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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    But if we follow the Mighty SMK who thinks MB is the worlds best then this is OK because the higher end models are not to be so bold in their design and more generically flowing. The S-class has always had a more elegant and classic design, that is what the car is about. It isn't a shouty, obnoxious bling mobile. If you want flair Mercedes made these:
  2. smk4565
    The CT6 is a fairly big car as it is, like 203 or 204 inches long. I think what Cadillac will look at more is how the CT6 sells and at what price. Because previous attempts at high dollar Cadillacs like the Allante, XLR, STS-V all flopped. The Escalade is the only Cadillac with a base price over $48,000 to ever really sell. If the CT6 is a hit, I think they'll put more money into the CT8, if the CT6 flops and sells 300 cars a month, how much money will they put into a bigger, more expensive car that will sell even less.
  3. smk4565
    Too bad crossover buyers don't value performance, because the GLC450 has a huge power advantage over similarly priced crossovers. GLC450 362 hp/384 lb-ft Audi Q5 3.0 272 hp/295 lb-ft BMW X3-35i 300 hp/300 lb-ft Lexus RX350 270 hp/248 lb-ft Acura RDX 279 hp/252 lb-ft Lincoln MKC 285 hp/305 lb-ft Cadillac SRX 308 hp/265 lb-ft
  4. smk4565
    The CTS had a pop up Nav screen that went to the same location when raised, and if you drove with it up the whole time, it was basically the same as floating Nav. I never heard about a lot of people breaking off the CTS's pop up screen. I will add another Mercedes annoyance of mine though. Calling the V6 model the GLC450. Why can't they just call all turbo V6 cars "400" especially since the C-class dropped the 339 hp V6 in favor of the 362 hp for 2016. And the E-class should have the 362 hp V6 rather than the 339, likewise with the SL400. If they want to sort out their naming, all the turbo V6 should be 400, V8s 500, V12 600.. Make the diesels 250 bluetec, 350 bluetec, etc.
  5. smk4565
    Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Mazda all use the floating Nav screen now, I bet others follow. I don't really care for it, but car making, much like the NFL, is a copy-cat league.
  6. smk4565
    The Volvo XC90 has radar cruise control with self steering for dealing with traffic and it can hold lanes on a highway as long as there are line markings. Their system I heard didn't need hands on the wheel like the Mercedes system. A problem with decision making is if a bus is about to hit your car, the car doesn't know it is a bus or if it has 1 passenger or 50. The car is just going to see a large object to avoid. But there are thousands of traffic fatalities every year caused by human error. Autonomous drive systems could probably cut that in half maybe more. But if autonomous cars as a whole cause 100 deaths a year people will be in uproar about it, yet they'll be okay with humans killing 30,000 from drunk driving, falling asleep, texting, not paying attention, etc.
  7. smk4565
    The floating Nav Screen trend is picking up, more car companies are doing that. It would be cool if that was like a tablet that you could unplug and take with you. But if you can't take it with you, I don't know why it isn't integrated. Mercedes did announce the V6 will be the 362 hp/384 lb-ft of torque version from the C450 and GL450. That is a lot of power for a small crossover, and there will also be an AMG model with a 470 hp V8.
  8. smk4565
    I bet the success of the CT6 will impact the development budget for the CT8. If the CT6 sales lag the first year or two, I wonder how much money they'll put into the CT8.
  9. smk4565
    GM should offer Sergio 20 cents on the dollar per share to buy the company, then dump the junk brands, keep Jeep and any products they see as viable. FCA will probably end up bankrupt anyways, 20 cents on the dollar is better than zero.
  10. smk4565
    Which is what distronic plus does, stop and go traffic where it maps off the other cars, or high way speed where is just has to hold a lane and speed. The difference becomes Cadillac beings hands free, and the Mercedes system making you hold the wheel after 60 seconds. Which I am sure is that the request of the legal department. If Cadillac has a totally hands free system, I am sure there will be some big warnings and disclaimers all over that, possibly an audio message that plays that you have to listen to then click "OK" to put it in Super Cruise. Of course how many people drive while texting, doing hair/makeup, eating Big Macs or even all 3 at once. So Autonomous cars might not be so bad.
