Drew Dowdell

I'm saying the IQS chart tells me nothing about the infotainment system. Fiat's IQS is pretty low too, but Uconnect is probably the best quality part of that car, which means something else is going on there. Without some context as to what is causing the low IQs scores, the chart isn't really useful for judging the quality of the infotainment system.

I did say that Mercedes' system was bad, however, that has nothing to do with a generic Initial Quality Study.

That was the reason for Ford's woes. That doesn't mean the same is true for Volvo and I'm not willing to make that assumption without evidence. My experiences with Sync3 have not been positive. My experiences with Volvo's system have been positive.

That tells me literally nothing about how the NAVI system performs which is what we're discussing here.

You see that little purple circle in front of the title? That means the post hasn't been published yet and only editors can see it. There aren't 71 comments on something that doesn't exist yet, but I will raise a ticket with the vendor.

I have not yet tried the Continental's screen to assess it... but from appearance, I feel that it is probably appropriately sized for the interior. The size of the screen matters a lot less than the ease of use of the system. Saying that, and again I haven't tried the Continental's system yet, of the others listed in this thread, Volvo has far and away the best and most intuitive to use of all of the systems I've tried. It is the smoothest and probably the most attractive looking screens. The Benz is such a bear to use... I'm a tech guy and even then I can get confused as to what I'm supposed to do. Telsa's can be buggy.

The Chryslers do dim automatically. It's still a lot of extra light in the cabin at night.

Eh... screen size can become too large. The 8.1s in the Chryslers are probably the absolute largest I would go and even then they can be irritatingly bright at night.

No, I don't think I am. That gen TL is one of their better products. The current TLX is probably the best of all the consumer Acuras currently.

Sounds like the engines aren't global.. not the platform.

Oh you mean like how Cadillac is not building RHD ATS/CTS and Chevy isn't building RHD Camaros? At least Ford tried instead of being like GM and saying Eff it...

If they had to re-route the exhaust in a strange and sub-optimal way due to steering gear, it would exactly explain why.

I like it!

I think we'll see the Avenir packages in just a few months. You're barking up the wrong tree trying to diss the first gen CTS to me. I leased a 2004 for 4 years and it was flawless for me. I get that stylistically it doesn't appeal to most people. What it lacked in interior against the TL, it more than made up for in handling and driving prowess. I have a lot of fond memories of that car. That said... I'm less interested in what Acura did back then and more interested in what they're doing now. Each year I get to drive these cars back to back to compare them and Acura is slipping. The new MDX doesn't beat the current Enclave except in techie stuff like entertainment systems and active lane control, much less beat whatever Buick is coming up with next. Even up against and Acadia Denali, I'd put the Acura just barely close, but I'd take an equivalently priced Jeep Grand Cherokee over either of them easily. (Base price of MDX FWD $44k, Base price of Grand Cherokee Overland 4x2 $44k, Loaded MDX AWD $58k, Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit 4x4 Hemi $58k) On my RLX test car, the plastics and assembly were a full 2 generations behind if it where a Honda. It was absolutely the worst built luxury car interior in memory. I've railed on the Lincoln MKS for its terrible interior materials, but at least they all remained in place. The last really great RL ended in 2004.

and front wheel drive at that!

It really does look like a shrunken Karma

Check out the current RLX and new MDX in person then. The pictures may seem fine, but really examine the materials and build quality.... You'll see what I'm talking about.

Sorry, I really feel that Acura's ship has sailed on interior quality. The RLX is a basket case that even an Accord would be embarrassed by. It's outclassed by the MKZ much less the Continental. RDX v. MKC goes to Lincoln. Same with MDX v. MKX. The MDX feels more like a Pilot rebadge than ever. The TLX is the lone bright(er) spot in the Acura lineup but even then the MKZ can be optioned up nicer and so can the Lacrosse. I'm basing this purely on interiors btw.

It's a Nissan built truck. You'll probably get Nissan engines.

I didn't leave out anything. It's a link to your comment and it cuts off words depending on your screen size.

This is the remark I took issue with:

I would agree that many of the pictures out there are less than flattering of the Continental. I believe I even mentioned back in Detroit that the Continental was substantially better looking in person than the pictures. Some cars that look good are difficult to photograph well, rarely is the reverse the case without photo manipulation, but it does happen (the Volvo XC90 looks great either way, but looks better in photographs than in person). I do think Zac's photos are some of the more flattering photos I have seen yet. I wouldn't say there is excessive chrome... nor would I say that I eat an excessive amount of chocolate chip cookies.... but maybe just a tiny bit too much. If I were Lincoln's design lead, I'd probably drop the chrome from the bottom of the doors and offer a blacked out grille insert while keeping the ring and emblem chrome. Some people like chrome, some people like none. Aside from NSX which really isn't luxury in the traditional sense aside from the fact that it is a luxury to own one, I'd agree with you here. I'd say that Buick comes closer than Acura these days because I really hate what Acura has done with their interiors. The Navigator I feel is too far behind the times to really count at the moment, but that is being rectified soon I believe.

The author of the article is a personal friend of mine and he actually splits an AirBnB with William and I during the Detroit Auto Show.... I'll send on your regards for his article. The problem is that you don't allow anyone to have a negative opinion on something subjective like appearance of any FoMoCo product.

Did someone with brand new dark blue jeans rub their butt all over that seat?

You have the Escape 2.0, right? 2.0 - 2.5 is a pretty typical displacement for that class of vehicle. I'm talking about SMK suggesting putting a 2.0T in place of a 3.7 V6 in a fairly heavy truck. Most reviewers mention the turbo lag in the M-B CLA that is unquenched until you put it into sport mode... what does sport mode do? It puts the engine in a lower gear so the turbos are already spooled up. I know we've discussed throttle position programming before. Just because your foot is less than half way into the pedal doesn't mean the throttle is only half way open.