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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    What happens when batteries get cheap? And a Tesla Model S that does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds costs about $55,000, and you could have that or turbo 4 CTS, 5-series, E-class, etc for the same price. Time will tell, but I think electric will progress quickly and rapidly, and the gas engine won't be able to keep up.
  2. smk4565
    I would guess that Mercedes will up the ante a bit on the next-generation CLA and GLA. But these cars aren't what the brand is built on, they need a lower cost model and a higher MPG model for compliance reasons. They sell just about as many $100,000 S-class as they do $33,000 CLA. Yes Mercedes competes in the $30k range, but no American or Japanese luxury brand is competing in the $100,000+ segment. Where are they at? I'd love to see some go after the high end Mercedes, but we all know they can't and won't.
  3. smk4565
    The CTS once started at $29,900. CLA with destination is now $33k, what it was in the past doesn't really matter today. And yes they do want to play in the low end of the luxury market because they want to win in every segment. Just like they won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, and the AMG GT3 had a historic victory 1-2-3-4 finish at the 24 hours of the Nurburgring over the weekend, leaving BMW, Audi, Bentley and Porsche in the dust. We are not talking about a 13 year old CTS. We are talking about a $29K Mercedes sold two years ago that is the EXACT same car as the one they are asking more money for now so don't try to come off like they are not trying to compete with Buick and Lincoln with cars like that and then backpedal and say $h! like you just said in your last post.So at least you have finally confirmed what you have long denied. The CLA is a Buick/Lincoln competitor so you said they are trying to compete in the lower end market now. Except Lincoln's smallest sedan is larger than an E-class, and Buick's CLA sized sedan was $21,000, and is now dead. I would doubt the CLA and LaCrosse are cross shopped at all, so I don't think the CLA competes with Lincoln or Buick. CLA is here to compete with Golf GTI's, A3's. 1/2-series, Volvo V40, maybe S60, Acura TLX maybe.
  4. smk4565
    What is wrong with being a nicer Chevy? Buick only needs to sell Chevy Equinox or Malibu level performance, with some extra leather and wood on the inside, and more sound deadening and a soft ride. If they want the Regal to succeed, it needs to have a base price around $25k, and fully loaded hit $35k. It also needs all wheel drive optional, since the Malibu doesn't offer it. That makes the Regal priced like an Encore, but with 197 hp 2.5 liter and more interior room. Or a 1.6 liter turbo could be used instead.
  5. smk4565
    Regal can come back with a vengeance, but no one will buy it. This is why Hyundai Azera and Chrysler 200 are on the chopping block, the sedan market is just too tough, and if you aren't a volume car like Camry or Accord it is hard to stick around. Making the Regal more luxurious and more powerful isn't going to help sales, it will hurt sales. To a majority of buyers, buying a crossover is moving up market and the sedan is the value product. Cadillac also has no rear drive crossovers, which makes it hard for Cadillac to move their crossovers up market. They can't increase the price on Cadillac sedans that aren't selling, so they are stuck with Cadillac where they are.
  6. smk4565
    I think he meant the Transit Connect and ProMaster City since he said "smaller" Transits and Promaster. And the Nissan NV200/City Express is very small too, only 186 inches long. The Metris is 202 inches long, same as a Honda Odyssey. The larger Transit and Pro Master or the GMC Savanna/Chevy Express would be Sprinter size class.
  7. smk4565
    The CTS once started at $29,900. CLA with destination is now $33k, what it was in the past doesn't really matter today. And yes they do want to play in the low end of the luxury market because they want to win in every segment. Just like they won the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, and the AMG GT3 had a historic victory 1-2-3-4 finish at the 24 hours of the Nurburgring over the weekend, leaving BMW, Audi, Bentley and Porsche in the dust.
  8. smk4565
    Because they run forever. Try to find a used Sprinter, even with 200,000 miles you'll still pay $20,000 or more for it. And the diesel mileage is much better than you'd get on an Express or Savana, or the old Econolines, the new Transit diesel is probably pretty good.
