AD #2750 – New Chevy Trailblazer Details; Urus Drives Huge Growth for Lambo; Velabit is Affordable Lidar
January 14th, 2020 at 11:34am
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Runtime: 7:52
0:07 Strike Hurt GM & UAW
0:51 New Chevy Trailblazer Details
2:02 Kia Plans for Its Electric Future
3:07 Urus Drives Huge Growth for Lamborghini
3:57 Rolls-Royce Has Its Best Sales Year Ever
4:26 Velodyne Develops Affordable Lidar
5:10 Car Sales Will Remain Strong for 5 to 10 Years
6:15 Audi Bringing SQ7 & SQ8 to the U.S.
6:56 Porsche Files Patents for VTOL
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This is Autoline Daily with the latest news in the global automotive industry.
STRIKE HURT GM & UAW
That 40-day long UAW strike against General Motors really hurt both the union and the company. GM lost over 51,000 sales during the strike, and lost a tenth of a point of market share. And while it ran its plants on maximum overtime and offered sales incentives to try and get those sales back, it came up short. Moreover, there are still parts shortages caused by the strike which is infuriating customers who can’t get their cars repaired. They may not want to ever come back and buy a GM car again. One of the main bargaining issues for the UAW is job security. But you don’t get job security when you drive up to 51,000 customers away.
NEW CHEVY TRAILBLAZER DETAILS
Chevy is revealing more information about the new Trailblazer, which it first confirmed for the U.S. market back in May of last year. Under the hood are two engine options, a 1.2L turbo and a 1.3L turbo, which produces 155 horsepower. A CVT is standard, but a 9-speed automatic is also available on 1.3L models with all-wheel drive. There will be two trim levels to choose from, RS and ACTIV. RS has a more sporty appearance, while ACTIV has a more off-road look with unique tires and shock tuning. We don’t always report on trim levels, but we find the Trailblazer’s ACTIV trim interesting because Ford already offers Active versions of some of its passenger cars in Europe that are also meant to be more rugged in appearance. The only real difference is Chevy spells its in all caps and without an “e” at the end. We wonder if the two companies have some sort of agreement or if we could see some sort of lawsuit. Maybe we’ll find out closer to when the Trailblazer, which starts at under 20-grand before destination charges, goes on sale in the spring of this year.
KIA PLANS FOR ITS ELECTRIC FUTURE
The shift to electric vehicles is underway and Kia just laid out its EV goals over the mid to long term. Called Plan S, by the end of 2025 the company will offer 11 battery electric vehicles and is aiming to hit 6.6% of the global EV market, excluding China. And by 2025, it’s targeting 500,000 pure EV sales annually and 1 million global sales of eco-friendly vehicles, also excluding China. On top of that, the plan includes expanding mobility services for electric and autonomous vehicles and entering the Purpose-Built Vehicle market. It’s an ambitious plan which is why the company will spend $25 billion by the end of the 2025, to help achieve its goals.
URUS DRIVES HUGE GROWTH FOR LAMBORGHINI
What a difference one SUV makes. Lamborghini sold 8,205 vehicles last year, up a whopping 43% from the year before and double the number from 2017. Nearly 5,000 of those 8,000 vehicles were the Urus, Lambo’s first SUV. This has got to worry Ferrari. Lamborghini is closing in fast, and is only about 1,000 units behind in total sales. And it’s all thanks to the Urus. Ferrari’s SUV, the Purosangue, is over two years away and is more of a shooting brake than a real SUV. And so we wonder, could Lamborghini catch Ferrari in sales? There was a time when we would never have even thought to ask that question.
ROLLS-ROYCE HAS ITS BEST YEAR EVER
And the same goes for Rolls-Royce. It sold 5,152 cars last year, up 25% from the year before, and the most cars it has ever sold in its 116-year old history. While Rolls did not break out sales for its different models, it said the Cullinan, it’s first SUV ever, is what drove that increase in sales. And all of this must delight BMW, which owns Rolls-Royce.
