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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    C450 renamed. I believe there will be an E43 as well.
  2. smk4565
    Who's to say that GMC won't put another crossover above the Acadia, and under Yukon. I could see having 8 crossovers at a Buick-GMC dealership, is that is basically all that sells, cars sales are in the tank.
  3. smk4565
    Well I was thinking maybe GMC would add a compact crossover below Terrain, maybe slightly bigger than a Trax, but something to compete with Jeep Renegade. Crossovers are king right now, but you don't need 3 versions of a Trax.
  4. smk4565
    A 2nd thing on these Tesla owners. Does anything think they are driving from St. Louis to Chicago for example, they'll buy a plane ticket. These are for the most part people making a few hundred grand a year, or wealthy retirees, etc. They aren't traveling sales people pounding the pavement.
  5. smk4565
    There is electricity in just about every building in the USA. Granted a 110 volt outlet would take forever to charge a Tesla, but it isn't like you can't find electricity. Secondly, a lot of Tesla drivers are in urban areas and not driving 250 miles or more in a day, I never drive 250 miles in a day, so the range of a Tesla wouldn't both me for example. Charging the car in my garage and not having to go to gas stations I find appealing. If the free towing is to combat range anxiety, what nimrod can't read a battery % life gauge? It is like having smart phone, how often does your phone ever hit 10% or go dead totally. People just plug in their phone when it gets low. The Tesla is the same thing.
  6. smk4565
    The current Sprint cup series cars make 725 hp, they lowered it from around 850. I read one of the Waltrips said that 204 mph is the about the max speed for a stock car to stay on the ground with the air flaps they have on them. Elliot's all time record speed is 228 mph, but today's cars are slower. I think they can still hit 200 mph with 450 hp because a lot of that is based off the draft, in a group you don't have as much air so the cars use that draft to add speed and maintain it. Plus gearing comes into play, on Talladega or Daytona they are mostly running a constant speed or in the 175-200 mph window. A Corvette can hit 180 mph or so with 450 hp and it isn't made for a race track. An AMG GT has a top speed of 190 mph with 500 hp. So with racing in mind and the drafting I think 200 mph is doable on 450 hp. The acceleration is lessened, but they don't need acceleration at Daytona. A Veyron has a 268 mph top speed though, in a straight line it would destroy any race car, F1, Indy, LeMans, NASCAR doesn't matter. The Veyron isn't good in corners, but on a track like Talledega or Daytona where corning ability is not really needed, I think the Veyron could compete with a Nascar. Not an Indy cary though as they would hold their speed in the turns better. What we need is someone to lap a Veyron around Indy speedway, Daytona or Talledega so see how fast it is.
  7. smk4565
    Downsizing isn't a bad thing. In fact I think it is a good idea for some models, as most of these cars get bigger and bigger. Size creep keeps making sedans like the Malibu, Camry, and Fusion bigger, then you don't need an Avalon, Taurus or Impala anymore. And you have phased out your top end model. Why not do it in reverse and phase out your lowest end nameplate? In the Acadia's case, they made it the size of the Highlander and Pilot, that is an incredibly smart move. The Envision is actually a small crossover, Nissan Rouge, Honda CRV or Lincoln MKC size. I expect the Terrain and Equinox will drop to that size as well, which allows Chevy the room to add a new crossover. So Chevy would have Trax, Equinox, new cuv, Traverse. Buick would have just 2 CUVs, but Buick 3, so that gives them 5 int hat dealership.
  8. smk4565
    Right now Mercedes is the only game in town when it comes to full size coupes and convertibles, even the SL is the last of its breed for luxury roadsters. The Lexus LF-LC coupe is more like an E-class coupe in size, Audi, Jaguar, Infiniti and Cadillac have nothing in the full size coupe/convertible space. F-type the only roadster offering from that group.
  9. smk4565
    The performance is AMG level, or at least AMG level of 5 or so years ago. But I am still not really a fan of having the V6 powered "AMG 43" cars. I'd rather see all the V6 (soon to be inline six) Benzes with a 400 moniker, V8s 500, V12 600. I think it would make more sense. I do like the looks of the coupe though, I think this styling language will look better on an E-class coupe.
  10. smk4565
    The 8-series better be a 2 door, and not another 4-door coupe thing or some odd body style, but a real 2 door coupe. I would actually style it more like the 90s 8-series. The 90s 850ci looks better than anything in their current line up. I guess they better add a drop top version too, because:
  11. smk4565
    At Daytona and Talladega NASCARs have restricter plates so the cars are making about 435 hp, so their power to weight ratio is about the same as a base model Corvette. A Veyron SS with 1200 hp has a 268 mph top speed, I think it has a chance.
