Sign of the times I guess. The automotive industry is changing so much. Then the economy is gonna be bad for a while. Even the new V-8 engines from General Motors are carryover. I don’t think Ford has a brand new engine either that is V-8. So it kind of makes sense for Toyota to abandon development. I know it kind of sucks, I love the V-8 in my truck. One of the finest ever produced, the best of the UZ motors

Then you better keep the cars you have in great shape because this is absolutely the future. The industry is going to a 48V electrical system and that’s what this “mild hybrid” thing is.

It’s not all about fuel economy, it’s also because there is just too much electrical load in a modern car for a 12v electrical system that dates back to the 1930s.

This is 100% the future for all gas vehicles. If you didn’t know a car had this system you wouldn’t even realize it.

Lol, yes I would notice it. Trust me.

And yes, I own a vehicle with a 4.3L V8 and my next purchase will be one with a 5.7L V8 and those vehicles will be in my possession for many many years, so I'm set. Neither of them have any "tricks," they're just tried and true good V8s. Including the 5.3 in my old truck.

14MPG in a 2020 Ram, that's terrible. I get 13 in a 2003 Yukon. And they say sometimes the truck would stall? I'll pass.

You’ve never driven a car with this tech, I have. You would not notice. It’s simply a different electrical system, far superior to the old system. The only thing you would notice is there is no starter crank. The engine just comes on when you hit the start button.

You keep bringing up MPG but that isn’t the primary benefit of this system. And a new ram with this is FAR more powerful and capable than your old Yukon AND gets one better MPG.

And no car with a 12v electrical system ever stalled? You’re just stuck in the past. Technology is moving forward.

Car and Driver hated it...are they wrong just because you don't mind it? And actually, I've never had a vehicle of mine stall, or sputter when I hit the gas, regardless of what electrical system it had.

And yes my point was a 2020 Ram with hybrid BS gets a whopping one MPG better than my beater 2003 Yukon that's never even had a tuneup, lol.

Did you post a link to the Car and Driver article? I must have not seen it

I actually read it in the mag (shock anyone? lol).

But here's the link.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...y-maintenance/

"We averaged an underwhelming 14 mpg, a number that we matched during two weeks in a Ram without eTorque. (Our long-termer's fuel economy rises to 15 mpg if we omit our towing.) More disappointing than its performance, the 48-volt system proved just finicky enough for us to lose faith in it. The vast majority of the time, eTorque works exactly as intended, smoothing engine restarts and increasing the amount of time the V-8 is shut down in traffic. But the system periodically stumbled when refiring, and on a handful of occasions, it stalled the engine right as we were expecting the truck to accelerate. This rough behavior was sometimes accompanied by a warning light and an error message indicating that the system wasn't charging properly. And when an editor woke to find the truck's electrical system dead one morning, we couldn't shake the feeling that a leaky 48-volt system was the culprit. We never got an answer, as the Ram recovered with a jump-start and the dealer never identified the cause of the drained battery, the rough restarts, or the intermittent stalling."

Still looks like a great truck, just skip that part.

I will have to read the Car & Driver review. Bear in mind this system is out on a lot of cars now. FCA’s system is just one. I haven’t driven any vehicle with this sort of system I thought was a problem at all, and like I said you would not even notice.

You ignore the massive, massive capability difference between your Yukon and a new Ram because it fits your argument. The fact that the new Ram has all that much more capability and gets 1 MPG better is huge. The Ram with e Torque tows nearly 13,000 lbs, 6,000 lbs more than your Yukon, and has 105 more HP, and 230 more lb ft AND gets 1 more MPG. But you ignore that.

What are you talking about? You act like I'm chest beating over a 17 year old truck. OF COURSE a 2020 Ram is better, more capable, faster, etc in every way (except that system).

I'm not ignoring anything and I'm not arguing anything. I'm just saying for a 2020 1500 Ram, especially with a mild hybrid system, that's pretty bad MPG. That's LX570 bad, or very very close.

Just read the article, they didn’t hate it just said they wouldn't choose it. FCA has issues with stalling and their engine start stop issues, it’s an issue on the Pacifica too and it doesn’t have this system.

They also have the specs wrong. They said the e-torque doesn’t add any Power, and it does it adds 130 lb ft of torque to the V8.

Your whole argument makes no sense, and you are absolutely ignoring the capability difference by even comparing the two vehicles. If the Ram were only as capable as your Yukon it would get a TON better MPG, capability lowers MPG. It’s like the argument that the 4.6L in the LS460 doesn’t get any more mileage than the 4.3L in the LS430, well maybe it doesn’t but it has 100 more horsepower and gets the SAME mileage, which is a feat in and of itself.

Bottom line is, this tech is coming and it will in time replace 12v systems in all cars.

Come on, bit. No offense, but that's a lame argument....apples and oranges. I am not producing something to sell to the public. I am not asking people to spend their hard-earned money on something that I am trying to keep under wraps.

In fact, one reason (among many) why I chose an Encore GX as my next vehicle, is that Buick (and Chevy, for their Trailblazer version) didn't try to play a Peek-a-Boo, Hide-and-Go-Seek game with that nonsense tape and bras. They basically did what an automaker is supposed to do....developed it, announced it out in the open with no hiding, and put it on the market for sale. Sensible marketing brings its rewards.....my checkbook. And, going by Trailblazer sales-figures, my opinion is not alone....it spends less time in the dealer lot than any other vehicle in the American market (we have a separate Car Chat thread on that).

Now, as far as I'm concerned, back to the W223.

I am thrilled that Toyota has not added this stuff to their regular gasoline only engines. What a mess!

Did you see when they had to replace a cracked exhaust manifold?

Who is asking people to spend hard earned money for something they are keeping under wraps? The car in development that is hidden is not for sale. You will be able to see what it looks like long before anybody asks you to spend money on it. You can't even buy one if you tried, can't even order one yet.

As for the Encore GX, quite frankly nobody cares about it so there was nobody trying to get pictures of it before GM decided to unveil it, the S Class is a totally different story. A new S Class is a huge deal, hence why people are taking spy photos of it.

Its like me saying how can I somehow keep pictures of my kids out of tabloids when celebrities can't. Well duh, nobody is trying to take pictures of my kids to sell to tabloids.

Automakers do every day.


True, but I was not the one that brought the issue up initially. Another poster mentioned that M-B would not like the release of the pictures, and I only pointed out that as far as i'm concerned, automakers who try and keep things under wraps don't deserve sympathy.....more power to the spy-shooters.

Well, its brother Trailblazer is selling faster than dealers can get them in stock. I've been waiting some two weeks for an unsold one so I can try it out for a possible purchase for my brother's GF. Either that, or order a 2021....although she is taking forever to make up her mind on what she wants to do. I've been working with her for more than six months.....and the pandemic slowed things down a lot.