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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    26% of GM sales are cars, 74% is truck/van/crossover. GM has too many sedans, and the sedans they have aren't good enough to fight off the competition.
  2. smk4565
    CTS used to sell 50-60,000 per year, now it is under 10,000 a year. GM is a volume car maker, they look for big numbers not niche players in a mid size sedan segment. I could see it getting the axe and CT6 staying ATS growing in size but not price and becoming CT4.
  3. smk4565
    Interesting that Johan says no plan to cancel the CT6, he didn't defend any of those other cars which I think sort of confirms they are history at the end of their life cycles. I hear team owners say the head coach is safe and they have full confidence in him and a week later the coach is fired too. I suspect Cadillac will go to 2 sedans. I have said for years they need rear drive Alpha and Omega based crossovers. Oldshurst has made great points. Here is why sales matter. These sedan segments are shrinking. Just like minivans shrank and if you weren't top 3 or 4 it was hard to survive. GM, Ford and Hyundai got out of minivans because sales fell. Chevy and Ford look like they'll get out of full size sedans, Cadillac may get out of mid size sedans. These segments just can't support 8 or 9 players, the strong survive the weak give up and focus somewhere else.
  4. smk4565
    Yes, Porsche is so poor, they bought 52% of Volkswagen. The world's largest car manufacturer.
  5. smk4565
    The sales charts tell the story. The 3-series has grown sales. The C-class and E-class both sell more than they did 10 years ago and they didn't even have a GLK/GLC back then. So they survived the move to crossover without losing sedan business. As far as Porsche 911 goes, that car alone might make more profit than the whole Cadillac line, or Acura or Lincoln line. They make over $20,000 per car profit on the 911. CTS and ATS sales are so far down, they could kill both and bring out a new crossover and no one would care, they'd make more money.
  6. smk4565
    The Regal GS is competing with the Avalon, Camry V6 Maxima, Chrysler 300, etc that all have 300 hp V6s for less money. And a Kia Stinger that has 370 hp and rear drive for similar money. The Stinger does 0-60 in the 4's. We sort of forgot about the Alfa Romeo Guilia that is also $40k and in base trim easily can out perform a Regal GS. And the Alfa isn't really selling all that great, and look at how good a car it is.
  7. smk4565
    The Camry ES is the LaCrosse's closest competitor at Lexus, and the Lacrosse is brand new, the ES has been around. If the new Camry spawns an all new ES350, that will probably help make GM's decision to kill the LaCrosse in 2019 even easier. Lexus sedans are in trouble too though.
  8. smk4565
    The Omega chassis doesn't have enough global volume. The profit margins probably aren't so high on the CT6 when other big sedans sell for $30,000 more. So if there isn't a change in the formula the CT6 and that chassis are dead. They need an Omega based crossover to get the volume. But when Cadillac can rebadge and Enclave and sell it for $60k and they have the Escalade, will product planners want to spend money on an Omega crossover? Chevy and GMC could each take on 2 more crossovers, that is 4 products that they could build in Hamtramck. But you also have to wonder if you even need more styles of crossovers? Crossovers are so homogeneous between brands and buyers don't care, car companies can limit choices and the people will still buy them.
  9. smk4565
    Could merge into one product, but they need a cheap entry level car to compete with Versa, Accent, Fiesta, whatever Mitsubishi there is. The Versa starts at like $11,800. So they keep the cheap Spark, it is made in South Korea with cheaper labor. Then the Cruze becomes the middle, Malibu the top. 3 Sedan/Hatch type cars is enough, because they have the Camaro too.
  10. smk4565
    I don't really care what they price the GS at, I am just saying that at that price point not many will buy it. The $25,000 base Regal I think is very well priced. And the GM fans want to say, it doesn't matter if it is low volume, it is a niche product, or they think it will sell because it beats the German 3. But we heard that about the Pontiac G8, its dead, the Chevy SS is dead too. The LaCrosse/Impala/XTS are on the chopping block. People keep saying how good the XTS V-sport is, or how the LaCrosse is a Lexus beater, but all these sedans are failing.
  11. smk4565
    What does a 10 year old Buick with 135,000 miles sell for? The GS model saw a $3,500 price increase. $36,450 for a 2017 AWD Regal GS. If they cut the price on that $2,000 and priced this car at $34,450 rather than $39,990 I wouldn't have much issue with it.
  12. smk4565
    Yep. Because the BMW or Mercedes will hold value, the Regal won't be able to offer lease rates like that, and they'll probably end up on Avis lots wrecking resale value.
  13. smk4565
    But the German trio are luxury brands with cache. The 3/4-series and C-class have a lot of volume, people are willing to pay $50k for a 4-cylinder version of either of those cars. The previous Regal GS was a sales dud, so they raised the price $2,000??? Doesn't make sense.
