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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    This: Is better than this: I wouldn't buy an Acura, and I think the MDX interior lags behind any German or the Lexus RX or even XT5, but the MDX is better than an Encore. Look at all the plastic in the Encore, the lack of a center console, lack of real wood or aluminum trim, etc.
  2. smk4565
    Acura interiors are on par with Honda interiors for the most part. But an MDX is nicer than an Encore, that isn't really close. Buick could use a 4th crossover in between Envision and Enclave, GMC needs a crossover below Terrain, they could get 10 crossovers/SUVs in that dealership channel.
  3. smk4565
    Can't get a V8 in a CT6, the twin turbo V6 in this is cheaper than a CT6 too. So I don't think it is really that unrealistic a price. A Lexus LS460 is this price, and that car has a V8 from 2007 under the hood.
  4. smk4565
    Heritage High Roof perhaps? Buyers love it regardless of what they call it. I am sure there are people that don't want to take the Phantom Drophead out to inspect the oil fields, this all wheel drive tall vehicle will pit their concerns at ease.
  5. smk4565
    Fusion is doing okay because it is a good product and because Taurus is basically dying. Chevy has too many sedans, they can probably consolidate too. These crossovers were once though as more of a premium car or more desireable I think because not as many people had them. When 60% of the vehicles sold are crossovers and they are a commodity just like the CamCord I wonder if they will still be thought of that way.
  6. smk4565
    They are making Dodges in 2017?
  7. smk4565
    One problem is there are 16 mid-size sedans in one segment. This is a huge segment, but you have so many players in it, some will fade away like the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart which small, but is dropping off in sales too and discounts won't save it. There is a war of attrition going on in this segment, only the strong will survive. A 2nd problem is outside of Subaru, it is hard to find all wheel drive on a mid-size or small sedan, but every crossover offers it, and the marketing people have convinced buyers that AWD = Safety and that they need it. And most people aren't driving like they are on the Nurburgring, to plod along in traffic or around town a crossover handles just as well as most mid-size sedans, and you get the added space and higher seating position. And related to that, think of some of the crap sedans that people are trading in now. If you have an 2006-2009 Malibu, Fusion, Sonata, W-body Impala, etc, and go drive a 2016 crossover, the 2016 crossover probably rides and handles better, might even get better gas mileage than that V6 family sedan of 10 years ago. The consumers are just flocking to crossovers like crazy.
  8. smk4565
    All the Germans will have electric sedans. The A8 is kind of dead in the water right now, this might be a way to pump life back into it. I don't see them needing an A8 and A9, but then again BMW may make an 8-series and 9-series. A 95 kwh 3 motor A8 could be competitive, but they also need to get electrics down in the A6 level because $100k+ cars are a tiny segment. Getting in the $50-60k area would make a bigger impact.
  9. smk4565
    Nope. 40 years at the top of the luxury sedan segment, 40 years as the gold standard. The others have tried and failed, Infiniti left that segment years ago, Jaguar might leave it, and Audi would dump the A8 if it wasn't for China because they A8 is tanking here and in Europe. As crossovers keep eating at sedan sales there will be fewer big sedans left on the market, only the strong will survive. Much like luxury roadsters, the SL is the last one standing. Cadillac, Lexus and Jaguar all scrapped theirs.
  10. smk4565
    Leases are huge on Cruze, Elantra, Focus type cars because people can lease them for $179 a month, when you can't even buy a $10k used car for that monthly payment. That puts a lot of cars on the used market at 3 years old, probably bad for resale but good for used car shoppers.
  11. smk4565
    Back to Cadillac's future, Autoblog had a story where Johan himself mapped out the product plans. "We ARE planning a Cadillac flagship which will NOT be a 4 door sedan;We ARE planning a large crossover beneath Escalade;We ARE planning a compact crossover beneath XT5;We ARE planning a comprehensive enhancement to CT6 later during life cycle;We ARE planning a major refresh for XTS;We ARE planning a new Lux 3 sedan entry;We ARE planning a new Lux 2 sedan entry;" I think it will be interesting to see what this flagship is. Good idea not to make it a sedan as the S-class is unbeatable. We knew they would add 2 more crossovers. I don't know why they bother with the XTS, and that sub-ATS is on the way folks. Even if ATS and CTS both die, for the new Lux 2 and Lux 3 sedans, with XTS and CT6 they still have 4 sedans
  12. smk4565
    I saw one of these on the road the other day. From a distance it looks sort of like a Jag, then as you get closer you realize it is just a Lincoln and a bit of a disappointment. Problem 1 is this car is not rear drive, so it has weird proportions, and problem 2: it is not rear wheel drive to handle that horsepower.
  13. smk4565
    This engine is optional on the Cadillac CT6 and CTS, so if it is good enough to be an option on a Cadillac, I am sure it is good enough to be on a Canyon/Colorado. I think truck buyers think they need a V6, that is why the turbo 4 isn't in these trucks, even though the turbo 4 has more torque at a lower rpm and would make more sense in a truck that isn't going to be driven at 5500 rpm a whole lot. On a side note, I think GM could make a unibody pickup smaller than the Colorado/Canyon
  14. smk4565
    I think the 2.0T could be good, it makes more torque at lower rpm than the 3.6 and trucks are about low end torque, not rev to 6,500 rpm V6s.
