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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Camaro is a coupe, ATS is mostly sold in Sedan trim, and Chevy to Cadillac is a big step up. Buick Enclave or GMC Acadia Denali to Cadillac XT5 and XT7 is less of a jump. Those could get cross shopped. And yes I have said that it is a good thing if they sell more Cadillacs because they in theory have higher margins. GM doesn't break out the numbers, but we can assume a luxury brand has the best margins in any company. I have been saying for years to turn Cadillac loose and give them the product they need. Cadillac should be stealing off Buick, GMC, top end Honda Pilots, Ford Explorer Titaniums, Lexus, Acura and Lincoln with ease. All those brands have crossovers in the $40-55k space, Cadillac should be in there kicking butt. That is a winnable fight. For the past 15 years they have been trying to fight BMW on the sedan front and they let also rans like Lincoln actually go up in sales the past couples years. If I we running Cadillac this would be my crossover line up: XT3: D2XX platform, turbo 4 engine, similar to Lincoln MKC, Lexus NX XT4: Alpha platform, 2.0T, 3.0TT and 3.6 TT V6 (ATS-V engine) similar to GLC/X3 XT5: we have XT6: Alpha or Omega, crossover of current CTS size, 2.0T, 3.0 TT, and 4.2 TT V8 engines XT7: C2XX lwb, the Cadillac Enclave with 7 seats, 3.6 V6, this would be a $48-60k type vehicle against Infiniti QX60. XT8: Omega 3 row crossover, 3.0TT V6, 4.2TT V8 Escalade: add CTS-V engine, leave BOF for now as people that want a big truck like it how it is 6 crossovers plus Escalade, on a 6-7 year life cycle, you have 1 all new crossover per year, and one mid-cycle refresh per year. There is probably even room for an XT2 in there. Something GLA size or even Audi Q2 size. That might be more for Euro or China market. Kill XTS at the end of the cycle, add a convertible somewhere, anywhere.
  2. smk4565
    Well that is like saying most cars are silver and beige, and it is boring. If a company offers 10 colors and 50% of the consumers pick gray/silver, then it isn't the companies fault that more people don't buy red or yellow.
  3. smk4565
    Yes, these are so dark, drab and monotone. Any car with black on black interior is monotone, so don't pick all black, they offer other colors. This one is really dark...
  4. smk4565
    Same old thing, like the Camaro, Corvette and Mustang. Yet those are considered America's best.
  5. smk4565
    So the head of the brand said his goal is 500k units by 2020, but that is not what their real plan is. He definitely wants to sell 500k units a year, they may not get there, but that is his goal, he said so.
  6. smk4565
    Hard to have legitimate interest without the car being priced. Those 40,000 people could disappear if they price it wrong. I find it odd that this car is supposed to go on sale soon, and still has no price.
  7. smk4565
    Frivolous lawsuit that some people are trying to cash in on. Mercedes will win this one. On the diesel issue as a whole though, how much nitric oxide toxic fumes do tractor trailer trucks, city buses, school buses, etc spill into the air? Seems like they should have the same emission rules as passenger cars.
  8. smk4565
    Much of the engine play is because of the emissions laws in various markets. Some also due to engine size taxes too. As for Chassis tuning it was just a choice as so many BMW owners are getting older maybe they expect a smoother ride? That one you can choose. As for interior the Germans really have never set the world on fires unless you like all dark leather. They are to blame for many of the dull interiors the other MFG have copied. Audi has made good interiors for years, Mercedes currently does also. And Mercedes put a V8 in the C-class, they have to follow the same rules as BMW. BMW gave up on what made the 90s and early 2000s M3 and M5 so good. They better find their secret sauce again. Luckily for them, they have a loyal following.
  9. smk4565
    I posted that interview earlier. I think the new path of Cadillac is to introduce a ton of crossovers. The quickest and easiest way to do that is to build them on existing GM platforms. So I can see an XT3 based on the Envision or new Equinox, and XT7 Enclave, could do a version of the Buick Encore, or even something the size between Encore and Envision. They could take the existing XT5 and make a crossover coupe out of it. Johan wants 500,000 units a year by 2020, and he talks about being global, but they are basically an American and Chinese market player. They need to get to more markets to get the volume he wants. I suppose rolling out 5 more crossovers and stealing sales of Buick and GMC will boost volume, but that won't get them to 500k I don't think. China's growth is slowing.
