G. David Felt

That Rocks that they have the shoes out in 2015 just as the Movie stated.

Wonder if that was a TRD model based on the exhaust note. I will have to say this is another BUTT UGLY truck from them. It has that same uglyness that the 4Runner has and the tundra. But then conservatives have been known to buy turds by the millions. So I guess it will sell well.

beach bunnies named

Clearly a buched up sedan for the man or woman who wants to imply they go off road. Nice but a bit bland on style.

This is good as it shows Cadillac is willing to adjust and change much faster than they did in the past or pre 2007.

All fun movies though! Course Demolition man also showed us that video calling people would be in the future and it his here now.

Polar Express

Just don't get people's way of thinking on this. The most logical reason for Cadillac's drop in sales is that it lacks the same product. I use Audi the most because it is essentially closest in sales and GOALS for the parent company: Those gaps equal lost sales. Simple as that. No other way around it. Audi beat Caddy 182K to 171K or, by about 11K sales, with 6 more products to sell. You've piqued my interest. Let's have a look... So, before I go into details, let me clear up some questions you're probably brewing... I paired up the XTS to each brand's largest sedan. Yes, I know they don't really compete but it's the closest segment to pair up with. Regardless, it actually works in Cadillac's favor. Also, I left out with ELR for 2 reasons. First, those 1000 sales hardly make a difference. And secondly, it's a niche that only BMW really has a match for (i8). Finally, I left out Lincoln due to the fact that it's vehicles match up the least of all brands. With that out of the way, let's dissect. Model to model, Cadillac still has the largest sales decline. Audi's sales increase is erased and are flat. Mercedes sales increase is also erased and results in a modest decrease. Lexus actually sees a bigger sales increase without each of its models factored in. The ATS is outsold by every direct competitor in its segment. That remains true even without the competitors coupe/conv. models factored in, though they are combined above (Cadillac, MB, and BMW aren't disclosed). The 3/4 Series is by far the best seller, outselling the ATS by nearly 5 to 1. The CTS is only outsold by the E-Class and 5-Series, but by a large margin. The E-Class includes coupe and convertible sales. Many of you are forgetting that the CTS coupe was still sold for the 2014 model year, though I'm sure its a very small percentage. The XTS, being at the same price point as the CTS, is likely stealing some sales from it's sibling. You could almost combine the sales rather than try to find direct competitors for the XTS (the closest is probably the RLX). The SRX, despite its age fairs incredibly well against its competition. It is only outsold by the Lexus RX, which likely won't give up its sales crown anytime soon. The Escalade, like the XTS, doesn't really have any direct competitors besides the Lincoln Navigator. It's a niche that does extremely well for Cadillac, selling at a higher price point than most of those I've paired it up with. Ranking each brand's sales, without the extra models, Cadillac jumps a single place from 5th to 4th. BMW, MB, and Lexus maintain 1st, 2nd, and 3rd positions. Audi falls from 4th to 6th while Acura jumps from 6th to 5th. Infiniti is 7th any way you arrange it. So there you have it. Breaking it down definitely brings everything closer, but it still doesn't help Cadillac. Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus' core models still outsell Cadillac's by a large enough margin that its niche sales can't make up the difference. Audi is hurt the most as compared to Cadillac's line-up with only the A4/5 outselling the ATS. It's not that surprising given how close their sales were and the number of Audi's niche models. Mercedes definitely sees the biggest drop in pure sales number with it having the largest line-up filled with various niche models. Even with that drop, it doesn't hurt them with its core models selling so well. With that said, I actually agree on many points. The ATS is just a few tweaks and an advertising campaign away from no longer being dead last in sales. The CTS is, in my opinion, the best car in its class and it doesn't do that bad for itself. I'm still surprised it posted a sales drop, which, I agree probably has to do with sticker shock. I'd say Cadillac acknowledges such with the news that they've dropped the price $3k. As well, I'd agree with the notion that the XTS is a FWD CTS. They really do occupy the same spot in Cadillac's line-up. Still, I'd say my line of thinking is justified. So would you really compare the Escalade to the GL or should it be matched against the G wagon? They seem to both occupy the same price area.

Start with two

This should be very exciting to see what their new design language will be.

This could be hell on the roads as these auto's just sit in the left lanes doing perfect 60 rather than staying to the right and letting us that love to drive even if it is considered defensive aggressive with performance auto's have our fun. Going to be an interesting world when they get here.

This should be interesting. Will give them big kudo's for such a wonderful eye twitching body cover.

Ice

Dirty Romance Stories.

Looking forward to an update of 30, 60, 90 no more error code.

I like this much better than the over done chrome packages. This was done right IMHO.

