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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The Tesla Model 3 sold more units in December than the Cadillac ATS and CTS combined sold in all of 2018. I think the electric car is very viable.
  2. smk4565
    I think the electric crossover concepts are going to be the hot thing over the next year or 2 of auto shows, with all these brands getting multiple on market in the early 2020s. It will be like a tidal wave. Tesla is outselling Infiniti, Acura, Lincoln, and Cadillac now, they outsold Audi in the USA in 2018 and Tesla is selling more expensive cars than those 5 are.
  3. smk4565
    Until the day when they ban fossil fuel powered cars, well sales of new ones anyway. EV will eventually put ICE engines out of business. Just like the car replaced the horse, natural gas and clean energy replaced coal, streaming music replaced CD's which replaced tapes, which replaced records, etc. We can have a mix now, but I feel like come 2030 the gas car will be pointless.
  4. smk4565
    Can't retire Cadillac as it is supposed to be a global brand, at least it is here and in China. GMC could be retired as it is an American market product, and you pretty much have a Chevy or Buick clone of everything they sell, and you can always utilize Cadillac for more SUVs also. Originally the plan was to make Buick cars and GMC trucks and they wouldn't fight over each other in the dealership. But now that Buick is mostly an SUV brand and sedans are going away, they just overlap.
  5. smk4565
    The Germans will bring the challenge to Tesla, we’ll see how it plays out. The Mercedes EQ C motors spin at a Tesla like 13,000 rpm. But the AMG One electric motors from the F1 car spin at 50,000 rpm. If they can spread that to the EQ sedan look out.
  6. smk4565
    Conventional auto companies also make decisions on dollars and cents, and they saw rehashing a 2.4 liter 4 into a new crossover as easy profit. Bean counters run a lot of their decisions, where Elon Musk runs Tesla's decision making with no regard to cost or profitability analysis. He's a dreamer and knows he can market and sell those dreams to other people and he is a gambler because his previous gambles have made him super rich. He knows even if he misses on a few of these dreams, when he hits it is worth billions of dollars.
  7. smk4565
    They have lost opportunities that Tesla capitalized on. But in 2022 Mercedes will have more electric cars than Tesla, they will close the gap fast. And they are realizing a full EV sedan at the same time as the new S-class (on a different platform), so any powertrain in the S-class isn't a stop gap it is one option. The consumer will have choice of hybrid gas or full battery.
  8. smk4565
    Yes they are, Tesla has surpassed Audi. What will be interesting is if that was just pent up demand for the Model 3 and once those orders are filled if the sales will decline. But I think not, I think Tesla is the hot brand and people want it. Mercedes better come strong with their EV's and build a better EV than Tesla. They need to battle Tesla while battling BMW, Audi and Porsche which is a tall task because we know what happens when the Germans get stuck in a two front war. Hopefully the massive Daimler R&D budget can get them through it.
  9. smk4565
    When the Navigator had a V8 the sales sucked. The V6 model is selling better than the V8 did. So the engine isn't the problem. The troubling sign for Ford is every product except for the Fiesta, GT, F-series, Police Interceptor, Expedition and Navigator were down for the year. And the GT is a specialty car with 129 sales, Fiesta is getting killed. That leaves the 3 big trucks as the only growth and a recession or gas price spike could curtail that in a hurry.
  10. smk4565
    Which means they are probably abandoning ship and buying Teslas. Tesla could outsell Lexus in 2019, they are surging fast, Toyota better wake up or their "green car" buyers are going to disappear on them.
  11. smk4565
    The V12 was the halo product and what made the S-class the automotive industry flagship of the 90s and 2000s and 2010s even. But times change and new technology comes along. They are supposed to retire the V12 with this generation. The plug-in hybrid V8 will take its place, no one is doing a plug-in hybrid V8, that will become the new standard of power an efficiency. They are building an all new factory to build the next S-class and the S-class will be the first to have every car drive itself off the assembly line. This is said to be the most advanced auto manufacturing plant in the world, which makes sense for the best car in the world. Audi and BMW don't stand a chance.
  12. smk4565
    Prius is about $6k more than a Corolla, is smaller than a Corolla, and has less power. Prius does get about 20 mpg more, but according to fueleconomy.gov the Prius saves $400 per year in gas over a Corolla. So in 15 years it breaks even, not a good deal.
