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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    This car needed an optional turbo 2 years ago.
  2. smk4565
    I don't think X7 sales will be bad at all. The X5 is a strong seller for them, and some people will want to upsize it. And in the market the Infiniti QX80 and Lexus LX570 are not strong, BMW can beat the Navigator with ease, so then it gets down to Escalde and GLS and I think they can steal sales from both. Plus the X7 will top out pretty high and they can compete with the Range Rover LWB Autobiography. I think the X7 will outsell the 7-series sedan.
  3. smk4565
    Smart move by BMW, crossovers are what sells. The V12 Will probably be a last hurrah, but I think it will also force Mercedes to do a Maybach GLS with a V12 also.
  4. smk4565
    I know some car makers cheated emissions, but it also opens the door for environmentalists to assume all car makers cheated. And once cars are all electric, then the emissions just got transferred to the tail pipe to the power plant. So people will complain about the pollution from the power plant. Until the power plants are all zero emission too.
  5. smk4565
    All fodder for the green movement to mandate electric cars. Even the car makers that don't cheat will get accused that they did cheat so they get pressured into making electric cars. once all the cars are running on electric, then people will complain about cheat software in power plants. And Porsche probably did cheat since VW and Audi did.
  6. smk4565
    It is a joke. because Toyota fans think their cars are maintenance free.
  7. smk4565
    The Si isn't the top model, so 205 hp is fine. They make a 300+ hp Civic type R. And a couple of Honda's trademarks are fuel economy and reliability, so it is good that they stick to their core values. And as I said they have a 300 hp version which way more than any Cruze, Elantra, Mazda 3, Corolla or Sentra.
  8. smk4565
    They should have a hybrid Odyssey, Pilot, CR-V, MDX, RDX, etc. Eventually it is all going to go that way and a 4 cylinder with an electric motor can move an Odyssey, especially a turbo 4 hydrid. None of these car makers are hitting 54.5 mpg with a 3.5 liter V6 as their volume engine.
  9. smk4565
    It is a joke. If you listen to any Toyota owner they think their car will never break and the Prius gets 150 mpg.
  10. smk4565
    First off, a 2008 Lexus could not break down, that is a Camry engine, so it can go 500,000 without an oil change or any service of any kind, they are that good. Seriously though, I think people are more willing to buy an American SUV than an American sedan. Not sure why people give one a stigma and not the other. I bet the Lexus driving neighbors wouldn't consider a LaCrosse or a CTS, partly because they would think a Lexus sedan is more reliable, yet they will buy an Acadia. This is a challenge Cadillac has to overcome to get sedan buyers back. And the fact that a lot of people continued to buy American SUVs long after they swore off sedans for the CamCords even going back to the 90s, is all the more reason Cadillac needs more crossovers.
  11. smk4565
    I get that cars cost more and incomes aren't going up for a lot of people, and that people can keep a car for 10 years or more. But if you have to go out to 75 or 84 months to get the payment where you want it, you are buying too much car. Especially when a lot of people buy the car and finance in the sales tax and dealer fees. Then they are underwater most of the loan. Interest rates are still low, so it isn't so much that some one is paying loads of interest on a 7 year loan (obviously its more than a 5 year) but someone would be much more financially healthy if they financed a car for 5 years and kept it for 10, rather than financing for 7 and keeping it for 10. Having those extra years of no payment frees up a lot of income to pay down other debt or save for retirement.
  12. smk4565
    The CLA isn't shoddy, it has a very proven and durable 2.0T and 7-speed transmission, and they still have build quality. They just don't have everything wrapped in leather or with a Bang and Olufsun stereo. The Sprinter has a spartan interior, but it has build quality that will let it last 300,000+ miles also. The sweep tail Rolls-Royce is awesome, it is the sort of thing that Cadillac could try to get into, building super luxury sedans. Mercedes can go against the Bentley Continental and Flying Spur with the Maybach S600 and the S65. They can match up with anything Porsche has, and they are about to go above the LaFerrari with Project One, so I do think Mercedes is capable of going against anyone at the high end. This is the game changer, no one will come close.
  13. smk4565
    I like the eAssist idea, and really it should be more widespread use, but I hope it is better executed than the last time they did it with the LaCrosse.
  14. smk4565
    Yes, but you don't get 50/50 weight balance with a fwd based car. I'm sure a GLA/CLA can throw toque at the rear wheels too, but it isn't going to drive like an E-class.
