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El Kabong

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Everything posted by El Kabong

  1. El Kabong
    That would be the several-months long press releases stating that GM was getting out of the fleet market.
  2. El Kabong
    "That's right: Go on, take your Camaro to the track, the parking lot, the dragstrip. If you miss a shift weaving through the cones and a conrod punches through the hood at 14,000 RPM (unlikely), then you can luxuriate in the fact that you won't need to sell your firstborn for a moment of self-indulgence. But, there's that caveat—you must resist the temptation of adding more horsepower, swapping out parts, and your beautiful ride must remain factory stock. "The policy applies to all track-oriented Camaros: the V8 SS in particular, as well as the ZL1, the forthcoming Z/28, and the 1LE and both of its available engines. The last ZL1 and Z/28 were also track-covered, so the fact that this policy is trickling down to other performance trims shows a lot of confidence on the part of GM for its sixth-gen Camaro's ability to handle competition." Excellence of execution is built for abuse. More at the link: http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a28688/chevrolet-will-honor-your-camaros-warranty-if-you-take-it-to-the-track/
  3. El Kabong
    Shooting the messenger does not change the message. Ford had a great month because they've gone all-in on fleet sales. If you don't mind that then fine. Speaking for myself, I've seen first-hand what over-reliance on fleet does for vehicle innovation. IMO, were already seeing some of these effects in critical market segments for FoMoCo. And the brand differentiation is still a big issue as well. GM edging up YOY while torching fleet sales is more remarkable to me.
  4. El Kabong
    It is troubling to see the persistent cannibalization of Ford sales by Lincoln and vice-versa. MXC sales are down while Escape sales are up, and both Lincoln sedans are in the same situation. The Edge is the sole notable exception. And then there's the question of how many of those are fleet sales. Nice numbers on thre surface. But there are still issues to be dealt with at Ford.
  5. El Kabong
    Yup. According to an admin at another place who checked the numbers, 37% of ALL FORD SALES LAST MONTH were fleet. Good for raw numbers. But not exactly what you're looking to build your brand on.
  6. El Kabong
    No. They went all-in on fleet when GM bailed. And this is the result. And IM pretty sure that the uptick in F-series sales was largely in their "refrigerator white" series. Seriously guys. Much ado about lots of vehicles being bought by bots instead of people. A numbers game sure to warm the heart of any good beancounter, but certainly not indicitive of any sudden retail embrace of Ford. I hear that even Wall Street wasn't terribly impressed-outlooks for Ford and GM were similarly meh. The downvotes sure are cute tho
  7. El Kabong
    I fail to see what the fuss is all about re. GM. They said they were going to cut back on fleet sales and they did. Meanwhile I have read in another place that nearly 2 of every 5 Ford sales are now fleet. If that's how you want to grow your brand then by all means do so. But don't be so naive as to think it's because of some groundswell by the car buying public. By the same token there were a lot less happy folks that month last year when FCA beat Ford in retail sales. This is just both sides of the same coin.
  8. El Kabong
    Yup. Ford is really putting the Hertz on GM.
  9. El Kabong
    1) Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (8.0L) 2) Dodge Viper GTS (8.4L) 3) Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (7.0L) 4) older GMC Sierra 2500 w/the 8.1L for a daily 5) Chevrolet Corvette L88 (7.0L)
  10. El Kabong
    As an investment, the Ferrari. But as a car, probably the Lamborghini. It matches the Ferrari's performance, does it with a similar engine layout, and doesn't look like a stick insect.
  11. El Kabong
    Ok, changing direction a bit... has anyone heard what the body panels on this thing are made of?
  12. El Kabong
    You can say a lot of things. Usually when I quote professional automotive designers whose articles disagree with your opinions. But that's none of my business
  13. El Kabong
    I was wondering where my post quote was going. I'm not really going to get into the minutae of this thread, mostly because as far as I'm concerned GM has shown that it has its act together with hybrids and EVs moreso than anyone else. The Volt and the Bolt are the most obvious examples of this capability for a mainstream audience, but the CT6 PHEV is a more-than-adequate demonstration of their capabilities as well.
  14. El Kabong
    I was soooooo tempted to throw a fuelie Corvette on this list.
  15. El Kabong
    1) Lamborghini Diablo VT (5.7L) 2) Ford GT (5.4L) 3) Callaway Corvette Twin Turbo (5.7L) 4) Jaguar XJ (5.0L) 5) Ram 1500 Laramie Limited (5.7L)
  16. El Kabong
    Automobile just anointed it their pick of the show. It is a pretty powerful design.
  17. El Kabong
    There's a lot of vintage iron you could include, definitely. Speaking for myself, I usually find myself running up to five entries just with stuff from the last decade. I think my oldest car so far is from 1984.
  18. El Kabong
    You know, there is a difference in using styling elements, and using styling elements EFFECTIVELY. Automobile called the Genesis New York concept the best of show, in large part because it took the elements the Navigator botched and used them effectively. Genesis, you may recall, is one of the new brands Lincoln is going to have to deal with as it finds itself. And that process just got a WHOLE lot harder.
  19. El Kabong
    LOL@"a failed stylist makes for a great journalist." Them's some sour grapes, man
  20. El Kabong
    It you're of a certain age, one look at the front of the Navigator will take you back to the first time you saw the teacher in the video Pink Floyd did for "Another Brick in the Wall."
  21. El Kabong
    And the initial feedback begins to trickle in: "After seeing the shortfall from Continental concept to production car, I’m not willing to bet the 'real' Navigator will wow us until it proves otherwise." http://www.automobilemag.com/news/2016-new-york-auto-show-show-hits-misses-revelations/
  22. El Kabong
    That's because they were completely insane
  23. El Kabong
    A lightly-optioned Cadillac ATS coupe will sneak in under 42 large, complete with AWD, a stick, and the 2.0T. I'll go with that.
  24. El Kabong
    1) Ferrari 458 GTB (4.5L) 2) Ferrari 512 TR (4.9L) 3) TVR Tuscan Speed Six (4.2L) 4) Aston Martin V8 Vantage (4.7L) 5) Newest/nicest Ram 1500 I can get with the 4.7L V8
  25. El Kabong
    People who think I hate Lincoln, or Ford, are missing the bigger picture. I hate half-assed efforts. Hence, I slagged Buick for not building the Avista (update: a certain GM fan website is now saying it may not be dead after all. Stay tuned). This is a half-assed effort styling-wise, perhaps engineering-wise. It follows in the wake of a previous half-assed effort which was desperately hyped even as a rival automaker called them out publicly on the styling. Now it's being called out by Automobile's emeritus staffer (a stylist himself), and folks still get mad at me for pointing it out. Whatever gets you through the night, I guess
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