Drew Dowdell

1 minute ago, David said:

Hard for the Compass to compete at those prices against the Kia EV6 here in AWD which has a Lease of $349 per month for 36 months and you can use the $7,500 IRA instant rebate as the down payment.

It's not really the same class of vehicle. Kia wants to call it a crossover, but its a sporty hatch.

45 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

So they should have stuck with the turbo 4?  And invested in EV's rather than an inline 6?

The inline-6 is about smoothness and luxury feel. 280 horsepower is plenty for the class.  They feel like butter.  No one is counting 0-60 times running to the Real Estate Brokerage and back, but they want the experience to be nice.

38 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Well if they kill the Compass next and make the Grand Cherokee the "entry level" Jeep, they are in real trouble.  

Compass sales have cratered because they've jacked the price way up. Pick any options on the base model besides color, and you're instantly catapulted into a Latitude and to about $32k. Another thousand dollars gets you into a vastly superior Honda CR-V EX AWD.  The Compass isn't a bad vehicle, but it doesn't have the room or interior to go up against the big players in the segment. They also lease horribly.  Who's paying $548 a month for a 48-month lease on a Compass with $3k down?

They'll use the poor sales as an excuse to cancel it.  An EV replacement for the Cherokee is coming, but it will get a new name and, I'm sure, a hefty new price tag.

No one cares about 0-60 anymore. Fast enough is fast enough. If you want speed, trade in the horse and buggy and get an EV. 

I cannot figure out what they are doing with the Wagoneer brand.  They make the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer "not Jeep", but style them like Jeeps. Seriously, go to the Jeep page, and Wagoneer is treated as a separate brand. And now the new EV (which looks great) is a Jeep Wagoneer S.

So my suspicion is that Jeep has some weird crush on Land Rover / Range Rover, and now we're going to get these weird brand mashups that happened before the JLR consolidation where you'd buy a Land Rover Range Rover, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Land Rover Range Rover Velar, and Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.

30 minutes ago, Paolino said:

Well, there are a couple of differences like open-pore wood trim in spots, a full digital instrument cluster... but yes, the BMW X-3 interior isn't exciting either. I hate the BMW's exterior, though.

I dunno if I'd call open-pore wood "exciting", but for the price difference between the X3 and what this will likely come in at, I could overlook that anyway.

The instrument cluster is fully digital and reconfigurable.

Jeep shared some more details of the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer S today.  While it shares its name with the Ram 1500-sized Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, Jeep is billing this new entry to its lineup as a mid-size.  Looking roughly similar to the Grand Cherokee in size, the Wagoneer S cuts a more athletic profile. While no performance specs were released with this announcement, Jeep has previously said it is targeting 600 horsepower, a 3.5-second 0-60 time, and up to a 400-mile range.  We will have to wait and see if those numbers hold up.  The Wagoneer S will maintain some off-road prowess in spite of its city looks with a Selec-Terrain dial to adjust the S for various surface conditions. Standard features will include a dual-pane panoramic sunroof and a McIntosh 19-speaker, premium flagship audio system.

Interestingly, as the Jeep Wagoneer S is built on the Stellantis STLA-Large platform, Jeep could also offer this as a gasoline hybrid as well, though no hints of that have been made.

The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S goes into production this summer for a late Fall 2024 launch

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4 minutes ago, Paolino said:

That's really incredible timing... I was just on their website last night saying, "Wow... why isn't there a 7? The 30, 50, and 90... there should be a 7 slotted right in the perfect spot."

The interior looks a bit boring, IMO.

This is a Japanese-reliability, low-maintenance BMW X3 clone. Look at it next to an X3 interior and I think you'll see they nailed it.

The much anticipated 2025 Mazda CX-70 has finally been released after a bit of a delay.  The new model to the Mazda lineup, the CX-70 further moves Mazda into the premium segment.

The CX-70 rides on the same rear-wheel drive platform as the new Mazda CX-90.  Powered by Mazda's new 3.3-liter, turbocharged inline-6 hybrid or 2.5-liter 4-cylinder plug-in hybrid trims, the powertrain promises a smooth and effortless driving experience typically reserved for luxury-branded vehicles. 

