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

smk4565

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,794

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    13

 Content Type 

Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    For sure, they have to sell SUVs. Because anyone that owns a Bentley or Lamborghini owns another car or four. If you offer that SUV they will buy it. Porsche sells more SUVs than they do sports cars. And you have a lot of people that want a Porsche or sports car, but really a Cayman is super impractical, so they can buy a Porsche SUV and feel like they got the best of both worlds.
  2. smk4565
    XTS came out 4 years after bankruptcy, even though it was developed on a shoe-string budget post bankruptcy. I think it was more a way to replace the DTS with a car of similar size with a V6 that got better MPG to help CAFE, and they had to use what was in the parts bin since the G-body and Northstar were well past their prime. I don't think that CT8 is ever coming. They have talked about a Cadillac flagship since Ed Whiticare was CEO in 2010, 7 years later, nothing, and large sedans are a shrinking market, the XJ is probably getting cancelled, the A8 sales are in the tank, Lexus GS is getting killed so they can sell more LS's since it's sales are in trouble. There is no market for it.
  3. smk4565
    Diesel is cheaper than premium here, and in something like a BMW or Mercedes, they require premium, so diesel is not only the better fuel for MPG, but it is cheaper fuel too. There is a very strong argument for diesel, it is just a hard sell to the masses. And it was 1% of Mercedes sales, so why pay to certify them, market them, carry inventory, etc. I think Mercedes needs to quickly get to market the 48 volt electric system and the new inline 4 and 6 engines. That could get them near the diesel gas mileage but with their conventional engines.
  4. smk4565
    Leaves them room to do an LM003-LP740 above the Urus, with a 740 hp V12. Because really, a Lambo SUV needs a V12.
  5. smk4565
    Is this going to be a Cheyanne/Q7/Bentayga body SUV? I am sure it will be crazy fast with 650 hp and likely the quick shifting ZF 8-speed and all wheel drive. I think Mercedes can top this if they are so inclined to put a V12 in one of their SUVs. I am surprised that the Urus doesn't have a V12.
  6. smk4565
    Poorly built because they are Fords in disguise. If they went with their own chassis, own engine, own materials then they would sell more cars. The market knows they are Fords, thus they look elsewhere. if they were rear drive they could charge more thus make them not so cheap and sell more. They could put more horsepower in and sell more, etc.
  7. smk4565
    Right, what are they waiting for? Bring the power.
  8. smk4565
    But it has stopped thousands of people from buying a Lincoln.
  9. smk4565
    A car of CT6 size should have more like 500 hp for a V-sport. Or even 600 hp. CT6 isn't a fast car even with the TT V6 engine.
  10. smk4565
    Why don't they make a CT6 V-sport and utilize that rear drive chassis, rather than cramming power into an overweight front drive car?
  11. smk4565
    Because they don't do rear wheel drive.
  12. smk4565
    They might as well move the 3-series sedan to the 4-series, they moved everything else already. I like the 300 mile range EV3/4 series idea.
  13. smk4565
    Headlights look terrible, like it is crying because it knows its production will end in 3 years. Which is probably 3 more years than it needs to be around.
  14. smk4565
    Corvette is not a brand. A Brand has in many cases a stand alone dealership (unless it is FCA) and a Brand has usually 4 or more different car lines. Suggesting that the Corvette is a brand, means the Mercedes E-class is a brand. It has 4 body styles and 2-3 models within each body style. And it is not a brand. For Corvette to be a brand it can't be sold at Chevy dealers and that will never happen.
  15. smk4565
    If Corvette were to become it's own brand, with stand alone dealerships, then different story. Then you could have the $55-100k front engine/rear drive coupe/convertible that we know. Then there could be a mid-engine, a crossover, a hybrid, a pure EV, etc. They could have 4 or 5 models and cover a wide price range. But as it is, the Corvette is a single model, and it is a Chevy, which is the value brand of GM. And when Porsche wanted a hyper car, they didn't see how far they could push the 911, they just put a 918 above it. Mercedes didn't see how much extra they could ring out of a GT, they know the GT is in the $120-170k range and won't ever compete with a hyper car. So they will make a new car to beat the hypercars. If Corvette wants to be the top performance car, then they need to achieve 1000+ hp, sub 3,000 lbs, all wheel drive and hybrid, that all has to be there. And you can't do that for anything under a million dollars.
  16. smk4565