  10. smk4565
    All those little cars have no where near the interior room of an A8L. Or the interior quality. S550 is the obvious choice for this price, even if awd and Premium 1 package are all you can get on it for the price restriction.
  11. smk4565
    The problem with BMW is they took a V8 and went down to a straight six with the same power, and jacked up the price. It is a 335i with more boost for another $25,000. The fact that so much equipment is still optional is crazy, considering the high cost. I don't know if BMW was just going for more luxury and lost steering feel and handling along the way, but if they are going to luxury, why are their interiors so much worse than Mercedes. BMW should have kept the 4.0 V8 and put turbos on that, but they messed that one up.
  12. smk4565
    Omega and Alpha support AWD. The only rear drive only Impala would be sold in the south. That is IF they made a rear drive Impala. The SS as it is positioned is an impossible sell, even more so as car sales drop. IF they made a rear drive platform Impala, I would make it start with a 200 hp 4 cylinder, and a 335 hp V6 optional. If priced under $30k you can get sales. Just like the Charger and 300 do, they both start in the mid-high $20s. And those things are dinosaurs. Johan deNysschen said on Autoline that small luxury car segment was down 10% worldwide last year, and mid-size luxury market was down 15% globally. Later on they said how the mid-size sedan market is down 2% this year, and small crossovers are up 17%, I think luxury crossovers are up 25%. Going toward 2020 and beyond a lot of sedans will die, you need to really have a standout sedan if you want to sell it. Look at how many coupes have died in the past 10 years, I think that will happen with large sedans and there will only be 3-4 left.
  13. smk4565
    Mercedes also floats of a lot of rumors about what they are considering to gauge interest. They also said they are thinking of a GLC convertible and a GLS coupe SUV. How you make a coupe out of a 17 foot long SUV is beyond me. But at any rate, they float ideas out there to see what sticks, before committing to anything.
  14. smk4565
    I actually liked the XLR, I thought it looked good. The interior quality was a bit of a letdown, and it just didn't have enough horsepower for the price. The XLR was a car that had I had the money for a 3 year old used one at $40k I would have bought. $80k new for what it was, was just too high a price, but I did like the XLR a lot, and they still look good now, 10+ years later. Johan was on Autoline TV today, and the Autoline After hours was about the Cadillac XT5 http://www.autoline.tv
  15. smk4565
    I don't think they need a 4-door coupe S-class, the Mercedes sedans are getting a bit more of a sloped rear window due to getting the drag coefficient down. The 3-box look is pretty dead. CLS makes sense since there is a price gap between the E and S, and the E550 is gone, if the next gen CLS gets a V8 that is sort of the car for those that want a V8 E-class. I hope there is never a C or S class 4 door coupe, they don't really need an extra body sales on a car. But this is 5-6 years away, we'll see if they bother, the S-class is the chauffeur driven market king, a 4-door coupe does nothing for that.
  16. smk4565
    And Mercedes doesn't try to sell their dreams? Seriously? Mercedes doesn't put out lots of concept cars that show a convertible, sports car, flagship, or whatever to draw up excitement and then not deliver. GM likes to make these exciting concepts and say things like an S-class fighter is in the works, well in 2010 they were talking about and S-class fighter, in 2016 they now say it is dead. 6 years or talk and no action. Remember these? Great looking concepts that never saw the light of day. The Avenir, Avista, Ciel and El Mirage will join those 3 as dream cars that would elevate the brand, but never materialized. Mercedes showed an S-class convertible a few years ago, they put an S-class convertible on sale this year. Mercedes built stuff like this: Over the top cars that don't really make sense, but they built their dreams and put it on sale.
  17. smk4565
    Cadillac got $12 billion for product by 2020. No way do the spend $1 billion on a mid-engine supercar that they will sell 400 a year of. There are other holes to fill, like crossovers.
  18. smk4565
    You can't sell dreams, you cannonly sell the product you have. Let's first look at the TT V8. I for nearly 10 years have been arguing for a DOHC V8 to replace the Northstar. So I hope they build it. But if it is a CT6 only engine it would never have enough volume. So I hope it is used on ATS-V, CTS, Escalade etc. I just question if GM would really invest the money to do it. As far as a mid-engine supercar goes, that has to be a carbon fiber chassis car, they don't have that now and it is too expensive to use on a Corvette. I'd like to see Mercedes build a LaFerrari competitor, but I get that they have to make a choice between that and updating their core products. Cadillac might be able to do a front engine Grand Touring coupe. That could be Corvette, Alpha or Omega platform with the 4.2 V8.
