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Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    For many people, the cost of gas isn't even a factor. There are a lot of reasons to like a Bolt or any full EV with 230+ mile range while completely ignoring the cost of gas.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah, I only get the GM discount. So it may come down to that. Though I may be able to finagle a Ford discount too and I really do like the King Ranch.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    I'll try to get my review of it up next week while I'm trapped in Houston then. I'm transferring all of my pictures to the new laptop now.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    I few 10ths here and there won't matter to me... I'm not pulling horse trailers. As long as the performance is sufficient, which even the current 5.0 would be, it will come down to looks and "the deal". The only F-150 I'm interested in is the King Ranch because I love the look. The order for me is: 1. Specific features I want (does it have a V8 is included in this) 2. Looks (I'm very particular on looks) 3. Price (Denali Ultimate is in the running... so it's more of how much of a "deal" I can get)
  5. Drew Dowdell
    I was completely sold on the Kawasaki Vulcan S until I drove that BMW R Nine T Scrambler..... I was in love at first ride. I test drove about 8 different bikes that day. Surprisingly, not many auto journalists have their motorcycle license, so there wasn't a lot of people testing bikes. I was so enamored with the BMW, the PR rep let me take it out again for most of the afternoon.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    Yup. I'm willing to give the new EBs another shot. The current ones haven't convinced me yet. I was just on the Ford Build Your Own site, and was disappointed to see that you can't get the 5.0 and the 10-speed together yet. Not that big a deal to me right now, I won't be making a move until late spring to early summer at the soonest. I've recently spent some time behind the wheel of a Hemi Grand Cherokee. Even as old as the Hemi is, there is a smooth steady confidence I get with that V8 compared to a boosted V6. The numbers on paper may be in favor of the boosted V6es, but they just don't have the feel. Even my weakling, wheezing, old Oldsmobile 307 has it.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    The truck doesn't have to haul much except occasional construction material from Home Depot, tow the Toronado on an open car trailer.... or haul my other "Business is good" gift to myself if it happens. Wings is correct with this one. Ford did their hybrid system on their own, however, in order to avoid a nasty patent litigation fight, they paid Toyota a minimal royalty just to keep things civil between the two companies.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    yeah, that was the reference I was making. Over the past 3 - 4 years, I've given smaller displacement boosted engines a chance to prove themselves... from all brands. At first, I was sold... convinced that this was going to be a 1 for 1 replacement. But over time, my opinion has changed. With the exception of some of the really small 4-cylinders which really can't be replaced with a V6, I've found that in nearly all cases, having the bigger displacement engine is better. A 2.0T 4-cylinder just doesn't make up for a 3.6ish V6 in the same type of vehicle. I've seen no fuel economy benefits to downsizing the engines, and it costs me available power.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    I have nothing against the Ecoboosts.... I just don't feel they live up to the hype surrounding them. If business goes the way I want, then I may be in a Denali 1500 6.2 liter in the summer just because I love the way those trucks look, however, a King Ranch with the 5.0 hasn't been crossed off the list either. I'd really rather have a V8.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Real world experience matters. My experience with turbo DI engines as a replacement for larger displacement engines with more cylinders hasn't lived up to the hype. When I go with a truck, it's going to have 8 cylinders, even if it's a Ford. Could be. I only know of the US markets it was sold in.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    I still don't know what your beef is.... even the Ford Hybrid batteries are vastly out performing their expected lives. Only the Civic Hybrid, LEAF, and very first generation Pruis have reputations for poor battery degradation. The Toyotas, the Fords, the Volt, the Teslas, even the old Altima Hybrid only sold in Texas and CA seems to hold on to its range.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    I have been a Star Trek fan since I was 10 years old. I basically pretend the lastest movies don't exist. I was so disappointed in the second one that I never even bothered to see the 3rd. I get that it is a different timeline... but even in a different timeline, physics don't change. The way the ships move doesn't change. The tech may look different, but a warp core is still a warp core and the physics of warp drive were very very very well explained in the original cannon. These seem to be more James Bond movies in space rather than Star Trek.... and the producers have forgotten that the Enterprise is the main character... not spock, not kirk.... It says so right in the opening credits... "These are the voyages of the Star Ship.... Enterprise...."
  13. Drew Dowdell
    It's not like the Pentastar is a particularly compact engine. It's one of the best general purpose V6es on the market, but it is rather large. I think both the Ford 3.7 and GM 3.6 are smaller, if only slightly. The Toyota and Hondas are much smaller
  14. Drew Dowdell
    It really could be either. I'm sure V8 sales of all of the LX cars can't be more than about 20%.... AWD being even 20% of V8s is probably optimistic. So 1/25th of the cars being sold in that power train configuration really doesn't make for a good business case. The 8-Speed AWD is actually more compact than the 5-speed AWD when you account for the forward drive shaft. In the 8-speed it is integrated into the transmission, in the 5-speed, it's external. It's kinda a moot point now anyway... the LX cars are headed for the dust bin at the end of this generation... and I'm rather sad about that. If my business takes off next year like I hope, maybe I'll pick up a 300C Hemi to use as a daily since I don't want to wheel a truck around everywhere...... heck, I've got 6 garages.... I might as well use them.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    My co-workers with the TDI have decided to keep it till the very last second and drive the snot out of it and then take the payout towards a new Jetta.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I was told by an FCA rep that the take rate on the older V8-AWD setup was too low for them to bother certifying the new setup. Not sure if it's true or not, but sounded reasonable.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    It was more the lesbian angle I was implying....
  18. Drew Dowdell
    After today...I need this more than ever. What's the point of trying to make sure someone doesn't fail when they have no interest in succeeding.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    Bull Dog or Diesel Engine? We report, you decide.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Except.... that's not the experience of Model S owners.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Golf All-Track is for people bored with their Subarus or downsizing out of crossovers but can't go to Subaru for pre-conceived notions about masculinity.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    It's all off-the-shelf parts. This is the technological equivalent of Chevy adding AWD to the Camaro by using ATS parts.... and likely as equally not difficult.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    They're just last year's VWs anyway.... bringing them over would be like VW trying to rebuild the Mercury brand in the US.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    I'm just trying to keep it in top shape for its age so I can get a decent price for it when I sell it for a Sierra or Avalanche.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    You're the one spreading FUD and you do it in every EV thread that happens on this site.... I'm tired of hearing you repeat it as if it were a truth...... Most hybrids run into the 200k miles before any significant battery degradation happens. Teslas are routinely running to 150k miles without issue... and I capped it there just because there simply aren't many 200k mile Teslas yet.
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Editor-in-Chief

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