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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. riviera74
    Q: Why is a urea tank necessary in a diesel engine?
  2. riviera74
    Hyperv6, You are right about the power grid issues. The best thing to do is to upgrade and replace the grid, much of which dates back 30 or more years. Down here in FL, a lot of our electricity is generated from natural gas rather than oil or coal. That has led to lower electricity bills all around from my utility. We do need more natural gas and more nuclear energy just to get ourselves off of coal-generated power because coal is the least efficient hydrocarbon we have for power gereation. Green energy is nice, but it is probably not good enough (or cheap enough) for baseline power without subsidies. As for the Volt, even their new prices are too damn high. Remember when the Prius first came out? It was actually affordable then, and it is largely under $30K now. If the Volt were priced to match the Prius or Leaf, sales would probably take off quickly.
  3. riviera74
    I generally agree with most of these ideas on principle, but that requires replacing our political class first. Now as for the chicken tax, the real elephant in the room is that the USA is almost unique in our almost laissez-faire free market in automobiles and no one nation does this. Japan (and China) have essentially used the US policy of near free trade to leave economic poverty to join the global middle class. Japan became wealthy (until 1990) because of those same policies. 90% of what is wrong is that other nations protect our industries and the USA does not. They need to change their stripes long before we should ditch the chicken tax.
  4. riviera74
    I agree with the GM economist for this reason: the median price of a new car is just above $30K. If automakers were to cut that by $7500 to $10,000 then younger buyers will show up in droves. Given that the average age of a car is now 11 years old, there should be a massive push by automakers to push prices down so that young people can buy used cars already exchanged for new cars at lower used car prices. Loosening credit standards help, but new cars could stand a price cut STAT.
  5. riviera74
    I was never a fan of the steering wheel of the '14 Impala. Other than that, I think this is a winning flagship Chevrolet has deserved for the past several years. This model says "cars matter here", whereas 5-25 years ago Chevy wanted to be all about trucks (and the Corvette). This car says to all comers, Game On.
  6. riviera74
    I never thought I would see this, but check this out. http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2013/07/2014-impala-dazzles-consumer-reports-testers/
  7. riviera74
    Who are these hipsters that hate the wreath and crest? OK, the logo was on cars Cadillac is not proud of, but what would a new logo actually do? The wreath and crest is already on current Cadillacs and there are no real problems with the cars themselves.
  8. riviera74
    Even though the writer mentioned that a twin turbo 3.6L V6 is forthcoming shortly, I think this car deserves a new Ecotec(?) 5300 like in the new Corvette instead of the DOHC engine.
  9. riviera74
    The S-Class can drive itself?! As for the Cadillac, I only suggested $65K as a starting MSRP because they can simply follow what Lexus did with the LS series from 1990 to now: Start lowish and then raise the price with each successive generation. Cadillac does NOT have an $80K+ flagship and they have not quite earned that kind of brand equity yet to earn an $80K+ transaction price. As Caddy moves upmarket, so will the flagship price. Simple as that.
  10. riviera74
    Wow. I guess nobody is really impressed with the new Malibu.
  11. riviera74
    I think the only reason the Phaeton died was because it started at $68K and the Passat ended at about $38K when the Phaeton was discontinued. I actively wondered why VW priced the Phaeton at Audi A8 levels then, when NOBODY would buy a VW at Audi prices. As for the Equus itself, it really looks like a larger and probably better Genesis sedan. The market will almost certainly accept $61K to start since the competition insists on $75K+ these days.
  12. riviera74
    I agree. $65K should be where Caddy should go for the large sedan. No reason for Caddy to price cars like Hyundai. Hyundai will always be what Honda and Toyota used to be about 25-30 years ago.
  13. riviera74
    ^QFT, Dwightlooi. That is easily the best idea (from an engine standpoint) I have heard of in years. Dear GM, why not do this?
  14. riviera74
    Great Q: Why is the Avalnche not being sold anymore? I was under the impression that the RIdgeline's USP was that small built-in trunk inside the flatbed. I thought that might be an OK idea, until you realize that it is not always accessible under a pile of dirt or mulch. As for the Avalanche, it reminds me of the Quadrasteer option they had for the GMC Sierra a few years back. Great idea, but relatively few takers. And I heard that Quadrasteer was an expensive option, so that meant even fewer sales. I doubt the Avalanche added much cost (and presumably brought in more profits) than just the pickup twins, but somebody did not think it was worth it anymore.
