smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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Yes they are hot now, my point was Cadillac is late to the SUV party, the XT4 isn’t at dealers yet and XT6 is at least a year out. You have BMW and Audi still bringing more SUV’s even though they have 5 or 6 already. I don’t think there is such thing as too many sadly. I do think there is room above the Escalade, that is where Cadillac needs to go more so than below the XT4. Really you could put 2 SUV’s above the Escalade if one was ultra luxury and the other was a Lamborghini Urus fighter.
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A 4-cylinder rear drive 5-Series starts at $53,000. No way can they price a CT5 there. Cadillac should be going for Genesis G70/G80 pricing. And yes they need more SUVs, I don’t know what is taking so long, SUVs were hot 5 years ago.
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True, but you can't buy a CTS right now for 3-series money. The original CTS was the only one that sold well because it was probably even cheaper than the Lexus ES of the time, the other mid-size car for 3-series money that sold well. So what do they do with CT4/CT5 this time around? The current ATS/CTS are dead in the water regardless of what you compare them too, neither sell.
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Right, so Cadillac should promote space and comfort, not handling, chassis dynamics, and how much weight savings they got out of the Omega platform, because no one cares what the car weighs except people that go to track days. I don't think I ever heard an XT5 ad saying it was the roomiest SUV in its segment, and I don't know if a Lexus RX is roomier or not, and I don't really care to look it up. But then they run the risk of getting into comparisons with an Acura MDX or Buick Enclave or Toyota Highlander even that all have more cargo space than an XT5 and 3-row seating. Different attributes are going to attract people to a particular car. The Mustang sells well, and it has no cargo room and a near useless back seat and doesn't work in snow, but people don't care. But the Mustang has a clear image and clear advertising, Cadillac hasn't had that clear focus for decades, maybe they did in the Led Zeppelin advertising era, but it has been a long while.
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Correct, as I said the ATS dimensions are 183" x 71" x 56" and a 2013 3-series dimensions are 183" x 71" x 56". And that generation 3-series was on sale during the ATS's development, I don't think it was an accident that the ATS has the exact same dimensions as a 3-series.
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No they aren't. The ATS's dimensions are 183″ L x 71″ W x 56″ H. When it went on sale the C-class dimensions were 180.8 x 69.7 x 56.3 in. The ATS was slightly larger at the time and they bragged about how the weight was less than a 3-series or C-class, when the CTS came out they said it is lighter than a 5-series and the CTS-V would have more power than the M5. I don't remember Cadillac saying the CTS-V was an M3competitor. If they want to play the mid-size vehicle at small size price (which I do think is a smart strategy for them) then they need to market it that way and price it that way. CT4 needs to be $32,000 and CT5 at $40,000.
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Cargo room in the Encore 48.4 cubic feet, GLC 56.5 cubic feet, XT5, 63 cubic feet. Encore legroom Front/Rear: 40.8/35.75 inches GLC: 40.8/37.3 inches Encore shoulder room front/rear: 54.2/52.5 GLC: 57.3/56.5 inches So the GLC is roomier. And you can buy a GLC that is faster than a Corvette Grand Sport. Mercedes isn't trying to sell cubic foot per dollar, they sell technology and performance. No one ever said Mercedes is the value play in luxury, they are usually the most expensive car in the segment, but you get what you pay for.
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So why not just back to selling size and space for Cadillac? Make the XT4 the size of an X3 or GLC but $6,000 cheaper, make the XT5 the size of an X5 for a $10k discount, make the CTS/CT5 a mid-size sedan at 3-series money, the CT6 is already a full size car for mid-size money, make the CT4 $29k. At least it would be a strategy they could go all in on and market and promote. Their line up can't decide whether it's wants to be a Lexus fighter, a Lincoln fighter or a Nurburgring conquerer.
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The XT4 is 8 inches longer than a GLA, 2 inches shorter than a GLC. Perhaps it will size up well with the new GLB, which rumor is may have a 3rd row, which I imagine that will be a segment exclusive. Bottom line is Cadillac could easily do an SUV smaller than the XT4.
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They are in that sense, but the XT5 is the largest of the group, not that that is a bad thing for people that want room, but there is also an X5, GLE, Q7 sitting on top of those cars that Cadillac is totally ignoring a whole segment.
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Nice effort from the ATS there. And that is with price on their side. This is why I don't see what they can do with the CT4 to correct that sales result. And let's remember the USA is only the 3rd best sales market for the C-class and 3-series. China 2017 sales: C-class: 129,258 3-series: 123,206 ATS: 55,682 Europe 2017 sales: C-class: 176,915 3/4-series: 129,053 + 64,710 = 193,763 All Cadillacs: 916
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Because there is only 1 crossover in a Cadillac showroom vs 3-4 in any of the German showrooms. Add up X1, X2, X3, X5, X6 put together and that is no contest, likewise if you add GLC and GLE together. This year in China the GLC has outsold the XT5 63,411 to 40,827. The Germans aren't short on volume, worldwide they are top 3 by a wide margin. New Escalade if they go with twin turbo V6 and the twin turbo V8 out of the CT6 V-sport and I heard independent rear suspension is coming they could have strong contender. But everyone else will have a strong contender too. I also think there is room way above the current Escalade for an SUV in the $150-200,000 range.
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Very good points and even the CTS has a small back seat for how large a car it is. With the CTS’s wheelbase there should be XTS level room in that car. I wonder what % of Cadillac buyers are men, vs BMW or Audi buyers? Because I feel like Cadillac appeals more to men, who on average are taller than women, so that leg room complaint comes up more often. And yes the Alfa Romeo is the performance champ and it has over 500 hp. The ATS-V is down on power, needs a V8.