While the specifications for the CX-70 haven't been released yet, in the CX-90, the power output from the mild hybrid is 280 horsepower @ 5,000 - 6,000 rpm and 332 lb-ft @ 2000 - 3,500 rpm. The plug-in hybrid model makes 323 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm on premium fuel or 319 horsepower at 6,000 rpm on regular fuel. The torque output of 369 lb-ft remains the same regardless of the octane.  Both powertrains feed the rear-biased all-wheel drive system via an eight-speed automatic. If plugged in, the system can provide an EV range of 26 miles and an MPGe of 56 mpg in the CX-90.  Those numbers could improve with the smaller and lighter CX-70.

Keeping with Mazda's Zoom-Zoom personality, the CX-70 was designed with a wide, athletic stance, a benefit of being derived from a large platform. The interior maintains the luxury car level of quality with an available red Nappa leather coupled with high-end finishes.

The Mazda CX-70 goes on sale in the U.S. later this year. Click the gallery below to see more of the 2025 Mazda CX-70.

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Just last week, we reported that the all-new 2024 Chevrolet Traverse will see a large price jump. In what is looking to be an industry trend, Hyundai just reported significant price increases for its large mid-size 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe.

The new 2024 Santa Fe base price starts at $33,950 plus a destination charge of $1,395, bringing the out-the-door MSRP to $35,345. That is $5,260 more expensive than a 2023 Santa Fe SE at $28,750 plus $1,335 destination. The middle-of-the-road "rugged" trim XRT sees the largest jump in price, climbing $6,350 from $34,250 to $40,600 before destination charges. Buyers of the base hybrid trim see the least of the increase, only $2,540 from the 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Blue trim to the 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid SEL AWD trim.  New for 2024 is the availability of the hybrid in front-wheel drive which brings the hybrid cost back down to around the 2023 AWD Hybrid base price.

That said, these price increases aren't without merit.  The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe has increased significantly in size, adding a third row. The base, naturally aspirated 4-cylinder has been dropped and all non-hybrid models now have the 277-horsepower 2.5-liter direct-injected 4-cylinder turbo as standard.  Hybrids are powered by a 1.6-liter turbo with 231-horsepower combined system output.  Gasoline models come with an 8-speed automatic while hybrids get a 6-speed unit. All trims, except the all-wheel drive only XRT, are available in front-wheel or all-wheel drive. The plug-in is absent for now, but mules have been spotted, so it could be coming.

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Honda has announced that it will offer a software update to 2018 - 2022 Honda Accords to enable wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to vehicles originally equipped with the wired-only version of the mirroring softwares. This is part of a company-wide initiative to add value to prior model-year Hondas and extend the lifetime of their vehicles.

The upgrade must be performed at a dealership and costs $112 plus dealership labor charges.  Owners who purchased their car through Honda's certified pre-owned program are eligible for the upgrade at no additional charge.

Roughly 631,000 Honda Accords in the U.S. are eligible for this upgrade.

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Ford has cut the price on the Ford Mustang Mach-E EV by up to $8,100 on some trims in a move to increase sales and keep the price war with Tesla going.  Tesla has recently been aggressively lowering prices, with some models seeing as much as a 20 percent decrease. This move follows a similar price cut by Ford around this time last year that helped make the Mustang Mach-E the number two best-selling EV SUV on the market.

The Premium trim with the extended range battery sees the biggest price cut of $8,100 while the two GT trims cut $7,600 from MSRP.  The base model drops $3,100 off MSRP and moves the Mach-E base price under the $40,000 mark for the first time.

In addition to these price moves, Ford is offering a $7,500 incentive when leasing through Ford Credit on top of the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. The Mustang Mach-E only qualifies for the federal tax credit when leased do to the battery supply chain.

While these prices are only for the U.S., Ford is planning on increasing global production of the Mustang Mach-E. With these new price changes and incentives, plus Ford's move to join the Tesla Supercharging network, Ford is hoping to see a significant increase in sales.

Update:
Ford Offering Free Tesla Charger Adapter to Ford Lightning and Mach-E Owners
Ford EV Access to Tesla Supercharging Opens

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Gosh the OshKosh is ugly

53 minutes ago, David said:

Very interesting, style wise it is nice, but the engine is just not my cup of tea. I wonder when Buick will get their first EV.

I will usually prefer a V6 over a turbo-4, but GM's 2.7 is pretty smooth for how big it is. Much smoother than the Ford 2.3 EB, but less smooth than the 6-cylinder 2.7 EB. If they can isolate it like they isolate the 2.0T in the Envision, it will be fine.  Plus, the torque output will keep it from needing to rev high, as is GM's habit lately.

