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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Oh no, the Chevy truck won't be safe against bear attacks. Love how Chevy makes ads about how aluminum is bad, while Cadillac uses it, and now Chevy will do it themselves.
  2. smk4565
    If the Enclave is RX350 competition then the Enclave must compete even more so with the Cadillac SRX. The SRX is larger than the RX350 and priced below the Enclave. RX350 is priced above Enclave.
  3. smk4565
    If Buick has so many "loaded" sales, why continue to sell the $31k model? Why not make the base Lacrosse $37,000 so premium 1 is the new standard trim. Either way we are talking about Buick's most expensive car versus what has usually been the Lexus entry level car until the CT200 came along. I guess I could argue a Hyundai Azera is on par with a Cadillac ATS because an Azera has a higher price, thus making Hyundai a luxury brand, but it just isn't true. Buick is still not a luxury brand, never will be, never should be. Cadillac is the luxury brand.
  4. smk4565
    Maybe if the LS wasn't so forgettable and boring, with the same engine it had in 2007 on the 2016 model year car, they wouldn't need another flagship.
  5. smk4565
    Consumers might notice the $7,000 price difference between the LaCrosse and ES350 though. And that is sticker. I think we all know where the bigger rebate will be when it comes to Lexus and GM.
  6. smk4565
    Probably one of the contests should be best 3800 V6 equipped car for rural Uber driving where some off roading could be needed. I think a rugged Grand Prix would be fast enough to get people there quickly and tough enough off road because the plastic body moldings would protect against flying rocks.
  7. smk4565
    Ford Transit Connect passenger version
  8. smk4565
    I know the Avalon and ES ride the same chassis now but the ES is 192 inches long the Avalon is 195. The Lacrosse is like 197 or 199. The Lexus ES since launch in the 90s has been a mid size car.
  9. smk4565
    I think with the 8-speed and the 335 hp engine, that should help a little. I'd still drop that 2.5 liter base engine. What would be better than a V-sport (which I think would have tiny sales volume) is a plug-in hybrid. If you took the 2.0T hybrid system that makes 335 hp and over 350 lb-ft I believe, then you'd have a fairly well performing car, plus you get the fuel economy benefit and can appeal to the green crowd with electric range. I think you could get more plug-in hybrid sales than twin turbo V6 sales. And pricing isn't out yet, but I get the feeling Mercedes will be positioning the C-class plug-in hybrid as the middle engine, with the C450 as the top. Audi has e-trons on the way as well, BMW is doing hybrids too. Hybrid/electric is a low volume segment too, but I think if a you add $3,000 to the price of the turbo 4 car (regardless of brand), most luxury customers would pay that for the extra 50-70 hp and the fuel economy gain.
  10. smk4565
    Lacrosse competes more with Avalon, similar size and price although the Avalon base price is a little higher. The Lexus ES has a base price of $38,000, and is closer in size to the Malibu than the LaCrosse. Maybe they get cross shopped, but there is a $7,000 price gap on those 2 cars. I don't know if there needs to be a sporty Buick, they aren't a sporty brand, and the car is basically invisible in the market.
  11. smk4565
    I like the idea of no-haggle pricing. Cars are about the only new product you negotiate price on. You don't negotiate on price of a washer and dryer set, you compare the price of Kenmore, Whirlpool and Maytag and pick one. The car buying process is lousy, and you do often talk to a sales person or two, then the manager, then the fiance person, then the sales person again, it takes forever. I'd rather buy a car online at a no haggle price and skip all the crap that dealers put customers through.
  12. smk4565
    They will sell dozens of them per month! And with total sales volume will go up 1,000% !!!
  13. smk4565
    I probably sat in the Avalon at the Auto show this year, if not I did for sure last year. All I remember was that it was roomy, and the seats were cushy and beige and the carpet was beige. But that is what the old folks like, the sales charts don't lie. They buy the Camry and Avalon, they don't buy the Regal. Cadillac ATP is up because the ATS and CTS sales are in the tank. If BMW sold 1,500 3/4-series a month instead of 12,000 ATP would skyrocket. A better measure would be to compare ATS and CTS ATP vs 3-series and 5-series ATP. Then you are getting more of an apples to apples comparison.
  14. smk4565
    IMG 20150805 223409 097

    From the album: smk's

    Mercedes center console
  15. smk4565
    Buick isn't quite moving up market, they are cutting the price of the Regal for 2016. Anywhere from $1,000 on the base car to $3,300 on the GS. Not sure that that will do anything for sales, I think the Regal is too much of a Euro-sport (not the chevy from the 80s) car, and it just doesn't appeal to the main stream market, or to the people going in Buick show rooms. If you want a sport sedan, you aren't buying a Buick, the Regal should be a luxury car, rip off the Toyota Avalon interior, old people buy that, they'll buy a Buick.