  15. smk4565
    GLA looks not tall enough to be a crossover. It looks like it got stepped on and squashed. I will never buy a crossover for one, and two, I only want rear drive or AWD with a rear bias out of a longitudinal mount engine.
  16. smk4565
    How are they going to over saturate the market when the CLA most months sells less than the S-class? The GLA is their worst selling crossover. C, E and GLE are the volume leaders of Mercedes, and those 3 lines are rock solid in their segments, and the S-class is like 40% market share in it's segment. G-wagen is up this year, hyper car on the way. The top end is strong as ever.
  17. smk4565
    They already make a 2.0T front drive, they could put that in a top end Malibu/Terrain/Equinox, an Impala, LaCrosse, in whatever crossover slots between Equinox and Traverse, can put it in Traverse. I think for things like Acadia, Enclave, Cadillacs, you want maybe a 2.5 liter turbo 4, or a 2.0T hybrid of some sort, you need a little extra performance and refinement for the added price over a Chevy. The quicker GM gets out of the 3.6 V6 the better. Because the future is electrifying and engine downsizing.
  18. smk4565
    Agreed and I agree on your earlier post about Cadillac using all turbos, except I would go turbo on the V-series also. CTS-V is the only supercharger they have, they could make a twin turbo V8 for that, twin turbo V6 and V8 for Escalade and get the whole line turbocharged. And to take it a step further, start to put in eAssist or a 48 volt battery system, to make all Cadillacs a mild hybrid around 2020. If they took a 2.0T and added on a 25 hp electric motor, then you are nearing 300 hp and lb-ft with it all working together, that is going to be a much better drive than the 3.6 and probably 15% better gas mileage.
  19. smk4565
    Pretty much every luxury brand starts in the low $30s, the difference is most max out at $100k or less, while Mercedes can still go over $200k. The CLA is a relatively low volume Mercedes also, I don't think it is hurting them. C-class sales are up since the CLA went on sale. Yet it sill outsells the ATS. Because no one wants a Cadillac. Because Cadillac has no image. Because Cadillac doesn't have a flagship, super car, hyper car, convertible, GT car, or anything cool to lift the brand image, other than the Escalade, but those that think the Escalade is cool probably aren't shopping for small sedans.
  20. smk4565
    Correct for an engine like the CLA45, but I could see more use for a 2.5 liter turbo for larger vehicles, maybe with an eAssist also. CAFE is going up every year
  21. smk4565
    There is a lot Cadillac should have done. In the future they need to do more. I don't know why they don't have the CTS-V engine in an SUV. Lack of convertible is a problem. And I can't believe GMC doesn't have a hardcore off roader to compete with the Wrangler that they can use the chassis to make a Cadillac off roader to compete with the G-wagon. For years people said the CLA would be Mercedes downfall, it never happened, they are still #1 having record setting years. And this is exactly where Lexus, Cadillac, Acura and the others are going. Lexus has a GLA competitor on the way, Cadillac plans a crossover below XT4 and the XT5 starts under $40k. So they are all in that same space.
  22. smk4565
    BMW has lost their way, their cars for too big and heavy and they lost that E39 magic. I think they could find that again, they still have a good image and loyal fan base, they might just be in a slump that could turn around with the 8-series and X7. The CLA is like $15,000 more than a Cruze and in top trim the CLA does 0-60 in 4.1 seconds those two cars aren't even close.
  23. smk4565
    I am not trash talking American cars I am being realistic and pointing out the current problems Cadillac has. I thought in the mid 2000s that the CTS needed to shink to 3-series size and the STS needed to be smaller and more nimble to match the Germans. I have said since the Sixteen concept in 2003 that they need a flagship sedan. I have wanted a Cadillac sports car above Corvette for a decade, I want an Eldorado grand torturing coupe/convertible that would be a perfect competitor to the Lexus LC500. My complaint is Cadillac won't challenge the world's best. They are complacent now just as they were in the 80s, they are limited by the GM parts bin and the GM bean counters. Sigma was supposed to be the start of the renaissance and they are further behind the leaders now than they were in 2005.
  24. smk4565
    For a front drive small car, that is enough for the Si. Especially since they make a Civic R with 300 hp. And i makes sense to keep the Is cheap enough for people to buy it without pricing out their customer base.
  25. smk4565
    Cadillac could have made a smaller car that would have worked in Europe. After the Cimarron disaster, they went until 2013 or so with the ATS before they made a small car. How many million 3-series sold in that time. No small crossover, missed opportunity, no 3 row crossover, missed opportunity. It just goes to the theme of always being behind the curve.
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