  15. riviera74
    Loki, I agree with you that there SHOULD be a successor to the 3800/3900 V6 pushrods, based on Gen V V8 engines. The original 3800 was derived from a Buick V8 from 1962, and GM used it from 1975-2008 with relatively few alterations to the fundamental engine design. It will probably have to be at least a 3.6L V6 or smaller to accommodate today's smaller engine bays. I really have no issues with the Ecotec 4cyl, except it is all DOHC, which tend to be expensive. Going HCCI aside, GM should probably consider ditching DOHC and go back to OHV stat.
  16. riviera74
    Whichever way this goes, I have one question: When will GM have product in this segment that people can actually buy?!
  17. riviera74
    It sounds like the new Gen V V8 is going into the Sierra/Silverado too, given that I just saw that new Sierra commercial bragging about AFM and VVT and all those (newer) engine technologies. The better question is whether the Gen V will find its way into a Cadillac flagship, not just Corvettes and Camaros and trucks.
  18. riviera74
    I think the real question is "What can Cadillac do that MB/BMW/Audi cannot or will not do"? While the ULS may well be dead, I would like to see Caddy do something the Germans (and Lexus/Jaguar) cannot possibly do or execute. The cars they have are very good in most respects, but much of this was needed two or three years ago. Cadillac needs a unique selling point and it needs one right now in order to consistently compete and win.
  19. riviera74
    Impala sales down thanks to higher prices. I would be much more concerned about falling Malibu and Regal sales. The trucks are doing well again. Woo-Hoo!
  20. riviera74
    As bad as the lack of an ultraluxury sedan is for Cadillac, for now they are heading in the right direction. I just hope GM's bad habits do not resurface again. Now if only we could get rid of the Wall Street mentality of short-term profits above all else. Here is why: http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2013/5/28/the-high-octane-truth-fourteen-years-later.html and http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2013/6/4/the-autoextremist-brand-image-meter-ii.html
  21. riviera74
    Always. There will always be people who want to flaunt their (apparent) wealth with a large luxury car. The Genesis sedan and the Equus are simply ballin' on a budget. Cadillac should aim for S-Class/7 series territory, if only to show the automotive world they are truly serious. Besides, have you been near or inside a 7 series or an S-Class? Both cars are flagships for a reason. Cadillac needs a true flagship. Caddy does NOT need to beat RR/Bently because they have not been anywhere near that since the 1930s. A 21st century Duesenberg could handle that role, not Cadillac.
  22. riviera74
    dwightlooi, I had to upvote you. PSA probably needs to die. Come to think of it, given Europe's car issues, GM should ditch Europe until all of the fallout truly hits and worms its way to its natural conclusion. Essentially, the USA went from several automakers to just four by Studebaker's death by bankruptcy in 1963. That consolidation took about three decades for that to actually finish. The problem with Europe is that they will not allow the badly needed consolidation required to salvage an auto industry in Europe at all, least of all the French and Italians. Social Welfare states work well when you can sell products the whole world wants. Canada and Australia are great examples of this fact. Germany sells cars everybody wants (whether they can afford it is another story.). France only has wine and cheese and tourism. Who would buy a Peugeot? PSA died in the USA back in the 80s and never returned. dwightlooi is right. It is past time to let capitalism cleanse Europe's dysfunctional auto industry. (Yes, I believe GM and Ford should dump Europe immediately!)
  23. riviera74
    The only non-ugly Hyundais are the Genesis (sedan) and Equus. It is true that Hyundai/Kia are pushing out the metal for cheap in order to gain market share. Honda/Toyota/Nissan did that back in the 70s and 80s, and look where they are now. I am glad that GM are out of the move the metal for a loss business. While the new(er) Malibu fixes many of the 12/13s shortcomings, one thing does need to change . . . . the price. Trim prices by $750-1000 on all models and sell them like there is no tomorrow. The Malibu (NOT the Impala, a rather '14 impressive car) should be the midsizer that makes Chevy a true force in the marketplace again and should be by far the biggest seller (trucks aside).
  24. riviera74
    Maybe the member countries of the EU should default and eat the loss for a decade. The EU needs growth more than anything else. If FIAT is using this to ditch Europe, bully for them. I just hope that FIAT does not strangle Chrysler like Cerberus almost did or steal all the cash like Daimler did.
  25. riviera74
    I was wondering why it looked like a Olds 442 from 1970 . . . .
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