Drew Dowdell

a 5 liter hybrid that gets 30mpg? I get 30mpg out of a Hemi on the highway.

A friend of mine's brother owns a company that modifies GTRs into insanely fast machines. I visited the facility a few weeks ago and the sights there were simply awesome. They are getting 1,200 hp out of these engines. (if you read Jalopnik, they did a story on the company a few weeks ago also). they are moving to a new facility soon, and I may go out to do a story on them and their new space.

We'll be doing a Roadmasters version of this car in a few weeks as well when Abert and I take a TDI on a 1,000 mile trip.

Why are you rebuilding it? Some problems will be fixed by rebuilding, but others can be adjusted out. Judging from your mechanical prowess, I would say try it. The rebuild kits are $35 and aren't as complicated as we think they are... I would also replace any vacuum or solenoid parts on the outside. I would check how much play you have where the butterfly pivots are... and see if the kit has bushings that can be installed, otherwise, this can become a vacuum leak once you clean out the carb. Buying a second carb for cheap might be a good idea if you think you have bent parts (or just rebuilding the second carb, so you limit your downtime). I've rebuilt 2 carbs in my days... about 18~20 years ago when I was much more the newb (and didn't have the Internet as a crutch)... the first one was a Monojet and it came out so-so... but the carb was really clapped out. The second was an older Quadrajet and it came out sweet. I would have rebuilt more, but my '80s cars didn't really need it... and then fuel injection became the norm. It was a very satisfying process. The reason for the rebuild is this: the throttle position sensor is bad and it is buried deep enough into the carb that if you're digging that deep you might as well do a full rebuild. This carb model also has an issue with gas leakdown requiring epoxy on 4 spots under the carb. I don't think there is anything drastically wrong with the carb other than being 30 years old and pushing 100k miles. The leakdown does make her run a bit rich and it isn't something you can adjust out.

Happy Birthday! Sorry I missed it yesterday, but I'm in NYC today till 3 if you'd like to go out for lunch.

Time for a carb rebuild.... I'm deciding if i'm going to tackle it on my own or just send it out.

well, I pushed the Malibu review out another week, I want to get a different car in ahead of it.

It's probably more telling that Kentucky felt the need to specifically outlaw the practice.

An imposter Opel?

If it isn't running the car won't either. The question isn't "is the fuel pump running?" It's "is it putting out enough pressure?" The test above addresses that.

As has been mentioned in other threads, the Nissan CVT is pretty much best in class.

As much as people hate on the CVTs and the Sentra in general, that CVT is a great feature of the car.

this.

I could see them re-using the 9-5 somehow. They still owned the IP to that car and that is investment being left to rot. I think the signals being crossed are what is being used as the "base"

Apparently, the 5.5 can be set up to be a DOHC unit also.... which could certainly make the LTS special inside of GM.

Why not just re-nose the 9-5 with an Opel fascia? 98% of the work and tooling is done at that point. Slap an Omega badge on it and off ya go.

Probably Probably just as well to wait for the Omega flagship and will allow them time to fix the terrible dealer network over there.

Just like with Land Rover, the Jaguar interior better be amazing because you'll spend all that time sitting in it waiting for Road Side Assistance to show up.

"Premiere, Select, Reserve, and Preferred" all statuses that frequent travelers have heard of.... I'm 3 of those on my different accounts.

You're not convinced that GM can build a car that can last, yet you run straight to the manufacturer with the absolute shortest testimony on build quality (of which the jury is still out on) just because of a 429hp V8........ You make no sense dude... not that you ever have.

What's wrong with the TC?

Just because they aren't offering it here doesn't mean they aren't offering it in Europe. Engine/Transmission combinations need to be certified for sale in the US in each car. That takes money to do. They could very well have an all manual lineup available in the ATS for the EU because that's where it would sell. The bigger omission is the lack of a diesel at the moment, but I suspect that will come for Europe at least.

I wouldn't bother offering the manual on the 2.5, the people who buy the car with that engine won't care. The 2.0T is the "sporty" car of the bunch having performance rivaling the 3.6, so it get's the manual. The 3.6 V6 is for driving the AWD system and will mostly be purchased by upper middle class housewives (Your wife excluded Z) but most are not going to care if it doesn't have a manual. The 3.0TT V6 or the LSV8 is the ATS-V and will certainly come with a manual. Seems like a fare distribution to me.

What rust? That's just dust as far as dirt is concerned. It's way cleaner than my '81's engine bay and my car is stored in winter too. Looking at the firewall, hood hings, Brake system, I just see lots of rusts for a car that supposedly been always garaged. I agree it is very very clean overall, but then again, I am OCD about how I degrease and detail my own auto's. You're spoiled living in the North West. That is cleaner than they normally come around here.

I don't know if they've made any modifications to the 2.0T for the ATS, but I doubt they would go as far as adding balancers...