  9. smk4565
    I think Balth and I are in agreement. I think one maybe two additional CUVs/SUVs for Cadillac at most... but not a Benz-like 5 or 6. Benz has 6 SUV/CUVs today.. and a 7th since they seem to count the E-Class wagon in their crossovers, with apparently CUV variants waiting in the wings. Cadillac doesn't need that many. I could see an X3 sized competitor and maybe something between XT5 and Escalade... but anything below X3/GLC should be handled (and is handled) by Buick. Cadillac doesn't need to be the next purveyor of fake Louis Vuitton bags like Benz and Audi have become. Cadillac also does not need sales dogs like the GLE Coupe and X6 just to satisfy armchair CEOs with a penchant for comparing every number to Benz. The Cadillac ELR is dead. What Cadillac needs to do now with its car lineup is expand the number of body styles in the existing lines. There needs to be a CTS Coupe and Wagon again. There need to be multiple convertibles. There should be a coupe/convertible CT6. All three of their newest sedans need to be offered in coupe and convertible format... period. We already know the XTS is dead man walking, so I'm not counting that for anything. Next you'll tell me that Cadillac needs a minivan to compete with the Mercedes Benz Metris. Pointless as nothing competes with a Metris. Sure there is... the smaller Ford Transits, the Ram Promaster, the GMC/Chevy work vans, Nissan NV... all in the same price class and similar capability. The Metris is bigger than all of them, it is closer in size to a Sienna or Odyssey. Thus it is the only mid-size commercial van for sale in the USA (I think the Ram C/V is dead or about to be) and it has the same engine and transmission you get in a C-class, so performance is no doubt top notch.
  10. smk4565
    No, Cadillac does not. Mercedes does because they have to cover the entire market with a single brand, that's why they've been moving into Buick/GMC (and GMC/Chevy Commercial) territory lately. Cadillac can be more exclusive and selective with their vehicle offerings. We have heard that for years, and Cadillac isn't moving up market. The XT5 is priced lower than the SRX was 10 years ago. The CTS, XTS, ATS, XT5 are are under $46k starting, even the CT6 which was supposed to be $75-100k range they started at $54k. The push up isn't happening, otherwise XT5 would base at $54k and to up to $100k with options like the BMW X5 does. The Buick Lacrosse was going to move up market to Lexus ES pricing but instead a V6 Lacrosse is $2,000 cheaper than an Avalon. And I don't think Buick is a luxury brand so they shouldn't raise their prices. $25-45k is Buick country, no reason to go above that. Just because you've "heard it for years", doesn't make it any less true. That's what you can't seem to comprehend here. Oh and if $25-45k is Buick country, then why is Mercedes selling in the same country? Oh please show us where the CT6 was supposed to be $75-100K. Just sounds like more hyperbole BS to try and slam Cadillac while it is Mercedes that has dipped into the Buick market by selling the CLA, that (again) was beaten by a Regal. $33,000 to $252,000 is Mercedes country and they own a lot of real estate in between. Back in 2010-2013 there was talk of a DT7, and then LTS, both which would have 425 hp turbo V6 standard to take on the likes of the S-class, 7-series, A8. Ed Whitacre in 2010 green lighted a rear drive Cadillac flagship, I think that was to be on Zeta at the time, and V8 powered, but that car never showed up either. They have been talking about a V8 sedan for nearly a decade, yet no V8 full size sedan. We got CT6 instead.
  11. smk4565
    Won't happen in our lifetimes. Sure it will. Take a car like the Corvette Z06, fastest car GM has ever made in 100 years, and the Tesla sedan is faster on the first generation. 5 years ago a Nissan Leaf at $35k had a 100 mile range, now we are seeing 200 mile range for similar price out of a Bolt or Model 3 next year. In 5 more years they will be a 300 mile range for $30k. And with an electric cost of $250 a year vs $2,500 a year for gas, that gets to be an easy sell for electrics.
  12. smk4565
    Maybe Opel will get shut down in a few years, it doesn't make money. Maybe the Regal will go down in price to $25,950 base, use the 2.5 liter four, quiet tuned suspension, cloth seats and some faux wood. Old folks still buy cars too, and they are on a fixed income and might not be able to afford a Lacrosse. And those old folks probably think a Verano is too small. Maybe they will just kill the Regal all together. The move seems weird, even more so if this is just a stand alone move and the rest of the Buick lineup stays the same.
  13. smk4565
    I agree with Reg. The size gap between Envision and Enclave is Acadia or XT5 for now. Until Buick dealers say they want a vehicle that size, then maybe you get 4 Buick crossovers. Not sure what they can do with the Regal to get sales, other than to name it Camry. I think the Regal will die by 2020.
  14. smk4565
    No, Cadillac does not. Mercedes does because they have to cover the entire market with a single brand, that's why they've been moving into Buick/GMC (and GMC/Chevy Commercial) territory lately. Cadillac can be more exclusive and selective with their vehicle offerings. We have heard that for years, and Cadillac isn't moving up market. The XT5 is priced lower than the SRX was 10 years ago. The CTS, XTS, ATS, XT5 are are under $46k starting, even the CT6 which was supposed to be $75-100k range they started at $54k. The push up isn't happening, otherwise XT5 would base at $54k and to up to $100k with options like the BMW X5 does. The Buick Lacrosse was going to move up market to Lexus ES pricing but instead a V6 Lacrosse is $2,000 cheaper than an Avalon. And I don't think Buick is a luxury brand so they shouldn't raise their prices. $25-45k is Buick country, no reason to go above that.
