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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    That's probably as close as we got lately..
  2. Drew Dowdell
    The majority of coupes we have today all seem to tumble forward rather than sweep back. None of the sedans seem to sweep back... That would immediately show up on my radar.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Uh, no. That is a completely dishonest comparison..comparing when the torque peaks occur is basically immaterial. The BMW and Cadillac produce the same amount of torque within 500rpm of each other, but the Cadillac goes on to produce even more as the RPM climbs while the BMW gets left behind. No one ever in all the history of automobiles is going to complain about 590 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm (plus more later) verses 590 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm (absolute max)... Except of course you and your badge snobbery.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    Your information, as usual, is erroneous. BMW V-12 : 592 HP / 590 TRQ Cadillac V : 640 HP / 630 TRQ Already puts the smack down on the V-12, with a half-liter less displacement & 4 less cylinders. And no smoothness penalty. BMW's 12 needs a major overhaul. I think I read some rumor where BMW might up the power of the V12, as Rolls Royce will use it too. But if it is the 592 of the 760 which it probably will be, that engine does make peak torque at 1,500 rpm, which is really low. The CTS-V makes peak torque at 3,600. Regardless though, it is physically impossible to make a V8 as smooth as a V12 or an inline six for that matter. The V12 is the smoothest engine configuration. So wait.. the BMW "only" makes it's 590 lb-ft at 1,500 rpm, and that's the most you'll ever get..... and the CTS-V makes that same 590 lb-ft at 2,000rpm and will continue to deliver another 40 lb-ft once reaching 3,600rpm... . but somehow the BMW is better and has better power delivery? What exactly have the Germans been putting in your Kool-Aid?
  5. Drew Dowdell
    The quality of the materials in the interior is exactly my point. A Cadenza has nicer materials than an Optima. An Avalon has nicer materials than a Camry. A Maxima has nicer materials than an Altima... etc. A Lacrosse has nicer materials than an Impala and a Regal has nicer materials than a Malibu. Agreed. And a Lexus ES nicer than an Avalon, and Infiniti Q50 nicer than a Maxima, etc. You can get luxury features like a heated steering wheel in a Kia Forte, doesn't make the Forte a luxury car. It is harder to say what is more luxurious a Cadenza or an A4 the Cadenza probably has more equipment and features, the A4 better build quality or materials. In that overlap price point in the mid $30s buyers could have different opinions of luxury. I still think materials and driving experience are what set the true luxury cars apart, which is why I think a rear drive chassis is important, because you can create that premium feel, long wheel base for smoother ride, 50/50 weight balance for better handling. These are the things a Toyota Avalon can't do, the Avalon will still drive like a Camry. Comparing base to base... yes. But a loaded Avalon is about the same as an ES (I'm not all that impressed with the ES anyway, so there's that), I'd take a Maxima Platinum over a Q50 any day all day, the Maxima is just that good. The Cadenza... eh, it's a half hearted effort from Kia, so I wouldn't go there, but a K900? Sure! The Lacrosse over an Impala for the same price? No contest. The lower model Audis have not been impressing me at all lately. I see a lot of VW in them. I'd love an A8L, but that isn't the level of effort Audi is putting into the A3/A4 these days. I really dislike the A3, the automotive writer in me can see all of the Jetta hardpoints in it and it does not feel premium to me at all... it's a premium over a Jetta... but not premium over other cars for its price. And no, the Avalon doesn't drive like a Camry... Toyota tried too hard to make it a "sport sedan" so now it doesn't have any of the cushiness it was once known for. The suspension is stiff and it slams over the pavement... the ES is equally as bad... but that's a Toyota engineering decision, not anything else.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    I dare Cadillac to look at their most iconic vehicles from each decade and try a reproduce few of those formulas with modern requirements. Pull from their history. I would start with a '39, '48 Jetback, '57 Eldorado, '67 Eldorado, a '75 Seville, an '85 Seville.... I don't mean copy the styling... I mean copy the formula. Most of the ones I listed were when Cadillac dared to be different in some way. That said... as I'm sure Balth would point out a pattern in my selection..... I would totally be in line ready to sign up for a long hood, short deck, swept back coupe or sedan from Cadillac.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I found you one. The CLA/GLA. Same platform, same engines. CLA250 FWD - 26/38 GLA250 FWD - 25/35 CLA250 AWD - 24/32 GLA250 AWD - 24/32 The GLA is just a CLA hatchback with a 0.75 in ride height increase... so maybe not what you're looking for. Edit: Another one... Infiniti Q40 (the old G-series) and QX50 (same platform as the old G-series) Q40 - 19/27/22 QX50 - 17/24/20
