Drew Dowdell

I wonder what our differences in ages are.... if effortless torque is fancy, my old '81 is the automotive equivalent of Cher in a glitter bath. Also... that means that EVs are fancier than any ICE could ever be. Joking aside, the torque in the Acadia is plenty strong and you don't need to rev the engine to get it. That was true with the prior V6, and it was something I harped on them for... but it is no longer the case. Again, the comparison here isn't Turbo V6es... Spend the same number of dollars as Buick V6 over at Benz, BMW, or even Lexus, and you're getting a Turbo-4 or a less powerful NA V6. The GLE gets a 302hp NA V6 compared to the Enclave's 310... but Buick isn't even supposed to be competing on that level.

Turbos are fancy?

Lincolns are very fancy Fords then. The XTS is dead man walking, they're putting as little money into it as they can till they can push it out the door in 3 years. The latest V6 is not torqueless. It's not a turbo V6, but it's better than any Turbo-4 that manufacturers are trying to foist on us these days. I just had an Acadia SLT for 1000 miles and the engine was great and a big improvement over the outgoing model (which I despised).... but it was saddled with a 6-speed

I have no problem with a Fusion sport aside from it's name. It's not particularly sporty, it's just decently fast in a segment with rather mediocre performance. The Regal GS and Mazda 6 both handle better... the Fusion Sport just goes faster in a straight line. I'd really love that... but Albert absolutely refuses. I guess I'll have to cry about it in the GS he wants instead.

Volvo an Uber announced a deal where Uber will purchase 24,000 Volvo XC90 Plug-In Hybrid SUVs over 3 years to expand Uber's self-driving fleet. Uber has been testing self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh since Autumn 2016 with human supervision in the driver seat. Over 100 such vehicles are currently in operation in the city. The deal marks the largest single order of vehicles for Geely owned Volvo. While no financial details were disclosed, the minimum retail price for an XC90 T8 Hybrid is $64,950. Volvo expects the profit margin per vehicle to be on par with traditional sales through a dealership network. Uber chose the XC90 because much of the hardware to add autonomous capabilities is already built into the car. Geely/Volvo engineers have been working closely with Uber to ensure that compatibility going forward. With a major shift in buying and driving habits coming in the future, Volvo is placing its chips on partnering with Uber to remain relevant in an industry ripe for disruption. Photo: Uber View full article

Buick Regal GS - 310 hp / 282 lb-ft, cylinder deactivation and start/stop. The 250hp/260tq base engine in the Regal is the top engine in the Malibu, available only when you cross the $30k mark. Otherwise in the Malibu, you're driving a 160hp/184tq 1.5T. That seems right to me. Buick Lacrosse - 310 hp / 282 lb-ft, cylinder deactivation and start/stop, 8-speed auto (Impala and XTS are still on 6-speeds), Twin-Clutch AWD same as the Focus RS. Buick Enclave - 310 hp / 282 lb-ft, cylinder deactivation and start/stop, variable suspension Buick Encore Sport Touring - gets a different tuned 1.4T with direct injection, boosts torque by 40 lb-ft over a 2,000 rpm range and horsepower by 20. This engine is not available in the Trax. As a driver of the original 1.4T, every extra bit of torque offered matters. That said, I'm not sure why you think Buick is supposed to be directly competing with Lincoln. Lincoln is supposed to be in Benz/Cadillac territory. Buick is doing well right where it is... not as expensive as Cadillac, but a lot nicer than Chevy.

Sorry to be blunt, but you're simply wrong. The Cruze has different engines compared to the now dead Verano, and it always did. You had your choice of a 1.8 or a 1.4T in the Cruze, while the Verano got the 2.4 and 2.0T. The Verano got a more advanced suspension. Push button start with keyless entry. Heated steering wheel. Quiet tuning.... the Verano is vault like inside The Verano was not just a sticker job. The new Malibu is a generation ahead of the current Regal, but if anything it is trickle down from the current Regal in terms of powertrain. The best engine you can get in the Malibu is a de-tuned version of the best engine in the Regal. The next Regal will come with a V6... something you can't buy in any midsize "family" car from Ford, GM, or Honda. It has an advanced AWD system and suspension, plus the quiet tuning the Malibu doesn't get. I don't know where I'd get the idea that a 3.6 powered Regal is just a sticker job of a 1.5T powered Malibu. I own an Encore and I'd never buy a Trax. They cheaped out on it way too much. Buick Quiet tuning, active noise cancellation, and superior materials make all the difference in the world. Without all of that Buick Quiet tuning, you really hear how all the sausage is made under the hood, and it ain't pretty. But all of that doesn't change the fact that it was designed as the Opel/Buick first and then GM DAT got their hands on it to make a Chevy version. Lacrosse - It's on a newer lighter version of the platform than the Impala and XTS, there really is no comparison. It's got more advanced transmissions, AWD, quiet tuning, advanced variable suspension, and the newer version of GM's V6. There really is no case here for it being "just a chevy rebadge". The Enclave has all of the things I mentioned above plus an optional variable suspension... it's more like a luxury version of an Acadia Denali than a Traverse even though it shares a body shell with Traverse. It's also never has to make due with a Turbo-4 as a base engine. If you want to disqualify Buick in spite of these things, that's fine... but they are exactly the types of things that make a Lincoln a Lincoln instead of a Ford these days. Sorry, I realized I was wrong about Ford not having a V6 in a family car... I forgot about the Fusion Sport... just like everyone else has.