VOLODYNE COMES OUT WITH AFFORDABLE LIDAR
A decade ago a Lidar unit for an autonomous car cost about $70,000. But at CES, Velodyne unveiled a Lidar unit that only costs $100. Called the Velabit, it’s smaller than a deck of playing cards. Though it’s not as capable as the spinning mechanical units, it’s still quite impressive with a range up to 100 meters, and a field of view of 60-degrees horizontal by 10-degrees vertical. Velodyne says it’s perfect for Level 2 and Level 3 cars and for passenger drones.
CARS SALES WILL REMAIN STRONG FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS
Car sales in the U.S. last year dipped below the 17 million mark for the first time in five years. Some analysts expect that trend to continue but thanks to more people getting their license, especially millennials, sales are expected to remain strong over the next 5 to 10 years. According to Benchmark Co., there was a record 227.5 million licensed drivers in the U.S. in 2018. By 2025, there will be 245 million licensed drivers, which could result in an extra 3 million car sales a year. Over the last five years, there were 15.4 million new drivers in the U.S., the biggest increase since the 1970’s. And over the next five years, another 12.5 million people will get their license. And because of that, the report says the underlying demographics supports demand of 16.5 to 17 million units annually for the next 5 to 10 years, which would be great news for the auto industry.
AUDI BRINGING SQ7 & SQ8 TO U.S.
SUVs are all the rage and sporty versions of them bring even bigger profits. So, Audi is bringing the S versions of the Q7 and Q8 to the U.S. They’ll be powered by a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 that makes 500 horsepower, which is planted to the ground via a 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Both models will do 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds. Other highlights include unique 20- or 21-inch wheels, standard all-wheel steering and a sport differential. Pricing will be released closer to when the SQ7 and SQ8 go on sale this spring.
PORSCHE FILES PATENTS FOR VTOL
Last year Porsche signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Boeing to explore premium urban air travel and someone has uncovered patents the automaker filed for its own VTOL. You can see where inspiration for the Boeing concept came from, but there are a few differences. Mainly the four propellers that allow the VTOL to fly. The two at the front are stationary, while the two at the rear are able to rotate. The aircraft is fully electric and autonomous, but does allow qualified people to take over if need be.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow.
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Comments (66)
January 14th, 2020 at 12:01 pm
A year ago Autoline was telling us that some auto analysts were say that in 2021/2022 auto sales would drop down to a SAAR of 14-15 million. Now the Detroit News say Millennials in their 30′s are now getting drivers licencees and that will keep the SAAR at 16.5 to 17 million. So who is right?
January 14th, 2020 at 12:03 pm
“The aircraft is fully electric and autonomous, but does allow qualified people to take over if need be.” I guess if it is you, and the drone decides to cease functioning properly, if it were me, I would like to instantly ‘gain qualification’ to try to get my ‘butt’ (down without peril).
Does the Trailblazer replace the Trax or is it an additional model. The Trax is listed as a compact, is the Trailblazer a sub-compact or an adjunct to the existing model.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:08 pm
A. “GM .. lost a tenth of a point of market share”
First let me point out how miniscule, especially for GM, which has a market share in the 16-17% range, to allegedly lose 0.1%. This is not even a 1% loss, it is 1/170th of its share.
No, this is not GM’s problem, the problem is that it still is, with maybe the exception of the Corvette, “General Mediocrity”. Ford and FCA are not much better, but Ford may have (for a few years) better profits because it killed all its slow selling, low margin or $-losing cars and sells only profitable trucks and suvs.
B. “NEW CHEVY TRAILBLAZER: …Under the hood are two engine options, a 1.2L turbo and a 1.3L turbo, which produces 155 horsepower. A CVT is standard…”
The art of joyless driving. And to buy this toy with the low-rent interior and meager HP, you will pay as much as I will when I buy my S65 AMG with its 6.2 lt or so engine, its 600+ HP and its 738 lbft torque, and an interior fit for an emperor. BUT I will not get the new car smell.
