[Quagmire]

Official EPA HWY number for the Cruze diesel is 46 MPG. Which bests the Jetta TDI's 42 MPG rating.....

[Quagmire]

Moms new car.

[Quagmire]

Meet the updated 2014 Malibu. Fixed the interior, messed up the good thing about the 2013 Malibu( the front end).....

[Yontsey]

I ordered myself a 2014 GMC Sierra yesterday. Pretty excited, but no idea when it'll come in.

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Quagmire Meet the updated 2014 Malibu. Fixed the interior, messed up the good thing about the 2013 Malibu( the front end).....

I like the front-end treatment except the bubbled headlamps don't blend with the new extension over the grill. But where's the photos of the interior? I personally like *boring* interiors like those in the 2013 Fusion and 2014 Mazda6.

Still doesn't look like it's going to compete with the Camry, Accord, Fusion and Altima long term.

EDIT: Oh, the new interior doesn't even look much different except for the center console. The center stack was my main issue and it looks nearly the same.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Eugene I like the front-end treatment except the bubbled headlamps don't blend with the new extension over the grill. But where's the photos of the interior? I personally like *boring* interiors like those in the 2013 Fusion and 2014 Mazda6. Still doesn't look like it's going to compete with the Camry, Accord, Fusion and Altima long term. EDIT: Oh, the new interior doesn't even look much different except for the center console. The center stack was my main issue and it looks nearly the same.

Sorry, what I meant by interior is the rear leg space went up 1.25". According to Autoblog who sat in it, says that added space solved the issue.

Fuel economy improved to 23 MPG city and 35 MPG HWY, torque on the 2.0T went from from 260 lb-.ft. to 295 lb.-ft.

[Eugene]

Not a direct correlation, but the legroom problem is probably in part due to the Malibu's class worst wheelbase.

Ford Fusion: 112.2in
Mazda Mazda6: 111.4in
BMW 3-Series: 110.6in
Volkswagen Passat: 110.4 in
Kia Optima: 110.0in
Hyundai Sonata: 110.0in
Nissan Altima: 109.3in
Honda Accord: 109.3in
Toyota Camry: 109.3in
Dodge Avenger: 108.9in
Chevy Malibu: 107.8in

I threw the 3-series in there even though it's in a different price bracket. Shouldn't really be a big surprise that the most enjoyable cars to drive in this segment are the ones with the longest wheelbases.

With regard to fuel economy, I feel that Chevy is missing the boat with its powertrain options too. The eAssist Malibu's fuel economy is not significantly better than the plain 2.5L, nor do they offer an all-out hybrid. Why not bring the diesel to the US...they're ideal for our highway culture.

Ford Fusion: Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid
Mazda Mazda6: Diesel
BMW 3-Series: Diesel, "ActiveHybrid"
Volkswagen Passat: Diesel
Kia Optima: Hybrid
Hyundai Sonata: Hybrid
Nissan Altima: ---
Honda Accord: Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid
Toyota Camry: Hybrid
Dodge Avenger: ---
Chevy Malibu: "Hybrid" w/15kW eAssist

[Quagmire]

Yeah no doubt it was partly due to the Malibu riding on the SWB version of Epsilon II( Regal also rides on this version). Impala, LaCrosse, and XTS ride on the LWB version of Epsilon II. But, now for 2014 rear legroom stands now at 38.1" which is more than the '08-'12 Malibu.

Malibu Eco( that is the eAssist model) is dead for 2014. GM also never called eAssist a hybrid. They learned their lesson the first time around.....

Maybe if the Cruze Eco-D sells well, they will put the diesel in the Malibu as well. The future of diesels in GM cars in the US are riding on the Cruze Eco-D doing well.

[Yontsey]

I ordered a 2014 GMC Sierra pickup today. Pretty damn excited. Got a lot of the bells and whistles on it, and more importantly, it's a nice tax write off.

[Matsu]

Meh, I've been looking at a Fiat 500c. My wife's been pointing them out every chance she gets. She likes the one with "that roof". I can't say I blame her.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Yontsey I ordered a 2014 GMC Sierra pickup today. Pretty damn excited. Got a lot of the bells and whistles on it, and more importantly, it's a nice tax write off.

Didn't you order one already?

Originally Posted by Yontsey I ordered myself a 2014 GMC Sierra yesterday. Pretty excited, but no idea when it'll come in.

[Yontsey]

Well I thought I had but they were just finding out what I wanted for when they ordered them I guess. I actually went in and filled out the paper work and all that jazz today. They told me 4-6 weeks. They got one in today that I took on a test drive and damn is it sexy.

[ThunderPoit]

i know its not as nice or new as the cars you guys are talking about here, but i just bought myself the shiniest car i've ever owned:
http://imgur.com/Xq8wlri
its a 2006 Buick LaCrosse
It replaces my 1996 LeSabre
Kept me up all night, i get to pick it up today.
So damn excited!

