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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    Oh... dunno where that is. I'll be spending a week in Calgary in August for work. I'm in the energy industry too for my day job, but I think different segment. (though we do have drilling operations in Alberta I believe)
  2. Drew Dowdell
    My guess is that the Fiat 500X will be the first of the Fiats to really make it big in the US. It checks all the right boxes and it is in the right place at the right time in the hot new mini-crossover segment. It won't get the sales of its Renegade brother, but it will do better than any Fiat before it.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Are you in Calgary?
  4. Drew Dowdell
    All trucks move on incentives. Ford and GM are both known for having truck incentives. GMC is offering over $8k off certain Sierra configurations. Ford is offering $6k back on certain F-150 models. Ram having incentives is just the nature of the business. I don't expect the Mini-van to regain its past glory, but the current FCA vans have fallen too far behind and sales reflect that. Caravan is down 49% for the year and T&C is down 44% for the year. That is a big drop... too big. The LX models are not ghastly overweight. Chrysler 300 V6 - 4,029, Dodge Charger V6 - 3,934, Dodge Charger V8 - 4,264 - Hyundai Genesis V6 - 4,138, Chevrolet Impala V6 - 3,800, Buick Lacrosse V6 - 3,988, Chevrolet SS - 3,975 (for comparison purposes), Lincoln MKS - 4,204, Ford Taurus - 3,917, Toyota Avalon - 3,505 (however, I think Toyota took it too far, the latest Avalon doesn't isolate noise like the old one or the others in this class). The LX cars' weight are on par for their class and in most cases, the LX cars beat the competition on fuel economy when comparing engines in the same class. I've driven all of the cars in this list extensively and only the Avalon can even match the LX V6 cars on fuel economy. A while back one of the Buick PR people was bragging on Facebook about his LaCrosse V6 rental got him 30mpg. If I was in an LX car, I would have to check to see if the parking brake was stuck if I got that kind of mileage, 33 - 35mpg is the norm on the highway in the LX cars... I've done it many times in many locations. I agree you that the Dart has been left for dead. They need to MCE it soon. However, the Chrysler 200 seems to have finally gained traction. I've driven a number of the FWD vehicles with the 9-speed auto and they finally seem to have the 9-speed auto figured out, but I think they still need to work on throttle control. I feel that Sergio is FCA's biggest liability. Period. His ego and his pet projects are what going to hurt the whole organization. Alfa is a "nice to have" but not a necessity for paying the bills... but he'll sacrifice the entire organization to save Alfa and Fiat.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    I get that way on the months where we don't have an extended weekend for a holiday or something. It is amazing what a 3 day weekend will do mentally. Not just the time off but just having something to look forward to that isn't the same. For instance, this weekend. I'm so stoked for it..yet I have nothing planned or anything.. just won't be working. lol My day job has been taking advantage of me for a couple years now and I am so pinned down by them I don't have much time or energy to make a change.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    Almost every day.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I see a good 50% of Sergio's whining as personal greed. In the event of a merger, he stands to make a tidy sum of money. Jeep is growing like crazy and they're going to sell the snot out of the Renegade in China. I wouldn't be surprised if they actually run into capacity constraints on that car. Ram will always be 3rd of the D3 trucks, but they can take a bigger chunk from the other D2 than they did before. As long as they keep the interior and look up to date, the hardware under the hood will be competitive enough for a good 4 years. I really have no fear from the Tundra and Titan. There is the new Mini-van coming for Chrysler as well as a new Wrangler. I disagree that the LX cars need to be replaced just yet. FCA may be "just floating" right now, but I don't see them sinking unless the Greek thing gets really bad.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    The iM will have Toyota's reliability reputation. I am glad for a Corolla hatchback in the US. Is that worth a $4k price increase?
  9. Drew Dowdell
    There's a new Nexus 5 coming though
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Sorry for your loss. I know it well.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    The spread is so minor as to be almost irrelevant.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    You are absolutely clueless about the auto industry............. You've gotta be able to back up statements like that around here. FCA is on shaky ground, though I don't see quite the doom that hyper does.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    One really wonders how "Ferrari" it really is though. I have similar suspicions about the V6 in the Ghibli. I suspect it is a Pentastar with the cylinder bore reduced, slightly different heads, and turbo charging.... and then Ferrari did the calibration tuning.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    So has Maz. I think they are trying to keep Maserati more high end. The Ghibli with its $65k starting price is likely to be the cheapest model in their lineup. They seem content to be a small volume ultra premium brand. They even bring Italian spokeswomen/supermodels to the "local yokal hyuck hyuck"** auto journalist drive events and position themselves away from the other FCA cars to drive home their elite status. Alfa can play in cheaper waters.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    It really depends on how they position themselves price wise. If the new Giulia roughly matches the 3-series in price, and they bring a 5-series competitor out, I think they have a chance. Alfa has three distinct advantages over Cadillac in this segment. Roughly zero people in the target segment have seen one before so there is the "Brand New! Gotta Have!" factor there, there is no brand baggage in the US, and it is "Euro" which means "More Gooder!" to the general populace.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Actually the Ghibli is doing rather well for a brand that essentially didn't exist in the US 3 years ago playing in a segment with relatively low volumes. Edit: Looking it up, they sell somewhere around 750 Ghiblis a month. Like I said, not too bad for the segment it plays in. A little more than double the sales of the 6-series with only a $5k discount over the BMW.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    So the Scion iM will be the same base price as a Sonic LTZ 6-speed manual or a nicely equipped LT automatic? Good luck with that.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    I wasn't particularly impressed with the NHV in the NX.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    ... it looks just the same...
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Indeed. Never own a german luxury car unless the manufacturer is picking up the repair tab. It needed a new transfer case at 25,000 miles??!
  21. Drew Dowdell
    Unfortunately, that is a software limitation that I have no control over. That said, there is no harm in the "edited" note in the post, we don't think less of you for it.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    They make a special ...erm... stool.. for that.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    Fiat
  24. Drew Dowdell
    It's selling so well that discounts are few. No need to replace it yet.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    Definately a sports car interior rather than a luxury car interior. I still like it though.
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