Drew Dowdell

Aside from the vents (which were all the rage in that timeframe, even Saturn had them) and the roof rails. I have all of that on my truck.... now my truck was the top of the Avalanche line in 2013, but still.

And thinking back a bit more, those early Navigators and ever generation after until the current one rode terribly. It was like riding in a beefed-up F-150 suspension. The Infiniti suspension was soft but annoyingly sloppy. Who wants to drive jello and not be able to maintain the lane center after a bump? The second-gen Escalade dialed in the comfort a lot (I never drove a first gen). It was the first of the giant SUVs to have that Cadillac Fleetwood ride.

Eh, a lot of that was people putting big aftermarket rims and big sound systems and lighting in them after the fact. Sure, you could option them up with chrome 22s, but this is what most of them looked like from both generations. 19s at best, not chrome, basically the same as any Yukon. Maybe you're too young to remember it, but yeah, the Navigator was huge when it came out. Navigator is what took the luxury car sales crown from Cadillac for Lincoln. It was a massive hit that Lincoln let flounder. The Navigator came out in 1997 and a "real" Escalade didn't hit the market until 2001. Then Lincoln dithered and gave the Navigator the mildest of mild facelifts in 2003 before ruining the styling completely in 2007. I'm not a professional now? Again, in a handling contest, it's going to go to the Europeans. But on long-distance highway travel, absent some ultra-fancy massaging seat options, comfort for the drivers in this class is pretty much equal amongst this class.

In vehicles this size, solid rear axle v. IRS means little in terms of comfort, and few can tune a solid rear axle for comfort better than the domestics. IRS is mostly about handling while spring rates and shock absorbers determine comfort. I don't know which suspension setup he has, but the air suspension setup in my Avalanche is very comfortable and I have no complaints there. He might have magnaride, so he would have a shock absorber advantage over me. Get his Escalade or my Avalanche out on the open highway and they will match any non-airmatic Benz on comfort. They'll get beat by the latest Lincolns Navigator and Aviator, but that's only because Lincoln tunes their spring rates to be like driving a pillow. I doubt he ever rides in the 2nd or 3rd row of his Escalade, so his perspective is only that of the driver. I don't know if the author Aaron Kiley is suffering from atrophied back muscles or something, but exactly what corners is he throwing these vehicles into to require large and firm side bolstering? Driving in the same seats literally every day, I don't ever experience what he describes. My second row probably gets low marks too, but so do most truck second rows. Doesn't matter to me though, my second row gets folded more than sat in. TL:DR, the Escalade and Avalanche from this generation are both very comfortable for the drivers.

Escalade is "louder" than a Yukon, for sure, but I'd still put it at the quiet end of luxury unless it's the V. That said, so are the GLS and Q7. Nothing says "I'm a multi-millionaire but my wealth is tied up in assets I can't sell" like a beige GLS. Loud luxury I'd consider things like the Levante, Urus, Maybach GLS.

I'm one of those people that certain things wouldn't change that you'd expect to change if I won the $1b Powerball. Flare is not something I'd ever chase regardless of the size of my bank account. Yes, I'd buy a bunch of cars, but for every one Lucid Air Sapphire I owned, there'd be 3 old carbed land yachts from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, in the garage. Yes, I'd get a bigger house, but not some absurd "Cribs" sprawling mansion, I'd aim for an 80+ year older "estate" on some land with a warehouse of cars nearby, probably in New England. My daily would probably be a black CT6 platinum. Quiet Luxury.

Eh, I prefer function before form. Both are important, but without the function, it's just flash which doesn't impress me. Same reason I won't wear clothing with giant brands on it.

I have been there multiple times. Glad you found the way out.

Great to see you back @JamesB. Naturally, I fully support a Toronado-powered motorhome!

As I was emerging from the car wash, I spotted this beautiful Custom Bruiser whale waiting in line at the gas station in front of me.

That's pretty subtle compared to the Bugatti watches in the other thread. I normally don't do branded stuff if the logo was huge, but I wouldn't mind this.

I saw these new Pan Ams in an ad the other day and it made me curious. They claim to be Pan American Worldwide Airways, but that company went defunct and the name Pan Am was bought by a railroad in New England.... so I'm not sure who the company is that is making these. I've got very good eyes, but if I can't make out the time quickly because there isn't enough contrast or the face is too busy, it's failed me as a time piece.

They look reasonably long in the first pic. The charge door on the Bolt is conveniently located.

Bolt driver went to the BMW-Lifted Truck School of Parking.

Sorry your transition is bumpy and uncomfortable @oldshurst442

That's why I said "more than a 1/4 mile" because the Raptor tops out well before the V does. 1/4 mile times are less of a useful metric these days because it's too short of a distance to capture the full capability. Both the Raptor and V have 10-speed automatics and they made it to what, 4th or 5th gear? The Raptor hit its speed limiter while the V and the G were still stretching their legs. If you let these keep going, the V is likely to come out in second behind the Lambo because it has the most torque + tallest gear ratios. The Lambo wins for being light and not shaped like a brick. And yes, his videos are fantastic

You guys will think I’m weird, but when I wear my watch I have to also wear a cuff or bracelet on the other arm or it feels unbalanced to me. I have a large collection of leather cuffs for my right hand for that reason.

Eh, mostly down low, and it is still faster than an Escalade V, which is faster than the G-Wagon AMG and in more than a 1/4 mile an F-150 Raptor. Also eh... our infrastructure is built for 80,000 lb tractor trailers, and lots of them. It won't notice something 1/10th of that.

