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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The pricing on the Continental is terrible, I just went to their website, the Black Label 2.7L is $70k and there are some options you can add to that. This car is easily $15,000 overpriced for what it is. Probably what Lincoln should do to salvage some of this, is put this car's body, powertrain, interior, and features, etc and shorten overall length by 10 inches and make it the new MKZ, and cut the base price to $37,950 and make the Black Label $49,950 with the 400 hp V6.
  2. smk4565
    Not surprised by this, but what terrible product planning by Ford, and it shows how the car was underdeveloped in the first place. The Continental has zero when it comes to performance, and it doesn't have more luxury, more features or better build quality than anything else that price point, so it has nothing to win on. Plus full size sedan isn't really a growing segment, really a Lincoln the size of the MKZ should be the $50,000 Lincoln and a car smaller than that should be the $35,000 Lincoln. This goes to the overall poor execution of the Lincoln brand. All of their product is a dressed up Ford and people aren't going to pay luxury money for Escape or Fusion under pinnings. Even the new Navigator which they tout as a success gets outsold by an aging Escalade and the really aging GLS. When the BMW X7 hits, the Audi Q8, the new GLS, Navigator sales will drop under 1,000 per month in 2019 and then they'll wait until 2024 to update it, if Lincoln is still around then.
  3. smk4565
    Mercedes isn’t shy about badges, I think they almost overdo it with all the Bi-turbo and 4matic+ badges all over the place.
  4. smk4565
    I think most brand don't write the name out on the back of the car, it is pretty common just to have a badge and the model name/number. But you do wonder if GM is doing it to save $2 per car on a badge, because I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor. But like was said earlier, they don't write Chevrolet on the trunk of the Malibu.
  5. smk4565
    They have probably averaged between 5 and 9 million per year the past 30 years or so. With 100+ years of history and a 5 million average you get to 500 million so that is reasonable.
  6. smk4565
    The Post Office doesn't need full size delivery trucks. The Bolt may be too small, but an EV that is like the size of a Transit Connect should do well, it would have even more cargo room than a gas van of that size.
  7. smk4565
    Ian Callum sure does talk a lot about the S-class, for a guy that says they don't compete with the S-class. I don't get how you make the XJ larger, and make it sportier? Making something bigger, doesn't make it sporty, it does the opposite. They do need to maximize interior room better given the size of the current car, the interior is too small. I think a S63 can out perform an XJR575 right now, and the AMG GT 4-door can for sure can beat anything Jaguar makes. Mercedes already makes what Jag aspires to. I think making the XJ electric only could be the way to go.
  8. smk4565
    Yes they could. If they build that image of building commercial grade trucks they could do both. Volvo builds trucks too. Tesla will also.
  9. smk4565
    Maybe, but the current postal truck is only 175 inches long, it is taller than a Bolt though. Perhaps GM could rebody the Bolt, or if had been a crossover in the first place, they could have had a vehicle that worked. But I know the post office is already pretty deep in the process to replace the current Iron Duke 4-cylinder powered truck.
  10. smk4565
    They should be pitching some version of this to the Post Office for the new delivery vehicle. I was thinking a Transit Connect would be good since it comes in right hand drive and has the cargo space. But the Bolt could be even better because I doubt any postal route is over 100 miles, let alone 200, and the vehicles can charge at night.
  11. smk4565
    Makes sense I am sure the margins are good on them but margins are good on any vehicle that is $150k. Mercedes has an F1 car they can pull electric motors off of, I don’t know how much development they need other than mostly the battery packs which I imagine will consume most of the money.
  12. smk4565
    They could add an electric assist of some sort if people wanted more pulling power or torque. Diesel-electric hybrids work quite well for that sort of thing.
  13. smk4565
    This isn't a bad price, they undercut Tesla and I think the interior is pretty nice on this car. I think it is still a bit pricey given what other performance SUVs are out there for $70,000, had the Jag been priced at $65k I think it would be a lot more successful. With the tax rebate for a couple years it makes it competitive with the $60k range gas SUVs though.
  14. smk4565
    $295,000 for a Range Rover? You could just get a 4 door Range Rover Autobiography for $142,000 and save $150,000 and get the same thing with a back seat you can use.
  15. smk4565
    This isn’t an AMG version of an existing product, this is a new product. It is a 4 door version of the GT sports car, although this doesn’t use the GT coupe/roadster chassis since it is too short, this is amodified E-class platform with AMG GT steering, suspension, engine, etc.
  16. smk4565
    The A-class is new body, new inside, some carry over on engine, the G-wagen is all new, the CLS is you want to call it a modified E-class, sure, it is a variant on existing product, but the GT sedan is a new entrant. No other luxury brand has put out this much in the past year. And this thing does 195 mph and probably is not the fastest version they are making. This is just the starting point.
  17. smk4565
    That's just ugly. But I like what powers it.
  18. smk4565
    What is really impressive here, is that since December, Mercedes has introduced an all new versions of the CLS, A-class, G-class and now this AMG GT 4-door, plus mid-cycle refresh C-class and S-class, and a new Sprinter. They are cranking out new product like crazy.
  19. smk4565
    I am not sure what the point of the 53 is unless that is more of a Chinese market displacement tax thing. Seems though they lots of other cars in the 400 hp range to cover that. The 63 models sound like they will perform just like the 2 door AMG GT, and there is supposed to be a 73 series above this so, I think they can stomp on the Panamera. I think it looks good, but I like the traditional sedans, I am over the 4-door coupe thing.
  20. smk4565
    Mercedes only builds GLE/GLS and C-classes here, they export SUVs back to Europe. They also build cars in China. This is how every car company works, they build cars in multiple countries. GM builds cars and South Korea, China, Mexico, Canada, they used to in Germany and the UK before getting out of Europe. And where do all these Mercedes lease returns go? If the USA is the 3rd biggest selling market for Mercedes, why would they be sending cars to China that already has more Mercedes in it than the USA does? And how expensive is that to load cars on ships and send them around the world.
  21. smk4565
    Look at what pick up trucks are costing now, people can't afford to buy them so they will lease them. Wouldn't surprise me to see 50% lease rate on an F150 in 5 years or so, because when they are hitting $40k, you are looking at an $600-650 a month payment even on a 6 year loan and interest rates are rising.
  22. smk4565
    Or 50% of Mercedes are leased which is down from 53% in 2014 and 6 brands have higher lease rates than them and the market is catching up. Edmunds lease rates
  23. smk4565
    Yeah the GM ignition switch alone was 30 million cars and caused 124 deaths. If we are going to buy cars based on lowest % recalls, get ready to buy a whole lot of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz because they rank 1-2 in lowest recall percentage from 1985-2016. https://clark.com/cars/automaker-best-worst-recall-history-rate/ Forbes Recall story And here is a 2014 Forbes story that doesn't include Porsche data for some reason that looks back to cars registered since 1980 and Mercedes is #1. Forbes article Best or Nothing as always.
  24. smk4565
    I don't get why they didn't put the plug in hybrid system on the V8. This is pointless.
  25. smk4565
    Not that I am a big fan of total volume of an irregular shaped cabin which could have variable usable space but: EPA website says the C43 has 90 cubic feet of room vs the ATS's 91 (with a 3 cu ft larger trunk in the C-class) E-class: 98 cubic feet CTS: 97 cubic feet S-class: 112 cubic feet CT6: 110 cubic feet
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