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Maybe Cadillac needs to have a better grasp on what the buying public wants. They totally missed on crossovers, Lexus has 4 SUVs and is still missing a good 3 row so they rushed out a 3 row RX. Really you need 5 SUVs in today’s world to compete because sedans aren’t selling. Cadillac thought the ATS would conquest 3-Series sales, it didn’t happen, adding $10,000 to the CTS and moving it up market was a mistake. Traditional Cadillac buyers have never heard of the Nurburgring so they didn’t care about handling, but that is what Cadillac tried to sell. The only successful Cadillac in the past 10 years has been the Escalade and that is partly because SUVs are on fire, and there has been little competition in that segment, but now the Navigator is back, new GLS, X7, Q8 are coming, Tesla has the Model X, Bentley and Rolls are in the SUV game, etc. That market will get crowded fast.
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And yet they refuse to rename the Escalade, so they don’t have to rename anything. If the CT4 is just a refreshed ATS with a new name that product will fail.
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If the ATS and CTS aren’t failures why are both getting cancelled? Both are slow sellers, compare an ATS to 3-Series sales as that was their original target. CTS is under 1,000 units a month and it is a car with very little international volume. Both combined sell less than the CTS did in 2006 and the market has grown since then. Model 3 was a procruon disaster before but it won’t be by the time either of these cars hit the market.
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All true, but sedans are sitting on dealer lots, not flying off them. Cadillac has had criticism to make an interior on par with Audi for like 20 years and hasn't done it yet, so I don't expect that to change. If the Alpha platform continues on, where do you get interior space? Maybe they do new engines, they have the 4.2 V8, I would 100% drop that in a CT4-V, if you want to battle AMG you better bring the V8s. But then you have to battle Tesla, so you need EV's at some point too Most car companies say how they will have dramatic, cutting edge styling to attract buyers, Hyundai just made that claim too, and it never happens. First off, all these cars are designed in a wind tunnel, secondly they have to meet pedestrian impact standards so all the hoods are the same height, then they have to side impact crash tests so the belt line gets high, etc So I don't really know what the CT4 and CT5 will do to succeed where the ATS, CTS and STS all failed. What is different this time around?
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Probably true, they could price the CT4 at $24,900 and the Equinox would outsell it 3 to 1 because it is a crossover. Bringing 2 new sedans to a market that isn't buying sedans isn't really a path to success, unless their sedan is insanely good. Plus you have the Tesla Model 3 now on sale sucking up market share like crazy in this price range.
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Lincoln News: Lincoln Wants More Standalone Dealers
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Lincoln
Maybe Lincoln should produce stand alone cars, and not just badge jobs of Ford Fusions, Edges and Escapes. The Fusion is getting killed because it isn't good enough to compete with the Camry, and yet Lincoln built their top end Continental off it. Doesn't matter what building they sell these Lincolns in, they aren't good cars. -
Maybe he will do it, I don't know how much more money he has to increase his ownership stake, but I am sure he can also find some other firm to buy uptake shares and Elon can take even greater control doing what ever he wants. One day Elon will hide 5 Golden Tickets in Tesla cars to be sold over a 3 month period, and those 5 individuals will get a factory tour and tour of Elon's office, in which one of those five will inherit his fortune at the end.
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Subaru News: Import Tariffs Will Cause A 'Big Impact' At Subaru
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Subaru
Audi for example could leave the US market and still sell 1.75 million cars a year and still make a lot of money. But that just takes away one choice for the American consumer and the fewer choices people have the lazier automakers can get or the more money they can charge. And what if a Chinese company bought GM? It would only cost like $50 billion and Disney just paid $71 billion to get 20th Century Fox and some tv networks. These corporations have massive money and can just buy things. Then do you say the Chinese make all the profits but we will tariff Subaru and kill American jobs. -
Subaru News: Import Tariffs Will Cause A 'Big Impact' At Subaru
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Subaru
I agree with defelt, if you only had cars for sale in the US that were made in the US you would have a narrow selection of products. Each auto maker would cut half their line and just build 4 products and you’d just have to go with it, sort of how cars were in Comminist Russia. With all this import tariff talk, the Silverado quad cab is made in Mexico, how would GM like a $10,000 tax on top of the Silverado, seems like that would hurt sales and cost jobs at Chevy dealers. The whole industry will get screwed if these tariffs go into effect. -
Buick News: GM Seeks An Exemption To Exclude Buick Envision from Tariffs
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Buick
Wait, Toyota still has the Yaris on sale? That list is littered with Cadillac and Buick’s because they over built and the sales were dismal. You don’t see any BMW, Audi or Mercedes or Acura or Lexus sedans on that list so it goes beyond “people just don’t buy sedans anymore.” The ATS all around isn’t a good enough product to drive demand, plus it doesn’t say BMW on it, so people don’t want it. Cadillac’s biggest problem is image. Take away the product and say “I drive a Cadillac” “I drive a BMW” or “I drive a Tesla” and which seems like the most envious statement? For the most part, people don’t want Cadillacs, they buy them because they “got a deal” and can feel some sense of victory in getting $10,000 off sticker. -
Buick News: GM Seeks An Exemption To Exclude Buick Envision from Tariffs
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Buick
Uh, no. The Chinese auto industry is bigger than the American auto industry. Buick is here because of China and I think GM sold more cars in China than it did in the USA last year. GM would have gone bankrupt again if Obama took away their Chinese business.- 71 replies
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Sales: Sales Figure Ticker: July 2018
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Sales Figure Ticker
Amazon lost money in 2014, how are they doing today? The Model 3 is in the top 10 selling cars now, and Tesla is still a mess, they could make huge market gains. They could also go bust, but I seem to think they will start selling 250,000 Model 3's a year and once they get a crossover version they'll sell 250,000 of those too.
