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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. 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.
  2. smk4565
    They will sell dozens of them per month! And with total sales volume will go up 1,000% !!!
  3. 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.
  4. smk4565
    IMG 20150805 223409 097

    From the album: smk's

    Mercedes center console
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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,
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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...
  15. 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.
  16. smk4565
    Lincoln is coming from the gutter, sales are up since they added the MKC and crossovers are easy to sell. The MKC was a good move on their part though, the Escape is a huge seller, makes sense to have a luxury version of it. Lincoln sedan sales are knocking on deaths door, I still question the long term viability of the brand. Cadillac has a sales and marketing problem and is clueless how to sell sedans. The E-class (which is a dated model) outsold the ATS, CTS and XTS combined. Lexus IS outsold the ATS by over 3-1 and it is ugly with a powertrain from 2007. Cadillac has a serious brand image problem that most people probably don't even consider one. Interesting that the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade trio all had pretty big drops, the Lambdas all did pretty well, so I wonder if that is a one time thing, or if more people are moving away from the big V8 trucks to the crossovers. I wouldn't be surprised to see that trend continue. Pickup trucks did really well though.
  17. smk4565
    Their sales success comes from the C-class and E-class. Most brands are crossover or bust anymore. I predict the GLC will be a hot seller though. The GLK is an ugly vehicle, and I think the rounded off styling of the GLC will be appealing to female buyers. I think the GLC could get into the 4,000 a month range, maybe more, that small or entry level crossover market Mercedes hasn't really tapped into fully.
  18. smk4565
    $55,000??? If you buy one do you get a second one free? The Black Label interior isn't even as nice as a C-class, they should make that Black Label interior standard on the base car as was mentioned earlier. My friend got a certified BMW 535 diesel with 5 years and 90,000 miles of warranty for a little under $55k and he gets 31 mpg average and does more city driving than highway, and his car isn't a Ford Fusion. Seems like a much better deal than a Lincoln.
  19. smk4565
    That 7.0 liter is old news. Time to do something else, although I like the idea of the top Camaro being the base Corvette engine. If they want a Hellcat competitor they could supercharge the 7 liter V8 to make 700 HP but then a Camaro would have more than a Corvette.
  20. smk4565
    $250 million Amazon paid for this show. I hope it is epic!
  21. smk4565
    A CT6 with the 400 HP engine maybe. The Boxster is nearly 1,000 lbs less than the CT6 so not like it needs 400 HP, but buying a sports car I'd want more than 240, just like if buying a large luxury sedan I'd want more than 300.
  22. smk4565
    The base Boxster has 265 hp now, odd that they would replace it with a less powerful engine. The 300 hp is pretty good, this is a sub 3,000 lb car, so that is better than 10 lbs per horsepower.
  23. smk4565
    240 is not much horsepower, even in a small car like this. But I guess the Boxter often had a weak base model, I think the first ones only had like 210 hp back around year 2000. But I guess this gives people more reason to pay for a 911.
  24. smk4565
    In my area right now diesel is cheaper than premium gas. It is priced about where 89 octane is, so on that front the diesel fuel pricing is good, so the increased fuel economy will pay back more quickly. Secondly, diesels hold value. People know diesels run forever, so I bet 5 years from now a Colorado diesel with 100k miles sells for $4,000 more than a Colorado V6 with 100k miles.
  25. smk4565
    Bring on the comparison tests. There is a new E63 next fall, and the 5-series is redone in 2017 I think, so I wonder if the magazines will run their comparo's next year. The current E63 is 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, but that is a heavy car. It'll be interesting to see how much weight they get out, and what they do with the 4.0 V8, since they have a 5.5 liter V8 in there now.
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