If it is only available on $32k Escapes, I'm guessing the overall take rate is fairly low. That's not where the bulk of Escape sales is going to be.

Platform sharing does not equal Rebadging Verano = rebadged Opel Astra Regal = Rebadged Opel Insignia Lacrosse = Shared platform with XTS and Impala, but is now the most advanced of the three Encore = Co-Built Opel Mokka (I don't want to say rebadged, because they were built simultaneously for both markets), that is, they put quiet tuning in from the start knowing it would be a Buick. Envision = It's own. Yes it is on Delta II platform, but it is different enough that it can't share a line with the Equinox or Terrain. Enclave = Platform shared with Traverse. That said... I'd still take an SRX over an Envision because V6 and I've long liked the SRX's looks. The Envision is fine as a vehicle but doesn't do anything to plump the front of my jeans.

It's an option. I'd want to see what the take rate is before I'd make any conclusions.

Off the top of my head, the Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade (Escalade since 2015) and XT5 and CT6 have kick to open as an option. XT5, CT6, CTS, Envision, Malibu, and Volt each have optional active park assist.

Well... they need to be consistent. I guess the MKX is next.

The most recent generation of Hondas has majorly skimped on sound deadening material, with the exception of the very latest Accord. The current Pilot, CR-V, and Civic are terrible for those of us who don't like road and engine noise My big V8 is very nicely quiet... just a torquey hum from under the hood.

**Cough** Honda **cough**

Can I get one that sounds like a Quad-4 about 10,000 miles overdue for an oil change? Or one that sounds like a steam engine.

I don't think the Bolt EV is soul sucking at all. It's a hoot to scamper around in because the torque comes on so strong.... more so than any 4-cylinder mid-size.

Teo? I'm surprised that the Prius V is going away. They must have sold well in Pittsburgh, I see a fair amount of them here.

I'm talking about the packaging rather than the material of the part. most of those probably came in a simple box if in a box at all

Thanks... I hate our excessive use of plastic. I got the battery cable for the Honda yesterday and it came in no less than 3 layers of plastic and a cardboard box (Plastic outside the box, the box, foam padding, plastic bag, car part)..... for the negative cable.... for a car.... It's going in an engine bay of a 14 year old vehicle. Do they think I'm hanging it on my Christmas tree?

The Cheby picture was a comparison to the over-complex Ford solution... I wasn't citing it as an example of a solution without a problem. I had the Chevy example on my Avalanche and it did lower things just enough to make it more comfortable getting in and out of the back. The Avalanche also had a convenient grab handle at the top of the bed wall... no need for a post sticking out of the top of the tailgate Man-Step.

You're about 3 decades late. The Generic Asian Sedan put most of the sameness into cars that we have today.

I don't believe that globalism is a danger persay, but I do believe we've taken it way too far coupled with the disposable society. It's not cars where I think we've gone too far... it's the plastic fork. We as a society have decided that it is more cost/time effective to: 1. Pump oil out of the ground. 2. Ship that oil to a processing center that turns a portion of that oil into liquid Polystyrene. 3. Ship that Polystyrene to another processing facility that forms the polystyrene into a fork. 4. Cut down a tree 5. Pulp the tree 6. Ship the pulp to a processing center 7. turn the pulp into cardboard. 8. Print lettering on the cardboard and shape it into a box 9. Ship the boxes to the plastic fork factory 10. Pack the forks into boxes 11. Ship the boxes to warehouse distribution centers 12. Ship the boxes to stores 13. Drive to store to buy plastic forks 14. Use plastic fork once and throw away. F O U R T E E N major steps just so we can avoid: 1. Wash the metal Fork. I hate plastic forks and I avoid them whenever possible... everytime I am handed one at a restaurant all of those steps go through my mind. They, to me, are the biggest worst example of what is terrible about globalism.... the fact that all of that can be made cheaper (Time = money) than just washing a metal fork. The fact that Buick builds vehicles in China or S. Korea for consumption in the US is small fry by comparison.

So what you're saying is that even the Amish are more forward thinking about energy than you are? I like the rumble of a big fat V8 just as much as you do, but I also admit that the Bolt and Pacifica Hybrid powertrains thoroughly impressed me and I'd have no trouble with either powertrain as a daily driver..... I wouldn't want the rest of the car personally because neither of them are my style, but the powertrains were good enough for me to toss the idea around in my head a bit. I think the way you present your argument is what gets the reactions you get. There are rational reasons for moving forward with EVs, there are fewer to be had for holding on to ICEs longer than necessary. EVs are going to be a growing part of the automotive landscape. What you and I think about EVs is not going to change the timeframe of that happening.