Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

smk4565

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,685

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

 Content Type 

Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    I was also thinking Jeep should build a Wagoneer 3 row suv in the $35k range to compete with the Ascent, Atlas, Explorer, etc with Cherokee level interior and features. Then they need a Grand Wagoneer that is in the $60k range to compete with Yukon and Land Cruiser.
  2. smk4565
    As I said, I would never buy an Alfa, I wouldn't trust them unless they had 15 year bumper to bumper 150,000 mile warranty on it. But it is a global brand, Dodge and Chrysler are not. And Fiat had the money to buy Chrysler so Fiat is the one in charge, and really Sergio shouldn't spend 1 dollar on Dodge or Chrysler product, he should only spend it on Ram pickups and Jeeps because that is what makes profit. Alfa and Maserati should make profit due to the price, but they have zero in sales, but his goal might just be to sell one or both of those brands for a quick cash grab.
  3. smk4565
    But GMC doesn't really add 550,000 new sales, it just takes 550,000 sales off Chevy, which is why Ford outsells Chevy. Granted it takes 550,000 Chevy sales and ups the transaction price which is a profit maker. But what if Cadillac had another 250,000 sales (assuming you take out the pickups and vans at GMC) if they could move those people up to Cadillac and get even bigger prices. GM actually does a really good job with the GMC-Buick sales channel, moving people up from Chevy to there, because I suspect a lot of Buick/GMC buyers are long time GMers that want something nicer than their old Malibu or Equinox but aren't going to buy a luxury brand, and GM has always been a strong SUV company. Where it falls down is getting those Buick-GMC people into Cadillac or getting people from Chevy to Cadillac. A Cadillac should be head and shoulders better than any Denali product, those Denali buyers should dream of having a Cadillac, heck Corvette buyers should want to upgrade to a Cadillac sports car. Daimler doesn't need another brand, they have the Maybach and AMG sub-brands like Denali is, and they can go from entry lux to and move people all the way up to $200,000+ vehicles and million dollar hyper car.
  4. smk4565
    But it does have that Italian flair, and it doesn't have as much baggage as say Lincoln or Cadillac. Although regardless of how fast this thing goes round the Nurburgring, I'd buy a German SUV over this, because I know they are built well, and this thing is a big question mark of reliability and fit and finish.
  5. smk4565
    GMC sells 29% Denali, so that would be 162,000 in 2017. If you factor out Sierra's let's just say it is 100,000 SUVs. That is 100,000 SUVs that could have been sold as a Cadillac at a $5-10,000 premium over what they got for a Denali. I did during bankruptcy think if GMC didn't go the commercial route, they should go 100% Denali, and that Denali should be their standard car to distance itself from Chevy, so a Terrain would base at $35k, Acadia base at $45k, and Yukon be priced equal to Escalade at $80k base and then you can offer an Ultimate package or something to jack the price up more. Or make Denali trim and price the standard, and offer a performance trim like V-series, and get a Corvette V8 in the Terrain, because the Germans will sell you a 500 hp V8 in an SUV the size of the Terrain.
  6. smk4565
    Alfa probably makes more profit than Chrysler and Dodge. Those are fleet sale brands that rely on huge discounts and only sell in North America. Alfa for sure is more valuable if they just tried to sell the brand off to a highest bidder, Chrysler and Dodge are basically worthless, Alfa could fetch a several billion if they sold it. Although I don't know why you would by this over a V8 GLC63, that will actually work and no break down all the time.
  7. smk4565
    Why didn't they make Cadillac their luxury line in the first place instead of product starving it, and trying to clone BMW sedans? During the bankruptcy I thought GMC should have become a commercial truck line, sort of like Ram with their vans or the Ford commercial with Transit and F-series and then all the fleet and commercial sales are in one place. Chevy wouldn't have to do that at all. And Cadillac could have a big product influx of luxury SUVs. But now they are where they are and can't turn back. Cadillac is a mess, but there is no reason GM couldn't figure out a way to make a base Cadillac SUV the equal price of a loaded Denali.
  8. smk4565
    Well yes, they may just get an X4 M, but sport sedan buyers will probably start buying these sport crossovers. I personally will never buy a crossover.
  9. smk4565
    M3 drivers will trade their car in on these as they flee sedans for "active lifestyle" SUVs.
  10. smk4565
