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Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    This is awesome!! Also, welcome. There are bunch of us fellow MTers who jumped over here. I wish this place were a little more active. Please tell your friends
  2. Drew Dowdell
    I really don't care how I get my torque, whether it comes from a V8, turbo-4, or spinney magnet thingy..... all it has to do is provide the twist instantly and as quietly as possible.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Yup, had no clue this existed. Please tell your friends
  4. Drew Dowdell
    Excellent that Ford is among the honorees. I wouldn't read too much into the "Only Automotive Company" part though. Participation in the survey is voluntary and companies have to opt-in to participate in the first place, so if no other automotive companies opt-in to the survey, then it really isn't a ranking of the industry. It's a bit like saying "The Mustang came in first in this race!" when it was the only participant in the race. If you look at the history of the award, the last time someone other than Ford was an honoree was 2009. Before that, BMW, Toyota, Honda, and Volvo are on the list. I can see why Toyota may not make the list post gas pedal scandal, but I don't think Volvo, Honda, and BMW would have regressed so much to not be included for the last 7 years. They probably just stopped participating. While the recognition is good for Ford, I place very little value on these types of surveys as a measure of one company verses another. At my own job, we used to participate in a few of these surveys... one of them being a "Best Places To Work in Pittsburgh" survey. Employees were pressured, "encouraged", and borderline bribed to take the survey... and even after that we didn't quite make the cut. After a few years of trying and not making it (and a series of big layoffs), we simply stopped participating in the survey. Now, does that make the company not a great place to work? No, but we won't be showing up on that list any time soon simply for lack of participation.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    Ah okay. It allows them to improve body roll, rather than improving it directly. Body roll is nearly always a decision made at the suspension level, in this case, now they have something firmer to attach that suspension to.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    I wouldn't mind so much if we got a real Eclipse out of it.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I'm confused... what does the platform have to do with body roll? Good that the center of gravity is lower, that should improve handling. Subaru is pretty much always the lowest center of gravity in their class already.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The engine thing is the argument I've been making about the Cadillac 3.6 V6TT for a while... and the engine is capable of even higher numbers as indicated by the 464hp and 445 lb-ft of torque when in the ATS-V. That puts it just 3 horsepower shy of the 5.0 liter Lexus, however, the Cadillac makes its 464hp at 5750rpm while you have you spin the Lexus up to 7,100 rpm to get to its 467... so the Cadillac would feel much more powerful. Also, they screwed up this comparison... sorta. Base price on a V-Sport is not $71k. You can get all of the V-Sport performance at the $61k the V-Sport really bases at, and at that price you are still in a 333hp A6 rather than S6. The $71k Cadillac CTS V-Sport is pretty much loaded to the gills, and at that price you're in a base S6.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    The FCA Board of Directors should have to write that on the chalkboard 100 times.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Mazda needs partners too. Their salvation may rest on building cars for other brands. Also, if the plans are put into effect now, there could and should be enough differentiation to make and resulting product not a Mazda with a Dodge badge.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    When posting, there is a "More Reply Options" which brings up the dialog to attach files. You should be able to bulk upload pictures that way too.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Please let it be Mazda Please let it be Mazda Please let it be Mazda
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Welcome to C&G Pete! I'm the owner and general admin around these parts. Though I live in Pittsburgh now, I actually grew up in Hamilton NJ and I'm frequently in Edison NJ for work, so not too far from you.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    I just hope this wasn't part of the testing procedures... https://t.co/KgEumJsXPa
  15. Drew Dowdell
    Expense account. I spend $40k - $50k a year in work related travel. I drive rental cars more than my own car. All of my rentals are with National (don't have a choice, not that I mind). I reserve a 4-door mid-size, but because I'm such a big spender with them, I can upgrade to anything on the lot for the same price except for the exotics like Maseratis and ATS-Vs. I haven't needed an SUV for the last buncha trips, so I got fun cars (3 mustang convertibles, 1 5th-Gen Camaro, 2 Challengers). When I have to do long distance without hauling equipment I head straight for the Chrysler 300 with Lacrosse as my backup, once in a great while a Chrysler 200. My last few SUVs have been Grand Cherokee, Durango, Enclave, Enclave, Cherokee, Explorer, Edge, Santa Fe, Explorer, Yukon. That 5th-Gen Camaro I grabbed while I was sitting in a loaded Acadia SLT and about to pull out. Saw them bring it on the lot and switched to that instead of the Acadia. That was last week of January.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I rent Terrains, Acadias, and Yukons all the time. The Acadia and Enclave are my two most frequent rentals when I can't get a Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban or if there isn't a Grand Cherokee or Durango to be had (becoming more rare lately, sadly). I pretty much always go for the biggest vehicle I can find on the lot that isn't an Expedition. Edit: Of the three Lambdas, I'd say the Traverse is actually the most rare to be spotted in the rental fleets. Enclave being most common. Edit 2: I admire your ability to read GM's mind. We should put that to good use around here.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Probably heading straight to the rental fleets. GM likes to do that with outgoing models to squeeze some extra profits and amortization out of an old design.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    It brought it generally in line with the rest of the industry.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    I think a good 50% of the pending Wrangler's fuel economy improvements will come from better weight.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Lots of Transit Connects here, not many Transits but they're growing. Lots more Promasters and a bunch of old Sprinters.... GM still rules the roost on big vans here, but not sure how much longer. I've seen one single Chevy City Express.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Did they squish it?
  22. Drew Dowdell
    After President Trump adds his tariff on Chinese made goods, the Envision will have the same price as an Escalade. You can't do a direct Forex cost on cars sold in China. The Enclave sells for $77k base, Verano is $20k base, and Encore is $20.8k base. They're all over the map. The initial shipments of Envisions will be only premium AWD models and base in the very high $30s to low $40s. Not if you're trying to assess cost of production, or (given that there are probably high tariffs on the Enclave — which has an MSRP of over $99,000 for the awd version) gross margins. But that's not my point. All I'm saying is you pay a lot for an Envision in China. When it comes down to it, GM has a choice between selling an Envision for $53,400 in China, where the market for crossovers is finally taking off in a big way, or spending thousands per vehicle on shipping and selling them for $15-20K less in the US. Bear in mind also that GM's venture partner gets a 50% cut of every dollar of distributed profit from the export price of the Chinese-built Envisions. GM is never going to put much effort into selling Chinese-built Buicks, in the US. It's a nice supplement, both to the US lineup and the capacity utilization in China, but unless (like Honda) you build a wholly-owned plant just for exports, you're not going to import a popular model from China long-term (given exchange rate risks, shipping losses, supply problems etc. there's a reason only Honda has bothered even with that). If you have to add capacity to supply demand, you add it in the market that demand is in. As soon as GM tools up to build a Chevy or GMC in the US on the same platform, they'll make sure they include extra capacity for the Envision. Assuming the Envision takes off, production will move likely to the US with the next generation model. The problem for Buick is that they needed this vehicle 5 years ago, so getting it from China is a stop gap.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    I probably agree with you CP. During my own drive of the M4, my impression of the engine was that it was dull with absolutely zero character. While driving it I was thinking "I don't understand what all the fuss is about..."
  24. Drew Dowdell
    Ouch! So much for the old tech I-6 advantage.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    After President Trump adds his tariff on Chinese made goods, the Envision will have the same price as an Escalade. You can't do a direct Forex cost on cars sold in China. The Enclave sells for $77k base, Verano is $20k base, and Encore is $20.8k base. They're all over the map. The initial shipments of Envisions will be only premium AWD models and base in the very high $30s to low $40s.
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