smk4565

Did it hurt when you had to backpedal like that? It absolutely does have everything to do with people's decisions. How many times have we heard here how wrong it was for Cadillac to be sharing floor space with any other GM make? I know you sure took part in that dog pile but now that you have been shown proof of Mercedes showering their luxury filled lots with Sprinter vans, you say it doesn't matter? Seriously LMAO at that one SMK! It does matter. I have never been one on the campaign for super luxury stand alone dealers. I always thought it was better if Cadillac had their own dealerships so they aren't thought of as just another GM brand and thought of as more special. But overall you go to the dealer once to buy the car, then you might never go back. I actually think car companies could sell cars online and skip the dealership system altogether. Amazon could sell cars with better deals and greater efficiency than any dealership could. From the dealership standpoint, I think knowledge sales people matter more than what the building looks like, and if you are out on a test drive you aren't in the building anyway. Dealerships aren't Cadillac's problem.

I think the German government is the one to due testing and find a lot of these cars have emission controls that don't actually meet regulations, but it would be a problem everywhere. Part of the problem is Europe is the tax the crap out or petrol/diesel and also put in super high MPG requirements, so in order for carmakers to get 60 mpg VW Golfs, they throw emission controls out the window. These regulators need to decide if they want to impose restrictions on emissions or fuel economy.

The ES is a giant disappointment once you drive it. The ride is way way too firm for the class, it bangs over bumps which echo into the cabin..and it has lost its quietness that it has a reputation for. Friends of mind have one and let me use it when I'm in town. It feels like a big Toyota with extra leather. Won't the Continental feel like a big Fusion with extra leather?

They have lots of new products in the works. Hellcat Grand Cherokee, Hellcat Durango, Hellcat Wrangler, Hellcat Pacifica, Hellcat Dodge Dart, Hellcat Fiat 500, etc. All you have to do is put a monster V8 in a super dated and otherwise lackluster product and jack the price up and watch the sales roll in. Every other car company that has models on 6-7 year cycles has got it wrong. You want vehicles on Crown Vic style 17 year life cycles, throw in some body kits or new engine every 7 years as a "special edition" this is the way to make it in the auto industry. So the Hellcat lineup is the AMG of Fiat/Chrysler/Doge/Jeep? Just slap the label on any old car and call it day and the suckers will gladly overpay for it? Sounds right to me. AMG engines aren't put into super dated, uncompetitive vehicles though. The base cars are actually good and sell.

The Acura RDX is the same size as the Envision and has a base 279 hp V6 with 252 lb-ft and for $35,370. Plus is has VTEC yo! How in the world is Buick charging $35k for a 197 hp 4-cylinder? If anything the 2.0T should be the base engine at $34k, forget the 1.6T unless that is in the $28,995 price point this car should start at.

I think if people see Cadillac as an old person's car they will have the same opinion of Buick. The Envision is smaller than an Equinox, it is has the same length and width as a Verano, so it isn't really family sized either. You can also get a 310 hp mid-size Cadillac XT5 for less money than a 197 hp small sized Buick Envision. And your car won't be made in China. The Encore starts around $24k, I thought the Envision was a good idea with a base price around $28k, more money than a Ford Escape, less than a Lincoln MKC.

Probably some used it as an excuse as to why there isn't an AWD Malibu. Over 1/3 of of buyers say all wheel drive is a must have. If they can put it in the Lacrosse, they should make it an option on Malibu too.

I think the dealership doesn't have a lot to do with someone's decision on what car to buy. You are going to be in the dealership once, be in the car every day. On the service end I think the dealership matters more, as you might go there a few times a year, if you get poor service you will look toward independent mechanics, Midas, Jiffy Lube, etc. You can have the nicest dealership in the world with champagne flowing from the water fountains, but if you don't have the product to sell, it doesn't matter.

The Jaguar F-Pace is also going to offer a 550 HP supercharged V8 option, although I am sure at a steep price. You can get a 310 HP V6 Cadillac XT5 cheaper than a 252 HP 4-cylinder Buick Envision. That is a no brainer. I think that GM thinks Buick is on par with Lincoln, Acura, And Lexus, but I don't see people paying $42k for a Buick crossover when the Lexus is actually cheaper.

