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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Looks like an uglier version of the BMW i3. I don't get why if you have an electric car and don't have the styling limitations of arranging the shape of the car around the engine, do these designers still come up with ugly cars. The Model S is the only good looking electric car on the market, no wonder none of them sell.
  2. smk4565
    I think the S90 interior is better than any Acura or Lincoln or even the CTS. And the horsepower to fuel economy ratio if you want to call it that is pretty good from their new turbo and supercharged 4. But it is still a front drive car, hard to go head to head with the E-class and 5-series with that is all I am saying. I think they made good products with the XC90 and S90, but you have to sell them to recoup those investment dollars. I think the XC90 has a better chance because crossover buyers don't care about performance or drivetrain. And the XC90 has a 400 hp engine option, which is more than what Lexus, Cadillac, Acura, or Infiniti will put in a crossover, so they can actually win on performance for the few crossover buyers that do want that.
  3. smk4565
    But doesn't the Audi A6 come with FWD as standard (on the 2.0T in the U.S. and many more options in Europe)? It seems to be doing ok. A6 sells about 1,500 cars a month here. Not really setting the US market on fire. It sells huge in China though. So if Volvo hopes to take a bite out of Audi China sales maybe they can do that.
  4. smk4565
    Overall the outside looks pretty good, I really like the front end, but not a fan of the A7-like C pillar or the tail lights. I really like the interior though. That color combo is good, I like the metal trim, the bowers and wilkins speaker covers, the big nav screen. Excellent job on the inside. The new Volvo engines make good power for being small displacement, the fuel economy should be pretty good too. But I assume this is fwd, hard to compete with the E-class and 5-series with that.
  5. smk4565
    What is funny is when brands want to bring back old names, in this case Aviator, Continental, Bronco, and Ranger. But why did they dump all those products in the first place? If Continental was such a good name why did they kill the name for MKZ and MKS? Why did the Taurus name plate die for Five Hundred? Are we to get excited if Chevy brings back the Cavalier or Buick brings back the LeSabre? I personally don't like the MK-blank names or CT-number names that Lincoln and Cadillac have gone to, I think they should have stuck with the word names and the history. But it goes to show the inconsistent product planning and marketing that these brands have, and it is puts them in the position they are in. Consistent products like Accord and Camry build that reputation and sell well over time.
  6. smk4565
    I am surprised Lincoln sales were down. I was under the impression that they were the hottest and fastest growing luxury brand. The MKS topped 500 units, the friends and family pricing must have caused a surge of buyers.
  7. smk4565
    OK, seriously, Mini should make the 2 door and the Countryman, and that is it. They have 5 models that sold under 350 units! Those are like Bentley volumes.
  8. smk4565
    1 million body on frame trucks and tanking car sales can't be good for CAFE. CTS down 50%, that hurts. It is sad that cars are sort of dying. You can see the day coming some of these slow selling sedans are dropped. And you'll walk into a showroom and there will be 5 crossovers and 1 sedan.
  9. smk4565
    VW with all those diesels they can't sell is going to keep them down a while. Plus you probably had people buy it because it was diesel and not VW, so those buyers may just look elsewhere all together. This month shows how people want crossovers. That is bad news for brands like Dodge and Chrysler. You don't really need 2 sedan brands when a brand like Jeep is up 20%. Land Rover and Volvo up a ton because of new crossovers in their lineup.
  10. smk4565
    Should be a sedan. They already have a box electric car. Unless extended i3 is another term for crossover. Because people want those crossovers.
  11. smk4565
    Hard to compare a turbo V6 to a N/A V8 for fuel economy when they are in different vehicles. There are a lot of variables there. You could probably pick and chose various engines in various cars that will beat others. But why use an N/A V8 when you can turbo it? Still a mystery to me as to why there is no Ecoboost V8.
  12. smk4565
    First off those that say a turbo V6 is better than a V8, would they like the Corvette to lose the LT1 V8 and offer a twin turbo V6 in stead and make the Z06 the only V8 Corvette offered? Second. Who says it has to be an N/A V8 in the Lincoln. Ford makes 1.6 and 2.0 liter turbo 4's. Why couldn't they make a 3.2 or 4.0 ecoboost V8?
  13. smk4565
    I wonder how long the Savana and Express will last anyway. They are like 20 year old designs and the Euro-style vans are taking over. The Promaster is a bad vehicle luckily. But I wonder if GM could allocate that whole factory to pick ups, and build a new van off a new platform some place else.
  14. smk4565
    You can't be a luxury brand without rear wheel drive and a V8. It is that simple. (Tesla is rear drive and has 500-700 hp, electricity is the exception) I never said Lincoln had to offer a V8 cheap. Charge $85k for it for a rear drive V8 Lincoln for all I care, at least they would have an interesting product. I originally said the Continental being a front drive chassis car, even with a turbo v6 and all wheel drive will have to be priced cheap to sell. You can put as nice an interior as you want in these Lincolns, they still drive like Fords. Acura is in the same situation, that is why Lincoln and Acura struggle selling sedans over $45k. RLX and MKS sales are proof of that. I think this idea of the V8 is so expensive is ridiculous. Ford and Chevy can put V8s into Camaros and Mustangs for $35,000. Chrysler/Dodge do it also with their sedans. So in Cadillac's case, they could put a V8 in more cars, they choose not to. In Lincoln's case, they don't have the platform for it. Without a real platform Lincoln will never be anything. Trying to make front drive Lincolns compete with real luxury cars would be like building the Mustang on a Fusion platform, and putting a twin turbo V6 in with torque vectoring awd. You could still get 400 hp in the car and put it on the ground, but a fwd chassis Mustang is not going to compete with a rear drive Camaro. Just like these Lincolns won't compete with Cadillac, Lexus, the Germans, Jaguar, etc.
