El Kabong

It's an LS9 as opposed to an LT4, but you get the idea. Aaaaaaay. http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/videos/a27718/chevrolet-corvette-ls9-v8-hand-assembled/

Some sample quotes to drive home the point: "The Sierra Denali barely even noticed the 7,000-pound average-weight trailer. It blew through 60 mph in 13.3 seconds and through the quarter mile in 19.5 seconds at 71.8 mph... With the 9,100-pound trailer strapped on, the GMC still flew, powering from 0 to 60 mph in 14.9 seconds and completing the quarter mile in 20.3 seconds with a trap speed of 70.2 mph. For context, the luxurious 2015 Ford F-150 Platinum FX4 with the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 took 14.7 seconds to reach 60 mph and dusted off the quarter mile in 20.2 seconds at 69.5 mph while pulling 7,000 pounds. Lest we forget, the stout twin-turbo 3.5-liter always feels up for a drag race. Unladen, the F-150 and Sierra’s Real MPG are within spitting distance of each other, too, with the GMC’s 15.4/21.1/17.5 mpg city/highway/combined edging the Ford’s 14.8/19.9/16.8." So, to conclude: same towing power as a TTV6. Better mileage than a TTV6. Pushrod valvetrain. That, friends, is cooler than the Fonz. Merry Christmas to all :D

There has been a vague buzz about this place as of late regarding pushrod V8 engines. More specifically, how they are supposedly old hat and unable to meet mileage and power demands going forward. So I came across this truck test from Motor Trend, and I figured I'd just leave it here, like a lump of coal for the TTV6 crowd. Some Christmas cheer for fans of V8 awesomeness here: http://www.motortrend.com/news/2016-gmc-sierra-denali-1500-4wd-first-test-review/

...and yes, 18 hours of darkness is a recipe for nuttiness. And Vitamin D and B12 supplements. But then comes June.

Remarkably, no. Northern Alberta's temps and snowfall have been more along the line of what Ontario is typically like this time of year.

Toyota won over a generation of Americans by offering them superior engineering and quality. Once they realized those folks weren't going away they slacked off on both. Toyota is all about the profits, and if it can make more selling subpar stuff to sheeple than that's all you can expect them to do.

Sun up at 7:30 and sundown at 5? Try sun up at 9 and sundown at just after 3. "I have lost my way/but I've heard tell/about Heaven in Alberta/'where they have all Hell for a basement'" -Gordie Johnson

Great googaly moogalies. I'm NOT SAYING A WELL-ENGINEERED CAR IS A TRACK RAT. ...but Drew DID hit the nail on the head for what I would consider a well-engineered car built for comfort with the Lexus. As much as I dislike Toyota, I'll give them props for sparing no expense on the LS sedans. And with that as our engineering benchmark, even at its elevated price point, I don't think Ford is going to be fooling many with a sliced and diced Fusion platform.

So if we were to being this back to post one: do you think that this Continental is well-engineered? Because I see scant evidence that it is, especially compared with what Cadillac and Hyundai have been doing recently.

The days start getting longer now. Thank goodness.

So then, why bother trying to stretch the engineering envelope at all? Luxury is both subjective and objective. Objectively, a luxury car has to be able to do things that a non-luxury car cannot. Subjectively, it has to do these things in a refined manner. Otherwise, we would all be driving pods.

If by "some" you're referring to me then allow me to be clear: the levels of handling competence I'm talking about are at the extreme edge of the spectrum. An Inpala SS or Mercury Marauder could doubtless be tuned to go around turns well, but ultimately the ladder frame would flex enough to put some at-limit vagueness in there (to say nothing of their rear axles).

I'm just asking the questions, man. So far I've gotten a few well thought-out answers. Thanks to all for responding.

I know that subframes are still attached to unibodies with bushings and whatnot. But BOF designs use a frame typically laid out along two dimensions, not three. Hence, not so great torsional rigidity. I agree that advanced chassis tech should be lightweight and stiff. This usually takes effort. I also agree that suspension tuning plays a big part in handling, and proper suspension tuning requires effort. But it is easy to use the "comfy ride" thing as code for "we mailed it in" (I believe the Lexus RC-F uses a similar approach for sporty handling).

I agree that it's possible to make a sharp-handling BOF design. But I used the example more as an example of just throwing anything onto the market and using "relaxed handling" as an excuse. And BOF has its limitations in terms of torsional rigidity if you're looking to make an old-school curve carver.

Fair enough. So, I guess I have to ask: is it necessary to have advanced chassis and suspension tech if you want a soft-riding car? Because on the one hand you could theoretically go back to BOF sedans and have all the wallow you want. Or do you want something more along the line of old Citroens, which put some thought into their comfortable rides?

*just gets in the door* *reads last two posts* *off to TSN.ca to see what the deal is*

So I was looking around on other places to see if the reactions to the Continental were similar to here. I ran into one place where there was a guy insisting that it didn't need a HUD because that kinda thing only appealed to techno-geeks. Then he rambled on about being locked in a Corvette because he didn't know how to operate an electric door release. That's quite a demographic for Lincoln to target, wot?

The price is appropriate for the tech, I guess. I'm not sure the price is appropriate for the corporate look, though.

When production allows it I'd say that will happen. For now I'll just shake my head about a slushbox Camaro smoking a Performance Package Mustang at Tail of the Dragon.

You misspelled "joke."

The performance was pretty modest as well. But the styling and interior were off the charts. I remember sitting in one in Toronto and thinking that it was amazing. And I'd just gotten out of an Audi A7.

When you saw the numbers and pricing of the ELR you just knew that it was going to all hinge on the styling. And even with what I consider to be the best example of Art&Science to date, it just wasn't gonna cut it. It would have been amazing in 2009. Nowadays? Not so much.

Good questions. At first I was going to say blame the photographer because at the time I had been up for about 24 hours straight, 22 of those in a motor vehicle of some sort (long backstory). But yeah, those rims are a bit messy. I do know from talking to the sales rep that they had had them in stock for a while so maybe someone had a brain cramp when they threw them on the car, which was itself fresh off the transporter in the middle of Alberta winter.

"God Bless America" is one of those songs that just doesn't translate well in Alberta. "From the mountains, to the prairies..." Well, uh... that's only a few dozen miles.