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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. smk4565
    Right, I didn't think it was on sale yet but maybe it is. The 4Runner is still old but I am sure the new one is coming in 2020. Toyota needs new engines still, they still use that 3.5 liter V6 that is about 12 years old at this point, and makes 4 cylinder power with V8 fuel economy. Still that previous Gen Tacoma was around for too long without any update because there was no other competition other than a Frontier that is even more dated.
  4. smk4565
    They are better off re-newing the Tacoma, 4Runner, Tundra and Sequioa. Land Cruiser which are all really dated. They have CH-R, Rav4 and Highlander that are fairly fresh. A Prius derived crossover could work plus they have an all wheel drive minivan. There isn't really a shortage of truck, van, SUV type vehicles at Toyota, some are just dated.
  5. smk4565
    I think the wheels look decent, after that, yawn. However, I bet sales of the Corolla are up next year and they sell over 300k of them since Ford and Chevy are leaving the segment in 2019.
  6. smk4565
    $5000 for 15 hp and off road tires and shocks seems a bit steep. You aren't going to feel the difference between 420 and 435 hp. And unless you are a hardcore off roader, you probably won't notice the difference in off road ability either.
  7. smk4565
    Alfa, Maserati and Fiat are one recession away from death, much like Jaguar is. But FCA needs a new engine to replace the Pentastar, so they can all share it. GM can use a turbo 4 anywhere they have a V6 now, and half their FWD V6 product gets killed in 2019 anyway. I think that Atlas engine was large and or heavy even for the time. It probably would not have fit in a CTS or STS. Regardless they would need a clean sheet design now. Plus if they share parts and tooling with their 2 liter inline 4, you have cost savings.
  8. smk4565
    I didn't want to quote the whole post to save space. But the inline six could go in these products: Cadillac CT3, CT5, CT6 Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Tahoe/Suburban, GMC Yukon. Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon Chevy Camaro, Corvette Possible future Cadillac Omega platform SUV or possible future rear drive XT5/XT6 Obviously those products would have another engine choice also and you'd have a couple different levels of tune for various products, but that seems like enough volume. Impala, LaCrosse, XTS die so no V6 need. The V6 can be replaced with a turbo 4 (with hybrid option) in Blazer/Acadia/Traverse/Enclave. And 3 of those are base 4 cylinder already. The only reason not to develop an Inline 6 is if GM thinks the current V6 is the last 6 cylinder they will ever have and they are going to electric in 5 years, but I don't think the switch will be that fast.
  9. smk4565
    They should, there is no reason to spend any development dollars on a V6 any more. The V6 was used for packaging in front drive cars. But you can get 300 hp from a 4 cylinder engine now and there is no reason to ever put more than 300 hp in a front drive car. Thus any 6 cylinder will be a rear drive vehicle and square packaging isn't an issue.
  10. smk4565
    I would imagine a V8 remains in FCA, but who knows. They can get 400 to 500 hp out of a six cylinder, and with CAFE, displacement taxes, emissions, etc, that may just kill the V8 because how many cars over 500 hp is FCA really going to sell, and will that justify the development cost of a V8 engine line. If you had a pair of electric motors to a six cylinder then you have a 600+ hp engine with off the line torque, then you don't need a V8. Or you go with pure EV's that can make whatever power you want. Pinanfirina has an electric sports car coming with 1,700 hp and 1,900 lb-ft of torque or something crazy like that. You can never do that with a gas engine.
  11. smk4565
    Sounds like an excellent idea, they can replace the Pentastar and Hemi with this new engine in any of their rear drive vehicles. I imagine they will use the e-torque system from the Ram with this.
  12. smk4565
    Ford and GM give more choice as they eliminate the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus, Cruze, Impala, LaCrosse, Volt, XTS and CT6? They are combined killing off 10 models in one year.
  13. smk4565
    The GLS is made in America, I am sure this is it’s best sales country with China 2nd. The smaller SUVs do better in the EU.
  14. smk4565
    GLS probably outsells every big luxury SUV globally. The GL outsold the Escalade in the USA for a few years around 2012 and 2013. The Escalde is no doubt a successful product, I am just saying they can’t rest on their laurels and expect it will stay there with an Audi Q8 and BMW X7 now I’m the mix. Cadillac can’t be complacent.
