The Blazer SS is back!

[scokill]

That's about to be expected with a giant sail as a trailer. Check out this video with a Rivian and a trailer. Weight isn't the issue, aero is.

Out of Spec Reviews has been doing a TON of tow testing with the R1T and Lightning. Good information if you can handle the guys for the long videos.

I don't think it's disappointing at all. It's better than we were a few years ago when a ModelX couldn't manage to get 90miles with a smaller travel trailer. https://www.youtube.com/c/AllElectricFamily

An EV powering your home is a VERY short lived solution. That Lightning has a ~131kWh battery I used 1,612kWh last month for my home. So just barely more than 2 days of usage if I could access the whole battery. I'm unsure how the connection between powering your house and usable range make it a disappointment. Using a shade over 1kWh/mi is the equivalent to ~9mpg or so........Seems about par for the course really.

I'm not poo pooing the technology or the advances, but it's just not a realistic option to replace a multi purpose truck.

 

[BlkGS]

That’s what we bought my wife so she could boat tow while I tow travel trailer. It comes with the Ford racing driving experience. Actually on a plane to perk city with the wife to do that now. She loves it and it gives her Dr’s Cayenne too much to handle. View attachment 183168

I'm looking forward to the refresh. We made the .intake of looking at other vehicles in its class, and were disgusted by Explorer's interior as a result. It's literally worst in class. It's worse than the last gen Explorer interior. The chassis is awesome, it looks killer, the engine is awesome.running on regular, the size is right, and with a better trans and towing capacity it'd be about perfect... but that interior was crap. The digital dash was laggy, the 10" screen poorly integrated, and the materials cheap and had huge gaps. When you compare it to something like a Palisade, it's SO far behind its insane. We ended up with our Expedition with an interior that is massively nicer and better built. The real irony of it all is we also drove an ST Line, and it's interior fixed most of these issues. The trim fit better, the mainly analog gouges were better, the 8"screen worked great, the red and black interior looked better, and I preferred the microscope insert seats. If they offered that interior in the ST with cooled seats, I'd be sold.

Hopefully Ford gets their suppliers and quality figured out for the refresh in 23 or 24 and it ends up better. If they give it a 10r80 and 450hp, that'd be even better. Offer an upgraded brake option with monoblock calipers... a guy can dream I guess.

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm not poo pooing the technology or the advances, but it's just not a realistic option to replace a multi purpose truck.

No argument there.

I really want it to work. I have reservations for a Rivian, a Lightning, and a Silverado.

Truth of the matter is I think I'm going to be dissatisfied with all of them. The range hit when towing, and the fact that I'll be towing through a charging desert in rural KY/IN means that it likely won't work out quite right for me.

Can't decide if I'll sign the papers or ask for my deposit back when the time comes. I'm still researching and collecting data while I'm standing in line.

 

[BlkGS]

No argument there.

I really want it to work. I have reservations for a Rivian, a Lightning, and a Silverado.

Truth of the matter is I think I'm going to be dissatisfied with all of them. The range hit when towing, and the fact that I'll be towing through a charging desert in rural KY/IN means that it likely won't work out quite right for me.

Can't decide if I'll sign the papers or ask for my deposit back when the time comes. I'm still researching and collecting data while I'm standing in line.

I often wonder how many are like you, on every waiting list kust to see if you love them. It'd be interesting to see what percentage of reservations actually convert into sales... that don't get nearly immediately flipped.

 

[Farny]

I'm looking forward to the refresh. We made the .intake of looking at other vehicles in its class, and were disgusted by Explorer's interior as a result. It's literally worst in class. It's worse than the last gen Explorer interior. The chassis is awesome, it looks killer, the engine is awesome.running on regular, the size is right, and with a better trans and towing capacity it'd be about perfect... but that interior was crap. The digital dash was laggy, the 10" screen poorly integrated, and the materials cheap and had huge gaps. When you compare it to something like a Palisade, it's SO far behind its insane. We ended up with our Expedition with an interior that is massively nicer and better built. The real irony of it all is we also drove an ST Line, and it's interior fixed most of these issues. The trim fit better, the mainly analog gouges were better, the 8"screen worked great, the red and black interior looked better, and I preferred the microscope insert seats. If they offered that interior in the ST with cooled seats, I'd be sold.

Hopefully Ford gets their suppliers and quality figured out for the refresh in 23 or 24 and it ends up better. If they give it a 10r80 and 450hp, that'd be even better. Offer an upgraded brake option with monoblock calipers... a guy can dream I guess.

Not sure what Ford Explorer ST you looked at. Doesn’t sound anything like ours. All digital interior, huge accessories screen, leather, heated & A/C cooled seats, massaging seats. all power accessories, paddle shifters leather steering wheel and dash components. Maybe you looked at the base model?

 

[BlkGS]

Not sure what Ford Explorer ST you looked at. Doesn’t sound anything like ours. All digital interior, huge accessories screen, leather, heated & A/C cooled seats, massaging seats. all power accessories, paddle shifters leather steering wheel and dash components. Maybe you looked at the base model?