Well, “You can’t always get what you want” but in my case, I could care less about the stupid new car smell. So we agree, you spend your $25k on a “blazer” and I on the Flagship AMG S65.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:10 pm
If GM lost 51k units due to the strike and the industry sold 17M units, then GM lost 0.3 percentage points of market share… not 0.1. Simple math. If they only lost 0.1 percentage points of share, then they made-up 30-35k of production via OT or greater-than-planned up time.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:13 pm
1 Obviously, the much more up to date Det News.
The whole issue is NONSENSE. IF New cars were a good value, which they sure are NOT, their sales would be well over 20 million, as the US population today is, low-ball estimate, 50 million bigger than it was in 2008, when sales were also about 17 million a year, and so it the number of drivers.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:17 pm
“URUS DRIVES HUGE GROWTH FOR LAMBORGHINI”
Apples and Oranges, to compare a Ferrari that only sells supercars, to a Lambo where more than half its sales are the Breadvan that looks like it has been in an accident.
Same for Mercedes, with such cheap non-mercedeses as the FWD CLA, which almost undercuts the… Subaru Outback in price, of course it can grow its ‘unit sales’.
BTW Porsche sales are also double what they were ten years ago, BUT half its sales, or 2,500+ a month, are not just its SUVs, but merely its smallest, cheapest SUV the Macan, which you can call a Porsche all you want, but I never will.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:20 pm
@Chuck – Chevy will be keeping the Trax for now and the Trailblazer slots between it and the Equinox.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:20 pm
“CARS SALES WILL REMAIN STRONG FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS”
Both the title and the paragraph that follows never mentions NEW car sales, but maybe you assume it.
If I read it literally, I sure agree that new AND used car sales will go thru the roof the next decades.
BUT if you implied NEW car sales, it will depend on how good a VALUE they are, and in today’s market they are NOT.
How much will that cheap Trailblazer with the extremely anemic (I thought it was a typo!) 155 HP 1.2 or 1.3 lt engine sell for? $25k? maybe more? $30k? $35K? In the era of the $60k.. Gladiator and the $90k 4-cylinder Volvos (price as tested), the sky is the limit!
A fool and his $ are soon parted…
January 14th, 2020 at 12:24 pm
@1 This story about drivers licenses = vehicle sales is ridiculous. Having a license does not mean that you have the means to buy a new vehicle(and new vehicles is what they are talking about in this article, not used). The economy, jobs, compensation levels, average debt and vehicle pricing are much more direct influences on vehicle sales. SAAR projections include some or all of these factors.
@2 The Trailblazer will be an additional crossover, not a replacement for the Trax. Since Chevy eliminated all of their cars other than Camaro, Corvette and Malibu, they need to add some crossover models of comparable size to the eliminated cars to provide enough choices to support their sales goals.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
8 to make a detailed comparison, I drove a 1990 Accord 5-speed for 14 years, and its 125 HP 2.2 lt engine was not up to the task, you could not climb a small hill unless you had it in one of the noisy gears, not pleasant to do.
The Accord weighed 2,822 lbs, and the Trailblazer, I bet at least 3,500. Maybe 3,800. And if it is full of people and gear, 5,000.
There is no way in hell this anemic porker will not struggle climbing the smallest gentle hill such as we have here in flyover land.
And forget about taking it to the mountains around LA, Barstow etc. I tried it with the much lighter, manual Accord 5 speed, and it really struggled.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:28 pm
Someone has to buy the new cars so people can brag about buying used.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:40 pm
Given its size and market category, I would peg the curb weight of the Trailblazer at approx 3,200 to 3,500 lbs, depending on trim level and equipment. It remains to be seen if either powertrain is up to the task. A CVT will never be on my shopping list, so even though the styling is better than most recent Chevys, it won’t be on my recommended list.
The bigger question is, why would anyone drive an underpowered car that they found unpleasant to drive for 14 years? That’s a long time!