  15. smk4565
    I think a car based pickup can work. You get better ride and handling with a unibody and not everyone buying a pick up is going to tow 6,000 lbs or haul 1500 lbs of mulch in the bed. Look at hoe people fled body on frame SUVs in favor of crossovers with better ride and better fuel economy, because they weren't going off road or towing a huge boat. And pickups are a big segment without a lot of players, even if the Santa Cruz isn't a big seller compared to the Tacoma or Frontier, they could still sell 50,000 Santa Cruz per year, which is nothing to sneeze at.
  16. smk4565
    That is amazingly fast. A Formula 1 car does 0-60 in 1.9 seconds, a Ferrari LaFerrari does it in 2.4. This is a 4 door sedan road car doing it in 2.5, that's incredible.
  17. smk4565
    What did Cadillac beat Benz at? Building a twin turbo V8 next year? Pretty much every vehicle Mercedes makes has a twin turbo V8 option. Mercedes has a Tesla problem too because their AMG cars can't run with a Model S, luckily the Model S P100 is $35k more than an E63 but if that price gap closes Mercedes has some trouble because the V8 is never going to beat the electric motor. Mercedes might be able to win on ride or handling.
  18. smk4565
    The plug in hybrid GLE is less than $1,000 more than the turbo V6. No plug in is $1,000 more than the car it is based off of. This is like the plug in Prius selling for $500 more than the base car.
  19. smk4565
    Yes, but the Tesla P90D has 713 lb-ft and that is now the 2nd most powerful Model S. Unlikely to find a V8 putting out 750+ lb-ft to compete with that. Cadillac needs that 4.2 V8 ASAP while there are still buyers who want V8 power and smoothness, and can't afford a $135k Tesla. But even when you look at Mercedes, BMW and Audi, their mid-size cars have turbo sixes, and most 7-series and A8s are sixes, Q7 is mostly V6, even the GLS is mostly V6. Only the top dog stuff has V8 power anymore, and in 10 years electric will replace it. there is opportunity for Cadillac to offer the V8 at the price point a lot of the other guys are selling a V6, that could win buyers in the near term.
  20. smk4565
    I understand your opinion, just be happy with Cadillac being in 6th place in sales in the luxury segment if they don't have it. The #1 selling body style of vehicle is crossover, and it is rising.
  21. smk4565
    479 lb-ft of torque on the GLE550e and S550e. But I wouldn't call either of them performance cars, even though they move pretty good for what they are. If the CT6 plug in is like $70-75,000 it could be a compelling buy. Likewise that powertrain could make sense on a CTS or large crossover. But that is just par for the course, many lux brands have plug in hybrids now or will within a year. The game changer technology is at Tesla, they just haven't been able to scale it out in big numbers yet.
  22. smk4565
    The CT6 plug in is no match for a Tesla. The GLE plug-in is closer to a Tesla Model X than a CT6-PEV is to a Model S, and as Mr. T would say, "I pity the fool who races a GLE550e against a Model X, or tries to match it on electric range." The GLE550e might be the best value hybrid there is, it is like $900 more than the turbo V6 model and has 100 more hp and double the fuel economy
  23. smk4565
    That isn't a bad price at all, a base E300 4Matic lease is $5,263 down and $569 a month. You can get into a Tesla for E-class money. People want to compare the Model S to the S-class but it is like $1,200 a month to lease an S-class, I think $1,450 for an S-class coupe.
  24. smk4565
    Well they needed a twin turbo V8 yesterday, not in 2018. They will still need one in 2018, there will be luxury buyers that want a V8. But Electric has to be part of the equation. The new Model S can do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, you just can't get that out of a V8 or maybe not even a V12 unless the car has no weight to it. Electric is the high performance future, the V8 might be the cheap performance future, but if Cadillac wants $70-80k for V6 cars, they will want $90-100k for a V8 and you are getting up to Tesla money. And Mercedes faces the same problem, the AMG cars have a loyal following, but the E63 can't keep up with a Tesla, they can hope, exhaust note, chassis tuning and ride/handling with interior appointments wins buyers, but they can't win off speed. Until they make an electric car with 750 hp, which it seems like they are doing, as the Maybach Vision 6 powertrain is already in development.
  25. smk4565
    Buick has 3 Crossovers and is at a dealership with GMC who has 4 crossovers/SUVs (if you could Yukon and XL as 2) so there are 7 crossovers/SUVs at that dealership, and it wouldn't surprise me if GMC adds a compact crossover or Jeep competing off roader to make an 8th. Chevy needs to downsize the Equinox to D2XX and add a 4th crossover, with Tahoe and Suburban that gives them 6 crossover/SUV. Ford has 5 crossovers/SUVs and is supposedly bringing a Fiesta based crossover to make a 6th. Cadillac needs 3 crossovers minimum plus Escalade, but they could do more. Crossovers could be 50% of al vehicle sales within 10 years, sedans might be 20%.
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