  16. smk4565
    BMW and MB had a sales increase. Mercedes is waiting on the new GLC as the small crossover segment is probably the fastest growing. New E-class next year and that has historically been their #2 seller. I am surprised at Mazda, they make a good car, way better than many of their competitors but they don't get noticed.
  17. smk4565
    True to all that. And the C63 has the best interior, best turning circle, largest trunk and somehow the best EPA fuel economy rating, best passing power. I also would skip the carbon brakes and save $5,400. The Nissan GT-R can hammer a Corvette in a 0-60 sprint and beat it on a race track, yet I doubt the Corvette fans here would buy a GT-R just because it is has a good Nurburgring time and video game launch control. Cadillac has put the performance in the ATS-V, but all three of these cars are basically the same (imagine if the Lexus IS-F was in that test, it would be have been embarrassed). But the same issues the base ATS has with interior space, interior trim, CUE, etc are all still there. Really I think all 3 of these cars are $5-10,000 over priced, the base models of all these are like $35,000 and these cars are near $80,000.
  18. smk4565
    I think turbo 4 Pony cars will be really common in the 2020s. They'll price the V8s up high, like $40k+. Look at the luxury segment even, and how few V8s are left, you have to spend $70,000 or more probably for V8 luxury car anymore. Or $60k on a Hyundai Equus I suppose, and I don't think a Genesis or 300C is a true luxury car, but even those are nearing $50k with a V8. So the people spending $25-35,000 on Mustangs and Camaros (which is the bulk of the market) will be getting a turbo 4. On the ZL1, I'd assume supercharged 6.2 liter V8? Maybe 575 hp so it is less than the Corvette.
  19. smk4565
    The C63 had the best passing time, granted by .1 seconds. But I bet if they did a 100-150 mph acceleration test, the C63 would win because of the V8. Unless you drive on the Autobahn that isn't going to matter much. I think with all 3 cars the performance is so close you couldn't tell the difference, so it comes down to styling, interior, and which brand of car you want. Plus some cars are great on a track and not good to live with everyday, seems like they thought the C63 was the best car to live with everyday, and you get the V8 noise,
  20. smk4565
    Jeep is white hot and I think the Renegade is going to pick up steam and sell even more. I think the Renegade looks pretty good, it has a classic Jeep look, at Kia Soul prices, that is going to be a winning combo. Ram pickups do nice volume, their commercial vans are nothing compared to Ford's volume. Fiat and Alfa sales are a joke, Dodge/Chrysler are pretty uninspiring. Jeep is holding this company together.
  21. smk4565
    I also think the 2008 C-class interior went backwards, I think Mercedes in general started going for more of a sporty or performance minded interior, and ended up with black plastic in the process. Then around 2012 they remember they make luxury cars and went back to more wood, aluminum and leather and more colors. Buick I do not think is a luxury car, their cars are basically $4-5,000 higher base price than a Chevy, a Chevy LTZ trim car is probably priced higher than most Buick base models. A Hyundai Azera is priced higher than any Buick sedan, not exactly a luxury car in the Azera.
  22. smk4565
    There might have been some 2015 model year CL's, probably made in early 2014, I am not sure, 2014 might have been the last model year of the CL. That 1 CL might be the last one ever made, it could be a collectable.
  23. smk4565
    The X5 and 5-series have totally flip flopped their sales volume from last year to this year. 6-series sales are a joke, and why does a 6-series cost more than a 7-series, and I bet half those 6-series had 4 doors on them. If the 6-series was just like a 190 inch long 2-door 5-series for the same money as a 535i, I bet they'd have halfway decent sales volume from it. I think all those Mini's that sell under 300 units a month should be canned also. Your car better be $100,000 if it is selling 300 units a month. I bet the Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe outsells the Mini Coupe, and it is $500,000.
  24. smk4565
    A good article. The C63 is pricey, it is almost E63 money. It would be nice if they could get that price down by $5,000 or so. For me, the only other area for improvement on the C63 would be to get about 100 lbs of weight out of the front end, then they'd be more near a 50/50 weight balance. Interestingly enough the C63 is about 4 inches longer than a standard C-class because they had to make the hood longer to fit the V8. So I am sure that adds to the weight, maybe a carbon fiber hood would neutralize that. As far as the other guys go...
  25. smk4565
    Impala sales aren't bad when you look at the segment. Large sedans are just a dying breed. Impala outsold the Taurus 2-1, and it outsells the Avalon, Maxima, Azera and Cadenza. The Impala is starts about $4-6,000 less than the Asian competition, but still, that segment just doesn't have a lot of volume.
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