January 14th, 2020 at 12:49 pm
I was interested in the Trailblazer until I saw the engine choices…. now not so much. It’s 30 more than the Nissan Kicks but still pretty wimpy.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:55 pm
The Chevy has about 10HP less than the Eco sport which is not hot rod.
January 14th, 2020 at 12:57 pm
@11 – LOL; LMAO
January 14th, 2020 at 12:59 pm
I looked at the Trailblazer/Encore GS as a replacement for my wife’s Vibe GT. It would be larger with less HP (with a turbo!)than her barely adequate Vibe. About the same for the Terrain with the 1.5T. Nice mpg but no fun.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:02 pm
8 The TrailBlazer will have equal, or greater power than its direct competition, like Ecosport, C-HR and, H-RV. Yeah, none of these are very exiting, but they can be good “city cars” for some people.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:03 pm
@16 at least with the Terrain/Equinox you can opt for the bigger motor, with Trailblazer the bigger one is still pretty small. A Vibe with the 2.4L motor is a reasonably quick machine, we used to have one.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:04 pm
@12 – I try to be careful in my use of 2 words… “always” and “never”. The frequent complaint of a CVT is the initial launch feel. Toyota claims to have addressed the issue with a conventional 1st gear. HEVs address the issue with their electric motor assist. We have 2 HEV/CVT vehicle’s and don’t have any complaints.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:04 pm
I know people hate them, especially from exotic sports brands, but Lambo, Porsche, Rolls and others are now able to build the vehicles we like due to the cash cow SUV/CUV/Crossovers in their line ups. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if, Bugatti had one in it’s future.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:08 pm
12 The likely competition weighs 3045 (HR-V) to 3390 (Ecosport). All of the vehicles in that class are SLOW by today’s standards, with 0-60 times of 10.5-11.2 seconds in CR’s tests.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:09 pm
11 I know people who are econ literate who believe that those who buy cars new are utter fools.
There are also some (who really are fools) who believe that people who buy used cars cannot afford to buy new ones (LOL!)
They have obviously not read the book “The Millionaire Next Door” where US millionaires usually drive beat up 10 and 20 year old pickup trucks.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:10 pm
12 no chance it will be only 3,200 lbs. The much smaller Trax must be more than 3,200 itself.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:12 pm
15 , see 22. Sorry, I got the last laugh.
PS try to actually compare what you get, the $25-30k 1.2 lt Blazer and the UEBER-Luxurious, UEber-safe, and Ueber- powerful, 6.2 lt S 65 AMG.
It is DAY and NIGHT.
Enjoy that new car smell, geniuses!
January 14th, 2020 at 1:13 pm
17 why is a fat crossover a good city car? because the little wife can see over the steering wheel more easily what she is about to hit trying to parallel park?
January 14th, 2020 at 1:14 pm
16 I remember driving an early Vibe GT, with the “hotter” version of the Toyota 1.8. It seemed pretty quick, for the time, but you had to keep the revs up in the lower gears to get much performance. As I remember, it had a 6-speed manual, but it might have been a 5-speed.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:15 pm
I will watch the detailed car sales with great interest, to see how many true-blue fools shell out $25k ($30k? has the US $ totally lost its value????)
to buy this miserly, pathetic Blazer with the 1.2 or 1.3 lt engine and the pathetic 155 HP.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:18 pm
26 Lightweight cars feel much quicker and responsive. My 1991 Civic had only 75 HP from a 1.35 lt I4, but was only 1,875 lbs heavy, and around town was very responsive. Of course it was a 5-sp manual, and the tranny was nice and smooth. The Accord probably had a higher HP to weight ratio, but it was too noisy trying to climb the gentle hill to my office every morning, I had to use 2nd or 3rd gear vs my preferred 4th and 5th.
COnversely my “Magnificent 7″ with its 4.4 lt V8 had 282 HP, a much higher Hp to weight ratio than the Hondas, but you could feel its 4,300 lbs trying to move from a stop.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:22 pm
21 3045 (HR-V), that’s prety low, given that an Accord weighs much more than that, and a Civic almost the same. IS the HRV based on the Fit? and how much does today’s Fit weigh? I bet over 2,700. I assume none of these have AWD?