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The quality of the materials in the interior is exactly my point. A Cadenza has nicer materials than an Optima. An Avalon has nicer materials than a Camry. A Maxima has nicer materials than an Altima... etc. A Lacrosse has nicer materials than an Impala and a Regal has nicer materials than a Malibu.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    So I usually like shooting brakes, and this could have worked... But somehow I think it looks like someone grafted a second gen Pruis onto the back of an FRS
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Not claiming a mileage expense, just using it as a guideline to make the decision.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    So I have another 900 mile round trip journey to make next week, but this one is for family reasons rather than work. I can get a rental car for $250 all in, and that includes the extra insurance. Using the standard mileage deduction, using my own car would cost me $486 (900 X 0.54)... assume that includes fuel. A $250 rental plus figure $100 in gas. The other kink in the chain.... the Buick really needs tires... It'll make it through this trip, but I'm nearly down to the wear bars. Those will be about $750 (I think I'm going with Triple-Treads and see if I can skip snow tires this year)
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Do you lift, dfelt???? Am I talking to a fellow gym rat and didn't know this whole time??? Need you both to kick my butt into the habit once I'm done all of this travel at the end of the month. I was taught to never ski while tired or you'll end up hurting yourself, and I imagine the same is true for lifting. I can't get over the exhaustion to go make myself more exhausted at the moment.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    To be fair, there are very very few sedans and crossovers that actually share a platform. The first one that comes to mind is the Sonic/Trax. The Corolla and RAV4 technically share a platform, but it's one of those flex platforms that allow for huge ranges of customizing.... so you start getting into big weight differentials between vehicles and weight is the biggest killer of fuel economy.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    Who knows!? I'm not Mary Barra!! Why does Benz charge $2600 for Voice Control when it is a feature that even a low end Chevy Sonic and Ford Fiesta have?? Buick dropped the price of the 2.4 powered Regal and then apparently stopped building it, leaving it as an entry in the catalog only. The 2.0T Regal is now the $29.9 car. You're going to get your wish on the '17 Lacrosse. There is no more 2.4 available and I would expect it to move up in price. You're all over the place on your definition! If having leather is a qualifier, than most of the base model Benzes get disqualified for having plastic seats. If performance is a qualifier, than nearly all of the 4-cylinder Benzes get disqualified. The Maxima and Avalon are both faster than a much more expensive E300, and the Dodge Charger Hemi and Taurus SHO are right there with an E400. If handling performance is a qualifier, the big cloud-like S-Class and Lexus LS get disqualified as luxury cars while the Chevrolet SS is one. So the Chevy SS.. is that a luxury car? It has a fantastic interior (much better than the Impala, which itself is very good), it's got the performance, is all it missing is a badge? The question is more than specs on a sheet though. The Maxima is the best example of this. It is basically the same size as the Altima. It checks nearly all of the same boxes for "specs" as the Altima (leather, NAV, power windows, V6), and if you lined up the spec sheet of each car next to each other with Yes/No next to each spec, they would look essentially the same. But these are not the same levels of car. While they both have leather seats, the Maxima has much nicer leather seats, the Maxima has a much nicer dashboard, it uses much nicer materials all around, it has fantastic (I'm driving one this week) sound deadening. So maybe... it's more than just a statistic or a badge that make a luxury car a luxury car.... but I doubt you'll ever get that through your badge snobbery.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    Base model CLAs exist. Base model Lacrosses and Regals don't. Even the rental fleets don't order them.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Is the Sierra Denali not a luxury truck just because the Sierra W/T exists?
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Tesla stock is up $10 in after hours trading. Ford fell after announcing big profits. So much for the market... eh? Musk has the bucks, he can put more money in if he needs to.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Again with the base prices, stop looking at the black friday deals and start looking at what Buick actually sells. The Verano doesn't sell all that loaded up, but the Encore typically sells mid-range or better. The base model of Lacrosse and Regal that you are citing do not exist outside of the Buick.com website. They are a fantasy... you cannot buy them. 75% of all Lacrosses are sold with leather package, which means a minimum of $36k... or $4k over the price of a base Maxima. The Maxima with Leather is still $3k cheaper than a Lacrosse with leather. A higher end Maxima or Lacrosse or Avalon or Cadenza luxury cars? if the GLA/CLA with plastic seating are, then those big sedans most certainly are. It doesn't have to have a luxury marque to be a luxury car. Is the K900 not a luxury car just because it's a Kia? If you're going to disqualify a vehicle because of the badge, then I get to disqualify vehicles that come with plastic seats standard.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    I do apparently need to distribute big girl panties to a few more people....
