Drew Dowdell
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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From the album: 2016 Nissan Maxima Live Shots
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How much weight does that really save though? I'm betting the new 8-speed will make a bigger difference to MPGs than the switch to aluminum will, but the aluminum will get most of the credit. I hope they make the 8-speed available on the V6 also. -
I'd like to introduce you to 'Oz'
Drew Dowdell replied to GMTruckGuy74's topic in Member's Rides Showcase
Have gone on a a long (like 4+ hours) drive with it yet? As I spend so much time on the road, the characteristics of a vehicle after being in it for 4/5/8 hours is something I really look at. -
Painted? Painted?! The car is like:
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From the album: Drew's Animated Gifs
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You forget that Cadillac can and will share some of the under-parts of these cars with other divisions, so the money will go further at Cadillac than it might at Benz. Does Cadillac really need its own power window motors, airbag assemblies (I'm not talking the cover here), power seat motors, or disk brake calipers that aren't shared with Chevy, GMC, or Buick? No, not at all.... and that is just a very short list of possible cost savings that Cadillac has in its pocket that BMW and MB cannot replicate (Audi can through VW).
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Some specs you missed: ATS ~ 2.0T / 6A : 21/30 - 272hp - 295 lb-ft - Regular fuel okay, premium recommended A4 ~ 2.0T / 8A : 24/32 - 211hp - 258 lb-ft - Premium fuel required Any fuel cost savings gained by the extra mpgs in the Audi are reversed and then pushed into the negative by the Premium fuel requirement..... even if you did run regular fuel which isn't recommended, your mpg will suffer substantially. The Cadillac ATS 2.0T can run regular fuel 100% of the time and you'll just see a small performance decrease. This is also where the Cadillac 2.5 liter comes in. It runs regular fuel just fine and has almost the same HP as the Audi 2.0T though a lot less torque... and gets the 22/33 mpg Except, in the real world, none of that really holds up. As premium is recommended for full power with Cadillac's 2.0t, those numbers are achieved using premium. The Audi's engine is well documented as being under-rated, and it shows. What looks like a massive difference in horsepower simply doesn't materialize in reality. Performance data shows the the A4 and ATS as having nearly identical acceleration times, both generally around 5.8 seconds. It's the same thing with the 328i, which also looks to be at a disadvantage on paper, yet is the quickest of the bunch by far. Edmunds even dyno'd the ATS and 328i back to back, finding the the BMW had an ever so slight advantage in power. It also happens to achieve the best fuel economy, also on premium. There is a slight cost savings using regular in the Cadillac, but it's not that big a difference, especially after factoring in real driver's actual MPG (to be honest, there's very little data on fueleconomy'gov's website, but owner's forums seem to back up that data after a quick search). So yes, on paper, the Cadillac looks like a winner. In reality, they're all about the same. Not such a bad thing, and honestly, the Germans set themselves up for it by under-rated everything. But again, the point we're talking about here is that even when specs are identical, people complain about the Cadillac spec but not the equal spec from the Germans. I do wonder what the ATS performance will be once it gets the new 8-speed in August.
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Honda News: Honda Crosstour To Reach End of the Line in 2016
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Honda
HRV looked like it had mucho room inside it when i saw it at the auto show. But of course its not as girthy or comfy as a crosstour. Oddly enough the market will embrace the HRV and it will destroy crosstour sales. I could see popping for a Crosstour if you went in looking at an Accord and they offered a better deal on the Crosstout just to get rid of them. I'd consider one if the deal was can't miss good, but hey I had an Aztek once so looks is maybe not big with me...... Well my other reason for the LOL is that the Civic 5-door is coming too wow, i thought they let the Fit be the 5 door......... Nope, they were quite clear in the Civic concept press conference that they are bringing that body style back. It sounds like it might be UK built though. -
Keep in mind that this car was released in 2005 and ended it's run in 2011. It splits the Acura TSX and TL in size. So keep in mind what it would have been competing with in 2005 in the US.... The first gen CTS, the first gen TLX, the first gen Lexus IS, and the first gen Infiniti G35. Thought of in that crowd, the Alfa 159 seems quite competitive visually. They also came in an attractive wagon which I'm sure we would not have gotten. They are also built on a GM platform that we never got here in the US.
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I think we need to see the models that come over first. Had the Alfa-Romeo 159 been sold in the US, I absolutely would have bought one.
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The Fiat 500 doesn't have a trunk, it is basically a 1-box design.
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Some specs you missed: ATS ~ 2.0T / 6A : 21/30 - 272hp - 295 lb-ft - Regular fuel okay, premium recommended A4 ~ 2.0T / 8A : 24/32 - 211hp - 258 lb-ft - Premium fuel required Any fuel cost savings gained by the extra mpgs in the Audi are reversed and then pushed into the negative by the Premium fuel requirement..... even if you did run regular fuel which isn't recommended, your mpg will suffer substantially. The Cadillac ATS 2.0T can run regular fuel 100% of the time and you'll just see a small performance decrease. This is also where the Cadillac 2.5 liter comes in. It runs regular fuel just fine and has almost the same HP as the Audi 2.0T though a lot less torque... and gets the 22/33 mpg
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But the you would if it had 4 rings or a 3-pointed star? That's the point Balth is making here. Why are there complaints about Price per Interior Space on the ATS when the smaller competition doesn't get the same complaint.
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TrueDelta takes on JD Power, Strategic Vision & CR
Drew Dowdell replied to BigPontiac's topic in Industry News
Nothing but oil changes, tire rotations, and one recall to adjust the seat mounting bolt torque. -
Honda News: Honda Crosstour To Reach End of the Line in 2016
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Honda
HRV looked like it had mucho room inside it when i saw it at the auto show. But of course its not as girthy or comfy as a crosstour. Oddly enough the market will embrace the HRV and it will destroy crosstour sales. I could see popping for a Crosstour if you went in looking at an Accord and they offered a better deal on the Crosstout just to get rid of them. I'd consider one if the deal was can't miss good, but hey I had an Aztek once so looks is maybe not big with me...... Well my other reason for the LOL is that the Civic 5-door is coming too -
While I was photographing the new Maxima last Thursday (I'll have a write up on that published later today), I spotted SMK admiring an S-Class.
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I'll believe it when I see it.
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Electric Highway West Coast Style!
Drew Dowdell replied to G. David Felt's topic in Electric Vehicles and Alternative Fuels
I'll have to look again the next time I'm near a charging station that I know about. -
Honda News: Honda Crosstour To Reach End of the Line in 2016
Drew Dowdell replied to William Maley's topic in Honda
Huge LOL that they suggest the HRV in place of the crosstour. Such a huge difference in utility. -
The next Frontier is all but certain to contain a Cummins 4-cylinder.... so it will most likely get that rather than a Benz unit.