  14. smk4565
    This is an A4 interior, yes it won't have a lot of bells and whistles at $40k, but there are still options on top of the GS that can run the price up too. I'd love to see a Nurburgring lap time for the Regal GS. Question is does the Regal GS offer more luxury and performance than the LaCrosse that is equal price? Does it offer more than the Maxima, TSX, Volvo S6, MKZ? Kia Cadenza has Buick level luxury and a 290 hp V6. And pretty much all the cars on that list are slow sellers.
  15. smk4565
    Going one by one here: The Impala/LaCrosse/XTS trio are dropping now, that market isn't coming back, by 2019 sales will be so small on that trio there will be no reason to continue with any of them. And they are all related, so they all die together. The Sonic is another hurting car in a hurting segment. With the Spark at the bottom, they can import from Korea for the few that they sell. Cruze and Malibu can eat the volume just as Honda gets by with Civic and Accord. The Volt they can drop, because post 2020, many cars will be a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. So the technology stays, but they can put that tech in a Malibu, Equinox, Traverse, etc. CT6 could be dropped, but I'd be surprised to see them drop the Omega platform. Unless Omega can't support a crossover, then even with CTS moving to it and CT6, that isn't enough volume to make the platform viable, and they can just keep building the CTS off the Alpha chassis with Camaro and ATS.
  16. smk4565
    Except a CLA is smaller than the Verano was. Buick gave up on the CLA segment because fornone it is small and for two the Verano wasn't that good. The Regal is sized like an E-class, if Buick wants to put their mid-sized up against the best mid-size luxury car in the world bring it on. I like that the Regal has the wagon and hatch back trims I think it makes it different than the Maxima or TSX or Camry. What makes no sense to me is $40k for a GS model with less torque than the turbo 4 model. And the GS is more money than the Lacrosse with the same engine and the Lacrosse is larger and nicer. The GS should be $33k or if they want $40k put a turbo V6 in.
  17. smk4565
    Right the $25k start price of the Regal is what makes the GS more of a rip off. This is an uphill battle segment, and a shrinking segment. I remember when the Impala sold over 10,000 cars a month and that was 2-3 years ago, now it is under 3,000 per month. The mid-size sedans are shrinking away too. Malibu sales are in the dump and it is a new model, Cadillac sedans sales are tanking, the Bolt plant was idled because those aren't selling. Cars don't sell unless you are a powerhouse like Camry and Accord, or 3-series and C-class in luxury. It is just the way it is.
  18. smk4565
    Mercedes has always been luxury first. And they always have had an "adequate" power engine in the base model, but also in the past 40 years or so they have offered a big power engine also. A 2000 E320 had like 228 hp, not bad for that time but not huge either. In 2010 the E350 still had 268 hp base, adequate, but not a performance machine, but they offered 507 hp too. Same with the C-class now 241 hp base because it is a luxury car first, but they will give you 503 hp if you want to pay for it. BMW has always pushed handing and steering and suspension over horsepower, but they have pushed performance from the get go.
  19. smk4565
    You are buying luxury when you buy a C300 though, not performance, 241 hp is fine for that buyer, and for around $52k they have a C43 with a 4.5 second 0-60 time, which is a lot of performance bang for the buck. The Regal GS is like the Maxima, it is too much money for what it is. $42,650 gets an Infiniti Q50 Premium AWD with the 3 liter turbo V6 (300 hp, 295 lb-ft). So why pay $42k for a Maxima or Regal?
  20. smk4565
    But the Regal GS has C300 pricing. I'll agree to Buick being as premium as a CLA or Acura TSX level car. Because those aren't luxury cars either. Even though the CLA comes from a luxury brand, it is more of a premium compact. Likewise with A3, 1-series, etc.
  21. smk4565
    2018 ATS 2.0T Luxury trim with AWD is $41,690, pretty close to the Regal GS. The ATS has sold 7,209 cars year to date (down 27%). The C-class sold 7,116 in June alone by comparison. So I stand by my statement of them struggling to sell ATS's. And the Regal costs just as much, and is a Buick Regal, not a Cadillac.
  22. smk4565
    So first off, Buick is Not a luxury brand. So no point comparing this to an Audi or BMW. Second, the Regal GS is no faster than an ATS 2.0t awd, won't handle better than an ATS, it doesn't have a Cadillac beating interior either and it has less of a badge. So the ATS is a better car at the same money and they can't sell the ATS. How will they sell these? The old Regal didn't sell and they raised the price and think it will work this time?
  23. smk4565
    So Buick can rebadge a Malibu and it is a Lexus level luxury car, but if Mercedes takes a Navara Chassis and changes out the interior and engine it is failure. Got it. Most people don't really need all wheel drive but I think they should offer it on the Malibu because a lot would buy it. It is an easy option to sell in the snow belt.
  24. smk4565
    Could drop? They should drop diesel like a sack of dirt. They are a sports car company, who actually is primarily an SUV company now but at any rate, throw some hybrid tech on this SUVs and drop the diesel.
  25. smk4565
    Nissan-Renault could be the largest car maker in the world this year, not a bad company to have a partnership with. If they ever need a favor from the Carlos Goshn empire they can.
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