  15. smk4565
    I also originally said most luxury cars "offer" a V8, at the mid-size level. The mid size Infiniti is Q70, that has a V8, Lexus GS-F, the AMG, M, Audi S models, Jaguar XF-R, Hyundai Genesis, and CTS-V as well. Acura, Lincoln and Volvo do not, look at their status. And I am all for the turbo V6 argument to replace the V8, or turbo 4 to replace a V6. But then why is there no turbo V6 in a Silverado or Tahoe, GM still puts V8s in those.
  16. smk4565
    Cadillac offers a V8 in the mid-size CTS-V for the low 90s. MB only offers a V8 in the mid size E-Class when you fork over $100K for the privilege. Not sure what you are trying to prove here based on that simple fact. Unless you get an E550 coupe or convertible which are $60-65k with a V8. I am not saying the V8 cars are value, but that other luxury makers offer them. Luxury brands are supposed to offer the best and supposed to offer excess. CT6 has no V8 when that the common engine for the large sedan segment. A turbo V6 is plenty for most, but I still think luxury and sports cars need that aspirational product too. You don't see a turbo 4 or turbo v6 in a Corvette, even though it would make for adequate performance, because they know buyers want the most power they can get and will pay a premium for it. I mentioned the V8 about the Continental. The MKZ is bigger than an E-class or 5-series, the same length as an Infiniti Q70. The Continental will be as big as an LS460, K900, Genesis/Equus/G90 and those are V8 cars. Oncblu is 100% right about the primary Focus. You know it is coming eventually. A Lincoln Explorer would have higher margins so they'll do that first.
  17. smk4565
    Most luxury cars offer a V8, even at the mid-size range, especially at the full size. It is Lincoln and Cadillac that for some reason don't want to. It will be interesting to see the final product and pricing for the Continental. And speaking of core segments, where is the small Lincoln luxury car? The MKZ is 194 inches long, that is bigger than a 5-series, and a lot of people complain the 5-series is too big and bloated now.
  18. smk4565
    If the Continental was a real luxury car, they'd have the 5.0 liter V8 or the 5.2 liter flat plane crank V8 in there.
  19. smk4565
    I don't think there will ever be a turbocharged LaCrosse, nor should there be. 300 hp is plenty for a front drive vehicle, even if you do route it through an AWD system. And for the demographic of that car, 300 hp is plenty. People that want a 400 hp performance car will go to CTS or an Import. This is Lincoln's problem though, they don't have the ride/handling of other cars because of the chassis, they can't put huge power in because of the chassis. So all Lincoln has is interior to sell on. And I doubt the Continental will be an S-class or A8 level interior. Probably won't even be Mercedes C-class level. Which you can get a C450 that does 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and has the AMG 33/67 split and system for $50k, and $60k optioned up.
  20. smk4565
    I mean a 300 hp engine on Continental. A 300 hp Continental could sell for around $44,000. A 400 hp twin turbo V6 Black label for $49,995. That's how I'd price them. Because it is basically just a fancier Buick LaCrosse.
  21. smk4565
    Watch them nickel and dime the Continental to keep the price competitive, then they'll offer $5,000 cash back on it and fleet sale it to blow through inventory and not rebuild the brand and not make money anyway. No one has been successful selling a front wheel sedan over $50k. This is why XTS, Acura RLX and Volvo S80/S90 have been high $40s with awd. I don't think anyone is paying over $50k for a Continental.
  22. smk4565
    I originally thought there should be a 300 HP base engine at $45k and options,but I think everything should be standard for $49,995. Every available option from an MKX or Navigator should be standard on Continental. So the fully loaded price would also be $49,995.
  23. smk4565
    I wonder if they will sell a clock with 4 diamonds for $80,000 for the less fortunate.
  24. smk4565
    I picked the Escalade and Navigator as examples. But let's say they use the Continental concept interior and 400 HP v6 base, I think $49,995 needs to be the price with destination charge. Lincoln needs a splash. They are using a front drive platform so already they are behind all the other luxury cars in ride and handling. They need to produce the best American car interior ever with ridiculously aggressive pricing.
  25. smk4565
    I would agree with Drew's point that Zeta wasn't worth bench marking and that the bench marking process would have been 3 years ago. Ford in 2012 wouldn't have known what the 2016 Camaro would be. I'd also add this. If Ford in their mind felt the Mustang was the best car in the segment, why would they benchmark someone else? I am not saying I think the Mustang is the best car, but if Ford thought it was, they are going to benchmark themselves. For Example, you don't hear BMW saying we benchmarked the IS350 or G37 when designing a 3-series. The 3-Series is the gold standard, they can only advance their own design, and would not benchmark a lesser product.
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