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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.
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