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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    We've been here 15 years through slow times and the fast.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    You do HVAC work, right?
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Yes! I long for the day that I will be able to pull into the garage and plug in. I have three automotive mouths to feed... it is not unusual for me to fill one up, switch vehicles for some reason later in the day, and end up filling two of them up in the same day. I'm sure I've filled all three up in the same day at least once or twice.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    Remember, this was a car that was supposed to be for Scion. It makes me wonder if Toyota North America even wanted it, but it was already developed so they had to take it and now they don't know what to do with it.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    Thing is... I don't think we've seen the last of what GM can do with the Bolt. They didn't spend all of that money to develop a dedicated platform just to sell that one car. I could see a more svelte Buick version, even if only for China and Europe, but possibly here too. Even a Cadillac on this platform if they can up the performance spec and stretch the size. The platform is supposed to be extremely stiff, so that could mean flexibility in shape and size. One of the two largest gas station chains in my area is rapidly upgrading their stores to include a sit-down area for their made to order food. Now I'm sure they are doing this for the food profit margins, but if they were to put a few EV chargers in each station that has sit down food, they could instantly become a go-to place for EV drivers. They can lure customers in for the EV chargers and then make a profit on selling expensive coffee and food. And it's different than a Tesla Supercharger.... with the Supercharger, it's just a stand out in the middle of a parking lot... only sometimes is it attached to a rest station. The first gas chain to make this work by tying it to food will have a hit on their hands.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    I wish someone would do a PHEV with AWD that was somewhat affordable. Had Ford kept the Escape Hybrid in production, it might have been enough to tip us away from the Encore.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    Dud on arrival. No AWD, No Turbo, No Hybrid. I don't see the demand for the entire model... not just the hybrid version. It's a slightly lifted Matrix without the utility, space, AWD.... or heck... even the speed.... and the Matrix was no barn burner.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    Feeling accomplished. Just brought gas and electric back online in the apartment building I'm renovating. Now to fix the furnace and get the water on.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    That's funny because the ride height is one of the first things I notice when I'm admiring a 300. I really like the car, so it catches my eye, and my brain immediately processes "AWD or RWD?".
  10. Drew Dowdell
    I went to an inexpensive PA state university for a degree in Management and Information Technology. My great grandfather paid for 1/3rd, my parents paid for 1/3, and I did student loans on the rest. Those were paid off so long ago I couldn't even tell you what year it was I did so. Cars are one area where I might splurge a little on credit (even then I'm a deal hunter) but I can do so because I've been careful in other areas. My house was also inexpensive and I've lived here 15 years now, so it's half paid off. My mortgage is lower than some people's SUV leases. A lot of it is just self control. The last new gaming system I own is an 8bit NES, I was 8 when I got that. Ive only ever owned one flat screen TV. I just bought my 3rd new laptop ever (and first in 6 years). I've traveled all over the US and Europe, but it's mostly paid for with airline miles and hotel points earned through work. I vacation in Europe for 2 weeks for less than some people spend on weekends at the beach. At the same time, I'd never consider myself rich. I still have money concerns. I'm building two businesses at the same time while still holding down a full time job. It's a lot of work.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    That sounds reasonable for the lx cars.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Quoted for truth.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    I don't believe you saw me say anything regarding that.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    There is a place for the political talk on this site and it isn't in the Alternative Fuels folder. I might be a little lenient if the political talk was directly about EV adoption or some new law regarding alternative fuels... but what was posted wasn't any of that.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    No I don't know the exact number, but I do know that I can see the difference in ride height.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Your eyes would bust out of your head if you see what I run, but I have so much total revolving credit (over 6 figures) that I'm never using more than half of it. However, nearly all of that is at zero percent interest and it is being used to fund real estate investments. When the 0% is up, I have so much room in other places that I just move it around. I'm not a flipper. I buy cheap, renovate, rent out, then refinance with cash out.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Continental Taxis..... That is all.. You're probably seeing the AWD models which do have a slight bump in ride height. The Chrysler 300 AWD and Lacrosse AWD do the same thing. I can pick an AWD XTS verse a FWD XTS out of a lineup a mile away.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    I've had to clean up a bunch of posts that had politics in them or were just plain trolling. No warning points were issued this time, but keep the politics in the political threads or points will start being handed out.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    The F-150 may be the best selling single model out there, but it is greatly outnumbered by the number of Civics, Camrys, Focuses, and Accords that are sold each year. Most people still buy cars that can't tow large boats or trailers.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    I think it's a sign of an extremely competitive segment. Back before Cruze existed, if you were in this segment you bought a Corolla, Civic, or maybe a Protege/3... and you probably paid pretty close to sticker on it. You only bought a Cobalt or Focus or Elantra if you were price hunting and couldn't afford a better car. These days if the Chevy dealer won't make a deal on a Cruze, then Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Subaru, Ford, Mazda, and Toyota all have perfectly acceptable substitutes. If you're trying to get a car for cheap, then Sentra or Dart or even 200 are available. VW will give you a reach around just for walking in the door. The new Cruze is probably the best compact Chevy has ever built and certainly among the leaders in the class.... it's just that the whole class is so good these days that it isn't punishment to pick most any other vehicle on price.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    I haven't written a resume in many years.... any tips on where to start? This new position I took back in May isn't working out.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    My 12 year old Honda CR-V is worth at least $5k in a private sale. It's paid off too.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    Here's a rare unicorn. Mercury Topaz GS 2-door with 2-tone paint. Body and interior are in mint condition. I believe it belongs to a Costco employee because I've seen the car there multiple times over the last few weeks (I'm a 3 - 4 visits per week kinda guy)
  24. Drew Dowdell
    Our Encore was holding its value quite well when we first bought it out of lease. We went into that transaction buying a car for $2k less than its apparent trade in value. We *should* have bought it and then immediately traded it in, but we kept it. Since then, the value of it has decreased to the point where we were owing as much as it was worth. I didn't like that, so I started increasing our car payment. The payment according to the loan is $348 a month, but I'm sending them $600 a month instead to keep well ahead of the depreciation.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    On the Encore, I think the engine is just overworked at 75mph. Remember it's not a DI engine either, so it's not going to have the same performance characteristics of the Turbo-DI engines.
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