I have to imagine the only FCA brands that make any measurable amount of profit are Jeep and Ram. Jeep they can sell world wide with good margins. Ram has pickups that make money, and the Promaster and Promaster City were already developed and paid for by Fiat, so it just lets them sell more to recoup cost. Everything else they sell needs big rebates or fleet sales to move metal. Alfa sells like 900 cars a year in the US, that has to lose money, Fiat has no sales and with subcompact prices, plus import costs, that has to lose money.

Cadillac for sure wants volume, they just don't know where to find it.

For $33k base in the Lincoln MKC you get a turbo 4 making 240 hp and 270 lb-ft. For $35k in the Lexus NX you get a 235 hp, 258 lb-ft turbo 4. For that price in the Buick you get the 2.5 liter 4 making 197 hp and 192 lb-ft.

They have lots of new products in the works. Hellcat Grand Cherokee, Hellcat Durango, Hellcat Wrangler, Hellcat Pacifica, Hellcat Dodge Dart, Hellcat Fiat 500, etc. All you have to do is put a monster V8 in a super dated and otherwise lackluster product and jack the price up and watch the sales roll in. Every other car company that has models on 6-7 year cycles has got it wrong. You want vehicles on Crown Vic style 17 year life cycles, throw in some body kits or new engine every 7 years as a "special edition" this is the way to make it in the auto industry.

. There you go again. Let me tell you something about the Lexus NX. It is a Fancy Toyota RAV4. Funny how you don't say anything about that but when it involves Cadillac, it is somehow a different story. We are talking about a Chinese built Buick SUV that has already been on market a few years and looks dated at launch, and they want Lexus money for it. Yes the Lexus NX is a Rav4 underneath, but it is still a Lexus, which is better than any Buick, and a much more respected badge. I was comparing the Envision to NX and MKC because they are based on the Rav4 and Escape, and turbo 4, front drive crossovers. Both the Lincoln and Lexus are nicer and I think look better and have a better brand image. Would be unfair to compare those 2nd tier crossovers to the rear drive Germans.

Avis and National need crossovers to rent out, this fits the bill.

Cadillac doesn't make a sports car, doesn't have a convertible, doesn't have a performance crossover, only has 1 crossover in the line. There are product holes all over the place. Cadillac has lagged behind others on diesels or electrics, until they put the ELR out which was a total bust. Cadillac for the past 10 years has put everything on the CTS-V and the Escalade. They should have 8 products at that level.

A Lexus NX or Lincoln MKC is cheaper and a much better deal than the Envision. And the Lexus NX is a Lexus, it has a real luxury badge on it. And if people are shopping reliability, sadly Lexus is the best in that regard. $45k for an Envision Premium 2? You can get a Lexus RX for that money, and have a larger, roomier vehicle, with a V6, etc.

Yes, Cadillac will probably surpass BMW and Mercedes any day now. They have only been trying to accomplish that goal since 1985 with no avail.

Mercedes has 4 divisions of vehicles. Mercedes-Benz cars, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler buses and Daimler Trucks. All have the 3 point star on the front, all one brand, but diffent business units within it. Not every dealer has the Vans license to sell Sprinter.

Well then this isn't good news, the 2015 China sales volume. Audi: 509,998 BMW: 287,000 Mercedes: 255,270 Cadillac: 53,086 Nothing is more important to Cadillac than the American market. If they forget that and build cars for China, hoping Americans will buy them, they are in trouble.

And you are missing the point of the entire conversation. SMK seems to find perfectly acceptable to criticize GM for putting out Cadillacs as nothing more than "fancy Chevys" while his own favorite is going to do the EXACT same damn thing with Nissan. Just look at the ton of excuses he has given for that being okay while GMs is not and you will where the last two pages here have gone horribly and laughably wrong. Oh and after having sat in a CLA a couple of weeks ago, I can fully understand the level of criticism heaved its way by just about every major publication out there. Why have that mess when I could a RWD, and much more composed, C-Class for just a little bit more cash? Daimler and Nissan-Renault are joint developing the 2017 Frontier chassis, so yes it is corporate platform share product, but the Mercedes will get a Mercedes engine and transmission and interior. This is also developed for Europe, Middle East and South America, if sold in the USA it will be sold by the Vans division and marketed as a commercial vehicle. For a work truck I am sure the Frontier chassis will be serviceable. They aren't selling the Mercedes pickup as a luxury or performance product, it is the pick up equivalent of the Metris, a work vehicle. Cadillac, Lincoln, Acura, and Lexus, build luxury cars/crossovers of front drive platforms that are inferior to rear drive platforms that you can put more power into, longer wheelbases with better ride, better interior room, etc. That is the difference. These front drive products hit a performance ceiling that the rear drive product can far exceed. And many people would rather have a C-class, it outsold the CLA 86,000 to 29,000 in the USA last year. C-class racked up over 443,000 sales last year world wide.