    I think they could make the Corvette $49,900 as a base model. The Corvette has a low weight now, but if they added all wheel drive and/or a hybrid system the weight would go up. Then you need carbon fiber to get it back down, and then cost sky rockets. I think a ZR1 Corvette should be $100,000 at 600 hp max. If GM wants to build sports cars above that, go to Cadillac and make Cadillac a credible performance brand.
  17. smk4565
    The Corvette should be a $50-100k car, I think they could go base V6 maybe turbo V6. Maybe a V6 hybrid set up to get 400 hp and keep weight manageable. The C7R does well in its race league but it isn't a top tier league. A stock LaFerrari could beat those GT class racers or a NASCAR for that matter. Let's look at real lap times form the Red Bull Ring, 4.3 km circuit Ferrari LaFerrari 1:38.9 Lamborghini Hurcan 1:45.4 Nissan GT-R Nismo 1:45.5 Mercedes-AMG GT S 1:48.9 Corvette Z07 1:49 Porsche Cayman GT4 1:50.9 And the Hurcan on down were the same driver. The Corvette would give up 10 seconds a lap to the LaFerrari, that is a big gap, the LaFerrari would lap it every 10 laps. And the LaFerrari gives up over 30 seconds a lap to an F1 car, think about that. So my point is the performance level that is possible is way, way above even a Corvette Z07, way above a 911 turbo (which is why they have the 918) and I think a road car can go way above that which Mercedes will prove this fall.
  18. smk4565
    Wait, the Corvette competes with a LaFerrari and P1? They aren't even close. If a Corvette Z07 and a LaFerrari were in a 50 lap race on just about any race track in the world, the LaFerrari would lap it several times over. Corvette should also not be its own brand, in fact I would say that Cadillac should have sports cars, rather than try to spin Corvette into a brand with crossovers like Porsche and multiple sports cars. I think Corvette will not offer a hybrid in the next 15 years and maybe never, because they like to keep the powertrain cheap and the car light. That being said I think GM should look into performance hybrids, I'd rather see it on Cadillac, but I'd be in favor of a hybrid Camaro or Corvette, I just doubt they could sell many of either.
  19. smk4565
    No worries, AMG will offer hybrids, they will figure out what Porsche failed to do.
  20. smk4565
    In a big way the Stelvio is competition for the E-class, CTS, A6 and 5-series. Buyers have been trading out of mid size sedans into small SUVs for years, now comes along an SUV that will set The Nurburgring lap time record for an SUV if it hasn't already and he capable of sub 4 second 0-60 times. You are getting SUV practicality and space with E43 or ATS-V performance. Sedans are hurting now sadly, I imagine they will more so as more performance crossovers come along. And I prefer a sedan, luckily the one I like isn't going away but I bet the RLX and GS go away.
  21. smk4565
    An RX fighter that can lay waste to a Lexus GS F. I think the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is faster than a Corvette, which is crazy for an SUV.
  22. smk4565
    Pretty competitive pricing for the performance that you get. It will probably win every comparison test also. Question is will anyone buy it? Most crossover buyers will have no idea what it is and think a Lexus RX is sporty. I can't wait for the 500 hp compact SUV showdown between the Quadrifoglio and GLC 63 and Macan Turbo S. Edit: never mind on the Macan Turbo, even with the performance package it is only 440 hp, weak!
  23. smk4565
    I think diesel is a hard sell even though they have great torque and mpg. My guess is they will push hybrids plus they have a 48 volt system coming in 2018 that should boost mpg 15% over the current gas engines.
  24. smk4565
    There is a valid argument for clean diesels. Mercedes just announced they are not selling diesel in the USA in 2017, which makes me think they won't ever again. But a diesel GLC could get 35 mpg highway vs 27 or 28 for a gas version. So that forces us to use more fuel. Look at a Cruze diesel that can top 50 mpg compared to 40 for gas, a 20% difference. Diesel is cheaper than premium fuel also. So the consumer gets hurt by forcing out diesels and we have to drill up more oil which isn't really environmentally friendly either. And these companies will have a hard time hitting CAFE without diesel unles they have a ton of hybrids.
  25. smk4565
    Because they introduced the 4-series to be a coupe and it turns out the sales all went to a sedan anyway. What is the point of that? And some hardcore BMW fan will say the 4-series Grand coupe has an inch wider track than a 3-series sedan so the handling is better but that is just rubbish. Makes no sense to come up with a 4-series line if all you are going to do is sell 3-series sedans with new badges.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

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