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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Looks like GM fired him, but did him a solid by not saying he was fired just that he is leaving to pursue other interests to make it seem like Johan's choice to leave. I have said from the beginning that this guy was not the answer, Audi has done better since he left, Infiniti did better since he left, Infiniti's QX40, QX50, QX60 name scheme is just as stupid as Cadillac's XT4, XT5, XT6. This guy is clueless, and was lucky to be a market president of Audi when Audi got their act together at the home base, it wasn't like he was in charge of product planning, he just had to sell what Germany gave him. As far as Cadillac goes, I think the problem they have is every few years there is new management and they blow it up and start over. It is like the Cleveland Browns of the car world.
  2. smk4565
    Dealers are already selling out of their Urus allotments and the thing doesn’t even arrive for 6 months. It will be their best seller for sure. The CTS thing is exactly my point, the CTS should have stayed a 3-Series fighter and they should have had a new product above it. Same with Escalade, it should stay at its current price and a new SUV should go above it.
  3. smk4565
    Could be, I think they will build it but the cost will be high and sales will be low and it will be a one and done.
  4. smk4565
    Car and Driver claims the mid engine Corvette will have a 5.5 liter DOHC flat plane crank V8 that revs to 9,000 rpm with 600 hp as an option. They do want to copy a Ferrari 488 it seems.
  5. smk4565
    They'll top 1,000 Urus's easy, I think Lambo will double their worldwide volume of 3,500 units, Urus will easily be their top selling model. Ferrari is going to make an SUV too, Bentley has one. The Escalade needs a $10k price cut to compete with Navigator, but they are going to magically raise the price $20,000 for the new one? That is in effect $30k more than the current sale price. I don't see it happening, they tried to push the CTS up 20% in price and sales collapsed. I think a model better than Escalade is needed, leave the Escalade where it is. But if they want to make a base Escalade $125,000 with a $200,000 V-sport to go against the G-wagen bring it on. And good for Cadillac if they do it, if you can take a Tahoe and charge and extra $70k then take the money and run.
  6. smk4565
    Not going to happen. The ZR1 is about 600 lbs heavier than the AMG and that is before you putt batteries and electric motors in. The Bolt's battery pack is 960 lbs, even with 1/3 of it you are talking 320 lbs of battery. They would need to take 1,000 lbs of weight out of a current Corvette to get the weight in check before adding Secondly, the Corvette has road car suspension (finally dumping the leaf springs for coils in the mid-engine model), not Formula 1 car suspension. And the AMG can generate 500 lbs more downforce than a 2019 Corvette ZR1with the huge rear wing. And the AMG has active aero and DRS because it doesn't have a fixed rear wing. Thirdly, even with the new 5.5 liter DOHC flat plane crank V8 with turbos the horsepower is about the same as the AMG 1.6 liter V6. And the Bolt's EV motor spins at a max 8,810 rpm, the AMG electric motor spins at 50,000 rpm, so Chevy has some EV motor work to do.
  7. smk4565
    No, I am just saying tracks like Willow Springs and VIR favor high horsepower straight line ability cars. The Corvette does well on both, on the tracks less powerful cars post quicker times than the Corvette. The E63 is the fastest sedan ever around VIR, but it isn't the fastest sedan on the Nurburgring for the same reason. Lots of straight line power but it is a big sedan to get through corners quicker than an M3 or Guilia or something.
  8. smk4565
    Not now, but in 2019 they will. And it is a conventional looking crossover which is what buyers want, and I think arriving at the right time.
  9. smk4565
    VIR is a power circuit that favors straight line speed. The Corvette Z06 beats the AMG GT R there, but is slower around the Nurburgring. The Nurburgring is the great equalizer and exposes all flaws. And every track this car goes on, the record will fall. I can't wait.
  10. smk4565
    It is, and when does this Buick go on sale? And it isn't like Mercedes is offering one level of electric horsepower, there will be AMG electric cars.
  11. smk4565
    I don't mean a higher trim Escalade, I mean a vehicle above Escalade. Something like a Lamborghini Urus competitor with more luxury than an Escalade and more performance than a CT6 V-sport. And maybe Escala will become a $150,000 base price SUV, I dunno, but I think if Cadillac wants to march upward, then SUV is where you do it.
  12. smk4565
    I think the body looks ugly, but sign me up for the powertrain all day long. 550 hp, 40 minute recharge and 370 mile range is impressive stuff.
  13. smk4565
    The 2019 ZR1 did it in 7:12, the GT3 RS which is less powerful than a GT2 RS did it in 6:56. Motor1 All of this is meaningless since the AMG Project One is targeting 6:10 and then all this chasing lap times stuff ends since no one is getting down near 6 minutes with a road car.
