As an owner of a similar car (2018 Alltrack 6MT) I agree - the engine’s power/torque delivery is really designed around a DSG. Unless you shift like a crazy person you can’t stay in boost between shifts, unlike with a DSG, so in real world driving it ends up being a slower car. I put a mild tune on it which does help.

Don’t worry, based on what happened with the Broncos, no one will be getting one of these at or below MSRP for years to come.

If the F150 is bad at towing reviewers should rightly be pointing it out. Pointing it out just encourages other manufacturers to put more effort into solving the issue.

I’d love if they would start testing this regularly. Great opportunity for auto journalists to help buyers understand what they’re getting into.

Wagons: I’ve done several large-scale home improvement projects on the back of my Alltrack. When we redid the basement it was a simple matter to throw about 1500 lbs of drywall in a trailer and tow it home behind the VW. I think my record on the roof is about 30 2x4s. Trim usually comes in 16-footers which are a…

I’ll echo what others have said that great color choices technically exist in the lineup but are often hard to find in the wild. I found a Great Falls green Alltrack on the lot when I was buying, but I think mine might be the only one I’ve seen in the wild. Plenty of black, white and red examples around.

It seems like CarPlay or Android Auto are a known quantity for many buyers, compared with the mixed bag of manufacturer infotainment platforms. It seems similar to people who go to Starbucks for their coffee rather than trying that local place instead. It might not be any better (and in some cases is actually worse…

Glad you included Homer in this discussion, as the Wagoneer is literally a Canyonero.

I agree! And I think lifting keel is probably the better term. On that boat there was a small winch and pulley to raise and lower the keel from the cockpit, so the person at the helm could keep it lowered until the last moment and avoid having to motor most of the time. It was really a clever design.

This was a Sparkman & Stephens 56' wooden yawl, we sailed around the Carribean and she slept 8 comfortably. The shallow draft was super handy to slip into all the tiny harbors around the windwards. Much classier than all the catamarans we saw, in my opinion.

I’m not sure about this 400 foot monster but I’ve been on 50+ foot sailboats with retractable centerboards. With money being no object I bet they’ve devised a way to allow this thing to operate with a (relatively) shallow draft.

I think of long roof vehicles like wagons, minivans and SUVs as more practical than a sedan for a few reasons:

After having the normal 747 silhouette engrained in memory for so long, seeing the SP and it’s comically huge rudder is a bit jarring. It’s an awesome plane from an era when Boeing was doing awesome things.

I’m kinda on the same page. If/when I’m in the market for a truck I’ll shop this against whatever else is available and buy the one that works for me. If Tesla can undercut the competition on price/features then they might earn the sale. I couldn’t care less what it looks like.

the emotional level of a robot.

The M550d wagon would have been nice too.

In Denver, we’re limited to 200amp panels

People keep saying the CA law will ban small engines but the way I read it, they are only requiring emissions controls. I can see it for handheld stuff like a weed whacker because any added weight would be a huge problem, but have we already decided that compliant emission controls are not possible on small generators?

I do like that bidirectional EV charging is starting to come to market. Anyone who owns an EV already has an order of magnitude more portable energy storage than even the largest standalone power bank offers; they just need a way to access it.

Understood on the acronym - it’s a very common marketing term these days. I was counting on context to be the clue but I should have spelled it out for clarity. Also, yes I am aware of the luxury options on today’s consumer trucks, have a CDL/ hazmat/ airbrake and have driven every kind of truck from a Honda Acty to…