smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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Obviously you don't want a car dealership that is building about to fall over or with carpet from the 70s in it. But most any new car dealership regardless of brand is pretty new or well maintained in the Pittsburgh area. I don't think dealerships are the reason Cadillac struggles with sales or why another brand does well with sales. I think it is about product and marketing.
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I agree with Balthazar about the dealership experience being over rated. People don't buy a car based on what the show room looks like. Personally I'd rather order a car online and skip the whole dealership process if that were doable. Where the dealership experience matters would be in the service department. Because you could take your car to a lot of places for service, so if the dealer wants to get repeat service business, they obviously need to have the facilities, customer service, loaner cars, etc to make people come back. From the consumer's end, I worry more about product that I use on a daily basis rather than the design of the store that it came from. Agreed also on Cadillac ATS and CTS ads. You hardly ever see either of them, so maybe their advertising budget is too small, or maybe it is too much wasted on "Dare" ads with a blurry CT6 that isn't even on sale yet. Either way the marketing is a problem, has been for years.
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Jaguar News: Jaguar Considers A Smaller Crossover
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Jaguar
Jaguar could get some female buyers with a small crossover. But what I don't really get is Land Rover is the SUV wing, and Jaguar is sports cars and sedans. A Jaguar SUV is sort of competition for Land Rover. Unless they make the Jaguar crossover much more car like and smaller than the mostly trucky Land Rovers. Jaguar is so starved for sales though, they'll probably try anything. On the BMW topic, they are getting an X7 full size SUV, with a rumored optional V12 engine. That will be their Escalade competitor and the V12 model would compete with the Bentley Bentayga and Mercedes-Maybach GL. -
Cadillac is under cutting: E-class: $52,650 Jag XF: $50,175 5-series: $49,950 GS350: $48,600 Audi A6: $46,200 CTS: $45,345 C-class: $38,400 Lexus IS: $36,350 Audi A4: $35,500 ATS: $33,215 3-series: $32,950
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ATS-V might get a V8 once Cadillac gets their own V8. Now that there is an upgraded 3.6 V6, I guess they could turbo that, but I see Cadillac going with the 3.0 TT V6 in the future, and phasing out that current 3.6 twin turbo engine when this new V8 arrives. Seems a bit redundant to offer a 3.0 and a 3.6 on the same model and if displacement tax is a concern, the 3.0 will win out. Then you set up an all turbo lineup for Cadillac with 4-6-8 cylinder options. I think the LS7 is dead.
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The Camaro isn't really in competition with the 4-series, someone before posted about the Camaro being an M4 killer. I am not a BMW fan boy, but I wouldn't under estimate the M3/M4. But again they aren't really in competition, one is a luxury car, one is not. On the LS7 issue, I bet they just drop it. Would make more sense to offer a supercharged LT1 in a top end Camaro because the engine is already used in the Corvette and CTS-V. They could turn down the boost to make it a little less powerful than the Corvette if they are worried about overlap.
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True, hardly anyone buys a Jag, but they'll sell like 1,000 a month, they will have to steal that off someone. People bought the X-type and it was terrible. I don't think it is a big threat either, but it might take 200 cars a month away from Cadillac, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes.
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U really are delusional. Your argument of sales is ridiculous.. as the Camry outsells several cars in its segment 3:1. The fact that with its numbers.. it generates $1 Billion in profit.. proves my original, and Balthazar's supporting assertion about it being overpriced. That is.. essentially how U make profit. Only a fool would pay full price for an S-Class... when U can get one for about $30K off a year later. I can find U a '13 S550 with 23K miles for under $60K. That's a fact But the Camry doesn't outsell the Accord, Altima and Fusion combined, and cost 20% more than those 3. If buyers thought the S-class was over priced or a rip off then it wouldn't sell. S-class has over 40 years on top of the mountain, no one has knocked it off yet. They have sold about 3 million S-classes since 1972 when they actually started using the S-class name. There must have been a lot of fools walking into Mercedes dealerships since then. I am sure the bean counters at GM would have loved if the ELR sold 1,000 units a month at their $75,000 price tag so they turned a profit. Rather than having almost no sales and having to kill the product off as another one and done.
