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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    What do we want? Diesels! When do we want them? Now!
  2. smk4565
    My car has more torque than this thing. Lexus performance cars are a joke. This engine would have been good for a GS500, something to compete with the 550i or E550 (if it comes back, otherwise CLS550). Plus it is ugly. How Lexus sells so many cars is still a mystery to me. Awful torque rating, 389 @ 4800 rpm, mine is 391 @ 2800 rpm and Mercedes made that engine 7 years ago.
  3. smk4565
    Agreed, it doesn't quite look like a Buick. And the dash and center stack has a ridiculous amount of buttons, it looks cluttered.
  4. smk4565
    I actually quite like it, although from the side it looks a bit like a Tesla Model S with a longer hood. I don't like short rear decklids or a Panamera style rear end, this isn't too bad, but from behind the C-pillar I think it could be better. They did well in front of the C-pillar, I question if there is a market for it, I think sales numbers would be like Kia K900 or Hyundai Equus.
  5. smk4565
    Skylark
  6. smk4565
    Johan changed his mind awfully fast too, what happened to German level pricing? A C-class is $40k now, the E-class is $52k. I will list a complaint on Mercedes pricing though, the E400 is $62,350 (granted the premium and sport packages are included) but the E550 used to be about that price and you got Airmatic, now the E550 is gone.
  7. smk4565
    I think they should have added more content rather than cut prices. And simplify the option packages, there are so many levels of standard, luxury, performance and premium, plus individual options on top of that. Maybe they should just dump the standard car, and start with luxury, then they wouldn't have to drop the price. Although the price drop is somewhat irrelevant, dealers are probably discounting anyway, and if you go on Cadillac's website it says you can get $6,000 off a 2014 CTS, they don't list a 2015 yet.
  8. smk4565
    weeeelll... the LFX has only been around since 2012. It is so different from the prior LLT that it is basically all new. It just shares a displacement. The Mercedes 3.5 liter V6 with direct injection came out in 2012, and they are phasing it out now for the 3.0 bi-turbo V6, which itself will be replaced in 2017 by the new inline engines. So things can change fast. The market has moved to boosted sixes, Cadillac needs a 350 hp/torque V6 with an 8 speed.
  9. smk4565
    Would be a good idea, convertibles bring a youthful appeal to a brand. Plus GM only has the Camaro and Corvette as convertibles, and not everyone wants a muscle car. And outside of luxury and sports cars there aren't many convertibles, the old Chrysler Sebring/200 (we'll see if they do another) and the Eos are really it. There is the Beetle and the Mini Cooper, but they are sort of quirky and impractical.
  10. smk4565
    The model by model sales chart is awesome, that must have taken some time and research to put together. I love that level of analysis. The Escalade and the GL are competitors, similar size and price, both 3 rows, most GLs are V8s, etc. The G-wagen is a rather unique vehicle, even more so when you look at an AMG version or the 6x6.
  11. smk4565
    Probably aero dynamics would prevent a symetrical design. Most Mercedes sedans are in the .23-.27 drag coefficient range, my guess is they are shooting lower here to like .20 for max efficiency. This thing is almost as big as an S-class too, this is a large vehicle.
  12. smk4565
    The C pillar looks odd, but I think the front looks really good and overall the shape is good, it sort of has Aston Marting V8 Vantage proportions which is a good thing. How long are they going to milk that 3.7 liter V6? The Euros have all moved on the 3 liter turbos wit more power and torque and better fuel economy. Unless they hope to sell on the merits of a naturally aspirated engine, but most people don't know the difference, they will just look at the horsepower number and the fuel economy number.
  13. smk4565
    Given Cadillac's lack of overall product, I don't think they need 2 sedans that cost the same. The CT6 will give them the higher priced sedan, but rather than design an XTS replacement, how about making a CTS coupe and another crossover. Expanding the body styles of ATS and CTS helps, more crossover or sports car offerings will help.
  14. smk4565
    Looks odd, but perhaps that is the future of motoring. It drives itself so that is cool.
  15. smk4565
    I thought the C-class could get to 10,000 per month, perhaps in spring when car buying picks up, and they have AMG and a diesel on the way. I do think it will close the gap a bit more with the 3-series. I can see near 100,000 C-class sales for 2015. S-class dominates its segment. The E-class is their oldest car (and oldest in the segment), even with the refresh, that chassis has been on sale since 2010 model year, but they still sell a decent number of them. A new one comes in spring 2016 which will address that. When you look at the Mercedes sales in 2008 compared to now, they have had solid growth.
  16. smk4565
    Another stellar month for the Cadillac sedans.
  17. smk4565
    We agree here. All those sedans overlap, and there are hardly any other body styles. The old days of BMW did it well when you had a 3 series sedan, coupe, wagon and convertible. 4 body styles of one model. They muddied it up now, but I think fewer model lines with more body styles would help Chevy, rather than all these similar vehicles overlapping.