[Yontsey]

Congrats ThunderPoit! Always a great feeling when you can reward yourself.

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Yontsey Well I thought I had but they were just finding out what I wanted for when they ordered them I guess. I actually went in and filled out the paper work and all that jazz today. They told me 4-6 weeks. They got one in today that I took on a test drive and damn is it sexy.

Is that 4-6 weeks straight from the factory to a dealer or are they just searching regional inventory for a matching VIN?

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Eugene Is that 4-6 weeks straight from the factory to a dealer or are they just searching regional inventory for a matching VIN?

From the factory most likely. 4-6 weeks is the typical time frame for a vehicle to get to the factory to the dealer.

[Quagmire]

Ford and GM may have missed an opportunity..... Ram releases a $2850 diesel option for the Ram 1500.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/28/r...0-option-on-1/

I see it being a success at that price point.

[Eugene]

Will have to see fuel economy figures, but Ford's less expensive EcoBoost V6 produces the same amount of torque and more horsepower while getting 16/22mpg.

[Yontsey]

Originally Posted by Eugene Is that 4-6 weeks straight from the factory to a dealer or are they just searching regional inventory for a matching VIN?

Straight from the factory. They had only one that they just got in stock on monday and weren't getting anymore for awhile. They were placing an order for them so I was able to order it exactly the way I wanted, which is nice.

Originally Posted by Quagmire Ford and GM may have missed an opportunity..... Ram releases a $2850 diesel option for the Ram 1500. http://www.autoblog.com/2013/06/28/r...0-option-on-1/ I see it being a success at that price point.

I completely agree. I probably would have used this option.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Yontsey Straight from the factory. They had only one that they just got in stock on monday and weren't getting anymore for awhile. They were placing an order for them so I was able to order it exactly the way I wanted, which is nice.

And you were the only one to drive it, it's fresh from the factory and wasn't sitting on the lot for awhile( not going to be the case with the K2XX trucks since they are now just hitting the lots, but in general), etc.

I do like ordering vehicles from the factory over choosing one from the lot. My moms Equinox was ordered and my dads BMW was ordered. The only reason my Aura wasn't ordered was because we knew it came right off the truck when we bought it and was configured perfectly in the exterior and interior color I wanted( only options it didn't have was the premium floor mats and panoramic sunroof which I didn't care for anyway. Hell, if possible I wouldn't want a sunroof).

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Quagmire Hell, if possible I wouldn't want a sunroof).

It took me a while to find a Fusion minus sunroof...never used it on my previous vehicle. The only thing about that is it also deletes the integrated garage door opener, which I could have used.

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by Eugene It took me a while to find a Fusion minus sunroof...never used it on my previous vehicle. The only thing about that is it also deletes the integrated garage door opener, which I could have used.

The sunroof came with the XR trim of the Aura. So I was stuck with it no matter what.

But, I hate when automakers do stuff like with the Fusion. Why does the garage door opener require the sunroof? I was building a 2014 Impala for fun and in order to get the adaptive cruise control, I would need to get the 20" wheels and I find the 19" wheels to be better looking. Why does the adaptive cruise need the 20" wheels? Come on......

[addison]

Looks like VW is planning on finally bringing the Polo to the US as well as a small CUV based off of it. They seem to be doing it mainly for CAFE but this will help them at the bottom of the market where they have nothing in the $15K and under range.

http://wot.motortrend.com/volkswagen...#axzz2YSy96RSG

[Matsu]

Makes sense, by now it's likely bigger than the first golf sold in NA.

[Quagmire]

The Stingray can do 0-60 in 3.8 seconds( only .1 second slower than the outgoing Z06) and get 29 MPG on the HWY.

[Quagmire]

Interesting.... Volvo introduced a new engine family with one engine being turbocharged and supercharged.....

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/16/v.../#aol-comments

[Yontsey]

Finally picked up my new truck yesterday. It was the first one the dealership had sold, so that's pretty neat. I must say, it is a thing of beauty. It's gonna take me a minute to learn the touchscreen and everything it can do. I'm like a kid on Christmas.

[Eugene]

Originally Posted by Quagmire Interesting.... Volvo introduced a new engine family with one engine being turbocharged and supercharged..... http://www.autoblog.com/2013/08/16/v.../#aol-comments

Didn't VW already do the turbo+supercharger thing for the mass-market? I seem to recall reading about it and my main question was why not just use two turbos in the gas version like they already do with the Drive-E diesel.

BMW does the small turbo + big turbo thing to give their engines better low-RPM performance. Hell they even have a tri-turbo setup in some of their performance diesels.

[Quagmire]

Congrats Yontsey!

And Eugene, I don't know if the S/C and T/C has been done before, but it's interesting none the less.

[addison]

VW did do that already. They called it the Twincharger. It was a 1.4 with the supercharger providing no lag at the bottom end and the turbo taking over at higher RPMs. I think it might be out of production already though. Probably too complex and costly.