From the Hyundai I30 N: "Under the skin, Hyundai has added an adaptive suspension to change ride and handling characteristics to suit your mood along with new brakes. An electronic limited-slip differential, larger brakes, Pirelli P-Zero tires, and a variable exhaust system come with the Performance Pack." Definitely more than just turbo...

The Envision is the 3rd best selling Buick after Encore and Enclave. Lowering the price will probably make it #2. That said... the packaging on the Envision is still all wrong. You can't get AWD unless you get the 2.0T which also means you can't get a base trim. Here in Pittsburgh that means no one buys the 2.5. Well of course not.... you only find things appealing if they have a 3 pointed star on them. It could be a '96 Sable with fogged headlights and you'd be into it if someone drilled a Benz hood ornament on the front. You'd claim it was the next big thing in automotive tech.

Cruze-size or smaller? I'm going to make some unconventional suggestions. Chrysler 200 with V6 and AWD. The 200 got an unfair rep based almost entirely on base model cars with the terrible 2.4 liter in a vehicle that was too heavy for its size. The complaints with the 9-speed hunting are largely because the transmission was shifting looking for torque from the 2.4 that it would never find.... not an issue with the Pentastar. Fuel efficiency for the V6 isn't terrible either as long a they're not racing it. You'd have to come up in price a little bit, but you can get OEM Certified used ones for $16k and 10k miles. It's a little bit larger than a Cruze, a little bit smaller than a Malibu, has AWD for the upstate NY snow. Being certified, it gets a 7 year / 100k mile warranty. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=475729426&zip=08610&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D08610%26listingTypes%3Dcertified%26startYear%3D1981%26sortBy%3DmileageASC%26maxPrice%3D17000%26incremental%3Dall%26engineCodes%3D6CLDR%26firstRecord%3D0%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DCHRYS200%26makeCodeList%3DCHRY%26searchRadius%3D200&listingTypes=certified&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=17000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=CHRYS200&makeCodeList=CHRY&searchRadius=200&makeCode1=CHRY&modelCode1=CHRYS200 My second one: First gen Chevy Volt - I found a certified 2014 with 21k miles at Fred Bean's in Doylestown for $15k. Even if you never plug it in, 40mpg is not uncommon and they have just a bit more scoot than a 2.4 Malibu. If you did plug it in, her commute could be potentially gasoline free. Not too bad for a $15k car and there are lots available near you for under that price. They drive well, better than the same size Cruze. They have some interior quirks, but usually nothing deal breaking. The one thing that could be an issue is no center rear seating position, but I don't get the impression you'd be using the car in that fashion very often. Being a hatchback, with the rear seats folded down, they have large cargo capacity. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=467331259&zip=08610&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D08610%26listingTypes%3Dcertified%26startYear%3D1981%26sortBy%3DmileageASC%26maxPrice%3D15000%26incremental%3Dall%26firstRecord%3D0%26endYear%3D2019%26modelCodeList%3DVOLT%26makeCodeList%3DCHEV%26searchRadius%3D75&listingTypes=certified&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=15000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&modelCodeList=VOLT&makeCodeList=CHEV&searchRadius=75&makeCode1=CHEV&modelCode1=VOLT If being certified isn't a concern, prices go down and options go up. There are no big reliability concerns with the Volt though you may want to budget some Blizzaks for upstate NY.

Almost none of FCA's last 4 year plan was actually implemented except for Alfa (late) and a couple Jeeps....

Well, the Chevy equiv would be the Equinox. If they did an RS or SS version with an uprated 2.0T like the new Envision and maybe some sportier suspension.

This perked me up a bit when I saw the news. The Envision has naturally been on my radar as I'm an Encore owner, but moving to the current iteration didn't seem to be a huge jump in tech for what is a huge jump in price. I wondered why the 9-speed wasn't there from the start when the Terrain has it. The 9-speed plus the healthy increase in torque make this much more compelling. We both went to the Pittsburgh auto show this year. The Regal is flat out eliminated from the running as he hated the interior. The Envision makes the cut, and surprisingly, so does the Terrain. I'm not a huge fan of the looks of the Terrain, but I might get on board with certain trim levels. He did really like the Lacrosse and you can get killer deals on them lately as long as you don't lease. The surprising thing... he loves the Durango R/T. I thought I knew the guy....

There have definitely been worse ideas. I was pretty impressed with the Veloster N I checked out in Chicago.

Thinking about a mild performance upgrade for the Toronado..

Just not a fan of the 4-cylinder noise

These still catch my eye. I'd take it in a turbo 6 with airmatic.

Once the writing was on the wall for Zeta, this decision became almost self evident. There was no way Holden was going to get a CTS sized Alpha car. If Buick does a big RWD Omega sedan for China, then maybe Holden could get a new Statesman/Caprice, but not before.

High trim Toronado XSR with both the wrap around rear glass and the electric retractable t-top. Can't tell the year without seeing the front. But '74 to '78 are safe bets.

NYC schedule is not released yet

Here is the press release schedule for Chicago. There won't be releases at any of the other shows that @dfelt mentions. Toyota Ford Volkswagen Hyundai Nissan Slingshot Lunch Subaru Jeep and Ram Steel Market Development Motorweek Driver Awards Fiat Volkswagen Breakfast National Road Safety BMW Mopar What Drives Her Acura Hyundai Kia Mazda

Such outdated views here in spite of my efforts to educate.

You do like the most austere vehicles.

The intake is in front of the engine and hangs below the top of TDC. The starter is still connected to the flywheel.

Yup. Or under the intake manifold on a 4 cylinder Honda. I wonder what their excuse was. The alternator is a major project too.

It rolls out of the garage under gravity power just by putting it in neutral. So we rolled it out, and then did a winch/gravity/winch/gravity/winch sideways

Yeah, that's not a photo distortion.... that's how steep the driveway is. And now you know why I'm not allowed anything but AWD for my daily drivers.

I don't use the dealer. I have a local mechanic who I trust to do the work. They aren't the cheapest, but they're reliable and they warranty their work. I already bought the parts since I was planning on doing it myself, so that will soften the blow a bit. The stupid starter is under the intake manifold though.

It's still the starter. It's just been sitting in my garage for 2 months waiting for me to fix it. I gave up waiting for decent weather and shipped it off.

My super duper reliable Honda heading off for another pleasure cruise.

Well, we knew this was coming. Won't be surprised if BMW is next.