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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Why is it 3 inches longer? Maybe sales keep dropping on this car because it is now a mid-size car and isn't that small sporty car it used to be. This thing is the size of the E39 5-series, which I get was the holy grail of sports sedans, but they already make a 5-series, you don't need to make the 3-series bigger. Aside from that, the 382 hp inline six sounds awesome, they have a big power bump there. Looks like they are upping the price too, $41k base is C-class pricing, which is good, because this will force Mercedes to put the 429 hp inline six in the C43. Competition is always good.
  2. smk4565
    I imagine it is for dealer network they want it at both places. Freightliner does have over 40% market share in medium and heavy duty trucks, so they are the go to spot for most commercial operations. There aren't a ton of MB Vans dealers. Vans were up 44% last month, Transit was down 15% last month. Mercedes is growing, I am sure they are happy with that. Plus Ford has way more dealers to sell Transits at which makes it easier to sell retail and not just commercial which is sort of how Sprinter is positioned, and the Sprinter is the premium cargo van, the Ram is the discount leader. We are also talking about the #1 selling luxury brand who is rapidly growing in commercial vans, no one else does both markets well.
  3. smk4565
    Amazon just ordered 20,000 Sprinters. With the new factory now in South Carolina their growth in the US will continue. Without the chicken tax and import taxes, etc that Sprinter price is closer to the Transit.
  4. smk4565
    I don't feel so bad for the GLE being down 14% after seeing the X5 down 53%. I think a new X5 is coming soon though, that is probably a model change over issue. The X3 and GLC are outselling the XT5, go rear wheel drive!
  5. smk4565
    Envision and XT5 dropped about 25% and the Acadia was down nearly 50%. In an SUV crazed market, that is concerning. It is actually sad to see the Malibu down 45% because it is just a sign that car companies are going to quit making sedans one day, and I don't like SUVs and will never buy one.
  6. smk4565
    3 in a row is concerning, mainly because of the weak volume out of the GLE, GLS, and G-wagen. The new G-wagen isn't on sale yet, and the GLE/GLS are the most dated products they have and they don't have new ones out yet and it is showing. They need the new SUVs in dealerships. They are designing and showing off this great product like E53 range, the EQ C, G560, etc but it isn't in the dealership, they need to get production on this new stuff cranking, and in other parts of the world some if this stuff is on sale. C-class being down so much for the year I think is part crossover mania, and part Tesla Model 3 taking sedan sales away. So I think they need to get the EV's to fend that off. Awesome month from vans though, new Sprinter (made in America) is kicking butt. With that said, YTD sales: Mercedes: 225,384 BMW: 225,065 Lexus: 213,612 Well Dieter Zetsche is stepping down as Daimler CEO in 2019, but will take over as chairman of the board in 2021.
  7. smk4565
    These 2 are super out dated. 380 hp V8? there are 3 liter V6's that make more horsepower and torque than these, and in fact Lexus has a turbo V6 with more 40 more lb-ft of torque than this V8 does. Even the body shape on these looks like it is from 2005. With as lucrative as the full size pick up market is, you'd think Toyota would have a brand new Tundra every 5 years meaning brand new of these 2 every 5 years.
  8. smk4565
    So is the XT4 a Lexus NX competitor or UX competitor? The UX is $33,000 and the NX is $36,000 and the UX is larger than a GLA. And a BMW X2 is smaller than a BMW X1, yet the X2 is $2,500 more than the X1. This small crossover group is carved up so many ways.
  9. smk4565
    Of course they did. And really CA just needs to drag it out until 2020 and then if Trump loses they get their wish. If Trump wins they can keep fighting, and if they can't agree on anything 2025 shows up eventually.
  10. smk4565
    The GLA is the same length as a Chevy Sonic and has less cargo room than it. I don't feel like the XT4 is that small. GLB vs XT4 I think will be more valid. And think of it this way, the GLA is the smaller than the Lexus UX, which is smaller than the Lexus NX which is virtually the same size as the XT4. The XT4 may very well be better than the GLA or X1 or Q3, but it is also not really in that segment. And if Lexus thought the NX was competing in that segment they wouldn't have just introduced another SUV below NX. There are 3 segments working here.
  11. smk4565
    Subaru is a luxury brand now? ? Although I agree with you in that I think every Cadillac should just be AWD standard and I think every Cadillac should be turbocharged and electrified in some way. And as a side note, if FCA can drop these Hellcat engines into everything under the sun, why don't they put a Corvette ZR-1 engine into the Escalade and charge $175,000 for it. I am sure they can find 2,000 people a year to buy it and why not take their money.
  12. smk4565
    Who's to say the 2.4 is durable? They used that in the Dart and other cheap cars, those engines probably don't last long either. The Malibu uses a 1.5L turbo and that is a much bigger vehicle than a Renegade and no one seems to care, the Silverado has a turbo 4 now.
  13. smk4565
    I think it is sort of amazing that we now live in a world where the optional engine is a 1.3 liter. That being said it seems to make pretty robust torque at 200 lb-ft for a little vehicle.
  14. smk4565
    Well, it looks like a BMW. I am not a big fan of the digital display behind the steering wheel, it doesn't seem to fit in right. But nothing inside or out looks offensive, they are serving up what the people want, the formula isn't broken so no need to change it.