I looked at a loaded 2020 ST. Admittedly. The ST Line was a 22, I've been told they were vastly improved in quality for 21. All the issues we had with the ST were electronics, the chassis and most touch posts were great. But the 10 Inch screen was poorly.implemented, it was stuck on the dash like an afterthought and the rear camera used half the massive available space. The gouges were overall ugly, and when you cha get modes (which you had to do every time to get the proper instrumentation in sport mode), you had to wait a ton of time for the modes to come up, then you had to wait through stupid and long animations. Compared to competitors with only a smaller screen in the cluster, or the Korean counterparts, or the grand Cherokee... it was garbage.

The real issue is all our issues were with electronics. When you out fancy electronics in a vehicle, I expect them to work as well as my phone. Big ass screen? It should come with an android/apple app that let's me set the different items on the screen, their size, and set up alerts for each displayed item. Ford gave us 0 of that in a large but laggy screen.

The automakers need to invest in their electronics, or keep them minimal. It also could be that I'm more old school than my age and status as a millennial should confer. The analog gauges with the smaller middle screen in our expedition are phenomenal though, with instant access to the information we need.

All that to say, it's possible that they're a lot better now than when I looked at them. The feat one I looked at and drove turned me.off from them with it being such poorly.implemented crap inside that I wrote them off completely until a redesign.

 

[2kwik4u]

I often wonder how many are like you, on every waiting list kust to see if you love them. It'd be interesting to see what percentage of reservations actually convert into sales... that don't get nearly immediately flipped.

I would say a bunch. The benefit of being on the waiting list is that they can be flipped if they don't work. That only works for super early adopters, and honestly that market might have cooled off by the time I get an order filled. Also, all the deposits I have out are supposed to be refundable. I'm not getting interest on that cash, but it's kind of like an interest free loan to them that's payable on demand. Silverado won't be until late '23 early '24. Rivian is likely to get to me first, but I'm still guessing mid-late '23 since I'm a late reservation holder. Lightning is my last pick, and I have no idea where I'm at in that process. I wouldn't be surprised at all if I get one of those quickest, but I might pass on it.

Rivian forums are already starting to have threads of "How do I transfer ownership, I just bought a used one". And I've seen a few threads of "Just got mine, listed it for $125k, I'll take the profit and wait for the next one" and that sort of thing.

Neat thread on reddit yesterday where a guy was towing a 4k lb travel trailer through the rockies. Dipped down to 0.7mi/kWh on the tow up and well over 3 on the tow down. Took 70min of charging to go from 24%-70% and carry on home. Said he was stopping at low power chargers every 50-75mi on the way up until he had built confidence in the range estimates as computed from the truck.

I would love to see the stats on reservations converted to ownership of more than 6mo.

 

[2kwik4u]

The automakers need to invest in their electronics, or keep them minimal. It also could be that I'm more old school than my age and status as a millennial should confer. The analog gauges with the smaller middle screen in our expedition are phenomenal though, with instant access to the information we need.

When I got the Q7, I wasn't really enthused about the Virtual Cockpit. I've grown to really enjoy it. It's fairly "snappy", looks nice, and with a few software mods has good information. Used VAG-COM to turn on the gear indicator, needle sweep, and trans temp in the cluster. I've always HATED screens in cars in general, and really expected I would hate this one too.

The Audi does a really good job of letting you quickly and easily change the size of the gauges and flip through the different info screens. They also have a preset config for "Dynamic" drive mode that puts the trans in sport mode, and moves the dash to large gauges, gear indicator, and appropriate data. As much as I thought the screen for a drivers display was going to be a giant PIA, it's really good and I really like it now.

Only really have two complaints.

1. Brightness......I can't turn it down enough at night. The lowest setting is still brighter than I prefer at night. I have problems with light intensity changes, my eyes adjust slower than normal so I attempt to make all light intensity the same. The Virtual Cockpit just doesn't get dim enough for my taste.

2. Android Auto Navigation is NOT integrated into the dash. There is a whole screen dedicated to the built in Audi Navigation. Shows Google Maps, the whole bit. Even puts excellent graphics into all "screens" of the dash, as well as in the HUD on the windshield. It's really an exceptionally well done integration. As soon as I flip over to Android Auto and use Maps for navigation, all the Audi stuff turns off and I get a giant compass where the Nav was. Such a HUGE oversight IMO on the integration. The Audi stuff is really quite nice, and I have to think converting that data into usable input for the dash should've been possible.

Also, heard a thing the other day about us Gen X people. "When tech changes we're going to complain like a Boomer and adapt like a Millenial". As I watch stuff change around me, I think that's quite true

 

[BlkGS]

I find I don't mind digital clusters that aren't very digital. BMW for example has clusters that are normal clusters, presented digitally. The jeep digital cluster was great, as was Palisade. They were digital renditions of analog clusters, using the digital part for benefit. Palisade for instance, if you turn signal, the inside of the dial gauge that direction pulls the side camera up. It had no crazy colors, animations, or dumb crap like that. It just worked and I didn't have to change the drive mode to get a real cluster pulled up.

I don't love digital clusters, but the Ford one is just exceptionally.poorly done IMO. It's a lot more bling than bang IMO.

 

[2kwik4u]

It's a lot more bling than bang IMO.

Not heard that one. I'm usually a "More sizzle than steak" sayer

 

[BlkGS]

No

Not heard that one. I'm usually a "More sizzle than steak" sayer

I'm not huge on steak. On the other hand...