January 14th, 2020 at 1:23 pm
23 The “much smaller” Trax (5 inches shorter) weighs 3255 pounds with AWD. According to wikipedia, which may, or may not have good information, the TrailBlazer will weigh 3010-3241 pounds. Time will tell about that. In any case, it will have acceleration in the same ballpark with its competition, which is slow, compared to most other classes of current vehicles.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:25 pm
25 Relatively small “footprint,” making it easy to park, and generally easy to maneuver in tight places.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:34 pm
29 The 3045 is from CR, which is probably with AWD. They have a weight of 2625 for an automatic Fit, and 2745 for a Civic LX automatic sedan.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:34 pm
12 Dang! You obviously hit a nerve, to get no less than three responses about the bargain of buying used cars. Still doesn’t explain why anyone would drive an inadequate car for 14 years especially when there are so many great AMG’s to be had. Lol
January 14th, 2020 at 1:44 pm
Sean and GMvet, thanks for the response, clarification. The Trailblazer should do okay; 155 hp will be adequate for what it is intended to do. And along with that new car smell also comes a new car warranty which some either require or want.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Just have to say that almost all the SUVs look about the same as the shape doesn’t allow for much room for creativity or uniqueness. With that said I believe the Urus is an attractive vehicle but not as drastic of a design as I would expect from Lamborghini.
I remember when the Porsche Cayenne came out back in 1995 and that was a great looking SUV for the time. Just disappointing that 25 years later, it and other SUVs don’t look much different.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:52 pm
33 Economic Illiteracy is no laughing matter. The ones with the CLOSED MINDS are the ones who never even bother to check used and CFO cars, and they sure suffer the consequences.
The worst case is those poor devils who cannot afford the new car and take those financing ‘deals’ and have those huge monthly payments, and then they can’t make them and their POS gets repo’d.
PS 11 I never thought of it as some big deal to “brag” about that a consumer knows how to shop. There are 10,000 TIMES more important things people can ‘brag’ about. Real accomplishments, in case you know what these are.
To make the obvious decision where to spend the (SAME) budget, on a new or a used car, ALl it takes is COMMON SENSE, but obviously common sense is not very common.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:53 pm
35 That’s very true for some specific models, I have confused CRVs and RAV4s with Escapes, when viewed from some angles.
January 14th, 2020 at 1:57 pm
I once bought an expensive European luxury car… used, at 30 cents on the dollar. The initial acquisition price may have been a deal, but the ongoing cost penalties were not… higher insurance cost, higher license fees, higher maintenance costs, and higher fuel costs (premium only). The much better deal is a CPO 2-year old mass brand vehicle…. unless you want a very specific vehicle (specific color and content) to own for a long time, then buy new. Auto Econ 101.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:08 pm
38 Ι made the mistake of driving ‘mass brand vehicles’ for more than 25 years, so I know very well what they are worth, and since then (2005) I have never bothered even to look at them. It is a no-brainer really.
My position is that no matter what your budget is, you can always do better used than spending the same budget on a new car.
Based on the used cars I bought, in retrospect, I have changed my mind about buying from a private seller to save a couple grand. Overall, you don’t save a thing. I was very satisfied from both my purchases of used E class diesels from two different dealers, one in OH and one in IN. You get a 3 and 6 month warranty, so you don’t worry to check the car by a mechanic, the cars are in perfect shape inside and out, the life left on tires, brakes etc is over 70% or they replace them.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:14 pm
Can anyone explain why you would offer 2 engines only 6 cubic inches different in size. If one is gas and the other diesel I could understand it but if they are both using the same fuel why?