  15. smk4565
    By that thinking the Toyota Highlander and Cadillac XT4 are competitors. I get that people shop price, I can see the cross shop between an ATS and CLA, or an ATS and C-class. The XT4 will probably get shopped against smaller German SUVs or the GLC/X3/Q5, people probably cross shop the Q3 and Q5 when at the Audi dealer. What people compare and cross shop doesn't matter as much as how does Cadillac win? The only Cadillac that wins is the Escalade (XT5 sells pretty well), and there will be a new Q8, new X7 and new GLS to go with the new Navigator, Alfa Romeo is going to build a 3 row SUV, Jeep has Grand Wagoneer coming, etc. That is getting real crowded really fast and now Rolls, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Ferrari are getting into SUVs.
  16. smk4565
    That is all true as far as your size comparisons go, but when the ATS came out Cadillac said it was an A4/3-Series/C-class competitor. Now you say the CTS is a C-class competitor. So the CTS competes with A4 and 3-series now? The 3 Germans are in the same segment. And if we are assuming that interior space is important, why does the C-class outsell the CTS by roughly 8 to 1in the USA. If Americans want a roomy car and the C-class is $50k and a CTS is $50k, why aren’t people buying a CTS? Cadillac has no vehicle as small as a Q3 or GLA, if they did make an XT3 then I would say it should be front wheel drive because you aren’t going to go over 300 hp on a compact SUV unless you are crazy like AMG is, and if you don’t have high HP you don’t need rear drive. Also with the low weight of a Q3 sort of vehicle you probably aren’t as concerned with body roll and weight balance like you are with a bigger vehicle. I agree because GMC and Buick can do small $30k SUVs. But that means that Cadillac has to find growth by going up market and that is something they have tried and failed at since the Allante in the 80’s.
  17. smk4565
    And yet the ATS and CTS are often cited for having the most cramped interiors in their class. And the 2010-2015 SRX you yourself said had interior space like an X3, even though the exterior size was similar to an X5.
  18. smk4565
    I feel like Elon likes to create a bit of a circus and this one back fired on him but I doubt he really cares either. He is still the majority shareholder and can call the shots. And if he doesn’t get what he wants he’ll probably shut it down and move to Mars.
  19. smk4565
    That is the problem, Cadillac is in the Volvo, Acura price class. And really Acura has those Honda loyalists to fall back on, Volvo has really improved over recent years and seems to have some mojo back. Cadillac is stuck in neutral with Lincoln who can't figure out what they want to be. I see Infiniti falling behind just because their lineup is rather dated, and there is no flagship vehicle of any kind, the Q70 is one of the oldest vehicles on the market, the QX80 might be the only thing older and more dated.
  20. smk4565
    True so why bother with a CT6-V? The CT6 sells about 1/10th the volume a GLC does, I can't imagine they will sell more than 500-1,000 CT6-V's per year globally. They might as well put the CT6 on the LaCrosse platform with a base 3.6 V6 and awd and make the 3.6 TT V6 with AWD the V. Lexus calls the RX 350 with no engine upgrade the F-sport, so a Cadillac can call anything with with 400 hp a V-series.
  21. smk4565
    The advantage is in MSRP. This is the XT5's dimensions: 190″ L x 75″ W x 66″ H Range Rover Velar dimensions: 189″ L x 76″ W x 66″ H And Merc GLE's dimensions: 189″ L x 76″ W x 71″ H The XT5 starts at $40,595 and maxes at $70,095. RR Velar starts at $49,600 and maxes at $94,385. The GLE starts at $52,200 and maxes at $127,925. In all 3 builds I added all the options except for dealer accessories like all weather floor mats, wheel locks, engine block heater, etc. Given those numbers it looks like an easy $10-20,000 price increase by going to rear drive. We can do this with the XT4 also, which is 181″ L x 77″ W x 64″ H Mercedes GLC: 183″ L x 74″ W x 65″ H and Porsche Macan 184″ L x 76″ W x 64″ H The GLC starts at $40,700 and Car and Driver had and as tested GLC63 at $103,300. Porsche Macan starts at $47,800 and I had it up to $127,180 on their configurator and I didn't even check a lot of the boxes. Porsche gets $20,000 per vehicle profit, and they don't do it with front drive and a turbo 4.
  22. smk4565
    They are all AWD, but you need a longitudinal mounted engine with the transmission behind it that can help with weight balance, longer wheelbase, and the ability to send more power to the rear wheels, like 40/60 to the rear for example. If chassis does not matter, then the CT4, CT5, CT6 should all be FWD with an AWD setup (make it standard AWD if they want) in order to save money. They can build the whole line off Cruze and Malibu chassis and save engineering resources.
  23. smk4565
    I agree with Cmicasa’s product line but Cadiallc didn’t do that then and they aren’t going to do it now. This brand doesn’t spend money and I have been saying that for a decade. Even going back to the XLR in 2004, they cut cost all over the place. The argument that sedans need to be rwd for better performance, ride and handling, but the crossovers are fine with front drive makes no sense. If rwd has better ride and handling then you should invest in it on the most popular body style of vehicle. Cadillac sales could be 80% SUV by 2020, why wouldn’t they want the best platform possible on 80% of their product?
  24. smk4565
    Which means they probably won’t be any good.
  25. smk4565
    Auto brands, just like brands in any other industry, operate globally. Cadillac operates in 2 countries and ranks in 6th or 7th place in both of them. I don't see any path for them to do better than that. Cadillac doesn't really have a clear focus or brand image, they haven't for decades. Cadillac was late on crossovers, they'll probably be late on EV's and miss that market when it takes off. I think GM will keep Cadillac around because they'll always find a way for the Cadillac brand to turn a profit. But I see no way for them to turn this brand around.
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