Audi is weaker in the USA, probably because VW is so weak. Audi has had slow, steady growth though over 50 consecutive months of sales gains. 15 years ago Audi was like Jaguar level volume, but not they are a player, so I think that is why they get less criticism. Cadillac was on top of the mountain and now a 5th or 6th place brand, thus they get criticized. Audi sold 1,803,250 cars last year world wide. Hard to say they don't know how to convince people to buy them, the American market is only 10% of their total sales though. Cadillac needs the American market, it is their #1 market.

2015 sales and rate of change: 3/4-series: 140,609 down 1.2% C-class: 86,080 up 14.7% IS: 46,430 down 9.9% A4: 29,013 down 14.7% ATS: 26,873 down 10.1% This tells us 2 things. First off the sales/marketing and branding people are not doing a very good job. If the ATS is as good as a 3-series, they should be able to convince more people to buy it. The second thing is that these car segments are shrinking and shrinking fast as crossovers rise. So you better be on your A game in any of these sedan segments, and you also better have a slew of crossovers to sell, because those segments are growing.

CLA outsold Regal and Volkswagen CC combined in 2015! I never drove a CLA, I have only sat in them, as I posted I don't care for the interior. I have read the ride is hard and rough, that doesn't fit the rest of the Mercedes line. It gets good gas mileage, so that is a plus for the CLA. But despite the flaws, the people like the look or they like the badge so much they will buy it anyway. That is how strong the Mercedes brand image is. Cadillac needs image work, they have needed image work for decades. When I suggest they make a 500 hp V8 crossover, or a sports car above Corvette, or that they should have a DOHC V8 for larger vehicles or V-series, people think I am nuts. Then the CAFE excuse or budget dollars excuse comes up as to why they can't develop a DOHC V8. When Cadillac should have the money to build what they need, and let Chevy worry about CAFE, take the V8 out of the Silverado and Express van and put in 2.7 liter turbo V6s like Ford did on the F150, there is your CAFE gain.

And you sure as hell can't use the sales argument here as an indicator of a car being better than it's competition because then you are just straight talking out of your ass. The CLA has been ridiculed in may reviews since it came out for it's lackluster characteristics. The ATS has had far more positive reviews than the CLA by a country mile so that kills your asinine argument yet again. To further trash your sales argument, I submit the Escalade. It has outsold the GLS every year. Now, using your "logic", is the Escalade better since it outsells the obviously superior Mercedes? Just think about that for more than a damn minute before moving that bar again. I didn't say I think the CLA is better, I just said that more people rather buy it than an ATS. The CLA always gets crapped on for being such a horrible car, you want to say it is equal to a $20k Focus, but they sold more of them than Cadillac sold ATS. So the public must not think it is so bad. Personally, I don't like the CLA, the interior is sort of cheap, it feels sort of cramped inside too, could be the high belt line of it. Here in lies Cadillac's problem, the ATS can't even outsell a CLA. Let alone outsell a Lexus IS or A4. Even if Cadillac makes a good car, they can't convince people to buy it. The ATS got good reviews for it's driving dynamics, the magazines love the chassis, but marketing hasn't figured out how to get people to buy it. The Camaro is another good point by Oldshurst, you have a V8 and a supercharged V8 offered in the Camaro, yet no V8 in the ATS. Cadillac is better than Chevy, the Cadillac should have the better engines. If the ATS can't mop the floor with a Camaro (or Mustang), how can it beat the world's best? The Mercedes GL outsold the Escalade in 2013, by 7,000 units. And Escalade had 3 body styles to the GL's 1. The Escalade has outsold the GL in 2014 and 2015, but it hasn't outsold it "every year." This is the only segment that Cadillac and Mercedes have a good battle going, but the Escalade and Navigator founded the segment. What is interesting is how the Navigator has tanked, and the BMW X7 is about to emerge. Escalade is still tough to beat.