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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    I think the only perceptions that were damaged were VW's.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    Durango is within an inch of the Lambdas in length...
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Sales of the Cruze diesel were slow because it was only equipped as a nearly top line LTZ model. The Cruze diesel being dropped for 2016 and back for 2017 isn't news. We've reported both stories months ago, so the link you provided isn't exactly a breaking story. This isn't a slow sales thing, it is a model change-over thing. ... you appear to be trying to push a particular narrative. Chevy is actually planning on capitalizing on VW's woes in advertisements with the new Cruze diesel. It's the 1.6 liter unit from Europe that the European media has dubbed the "Whisper Diesel". It has 140hp and 250 lb ft of torque.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    How do you walk around at work without bumping into things? Your vision is so narrow. The CTS is built on the same production line as the ATS and Camaro. Look at the total volume for those cars and that is why they won't move it to China. The Envision doesn't share a platform with anything currently built in the US (I'm told it will be so different from the Terrain and 'Nox, that even sharing with them is still a question mark for GM). The Regal would make sense to move to Germany because 1) Volumes are low. 2) Opel could use the extra production volume. 3) The Oshwa plant already has trouble making enough Chevy Equinoxes so freeing up space from Regal would allow greater 'Nox production. 4) It would cut Regal production plants from 3 to 2.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    It was a purely hypothetical designation that I made up while waiting for a flight. But it's true... there is no reason the sedans have to be CT and the coupes do too...The coupes/convertibles can be anything.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    The Cruze diesel is coming back. It was dropped when the first gen Cruze turned into Cruze Limited. It will be a new smaller diesel with greater fuel efficiency than the existing model. Edit: The new gen diesel was always going to be a 2017 rather than 2016. Staggered diesel launch just like the GM mid-size trucks.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    There is nothing that says the coupe have to be CT anything. The could be ST6 for a coupe version of the CT6 for example. STx has just as much, if not more heritage than CTx. Not that heritage names mean anything at Cadillac anymore.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    As explained in this article and the Envision ones, it's based on where the car will sell the most copies. They're only planning on selling 60k Envisions here, they sold 174k in China in 2015. The CT6 PHEV will likely be very low volume in the US, larger in China, but still relatively small. Makes sense to only have one production line for such a low volume vehicle. I expect Regal will move out of north America too eventually, but I could see that going back to Germany where they need the volume to fill the factory capacity. The Chinese bought nearly 100k Regals last year.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    You would't buy a Cadillac build by Mercedes in the S-class factory, so I don't know what the big difference is to you....
  10. Drew Dowdell
    I'm 30,000 feet over Little Rock AR at the moment on my way to Dallas with connection to Tulsa.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    The first *GM vehicle to be imported from China will be the Buick Envision. The Volvo S60 Inscription is already here and is imported from China.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Cadillac actually makes huge profits per unit. It's when you throw in the less profitable lower end models from other brand where average per car drops. The reason the Germans make so much money is because they have managed to convince n00bs like you that their taxi cabs are premium. It would be like if Ford shipped the Panther cars to Germany, only sold the top end packages with big motors and marked the price up $15k per unit... but the only way the Benz keeps the lights on is by fleeting the hell out of their bread-and-butter cars in Europe while inflating the prices here. Where GM loses money per unit is on cars like the Volt which is an experiment technologically, but also helps their CAFE, and on the small cars like Adam, Cruze, Sonic, Spark, which are necessary for doing business but have razer thin and sometimes negative margins. I wouldn't be surprised if GM also only made money on the mid-price and higher Malibu. The Regal probably loses them money because of the limited sales in the US while being produced in the US, moving the Regal production back to Europe or over to China would be a smart business move there. Opel/Buick/Holden is the "One GM" plan. They've already found out that the Europeans won't buy Chevys. Euros also demand more premium feels in even their family cars, so it fits in well that Opel and Buick are paired. With nearly 1 million Buick sales in China last year, that gives Opel and Holden a whole bunch of breathing room on design costs. Designers can switch out a badge and grille, and head to the bar for the rest of the afternoon. Don't expect Opel to be losing money much longer, another year or two depending on the Russian economy and no other changes.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    SMK, I wouldn't point out VW/Audi as a positive business case at the moment.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah, I think only the Ram Rebel has the funky new grille
  15. Drew Dowdell
    The move to NYC wasn't about image mostly, it was about getting them out of the RenCen and able to operate in a more independent fashion.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Also, Cheers to Chrysler for having security guards at all of the Pacificas to kick out the competitors. Only way people were getting up onto the Chrysler displays on the first day was with an actual media badge.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    It's a lot easier to make a profit when your domestic government pays the healthcare costs of your domestic employees and has been for 40 years. What Do U mean?? Its probably what I was thinking.. but just need clarity The move to NYC, Johan, Cadillac setting it's own agenda, Cadillac getting first dibs on new tech coming out of corporate.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    GM just got un-handcuffed in early-mid 2015.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    Welcome. We've been here a while. Join up!
  20. Drew Dowdell
    guys... it's been nice here lately.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    And Cory, I agree that the Volvo booth is one of the best for refreshments. They're my 'ol reliable for refreshments and the best wifi. Once in a while someone else will do it better, but Volvo is consistently good.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    Uh, what? He was repeating comments about the Acadia that he overheard. I don't see any GM bashing or anti-bias in the article at all. I think you need to go back and re-read the piece more carefully..... starting with the title. BTW, Cory has been with CheersandGears since near the beginning and has been our photographer for the Detroit auto show and Chicago auto show a number of times. He attended this year's show with a media credential from my allotment though he did work for another outfit.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    Yeah, Buick never really had a coupe like this in the past.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    The advantage the CT6 will have is lower weight, and that's how it will get away with a 4-cylinder. A Continental is going to be near or over 4,000 in FWD form, the heaviest Fusion at 3600lbs is the same weight as the base CT6. With Cadillac running an 8-speed auto, there is a good chance that the 4-cylinder CT6 will end up faster (slightly) in a 0-60 than a V6 FWD Continental. Things we already know: 2015 CTS 2.0T AWD 0-60 = 5.8 seconds. 2010 MKS Ecoboost AWD 0-60 = 5.8 seconds The base CT6 is lighter than the CTS and is RWD rather than AWD so expect it to be slightly faster. A new Continental is almost certainly going to be heavier than the outgoing MKS, so a 305 HP non-turbo V6 will be slower than a MKS Ecoboost. Thus, 4-cylinder CT6 will be faster than V6 FWD Continental. Could that change with new transmission other than the 6-speed on the Lincoln? Maybe, but it's still going to be very close due to weight differences. Not always about a few 1/10ths in acceleration, but also perception. People will be paying ~$60K for an I4 luxury sedan. People already do. 528i.png A6 20.png Lexus IS250.png So you are saying that the I4 CT6 has an advantage over the V6 base conti, even with it's $10K premium price. I made no mention of price, nor has Lincoln for that matter. I simply stated that a 4-cylinder RWD CT6 is likely to be faster to 60 than a V6 FWD Continental and that people already buy $60,000 luxury cars that have 4-cylinder engines, so the CT6 coming with a 4-cylinder isn't going to be a limiting factor. Don't put words in my mouth. Further more, if the 4-cylinder is a big deal to a buyer, the V6 and AWD come into play for just $2k more than the base model. That is pretty much the easiest upgrade decision a person has to make.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    Actually, the new Maxima interior is fantastically built, even if some of the ergonomics are weird... it is good looking and well done. Edit: I think even the top end Chrysler 200C does a better job than the RLX on interior material and build quality.
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