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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. smk4565
    Looks odd, but perhaps that is the future of motoring. It drives itself so that is cool.
  5. 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.
  6. smk4565
    Another stellar month for the Cadillac sedans.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. smk4565
    The image problem lies more in the Cadillac brand name than any single model probably.
  15. 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.
  16. smk4565
    My guess is that it moves production to the Lacrosse line and becomes a livery only vehicle... which is an utter shame because it is a fantastic vehicle especially in VSport form... it just isn't the image Cadillac is shooting for and I understand that. But isn't a CTS a better vehicle? The XTS as a livery only vehicle makes sense, it serves that market and protects the "real" Cadillacs so to speak from fleet sales. The market is moving, and if Cadillac wants to go on this quest after the Germans they need to build an image and the XTS doesn't build the right image.
  17. smk4565
    They need a car to offer higher levels of luxury than the Escalade. Part of Cadillac's problem is a dressed up Tahoe is their best vehicle and a CTS with a Corvette engine is their other. You can't rely on Chevy parts to go against the world's best, you need a little better. So my hope is the CT6 brings luxury and technology that surpasses any of their current line. And perhaps a CT8, or CT9 will come along to set a new standard. The Escaldade has been a bright spot for them, they need to pull some of those styling cues into a smaller crossover so you have Escalade feel, but at $50k. Sort of what Land Rover did with the Evoque, you create Range Rover feel at a lower price point.
  18. smk4565
    There must be 1.5 million badge snobs born every year to keep that Mercedes factory rolling then. Mercedes maintenance is costly but it depends on what it is, and usually it is because the parts are more expensive than what you get in a Toyota or Chevy. The spark plug change/tune-up service that is every 91,000 miles is about $550, but it includes some other BS checks and inspections and lubricate this and that, and an oil change. A stand alone oil change on my car which is the V8 using 9.5 quarts of Mobil 1, is $127 plus tax at the Mercedes dealer and it lasts one year or 13,000 miles. I think $130 per year for oil changes is pretty reasonable. The ripoff service is the transmission fluid and filter change on the 7-speed auto, for some reason it is $403.
  19. smk4565
    Aluminum body and Cadillac's own engine line are good news. I'd rather see Cadillac do an inline six as opposed to a V6, for one they are better balanced and two it won't get confused with the V6 in a Chevy or Buick, because an inline six probably isn't fitting in those cars. Although the Jaguar XJ and Audi A8 have an aluminum body and supercharged V6 and are the 2 worst sellers in the full size luxury sedan class, aside from the Maserati Quatroporte. Cadillac should make a V12 for the CT6-V and an SUV above Escalade, unless they want to do an Escalde V to compete with the G65 AMG.
  20. smk4565
    Anyone that buys a $100k car isn't driving cross country, they are buying a plane ticket for $400. The Tesla's range is fine for 95% of driving. The Tesla does have image going for it, it has some wow factor, and it is a cool car to have. The Cadillac brand still has baggage to get rid of. I get that they are working on it, but it is still there.
  21. smk4565
    The automatic probably makes it faster than the manual. And perhaps AWD is planned for the future and maybe that won't pair with a manual.
  22. smk4565
    The 0-60 time doesn't really matter that much, as I said earlier the margins between a CTS-V, M5, AMG, S6, Panamera, etc are so slim and most normal drivers couldn't tell the difference. Without a race car driver on a race track you couldn't really tell which car is fastest. I do think if the CTS-V interior was in the ATS 2.0t it would be a better match for the C-class.
  23. smk4565
    I just thought of something else. This sets up a nice $100k American luxury sedan competition with the Tesla D-85. The Tesla is faster than the CTS-V and no fuel costs. Intriguing competition there with the gas vs electric.
  24. smk4565
    I like the styling more than the base CTS, the base car looks boring, the styling adjustments liven it up and make it more interesting. Not a fan of the carbon fiber package, I think the carbon fiber spoiler looks horrible (like those boy racer XKR-S Jaguars) it goes too far and looks tacky. But that is optional, so no big deal. I give them a well done on the styling, and the base CTS is a car I am not a big fan of styling wise. Huge power, from a marketing standpoint it will be easy to advertise the 640 hp and how it is most powerful car in the segment. But you wonder if they should have invested in all wheel drive instead of just more power, because power is only good if you can put it on the ground. An Audi A6 with only 420 hp does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds because of the gearing and awd. Even if Cadillac's number is conservative, which I doubt because they claimed 3.9 on the last car and that is what it was, I don't see them beating 3.5 and the all wheel drive AMG's can do that now. But they gave the car the power and top speed an acceleration it needs, the margins are all so slim between all these sub 4 second sedans that a normal driver on a normal road won't be able to get any where near the limit. I think on product execution, well done to Cadillac. The problem is it is still a CTS, and if it is priced like an E63, it becomes a $100,000 CTS and is the market going to pay that? The market didn't want a $77k STS or a $76k XLR, Cadillac cars struggle in that upper price range.
  25. smk4565
    It was more like a wealthy man's Accord coupe. You'd think for a $90,000 price you would get more than 270 hp.
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