  19. smk4565
    Will never happen because nothing at GM can be faster than a Corvette. I have long thought that Cadillac should have a sports car superior to the Corvette, but that isn't in GM's thinking. I'd love to see a V12 Cadillac super car with 200+ mph top speed and sub 3 second 0-60 time but they'll never green light due to cost. The head of AMG was asked if Mercedes would make a LaFerrari/McLaren P1 competitor last year. He said they could build a car like that, but it would be such a money loser and divert resources from the E63 and other projects, which we now see are the C43, E43 and GLC63, and AMG GT R. So if Mercedes who has a V12 and a Formula 1 race team, that has the technology on the shelf to build a hyper car deemed it a money loser, then Cadillac would lose even more money on such a project and GM would never green light that.
  20. smk4565
    Who's to say Cadillac doesn't cancel the twin turbo V8 also. They seem content to use a Corvette engine in the CTS-V and I doubt they'd change the Escalade's V8 engine to the 3.0TT V6 and 4.2TT V8. So then you are making this new 4.2 V8 for just the CT6. If they sell 10,000 CT6 a year and the V8 is a 10% take rate, that is 1,000 cars a year. No way the beancounters let Cadillac develop and produce an engine for just 1,000 units a year. I have heard some rumblings that Alpha and Omega can't support crossovers. If that is really true, that is horrible engineering on GM's part. Crossovers were hot 5+ years ago before those platforms were developed. The sad thing here is Cadillac is not fighting the Germans, they are fighting against their own inept management, a lousy marketing department, and the beancounters and accounts at GM.
  21. smk4565
    The defection to Tesla thus far has been in the $100,000 sedan segment. This hurts the M5 or CTS-V which are a small % of the overall line, and it hurts cars like the A8 and S-class. For most automakers, Tesla has yet to make an impact. Once they get into the $40k segment, they will start to feel it, even more so if Tesla makes a $30,000 car. Once they hit the mainstream, the establishment is in for a wake up call.
  22. smk4565
    Where is this different than what I have been saying? For god's sake you act like this is some original Idea and it is really what I have been trying to get across to you for days! You only left out the ability to sell it globally as a Holden or Opel. Did you just come to? I have said in the past that GM should make a rwd/awd sedan that is cheaper. The risk of making an Omega Impala, is then they'll put an LT1 V8 in it and charge $55,000 and no one will buy it. Big sedans don't sell well to begin with, they have to sell a value proposition if they do decide to do an Omega Impala. I'd like to see GM take a risk and put our a rear drive sedan in the $25-40k space, but I just don't think they will. The beancounters will say how building a care off epsilon is cheaper, the sales/marketing people will say FWD is easier to sell. And then we know what will happen.
  23. smk4565
    Chrysler Pacifica, the 2017 Acadia, or a Ford Explorer at this price point. Especially if you want 3 rows. If a 2 Row vehicle is okay, a lower trim Jeep Grand Cherokee.
  24. smk4565
    The Chevy SS is a dying breed. Very few people want V8s anymore, very few want RWD. We all like it, but most of the buying public does not. Since the Cadillac CT8 is dead and they need another Omega platform car, I could see making the Impala on Omega, it would be the same size and weight as the current Impala, without the droopy proportions and super high belt like and 3 for thick C pillar. They could use the 2.5 liter 4 and 3.6 V6 engines, add an AWD option for V6 cars and have an affordable large sedan that was different than Malibu or LaCrosse.
  25. smk4565
    I have a rear wheel drive car and use Blizzaks on it in the winter, it is worse than my FWD Aurora with all season tires in the snow. On any kind of hill, even with snow tires my car can struggle. Often I'd have to turn traction control off an spin my way up a hill. No doubt that rwd is worse in snow. That being said it snows maybe 10 days a year where the roads are well covered, so I don't mind since the other 355 I like the rear drive feel of the car. Most buyers are not enthusiasts though, and don't want that. Even in rain I can get the back end to kick loose at 1/4 throttle going around a turn. Most drivers don't know how to drive a car like that, FWD appliance is easier to deal with. Most buyers don't need AWD, but it is that safety net feeling, they feel more confident with it. That is why you see so many crossovers, the people want that AWD because they are convinced that they need it, even id they don't.
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