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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    If it had AWD, I would be perfectly happy with a Volt. In sport mode it its performance characteristics are roughly similar to a 210hp gas powered sedan. I've even considered it as a replacement for the Encore, but then there is the no AWD sticking point. We just had the electrical service upgraded in the house 2 weeks ago. We were on 60amp fuses and upgraded to 150amp breaker service. I made sure they set aside a provision for a future plug-in car. Good Move. CT6 PHEV??? I think that car is gonna be damn sweet. I think I'm more excited for this one than the V Outside of my budget unfortunately. Not sure if the Plug-In will be AWD though.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    It's simple. If you want to save on shipping costs, build the plant on the continent you are targeting as your biggest growth market. Volvo has no where to go in the U.S. but up, they already have a plant or two in China... so makes sense to build the next plant here.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    Honda has twice notified us of the need to replace the airbag inflator in our CR-V, but they never seem to have the part in stock. I'll probably sell the vehicle before it ever gets replaced.
  4. Drew Dowdell
    I don't think it would be quite SS level, but it would be a good upgrade for the current RS. 200 hp, maybe boosted up t o 215hp and 206 lb-ft of torque at 1700rpm, maybe use an overboost option like the Cruze diesel to bump that up too.... That would be perfectly acceptable for a a 2800 lb. hatchback.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    If it had AWD, I would be perfectly happy with a Volt. In sport mode it its performance characteristics are roughly similar to a 210hp gas powered sedan. I've even considered it as a replacement for the Encore, but then there is the no AWD sticking point. We just had the electrical service upgraded in the house 2 weeks ago. We were on 60amp fuses and upgraded to 150amp breaker service. I made sure they set aside a provision for a future plug-in car.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    It's interesting because from all my Toronado talk in other places, the original drums in '66 were scary bad with fading and just overall insufficient for the size of the car. Many '66 owners seem to retrofit (futurefit?) their '66 with later model disks that swap over exactly. On my car, the issue is the opposite. The rear drums are fine, the rear disks are fine, but the rear calipers tend to leak and fail easily.. and sometimes people will swap them from disk to drum... (the rare oddballs like me who likes the '79 - '85 model)
  7. Drew Dowdell
    The average person can barely handle a 180hp Camry at 6/10ths. While I'm fairly skilled (for an amateur, I didn't land the ATS-V into a wall like the Jalopnik reporter did with the Camaro, but I was still going all out) at hustling a high-horsepower car around a track, I find myself perfectly content for my daily drivers to be sedate, lower horsepower cars. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live with a 700hp car day in and day out. The highest horsepower car that interests me personally is either the Chrysler 300C Hemi or the Cadillac XTS V-Sport... and even the V-Sport is a bit much.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    You're in good company with the Olds love here. [sharedmedia=garage:vehicles:70] I have a little of both
  9. Drew Dowdell
    Cadillac does need more crossovers. Jaguar is still fairly niche, but they are putting new product into the meat of the market. This is the way for them to grow. Put a supercharger on the existing V8, up the content in the already swank Platinum edition, and call it a day. The new Escalade is doing well and I think it is well positioned against the threat of a BMW X7.
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Neat! And Welcome Back JamesB!
  11. Drew Dowdell