  11. smk4565
    It is real wood, and real aluminum trim.
  12. smk4565
    That is dumb, my car stays in sport if I turn it off in sport. On the new Mercedes I noticed that if you turn off Eco start/stop it defaults it back to on the next time you start the car. I think BMW does the same thing. These enviro-friendly things are nice, but you should be able to defeat them if you want, and not have to hit the off button every time you turn on the car. I will say this about the 2015 GLK (as well as the 2014 C-class) is the throttle tip in is rather aggressive, so I'd rather start in 2nd gear driving either of those cars, otherwise it is jerky off the line. On my car the gas pedal has a bit of a dead feel initially, which I am sure they did to keep the car smooth.
  13. smk4565
    The problem with any autonomous drive system is going to be when the vehicle has to make a life or death decision. Suppose a car swerves into on coming traffic headed right for you, and there are 2 pedestrians on the sidewalk. Does the autonomous car take a head on collision or swerve and risk hitting the pedestrians. There will be huge disclaimers on these things and that is why the Mercedes system makes you have hand on the wheel. So if it messes up you can't sue them. What happens if SuperCruise hits a pedestrian trying to avoid something else while the driver didn't have hands on wheel or wasn't paying attention.
  14. smk4565
    My car uses 7th gear on the highway, I had a GLK loaner that I think used 7th gear on the highway. I don't see why the new models wouldn't use all 9. I will say though that if you put the transmission in comfort mode it does 2nd gear starts and doesn't use first gear.
  15. smk4565
    The sad thing about the American car market is that is what sells. And it ranges from Rav4 to Escape tor Equinox to GLC, X3 or RX350. People want an SUV for some perceived notion of safety, or because the cargo area will allow them to haul a bike or canoe to suit the active lifestyle that they don't actually have, and at the end of the day they will commute from A to B, plodding along in traffic thinking they are more successful because they bought an SUV and the other guy bought a CamCord, not realizing they themselves are driving a CamCord station wagon on stilts. This is the crossover market in general. I don't get it myself, give me a superior handling car any day of the week, something that can handle a corner and be driven hard without fear of tipping over. At least with the bi-turbo V6 they'll have 339 hp in the GLC, maybe even 362 hp since Mercedes seems to be phasing the 339 hp version out already, the C-class is dropping it for 2016, in favor of the 362 hp used in the GL. None of the other small crossovers have that kind of power or air suspension. So maybe they'll bring some level of excitement to the otherwise boring crossover segment.
  16. smk4565
    The 2014 S-class could drive itself via the radar guided cruise control and the active steering. I have seen video where it holds lanes on the highway where the steering wheel turns without hands touching it, and it car can do hands free driving in traffic. I didn't know how to imbed a video but here is an S-class doing it. The first part is just radar cruise control which is old news, but around 5 minutes the wheel is doing a lot of it's own turning. Distronic Plus with Steering is available now on the C-class also. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXB82PfNucg They have a fully autonomous S-class prototype, but you have a whole host of legal issues to overcome I'd imagine before that is put on sale.
  17. smk4565
    I'd take the XJ interior over the CT6 I think. The XJ has a lot of that piano black trim that I don't like, but I still like the style and design of the XJ interior. S-class beats them all tough.