G. David Felt Alternative Fuels & Propulsion writer www.CheersandGears.com Electric Conversions, Worth it? The electric movement is on and anyone that loves the auto industry and stays abreast of what is going on tends to keep an ear to the ground about all forms or power trains. Many here know that I am all about CNG, a much greener cheaper form of energy and one I believe is the next logical step away from normal gas. But this is not about CNG, but conversions to electric. Cities all across America are pushing for delivery trucks to change to CNG or Electric. Public transportation to go CNG or Electric and any and all ways to reduce air pollution from the streets of your beloved city. The movement to do away with air pollution in the city had me looking out my own office window and observing the City work trucks that are cleaning the drains. These trucks are 1 ton heavy duty trucks and full size Suburban like SUV's. I myself have a work in progress of converting my Suburban over to CNG. Like the city work trucks that had trailers being pulled, I also pull trailers. If I or the city was to go electric could it be done for my suburban or these city work trucks? We know we have many small compact electric auto's. We also know that unlike a fuel driven engine that has to build up the Torque and HP, Electric motors are 100% torque from the beginning for the most part. What would it take to power America's love affair with full size HD trucks and SUV's? Can the current batteries handle this? In this regards I started to research and what I found was surprising, exciting and for those with the coin, very doable. The whole research made me realize that in the future, we will see a change to electric auto's. Many driven with generators and many without. So what did I find that excited me you ask? First off, you have to understand that there are two camps of thought. The DC motor camp and the AC motor camp. DC motors have come a long way to compete but due to concerns by some about having to replace bushings and brushes, you will find that the Auto industry has gone with multi-phase AC motors. Does this mean that the DC motors are not worth the time and money? No just that it is a different train of thought. With this bit of information I found the following on DC motors from a company in Florida. http://grassrootsev.com/motorsdc.htm Prices I did find to be pretty reasonable. In fact for the Pike's Peak race, EV West built a BMW racer with the following engine system shown below, a dual motor drive train. Dual Motor Electric Drivetrain 1000 lb/ft of torque and 600+ horsepower Accessory kit video for AC, Power Steering and Brakes. The heaters on any auto are replaced with an electric heater box in place of your traditional heater box with blower. Here is a Video which is part of a series of converting VW auto to electric using the DC motors from the Grassrootsev.com web site. What I have found to date is that for small cars and if you are not in a steep hilly area you are probably more than fine with a DC motor. Yet for the original thought of this writeup, what would it take for HD trucks or full size SUV's, I found an answer with AC motor's. AC motors are better for use due to how they handle the torque and deal with the added work put on an auto when it comes to hills or mountain roads. EV West had a motor that is perfect for the full size HD trucks and SUV's as well as the performance enthusiast. AMR 250-90D Liquid cooled AC Motor. 560 lb/ft of torque and 420hp, weight 180lbs, 360 Volts, Max RPM 10,000, Regenerative motor. Batteries come in a large assortment but EV West focuses on Lithium Iron for maximum performance and long life. The batteries start small at only 40 Ah and go up to 260 Ah. They can be daisy chained to allow for long distance driving if needed. Top of the line battery is the Voltronix 260 Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. So after researching this, I talked with Michael Bream from EV West. As he stated, large HD trucks and full size SUV's pose a bit of a challenge due to the size and the fact that they need much larger battery packs to move these heavy auto's. Pulling a trailer, being in water is not a problem for the setups. I asked him to quote me a conversion kit that would equal what I have in my Suburban. So the end result was the AMR 250-90D motor, Accessory kit for AC, Power Steering and brakes along with the electric Heater box and a series of 260 Ah batteries. The batteries would be under the suburban in holding trays on either side of the drive line. I could add another tray in place of the gas tank between the rear differential and bumper. Estimate is if I did go with all space used for batteries, I could get 300 mile range. For making the suburban a daily driver, I settled on a 100 mile range with the conversion costing about $40,000. So a quick recap of what I get for $40,000. AMR 250-90D motor Accessory kit and heater box Electronic controller system to connect dash to motor and the rest of the auto electronics. 260 Ah Lithium Iron battery pack. Misc other parts to go with installation. So does an Electric Conversion make sense? Many I feel would say no to my Suburban conversion and yet with current Suburbans running 50-60K or more. If you love your old auto and want a certain custom version, this might be your way to a 21st century old but new again ride. So in asking this question in the sense of compact auto's or other smaller cars, EV West says the typical person spends for a small 2 or 4 person auto 5 to 15K dollars to convert to total electric. That might make sense for many more. So ask yourself, does it make sense for you? Only you can decide.

Nice review, thanks for posting the experience.

M/S rating

Working on Dealers is much needed, many have very old sales staff and the dealerships clearly look and show to be dated. GM needs to force the Cadillac dealerships to upgrade.

I think what Dfelt is inelegantly saying (sorry) is that Mercedes is making great inroads into Buick's market (GLA/CLA), Chevy's market (SMART) and GMC's market (Sprinter) but not so great at the core business that they're known for. Thank you Drew, I have always been told that I am a bull in a china shop and never the best at clearly stating the marketing / business case. You hit the nail on the head for me. Thank you for the clarification.

I see a lot of this: This is what the MB concept looks like to me. MB with a compliment to Chevy on the F15 Concept.

Sounds like big brother watching you more and more and you get penalized if you do not drive the way they want you too.