  20. Drew Dowdell
    I call foul on this comparison. If $36.7k is within the realm of fair play for this comparison (That's what the CLA price-as-tested was), then the Regal GS should have been included, sure the MSRP is $37k on the GS, but you can get $2k off of that simply for having a pulse. That would have addressed all of their complaints about the suspension, steering, etc. The GS has continuously variable shocks that can be tightened up in "GS Mode"
  21. Drew Dowdell
    BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi have all pulled off those numbers by moving down market into Buick territory... so if you want to include that market, merge the Buick and Cadillac numbers. If you don't want to include that market, drop the 1/2-Series, GLA/CLA/B-Class, A3 and low end lexuses. Edit: and possibly GMC Denali numbers... The CLA costs more than a Buick LaCrosse, and no BMW or Mercedes or Audi costs $21k like a Verano. The Germans have more up market products, say $75k and up, than the American and Japanese brands also. The Escalade and The LS460 and LX570 are it. So what? The price points are all over and they don't need to line up even remotely close. There is no rule that X class from a luxury brand must start at a certain price. Compare the GLA to the Terrain Denali for example. Regardless of yours or my views on the respective values of these two cars, the fact remains that GMC is managing to convince 25% of its Terrain customers to buy a compact crossover with a dated 4-cylinder, extra chrome/wood, and a bit of leather for a base price of $35k. Just because Benz charges the same for less doesn't change the fact that $35k base is in the premium territory. It's not a mistake that the RDX, QX50, and NX all start around that same price point. The Lacrosse has always had a low entry price, but it climbs in price dramatically and sales skew heavily towards the upper end of the trim lines offered. My memory is rusty but I want to say that Buick claims over 75% of Lacrosses are sold with the Leather group (MSRP, $36k) and the majority of those also have an option group above that (MSRP, $39k). When you then start adding things like Bose or AWD, it's really easy to crest $43k. That's luxury territory even if they have loss-leader base models to get people in the door. The story repeats itself with the Regal. The 1SV base model with the 2.4 that bases at $27k is virtually non-existent. Don't believe me? Search the inventory in our area for one... they don't exist. My dealer has never actually seen a new 2.4 powered Regal at his dealership in a couple years. Most of the Enclaves sold are upper trim AWD models for $50k+.... etc etc etc... ....you simply cannot look at Buick's base prices as an indicator of their "class" since those base models are often impossible to find (Regal and Lacrosse 2.4) or no one actually buys them anyway (Cloth, FWD, base Enclave).
  22. Drew Dowdell
    And once you combine them, you see that GM is in these two segments with not just one crossover, but 6 crossovers, 4 SUVS, and 2 or 3 trucks (depending on how you count the 1500/2500). Encore Envision Enclave Terrain Denali (25% of Terrain sales) Acadia Denali (25% of Acadia sales) SRX/XT5 Yukon Denali Yukon XL Denali Escalade Sierra Denali 1500/2500 Canyon Denali
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I'm sure part of the slowness is my general absence from the forums lately. As I mentioned in the Random Thoughts thread, I'll be here more often after mid-May. After May 15th, I have only one work trip left that will keep me away from the forums. Edit: Frisky, I fully intend to go back and post in all of your What to buy under X.X liters threads. I think they are fun and like those kinds of threads, I just haven't had the time to be here much.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi have all pulled off those numbers by moving down market into Buick territory... so if you want to include that market, merge the Buick and Cadillac numbers. If you don't want to include that market, drop the 1/2-Series, GLA/CLA/B-Class, A3 and low end lexuses. Edit: and possibly GMC Denali numbers... I have been telling him the same thing for weeks. If you are going compare all Mercedes models for sales purposes then you have include all that apply from GM, not just Cadillac. Of course, that would kill his weak argument and he wouldn't be able to continue his cherry picking campaign. GM covers these two markets with 3 brands, Mercedes covers it with one. There is a valid debate to be had over which strategy is superior, but comparing sales numbers without acknowledging these facts is dishonest.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, and Audi have all pulled off those numbers by moving down market into Buick territory... so if you want to include that market, merge the Buick and Cadillac numbers. If you don't want to include that market, drop the 1/2-Series, GLA/CLA/B-Class, A3 and low end lexuses. Edit: and possibly GMC Denali numbers...
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