2 hours ago, David said:

I thought of that, but Europe has stricter emissions than us now so I have to question that. 

It really would be interesting to hear from VW why the difference.

Stricter overall, but the tests are still different.  It can be emissions at specific RPM or speeds.

6 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

It will be interesting to compare this w/ the current one eventually.  My sister loves her '23 LT, it has about 6k miles..she's had it a year now.    I've driven it a fair bit, gets around just fine for a compact CUV, very comfortable on road trips. 

They do get fantastic MPGs. Some of the best of the non-hybrids.  My sister has a Terrain and regularly gets 35mpg running up and town the Florida Tpk with her lead foot.

3 hours ago, David said:

🤔 This makes no sense to me as to why the European version gets the extra horsepower and not the US where you find far more higher horsepower autos than in Europe.

I just do not understand VWs logic on this.

It's almost certainly an emissions rules thing.

1 hour ago, smk4565 said:

Also sick of headlights in the bumper and running lights up on the hood.  Why not just make one headlamp assembly and cut manufacturing cost and cut repair costs?  For example, if you have a front end impact with a Hyundai Tucson, because you have 4 light assemblies, 2 of which are over $1000 and 2 are over $1500, you are looking at $5,000 just for lamps, on a Subaru Forrester you'd pay less than $2,000.

10000% with you on that!  And add more money if any of those assemblies are "active".

3 hours ago, Paolino said:

I really like the changes. Think a plug-in hybrid will show up? I don't want to go full electric, but a plug-in would be ideal for me as I could stay all electric with my commute, but have the range of a gas engine for trips to the parents.

GM has basically said "no hybrids". It's all EV or all ICE.

32 minutes ago, David said:

It will be interesting to see how this little auto lasts with a weight of 3,428 lbs. or 1555kg, I feel it is a bit fat for the little 1.5 turbo engine. Maybe this also explains the low trailering specifications. 

At least they did drop a little weight as the 2024 model was 3,465 lbs. with the same engine.

Interesting is that at the start of the Equinox in 2005 you had two V6 engine options with a maximum trailering of 3,500 lbs. and even in the outgoing 2024 model with the optional 2.0 turbo engine you still had a 3,500 lb. trailering capability and now we have only 1,500 lbs. and a single engine choice, no options.

I wonder if this is GMs way of pushing people into bigger higher-level autos to get the same trailering capabilities.

Interesting that the Blazer EV has a 3,500 lb. trailering capacity in RWD models but drops to 1,500 lbs. in the AWD models.

I doubt it has anything to do with trailering at all. They did build the 2.0T which was efficient and fast, but people didn’t want to spend the money on it.  That said, I think GM has really hamstrung themselves on this platform by not offering a hybrid. The CRV and RAV4 hybrids have waiting lists. Kia, Hyundai, Ford, and Mazda all offer hybrids in this class. The only other holdouts are the Rogue and Tiguan, but both offer more powerful engines than the Chevy. 
 

The 2025 Equinox looks really good though and they’ve knocked it out of the park with that interior.

25 minutes ago, David said:

The Qualcomm Snapdragon Android Auto system has a basic software switch that allows the OEM to enable or disable Android Auto and Apple Carplay. This is an easy change that can be done by an OTA update.

This is how Honda on the same system is supporting the two cell hone connectivity versus GM not supporting it.

Back in 2022 more details were released along with updated SDK for the system. 

Connected Car and the Snapdragon Digital Chassis - Qualcomm Developer Network

This does make me wonder how long before a company like Jet Chips for custom ICE chip replacements gets into an SDK Break package that unlocks everything the OEM thinks the end user does not need.

Yes, this would be aimed at the more technical type folks, much like a cell phone that is broke open for use anywhere.

Interesting times we live in for sure.

Theoretically, they could also switch the carplay on in the EVs in the future.  We just need to pressure them to do it.  The systems in both the ICEs and EVs are not remarkably different.

The hottest and most competitive segment in the auto industry is the compact crossover, with every mainstream brand fielding at least one or more entries.  Fresh off updating the Trax, Trailblazer, Blazer, and Traverse in the last two years, Chevy is circling back to update its bread-and-butter Equinox.  Equinox's current platform came out in 2018 with a mild nip-tuck in 2022.  For 2025, the Equinox gets a major redesign, inside and out, on the same platform.

