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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    They might as well focus on turbo V6 crossovers or an overboosted 4 banger with a 48 volt hybrid system for Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5, whatever. They have the R8 because of Lamborghini, an why would they want to step on Lamborghini and Porsche's toes? And sure everyone wants a hypercar, most don't have the know how or guts to pour the money into making it.
  2. smk4565
    That little performance boost is nice and all, but what is the range? I also think if you want to sell electric cars, don't make them look like quirky odd ball cars. Make it look bland like a Honda Accord and watch the sales take off.
  3. smk4565
    It looks a lot like a Macan, maybe that is a good thing since it is sleeker than before, but I feel like it doesn't look all that special either, since it looks like the lower end SUV. Inside looks mostly good, pretty clean, simplistic design, no doubt has the Porsche build quality. Doesn't really look fancy enough for $83k, but Porsche doesn't really do fancy, and their buyers seem to like it. Where is the V8? The $66,750 Cayenne has the exact same 0-60 time as the $67,750 Mercedes GLE43. But an all new GLE comes next year, so game on in Stuttgart.
  4. smk4565
    From November 2015 Autoblog story "According to NADA data cited by AN, trade-in prices for a 2012 FJ Cruiser are holding at over $25,000, compared to their $27,840 sticker price when new. That amounts to a rather incredible 90.8 percent resale value. Some low-mileage examples are even listing for upwards of $50,000; compare that to a Wrangler from the same year that holds a trade-in value of 68.1 percent of its original list price." And Forbes Magazine rated the FJ cruiser as the #1 resale value car in 2015 also.
  5. smk4565
    A smaller than Terrain crossover should have been here already. I do think GMC has huge missed opportunity on an off roader type SUV to compete wth Wrangler or to fill the void left by the FJ Cruiser. The FJ Cruiser holds like 90% of its value when 3 years old, those are still in high demand, because no one builds off roaders.
  6. smk4565
    They need something smaller than Terrain for sure.
  7. smk4565
    MISTAKE! This is a decent looking little crossover, and it would probably outsell the Golf and Jetta if they brought it here. And VW wonders why their sales in the USA are terrible.
  8. smk4565
    GM has bigger holes to fill than crossover coupe, which I myself think is a dumb body style, but crossovers are what people want. I would look elsewhere as I said, but I am just saying Buick could do a 4th crossover, but it would have to be different than the 3 mid sizers GM already has. There are a dozen companies with a crossover at 181-184 inches long and another around 190-192 inches long. Mercedes, BMW and Lexus being 3 of them. Cadillac will soon be one of them, and I bet they want something under XT4. Jeep has 6 SUVs between 166" and 191" and they make it work. They could have like 8 in the space that Buick does Encore to Enclave if they get the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer in production.
  9. smk4565
    80% of GM's sales are crossovers and trucks. By math, if Buick has 2 sedans, they should have 8 crossovers. 8 would be crazy, but Buick could add a Blazer/Acadia/XT5 size vehicle easily, but it would have to be a coupe style crossover, since they already have 3 crossovers that size. I'd build more Cadillac crossovers first though, they need crossovers and go where the margin is.
  10. smk4565
    They could do a Buick version of the Blazer in a coupe-like SUV. There is a lot of space size wise between the Envision and Enclave. And a coupe-like crossover that is Blazer size could fetch Enclave prices, they could even call it Riviera. 2.0T base and 3.6 liter optional, then you get the Regal and Regal GS powertrains in a coupe crossover. Then when LaCrosse dies, you still have 5 products over at Buick.
  11. smk4565
    CUV buyers don't really care about space, they care about sitting higher up and having the image of driving an SUV. Toyota is going to sell 450,000 RAV4 this year, and it isn't like the Rav is winning any cargo capacity or hip and leg room competitions.
  12. smk4565
    Pilot is sorta big, they need something in between CRV and Pilot. Or to downsize the Pilot and do a 3 row full sizer. When you look at Ford they have Ecosport, Escape, Edge, Explorer, Flex, Expedition, Bronco coming soon. They could have 7 SUVs, and they all sell pretty much.
  13. smk4565
    FCA has pension and debt liabilities still too. Something a Chinese car maker probably doesn't have to worry about. Which is what makes the Jeep brand by itself so valuable.
  14. smk4565
    No brainer move, they need another crossover, and mid-size crossover is a huge segment. I think they could get another crossover in between Traxx and Equinox if they really wanted to.
