Drew Dowdell
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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Don't worry too much about the safety.... there are videos out there of a crash test of a SMART into an E-Class. The little bugger takes out about a forth of the E-Class and yet the passenger compartment remains intact.
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It would be nice to see Lincoln take over that market from the S-Class -
Those Ariens were expensive brand new.
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The two stalks on the steering column are literally the only two items on the interior I could find that are remotely GM parts-bin.
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Welcome on!
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Lincoln News: Rumorpile: Ford Is Dumping Money At Lincoln
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Lincoln
Almost wish they could have waited for D6 then...- 10 replies
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Cadillac has already stated that the CT6 is not aiming for the S-Class market. If anything they are looking at the 6-series Grand Coupe, A7, and CLS... but offering that level of car without the space compromises. It will be the flagship sedan for now but another model up has been reported in the wings for over 6 months... and that would make sense as Omega platform would be extremely expensive to do for just one car.
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What has always impressed me about the Regal is the balance of the chassis. It is probably one of the best balanced FWD cars out there along with the Mazda 6. It's not the fastest 0-60 in its segment, but I did take a GS AWD out on the same track as the ATS-V and the handling aspect felt great for what it is.
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Lincoln News: Rumorpile: Ford Is Dumping Money At Lincoln
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Lincoln
Is D6 what the Continental is supposed to be riding on? If so, why are people saying it is FWD based? -
HAHA The saddest news for me out of this is that there is not going to be a new Flex. That car sells really well when you consider it is basically a Taurus Wagon. If you combine Taurus sales and Flex Sales, typically Flex is at least 1/3 of the total..... that is really good for a wagon..
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I might be interested in this Drew. Let me know when you're ready after you've posted a few in Reader Reviews.
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G-Class Quality, Lettuce Count the Ways
Drew Dowdell replied to Drew Dowdell's topic in Mercedes-Benz
None of the military spec stuff or off road stuff matters when you're building a luxury car. To claim to have the highest quality and then have mismatched exposed screw heads and visible rubber gaskets around the door handles and door lock buttons made of plastic that an '83 Ford Escort would blush at... is a farce. SMK say's they're hand made.... again so what? If everything I touch in the car is built from parts they found at the clearance bin in PepBoys it doesn't matter at all if it is hand made. It's a really really really expensive Jeep Wrangler... except the Wrangler does build quality and material quality much better. -
NHTSA looking for relevance.
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Can't both engines be really good? The Pentastar has gotten me fantastic mileage and has great power characteristics. So has the GM 3.6 LFX.
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I like both. I hope the Continental keeps its name and most of its look.
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Ram News: Don't Expect A Midsize Truck From Ram
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Ram
I don't know how much longer FCA can sit it out and watch. Wentzville workers just got their lunch break slashed just so GM could squeeze out an extra 3,500 trucks a year and adding 1,000 flex workers to get another 2,000 trucks a month. -
And when you add all the goodies to the other cars, the weight rises there too... what's your point? A 550i xDrive loaded with options weighs more than a 528i base. Getting the base chassis down in weight is important. It does allow for a lower power engine to achieve the same performance and it allows the higher power engines to achieve better performance. All the coming TTV8 from Cadillac has to do is match the S-Class 4.7TT and it will have a significant advantage over the Benz due to the S-Class' crushing curb weight. In fact, Benz may find themselves in a bit of a pinch perception wise if the CT6 and 7-series hit their weight goals. Both of those cars would be much faster than the S-Class with the same or possibly less horsepower.
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64 lbs lighter than a CTS 2.0T RWD. So, by the book - 3556 BMW is dropping from 7-series weight to 5-series weight, but the CT6 is ATS AWD weight.... it dropped two size classes. A fact that a BMW owner looking to trade in and upgrade really wouldn't care about. As for Cadillac, good on them. But you are comparing a AWD ATS to a RWD CT6. Not exactly matching. It would be exactly two segments lower if it was a AWD CT6 weight quoted above. I imagine 34 speakers isn't included in that number. Well if you prefer to look at it that way, the CT6 only weighs about 183lbs more than an ATS 2.0T RWD (3373lbs)... a car that is already one of the lightest in it's class. The difference in weight between an ATS and a CT6 is..... me.... after a generous helping of chocolate cake.
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BMW News: 2016 BMW X1 - The First Front-Wheel Drive BMW For the U.S.
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in BMW
Magic body control is the S-class suspension that scans the road ahead to adjust the suspension before hitting a bump. That is where the real magic is. I wonder how fast that S-Class can scan and adjust properly on Montreal roads in the spring time...Im willing to bet...not so fast...Im willing to bet...that the S-Class drops the ball on that... it's actually pretty good at it... but it is completely geared towards being soft rather than performance. -
64 lbs lighter than a CTS 2.0T RWD. So, by the book - 3556 BMW is dropping from 7-series weight to 5-series weight, but the CT6 is ATS AWD weight.... it dropped two size classes.
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I drove an ATS-V back to back with an M4 Convertible at the same event Horatiu was at. The best way I could describe them is "different". The ATS-V is much more frantic in it's top sport setting. The M didn't feel as fast as the ATS-V, but it's not exactly fair to compare a convertible to a hard top 400lbs lighter, so I don't put too much weight into that. Yet even accounting for engine output underrating by BMW, they're going to match Cadillac's stated output at most. I give the nod to the M on the interior quality of materials. I like that the steering, suspension, and throttle response can each be adjusted independently on the M where as the ATS-V adjusts all 3 at the same time. The ATS-V launch control and rev-matching is awesome once you get the hang of it. I got some very impressive fuel economy out of the ATS-V when driving conservatively on a long haul. I didn't get a similar drive in the M. For hard driving, the ATS-V would probably be my preference, but the M is probably the more comfortable and livable "everyday car".
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Oh they're here...
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The reason people are talking about it is because of all the moaning and complaining from the German-Car humpers that the Cadillac CT6 will come in 2.0T base. It's just more of the double standards that the German fanbois play. The CT6 is the size of a 740i but weighs the same as a 335i xDrive. So even though the 7-Series dropped weight, the CT6 still weighs less.
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One wonders why they didn't just use the 2.7EB... it's not like anyone would have known the 0.3 liters were missing
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BMW News: 2016 BMW X1 - The First Front-Wheel Drive BMW For the U.S.
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in BMW
That's like saying a 2WD Silverado is every bit the RWD system as what's in a 458 Italia. And it's simply untrue. The SRX, like other GM vehicles, uses the Gen 4 Haldex system. It is FWD biased, and does not have the same ability or feel as some other AWD systems, like some of those found in Audis. Most Audis (everything larger than A3/Q3) use traditional mechanical AWD systems with center torsen diffs. These have numerous advantages over systems like Haldex's. I was specifically referring to an XTS-V. While it was unquestionably more competent than the last SHO I drove, track ready it was not. I did say "almost". It needs bigger brakes and the more aggressive MRC programming available in the ATS-V and CTS-V.... The XTS-V starts at $63,000 and runs into the high $70k range. What, if anything, at BMW, Mercedes, or Audi will get you XTS-V performance in the same size package at that price? You can't do it. There is no more E550. A CLS550 will get you close on performance but doesn't have the room. An S550 may have the room and performance, but also costs and entire Chevrolet Malibu more. The story repeats at BMW where you can get a 550i but sacrifice the space or get the 750i and spend $20k more.
