Suaviloquent

While I think it's interesting that the X3 still remains one of the best despite its age, I don't think that the next-generation of this vehicle will enjoy as big an advantage as it used to once have over everything else. The new entrants have made a splash, and they are going to try to build more momentum.

Well, I don't expect these new engines to be too far off in performance compared to the German makes. I think for now, they are great placeholders to have or more rather inherit for the current crop of vehicles. The LGX and upgraded LTG should carry over until GM can trickle down the 3.0TT from the CT6 to lower models. For where they are at right now, these are upgrades that will keep Cadillac relevant. It's definitely going to pinch away sales from Infiniti and give Lexus a run of its money in terms of power-train NVH. If GM wasn't so constrained by needing to also completely overhaul its other 3 brands, all of the changes we want could have come sooner. But then again, where Cadillac comes short, it does exceed by leaps and bounds on the higher performance V models and better pricing for like equipped models.

New compact luxury crossovers are being introduced apace, with strong-selling models like the Lexus NX and the Lincoln MKC claiming large slices of a pie once carved up almost exclusively by Acura, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi. But there’s still goodness to be found among the older guard, particularly BMW’s X3. Read more at: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2015-bmw-x3-xdrive35i-test-review

I'm closing this thread, it's run its course. Nothing more really that the fact that most automakers saw healthy sales gains. There's only so many layers of the onion to peel until your eyes water and you get blinded, and then side-tracked.

Well, it comes to no surprise that this same vehicle was the 2015 SUV of the Year at Motortrend. Yeah, this is why I take any widely publicized and controversial reviews from any mag with a grain of salt.

Well, we can only be online and be in a capacity to moderate at certain times of the day. There's going to be some blind spots in between rotation, but know that your patience will be of great virtue.

Yeah, that is true, but the Kia Sedona especially comes really nicely equipped just at $30k. And the defunct Caravan sold a lot because of its low price. Again, automakers are thinking about more than just sales now, but I don't think the minivan will quite just die away yet. And there's always going to be 3 different target demographics, two of which we rarely think of. There's obviously the growing families. There there's fleets. Minivans make great livery vehicles. They're very efficient in terms of utility for the price you pay. But there's also families that tend to their elderly parents. It's a no brainer. Minivans offer excellent accessibility, part of why taxi fleets have plenty of them and middle-aged folks who want to live near or take care of their elderly parents have them as well. Minivans might just become a segment ruled by a very small oligopoly of brands, but it doesn't change the value proposition.

Yes! YES!

Yes.... YES!!

Everyone here was heartbroken after game 2... Let's keep the stream-roll offence rolling. Excellence of execution, no less, has to produce an absolute crushing, annihilation, eradication and extermination of Texas. No, it's not that I hate Texas as much as how much I want every opponent of Toronto to utterly lose.

Let's get Lincoln out of this thread. Excellent, excellent refresh. A new engine and a transmission. On top of high performance variants. This is a Cadillac equivalent of sorts to Apple's S mid-cycle upgrades to their iPhone. I presume this transmission is also compatible with AWD?

But, but... I thought it was a "crappy midsize truck"??? Yes, in the context of a comparison a Platinum level F150 or Denali GMC interior the Canyonados have terrible, dare say again I say 'crappy' interiors. You chose to forget a pretty obvious detail. Your opinion regarding my truck interior should matter to me... why again? I didn't realize you needed to cough up a response to tell me how much it doesn't matter at all. No need to waste breath to defend a mindset you've already assumed. But you go ahead and waste your time anyways. Now. Back to the topic.

Of course, any would be. But none of them exist as of this time. When they will, Tesla will also have the Model 3 for sale. Tesla's got the brand equity, the reputation and the backs of early adopters. They hold a position of strength. People do complain that Tesla loses money of every sale, but then we have to consider what's the reduced cost of every Volt produced? How about an i3? or Leaf or Focus electric? My guess: atleast a few multiples of the supposed $4000 that Tesla loses; and Tesla's losses are attributable to their massive investments in charging infrastructure and product development, not because of products that are salesproof to the vast majority of the conventional buyers for the respective brands. The first cars were luxury products until, Ford for example, rationalized the idea of selling at a lower price by radically increasing production volumes and keeping product permutations to a minimum. Musk is doing the same for electric vehicles. Why not get the most out of the transition period? Anyways, back to the Bolt everyone. I'm done indulging why Tesla is still a winner. If they are losing money on every $100K car they are currently selling, how will they continue to be 'winners' by introducing a Model 3 that generates far less ATP's? I don't see it. I didn't explicitly or implicitly suggest or intended to suggest for Tesla to win it will beat others in the electric segment profitability. Back to Bolt.

Of course, any would be. But none of them exist as of this time. When they will, Tesla will also have the Model 3 for sale. Tesla's got the brand equity, the reputation and the backs of early adopters. They hold a position of strength. People do complain that Tesla loses money of every sale, but then we have to consider what's the reduced cost of every Volt produced? How about an i3? or Leaf or Focus electric? My guess: atleast a few multiples of the supposed $4000 that Tesla loses; and Tesla's losses are attributable to their massive investments in charging infrastructure and product development, not because of products that are salesproof to the vast majority of the conventional buyers for the respective brands. The first cars were luxury products until, Ford for example, rationalized the idea of selling at a lower price by radically increasing production volumes and keeping product permutations to a minimum. Musk is doing the same for electric vehicles. Why not get the most out of the transition period? Anyways, back to the Bolt everyone. I'm done indulging why Tesla is still a winner.

