Drew Dowdell

I rarely use the Encore's NAV anymore and I've already told Albert the next vehicles won't have it. I use Waze as my NAV app because I want the police and traffic alerts. Since I have to carry two phones for work anyway, I just use one of them for NAV and music.

52k miles and it's been pretty much trouble free.

I do think the styling is a huge improvement over the current model. I'm meh about the powertrain.... it's fine as a base engine, but what about an option for those who want/need more power?

My Cutlass Convertible - $220 My CTS - $335 My Avalanche - $465 My Encore - $348

It's just a reversal of a trend... and a good reversal too. I originally felt that displacement reduction + turbo charging was the answer, but it hasn't seemed to be the case.

Arrived in the Catskills for a couple days of car, truck, and motorcycle testing. Brought the Olds so I get preferred parking.

I could go with that one also... I just think Avenir doesn't mean anything to Americans and sounds overly pretentious

The Caprice still uses the 6.0 And GM, you're not fooling me with these faux Avalanches....

Bosch knew about it and sent letters to VW people about it.... there has to be more at the higher levels that knew

You can use our galleries here or add the pictures to your entry in the garage.

This is not your Great grandfather's Oldsmobile!

I've been a couple times. It was less impressive than I was expecting, but still good. They get pricey for someone like me who only eats smaller portions.

Sure... one manufactured by Mazda. The thing is... if the holes have already be punched in the back yard, the expensive and complicated part is done.

Even with the best research, someone can get a terrible Honda or a great Fiat.

There are many makes/models of geothermal. Like all major purchases, reliability should be researched.

Well at least it's not an alpha numeric

Careful throwing around the absolutes... Brand differences are important. GMC can charge $65k for a base Yukon Denali... That's $2k more than a base Navigator. It's unlikely GM would be able to pull that off if the Denali was "just" a Chevy. Denali trim alone out sells the entire Lincoln brand, so I think GM has a pretty good profit motive there.

Oh I do like a good "yer gay!" joke....

And of course the NADA Chairman is an entirely neutral party.... he's so neutral he makes the Swiss look partizan.

With my new furnace, which is only 93%, but has infinitely variable speed blower and humidity control (important in super cold climates, you can be comfortable at a lower temperature), my well insulated house is only about $100 a month now in the winter.

And GM's truck sales are higher than Ford's.

If you're looking to do geothermal electrical generation then yes, you need underground steam. Geothermal for heating/cooling a house is based on the principle that at a certain depth underground, the earth stays a fairly constant temperature (I seem to recall it being 55 degrees F, but don't quote me). The geothermal systems they install are basically heat pumps. You can get an above ground heat pump, but they aren't very effective nor efficient below about 20 degrees, and virtually useless below 15 degrees. There simply isn't enough heat in the outside air to pump into your house at those temperatures. By having a constant temperature below ground, you can pump that 55 degrees up into the house, concentrate it, and warm your home. The systems also work in reverse for air conditioning, you pump the heat out of your house and release it in the earth. Since all you're doing is pumping heat from outside your house to the inside... or vice versa... all you have to pay for is the electricity to run the pump. There is no fuel to burn and thus no fuel to pay for. The downside is the very large up-front costs to install these systems, but if it is a place you think you'll be in for a while, the cost savings and increased property value could make it worth it. The rough estimate for my 1,700 square foot place was about $25k, but my place is well insulated, so the cost savings over a standard high efficiency gas furnace would never make up the cost. Some more info on How GeoThermal Works

Definately look into geothermal then. Expose brick interior is virtually impossible to insulate. Brick and cement are terrible at heat insulation, so no matter what HVAC system you put in, you'll be losing a lot of that energy to the outside world. Geothermal would mean no fuel to burn to heat the place. You could, in theory, also do rooftop solar hot water and then use that to do radiant floor heating, but it really depends on how the place is set up. My friends in Germany built their house brand new with solar hot water (and PV, but that's not the point here) and that system will burn you if you aren't careful in the shower.

In the spreadsheet? No they are broken down by brand. But they will say stuff like "GM trucks posted an xx% sales increase, beating industry average." or some such thing. They do that fairly frequently.

Would you call Truth About Cars a fanboy? The had the GM death clock. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/10/gm-sold-124000-pickup-trucks-ford-first-three-quarters-2015/ TruckYeah on Jalopnick raise the same issue I did. - http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/why-ford-gm-and-rams-truck-sales-numbers-are-all-kind-1642486291 FastLaneTrucks seems to agree with me. http://www.tfltruck.com/2014/10/chevy-and-gmc-sell-more-trucks-than-f-series-in-september-sales/