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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The Q50 and Q70 come in all wheel drive now. This sounds like they want to take an Altima and add electric motors to the rear and call it an Infiniti Q70. Good luck with that.
  2. smk4565
    GM doesn’t split car and truck.
  3. smk4565
    The S-class is outselling the A8 at more than a 10 to 1 margin. Audi needs to waive the white flag.
  4. smk4565
    I heard Peter DeLorenzo on Autoline After Hours say how BMW was lost or dead in the water or something, but they outsold Mercedes last month and their cars were up 10% even though 2 of their cars aren't really cars.
  5. smk4565
    I think doing the dealer bonuses based on quarterly performance rather than monthly makes more sense so there isn't that short term drive to dump cars to hit a number. How often you report them I don't think matters as much as how often you put incentives to dealers for sales.
  6. smk4565
    They either hit up the fleets or had some crazy lease deals on Encore, Equinox and Terrain, those three exploded. If the new Regal is on sale, they have a problem. The Cadillac sedans seems to have stabilized at their current level.
  7. smk4565
    Huge month for Buick, Mazda, Jeep and VW, they must all be doing the happy dance Let’s see what Alfa does when they aren’t coming off a sales base of 900 units.
  8. smk4565
    I saw a Nissan Titan today (the new one) and it made me think of the XT4. Because Nissan didn't really do anything ground breaking to steal sales off the established Silverado and F150, and I see the XT4 as the same, way. It can easily get lost in the shuffle of all these other entry lux crossovers. The Germans are the establishment, Lexus has that core buyer base, the new Volvos have the looks and the powertrain, I don't see Cadillac's big advantage.
  9. smk4565
    I think automakers could hit the standard with more electrification, which would make cars more expensive, but they can price war it out and cut profits if they wanted, none of these car makers are hurting. That being said I could see keeping the 54 mpg standard but pushing it back to 2030 to give carmakers more time. I also think adding a 25 cent per gallon federal gas tax would promote fuel efficiency better than CAFE, and we need tax revenue to pay roads since the Gov't has such a ridiculous deficit. And that being said, what the EPA wants to do doesn't matter because California doesn't want to play this game. California will win any legal battle because CARB was there first, and there is ZERO PERCENT chance that car companies make a car they can't sell in California (or states with it's emission laws) because 1/3rd of all new cars are under California rule, no one is throwing away 1/3 of their volume.
  10. smk4565
    I don't get why they went with that DCT, vs doing a transverse 7G-Tronic. Older A-classes had a CVT, no doubt that sucked. Perhaps they will refine the DCT for the next generation A-class/GLA/GLB/CLA, but like I said I never drove a CLA to know what it is like. The 7G-Tronic is near telepathic, and I am sure the new 9 is even better.
  11. smk4565
    I don't know why they can't just use "R" for the high performance. SVR is the same thing with more letters.
  12. smk4565
    I always figured they used the DCT for fuel economy as the CLA gets 38 mpg highway and doing some digging I found Mercedes said the DCT had a 9% fuel economy gain of the previous A-class. But the 7G-Tronic torque converter automatic is a better transmission even if it is heavier and not as good on gas, it has driveability. XT4 is 9 inches longer than a GLA, 1 inch shorter than a GLC. And you can get 503 hp in a GLC for plenty of scoot.
  13. smk4565
    The CLA/GLA problem sounds more from the DCT transmission which I don’t know why they use in the first place rather than the fried and true 7-speed auto that they used from 2003 - 2018, and the 9-speed has replaced it in most cars now. The GLC and C-class don’t have the lag and acceleration problems, a GLC300 can out accelerate a Terrain, not like it matters in that segment.
  14. smk4565
    I know you can tune an engine to any power level (within reason) but reliability and NVH go out the window if you extract more power than you should from an engine. I have never driven a CLA, so I don't know what the turbo lag is like, but the M270 has a twin scroll turbo and makes 258 lb-ft @ 1,200 rpm so I can't imagine it is that bad. And the M274 which is the sister engine to the CLA used in the C-class and GLC has very little lag and you don't really notice the turbo at all plus it won a Ward's 10 best engine award in 2017. 375 hp/350 lb-ft now. And that is probably going up in 2019 with the new A-class line. Although I think it pointless to increase it. If you want more power buy an AMG C-class. Interesting thing is they are planning an A35 with like 300 hp which could be a sweet spot for that car.