  12. smk4565
    I dont know about that... The only one that seems to sell well is the BMW X6. The Infinity ones were let to rot on the vine...so Ill give that as success too... But, the Acura one failed big time and well, the M-B version is still young, I guess its selling well due to the fact that many Eurotrash oriented M-B snobs want one to rub it in the noses of the BMW oriented Eurotrash neighbors of theirs...next year or so will really reveal if the M-B version will have conquered sales from lets say...the Escalade...because the Escalade is still THE top dog SUV in that price range, give or take a few thousand dollars...its still the same niche market. SUVs for Buick need to be more traditional. M-B is launching a 2nd crossover coupe this year, and the GLE coupe doesn't remotely compete with the Escalade, as it is a mid-size vehicle. The GLE coupe is within an inch in every dimension to an XT5. I think the GLE coupe doesn't make sense when it is $10k more than a GLE with less cargo room and poor rear visability, but people still buy it, and it pure margin. GMC has traditional, squarish crossovers in the showroom. I don't think it so crazy that Buick adds a crossover coupe to the 3 they have, especially if the crossover coupe is Epsilon based and a size up from Envision, but smaller than Enclave obviously. Mercedes put the CLS out 12 years ago and they didn't sell a whole lot, but then VW, Audi, BMW copied the idea, half the mid-size sedans adopted coupe-like styling. The same could happen with crossovers, because most people aren't buying them for cargo hauling they are buying them because they have more status than a sedan. Better for Buick to be on the front of the wave, rather than wait 10 years for Ford, Hyundai, Lincoln, Genesis, Infiniti, Volvo or whoever to all flood the market first.
  13. smk4565
    What Buick could do is turn the Regal into a 4-door coupe. If they did it on Epsilon it would be cheap, maybe a little bit more on alpha. But if they use the 2.5 liter and 2.0T engines they could keep cost down. The Regal has weak sales anyway, and if it was a coupe like product it would be much different from the Malibu or LaCrosse, and more similar to the Passat CC and CLA. Maybe they could even rename it Riviera, or call it Regal GC or just stick with Regal. But I don't see Buick needing four, 4-door cars in an SUV market.
  14. smk4565
    They should probably make a 4-door coupe SUV, as you watch that become the next hot segment. And sadly I am being serious. With crossovers outselling sedans, and having higher profit margins, I can see a lot of manufacturers having 5 or 6 crossovers and 3-4 sedans in their line up. I am all for 3-box design sedans, but it seems like people like ovals and crossovers now.
  15. smk4565
    I like the Phantom, it has the old school size and huge grille and doesn't look like every other jelly bean shaped car. I wish other luxo car makers would make a 1930s inspired design, that era had great over the top designs.
  16. smk4565
    Most races are four hours with no delays. You also don't factor in these little things called "cautions". Also, only a couple of races a year are 300 miles. The rest are 400-500 (and don't forget the 600 miles Coca Cola 600 race in Charlotte, NC). You are wrong and clearly have never even watched these races. The Veyron also weighs way more than your average stock car so you just go ahead and get a lesson in physics there (the Veyron weighs 700 lbs MORE than any NASCAR stock car). Besides, that MPC wasn't that close in an obviously "staged for TV" race. What I love is how some like to talk smack about stock car racing saying "it's the easiest style racing out there". Well, if it's so easy, how come outside racers (F1, Indycar, etc) have never succeeded in NASCAR (for the most part anyway)? Ask Matt Kennseth how easy it is to win a NASCAR race today. There were more passes on the last lap than F1 all weekend. What many miss is F1 is all about technology and strategy not the race where NASCAR is all about the driver and the race itself. Both are great series but they both have different agendas. Like soccer and NFL both have players and balls but they both are much different in how they use it to entertain. That is what most people forget Racing anymore is entertainment like any other sport. NASCAR is more about the driver because they all have the same car. They don't have the same car in F1, Mercedes has the best chassis and the most powerful engine, therefor they win every time. F1 is more about the car, and that is the downside to it, there isn't much passing because the tracks aren't wide in all areas, you can't draft like you can in NASCAR and the slower cars can't catch the faster cars.