  18. smk4565
    Maybe Chevy doesn't need an extra model, maybe they need better models. Or maybe they need more body styles, like a Cruze Coupe. I don't really know what the solution is, I think Chevy's lineup is more about quantity of products, but not so much quality, and each model comes in one body style, except for the Sonic which has sedan and hatch. Honda and Mazda have only a few models, but they get them all right, Chevy needs to get the cars right and they haven't gotten the Malibu right in 18 years, so I doubt they get it right this time.
  19. smk4565
    The problem goes beyond Malibu and to GM's over product planning. The Impala starts at $27,000 while the Toyota Avalon is $32,000. A Buick LaCrosse is $33,000 (because Buick is not a luxury car or even a premium car really, it costs what the Avalon and Azera cost) while a ES350 is $40,000. The Malibu gets squeezed because the bigger GM front drive sedans sell cheap. The Impala should be $30,000 base, the Lacrosse $36,000 base. They need to open up the $23-30,000 space for the Malibu (and Verano can be in there too because it is small). Once they do that they can focus on the car, but the midsize segment already has 9-speed automatics, self parallel parking cars, all wheel drive, turbos all over the place, several good looking cars, several 35-38 mpg cars, etc. Not sure where they go with the Malibu, unless it is pushing over 40 mpg with a 10 speed automatic and a 200 hp 1.8 turbo with all wheel drive and 10 airbags and a 100k mile warranty, what are they going to do that isn't already done.
  20. smk4565
    The Accord inline-4 was SOHC for years... people have no idea what DOHC or SOHC means. True but they know what the Camry and Accord have is what they want. 10 years ago Chevy tried the we'll give you a pushrod V6 for the price of a CamCord 4-cylinder, no one cared, they bought the CamCords still.
  21. smk4565
    People love LED lights though and disc brakes and DOHC engines. These people have been groomed on the 2.4 liter inline fours of Camrys and Accords, and even small Kias and Corollas are putting LED lights up front because they want it to look like an Audi and look expensive. I think a problem GM has is they think bold styling will win in this segment, when they need build quality, reliability and fuel economy.
  22. smk4565
    The Alero and Intrigue were both good cars, especially the Intrigue. You got a lot for the money, good looks, DOHC V6, better interior thatn what the CamCord or Chevy's had and not much more money and it had a sporty but comfy and class persona too. Sort of what today's Mazda 6 is like, a bit unique looking, nice driving car that gives good value. The Malibu has sucked for years, the late 90s one was old school GM rubbish, in 2004 they brought out the new one that was supposed to grown in size and be competitive with the Camry, and it wasn't. Then in 2008 they said the same thing, another fail. 2013 same result. I don't see what Chevy is going to do this time to fix the problem. The Cruze has crept up in size and price, the Impala isn't that much more expensive, the Malibu gets squeezed in its own showroom, and there are probably 8 other mid size sedans that are better. I think this is another example of Ruess over selling and under delivering. What "groundbreaking technology" is going to be in a Malibu that wasn't in a Cadillac last year. Unless they make the Malibu a Transformer than turn into a giant robot or turn into a cool car, I don't think people will want one.
  23. smk4565
    So it goes back to product planning and poor use of resources and/or money. The Malibu is still terrible 7 years later, even Hyundai/Kia have passed it up, at least back in 2004 Hyundai/Kia were nobody, and a mediocre Malibu got some sales. But the XTS goes back to a problem of GM, and that is build the car that fits the business case, or fits what was already done, and don't build the car the market wants. Mercedes is spending $2 billion on an electric car platform to go after Tesla it seems, and why do that rather than just make and Electric E-class? Because you can do it from scratch better than you can retro-fitting an E-class into an electric car and because the market wants purpose built electric cars, with electric car proportions. No one wants an electric B-class, but they buy that BMW i3 and Tesla Model S up. Same thing goes for Cadillac, I have said for years they need their own chassis/engines/mechanics/interiors, because they have to build what the market is demanding. Cadillac often tries to build out of the GM parts bin, then convince people to buy the product they aren't really asking for. Another bold prediction: The next Mercedes-AMG E63 will be a plug in hybrid. The AMG hybrid drivetrain is already under development, they just haven't decided where to use it.
  24. smk4565
    The image problem lies more in the Cadillac brand name than any single model probably.
  25. smk4565
    Funny how mercedes requires no "protection" from taxi sales, but Cadillac "needs" such from black car sales. Ignorance again. Mercedes doesn't have the fleet sales here, and in Europe it doesn't hurt them. American and Japanese luxury makes have not made any impact on Europe. Mercedes is strong in China also, they are posting record sales and record profits year after year. Cadillac has a fragile image, a lot of luxury buyers in the USA see Cadillac as the old person's brand still. The XTS has an old person's image, it should be turned into a Park Avenue Buick, let them use that for the livery car even. Cadillac should have 2 retail sedans that cost the same though, that doesn't make sense.
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