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

Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    55,795

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    515

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    I own a Turbo 4 (and a laggy one that GM compensates for by having a very short 1st gear). I've owned the very first generation CTS with the 3.6. Even that old first gen HF has better every day feel than the 2.0T in the Regal GS. I drive different cars nearly every week, I've sampled nearly EVERY new car out there. I rent cars nearly every week and take them on 400 - 800 mile trips. If I walk onto a National lot and my choice is between a Taurus Turbo-4 or an Avalon V6 which would you think would have the more satisfying power delivery? You know me well enough @hyperv6 to know I'm not Toyota lover, but I'm going with the Avalon. I'll even take a Maxima with the CVT over a Taurus with a Turbo-4. Now if the Taurus had the 3.5, the math would be different for me. What I'm saying is this... in a space where there can not be a V6, a Turbo-4 is a great improvement over a N/A 4. But a Turbo-4 is not a full on V6 replacement... at best it is a tweener that lets manufacturers sell cheaper products at a premium price. Remember, you're driving a tuned and chipped 2.0T, but that's not what is being produced for most cars these days. Your HHR is putting out more power and torque than the ATS 2.0T does from the factory.... so your view on the matter is obviously shaped by that. All of that argument aside. The ATS is quite possibly the only instance where I might go with the 2.0T over the 3.6 because there is such a difference in weight balance and handling. But given my current desire for raw thrust, I'd probably pick the 3.6
  2. Drew Dowdell
    There are other ways to get there.... GM and Honda's active displacement works really well. The ATS-V is essentially a turbo-4 at highway cruise.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    "....off the line...." That's the key that I'm getting at. If you're flooring it every time you leave the stop light, sure, the Turbo may be better... but that's not a normal situation. People just don't drive like that. I'm in NYC this week in my underpowered Encore... and I still don't drive like that. Buick took a bunch of us out to a track to drive GSes for a day.... it was just about the most boring day of track driving I've ever had. Sure they handled well in the corners, but I could watch a full episode of House of Cards on the straight-aways. Something as mundane as a Camry V6 or Cadenza feels much faster and effortless in its acceleration though neither of them would handle turns like the GS does.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    It's a really simple thing to figure out. Go test drive two Ford Explorers... one with the turbo 2.3 and one with the V6. Drive them normally, not as race cars. Drive them in normal traffic... take them on a jaunt on the highway for a bit. Try and pass someone at highway speeds. Head on over to the Buick dealership and drive a Regal GS back to back with a V6 Lacrosse... Then head over to Kia... try out an Optima Turbo and then a Cadenza. Which one handles daily driving in a more competent way? I'm trying to imagine what kind of pig the new Traverse is going to feel like with the 2.0T spinning under the hood of the base models. It will probably be more pig-like than the much heavier current traverse with the V6.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    His attacks against me went far beyond any line that could be crossed. Oh he's here... I see his IP addresses in the logs. Every once in awhile I'll ban an IP.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    When you drive such a wide variety of vehicles like I do, you notice it. I am more forgiving to Turbo-V6es because they still have a baseline torque that comes on sooner. They aren't a true V8 replacement either, but they are more satisfactory than a Turbo-4.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I gave Turbo-4s a chance.... I really did believe they were a decent replacement for a larger displacement V6. But the power delivery just isn't as good. Too long to wait to spool up... even on the light duty ones. Are turbo-4s an improvement over non-turbo-4s? Absolutely... but they are still no V6. A V6 still has a baseline level of torque there that a that a turbo-4 doesn't. V6es have a level of refinement that 4s cannot match. I also want to be clear. This is not just GM products I'm objecting to. I'd rather have a V6 explorer than a 2.3T Explorer. As far as CAFE, GM can turn their V6es into 4-cylinders and back in less than a single revolution of the crank. Much less lag than a turbo.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The Eagle Vision was the ChryCO competitor to the Bonneville at the time and was probably the best of the early LH cars. There was supposed to be a second generation...It was rebranded into the 300M.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    Apparently I'm not allowed a preference. I find the experience behind the 3.6 V6 to be much more satisfying than a 2.0t in nearly all situations. The same holds true for similar situations in other brands. And I am in fact quite stupid and have never driven any of these cars.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Monaco/Premier? That's the only sedan I can think of that was shared between Dodge and and AMC brand...
  11. Drew Dowdell
    ..... Once the torque kicks in.... Like I said. I'd rather have the lag free version. NO turbo has no lag... It's physically impossible.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Some of us have tried many turbo 4s. I used to be sold on the technology.... Northstar like power from a 4 cylinder sounds great on paper, but in practice it is a much less satisfying drive. And yes, I know that the Northstar is no longer the state of the art in V8s, but they do still provide a satisfactory power delivery. Even the old/current regal could have taken the HF V6, Buick just decided not to sell it that way. The Insignia was sold with a Turbo 2.8 V6 that has the same external engine dimensions as the current HF V6. The engineering effort from GM would have effectively been zero. By that measure, the Malibu could have a V6 also. There are no platform constraints.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    I guess I'll call the credit union and find out their requirements first. I want to privately purchase another vehicle I've found. I'd need minimal financing on that.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    What's the best way to sell a financed car without trading in? I'm not upside down.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    The regal is much smaller than the lacrosse and impala. The V6 version should be just about as quick as an ATS V6
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Not Pittsburgh though? The only permaban went to wings who verbally attacked me and continues to do so via email from time to time.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    I'll take the lag free option thanks.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Server doesn't show any blips since I rebooted it for updates last night. Apache and MySQL have both been running for 23 hours.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    It didn't hit me till tonight why I'm so "meh" about this car. A 1996 Eagle Talon, a car a mere 5 years away from being eligible for classic plates, had 210 HP and 220 lb-ft of torque with only half a liter more displacement. It also could come with AWD and was lighter This is progress? For a more modern perspective, the Verano Turbo or Cobalt SS blow away the Civic SI on power for about the same price. I guess I just expected something more special.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Not digging the look in white, but I'll do that 6.2 twice on Sundays.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Explorer yes. New Acadia... eh. Old Lambda, no. Just get yourself a Tahoe/Yukon, it's just about the same size and you don't have to beat the crap out of the engine just to get the thing to move. MPG is better too.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I'd probably aim for the Durango myself because Hemi. This reminds me too much of a Grand Cherokee, so might as well get the real thing... plus... Hemi.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I see Buick found a place to sell surplus waterfall grilles from 2008 Lucernes.....
  24. Drew Dowdell
    I don't mind the cladding, they're going for a very specific demographic with that. I think I could sell the sportback at home. Wagons, as a rule, are a no-go.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    A Turbo 4 should still have the torque low in the RPM band. Even my weak 1.4T gets all of its 138 ft-lb at around 1700 rpm.... but that's all the torque you ever get. If the Civic 1.5T gets it's peak torque anywhere near that, it should feel plenty fast.
×
×
  • 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