  15. smk4565
    Everything I read says the Mercedes V8 is the lightest in its segment but they may be comparing it to Audi, BMW and Porsche, the Audi V8 is 494 lbs. Rhe Mercedes V8 is relative compact too so they can fit it in a C-class or low under the hood of a GT. Things that don’t matter on a GLS though.
  16. smk4565
    The Mercedes/AMG M178 (4.0 bi-turbo) is 461 lbs. The LT1 V8 is 465 lbs but the LT4 with the Supercharger is 529 lbs. When you compare boosted to boosted the AMG engine is lighter more fuel efficient too. But Cadillac could care less about Escalde weight, so why not put the CT6-V engine in there? Do something.
  17. smk4565
    I imagine a 500 hp mid engine Corvette will be faster around a race track than a 755 hp ZR1 that just spins it’s tires. And yes to an EV Escalde or Cadillacs SUV. The Escalde is not the biggest, baddest, wealthiest SUV anymore. Rolls-Royce has a much bigger much more luxurious much more powerful SUV, Bentley and Lambhave them, ther is the G-wagen that starts $25k higher than the Escalde stops and there are more $200k plus SUVs on the way. I actually think Cadillac needs an SUV that starts $50k above the Escalade Platinum and operates in the $150-200,000 price range.
  18. smk4565
    The 755 hp Corvette ZR1 is slower around the Nurburgring than a 577 hp AMG GT, because the Corvette can't put the power on the ground, it has useless power. That goes back to chassis, suspension, lack of all wheel drive, etc on the Corvette. Although the AMG GT doesn't have all wheel drive either, nor does the 911 GT2 RS, but they have enough tricks up their sleeve to use all their power. And GM has these supercharged V8s, why didn't they put one in an Escalade yet? Makes no sense. Bentley, Rolls, Porsche, Mercedes, Range Rover, Lamborghini, etc all have 550+ hp SUVs, Ferrari and Aston Martin are coming, Maserati has over 500 hp, it might be 550, I forget, but it has a lot too.
  19. smk4565
    It needs a 6.2 liter V8 to make 420 hp? There are 3 liter engines that make more that. Something is wrong with your engineering department if you can't make over 100 hp per liter. And Cadillac makes a 550 hp V8, why on earth would you give the Escalade a weaker Chevy engine compared to the more powerful Cadillac engine?
  20. smk4565
    Except the Mercedes and Porsche will work, while the Maserati will break down all the time. The Gran Turismo is also a 2 door car and slower 0-60 than a C43, yikes!
  21. smk4565
    Seems reasonable, it is faster than an E63, so it should cost more than that, and it is the fastest 4-door car ever around the Nurburgring. Priced similar to an S63 which isn't quite as fast but is more luxurious. And cheaper than a Panamera, which is an ugly car.
  22. smk4565
    They didn’t, they considered 10 gears and ran 81 billion computer simulations to find the ideal gear count and 9 speed was better than 10. More gears add weight and complexity and there was no fuel economy gain from 9 to 10. Thus they went with 9. The 9-speed transmission also only has 1 reverse gear where as the old 7G-tronic transmissions had 2 reverse gears. I thought 2 reverse gears was cool but I guess they found it not necessary.
  23. smk4565
    Well that is a 2015 GL450, the resfreshed model has a 9-speed transmission and is tested at 5.7 seconds 0-60. But if you drove them both side by side I bet people couldn’t tell a difference in speed between an Escalde and GLS450. And Mercedes is dropping that engine after this year they will have all new stuff in 2020, if the Escalde plans to soldier on with the same power train as today’s model that is good news for Mercedes.
  24. smk4565
    The CTS has 4 different engine choices, the CT6 has 3, even the Cruze had 3 engine choices at one point. How can the Escalde only have 1 engine choice? It doesn’t cost much more to throw a couple more options in there.
  25. smk4565
    I thought 2 years ago Brexit was a terrible idea. I don’t understand how separating yourself from the EU is better for business than being in the EU. This is like the tariff war we are in, that doesn’t help businesses. I think the next recession could knock out another 5-10 auto brands globally and these guys along with a couple of FCA’s are at the top of the list.
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