smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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As I said the Escalade hits the sweet spot for those that want a big, brash, arrogant American car. There is a customer base that loves that and the Escalade has a loyal following. But other full size body on frame SUVs have been declining, CAFE is getting higher, global emissions regulations higher, in time some of them will go away. When Ford was selling over 400,000 BOF Explorers every year who would have thought less than 10 years later the model would actually get discontinued for a while before returning as a unibody. If Lincoln merged the MKT and Navigator into one new unibody product (still using Navigator name) they could have a more competitive vehicle. But instead we know they'll just keep rebadging Fords with minimal changes because that is the cheapest way to design a car. That is why the Navigator is dated as can be, because the Expedition is dated as can be.
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The CT6 has a long hood and short deck because that is how Mercedes and BMW design cars. They surely didn't make the hood on the CT6 that long because it had to be to fit the V6 under it. The Continental from the side looks a lot like the last Saab 9-5. Pricing will be interesting to see on both cars. For the Continental, I think they need to make 400 hp standard and start it at $49k. They need to go for absolute wow factor or it will just get over looked.
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Plus, the G-wagen is the only car that can fly.
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A full size SUV based on the Genesise RWD structure could be really good. They have a 330 hp V6 which would be okay for a base model, the 5.0 V8 would be perfect for it, and a turbo V6 is supposed to be in the works. If they could make this SUV in the $47-57k range they could have a winner. People spend that much on a Tahoe.
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A lot of those MKS and XTS sales are fleet and livery market, and the MKS and XTS start at $45k Not quite the starting point of those Germans. There is speculation that the Continental will be $60-80,000, good luck selling a fancy Taurus for that money.
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A Navigator is near 6,000 lbs, a loaded Ford Explorer is 4,800. Even if they add extra luxury goodies and a couple inches of lenth to the Explorer, they could keep the weight to 5,000 lbs. 1,000 less than the current Navigator. The ML and GL both are rather heavy, that is something Mercedes should address on the next generation, as they share a chassis. They should be able to get 200 lbs of weight out of both.
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Because the competition hasn't beat them yet. 10-15 years ago pick up based big SUVs were all there were. Then the GL game along and beat all the other guys and even beat the Escalade in sales a couple times. Add the X7 in there, updated Q7 and slowly they may eat away at those truck based sales. Remember when the Explorer, Blazer, Envoy, 4Runner and all those 90s SUVs were body on frame? Then the Lexus RX showed the world a luxury crossover, soon all those body on framers were gone, and every brand pushed crossovers because they rode and handled better, got better gas mileage etc. The Escalade is well done, GM is the best at big body on frame SUVs. But that is a dying breed. The Tahoe/Escalade my survive as the last of the breed while Toyota, Ford, Nissan give up that market. The Escalade hits that sweetspot of huge, bling, flashy, and pop culture icon, but it is going to be hard for Lincoln to copy all that. That is why they should attack from a different angle.
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The main problem with the likes of the MKS, Catera, S-type, Mark VIII, etc is they are half assed products. Mostly spawned in a hasty combination of platform share, engine share, mediocre styling, low rent interiors, etc. Those cars took short cuts regardless of platform. If you want a good luxury car it has to be purpose built, it can't be built out of a Fusion or Malibu. What are the best front wheel drive luxury cars on the market today? The Volvo S80, Lexus ES350, Cadillac XTS? Compared to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, Mercedes S-class, Bentley Mulsanne, and BMW 7-series on the rear wheel drive group. I think I'd rather have a car in the second group over the first.
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I wonder if she wishes should could have a nicer car than a Corvette, but doesn't want to buy a car from another car maker.
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But there won't be an Escalade with the LT4 and even if there were, there is an AMG GL63 to top that and likely a V12 GL600 on the way, and last I checked GM, Ford and Toyota don't have a V12 in the arsenal to compete with that. The Navigator and other big SUVs have gotten tired because the companies that make them got lazy, that is true. But if you were planning on making a luxury SUV, why would you choose a pick up chassis as your base? Pick up trucks don't really scream luxury ride and handling. This is why the NAvigator should move to a unibody chassis, they could probably cut 1,000 lbs of weight, while still using the Ecoboost 3.5 liter and make a better riding, better handling, quick, more fuel efficient SUV than the Escalade, and maybe Lincoln could get back in the game.
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Camrys are front wheel drive. Formula 1 cars are rear wheel drive.
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MT also tested the V6 GL450 vs the V8 Escalade. Put the GL550 in there and it wins all the performance categories, although that might not have changed their outcome. I do agree with MT that that GL interior is looking a bit dated, it is too utilitarian looking. The C-class and S-class have really moved away from that back to a luxury design though. The Escalade is the best executed and best marketed body on frame SUV, and that is why it has had success. They have also kept the formula the same and improved it over the generations. The other big body on frame SUVs just look hopelessly dated by comparison to the Range Rover and GL. And the BMW X7 is coming. Look at where the Navigator, Infiniti QX and Lexus LX570 were 10 years ago, compared to now. They are all falling in sales, they could all be gone in another 10 years.
