Cadillac News: Don't Call It XT3, Call It XT4

[Drew Dowdell]

Just now, smk4565 said:

It's a Ford Edge.  The sad part is Cadillac losing in performance to anything Lincoln makes.  But Lincoln recently has been increasing sales while Cadillac is losing sales.  

So what? S-Classes are used as taxis. An excellent platform is an excellent platform.  The Edge and Explorer are both at the top of their game with Explorer being the best seller in its segment.  This generation of MKX no longer has the same body shell as the Edge, so it is unique in that regard.  I too wish that Cadillac would put the 3.6TT in the XT5, but I'm not going to pity Cadillac being beaten in performance by Lincoln when Lincoln is putting out a fantastic product.  

The MDX is a less than mediocre SUV now... I don't know how Acura sells any of them except for people who refuse to look at anything else. Nearly any similarly sized luxury SUV you can name is better than the MDX. Even some of the "consumer" brand SUVs like Explorer and Grand Cherokee are superior in top trim.  I'd even rate the new Acadia Denali better than the MDX and my enthusiasm for the Acadia is about as bright as a night light. My enthusiasm for the XT5 is similarly dim.

Why is the MDX so bad?  Because they used the badly underbaked Pilot platform.  Sure the Pilot is selling okay, but I suspect that it is mostly out of Honda brand loyalty more than anything else. 

MDX v. MKX... two luxury vehicles that share a platform with more plebian models with very different outcomes. 

[Cmicasa the Great]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Why is that sad?  The MKX is an excellent vehicle. I'd put it above the MDX and RX, particularly in top trim. 

I have to agree with him sadly.. Cadillac not having an CUV that beats the MKX is silly. In fact Chevy should have one that beats the Edge.

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

I have to agree with him sadly.. Cadillac not having an CUV that beats the MKX is silly. In fact Chevy should have one that beats the Edge.

Cadillac beats the MKX in sales. 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, smk4565 said:

And yet Audi is adding 2 crossover coupes, Land Rover has that Range Rover coupe thing based on the F-pace.  They are building what sells.  I don't like crossovers in general, I would never buy one, but it is what the market wants, and they charge like $8k more for a GLE coupe than they do a regular GLE and it probably costs $1,000 extra to make it.  Easy money.

             

[Cmicasa the Great]

10 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Cadillac beats the MKX in sales. 

Absolutely. But the Cadillac brand really should have nothing over at Lincoln that beats it at anything other than price. and here's the thing.. CADILLAC HAS TOOLS IN THE BIN THAT COULD ABSOLUTELY KICKS ITS ASS. Seriously.. there is zero reason I can think of that Cadillac doesn't have an XT5-Vsport at least.. 

XT5 should be 2.0L Turbo Base 272/295lb   3.0L Turbo 360HP VSport and yup... 3.6L Turbo 450HP+VSeries  Hell it should pretty much mimic the ATS

 

[smk4565]

Acura's whole line is less than mediocre.  I'd say the RDX is actually less competitive in it's class than the MDX is in it's class, at least based on looks, roominess and interior.  The RDX does still have a V6 in a world of 4 cylinder competition, but that just makes the RDX thirstier too.  

The MKX my be fantastic compared to a Acura or XT5, but compare the MKX to a Macan, Alfa Stelvio or a GLC43  or F-Pace.  The over weight body and 6-speed on the MKX ecoboost holds 0-60 time at 6.0 seconds for AWD, 6.9 for FWD.  A GLC43 does it in 4.5 seconds.  

3 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Absolutely. But the Cadillac brand really should have nothing over at Lincoln that beats it at anything other than price. and here's the thing.. CADILLAC HAD TOOLS IN THE BIN THAT COULD ABSOLUTELY KICKS ITS ASS. Seriously.. there is zero reason I can think of that Cadillac doesn't have an XT5-Vsport.. 

XT5 should be 2.0L Turbo Base 272/295lb   3.0L Turbo 360HP VSport and yup... 3.6L Turbo 450HP+VSeries  Hell it should pretty much mimic the ATS

 

Agree, Lincoln has nothing except an ever changing grille and design language and discounts.

XT5 should have been built on the Alpha chassis too, likewise with XT4.  That's what crazy, the thing Cadillac gets the most positive press for is their chassis work on Alpha and Omega, and it isn't on a crossover, the #1 selling body style and only growth segment in the auto industry right now.  Wasted opportunity.

[Cmicasa the Great]

2 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Acura's whole line is less than mediocre.  I'd say the RDX is actually less competitive in it's class than the MDX is in it's class, at least based on looks, roominess and interior.  The RDX does still have a V6 in a world of 4 cylinder competition, but that just makes the RDX thirstier too.  

The MKX my be fantastic compared to a Acura or XT5, but compare the MKX to a Macan, Alfa Stelvio or a GLC43  or F-Pace.  The over weight body and 6-speed on the MKX ecoboost holds 0-60 time at 6.0 seconds for AWD, 6.9 for FWD.  A GLC43 does it in 4.5 seconds.  

U live on 0-60 times. Its sick

[Drew Dowdell]

52 minutes ago, smk4565 said:

Acura's whole line is less than mediocre.  I'd say the RDX is actually less competitive in it's class than the MDX is in it's class, at least based on looks, roominess and interior.  The RDX does still have a V6 in a world of 4 cylinder competition, but that just makes the RDX thirstier too.  

The MKX my be fantastic compared to a Acura or XT5, but compare the MKX to a Macan, Alfa Stelvio or a GLC43  or F-Pace.  The over weight body and 6-speed on the MKX ecoboost holds 0-60 time at 6.0 seconds for AWD, 6.9 for FWD.  A GLC43 does it in 4.5 seconds.  

Agree, Lincoln has nothing except an ever changing grille and design language and discounts.

XT5 should have been built on the Alpha chassis too, likewise with XT4.  That's what crazy, the thing Cadillac gets the most positive press for is their chassis work on Alpha and Omega, and it isn't on a crossover, the #1 selling body style and only growth segment in the auto industry right now.  Wasted opportunity.

This segment doesn't care about 0-60 times. The top 3 players are V6 fwd based cars. Adding a 400 HP variant would increase sales of each by a fraction of a percent. It's just not worth it.

[smk4565]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

This segment doesn't care about 0-60 times. The top 3 players are V6 fwd based cars. Adding a 400 HP variant would increase sales of each by a fraction of a percent. It's just not worth it.

At the XT4 level yes, they don't care what the drive wheels are.  But at $50,000+ they do, the #1 selling SUV over $50k is the GLE, #2 is the X5.  And I think it only a matter of time, the GLC and X3 outsell both Lincoln SUVs, they are closing in on the Acuras.  Acura averaged 123 sales per month on the RLX last year, they have no sedan business anymore, luxury buyers don't want dressed up Accords, in time they won't want dressed up Pilots either.  Once people start driving the F-Pace or the Stelvio, along with the Germans I don't think they'll want an Acura or Lincoln.