  18. smk4565
    What makes you think Cadillac doesn't have a lot of stuff in store? Cadillac has SuperCruise coming very soon, I've spotted the cars testing in Pittsburgh (there has been a semi-camoflaged XTS wandering around downtown). Cadillac just released a fantastic new 8-speed automatic that performs equal or better than some of the best DCTs. There's the 3.0TT due out later this year, the updated 3.6, the updated 3.6TT, the coming V8TT, 4-wheel steering, a vastly upgraded CUE system, and more "added vehicle lightness". But Mercedes has super cruise or self driving already, The E-class is getting it, which means the 5-series do it, so the CTS will have to have it, they can't hold it as an CT6 exclusive and trickle down later. All the Germans have TT V8s already, nothing new there. Mercedes has the 9-speed transmission now, which like the 7-speed has 2 reverse gears, so you can do 50 mph in reverse. We'll see what happens, but the CTS isn't competing well with an old E-class. Once the new one arrives they could be in trouble. Same goes for Lexus wit that tired GS they have. That 3.5 liter V6 is from like 2006, they might want to upgrade that.
  19. smk4565
    I think the rounded off styling will give it more appeal, especially to female buyers. The blocky GLK was sort of love it or hate it I think. Interior is a big upgrade over the old one. I never cared for the previous generation C-class/GLK interior, but I really like the current ones. Hopefully the diesel and V6 are not far behind. But finally the 9-speed automatic is here, I think it was limited to just CLS550s so far. Since it is a GLC, it will be priced and sized like a C-class. Larger and more expensive than a GLA, but smaller and less expensive than a GLE.
  20. smk4565
    This is a mid-cycle enhancement, so nothing much to get excited about. I thought the XJ looked cool when it came out, and the XJR models still do sort of, but it is looking like a bit of a boring design. It is too rounded off, too much jelly bean shape like every other car on the road. I also was a big fan of the 2004-2008 era XJ, especially the XJR since it had the sport body kit and wheels. That car just looked different than everything else, it looked old school and bad ass, like something a mafia hitman would drive. And they were dirt cheap used compared to other luxury cars.
  21. smk4565
    How about Cadillac gets their head out of their ass and starts putting all their SUVs on Alpha and Omega and then you can put 500 hp engines in them and go Porsche Macan/Cayenne or AMG crossover hunting.
  22. smk4565
    A Corvette sedan to compete with the CTS-V? Yeah, that makes sense.
  23. smk4565
    Perhaps they are trying to push too much up market. I drove the first Genesis and not this one, and wasn't a sport sedan in any way, but it had that big car comfy feel, and the V8 was powerful. I wonder if the Azera is really needed. If the Genesis was $34k base they could compete more with the Avalons, Buicks, MKZ, Acuras of the world and probably do better. Put their RWD car against the boring front drivers, it works for Chrysler. Hyundai seems to want the Genesis to target the E-class and GS350 but do it at a discount, and it isn't in that league.
  24. smk4565
    I am sure GM wished they had more volume out of Cadillac. Let's say hypothetically Chevy makes $1,000 per car profit, Buick and GMC $2,000 and Cadillac $4,000. I'm sure they'd want to sell as many Cadillacs as possible, it has the best margin. If Cadillac has terrible volume, that hurts GM's bottom line. Before Cadillac gets their 5 year plan completed the new E-class will be here to lay the hurt on the CTS, A6 and GS. They have a lot of new stuff in store, new inline six, electric turbos, autonomous drive, etc.
  25. smk4565
    Corvette is not on par with a 911. The Corvette doesn't have the level of customization or personalization or high end luxury features. The 911 has on the options list to paint the car in any custom color you supply to Porsche, air vents with leather slats, personalized carbon fiber door sills, leather sun visors, Alcantra storage compartment lining, and who wouldn't pay $1,465 for painted air intake grilles, or $1,720 for painted air conditioning vents. A 430 hp 911 is about $120,000, the Turbo is nearing $200,000. Corvette just isn't in that price strata, nor should it ever be. The Corvette for 50 years worked well at an inflation adjusted $50,000ish sports car. I wouldn't mess with the formula that works, and since V8s are making so much more power than even 10-15 years ago, I think there is room for a V6, either NA or turbo. The Cayman S has 340 hp and it is decently quick.
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