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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Haldex systems are for front drive, or at least AWD systems that normally run FWD. There is an episode of Autoline after hours with one of the lead engineers at VW and he explained how the Haldex system works and that is what is on the VW models, and the Audi A3 and Q3. On those cars it is like 90% front drive unless the wheels slip, he said the differentials would overheat if they ran rear drive, they can only do it for short periods. The Audi A4/A6/A8 use a totally different system that runs more rear bias. CTS has to use something different than haldex, something that can run 55% or more rear bias.
  2. smk4565
    Well they are comparing to an E-class that came out in summer of 2009 also, the oldest car in the segment, and I who am a Mercedes fan, and not really a fan of the current E-class interior. But, the 2017 E-class spy photos show S-class level interior, so I am looking forward to seeing the new E-class at the Detroit Auto show, and hoping it doesn't just look the same as the C-class and S-class.
  3. smk4565
    I have never been much of a Porsche fan, but I do give them credit for getting a lot of acceleration out of not a lot of torque. You wouldn't think a 368 lb-ft of torque car would run 3.7 seconds 0-60, but Porsches do seem to make the most of their power. In that regard, you can probably use all the power almost all the time on a track, where a lot of these high power cars are mostly just straight line burners, and can't put the power down in a corner. Which reminds me on Top Gear one time, Jeremy Clarkson drove a Boxter S around Monza and could drive it hard, and posted a similar lap time to Hammond who had something like a Pagani Zonda that has just too much power to keep control of for a non race car driver.
  4. smk4565
    I think a Wrangler pick up is a great idea. As I said in another threat, Wrangler has a following and is a popular model, and you can't change the styling, so you might as well do a new body style. And people like pickups, even ancient pick ups like the Tacoma and Frontier sell in fairly good numbers, I think a Wranger pickup could sell pretty well, especially if they get some updated engines and transmissions, like the pentastar 2.7 liter (or 3.6) and the 8-speed transmission. I think the Wrangler still has a 5-speed auto from Daimler days.
  5. smk4565
    I'm sure Lexus thinks long and hard about that when it deposits checks for RX350 payments. Well they are cashing in on the sheeple that think Toyota product lasts 300k miles without maintenance, and those soccer moms have no idea what drive wheels do what. Cadillac is an underdog that is trying to climb up, "good enough" isn't going to get them to where they want to be. Plus the RX sells at a much lower price than the X5 or GLE. Which makes me think XT5 will be about $40k, so an XT3 has to be about $33k, if they follow the Lexus NX and RX or Lincoln MKC-MKX pricing models.
  6. smk4565
    Car and Driver once wrote "power is sent to the rear wheels, just as God intended."
  7. smk4565
    I think it will be a hit with the ballers and musicians. Because they will want to upstage their counterparts that have an Escalade or Cayenne. Creates competition for the G-wagen too, I still want to see a Maybach GL with a V12 to battle this thing.
  8. smk4565
    And it would make great brand new engine for Chevrolet and Buick, for the Lambdas, LaCrosse, Impala, Camaro, etc. Here is the torque of the euro V6's all of which do it around 2,000 rpm. Audi 325 lb-ft (but a new engine next year is going to see a power bump) Jaguar 332 lb-ft BMW 330 lb-ft Mercedes 354-384 lb-ft (depending on the model) I am pretty sure we don't need to see a performance test to know that 285 lb-ft @ 5300 rpm isn't as good as 330-380 @ 2,000 rpm.
  9. smk4565
    The interior is nice, the outside looks a bit like a station wagon or an 80s Jeep Wagoneer. I don't know, the outside looks sort of ugly I think. Huge power though, the performance stats are pretty amazing for an SUV.
  10. smk4565
    Its still a Mercedes with FWD, making your post just pure trolling. Think it will be the last FWD Mercedes? Not likely in this day and age. Mark my words. Mercedes only has one FWD platform, and it only fits small vehicles. So only A or B segment cars will be front drive, and they pretty much have the hatchback, sedan, crossover and boxy people mover body styles covered already. They have the MRA platform for C-class, 2017 E-class/CLS, and GLC, the S-class platform, the roadster platform, the GLE/GLS suv platform. That is 4 rear drive platforms, not counting G-wagen. So again over 80% of the platforms are rear drive, and they are moving to an inline six that won't fit in a front wheel drive car, so I would say Mercedes is pretty committed to rear drive. The MFA platforms cars are a necessary evil in a sense to capture younger buyers and to meet fuel economy and emission requirements.
  11. smk4565
    I think what sticks out, is the one reviewer says since the CTS costs E-class money, would he buy it over and E-class and he said he wouldn't. Probably most consumers think that way. DeLorenzo has always been a CTS fan, he makes a good point about "premium collection" being a bit cheeseball. Titanium, Platinum, Limited, etc may work for regular cars, in the luxury segment it seems like lame marketing. Why not has CTS and luxury package 1, 2, 3, and a sport package. I think that 3.6 V6 should become a Chevy/Buick engine and get out of Cadillac. It is getting non-competitive in a hurry, it has no torque. Jaguar and Audi have a supercharged V6, BMW and Mercedes a turbo or twin turbo 6, even Lincoln has a twin turbo V6, in fact they have 2 of them. Cadillac should replace the 3.6 with the 3.0TT V6, even if it is tuned at like 375 hp and torque, that is plenty to stay ahead of the other guys, and not too much that it makes the 420 hp V-sport pointless.