    2015 Regal Turbo

    Drew Dowdell replied to CSpec's topic in Buick

    +1
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Seriously, it can't be that hard. I know the 2.0T won't fit in the sonic, but the new 1.6T would be a nice mill in there. Raise the boost a bit and gear it right and it will be a great little pocket rocket without needing to spend a lot of cash.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Is #2 a buckminster car?
  14. Drew Dowdell
    I think Cadillac needs different kinds of pairings. Rather than being a Cadillac/Chevy dealer, they need to get in with the luxury dealership groups. It needs to be Cadillac, Jaguar, Land Rover, BMW,.... or like I saw in a suburb north of Chicago - Cadillac, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Spyker "My" Cadillac dealership used to be a Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealer. I haven't been up that way in a long time, but the dealership is/was one of the late 60's early 70's designs and really stood out as old and decrepit next to the sparkling new MB, and Jaguar, and BMW dealerships on the same road. Even the Honda and Mazda dealers seemed nicer.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    +3.6TT I don't think they're going to drop that one so soon after intro... and they have two distinct versions of it... the V-Sport version and the V-Series version. The internals are different enough that the V-Series version gets its own engine code.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I also have a better name for it. Buick Verano GS
  17. Drew Dowdell
    I've been told that the current Cruze chassis cannot support AWD, but otherwise I like the idea. I don't think GM would go to that extreme on the hp though.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    Exactly. Smaller displacement would be more welcome in other markets. There could be substitutions. The ATS-V, for instance, could have had a V8.. excuse the pun. Cadillac wants their own engine family.. thus it got the TTV6. As a future CTS-V Gen3 owner, I'm actually wondering if they are gonna come in year two with a TTV8 Actually, I've been told there was another reason for going with the TTV6 and it is entirely technical. Once I post my ATS-V story you'll see why.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    The turbo v8 is going to be smaller displacement than current CTS-V V8, so I don't think that it will get that engine.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    Interesting question. Seems like such a good engine to let go.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    normally, you should be able to just drop the raw Youtube link in the box and the software will embed it for you. If it doesn't work, myself or a moderator will be along to fix it if needed.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    Welcome to our two newest members! If you do have software issues, I'm rarely far away from an internet connection (and if I am, I get the shakes). I'm constantly tinkering with the site to get better performance and layout from it, but in general, it just runs. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to PM me.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    With the 8-speed being so fast at shifting, I wouldn't be surprised at it beating a row-your-own with fewer gears model.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    The way the cars are sent to the press fleets is not at all like how people buy them except for the rare niche vehicles. No one buys a Regal AWD Turbo Premium-II with every option box checked including things like Active Cruise Control for $44k.... but that's the only way I ever see them in the press fleet. It is a bit of a disservice to the readership, but it's not like we get to pick the cars that are sent to us. That $52k ATS in 2013 was likely the most expensive ATS on the Cadillac lot at that point, but ATS V6es can be had for $10k cheaper. You clearly haven't spent any length of time in an ATS though since you keep saying to dump the 2.0T.... the 2.0T is actually the better engine to get if you want a driver's car. It won't win drag races against a V6 model, but it is better balanced for handling.
  25. Drew Dowdell
    If this comment was for me - Good and that's what it should. But when you thumb the nose, you go one up, not one down. 3.6 is not a proper engine to go thumb the nose at when there are other powerful engines from the competitors. The 3.6 ATS is $7k less than a C400 4Matic. Start adding options and the delta between the two grows larger because Benz options are more expensive. The ATS 3.6 is a V6 at C300 price, or a 328i price, or A4 2.0T price.... Now, now let us not go there. There's a difference between price and performance and I'm not talking about the former. This tweener mentality is what has got people like one of the posters on this thread talking about how the Cadillacs should be $5,000 to 6,000 less than what they are currently priced. ATS 2.5 has BMW 320, IS250, nothing from other competitors. You have the 2.0T for 328, A4 2.0T, C300, etc. And then the 3.6 competing with the C400, IS350, S4, 335i (340i). If you match or offer the performance better than the competitors with less price then your performance value coefficient is excellent. When you have performance and value lower than competitors, then you are making excuses. I've said a few times now that I wouldn't cry if the 2.5 went away and the 2.0T was made the base. I would even be okay with the 1.6T being the replacement for the 2.5 because it has fuel economy and low end torque on its side, and when turned long ways could probably get another 10 horsepower squeezed out of it. That isn't what we're arguing here, we're arguing 6-cylinders. If I have $43k in my hand and I want a luxury car with a V6 (and let's admit, there are those out there with the "no 4-cylinder luxury car" mentality), none of the Germans can satisfy that. BMW gets the closest, but then I get a car with vinyl seats and basically no options. To get the performance you are talking about from Mercedes, I have to spend at minimum $7,000 more. I can get the performance without the options at BMW for $3k more, but if I want real leather and a few other things, I'm back to spending $7,000 or more just to get the same stuff I get in the ATS. Cadillac will have 3 additional engines to satisfy the performance needs and will likely exceed the performance of the Germans.
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