Okay the last sentence of the 1st story. Job security, The defenders of unions will go down with the ship before they admit the union is screwing them out of their jobs. My thought is it’s better to have a job even if it isn’t paying the highest than it is to have no job at all. But these union lemmings always believe that is someone else who will get the axe until it isn’t.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:15 pm
38 I factory ordered my 1989 Dodge Caravan SE, Ice Blue Metallic, with the 2.5 turbo and manual transmission. I had to buy new to get what I wanted, and I kept it a long time. 30 years later, I still have it.
Yeah, I’ve bought and sold a number of cars since then, and have lost way too much money on them, but as is said, you can’t take it with you, and as long as Medicare keeps going for as long as I do, I’m not going to run out of money.
January 14th, 2020 at 2:20 pm
40 I don’t understand those engine choices either. Usually, if two engines are offered that are that close to the same power, they are substantially different, like with the 1.5 turbo, and 2.0 non-turbo used in Honda Civic. They are close in power, but quite different in “character.”
January 14th, 2020 at 2:28 pm
Three Critical Lessons From Tesla’s Epic Rally (the already lofty stock at $180 in June 2019 has tripled in value in just a few months, and even the biggest doubters like Lutz have seen the error of their ways)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyswan/2020/01/14/three-critical-lessons-from-teslas-epic-rally/?fbclid=IwAR3eR1emgr8jpJjd7OLPbdOrFUUeNIK3pBCDCarqojvtU59K2W09X-DFAN8#2084d82a54f7
my favorite is
” #4 — A Lesson For The Ages
Never bet against a billionaire rocket scientist who hates short sellers.”
January 14th, 2020 at 2:52 pm
Thursday’s “Autoline After Hours” looks pretty good: Sandy Munro, Munro & Associates; Frank Markus, Motor Trend; Gary Vasilash, AD&P; John McElroy, Autoline.tv. Now is a good time to submit questions to: viewermail@autoline.tv
January 14th, 2020 at 3:19 pm
@40 yea those unions really screwing us, I’ve heard many walmart workers say they are soooo happy to have their jobs as they are standing in line for food stamps.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:05 pm
40 I thought the same thing. 0.1 liter difference? My guess is they don’t have capacity to supply all the trail blazers from one of those engine plants and are getting them from two different plants. So that begs the question why not just offer the same engine from two plants? I’m just guessing here but GM probably already had a plants tooled up to make these two different size engines so why spend the money to make them the same when so close? So basically the trailblazer is slated for a tiny turbo charged 155hp engine and they’ll get almost the same engine regardless which liter you get. So not really sure why they are touting like two engine choices. They are basically the same engine. Silly.
January 14th, 2020 at 4:36 pm
46 I don’t know how many cylinders those engines have, 3, 4, or one of each. If one of each, they might sound and “feel” different, but probably the 4 would feel better.
January 14th, 2020 at 5:02 pm
I found that they are both 3 cyl, at least in China.
January 14th, 2020 at 7:06 pm
Buzzerd My mother in-law worked for the PA turnpike as a toll collector. The Union decided it would be a good idea to go out on strike for a bigger raise than the state offered and the ability to not pay anything towards their health care . The braintrusts thought the best time to extort the state was to go out at the Thanksgiving holiday the busiest time on the toll road. Well it back fired spectacularly when the governor at the time Rendell, said okay everyone rides for free. They stayed out nearly 3 weeks , finally settled for the amount the state originally offered and had to contribute to the health insurance . So they got ZERO of what they forfeited 3 weeks salary for. Now keep in mind these toll collectors were making over $20 2 hour to make change. Not a job that requires a ton of skill . Now almost every toll collector job is being replaced by E-Z Pass or similar collection methods . So yeah Union well done. I’m sure all those people that were collecting those big checks would love to still have their jobs.
January 14th, 2020 at 9:23 pm
49 Those jobs were going to be mostly replaced anyway, as they have been with Sunpass in Florida, but the strikers lost 3 weeks’ pay, and the state lost probably a few million, that was made up in higher taxes, more debt, or fewer services. Nobody won, except the users of the road who saved a few bucks.