  15. smk4565
    True, good thing someone is the BEST at doing that.
  16. smk4565
    Plastic on the rear bumper yeah, not all over the place. The Q5 has way less plastic on it than an XT4. And if Cadillac has an exclusive 4 cylinder (which is sort of a waste of R&D dollars unless it runs super quiet or something) why does it make less power than an Chevy 4-cylinder? Cadillac has 258 lb-ft at 1,500 rpm? Mercedes GLC makes 273 lb-ft at 1,300 - 4,000 rpm BMW X3 makes 258 lb- ft at 1,450 - 4,800 rpm Audi Q5 273 lb-ft at 1,600 - 4,500 rpm Not surprised by who has the most torque at the lowest RPM
  17. smk4565
    I am waiting for the Cadillac electric crossover line, XTE1, XTE2, XTE3, XTE4, XTE5, XTE6, or maybe it will be EXT1, EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, EXT5, EXT6. One day they will make a car called the CTE.....
  18. smk4565
    Cadillac needs at least XT1, XT2, XT3, XT4, XT5, XT6, XT7, XT8 to compete with BMW's X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7 and likely future X8, and Audi's Q1, Q2, Q3, Q5, Q7, Q8 and rumored future Q4 and potential Q6. Buick should add the Rainier, a Tahoe based SUV plus a Bolt based crossover called Rendezvous. And then turn the Lacrosse into a 4-door crossover coupe called the Lacrossover CC, and then do a convertible crossover based on the Equinox called the Velite. That would give Buick 7 crossovers. GMC needs a sub Terrain crossover, a Wrangler competitor, Bronco competitor, and at 2 crossover coupes and a 2-door sweeping roofline Yukon. Chevy is adding the Blazer, they cancel the Spark, Volt and Bolt and replace all 3 with crossovers of equal size and powertrain. The Impala can be turned into Chevy's crossover 4-coupe with retro styling, turn the Camaro into a performance crossover with a 500 hp V8 to take on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. That would add 6 more crossovers to the Chevy line. Dodge and Chrysler it is too late for, Give Jeep a sub-Renegade SUV, rebabage the Journey and Durango to Jeep as the Liberty and Wagoneer, then add a Grand Wagoneer lux model, add a Jeep Commander sports crossover coupe based on the Stelvio or Levante.
  19. smk4565
    Same as it ever was. Looks like the previous one, I get they don't want to scare away the loyalists, but this looks pretty forgettable and already looks dated before it is even on sale.
  20. smk4565
    I think the number of crossovers is nuts and the NY show was all about crossovers, yet people keep buying these things. One day the Corvette and Mustang will become crossovers to boost sales, the marketing folks will think this is a good idea.
  21. smk4565
    I recommend every manufacturer make at least 10 crossovers. Starting at 160 inches long and going up every 5 inches to 205 inches long.
  22. smk4565
    I think Ridgeline and this VW would do well with an exceeded cab version that either wasn't as big or gave a longer bed. Because not everyone needs a 4 door pickup. I am sure since the Ridgeline is built off a 4 door SUV platform there are some things that are hard to change, but VW builds a Golf and Jetta off the Atlas platform so it is pretty freaking flexible. I am sure they don't want to build 10 different body styles, but I think 2 body styles a 4-door and a 2 door would make sense. and on a 2 door with just 1 row of seats and maybe a little storage area behind them, you can get the price nice and low to attract value buyers.
  23. smk4565
    The XT4 has Pontiac Montana level plastic body cladding on it, I don't know what GM's obsession with this stuff is. Someone asked before why did they detune the engine to 237 hp. My thoughts are that in a year or 2 we'll see a 265 hp turbo 4 on the Platinum models, as a way to persuade you to spend more money to get the extra 28 hp that should have been there in the first place.
  24. smk4565
    They did the ILX for $26k or whatever it was, I could see that CDX coming here for $29,990 or something. These mini crossovers seem to be a hot item, I bet the CDX comes here in time.
  25. smk4565
    Corolla CrossTour sounds good, maybe Corolla High Roof Cross, the CHRC.
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