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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. riviera74
    Wow. Product development is dependent on one man's approval? That is really stupid. Hopefully the new guy will actually fix the product development issues and get the newer Leaf out to market.
  2. riviera74
    My question is whether Porsche buyers will purchase a 911 hybrid seven years from now. There is no indication that they will buy it in large enough numbers for it to be worthwhile from an investment point of view.
  3. riviera74
    Why is the gas engine mated to a six-speed transmission rather than an eight-speed or that Allison ten-speed transmission mated to the new diesel engine?
  4. riviera74
    The layoffs will still happen, especially if Ford sells the plants to VW/Audi. This may well be more about cutting costs in Germany than just having vehicle capacity in the USA.
  5. riviera74
    Not true. The domestics did build compacts and subcompacts. They just never put the effort into them that Japan Inc and Korea Inc did for one simple reason: in the 1970s small cars are mostly what they built domestically and then they exported small cars to the USA. Corolla and Civic and the Mazda 3 and the Sentra and the small Hyundai/KIA cars ARE their bread and butter. That has not been true of the domestics since the 1920s. The domestics want you to buy large sedans and pickup trucks for the high margins. This is why the domestics MAY have a bleak future: GM and Ford and FCA want margins and not necessarily small car buyers since those buyers do not fill the coffers anywhere nearly as well as BOF trucks and midsize CUVs (and at one time, large sedans). Worse yet, it has not been proven that a Cruze driver buys an Impala or Traverse in 5-7 years. So the domestics say: why bother?
  6. riviera74
    The other problem with the lack of affordable small cars is that this part of the market is owned by Toyota, Honda and Hyundai/KIA. Should GM and Ford do better? Yes, but those sales are not what they were five or ten years ago. A Volt CUV would be fantastic though.
  7. riviera74
    I do hope that the Escala is the CT6 replacement with the 4.2L TTV8. Cadillac could certainly use it right now.
  8. riviera74
    The best way to prove ocnblu wrong is simple: replace the Volt with an Equinox-sized CUV at Equinox prices. Then watch the sales over the next two years.
  9. riviera74
    Not sure that 4.2L TTV8 would FIT into a Lambda platform meant for a v6. If Cadillac were smart, they take the latest Omega, make that the CT6 successor and make the 4.2L the standard engine, other than the pure EV choice.
  10. riviera74
    Once the EVs are out, those will more than make up for the thirstier CUVs and SUVs and Camaro/Corvette. If the Cruze was selling like it did 3-5 years ago, then Lordstown would be salvaged.
  11. riviera74
    Does that mean that the CT6 (or its replacement) will be imported here from wherever else it is built? As for the 4,2L TTV8, where was this engine five years ago? This engine deserves to be MORE than just an option engine for the Escalade or a Corvette.
  12. riviera74
    Assuming that was so, explain the 1971 Chevy Vega.
  13. riviera74
    If this is the fate of our world, where trade diversion that forces most companies to build everything locally in order to compete, so be it. Too bad China is notorious for stealing trade secrets and seeks to dominate the 21st Century just like the USA did the 20th.
  14. riviera74
    Too bad that the current administration does not follow what you prescribe. Then again, this is not 1970, despite their best efforts. Gotta love our bought and paid for politicians.
  15. riviera74
    I doubt a manual will be available on a KIA (Stinger aside) these days. KIA does need to spend some more $$$ on making their interiors not so cheap.
  16. riviera74
    I hope that Hyundai does not cheap out on interiors, like KIA often does.
  17. riviera74
    Is the Aviator going to take market share away from the Cadillac XT5? or the XT4? If not, nothing to worry about. Aviator seems to be a really nice CUV though.
  18. riviera74
    Badge snobbery is far from rational. Why buy a compact FWD German car indeed when you can get this instead.
  19. riviera74
    Compared to a Lincoln Town Car or Continental of, say, 1980, I think this Aviator is rather tasteful on the chrome. A little goes a long way and too much is simply too much. Well done.
  20. riviera74
    So what should GM build? I am sure they would like to hear some superior alternatives from you.
  21. riviera74
    These new guys I hope have a couple of billion dollars to get through the lean times until they actually sell product and move units. Tesla has NOT burned up the car sales charts since their first model went up for sale. Funny thing: I remember reading a Car and Driver article about GM's new hydrogen-based (or was it an EV) skateboard platform to put any vehicle on it and drive. Seems like about 15 years ago. Wonder what happened to that?
  22. riviera74
    A performance Honda? An exciting Honda? You must be talking about the late Acura NSX or something like that. Honda builds engines and then the appliances around them (excluding their motorcycles).
  23. riviera74
    Forgoing ICE altogether might be brilliant. . . . . or a total disaster if Jaguar/Land Rover do it wrong. Tesla is not tearing up the car sales charts, luxury or otherwise.
  24. riviera74
    Yes these changes are hard, very hard. Mary Barra is the type of CEO GM needed instead of All the Failed CEOs from 1980-2010. GM may need to be smaller than Ford in order to NOT ask for a bailout of any kind for the next decade. A recession will come and she is battening down the hatches. If a nasty recession hits, GM will survive. Ford may not survive because of that debt overhang from the last recession (that Ford still has not resolved). FCA may well be Dead auto company Walking as we speak. Toyota and Honda and Hyundai/KIA will not only be fine but will probably thrive since NONE of their domestic markets were ever invaded or conquered. The Germans have to deal with DieselGate and a stagnant European car market, despite what smk4565 said about Daimler building a new factory for the S-Class. And on top of all that, China may well dominate all others by 2030 barring some miracle. The only real complaint that I have is that a lot of GM pricing could stand to be reduced by $2500-5000 per vehicle. New cars are ridiculously unaffordable across the board. Even KIAs rarely bring real cost savings versus the competition. The industry is far too reliant on leasing to keep dealers afloat. That is an unsustainable business model for which will end in tears sooner rather than later. I know that without expensive leases and their painfully restrictive terms, the industry could not get away with these insane MSRPs. Why all these cuts? Simple: a lot of Baby Boomers (and younger buyers) ditched GM for Germany and Japan since at least the late '70s, and few have turned back.
  25. riviera74
    The CT6 and the Volt (maybe) are the only two that deserve saving. The rest can rest in peace, given the massive shift to SUVs and crossovers. As for the Volt and Bolt, when is GM going to put out its replacement platform for those vehicles? Moreover, where is the EV version of an Equinox/Terrain/Envision?
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