Drew Dowdell

I've never really had the interior room issues you keep seeing. The Passat has great interior room, but the interior quality isn't there. It starts at $22,4 and feels it... even if you buy the $32k model.

Cadillac already has average transaction prices above BMW and Audi... so it's not like they have that far to go.

I'm told that the D6 platform can support FWD/AWD/RWD.

Which is a noble cause in its own right. And cleaner air tho. Especially for cyclists because we breath the $hit that comes out of tailpipes. Well I don't like the exterior as much as I thought I would, but a Canadian (good guy too! hint: finger lickin' chicken little) reviewer said the dashboard was made of peanut butter. So I became jelly that he was driving it. We frequently have air quality issues in my city due to the geography here.

Well, I can say this - I *really* love the new Sierra and Silverado face. I was lukewarm to the '15s as they were handsome, but didn't move the line forward enough for me. To my eyes, the new GM trucks make the GM 2015s and the competitors look quite obsolete... the Ram and Tundra most of all. It's the first time in recent memory that I can remember liking both the GMC and the Chevrolet full size truck models of the same year. I tended to flip from one to the other.

I like the idea of using fewer fossil fuels. I'm interested in the Volt for that reason... plus I have a wind energy supplier for my house electric.

Is there another round of platform weight loss for next year then? Always looking to reduce, but why, does it need it? It was the implication from your post that the addition of 10-speeds and "added lightness" would contribute to further improvements in the F-150's performance. If there isn't any significant additional weight loss coming, then it can't help performance over the current model now can it?

Is there another round of platform weight loss for next year then?

They sold 73,00 Cadillacs in China in 2014 and the XTS was half of that total while Buick sold 66k in just the Enclave line (US Built)... so yeah, Buick with 919k in sales would get priority. Cadillacs are also a substantial step up in price over Buick there. That said, I fully support a Riviera returning to the lineup.... I just think a bigger sedan is needed.

The key to the Volt that you can't seem to see is that many people with commutes shorter than the Volt's EV range will only need to fill up their car with gasoline every 3 to 4 months (the Volt forums are littered with these people). Yet at the same time, it still has as unlimited a range as any gasoline powered vehicle, so it addresses the range issue that Ocn always brings up. During my trips in the old Volt, I did far better than the advertised average, even on a nearly depleted battery, I was doing over 70 mpg between here and Breezewood.

"should" and "is" are two very different things... and people who fill up their trucks with regular and see a marked performance drop are just being set up for disappointment no matter how much you try to prep them

You keep forgetting the biggest name - China. The needs of Buick China come first... and then if they sell another 10,000 a year in the US it is just gravy. Opel and Holden are both short a large RWD sedan at the moment, so I wouldn't be surprised to see any Buick sedan shared with them as well. Buick sold nearly 4 times as many Buicks in China (919,582) as they did in the US (228,963) in 2014, and their Chinese sales grew faster (13.5%) than US sales (11.4%). Buick North America gets what Buick China needs... not the other way around.

Ford and GM (and any manufacturer) just wants to sell what people want to buy. That's why BMW has been introducing a new Ultimate Driving Niche every year and Mercedes has been doing The Best, or another Niche for years now. I mean, do we really need a GLE Coupe and 3-Series AMC Eagle GT?

yeah, because there would be no product differentiation between an Omega Buick and Omega Cadillac.... just like there is no difference between an Impala and Lacrosse now.... I can't even tell them apart!!

The Navigator only gets that on premium fuel... so yea, not really acceptable for an F-150. Putting in regular means a 40 ft-lb loss in torque (based on current F-150 ratings). The ATS-V recommends premium also, but again, premium brand like Lincoln. I do expect an improvement over the current EB 3.5, but highly unlikely they'll be hitting 460 lb-ft on regular fuel unless they up the displacement a bit over the current 3.5 liters. But I just learned the 2.7 is an iron block instead of aluminum, so maybe they can dial the boost way up without causing problems. For me assuming the same displacement, 430 - 450 lb-ft on regular would be expected, 460 lb-ft would be a nice surprise, over that would be astounding but would make me wonder what the driver sacrafices to use it.

No, the Aviator will be the Aviator. MKX.....I don't know. It was it's own thing with zero heritage, so unsure there. There is a 5th Lincoln SUV coming?

I suppose the actual name doesn't matter as long as it is a name and not just letters. Maybe Versailles? But yea, the MKX definitely should have been the Aviator.

The W-Body LaCrosse had a lot of territory to cover. It had to capture N-Body Skylark, W-Body Century, W-Body Regal, and budget end G-Body LeSabre buyers... as such it could be optioned as cheaply as the old Century or up to a full on 3.6 V6 or V8. After that, the LaCrosse grew and had to take over duties for the Lucerne too. Then the Verano and Regal came in below it and allowed the LaCrosse to move up and shed the budget cars. There are new and improved Regal and Verano coming soon, so LaCrosse can move up even further in price. I don't think it needs to be downsized at all. Your fetish with overall length never makes sense. A new Park Ave or Roadmaster on Omega above LaCrosse would be good for the brand.... and such a car would sell well in China, which is always a consideration for Buick product planners.

So why offer a rental grade trim to cheapen the name plate if the take rate on the top trim is so high? And what is the take rate on a Lexus ES or MKZ mid-level trim? LaCrosse should be $35k base, move it up market already. Put it where the Aurora and Park Avenue where, those started in the mid 30s fifteen years ago. At least then there would be a window at $28-35k for the Regal. Although I still like my plan to name the midsize Buick LaCrosse and the full size one Avenir or Invicta. Rename the Verano to Regal. Dump the Verano name plate. Buck has so many good name plates in their history and they come up with crap like Verano. If anything the Convertible should be called Verano for Summer. There won't be a 4-cylinder Lacrosse in the next version, so expect a big price bump for the new car.

I never liked the Zephyr name. Obviously though anything is possible when the next gen arrives, no doubt based on new platform. A freshening was probably not a best time to introduce a name however. It was a pretty big change in appearance though... I think timing it with the reappearance of the Continental would have been good. Was it really a big change in your opinion? I mean, aside from a new fascia, there was nothing else. Even interiors pretty much stayed the same. I actually need to do a post on that. I found the interiors to be much improved in very subtle ways. I got a lot of close up pictures to showcase what I mean. I think it is enough of a visual departure from the previous MKZ that yes, they could have pulled off a name switch, and that with the Continental re-joining the lineup sharing this new look, this would have been the most appropriate time to make a switch.

I never liked the Zephyr name. Obviously though anything is possible when the next gen arrives, no doubt based on new platform. A freshening was probably not a best time to introduce a name however. It was a pretty big change in appearance though... I think timing it with the reappearance of the Continental would have been good.

GM is getting the 10-speed too, so it will not be a Ford exclusive for very long. Even with an all new block, a new 3.5 Ecoboost is not going to be putting out 460 lb-ft of torque. I'm not saying Ford can't do it, but those are Cadillac ATS-V numbers and Ford is not going to put that level of premium hardware into an F-150.

Can you guys not be dicks to each other for one whole day so I can enjoy a holiday with my family?

As an MKS replacement it is a yugggge leap over the existing product. If D6 is not ready to wear the Continental name yet, I'm okay with this car holding the title for a bit.... at least it's not MKS. And yes, I'm really glad they're using a real name. Though it they were going this route, I would have hoped they'd move the MKZ back to the Zephyr name. Edit: And MKX back to Aviator.