Drew Dowdell
Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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Interesting how Scion isn't really in its own grouping anymore. Lots of Toyotas in fleets lately from my observations while traveling. The Avalon is a good go-to car for my free luxury upgrade when a 300C or a Lacrosse isn't available. Camries, Corollas, RAV-4s, Avalons, and Highlanders are all in the fleets lately. Nissan still has a bit of a stranglehold on the fleet in Chicago.
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I really haven't seen much of anything lately..... it's like... where did everyone go!?
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It's easy to sell a lot when you keep one foot in the mass market while wearing a luxury badge.... Mercedes is doing the same thing with the CLA...... and those people that sell rip-off Louis Vitton bags do pretty well too. Cadillac doesn't sell an A3 or CLA competitor and if they did, you'd rip them to shreds for selling a FWD car. Anyone who buys a CLA or A3 is proving they are simply badge snobs with no sense.... there are multiple, substantially better cars with better value for that money. Regal, Verano, ATS, CC... even the A4 (only $4k more than A3) and C-Class ($5k more than CLA before rebates) are substantially better values. For $30,000, I can drive away from the Buick dealer in a functionally equivalent Turbo Verano that has every single option box checked while I'd drive away from the MB dealer (slower, due to the power deficiency) in a CLA with vinyl seats, no navi, no sunroof, no heated seats or steering wheel, and still need to spend an extra $599 for a stupid proprietary USB cable to hook up my iPhone. The same goes for the A3. Both of the entry level German sedans.... *cough*... sorry.. 4-door coupes.... are for chumps with no sense.
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I've always had very happy experiences with Cruzes.
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NEED PICS!
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Price point. The Regal is a fantastic car at it's price point, but it feels feature light to someone shopping the $2,000 + $199 a month market. In my view, they are marketing the Regal all wrong... instead of marketing it as a premium family car they need to market it as an American Audi... which is as close to the truth as you'll ever get to that comparison. Their "That's not a Buick!" campaign is good, but they need to do one just on the Regal. The Mazda 6 is really in a different field... it is one of the best among cars like the 4-cylinder accord, Passat, Jetta GLI, and Fusion (it's cousin).... but it really can't compete with the Regal if you get too far up in price due to limitations with the power train (no turbo-4 or V6, no AWD) and the fact that it is built to be a budget car at the low end.
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Impala has gotten a lot of good press lately and it really is one of the best cars in a couple segments. It's best in the low end, large family car segment and it's even one of the best in the large car entry lux segment when you load it up. It does stand up well to the Avalon when you equip it right.
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The most important option box to check when buying an Altima is the one that says 3.5 V6... not just because it is a V6 but because it gets you away from the terribly unrefined 2.5. Why Nissan still hasn't replaced the 2.5 engine is beyond me.... the Altima with the V6 and CVT is a very nice drive.
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The new Sentra really seems to be a viable alternative to the Civic and Corolla these days. Less boring than the other two, a bit more sporty, and you don't feel like you're sitting in a bathtub (most Nissans feel open and airy inside). Same reason for the Altima to shine... and it is also a better buy for most people than the Sonata/Optima When does the speculation start on the closure of Infiniti? They sold fewer vehicles this month than Cadillac sold SRXes.
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Do you have onstar? You should be able to ask them what's up when the light comes on.
