smk4565

HA! That is funny! Cadillac is going away from that. The XTS will be history, so is the SRX...now...what bones will the SRX have? Well, it might not be bespoke Cadillac trickled down to Chevy like the Alpha platform is....but then again...a new SRX might very well be on the Alpha platform...but then again...it might have Chevy bones first...like the 'Slade is....so what? On another thread... you admitted to knowing that in Europe...both BMW and Mercedes use the 3 Series and 2 Series and the C Class and E Class and now with the CLA as mainstream and fleet vehicles...but I guess that is OK with you...but God forbid that GM does that with Cadillac and their lesser vehicles... Oh...Audi...yeah..lets talk about Audi...actually...YOU tell ME what Audi platform is actually bespoke to Audi...a platform that is NOT used by Volkswagen or Seat...on the lesser vehicles of course...but then again...a Cayenne Porsche is also a VW...a Audi A8 is also a Volkswagen...I guess that is a pass because the VW versions are expensive as hell...but then again...Chevy Tahoes dont come cheap either... Cadillac is going away from it, but not there yet, that is why I said they are sort of split right now between 2 worlds. But even the ATS/CTS/CT6 turbo 4 and V6 are the same engine in a Camaro. The Germans can fleet sale in Europe because Cadillac, Infiniti, Acura, Lincoln aren't there, and Lexus is a blip on the radar. If Cadillac fleets themselves out here, it would probably hurt their image even more. Audi has a lot of it's own stuff. The MLB platform is used on Audi A4-A8 and Porsche Macan, the 3.0 supercharged V6 is Audi only, the 4.0 TT V8 is Audi/Bentley only, the W12 is Audi/Bentley only, and the Quattro AWD system is different than the VW 4Motion system. Quattro runs in a 50/50 split, while VW is primarily FWD until the rear wheels slip. The Audi A3/Q3 are using a VW chassis, engine and awd system. The Toureg/Q7/Cayenne share a lot of mechanicals also.

Ford needs a luxury brand, you can't scale one brand from mainstream all they up as Kia/Hyundai are proving. Luxury cars provide margins, every auto maker wants that. Problem is Ford's luxury brand builds dressed up Fords and the consumers know it. Cadillac sort of has one foot in the RWD performance luxury philosophy and one foot in the build from the Chevy parts bin mentality. That is why Cadillac is more successful than Lincoln, but not as successful as the Germans. Simple as that.

Let me make an example of why features don't necessarily equal luxury. The Kia Forte has a heated steering wheel and heated and cooled driver's seat. The BMW 5-series has the same features. Is the Forte on par with the 5-series? Hell no. You have to look at build quality of a car, quality of leather, carpets, wood, plastics, metal, etc. Just because Ford Titanium has ventilated seats or self park, doesn't make it a luxury car. I don't think Buick is a luxury brand either, they are more of a premium trim on every model sort of brand. But Kia, Hyundai, and Toyota have "Limited" models, Chrysler has the "C" models, all these brands have premium trim levels. The difference between those cars and the performance luxury cars is the engineering. I drove a 2010 or 2011 MKZ back when I was car shopping to see what it was like and I felt it drove like a Ford, handled like a Ford, the engine was noisy and unrefined. Yes it had THX sound, sunroof, heated and cooled seats, but I could tell it was built like junk. The rear drive performance luxury cars are engineered to a higher standard.

Irrelevant.. Pricing is not indicative of quality. The CLA AMG is $50k and a POS. I never said anything about quality of product, solely price and place in market. The Buick LaCrosse and Lincoln MKZ could compete with each other based on similar price, but the 2 brands don't compete with each other. Which Lincoln competes with the Verano or Regal? Which Buick directly competes with the Navigator? Does Buick have a 400 hp Lincoln Continental fighter? Buick is not on par with Lincoln. Buick is not a luxury brand. Lincoln is a luxury brand, just not a very good one. The LaX competes with the MKZ or ES350 for that matter in all things except the Hybrid. For all intent the LaX is a downsized XTS. The Regal is a sporty premium sedan... Just because Lincoln doesn't have one doesn't ill-legitimize the Regal as a premium vehicle.. I will give Lincoln Premium status, but that's about where I stand. LaCrosse is priced lower than the Azera, Avalon, and Cadenza. On size and price, I would say those are the closest competitors really. I could agree with Lincoln being a premium brand, they are just dressed up Fords.

GM's brands competed with each other. Pontiac competed with Chevy, GMC trucks compete with Chevy, Olds and Buick competed with each other. Saturn was all over the map, first as a small car, then as the Euro import fighter after Olds left. Saab was just a money loser. VW brand makes about $700 per car. Audi $5,000, Porsche $19,000, Bentley and Lambo $23,000 or more. The 2 million luxury cars they sell a year are about two thirds of their profits. Plus their brands don't overlap like GM's did. They had all these brands back in 2008 when the auto market did collapse, and the European auto market collapsed too. VW probably has the most well rounded lineup of any car maker. They have diesels and electrics from top to bottom, they are in countries all over the world, they have good small cars like the Golf, and lots of high margin luxury and sports cars.

