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Drew Dowdell

Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    Better aerodynamics would help..git rid off the tall, blunt front ends and go for something more tapered and sloping... A Ram ProMaster double cab would be cool as an alternative to the monster trucks.. But that is also only FWD which would be a non-starter for 99.9999% of U.S. truck buyers.... no matter how much it would actually meet their needs.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    I've seen a few in the wild recently... they seem like they've stepped back in time a bit.
  3. Drew Dowdell
    yeah, but I'm sure that's the full-zoot interior, not the rental car gray 90% of them will sell in. and LOL at the glove box cut-out! My '81 hides the seam better than that!
  4. Drew Dowdell
    theoretical how? The concept runs and drives.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    The 1.6T is supposed to be the fuel miser... not for the speed concerned.
  6. Drew Dowdell
    That was AWD/4WD I assume? I've already talked to Wendy a while back about getting one specifically for a long distance trip to test the fuel economy.
  7. Drew Dowdell
    There's the twin-turbo 4.5 liter that was featured in the El Miraj. 500hp/500lb-ft
  8. Drew Dowdell
    Well, I want to drive through them... I'd cheat and start in Denver.
  9. Drew Dowdell
    Rocky mountains
  10. Drew Dowdell
    The A8 though has a V8 and a W12, neither of which are found in any of the VW cars, they are found in Bentleys, though modified. The A8 interior is pretty good too, also not found in a VW. It does ride on the VW modular platform thing, but the A8 is aluminum unlike other Audi or VW models. So there is a lot to make the A8 unique, but it is still outsold by the Panamera, 7-series and LS460 most months, and the S-class outsells it like 5 to 1. You and your wandering goal posts. Audi doesn't sell 1.4 million A8s, they sell 1.4 million of their entire model line. They make a profit on it by snatching parts off of VWs.
  11. Drew Dowdell
    Audi has already sold 1.4 million cars this year, in the United States they have only sold like 120,000 this year, Audi could sell zero cars in the USA and turn a profit. The American market isn't that important to Audi, but crucial to Cadillac who has little global presence. Plus the A8 platform is used for Bentley which has crazy markup, so they get to recycle some engineering there. Halo effect does work, and is needed not only to sell more of your lower end cars, but also to expand globally. Cadillac needs the Omega car, but if they botch it and it is one and done product it won't have the desired Halo effect. Whether or not Cadillac can pull off a success here is the question, but I look forward to seeing the debut. Do you know how Audi is able to make a profit on those cars? By "parts-binning" from VW. But I guess it's okay with you when VAG does it.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Two interesting spots on the PA Turnpike yesterday: This one had diplomat plates.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Almost every Chrysler product I've driven lately has beaten the EPA highway number soundly while I'm at the helm. I've done 2 trips from Pittsburgh to NJ and back (350 miles each way) in a V6 8-Speed Chrysler 300 RWD. Every trip I did 32mpg or better. On the first trip where I kept it exactly at the speed limit the whole time, I did 37mpg.... to be fair, the second half of this trip is mostly downhill. I just completed a similar trip in a 2014 Grand Cherokee, V6 8-speed AWD. My highway average was 27mpg and I was NOT babying it. I did a trip from NC to Baltimore in a RWD V6 8-Speed Durango, again not babying it, and got close to 30mpg. I think Chrysler probably has something up their sleeve.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    The Omega platform is not going to be used on just a single car.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    There is FAR more money to pass thru their greasy fingers by improvements in efficiencies than sliding scales that just penalize non-EV drivers ("& the poor"). But the crank addicts like plenty of slop in their $2.5 trillion revenue stream, plus they're mostly too stupid/proud to figure out how to implement it. Two different issues there. Yes, we need a highway budget. Yes it needs to be paid for in a way that is fair and is quickly responsive to change. "The Poor" can go out and by an old Civic or Cobalt just like everyone else. Yes we need better (central?) planning. Yes we need better oversight.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    I like annual tax calculation, but how are we going to execute it flawlessly? Private companies fail, but experience is provided even in failure. Do you think Reids, Feinsteins, Pelosis, Rubios, McConnells, Cruzes have any? If they do, doesn't seem like they learned anything. How much more money should we be shoving into Haliburton's pockets? We know exactly how many gallons of fuel are sold in this country every year because we already charge a tax per gallon on it. So, take the number of gallons we sold nationwide in the prior year and divide the budget by that. It's not perfect (nor does it have to be) but it would mean that the tax is automatically adjusted for both inflation and improvement in fuel economy. The only question mark becomes pure EVs.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    Actually, the tax should be recalculated annually. Budget for the existing projects / # of gallons sold. Private industry experience is no panacea either... it's not like companies never fail.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    I wonder if EV range will increase substantially. A regenerator engine upgrade would be nice. At least add DI to it.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    So... BMW buyers are posers..... got it.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    I like all the Rolls
  21. Drew Dowdell
    It's more confusing than that. There is A6, S6, RS6, and A6 S-Line. A6 = CTS S6 = CTS V-Sport RS6 = CTS-V A6 S-Line has no Cadillac equivalent. It is an S6 appearance package with no change in the drivetrain over an A6. It does have a BMW equivalent called M-Sport which is an M appearance package with no change in powertrain over a 535i. What was all that gnashing of teeth over Cadillac watering down their V-series line by introducing V-Sport? At least at Cadillac you still get substantial mechanical upgrades with the package instead of just: and kudos to MB for offering performance upgrades to the AMG-Sport package instead of it just being a bunch of badges and suede headliner.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    Excellent Points SS
  23. Drew Dowdell
    While I'm glad that the testing standards are being updated... I think it is a bit unfair to the automakers to change the rules so quickly.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    Digital Credit Union in case anyone is interested
  25. Drew Dowdell
    Well... no.... sometimes the best thing you can do for a road is give people an alternative to driving on it. A portion of the fuel tax should be used for funding public transportation.
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