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Damn it.. The Stingray does it in 3.5-3.7 secs. The Camaro SS is gonna be lighter than the ATS-V.. thus that's where I got my number Chevrolet's website states 3.8 seconds, I assume that is with the 8-speed auto. Car and Driver (who I think gets the quickest 0-60 times) got 3.9 seconds on a Corvette Z51 package manual transmission.
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Tell me how, don't just copulate. As I put earlier in the thread, the CTS has the lowest starting price out of the E-class, 5-series, GS, XF, A6, or Q70. They'd have to raise the price by $5,000 to make it class average price. They are the value leader, but weak on sales. When you win on price, but get outsold, the other cars must be winning at a lot of other things. Base V6, better interior, more exciting rear end styling could have helped make more impact. Remember the CTS is the freshest model in the segment too, the XF, E-class and 5-series are all getting new models in the next year or two. The current generation A6, GS and Q70 came out in 2011, so those will be due for new models in a couple years too.
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The ATS 3.6 isn't all that cheap, it is priced in line with competition V6s as Z06 said. I looked up a Road and Track comparo from 2013 and the ATS 3.6 Premium was $52,405, the most expensive car in the test. The Lexus IS350 was $47k, 335i was $49k and the Infiniti Q50 was $51,805. Car and Driver just did a coupe test last month, the ATS was $52k, the Lexus RC was $54k and Audi S4 $59k. They are all in the $50k range. What I'd like to see Cadillac do it put a 380 hp 3.0 liter TT V6 as an ATS V-sport and midlevel CTS engine that sort of would sit price wise were the current 3.6 V6 sits. The CTS could start with 3.6 V6, dump the 4-banger because they hybrid will be there for fuel economy seekers, ATS I'd be tempted to do a base V6 so it starts with the middle Camaro engine.
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The Corvette does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds, the Camaro SS will be about 400 lbs, more, I stick to my original 4.2 second prediction. Which is still very fast, but the Camaro is not going to be faster than a Corvette. But you never know, it could surprise and crack 4 seconds.
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In most months the S-class outsells its closest 3 competitors COMBINED and at a higher transaction price. It creates $1 billion a year in profit for Daimler, there are no problems in the cash making department with the S-class. There is a new A4 coming next year, along with the mild refresh the 3-series, and the Jag XE is coming. Competition is only increasing. The ATS doesn't sell now, and they have another 3-4 years in this life cycle. Dressing up the interior an extra level would help. I don't see a downside to taking much of the design and materials for the ELR interior and putting it into the ATS which is a similar sized car.
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I don't think it will be quite that fast. The ATS coupe weighs less than the Camaro, even with a 200 lb weight loss, the Camaro would still be in the 3550-3800 range, which is what the Mustang is. ATS with the 2.0T does 0-60 in 5.7 seconds, with the V6 it is 5.6. I think the Camaro will be close to those numbers in the mid 5's. The Ecoboost Mustang does 0-60 in 5.2 seconds with the auto and gets 32 mpg, I think that will top both the 4 or 6 cylinder Camaro in acceleration and fuel economy. The Mustang V8 does 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, I do think the Camaro V8 can beat that and hit 4.3 seconds. An ATS-V does 0-60 in 4.2, I think the Camaro SS will be just a tick slower. Acceleration times will be close, so the question is going to be how the Camaro and Mustang compare in handling, ride, braking, interior features, etc. The Mustang finally has independent rear suspension, the Camaro has the alpha chassis and magneride. I wouldn't buy either of these cars, but I am curious to read the comparison tests and see the comparison shootout videos because I do think they are close in a lot of ways. Even the dimensions and shapes are similar, this might be the closest the 2 have been in 40 years.
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The S-class isn't overpriced, if it were then people would stop buying it. But it has been the global sales leader for about 40 years, people must think it is a good buy. Unlike the ELR that will spend about 4 years on market with no sales and be killed off. The ATS interior doesn't drive away sales, but I don't think it is bringing people in either. The ATS is a poor seller, it needs something that is a wow factor to bring in more buyers.