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What Lincoln should do it move the Navigator to the Explorer platform to make it a unibody SUV. The Explorer is the same width as the Navigator, but the Navigator is 8 inches longer. I am sure they could lengthen the Explorer a little bit, even if it was to 203 inch overall length. Then you can use the 2.7 and 3.5 liter Ecoboost V6s because there is less weight to pull around, the ride, handling and fuel economy would be better, and they could probably price it in the $50s, rather than low $60s. That would create a better selling vehicle. The Navigator and Escalade had big early success because they were able to sell on bling factor and bigger was better. But just like the body on frame sedans (Town Car, Fleetwood, Brougham) got put out to pasture because the unibody imports were better, the same will soon happen to SUVs. The Infiniti QX80 and Lexus GX and LX are basically all dead, while the German SUVs thrive, and Jaguar, Bentley, Maserati, and Lamborghini are all getting into the mix. Lincoln's path to crossover success is the MKC (renamed) starting around $33k, MKX becomes Aviator starting at $42k, Explorer based Navigator starting at $55k. That creates a small-medium-large set up, undercuts the Germans on price, keeps the MKC and MKX priced like a Lexus or Acura.
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BMW News: 2016 BMW X1 - The First Front-Wheel Drive BMW For the U.S.
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in BMW
AWD has benefit in bad weather over RWD, but if you put summer only tires on an all wheel drive car, what happened to Clarkson in the X6 will happen, doesn't matter if you have 8 wheel drive if the tires have no grip. As far as the X1 vs SRX, they aren't the same class. The X1 is cheaper and 14 inches shorter in length. The X1 is smaller than an ATS, the Mercedes GLA is even smaller, almost Buick Encore sized. -
The Continental will probably be priced too high to be a livery vehicle. They might push the MKS into that category. The MKT needs no replacement, they have a MKC, MKX and Navagator, that gives them a small, medium, large SUV trio.
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All these countries shaded in blue use the G-class in their military.
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Peak hp numbers are misleading. The power band matters more because rarely are you driving with the engine at 6,000 rpm. Plus torque affects acceleration, horsepower affects top speed. Torque is the more important thing to compare.
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^^ True dat.
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The G-class as it is, is what the fan base wants. There is no reason to change it. The Jeep Wrangler has looked the same for 35 years and it is the iconic Jeep and still has a loyal fan base. If you want a modern unibody luxury crossover, Mercedes has the GL. G-class production is also sub-contracted out to Austria, it doesn't come from Stuttgart. What I didn't know until I did some research is the company that assembles it also makes the Mini Countryman and Pacemen. In the past they made Aston Martin Rapide, BMW X3, Jeep Grand Cherokee/Commander, Saab 9-3 convertible, and the early 4matic Benzes. I think the G63 6x6 is built by Brabus.
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Lincoln's rebirth plan will be under funded. Cadillac and Lincoln both face the problem of not enough R&D dollars. Lincoln will never get into the tier 1 luxury brands, I am not even sure they'll still be selling Lincolns in 10 years.
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RWD is the answer, it is just that Cadillac doesn't have brand cache and they just now are moving to 8-speed transmission and they don't have hybrids, diesels, DOHC V8, V12, convertible, etc. Their product line is still thin and powertrains to reliant on what Chevy uses. Lincoln will not be able to sell this car in the $60-80k range if that is the target price, too high for a fwd based car. As far as China goes, The Continental or CT6 won't sell there because they don't have 4 rings on the grille.
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Are they replacing the MKS with the Continental? or is the Continental supposed to be a $60,000 car above the MKS? Which would make it more of a K900 or Equus competitor, or what is the expected price point?
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The S-class has too much power for the other guys to beat with 4 and 6 cylinder engines. An S550 does 0-60 in 4.8 seconds, pretty quick for a big car, and they have faster models. A lighter weight 7-series with a 600 hp V12 could be a threat, but I doubt they put more hp in the 7-series than a Rolls-Royce, so the V12 will probably have like 540 hp. One has to wonder though what the quest for light weight will do to ride quality or sound deadening. Because in this segment luxury still comes first, and there is a image thing with a 4 or even V6, they seem common. Just like a V12 is a status symbol because it is so rare and high end.
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What does a CT6 3.0 TT with all wheel drive, 4 power heated/cooled seats, the 34 speaker stereo, panoramic glass roof, tray tables, dvd screens, etc weigh? All that stuff adds weight. Car and Driver tested a CTS 2.0t rear drive that was 3731 lbs, 64 less than that is 3677. All wheel drive adds 150-200 lbs plus all the luxury goodies, bigger engine, and the weight will rise. The S-class can hammer all these cars on power though. Jaguar and Audi tried the aluminum body thing, BMW is getting the 7-series back down in weight, that is all well in good. But if you put a small engine in, then you don't have an advantage. It is like saying the Miata is 800 lbs lighter than a Corvette, doesn't matter the Corvette kills it on power.
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BMW News: 2016 BMW X1 - The First Front-Wheel Drive BMW For the U.S.
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in BMW
The S-class is a luxury car, of course the the magic body control and air springs are going to go for comfort. That is the hallmark of the S-class, that legendary ride quality.