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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    FWD is worse than RWD. Cadillac spent 1967-now refining the wrong drivetrain. Once you get above 275 hp or $40,000 in price you start needing RWD to deliver the superior ride and handling and handle the extra engine power. So far this category is the Q3, GLA and X1. They all have a turbo 4 and all wheel drive riding on a front drive platform. And entry lux cute-ute buyer is probably clueless about which way the engine is mounted, as long as it has awd they are happy. There isn't a rear drive alternative in this segment, probably never will be, because on a platform this small and with 200-225 hp, you don't really need rear drive. The SRX isn't this segment though, these SUVs are nearly Buick Encore size. If Cadillac made a compact crossover that was FWD I wouldn't care because it would be too small a vehicle for the Alpha platform, they would have no other choice. The SRX or soon to be XT5 is supposed to be a mid-size vehicle, thus it would fit on Alpha and it should be rwd.
  2. smk4565
    The only valuable parts of this company are Jeep brand, Ram pickups, and minivan. Maybe Alfa Romeo and Maserati to the right buyer. VW, Ford, Mazda, GM, Nissan or anyone else can make small sedans and inline fours and V6s. Jeep is a unique product and brand that other big car companies can't duplicate. Pick up truck and minivan would fill gaps at VW or Mazda, but don't do much for Toyota or Nissan. Sergio might want to sell this company in pieces if that is his goal.
  3. smk4565
    That thing is ugly. They need to bring back the M1 or the 850csi and pay homage to 2 of their best products, that for some reason they cancelled so they could make SUVs. If they took this exact body and only change the head lights and tail lights to LED, this would be their best looking car for 2016. Look at those wheels, no B-pillar, the small grille.
  4. smk4565
    I actually don't like BMWs in terms of styling, never have. They make good engines and suspensions, I'll give them that. The 3-series has always been rear wheel drive, they have always had handling. If the stuff Cadillac made in the 80s and 90s was so good, they wouldn't have been overtaken with such ease by BMW. The numbers after the 3 on a BMW are getting rather inconsistent, but engine displacements are always changing, I don't know why they don't just stick with a number. But it is also complicated because they have two 2.0 turbo fours making different horsepower. But at least they still call it the 3-series. I am also aware of the 80s econobox base models, the E-class taxis, the fleet cars, and whatever else the Germans sell in Europe that would be seen as poor image in the USA. But no one has been able to go to Europe and challenge them. Not Lexus, not Infiniti, not Cadillac. So it doesn't really matter what they do in Europe because they have the monopoly and high barriers to entry.
  5. smk4565
    But BMW didn't make the X5 a $35,000 front drive SUV. Cadillac moves products around segments and change names like crazy. There is no clear direction. If Cadillac comes out with a new XT1 front drive crossover to compete in this segment, and makes the XT5 a CTS based $50k crossover to compete with the X5 then the product mix would make sense. But suppose Cadillac made the next gen CTS a $36k front drive Lexus ES competitor, after 15 years of saying it is a 5-series competitor. It wouldn't make sense. On a side note, how badly does Cadillac want to be BMW with XT1, XT3, XT5 to compete with the X1, X3, and X5. They need to think up some new names in Detroit, errr New York.
  6. smk4565
    Not surprising, they have no money. This is why they want to sell. The Jeep brand has big value and pickups make profit. Most of their other stuff nothing special and could be a product that is co-developed or badge jobbed from another company. I don't get how they even stay competitive, they always have dated product.
  7. smk4565
    All I said was the X1 looks better than the other 2 competitors. The GLA interior might be a little better. I don't like front wheel drive, but I understand why all 3 Germans offer a compact SUV in the low 30s because they want that entry level buyer. The GLK and X3 can then start around $38k, the mid-size SUVs around $50k. My problem with the SRX is that it was RWD, and targeted against the X5 and ML, and then they made it a Lincoln MKX/Lexus RX clone. It was counteractive to the rear wheel drive plan Cadillac was on, and said Cadillac is a Lincoln/Acura competitor, not a German competitor. And the Cadillac brass keeps saying they are on par with the Germans.
  8. smk4565
    I think this looks better than the GLA and Q3. BMW somehow made this look both truckier and sportier than the other 2 Germans.
  9. smk4565
    They still make Lincolns? Seriously though, how did they sell 3,300 MKZ's. How does that car outsell an A4 or ATS? Or why didn't those 3,300 people spend the extra 5 grand and get a C-class instead?
  10. smk4565
    Time to retire the Clubman, Paceman, Roadster and Coupe. And why is the X1 a car, when ever other X is a crossover?
  11. smk4565
    Agreed, the A4/A5 have a new model coming soon, together they sold 4,000, that is about what Lexus IS sales are. But Audi does rely a lot on the A3 and Q3. I am sort of surprised they sell as many A7s as they do, it is just a more expensive A6 with an ugly back end. A8 will never sell, it is always going to be the 3rd option from Germany in that segment. Actually, the A4 and A6 are the 3rd options from Germany too.
  12. smk4565
    I am amazed that the crossovers still sell so strong this late into the life cycles as well. In general I am amazed at how much people buy crossovers from all brands. Especially small crossovers, because something like an Equinox or CR-V probably has less usable interior space than an Accord or Camry, and a car is going to deliver better handling, braking, acceleration, and fuel economy than an SUV.
  13. smk4565
    Oh and MB is only selling the Plug-In Hybrid S-Class in California and a couple other states.... it will have roughly the same distribution as the Chevrolet Spark EV. Real "brave". I am sure it will expand in time as production ramps up. It should because you only lose 0.4 seconds on 0-60 time with the hybrid, but have 18 miles of electric drive and the reduced fuel consumption, so it is a pretty sweet powertrain choice. I think the squared off 7-series of 97-99 was the only one that looked aggressive. All the other generations were too rounded off and oddly proportioned. Interesting note on the Z8. Those sell for about $350,000 now, they are appreciating like crazy.
  14. smk4565
    The 760Li has 553 lb-ft of torque, not even S600 level, let alone S65. Plus the 760 doesn't have sports suspension or carbon brakes or any of the racy stuff an M5 would have. There is rumor that they will do an M7 though. But they have been chasing the S-class since 1977 when the first 7-series came out, they haven't caught up yet. Interestingly enough, the S-class plug in hybrid costs the same as the V8 model. None of the other guys will have the guts to make a plug-in hybrid the cheapest model.
  15. smk4565
    A 4-cylinder in a 7-series is going to be horrible, what are they going to do, make a 720i? Unless the turbo 4 is part of a plug-in hybrid package, with 350-380 hp, something similar to what the i8 does. The V12 may produce 600 hp, so I guess they are going after AMG finally. The 7-series hasn't looked good since like 1999, so I am curious to see how this one looks. They are also using carbon fiber in the construction, so I am curious to see how much.
  16. smk4565
    Average new car price is nearing the average annual income of a person now. Wages aren't going up as fast as cost of cars, education, insurance, etc, etc. I think most Americans also live for the future and worry about current monthly budget and don't think about the payments never ending or what interest over 6 or 7 years is on a car. So they look for the lowest payment for today, and worry about the future later. But as Drew mentioned, that sets us up for another bubble to burst. Personally I like to buy used cars because the depreciation hit is gone, and then you have something to own that you can keep. But I can understand why lease rates are surging. Assume someone on a tight budget that can spend $200 a month on a car, they can either buy an $11,000 used car (which will probably be a 2007-2010) on a 6 year loan or get a 2015 Focus, Cruze or Elantra lease and have warranty, not have to worry about buying tires, making repairs, etc.
  17. smk4565
    It is not happening as Cmicasa posted the link to the article where Cadillac denies it. I knew this wasn't going to be true from the start. Not worth the money to put a new drivetrain in and certify it and all that for the super low volume it would be. What is the v-series take rate on Cadillac models, like 5% ? On an ATS we might be talking 100 V-series sold per month, a V+ would be such a low take rate, it would be a money loser. Cadillac needs to worry about getting the XT5 and a compact crossover to market, as well as the CT6 and some type of convertible.
  18. smk4565
    Looks like the same shape as a Merc GLE coupe, but with Subaru Tribeca styling cues.
  19. smk4565