  15. smk4565
    Without crossovers they are a dead brand. I think they need performance crossovers to differentiate from Buick and GMC, and Chevy to a lesser degree. If it were me, I would scrap CAFE and put in a plan where a baseline MPG is established, say 30 mpg EPA combined. And every vehicle pays a $100 per 1 mpg gas guzzler tax that is under the line, every vehicle above gets a $100 credit, max $2,500 credit, and EV's would get the $2,500. The 30 mpg number can slide up, say to 35 mpg EPA combined in 2020 or 2025. That puts incentive on buyers to buy more fuel efficient cars and actually puts a tax on the vehicles sucking gas. Much better than the current CAFE system, and you'd raise more money on the tax end than you have to pay out on the credit end, so it always runs a surplus that can help pay for repaving roads. But since we have stupid fuel efficiency rules and customers that want a crossover because they think it is safer than a sedan, sportier looking than a sedan, and it has awd so they won't get stranded in 1 inch of snow. Sadly Cadillac could price the CTS-V at $38,950 and the XT5 would hammer it in sales, solely because it is a crossover. I don't like that crossovers are taking over, but if you don't build them you are screwed.
  16. smk4565
    Doubt they will bring back concentration camps. Eventually though electric will overtake gas cars, just like self driving cars will become common. There will always be gas cars for the exhaust note in a sports car, or perhaps longer range driving (500+miles), but when batteries and electric motors get cheaper, the performance level is undeniable. Just think of this, the first smart phone came out 9 years ago. And look how fast things went since.
  17. smk4565
    What is wrong with niche segments? Mercedes is not the only one who can pull that off (looking at you AMG and E Class Wagon). You realize that right? Nothing is wrong with a Niche segment. But if your brand is built on "quiet luxury" you don't try to sell a hot hatch with a high revving turbo 4. That would be like Mini saying they want to introduce a full size sedan with a bench seat, so they can exploit a niche. There should be a Cruze RS hatch to compete with the Focus and Golf.
  18. smk4565
    59.8% of Cadillac sales in 2015 were SUVs, and that was with 2 SUVs and 4 lines of cars. It would seem that 60% of Cadillac buyers wanted an SUV, and probably would have been higher if they had more SUVs to sell. It is hard to get consumers into sedans anymore.
  19. smk4565
    But if 50% of luxury buyers (and that number might be 60%) want a crossover, and Cadillac only has one crossover, then they have a problem. Doesn't matter if Buick and Chevy have 10 crossovers. They need them in the luxury segment.
  20. smk4565
    So the plan is to dump "Quiet Luxury" and make Buick a Euro Sport car brand? That doesn't seem to make sense. If the Verano didn't meet sales targets, good luck on a Regal Wagon or turning an Astra or Cruze into a Buick Hot Hatch. Wagons just don't sell, Hot Hatchback is a very small segment in the USA, even though it is a practical body style.
  21. smk4565
    I'm sure there will be a $100k+ EV car, but it will probably also do 0-60 in 3 seconds flat, so bring it in. AMG is going to be doing electric cars in 10 years I bet. Electric is going to be the future, the gas engine eventually won't be able to catch up.
  22. smk4565
    Early impressions I have heard or read from journalists would suggest the CX-9 is great, and maybe the best 3 row SUV out there. Hopefully people actually buy it, Mazda has some great cars right now.
  23. smk4565
    I actually saw a Model X P90 yesterday, in an electric blue color. I think it is amazing that a 7 passenger SUV can beat a Charger Hellcat or CTS-V, Jaguar F-type R, etc in a 0-60 sprint or a 1/4 mile. I am pretty excited about the future of electric cars, it is like going from dial up to broad band. Even 5 years or so ago when the X5 M or the AMG SUVs came out with 0-60 times of 4.5 or whatever the case was, sub 5 seconds 0-60 time in an SUV was like breaking the 4 minute mile, it was unheard of. The Model X would mop the floor with them; the progress in a relatively short amount of time is amazing.
  24. smk4565
    Here is the MotorTrend Head 2 Head video of the Tesla Model X and Bentley Bentayga. The speed of the Model X is just amazing, as evidenced that it can pull a trailer with an Alfa Romeo 4C on it and still win a drag race vs an Alfa Romeo 4C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib-02b2ooLY
  25. smk4565
    Cadillac being 1 out of 4 divisions means they don't need to worry about CAFE so much or do a sub ATS car. They do still have to build the body styles that luxury customers want, and unfortunately they want crossovers and not performance cars for the most part. Case in point with the ATS, they release the coupe and V-series and sales go down. It was suggested earlier that the ATS-V is a halo product, but ATS sales dropped after the V came out, so it isn't making more people want an ATS. Mark my words, Johan will get pressure to increase sales, the bean counters will see the easy profits by turing a Chevy crossover into a Cadillac, and that is the path they will go down.
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