  12. smk4565
    The sub-compact GLA is front wheel drive, and obviously the least Mercedes of all the Mercedes is that makes any sense. The GLC, GLE, GLS, and G-wagen are rear wheel drive. 80% of their crossover line still powers the correct wheels. Lexus has zero performance credibility. If the XT5 is front drive, you know a Cruze based XT3 is coming, and will Cadillac want a Gamma platform XT1 to compete with the X1 and Q3 and GLA? Probably, now you have 3 front drive crossovers at Cadillac, which would likely be most of the brand's volume, which sort of goes against Johan's claim of Rear Drive being the future of Cadillac.
  13. smk4565
    The cornerstone of front wheel drive. Wooo Hooo!
  14. smk4565
    I would agree with Drew, maybe try one of those AC recharge bottles that are like $15 at an auto parts store. At least then you'll know the refrigerant is full and not leaking, and the AC working the right way. A car should still get better fuel economy with the windows up and AC on, vs all the windows down and AC off at highway speed. Drag should hurt fuel economy more than the AC. Also might want to check tire pressure, that could affect fuel economy, maybe new air intake filter if you didn't change it already, those are like $20-30 usually.
  15. smk4565
    Clarkson liked the Stingray, but he actually didn't like the Z06 when he did a review on it for either the website or a newspaper. He thought the Z06 only worked on a track, and on normal streets and in normal driving was not as good as the Stringray since it was louder, rougher, jerkier, harsh riding, etc. One wonders why if Ford loves Ecoboosting so much, why don't they put a couple turbos on the 5.0 V8? Because you know what is better than a twin turbo V6, a twin turbo V8.
  16. smk4565
    Electric cars get some headlines, but electric cars and hybrids are still like 2% of the overall market. So I wonder if it is even worth bothering making a Tesla competitor. Unless it gets merged with their idea of a 4-door GT car.
  17. smk4565
    I have always said the Corvette should stick to being an affordable sports car. To me the Corvette should be in the $50-70k segment, but GM a few years ago was selling $125,000 Corvettes and $75,000 Camaros. That is no longer making affordable sports cars. That would be like Mazda making a $45,000 twin turbo V6 Miata, at that point it isn't a Miata any more. I think GM and some Corvette fans want to compare it to Ferrari or Lamborghini, but the Corvette isn't a hand built exotic with a 8,000 rpm V12. Which is fine, the Corvette is a different kind a car, and the performance per dollar is still good. Corvette is the best sports car under $100k.
  18. smk4565
    The XE will get sales due to price point, the F-Pace will get some since it is a crossover. As far as the XF, XJ and F-type go, I don't think the price cuts or free maintenance or warranty changes will do much for sales of those models. I will say that their 5 year/60,000 mile roadside assistance package falls a bit below the unlimited years and unlimited miles Mercedes program. But if buying a Jaguar, I would want a 5/60k warranty at least, I'd probably want the 10 year/100k mile Hyundai warranty, because you know that Jag is going to break down.
  19. smk4565
    I think the AMG S cars with the 503 hp might become the standard car in a couple years, but maybe not, just my guess. They are working on a 600 hp version of that engine, I am sure the GT will have a track purposed Black series with the more powerful engine. That is a Grand Touring car after all, they didn't call it the AMG TC (track car).
  20. smk4565
    The CTS-V and Corvette posted great times, the CTS-V with 640 hp should post the fastest sedan time, no sedans really went much over 550 hp before last year. The Corvette has always posted great performance per dollar, the Z06 has always been a good track car. It is impressive that the Corvette beat the Hurcan and McLaren, because those are exotics built for speed. the level of performance you get for the price of a Corvette is amazing, it just seems to still have a bit of a redneck muscle car image, doesn't seem as cool as an Aston Martin or something like that. What I found most surprising is the Ecoboost Mustang was slower than a John Cooper Works Mini and a Golf GTI. That is a pretty weak showing. The Mustang was barely faster than the Miata which has like 160 hp.
  21. smk4565
    All good moves, but they are such a small brand, I don't know how much it will move the sales needle. I do think the XE is really well priced. $35k for the turbo 4, and the diesel is like $37k, and the 340 hp supercharged V6 is $43k. That supercharged V6 car is going to be pretty fast, and $43k isn't a lot for that kind of speed. Nice to see them drop the 4-banger in the XF, if Jaguar is a performance brand, it doesn't need a 4-banger in a $50k car.
  22. smk4565
    Knobs still work best for volume. Touch screens still get covered in fingerprints.
  23. smk4565
    There was an s-class convertible in the 60s, and an s-class coupe in the 70s and 80s. They have offered the Pullman limos for decades as well. And in the 70s the 450sel 6.9 liter was pretty much the first of the muscle luxury cars. The S-class has always determined where the luxury segment is going, it leads the way, the others follow.
  24. smk4565
    Because the S-class pioneered crash crumple zones, was the first car with ABS, first with airbags, first to have satellite navigation, first to have standard stability control, first to use double pane side glass, first with all LED lighting, etc. It has been the technological pioneer for the automotive industry for nearly 50 years. Body styles and engine choices give S-class the ability to appeal to many types of buyers globally which is why it has been the large luxury car sales leader. They have sedan, coupe, convertible, AMG and Maybach versions and diesel and gas hybrids, diesel V6 and gas V6, V8, and V12. None of the other guys offer that variety.
  25. smk4565
    This is a good idea, the Wrangler still sells well and has a following, and people like pickups. And FCA doesn't have anything smaller than the Ram. So it fills a void and expands upon a popular existing model.
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