  17. smk4565
    Most races are four hours with no delays. You also don't factor in these little things called "cautions". Also, only a couple of races a year are 300 miles. The rest are 400-500 (and don't forget the 600 miles Coca Cola 600 race in Charlotte, NC). You are wrong and clearly have never even watched these races. The Veyron also weighs way more than your average stock car so you just go ahead and get a lesson in physics there (the Veyron weighs 700 lbs MORE than any NASCAR stock car). Besides, that MPC wasn't that close in an obviously "staged for TV" race. What I love is how some like to talk smack about stock car racing saying "it's the easiest style racing out there". Well, if it's so easy, how come outside racers (F1, Indycar, etc) have never succeeded in NASCAR (for the most part anyway)? Sunday's Dayonta 500 was 3 hours and 17 minutes. A Veyron also has 1200 hp vs about 450 hp for a stock car with the restricter plate, the 700 or 900 lb weight difference would be easily overcome. . I think the top speed Sunday was 201 mph, a Veyron would crush those cars on the straights, the question is what speed the Veyron would hold in corners. A Veyron also has a larger fuel tank but 8 or 9 gallons. As far as other racers being successful, I think most drivers are conditioned and geared to one style racing. I don't see Earnhart Jr or Kyle Busch winning any F1 championships either. Race car drivers rarely cross over and there is no way that Richard Petty or Dale Earnhart Sr (for as good as they were) are better drivers than Ayerton Senna or Michael Schumacher.
  18. smk4565
    Today's millenials are not buying Cadillacs, they aren't even buying cars. And I know there are Chevy dealerships with a Cadillac franchise also to sell their 3 cars a month, but I question why you even let them keep those. The only way this virtual showroom could make sense is selling a car to a current Cadillac owner that is buying the same model. If your 3 year lease on an XTS is up, selling another in this fashion could work since the car hasn't changed.
  19. smk4565
    Bad idea. First off, why are there dealers selling less 50 cars per year, the tis less than one per week. Secondly, the "virtual showroom" is basically like what you get on the Cadillac website right? A vehicle configurator tool? And third, who wants to buy a car they never drove? I don't see how Cadillac's big claim is that they have better chassis dynamics and handling than the Germans, but then don't have the customer drive it.
  20. smk4565
    When will this 4-door coupe craze end. Even run of the mill family cars are trying to look like coupes. What is funny, is at the same time, most auto makers are killing their coupes and convertibles off. Although if it keeps more people buying cars and less buying SUVs, bring on the Buick 4 door coupe.
  21. smk4565
    Well with loads of caution laps and rain delays, I guess the races get dragged out. Some of those Nascar races are 250 or 300 miles, with cars doing easily over 100 mph, that would take 3 hours. Even a 500 mile race, if you avg 150 mph would be 3 hours and change. On Top Gear USA (which isn't very good) Tanner Foust raced the mid-engine V8 McLaren, I forget the name of it, vs Karl Edwards in his NASCAR on a NASCAR road course. The McLaren beat it on the road course section but obviously not on the oval. But the fact that a 580 hp McLaren can keep up with a Karl Edwards driven NASCAR makes me think a Veyron could beat it. The Veyron has more power, higher top speed, better acceleration to win on an oval, and on a road course forget it.
  22. smk4565
    Well the Sprinter costs more than a 3-series or X1. Mercedes does split out the vans on their sales chart. I am not sure for the purposes of the luxury sales race what number people are using. I do think BMW cars about the sales volume win more than Mercedes does though. I know Mercedes would like to outsell BMW, but at the same time, Mercedes prices all their cars higher than the rival BMW product, so they'd like to win on product, not price.
  23. smk4565
    Agreed. A 2-3 hour race of relatively constant speed with only left turns (minus the couple road courses). Not the highest skill level needed compared to other forms of racing and the cars are relatively low tech. A stock Veyron could probably win the Daytona 500, and a stock Veyron couldn't win Le Mans or a Formula 1 race. I think what is being overlooked here, is Tesla made an SUV that does 0-60 and runs the 1/4 mile as fast as a Corvette Z06. We aren't talking the Model X is fast compared to other SUVs, it is fast compared to pure sports cars.
  24. smk4565
    I can't believe Infiniti ripped off the Porsche Cayenne body shape so bad. Oh wait, this is a Maserati? On a side note, I sat in both a Ghibli and Quatroporte last week, and they were I think $90k and $118K sticker price respectively. Neither were very impressive. I mean they were nicer than an ATS or 3-series, but probably any sedan at $55-60k has a better interior than those 2. And at $118k in the Quatroporte you got a 400 hp V6. What a rip off. No wonder it doesn't sell.
  25. smk4565
    Or, BMW was chasing Mercedes for the lead, so they had to resort to cheap tactics. BMW outsells Chrysler with ease, they don't need to cheat to beat them.
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