I think anything from VW being positioned as an alternatively fueled/powered vehicle has had its reputation either tarnished or severely reduced. So that means they're out of the picture. And Ford's Focus electric is seriously compromised. The Leaf, while inexpensive and rather a genuine product effort; it's still too unconventional in style. And BMW's i8 can hardly be considered better than a Volt for "green purposes". A person who gets an i3 can afford a Leaf, which is in every way a better electric car; but can't afford a Model S, which is the best electric car. So they're stuck with one with great engineering but rather lackluster range for something so focused from BMW. Everyone else just isn't even on the radar for electric vehicles. The Volt is a great product, but I do not see it as a true competitor to any Tesla current or future. ELR sucks plain and simple. It's a Chevy in a Cadillac tuxedo. Very stylish, but very compromised. So we're back at Tesla. Now I don't really want to root for Tesla, but they're still the best at it. The Model S has almost reached mid-cycle in its product life. The next 3 years are just waiting to be conquered by Tesla. The Bolt is a wait and see sort of deal. I think it's going to conquest Volt or Leaf buyers more than anything else.

Tesla's the best shot there is at making electric vehicles viable for large scales. Not GM, not Ford, not Toyota. No one is at the cutting edge as Tesla. And no one else is going to build a $5 billion facility to manufacture batteries, here in America. And Musk isn't even American.

Would you all like it if I changed the thread title from "Beautiful Cars Appreciation" thread to "Beautiful Vintage Car Appreciation thread"? I can do right away to clarify the real topic of this thread. You're all a picky lot. Get used to other people's opinions. If you want a forum for 3 people, you can try a petition and see how well it would succeed. I think the Accord was a beautiful car for its segment of shapeless blobs. The original Taurus is the most storied midsize sedan ever. And the last generations of the Malibu and Fusion were some of the best looking American sedans to lead a resurgence of American sedans. And the Impala. Well, I guess everyone can agree on that one.

Consolidation to a industry-wide standard is going to happen soon. It's just that the current conditions still make electric cars a niche. Other than Tesla, no manufacturer is really pushing their own charging ecosystem such as transformer boxes, plug interfaces, or on board charging equipment. But, there's a competitive advantage to equip better chargers, and lower charging times for a vehicle. That's where we are seeing differences. But that'll go away soon enough. The first automakers to really introduce an affordable electric car that can fully substitute gas powered cars of the same size and shape will be real winners.

But, but... I thought it was a "crappy midsize truck"??? Yes, in the context of a comparison a Platinum level F150 or Denali GMC interior the Canyonados have terrible, dare say again I say 'crappy' interiors. You chose to forget a pretty obvious detail.

All of these are some somewhat old to recent sedans that I think look really clean and have aged or I think will age really well in terms of styling. The Accord, Malibu and Fusion especially still look good for humble family sedans.

Not available in Canada.... and some media sites are telling us that Motorola won't be sending it here. I'm not much of a fan of its design to be honest.

And who doesn't like this one:

One of my most favourites of all time.

Probably belongs in the Phone thread, and it's not really a random thought, much more a persistent one: Deciding on which phone to upgrade to in December (better deals maybe on some, and expected release of others). The choices, the choices. Why can't Apple make a slightly fatter phone to house a bigger battery? I'd like it to crest to 2,000 Miliamp Hours. They argued so heavily in the past that a larger size was: "less compelling," yet introduced the Plus size. I really don't want a clumsy battery case. Otherwise, a strong contender. One of the smaller form factor in terms of screen size really helps. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too. Maybe wait another year to maximize my return on a switch to Apple? [I've said that 3 years in a row, and now I'm disgusted at my patience] As for Android: Sony Xperia Z5... when the hell are you coming to Canada? Rogers, please speed up the process. Samsung.... No. Just no. I just don't want another Samsung product, no matter how good to replace my Nexus S (by Samsung). It doesn't help that nothing from Samsung is pocket-able or that the Touch Wiz Ui bogs down the excellent hardware more than I'd like. And the Nexus phones are even less compelling, sure, pure Android, but again, the exchange rate dilemma, and the mindset of not wanting to buy a phone outright when I know I'm going on a contract. I like Motorola, they are great for the price, but the availability of the model I want, the Moto G w/ 16 GB storage and 2 GB ram isn't available here without importing it outright. I want a contract to subsidize the price though. Paying $400 plus import fees for the upgraded version makes no sense when I could go for the 64 GB 6s with the same plan and pay only $600 upfront. And Windows: I considered the 950. It had excellent specs on paper, and really what matters to me most. Best LTE along w/ Apple, awesome camera and virtually no way to end up with bloatware and the best battery life optimization. Then the over-priced pricing was released. Then all Canadian carriers laughed at the prospect of selling such a dead niche product with the current exchange rates. Thus, Microsoft's cellular phone future in Canada died. And I smiled and said good riddance to Microsoft. They just don't get it, they cannot make a profit on those phones anyways, and then they shoot themselves in the foot. It's a different world. I normally call for price parity of other products such as cars based on content and execution, but here Microsoft desperately needs to undercut Apple by more than even $500. Yup, that's how little prestige they carry. And I may live in the the good old United Provinces and Territories + Unique Quebec of Canada, but Research in Motion's subsidiary, Blackberry, is on the brink of failure. It doesn't help when the CEO doesn't have the tact to realize that telling people that the next product is everything the company has bet on will only fuel doubters. They're going to leave the hardware business if the Priv fails. Oh, and again, pricing. Our exchange rate sure sucks.