El Kabong

Yes. The media drives are late summer / early fall. More than likely, William or I will get to test one out to give you our opinion. Because the best time for convertibles is when the sun is hottest or winter is approaching??? I love GM but sometimes they really do drag $h! out to times that are simply insane. In fact.. I still remain confused as to how and why a Camaro.. which isn't even out yet is on the same platform as an ATS that has been on the market since 2013.. is getting a convertible and the Caddy isn't It has more to do with when the car goes on sale. Early to Mid-September is perfect convertible weather in my view. I understand this to a degree, but for me.. top comes off in April.. My larger point remains that the ATS .. and CTS should have convertibles along with coupes (CTS) now. If it's a case of limited dollars for new product launches then I'd say go with your hot hand. The Camaro droptop is a surefire seller, and likely in large quantities. As much as I'd like to see an ATS droptop, I'll grit my teeth and say that GM made the right call here.

Likely before the Cascada, put it that way. Is that thing still a go?

I'm betting that's the only time you'll associate the words "Camaro convertible" with leaks

It was probably a lack of attention to details like this that caused the F-Series to barely undercut the current Sulverado's weight, despite the aluminum body. Excellence is not easy to achieve. But the results are well worth it.

Quiet steel has already had a pretty long history in GM vehicles. Interesting that he doesn't think shaving ounces out of subsystems and whatnot is worth the effort. The Alpha's body panels use serrated edges so as not to unnecessarily use steel in between spot welds. This perhaps explains the excellence of Alpha products, as opposed to status quo.

None that I'm aware of. As best as I can figure the guys who got those ran out of transmission long before they ran out of engine, and transmission mods just don't sound as sexy. My buddy got a paddle-shift GTP as a company car and went through four transaxles before his company finally cut him off.

Those S/C 3800s... oy vey. Back in the day when Oshawa was prepping to launch the final-gen Grand Prix, I cornered a powertrain engineer and asked her why GM didn't bother to intercool the things. I just assumed that it was GM cheaping out, knowing/hoping that the iron block would take whatever abuse the blower could dish out. Turns out it WAS GM being cheap, but not with the engine. The transaxle was only rated for about 280 lb/ft of twist, and an intercooler would have put the engine well past that. I nodded politely, thanked her for her time, and walked away despairing for my job.

Good call on the sound deadening properties of steel. I hadn't considered that all that much, even after working with laminated steel in Oshawa.

If the race is a long one I'll avoid the S/C engines-they aren't intercooled. I will choose the ultimate ringer: I will take the 1989 Pontiac 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am Indy Pace Car. All the loony acceleration of the GNX, plus great (if brutal) handling. Eat my dust, suckaaaaaa!

My first 2000km in my EcoDiesel have returned me an average FE of 9.2L/100km, or 25.6mpg combined. Sweet.

To be fair, this is a global thing. Honda tried putting a front bench in a people-mover over in Yurp several years ago. It made perfect sense: Europeans supposedly favor smaller vehicles with better space utilization. It still flopped.

Keep internal power losses from friction low, be good with how you program your shift timing, and choose your ratios wisely. Do these three things and your transmission will get optimal mpg from your engine. But screw up any of them and you're in trouble. As far as engines themselves go: the OP pretty much nails it. If your engine only gets optimal FE by modifying how you drive so you ape the EPA's test regimen, you're setting yourself up for failure. Not to mention that you're probably a menace to your fellow drivers on the road.

I know a stalker. He'll follow you to the ends of the earth if you make fun of his brand of choice. I mentioned downvoting him in another place and three hours later I'd been downvoted five times. It's amusing if you can use it to your advantage, is what I'm saying As to the CT8: a Voltec driveline with a V12 for just under 100 grand would be a game-changer, wot?

So your beef with the infotainment is the same as mine with the suspension tuning: Ford Motor Company is a Ford-centric organization. And if you want to go down that path then there will be consequences. In this case it's seeing all your other brands fall by the wayside over the years, including your luxury one, because you cannot/do not do right by their brand mission.

They were quite clear in the article about the options driving the price unacceptably high. Can't imagine that package would make the matter any better, to say the least.

The most damning part of the article for me was the discussion about the suspension: "What saves the MKC is... its Escape DNA. Lincoln’s new compact SUV puts a fork in the brand’s previous legacy of offering filigreed Fords with soft suspensions. Where previous Lincolns floated, the MKC’s dynamics are buttoned down." When your "luxury" brand's suspension tuning is so out to lunch that your base brand is the preferred starting point?... you know things are bad.

Ya, just noticed that. Ah well-they all use the same letters. So easy to mix up

smk: still not following you. GM doesn't have bills from yesterday-that's what '08 was all about. And their investment in their trucks, while sizeable, pales with that of, say, Ford.

See, if I wrote that then a certain someone would have soiled their diaper in a frothy-mouthed rage. But you did so it passes muster. Still 100% true tho

I'm happily married. But if I was a single man I'd march straight over to the stunning brunette hustling that modded Z/28 around the parking lot like it was nothin' and...

wings: as this fine gentleman shows, there's nothing wrong with providing examples from other automakers to highlight what Cadillac's doing. Or perhaps it's the generally negative review that has your undies in a bunch. Zero concern regardless. Now: onward!

That makes no sense. The CTS has always fought an uphill battle saleswise but here it is in Generation 3. Conversely, the Corvette has had its budget kiboshed several times in its history despite always selling in absurdly high numbers relative to its competition.

"There’s a lot of mixing and matching of powertrains and platforms between mainstream and premium divisions these days as market segments get sliced ever thinner. But the skill with which different carmakers blend the componentry varies. Which begs the question: Is the new MKC 'premium' enough to be a Lincoln? That, of course, depends upon one’s expectations." ...and the conclusion, after doing a thorough review at this link: http://m.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-lincoln-mkc-20t-fwd-test-review "It does present an opportunity for Lincoln to avoid losing some of its current buyers to other premium brands." Which is an odd goal for a segment-busting product-don't you normally hope for conquest sales rather than trying to retain customers fleeing your other products? So strange.

Awesome post, man. "Dare Greatly" summarized to a tee.

Could be transmission calibration issues for sure. JD Power surveys can be a bit nitpicky, and multi speed transmissions are the latest frontier for figuring out.