January 14th, 2020 at 9:24 pm
A lot of arguments about the Trailblazer’s weight to power that will be a problem especially with a CVT. So, anyone have a Subaru Crosstrek at 3,117 pounds with a 152 bhp 2.0 L NA engine and a CVT ? How’s that for performance? If that one can be sold with a straight face, so can the Chevy with the turbo torque.
January 14th, 2020 at 9:47 pm
CR got 10.2 seconds 0-60 for the Crosstrek, right in line with its current competition, and what the TrailBlazer will do.
January 15th, 2020 at 5:35 am
Also seen on the Trailblazer; nine speed with the AWD version. That might be the ticket if you are not averse to AWD and don’t want a CVT. (and maybe that is the differentiator between the 1.2 and the 1.3 engine offering; different connections between the tranny bolt pattern, this just a guess/conjecture on my part)
January 15th, 2020 at 8:26 am
26 My wife had an early Vibe non-GT with a 5-speed. The lack of off idle power made it harder to drive than the newer 2.4. When I drove it I would usually stall it at least once after getting out of my S-10 5-speed with the 4.3. The early GT engine needed to rev and did not add any power on the bottom end over the standard 1.8.
January 15th, 2020 at 8:36 am
52 Great fuel economy in a small SUV sounds all great, but when you actually take advantage of the seating and cargo space I bet it will be a dog to drive. Load up 4 adults at 200lb each and another 200lbs of gear and how does it perform with an extra 1000lbs? I would never buy a vehicle that is so underpowered that if I dare put a roof top carrier and 4 adults in I cant get up a slight incline over 60mph.
I had a teacher in high school that bough one of those first generation Honda CRXs and did exactly that. Placed a roof top carrier for extra luggage and just him and his wife went on their honeymoon. Said it was great but the extra wind resistance meant he kept the pedal to the floor to keep up with traffic. That kind of anemic power sounds horrible to me.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:12 am
55 The extra small SUVs don’t even get good gas mileage, compared to the next size larger. The only reason to buy the smallest ones, is to save a little money in purchase price, or if you just like the small footprint of the smallest ones for parking, etc.
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=42201&id=42298&id=42145&id=42181
January 15th, 2020 at 9:13 am
The average transaction price in 2019 was around $37k. How much will this 1.2 or 1.3 lt Traiblazer sell for (also transaction, NOT base price)? $25k? $30k? $35K? Any of these sounds way too high to me for what meager things it offers. If you disagree, this means that the US $ has become truly worthless.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:17 am
55,56 continued.
Of course, if you actually care about fuel economy, you still consider buying a car. Remember those.
https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=42298&id=42070&id=42181&id=42015
Then, if you want about 50% better yet mpg, there are the Accord and Camry hybrids. The Rav-4 hybrid does very well, but not like the Camry or Accord.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:17 am
55 They bought the wrong car, they shoulda bought my 3 door Civic of the same vintage, the hatch was also low but had ample space for their luggage.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:18 am
59 PS and got 44 MPG real HWY mpg at fairly high speeds.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:26 am
57 The MSRP range of the competition for TrailBlazer, like Ecosport and HR-V are about $20-30K.
January 15th, 2020 at 9:38 am
55 The roof top carrier on the CR-X probably about doubled the drag, if there was a very big box on the carrier. Yeah, that car was not a good candidate for a carrier. A small, light trailer would be better, except for parking and backing.
January 15th, 2020 at 11:24 am
61 if these are the ‘base’ prices and not the ‘price as tested’, then add $5k to both ends of the range.
January 15th, 2020 at 11:43 am
61 The top trim level include about everything available, with few options, and in most cases, there is “cash on the hood.” I checked HR-V inventory of a nearby Honda dealer, and the prices ranged from about $20K to $26K. I don’t know where you “add $5K” comes from. It isn’t the case.
January 15th, 2020 at 11:46 am
64, I meant 63
January 27th, 2020 at 7:18 pm
In short – I cannot believe GM is so dumb to install a CVT transmission in any GM vehicles!