VW sold 10.1 million cars last year, more than every other car maker except Toyota who had 10.2 million. So VW doesn't have a volume problem either. Why would their volume magically go away? Bentley, Audi, Porsche sales are all rising, that is where the profit is made. Even if VW lost 3 million sales, they are still bigger than Ford. I think they'll be okay.

Volkswagen posted a $12.36 billion profit in 2014. I don't think they are struggling.

Irrelevant.. Pricing is not indicative of quality. The CLA AMG is $50k and a POS. I never said anything about quality of product, solely price and place in market. The Buick LaCrosse and Lincoln MKZ could compete with each other based on similar price, but the 2 brands don't compete with each other. Which Lincoln competes with the Verano or Regal? Which Buick directly competes with the Navigator? Does Buick have a 400 hp Lincoln Continental fighter? Buick is not on par with Lincoln. Buick is not a luxury brand. Lincoln is a luxury brand, just not a very good one.

Buick is not on par with Lincoln. Buick Verano starts around $23k the Lacrosse is like $33k. The top Buick is cheaper than the MKZ.

I agree with all those points, using CTS and STS as the names would have made more sense. Especially since it would leave the ATS name available for a 1-series competitor in the future if they wanted to go that route. Since they are going to a new naming scheme, I guess this problem will be resolved. I'll go one step further on the CTS's price increase for sticker shock and add that it went from a standard V6 to a standard I-4. And for returning Cadillac buyers that had a DTS or STS, they are probably used to a V8. So not only might there be some sticker shock, they may also wonder only a 4-cylinder, when to most 60+ age buyers 4-cylinder means economy car, not luxury car. I remember when the first generation CTS was out there was talk of a coupe or convertible. So that has been on the radar since 2005 or 2006, and they should have had more body styles in the works as they were developing the Alpha platform sedans. As a minor correction, no C-class convertible yet, but will be in 2016. E-class has a convertible though, where the others in that segment do not offer.

Lincoln is beyond saving to make them a luxury brand. They could be used as a Buick competitor, perhaps Acura competitor at best. Cadillac will spend $12 billion, but then what? They better have another $12 billion over the next 5 years, because the competition doesn't sit still. I question the long term commitment to the plan if sales don't pick up, and marketing could play a big role in that. As far as profitability goes, GM turned a $2.8 billion profit last year, while Mercedes and BMW were closer to $7 billion. Cadillac can't have that great of margins with the incentive spending they do, and if the GMC and Cadillac margins were so high, you'd think the company would post a higher total.

Cadillac should build a mid-size crossover on Alpha to compete with the X5 and GLE-class. Something in between where the SRX is now and the Escalade. Cadillac should also make ATS and CTS convertibles. They are going to make a Camaro convertible, so clearly the platform is capable. I think convertibles add a bit of cool factor to a brand, it would help Cadillac's image.

The ATS coupe arrived during the 3rd model year of the sedan, not exactly speedy roll out. So if the excuse of Cadillac not having any body styles other than sedan for the CTS being the reason for low sales, well that is their own stupidity then. Make a CTS coupe then, no one is stopping them. There is an E-class coupe, and an E-class convertible and wagon. M-B is adding C-class and S-class convertibles in 2016, so that all 3 lines have sedan, coupe, convertible. Side note, the MKS is ending production early next year so 2016 is the last model year. The Continental will essentially take it's place, so Lincoln will still just have 2 sedans.

The S500 plug in doesn't have an EPA rating yet. I did find a European test drive of it, and in real world driving they got 29.4 mpg US as an average and 0-60 was 5.0 seconds. I think those are solid numbers for a full size luxury car. And the hybrid costs the same as the V8, they don't make you pay more for it. So if you trade .2 or .4 seconds of 0-60 time and the sound of a V8, you get about 10 mpg more, which is a pretty good deal. I guarantee the 7-series and CT6 won't offer their hybrid as the lowest priced model, and Lexus tacks on like $20k for their hybrid V8 that gets lame mileage anyway, and is still less powerful than the S550, because the Lexus V8 is old and weak and unchanged since 2007.