The headliner for this release is the new ACTIV trim. Representing a ruggedized version of the Equinox, the ACTIV has a unique front fascia, blacked-out badging, 17-inch machined aluminum wheels,  a Maple Sugar / Black interior scheme, and an available white roof.

The current LT and RS trims also each have distinctive front fascias, a C-pillar shark fin, All-LED lighting, and several wheel choices up to 20 inches for RS.  The RS is also available with a black roof.

The Equinox's interior has received a major refresh focusing on tech.  New is an 11-inch diagonal, reconfigurable instrument cluster and an angled 11.3-inch infotainment screen featuring Google built-in.  CarPlay and Android Auto device mirroring will be offered.

The gear selector has been moved to the steering column in a stalk on the right side of the wheel, opening up room for more console storage in the center. All models have standard heated steering wheels and front seats.  RS buyers get a flat-bottomed steering wheel and can add ventilated front seats and rear heated outboard seats.

The Equinox comes standard with a host of automatic detection and reaction systems, including:

• Automatic Emergency Braking
• Forward Collision Alert
• Front Pedestrian and Bicyclist Braking
• Following Distance Indicator
• Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning
• IntelliBeam

Additional standard safety and driver assistance features include:

• Side Bicyclist Alert
• Rear Vision Camera
• Rear Seat Reminder
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert
• Enhanced Automatic Emergency Braking
• Rear Cross Traffic Braking
• Rear Park Assist
• Enhanced Lane Keep Assist

The 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder carries over from last year's model, producing 175-horsepower at 5,600 RPM.  Torque and transmission specifications vary by driveline with the front-wheel drive models producing 184 lb-ft and routing through a CVT while all-wheel drive models make 203 lb-ft and use a traditional 8-speed automatic. When equipped with all-wheel drive, the Equinox can tow up to 1,500 pounds. View the gallery below to see more of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox

Expect the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox to be available in mid-late 2024.

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Stellantis might not be the first with EVs, but what they're coming up with sounds very competitive.  Plus, they'll still probably offer CarPlay.

15 hours ago, David said:

My concern is that since GM is using the Qualcomm system that they could turn it off. 

Course the opposite is that they come to see customers leaving them and end up turning it on for everyone.

This whole thing has me looking at the Kia EV9, Hyundai equal and the Genesis GV90 EV as a potential next new auto for us.

I'm not sure how the Qualcomm system effects whether they turn it off or not, but if they want to really piss off customers and spark lawsuits, they'd turn off CarPlay after selling the car.

Chevy announced the pricing of the upcoming 2024 Traverse, and hold on to your wallets because it just got a lot more expensive to buy a big crossover from the bow tie brand.  The 2024 Traverse will start at $39,995 for the base MSRP, an increase of $3,580 over the outgoing 2023 Chevy Traverse LS FWD.

What's new for that $3.5k? There is the massive new 17.7-inch infotainment screen, over 10" larger diagonally than the prior units. Plus, there is more power from the 2.5-liter inline-4 with 315 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque, a slight increase over the 310 horsepower of the old V6, but a significant boost over the V6's 266 lb-ft of torque.  There was a gear dropped as the 9-speed drops to an 8-speed unit, but with the extra torque, we doubt owners will notice.

At the top end of the lineup, Chevy has phased out the High Country and Premier trims, instead offering the off-roading Z71 trim and a sport-oriented RS model.  A first for the Traverse, the $47,795 Z71 trim isn't just an appearance package and adds actual off-roading capability with a 1-inch increase in ground clearance, a widened track, off-road dampers, all-terrain tires, aluminum skid plate, Terrain Mode control, Hill Descent control, and a twin-clutch all-wheel drive system.

The tippy top of the range is the RS, starting at $55,595 and getting practically all of the options from the lower trims, it also sports 22-inch wheels, a firmer sports suspension, blacked-out exterior trim, a flat bottom steering wheel, and standard one-touch folding second row and power-folding thirst row seating.

The Traverse has always been one of the largest cargo capacity crossovers available on the market and that continues to be true with a 98 cubic-foot max cargo capacity.

If you like the current model better, it will live on for a while as the 2024 Chevrolet Traverse Limited.

The 2024 Chevrolet Traverse will be built at GM's Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan and will go on sale early this year.

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