    I think a lot of the growth is due to pick ups being more and more expensive, and cars in general being more expensive. BMW and Mercedes have had record sales years the past 4 or so years in the USA, so it isn't like they are losing ground. 25 years ago a Cadillac Eldorado was $32,000, today that is V6 Camry. A lot of people trading luxury sedans are going to luxury SUVs, and the Europeans make a ton of luxury SUVs. I think the Japanese brands are more behind on this trend other than the Lexus RX going strong. And for as much money as GME makes on Denali, I bet if Cadillac had all those SUVs they'd be making even more.
  11. smk4565
    It has an inline 4. ???
  12. smk4565
    I got these a couple months ago, I actually bought through the dealer because they had $150 off any set of 4 tires deal and I think it was about $900 installed for a staggered size 18 inch low profile set. I thought that was pretty good because the Michelin Pilot Sport and Pirelli P-Zero were around $100 more. I think these tires are great, I had Hankook and Pirelli tires in the past, these ride and handle better, and surprisingly I think these do about as well in snow as the Bridgestone Blizzak tires I used to use in winter. I'd recommend the Continentals for sure.
  13. smk4565
    It seems a bit pricey, but I'd have to sit in one and look at the features of it vs the Atlas, Traverse, Pilot, etc. But it seems like a lot for a 4 cylinder SUV and a Subaru.
  14. smk4565
    I've had these as loaner cars, in around town or highway when you are under 3,000 rpm which is most driving you can't hear too much and there isn't any vibration or shake from the engine at any speed really. But north of 3,000 rpm it is kind of harsh and noisy as all 4-bangers are. I think with an inline six this car would be epic. My biggest complaint of the C-class is the electric power steering, in comfort mode it is too light and vague, in sport it feels sharper but also feels sort of stiff, and no matter what mode you put it in, the steering isn't as good as my E550. Airmatic is worth every penny, a brand new Mercedes without ride rides worse than my 10 year old Mercedes with it.
  15. smk4565
    More standard equipment and semi autonomous driving tech is nice. But I'd like to see the 48 volt electric system with the updated 4 cylinder engine.
  16. smk4565
    BMW should make an X9, the world’s first 4 row crossover.
  17. smk4565
    And this is confirmed now, they are skipping it. But who needs it, they just introduced a mid cycle refresh of the C-class and Maybach and an AMG G63 at the Geneva show. Lots of places to show off product, and the USA is the #3 sales market for Mercedes behind Europe and China.
  18. smk4565
    That is true, but you would need a ton of road to get to 145 mph, where as a car with an 8 speed auto can whip through gears and accelerate much faster. That was more my point, the trip from 0-150 in a 4 speed auto is going to be a lot longer than 0-150 with an 8 speed with the same horsepower. And depends on what you do to modify the GTO, if it has a 2015 engine and transmission in it, then of course it would beat a Camry, but a V6 Camry could beat some 80s Ferraris in a drag race, I think the 308 had a 6.4 second 0-60 time, which was lighting for the time, but family car today.
  19. smk4565
    You know, they better make an X8 crossover coupe, preferably with 2 doors but as large as an X7. Because there is no idea too stupid when it comes to crossover sales.
  20. smk4565
    I never built or raced a car, I have had mine to about 125 mph which is does pretty easily, and I forget what gear it was in at the time. I had a GM 4 speed in my last car, you get stuck in those tall gears for way too long. I'll stick with my 7-speed.
  21. smk4565
    But the Model S can seat 5 adults and 2 kids and it has 2 trunks.
  22. smk4565
    150 mph in a 4 speed automatic vehicle? I doubt it, even with a tuned up engine. Unless the custom tranny is a 6 speed at least. But even then, it goes back to my list of 500+ hp vehicles that have 7 or 8 speed transmissions and that is what you need to get an SUV to that speed.
  23. smk4565
    The EV platform design does do wonders for interior space, see any Tesla as proof of that. I know Mercedes will have EVs on a skateboard style chassis with the first on sale in 2019, the Asian car makers seem behind.
  24. smk4565
    Mercedes-AMG did trademark G73 and GLS73, so there should be a version above this G63 coming that will add an electric motor to the V8. I think a wave of high performance SUVs are coming, but 5 years ago I bet you could have counted the number of 150 mph SUVs on one hand.
  25. smk4565
    Agreed and they for sure compete because they are similar size and prize. The GLS has more 3rd row leg room than an Escalade or Navigator, and it beats the Escalade by a wide margin actually because the unibody design. And most people won't know the difference in construction under the sheet metal. What is concerning for the Escalade and Navigator is the Fleetwood and Town Car were once their own category and they died when superior unibody luxury sedans that did everything better ran them out of business. I think Cadillac needs an Omega based SUV in a bad way.
×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search