  13. smk4565
    They left Lincoln in the dust decades ago. I do think dropping the short wheel base version makes sense, just build one wheelbase. The inline six mild hybrid is already in the European market S-class, no doubt that continues. They need to add that to the V8 and a plug-in hybrid V8 with 800 hp has been rumored for the S73. This upcoming generation might be the last with gas power, the next one would arrive around 2028 and I could see the S-class being only electric then.
  14. smk4565
    My guess is the V6 GLS outsells the V8 GLS but that is also a by product of price. I don’t think the V6 really hurts the Navigator, plenty of expensive cars have 6 cylinder engines now. The word “Lincoln” probably hurts sales more than anything, they let the Navigator rot for 10 years being uncompetitive. Also Tesla outsold every luxury car brand except Lexus, BMW and Mercedes last year, and Tesla has no cylinders and yet is the on fire product.
  15. smk4565
    Even on a bad year, Mercedes Cars were #1 selling luxury brand. They need that new GLE and GLB, SUV’s are hot and the GLC is on fire but the rest are dated.
  16. smk4565
    Prius sales are awful because it is ugly, and not a good car. The Tesla Model 3 outsold the Corolla last month. That has to be concerning, they aren't even up to full capacity yet, the Model 3 could be the number 1 selling sedan in the USA in 2019, while all these other guys can't figure out how to sell a sedan.
  17. smk4565
    What is troubling for Ford is Escape, Flex and Explorer are down over 20% last month. Granted those are all long in the tooth models with replacements coming, but once all those sedans are gone, and all that is crossovers, if 3 drop 20% you are pretty screwed.
  18. smk4565
    All true and with the Envision you can get an Acura RDX or Lincoln MKC for the same money and those are better cars, or get a Volvo and that is probably the best of the bunch. These crossover segments are so saturated too and they just keep adding more.
  19. smk4565
    XT5 sales dropped 7,747 in 2018, they sold 7,785 XT4's. Hmmm, I think that isn't a coincidence. Overall the sedans got beat up for the quarter an the year, no surprise there. Acadia and Envision down over 20% for the year in a crossover market is a bit worrying, although that Envision is dated and overpriced, they need to rethink that model ,or just push people toward Cadillac dealers for crossovers. Terrain, Traverse and Equinox had strong years, they do advertise he heck out of those but I also wonder if rising car prices and rising interest rates has people looking more at a Terrain vs an Acadia because of ow the payments have spiked.
  20. smk4565
    Correct, Section 179 in the tax code, some car companies were actually advertising it on their sites because if you bought a work van or truck you can write that off and get over $5,000 tax savings. I don't plan on buying a 6,000+ lb GVWR vehicle nor do I own a business. But there could be a commercial application to the Pacifica hybrid, more so for airport shuttle or taxi or Uber I would think vs cargo or anything like that.
  21. smk4565
    I wonder if the Pacifica Hybrid qualifies for a business tax deduction? The tax law changed for 2018 that you can write off $25,000 in one year for a purchase of a vehicle over 6,000 lbs GVWR and if this thing is 4987 lbs, the GVWR is probably over 6,000. On a side note, maybe this platform will be used for an Aspen SUV or a new 300/Charger sedan if they drop the current platform.
  22. smk4565
    He probably has $14.7 million four times over hidden in different bank accounts in different countries. They better give him the 10 years in jail, I don’t think he is sweating the $89,000 fine.
  23. smk4565
    Daimler and Tesla are making electric semi trucks. I bet those weigh more than a Bentley and they figured it out. If they can make an electric Audi I don’t see why they can’t do a Bentley version, most of the Bentley’s sold anyway are glorified A8’s.
  24. smk4565
    Since Bentley and Porsche have the same owner, I don't see why they really care who buys what, unless the profit margin on a Bentley EV is higher than a Porsche EV. I know Bentley's are big, but a Tesla Model S isn't a small car, and Mercedes is making near S-class sized EV, so how can they do it and Bentley can't make the same thing with an extra 6 inches of wheelbase and length? And you probably don't need over 250 miles of range either, Bentley owners have a private plane for when they travel over 100 miles.
  25. smk4565
    I just thought this is like the $4,000 add on for a Lexus F-sport package, although that has no power upgrade it is all appearance. Not worth it.
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