  15. smk4565
    I doubt Dodge or Chrysler get a new product ever again, the Pacifica was probably the last one. If they are still around past 2020, they'll probably get a mild refresh with new trim pieces and the Alfa Romeo turbo 4 as the main engine. Rumor is they can spin off Alfa/Maserati though for $8 billion, if the tis true and Jeep is worth $33 billion, then Chrysler/Dodge/Ram is worth negative $9 billion, which I think is true and why FCA isn't sold yet.
  16. smk4565
    It is possible that they could end up with two R8 70 tsfi with different engines if they had a 536 hp turbo V8 and a 620 hp turbo V10. I think the current R8 is under 500 hp though. Good luck having people tell he difference between an SQ7 55 tdi and an SQ7 60 TSFI.
  17. smk4565
    This is ridiculous, the amount of badging on the back of the car will he put of control, I also think they want to be like AMG and have a 45 or 65 badge. Here is question what happens to a car with 390 hp? That isn't on their scale. Why don't they just put a sticker on the back of the car with the actual horsepower total.
  18. smk4565
    But I think smaller. And no doubt cheaper than a Colorado or Ridgeline. There is opportunity there, not everyone that buys a pick up needs to tow 10,000 lbs or haul ton of bricks in back. $40k for a Tacoma or Colorado isn't uncommon. If Hyundai can sell this at like $20-30k, look out.
  19. smk4565
    I read 4,079 lbs somewhere, then I see Road and Track has 4,255 lbs. Maybe the Euro market is first one, or maybe that was a mess up, I'd like to see what BMW puts on their website when it is all official.
  20. smk4565
    Why does the CTS-V use the same V8 as Chevy? A lot of companies use the same V8 or versions of the same V8 in multiple cars. This car is like 4,070 lbs, that is insane for a V8 all wheel drive mid-size sedan, and the 5-series is a big mid-size sedan. I still give them props for that weight reduction, the 0-60 time beats the E63 and CTS-V. They got some things right, depends on how it drives, the 540i had a poor showing in a comparison with the CTS and E43 last year. Batteries and electric motors would add weight, drive up cost, V12 would be too nose heavy, might not fit, etc. They did the right powertrain here, I am surprised they only got 550 lb-ft of torque, when Mercedes gets 627 lb-ft from a smaller engine. However BMW is know for under rating engines. I think the E63 will still beat this car in all the comparisons, the E-class kills it in interior, and the E63 won't be the fastest Mercedes sedan for very long. The M5 will probably always be the fastest BMW sedan.
  21. smk4565
    The problem with all that is the 200 wasn't competitive with a Malibu, let alone a Camry. To get the 200 competitive with an Acura or Lincoln is a huge leap. The other problem is FCA can't make a good interior. They could have taken the Maserati Ghibli interior and put it in the Dart, and the fit and finish and quality would have still lagged way behind an Accord. The current 300/Charger is beyond saving, that needs a clean sheet redesign, with a new engine line up, the Pentatar is 7 years old, that Hemi is pushing 12 years without a lot of updates. FCA has zero interest in spending the money to do upgrade all that. Sergio just wants to milk out whatever money is left in these dated cars with Hellcat engines. He either has to cut the fat first then sell FCA as a package or sell Jeep first, give Exor the $33 billion and let the of FCA rest collapse.
  22. smk4565
    A very good idea to sell this. I would assume this would be a whole size class below the Colorado/Canyon and like the size of the 80s S10. Which is huge opportunity because no one makes a small pickup.
  23. smk4565
    Sergio is set to retire in 2019, I thought I read somewhere and maybe it was on this site that he is in line for a pretty big bonus if he can sell FCA or parts of it. They spun off Ferrari into a $9 billion business so they aren't opposed to doing that. The problem with a single sale of Jeep is you are stuff with the rest of FCA. And Alfa/Maserati could never make it alone they are too small. I think Sergio is going to everything possible to find a buyer though.
  24. smk4565
    What is really impressive is this car weighs under 4100 lbs. It looks like the M division got some mojo back here. I think the interior looks the same as the previous generation though and even the generation before that. Thumbs up for the super car performance, thumbs down on that interior for $110k.
  25. smk4565
    To sell all of FCA, Sergio would first have to close Chrysler and Dodge. Ram trucks are useless in China or Europe, they probably make sense for a Chinese maker that wants US market sales. Problem with selling Jeep alone is the rest of FCA is worthless. If they sell Jeep now what do they do with the rest of the company? This is like when a baseball team trades a top prospect but makes the receiving team take a dead weight contract.
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