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The ELR interior should have been in the ATS. Would have made the ATS more competitive. The ELR wouldn't have sold at anything over $50k, the Volt is a slow seller, a luxury Volt was always going to be an even slower seller.
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The CTS is the cheapest car in its segment, and it is cheaper than the STS 10 years ago in that segment. The car isn't over priced, it is under delivered. Cadillac is trying to copy what other luxury makers do well, and not be what Cadillac was. The SRX went to fwd and size and price almost the same as the Lexus RX, even the names are similar. The ATS was built within an inch in every dimension of a 3-series, Cadillac even uses the same XF steering that the 3-series uses. The ATS-V got a twin turbo 6 because the M3 left the V8 in favor of a 6. Johan is renaming the cars to a similar scheme Audi and Infiniti use. Cadillac uses a lot of Chevy engines, transmissions and parts still to go after the imports (XTS, ELR, Escalade, etc). Chevy can't really beat Toyota/Honda, how are those parts going to beat BMW and Mercedes? The Cadillac brand doesn't really have a clear definition or consistent marketing, the marketing campaigns change every year, a new tagline comes every year, etc.
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The performance battle with the Mustang should be pretty close. I think the Ecoboost Mustang will beat the 4 and 6 cylinder Camaros because the Ecoboost has 320 lb-ft and weighs 3500 lbs. The Camaro SS has more muscle than the Mustang V8 though, should be a little quicker than the Mustang GT. The pony car war is heating up I think.
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This car should have been $49,995 base price, but come fully loaded with no options. It's a Volt, asking $50k is even stretching.
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Looks pretty much the same as Gen 5, I wish they went away from the retro look interior and to more of the modern Chevy interior. The lower front grille is huge, I think it would look better with a larger upper grille and smaller on the bottom. Too many cars do that big lower grill look.
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The ELR was over priced, and in other news water is wet.
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It appears as if the 2016 Camaro is getting the 3.6 liter V6 with 330 hp. So it won't be a Cadillac exclusive. The Camaro will have the 270 hp turbo four as the base engine. Even if Cadilac drops the 2.5 liter ATS, the Camaro would have the same base engine and same step up engine as the ATS/CTS. To me a Cadillac should be better than a Chevy. I'd make the V6 the base Cadillac engine (sort of the rental spec model) and the performance trim would jump up to a 3.0TT V6. ATS-V and CTS/CT6 V-sport models can be a TT V8 with 475 hp and dump the 3.6TT.
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Jeep News: Jeep Planning A Competitor to the Range Rover
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Jeep
They'll fail at this, who wants a $100,000 Jeep? The Range Rover has old world name recognition and badge snobery, plus it a proven off road warrior, even if most of the owners will never take it off road. Maserati wouldn't have any off road or SUV credentials, if they make a Maserati SUV (which I think they are) I would guess it more like a Porsche Macan sort of car. I wonder is Sergio sees a Toyota Camry or VW Golf on the street and says" that makes my blood boil, we should be able to build a car as good as that." -
They could use the 2.0T for foreign market, and not offer the 3.6 V6. But without a competitive diesel (or diesels) they have no shot in Europe anyway.
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Let's look at this way. The 3.6 V6 can't compete with the supercharged Audi and Jaguar V6s, the bi-turbo Merc V6 or the BMW turbo six that just got a power bump, all those engines make way more torque at a much lower rpm. This leaves 2 options. Don't even offer the 3.6 liter, go from 2.0T base engine to a 3.0 TT V6 mid range. Or option 2 is put the 3.6 V6 against the competitors 240 hp turbo fours and and remove the 2.0T engine. Cadillac doesn't need both engines. I'd rather see them use the 3.6 V6 as the base engine, then the marketing people can promote how Cadillac has a standard V6 and has standard 335 hp, while the competition has 4 cylinders, less power, etc. And if Chevy and Buick are using turbo 4s, it makes Cadillac look better compared to them.