    2015 Regal Turbo

    smk4565 replied to CSpec's topic in Buick

    $40k for a Buick Regal?!?! No way is it worth it. Could get a year old 335i or IS350, C-class, etc. Probably a year old CTS even for that money.
  20. smk4565
    It looks like a taller Model S. They didn't change much of anything.
  21. smk4565

    2016 MKZ Engine Lineup

    smk4565 replied to a topic in Lincoln

    Doesn't matter what engine is under the hood as long as it is powering the front wheels. It is still a Fusion with a bigger turbo 4.
  22. smk4565
    Bamboo can be stained any color you might like. I meant the outside of the car. Seems like every Camry, Avalon and ES is sold in wallpaper paste beige. I guess to match the hearing aides of their owners.
  23. smk4565
    This will put a lot more V12s on the market. Lambo will obviously use a V12, Bentley is using V8 and W12 in theirs, Rolls-Royce only has V12s, the BMW X7 is going to have an optional V12. So all that will force Mercedes to make a V12 SUV, and the horsepower war is on. The Range Rover and Escalade are not going to be top dogs in the SUV class anymore.
  24. smk4565
    The market is about to get flooded with ultra high end SUVs. Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Maserati are all making one too. There will be a BMW X7 and a Maybach GL as well. There could be 5 or 6 SUVs in the $200,000 range in a few years.
  25. smk4565
    It is much lower, which makes you wonder if it will be hard to get in and out of or see out of. Gen 5 had poor visibility already. Trimming length and hood height are good though, I just wonder about head room.
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