Drew Dowdell

Hmmm

Port Everglades?

I'll go against the grain around here and on twitter and say... that's actually pretty handsome.

it'll look terrible from the front in states with front plates though

what a shame BMW willingly cornered themselves into a tiny stylistic box. They had the chance to break the mold when intro'ing new series designations and finally offer something fresh, but it's the same old, same old. 'Nothing to see here' should be the corp tagline.

I wish Buick could give us a Riviera like the '79 - '85 body and get away with it... but they'd be raked over the coals for releasing "an old design"

so... a '98 3-series?

I'm rather fond of this version of the Beetle, though I probably wouldn't buy it in convertible form.

Aw, I was hoping it would be an attractive RWD alternative to the Genesis coupe

This is GM raising the price in the segment.... yeah there will be an overlap as the competition sells through its older stock, but watch, you'll see price hikes coming on the other 2 soon enough.

GM is more than capable of going on their own. They need to hire me though to get their EU dealership network fixed.

BMW will Hurt not Help their image with FWD in the US. This is DEAD on Arrival for them as a FWD appliance.

Most 1-series buyers thought they were buying a FWD car in the first place.

It's good that they are being cautious... but in this case, so much of the press has been bad press.

Well, the 1.8 is covered under the "less power" I mentioned and it is a Family 1, but I was specifically told that they just cannot get the 2.0T and 2.5 to fit. I'm not sure why you think a Family II would fit when none of the Gamma cars use anything larger than a 1.8 Family 1 engine. The diesel they are using in the EU is a 1.7 liter.

Are you thinking Delta platform?

The XTS V-Sport would be my first choice, but that is over $55k and without the turbos, I would default back to a V6 CTS or even just save a bunch of money and go with the 300c Hemi

The Toyota Camry of Mid-Size Luxury Cars..... It has everything it needs to have on paper, but fails to excite me in any way.

At $55k, I would pick any of the Germans, the 2014 CTS or even XTS, the Infiniti Q70 (M45), the Jaguar XF 3.0 AWD.... or if I was feeling particularly American that day, the 300C John Varvatos and still have change in my pocket for another classic Oldsmobile.

The only cars I can think of that the GS would beat on my "buy" list would be the Genesis, MKS and the RLX.

never liked the 1 series looks. too stubby.

Ok... watch out for the curse... then aim for it.

Spotted an Opel GT out doing some shopping

I think it would be good to offer as an option.

Watch out for the curse.

It's not that the 1.4T was deemed adequate, it's that the only alternatives had less power. The 1.4T is the most powerful engine that fits.

Buick geared it right with very deep 1st and 2nd gears, so it feels plenty perky around town. Also, with all the sound insulation and noise canceling technology, Buick is able to run it at a higher RPM than would be comfortable in regular driving in other vehicles.

More power is better, but I'm not sure if I would opt for it at the expense of fuel economy. We're averaging 25mpg around town so far which is really good for an AWD fairly heavy small crossover.

I'm sure they did think of it, but the next engine wasn't even close to being ready. The larger Ecotecs don't fit. I think Buick is guilty of mis-reading the market in a different way. I don't think they ever expected the Encore to take off like it has in the U.S. Apparently they are selling every Mokka they can build in the EU also to the point that there are waiting lists.

The problem is they are all built in Korea, and the supply chain is just too long to be able to make quick changes.

138hp is enough for Buick to not be able to build them fast enough at launch. Most buyers in this segment don't care about raw horsepower. The Encore is smooth, and efficient even in Awd trim. The 1.6 will be an improvement, but I was told we would not see that motor in the States in any vehicle for 3 to 4 years. Perhaps that project has been accelerated.

What's your most driven?

It's that really hard plastic.I knew about the resistance thing. I already have an electronic flasher rather than a mechanical one because I didn't like the speed of the flashers when I got it.

If you can get a home filling station, it is way cheaper per gallon

V6 or V8?

I'm guessing V6