Jag has zero momentum- they have nice lines & the specs are competitive, but no one buys Jags. Which got me thinking, I am surprised they don't have a diesel S-class for the USA."Everything should be available at launch!!" comes into play here. MB had a diesel AND a hybrid in the S-class, but they dropped them with the redesign. Probably put the money into the SCoupe instead. They have a diesel S-class, it just isn't sold here. If you go to Europe you can buy one, it isn't like they lack the product, they are just choosing not to sell it here for some reason. The take rate must be too low. I think Mercedes styling goes in cycles. In the 50s and 60s they were very rounded, in the 70s they started to do straighter sides while keeping the round lights. In the 80s and early 90s they were very blocky and squared off, then they went back to curvy, rounded body lines in the early 2000s, they did a brief stint of sharper edges and straight lines with the 08 C-class, 2010 E-class, and the GL, but they seem to be going back to rounded off styling. I tend to think they are at their best with the more rounded off bodies, seems more elegant.

speaking of... The idea that the CT6 is not an S-Class/7 series competitor is literally under-promising, and over-delivering by Cadillac. Compare: From Benz site: 1) The S-Class Plug-In Hybrid also offers multiple drive modes so you can customize how you want to spend and recover energy. The CT6- Plug-In Hybrid will allow driver to choose among three operating modes named Normal, Sport and Hold: 2) The S-Class Plug-In Hybrid will drive solely on electric power up to 20 miles The CT6 Plug-In Hybrid will drive solely on electric power up to 37 miles The 740e Plug-In Hybrid will drive solely on electric power up to 23 miles 3) S-Class Plug-in Hybrid Combined power output of 436 hp, 479 lb-ft of torque (3.0-liter V6 gasoline engine + electric motor) Acceleration: 0-to-60 mph in 5.2 seconds CT6 Plug-in Hybrid combined power output of 335hp, 432 lb-ft of torque (2.0L Turbo+ Electric motor) Acceleration: TBA.. but I'm betting it is lower than that 5.2 seconds 740e combined power output of 308hp, 332 lb-ft of torque (2.0L Turbo+ Electric motor) in the X5e it gets to 60 in 6.5 seconmds so I would guess it should pull into 60 at about 6.2 in the 740e 4) S-Class Plug-In is est city/highway: 21/26 mpg CT6 Plug-in is est to be more than double that of the conventional CT6 (which we kno is similar in many respects, due to weigh savings, to that of the CTS (2.0L Turbo with 6speed gets 20/30MPG).. so a CT6 Plug in coming in at 40/60mpg??? Keep in mind that the S-Class Plug-In Hybrid is est (by C&D) to come in at an almost "Tahoe like" 5100lbs. I gonna throw the cash down on "Black" The V8 S-class gets 17/26 mpg, I am pretty sure a V6 hybrid will beat that. In the CLS the bi-turbo V6 gets 20/30 mpg, granted it isn't as heavy a car as the S-class, but if they had an S400, I think it could get 18/28 mpg. Not sure how a hybrid system would add virtually no mpg gain on and S-class and a 200% gain on a CT6. S250 Bluetec was World Green car of the year in 2012, and S500 hybrid was runner-up in 2015. I didn't see the A8 or 7-series winning anything. CT6 poses no threat to the S-class, it won't be priced high enough for people to cross shop it. The 7-series barely mounts a challenge, and the other guys are also rans in this segment.

Because GM product planning is poor, and they don't put enough money into Cadillac to develop a coupe and sedan at the same time. Interestingly enough, C-class sales are up, and they also rose the price, and didn't have a coupe or AMG model to sell over the past year. Although they have the AMG now and the coupe and convertible are coming soon. The A6, CTS, GS, Q70 also sell poorly because those brands mostly cater to entry lux buyers and they don't have the prestige of BMW or Mercedes. Those brands also can't get people out of their SUVs into a sports/luxury sedan for some reason.

Interesting that BMW didn't mention a diesel as one of the engines. I guess we have to wait a model year for the diesel and V12. Which got me thinking, I am surprised they don't have a diesel S-class for the USA. Unless the take rate was so low on the last one or perhaps they will wait for the new straight six turbo diesel before they offer it in the S-class. The plug-in hybrid S-class is the lowest priced S-class, and it only gives up 9 hp and 1 lb-ft of torque to the 750i. A much better option than BMW's wimpy hybrid.

This man loves sweaters.

GM should merge with Chrysler and build the Avenir on the LX platform, lol.

CAFE is coming, yet no one cars that the Escalade is 6,000 lbs and gets 15 mpg. It still sells, and I don't see Cadillac making it all aluminum to get weight down. The A8 4.0 gets 18/29 mpg, beats the LS460, S550 and 750i, and the A8 has the worst sales volume of the 4. I am bit surprised the 750i is priced higher than the S550. It is like BMW telling people to buy the 740i by putting that big of a price premium on the V8.

If the base CT6 doesn't do 0-60 in 5 seconds or less then...

I didn't read anything in the press release about autonomous drive capability. Hard for them to claim they are high tech without that.

To celebrate my 6,000th post, 8 generations of what the 7-series has been chasing since 1977.

It does have a standard panoramic roof, those are heavier than a normal roof. I hate when they say things like cut 190 lbs. Tell me what the car weighs now in actual numbers. There are so many variables that could go into play. A car company could replace a V6 with a 4 cylinder and claim weight savings without really doing anything.