  14. smk4565
    The Escalade is a cash cow no doubt, I just don’t see it being 11% of GM’s total profit, though I would guess it has the highest per vehicle margin of any GM product. I don’t know they never went above the Ecalade, why did they stop? Cadillac could easily have an SUV In the $125-175,000 range. Go above the Navigator and make it 2nd rate.
  15. smk4565
    That was a lot of ranting but I don’t get how a sub $100k AMG only Model is a bad thing. And you can spend $60k on a Camaro or Mustang and it will still have the same rental car interior as the one at the Orlando airport Hertz lot. And it is about driving dynamics. The 755 hp Corvette ZR1 is slower around the Nürburgring than the 577 hp AMG GT or the 520 hp 911 GT2 RS. And the Porsche is like 15-20 seconds faster, it isn’t even close. I think to have a business case for an entry level AMG you start with a 330 hp turbo 4 around $55k and use the 430 hp turbo 6 around $65k. And no V8 because you want to keep the car small to compete with Audi TT, Cayman, etc. AMG could go the other way too and make something above the GT but below Project One, but they’ll sell like 500 a year so why bother. I think Moers wants to attack Porsche at every segment and not Ferrari.
  16. smk4565
    Escalade over the past 4 years has averaged high 30,000s in sales, even with a few export sales, let's call it 40,000 units. They would have to make $25,000 profit per unit to hit $1 billion. I know it is made of Silverado parts, but that still seems like a big margin on an $85,000 vehicle. Pre $10,000 discount, maybe. But if the Escalade is responsible for $1 billion in profits, why did GM post a $330M profit for 2017 when factoring out the European sale/loss. GM posted a $3.88B loss in 2017. Even on 2015-2016 numbers where GM had a $9B profit, I find it hard to believe that the Escalade is 11% of their profit when it is less than 1% of their global sales volume.
  17. smk4565
    The SLC43 is $61,000, so I think they can get in that range with the inline six. The SLC is too small, and it isn't really a pure sports car, it is more like a comfort cruiser convertible, but it isn't that comfortable. The C-class convertible fills that role better. They are for sure dropping SLC, so that does make room for a mini AMG GT.
  18. smk4565
    Agree. If AMG does an entry level sports car I would expect a $55k base price like the 718/Cayman. That could use the forthcoming 2 liter turbo with rumored 330 hp as a base engine and the 430 hp inline six as the range topper at like $70k. This would be a 2 seat hardtop I imagine. An E-class buyer isn’t going buy a 2 seat sports car unless it is a second car, So really just the C43 and C63 sit in that price point and most of those are sedans and even the coupe has a back seat and isn’t a pure sports car. I think AMG would get the sales off top end Camaro/Mustang, POW end Corvette, Porsche 718, Nissan GT-R owners that got priced out with the increases, the 57 people that bought an Alfa 4C, etc. And let’s face it, most car companies are fleeing sports cars and coupes altogether, so AMG may not have a lot of competition left in 2022 if this car arrives then.
  19. smk4565
    Agreed. And when the new GLS and new X7 hit the market in the fall or winter they’ll have $10k off Escalades for all.
  20. smk4565
    Good points, there could be enough demand and volume for it. And from a cost standpoint, AMG is designing the chassis for the next SL, they can share that with generation 2 of the GT, and use a version for a Porsche 718 competitor. That helps economies of scale, and they have all the powertrain stuff already done, so it wouldn’t cost that much they do this car.
  21. smk4565
    I bet a bi-turbo V6 would fit in a Metris or Sprinter, and the high performance van sector is rather under served. I could see a Hellcat Promaster rival entering the space as well. I don't know if they really need a Boxster/Cayman fighter, that is a pretty small segment, you have the new Supra/Z4 but those will be cheaper, the Corvette is in that mid-price sports car market too, and Jaguar F-type, but there isn't a ton of volume in the $50-80k sports car segment.
  22. smk4565
    Gotta build there to sell there. Audi sold around 600,000 cars there last year.
  23. smk4565
    Also interesting is a 2007 S5550 had 382 hp, 391 lb-ft. Today the S560 has 463 hp and 516 lb-ft. While Lexus Has at 415/442. They are falling behind although the gap was worse in 2016 they still had that torqueless V8 in the LS460
  24. smk4565
    354 hp and 415 hp is a whole lot of yawn for a full size sedan. They need more power.
  25. smk4565
    Because Jaguar-Land Rover are one company with one dealer channel. Right now Land Rover has 6 SUVs and Jaguar has 3, that is 9 SUVs in one dealership and this will be the 10th. Cadillac is a stand alone dealer and luxury car line and luxury truck line of GM.
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