In Chaos Theory, the butterfly effect is the idea that a tiny change can result in massive changes later. The simple act of a butterfly flapping its wings could set into motion a series of events that change the weather. In the summer of 2018, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, the organization responsible for putting together the Detroit Auto Show, more formally known as the North American International Auto Show or NAIAS, announced that beginning in 2020, the show would move in the calendar from its traditional time in January to a summer month to allow for exhibits and demonstrations outside of what was then Cobo Hall. Little did the show organizers know, but they may have changed the course of history for millions of people. The final January show in Detroit was in 2019. It was also the last time I attended after ten straight years of reporting directly from the show. I was looking forward to the summer shows in Detroit. The weather for the January shows has always been unpredictable. There have been years when it has been pleasantly mild and years where I’m driving through unplowed snow six inches deep and then having to schlep to the Cobo Center in dress shoes. Even with the poor weather, the Detroit Auto Show was always an exciting time to see the newest products and catch up with industry friends. There was no Detroit show in 2020, nor was there a New York show, Chicago show, or Los Angeles show, for reasons we all understand in 2023. In the years following, the already struggling shows were cut down significantly, if they even ran at all. Yesterday, I received my media credential for the 2023 North American International Auto Show, taking place in Detroit, starting September 13th. While I’ve registered for the credentials to various shows since 2021, this show in September will be the first I plan to attend since 2019. Thinking back, I realized how our recent history with Covid may have been very likely changed by the Detroit Auto Dealers Association’s desire to move the show outdoors. It is highly likely that this simple change in the schedule saved millions of lives. I can remember hearing about this strange new virus in China in December 2019. I had recently left a position that I had held for 14 years and, armed with a very generous severance package, had decided to take a few months off to recuperate from burnout. We already knew that the Detroit auto show was not going to happen until the summer, so I took all of January off with the intent to start looking for work in February. History being what it was, I wouldn’t work full-time again until May 2020. But consider the significance of NAIAS’s move to the summer; Wuhan is China’s 9th largest city, having a population of over 11 million. It is one of China’s most important industrial and research centers and, as such, is home to a large number of automobile part suppliers. Those automobile parts suppliers send reps to all the major auto shows globally. December 31st, 2019 On New Year’s Eve 2019, Covid-19 was officially identified. Though it is now known that the earliest known infection was a person who fell ill on December 1st, 2019, there is also a possible earlier case on November 17th. I can tell you from experience that those of us in the U.S. who attend the Detroit auto show have our travel booked at least a month in advance, so it is likely that individuals who would be traveling internationally would have booked even earlier. And remember, before Covid, we did not have the mentality of “if you’re sick, stay home”. For an event as large and as important as the Detroit Auto Show, you just sucked it up and went. I am guilty of this myself. Before Covid-19, I would still attend the show even if I was feeling a little under the weather. January 15th, 2020 Sixteen days after being officially identified, the seven-day rolling average for Covid-19 related deaths was nearly 8,000, mostly in China. January 15th is also traditionally the first or second day of the Detroit Auto Show, and Wuhan was still nine days away from lockdown. California, the first state in the US to lock down, was still two months away. A series of unfortunate events… that didn’t happen From here, it is not hard for anyone who has attended Media Days at any auto show to imagine the rest of the scenario. Auto shows are crowded affairs. Journalists and industry spies juggling to get access to the latest product or talk to manufacturers’ representatives. Shaking hands, talking in close quarters, and a distinct lack of respect for personal space is basically required. Nearly no one wears a mask. With several hundred to over a thousand visitors coming into Detroit from Wuhan, the Detroit Auto Show would have been not A super spreader event, but THE super spreader event. This massive gathering of thousands of people in close quarters from all over the globe would have accelerated the pandemic on an unimaginable scale. The virus would have been taken back to cities across the US, Europe, and Asia in large numbers a full two months earlier and caused the pandemic to be far worse and far more rapid than what we went through. Returning to Normalcy Prior to Covid, working at the Detroit Auto Show could be a 14+ hour day. One year, I remember a 5 a.m. wake-up call to make a 6 a.m. Porsche press conference and then a series of events that lasted well into the evening. Those days are gone now, and the Detroit Show is a shell of its former self. This year, we expect five or fewer reveals, and even those might be simple facelifts or trim packages. But one of the reasons that's happened is because attendance and coverage has dropped so significantly. Manufacturers don’t see the value in a show with a low attendance rate. I know it’s not going to be like the old days, but it will never come back if we continue to stay away. With that in mind, though the news from the show will still be thin this year, I will be covering the show in person once again, this time with a mask and some butterflies. View full article

That was a favorite of mine growing up. This was another favorite.

lol, we might need a fitness thread too. I have never been built, I was always the trim/cut swimmers build right up until 2020 when the pandemic, a very sedentary job, and my 40s conspired together to build a dad bod and I gained 35 lbs, none of it muscle. In mid-July, work started a weight loss challenge where participants can win up to $500... so that made cookies really not worth it. At 5-weeks in, I'm down 17.4 lbs on a strict diet + swimming laps 3 times a week. The goal for the contest is being down 25 lbs by October 2nd, and shockingly, I'm in 5th place. After the contest is over, I'm going to keep it going and I'm aiming for 35 lbs down by November 7th, my birthday. I might aim for 50lbs down by Christmas with the goal of a swimmers body by then.

Here's my Sturhling Bar Automatic, my favorite watch, I mentioned yesterday

Haven’t had one of these since 2019. I know it’s not going to be like old days, but it will never come back if we keep not going.

This. I think the cheap market might be dead, because once people have a smartwatch they'll wear that over the $45 one they got at Target. But when I don't wear my Apple watch, I wear one of my automatics because I'm dressing up more formally or trying to look snazzy for something. Apple watches aren't ugly, but they're no longer special or interesting.