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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The back seat area is phenomenonal.
  2. smk4565
    The Range Rover would own the Escalade off road though. The Escalade isn't made to be a true off roader. Secondly the Ranger Rover Supercharged has 550 hp and weighs less. Now if they give the Escalade the off road credentials and a 600 horse V-series then it could be game on. The Corvette is a fast car, but compare it to an Aventador or Ferrari 599 or a McLaren and it isn't even close, let alone something like a Koenigsegg or Pagani Huayra. Depends on where Cadillac would want to go, if Aston Martin Vantage and Jaguar F-type is their target, the Corvette performance level would be enough.
  3. smk4565
    I think it would be great if Cadillac made an R8 or Ferrari competitor. Finally then the USA would have a super car, preferably they'd use a V12. But I just can't imagine Cadillac building a low volume $200,000 car that is also a Corvette killer. The Corvette guys egos will get in the way and the bean counters will get in the way.
  4. smk4565
    It is grand, and it is a convertible. There is something to be said about a car like this or the Phantom Drophead that is a 2 door convertible about the size of a Chevy Suburban. It is so ridiculous, but that is the point, it stands out as being unique. The boat decking is sweet too. The downside is the S-class has more technology than what a Rolls or Bentley has, and the S-class has as much power and costs less, and an S-class convertible is on the way too. So if buying the better car or better value, it is S-class all the way, but the Grand Convertible and Phantom Drophead have that over the top ridiculousness that none other can match.
  5. smk4565
    Seems to keep getting uglier. This is basically the same body/chassis they have been selling since 2005. They changed from a 3.5 V6 with a 5 speed to a 3.6 V6 and an 8-speed, and did some front and rear fascia restyles along the way. This car is becoming the new Ford Panther platform.
  6. smk4565
    The spoiler is too big and looks tacky. Not a fan of the hood with the bulge and air intake, it looks like something from a Pontiac. The lower grille is too big, the upper grille too small. I don't get my car makers do that, Cadillac isn't alone there, but why make your grille smaller to show off the crap air damn and stuff below the bumper. Jaguar has done it too on the XFR. The power and performance looks good, more power than the M3, not the horsepower of the RC-F but Cadillac will beat the Lexus on torque, and Lexus doesn't know how to build performance cars anyway. BMW loyalists will still buy the M3 on name alone though. But at least Cadillac put what is basically Corvette level performance into this car. Unless Cadillac gets a V sports car like the AMG GT. Not going to happen for 2 reasons. Development costs too high for a niche product, and can't outshine the Corvette at GM. GM would never let the Corvette be inferior to a Cadillac sports car.
  7. smk4565
    This thing seems pretty sweet, I just wonder if it will be under $50k or have some crazy $60-70,000 price tag to where it is a rip off. For everyday driving, I still think the Ecoboost 310 hp and 22/31 mpg is the Mustang to have.
  8. smk4565
    The Acura RLX is the Honda Legend in Japan. I think Acura is better off with Integra and Legend than crap like ILX and RLX.
  9. smk4565
    I think GL and GLK should keep their names, ML going to GLE makes sense since ML is the odd ball name. But the name changes are minor. I do think e or h might be easier than writing plug in hybrid across the back. The Maybach S600 will be great, the Pullman will be great, none of their competitors have a rival.
  10. smk4565
    They need to trademark everything to cover the bases. But who knows what they actually use or if they use odd and even for coupe and sedan. Wouldn't surprise me if these name plates are around for 10 years or so and they scrap them for a new naming scheme.
  11. smk4565
    The 3.6 TT was the logical choice because it is a Cadillac engine and they don't want to be seen as using a Camaro or Corvette engine. Cadillac could have made a brand new dohc twin turbo V8 for V-series cars only, but we know they don't have that sort if engineering budget. Cadillac has to work out of the parts bin, until they day when they don't have to, they'll probably always lag behind the Germans.
  12. smk4565
    Transparency would go a long way to helping GM's cause. They have always seemed to be so secretive and like they are making back room deals.
  13. smk4565
    I think the F-type looks sweet, especially from the rear 3/4 angle or from behind. Headlights could have been better.
  14. smk4565
    I think the Impala is one of GM's best cars right now. It is quite roomy and I thought the interior was pretty goof for the price, and better than the competition in that segment. The back end looks dull, and almost Hyundai like, but I think the front end of the Impala looks really good. Never drove an Impala, only sat it them at the auto show.
  15. smk4565
    $40k+ for this is almost as bad as $40k+ for a Maxima or Cadenza but at least those are a bit bigger with more room. For $40k you can get a 3-series, or even an Acura TSX or Lincoln MKZ if you want 2nd rate luxury badge.
  16. smk4565
    But word names are bad, so the Escalade should be renamed XT8.
  17. smk4565
    The Leaf is cheaper and all electric. I think there is more appeal for an all electric car than an electric car with very little range and a gas engine. You could get a plug in Prius for less than a Volt and it basically is the same thing, and greenies love Toyota products.
  18. smk4565
    I don't really care about back seat space, that was never a concern of mine. I just wonder why the SRX with 190 inch overall length, which is bigger than a Lexus RX350, bigger than a Lincoln MKX, has interior space like a 179 inch long GLK or Lincoln MKC. The SRX doesn't even compete with the Germans, it competes with Lincoln and Lexus because mid-size fwd crossovers at $40k are a hot item. If you want a mid-sze German SUV you haveto spend $60k once the options are on there, and most crossover buyers are clueless as to RWD vs FWD or 8-speed vs 6 speed, or what BMW's regen braking does or what Mercedes Airmatic does, etc. And even if they understood it, they wouldn't pay extra to get it. But since Cadillac is revamping their crossover lineup and starting new, I question why an XT5 on a FWD platform shared with Buick/Chevy/GMC, because I'd assume they will be charging Lexus RX money at $40k, when Cadillac's CT5 sedan might be $50k. Seems odd, and XT5 and CT5 would have no relation at all. The whole plan doesn't make sense.
  19. smk4565
    The 3/4-series alone outsold the entire Cadillac brand. Cadillc does need more body styles and crossovers in a hurry. They also need diesels or hybrids. The Malibu continues to suck, but no surprise there. Cruze must have had a lot of fleet orders come in. I am always surprised by how many Cruzes they sell because it isn't really that good of a car, but neither is the Corolla. The Mazda 3 is so much better than either one.
  20. smk4565
    But the RX and MKX are not as small as a GLK or X3, that is why Lincoln and Lexus both put an SUV below that. And what does it say about Cadillac that their 190 inch long SUV has the interior space of a 178 inch long German SUV. That is poor packaging. Buyers of $30-40,000 crossovers prefer FWD because they don't know any better. I'd suggest that the XT5 should be more of a $50-70,000 crossover with a 550 hp V-series. Then a $35-50,000 XT3 can be sold below it with a 420 hp V-series model. Although Mercedes is making a 470 hp GLK, and they'll have a plug in hybrid that outdoes the RX400h in efficiency. Give it some time and the Germans will turn that crossover segment to their favor. In the 1980s and 90s Cadillac pushed front wheel drive because that was where the volume was, then the Germans turned luxury to rear wheel drive and took all the volume and profit, leaving Cadillac, Lincoln and Acura in the dust. Cadillac has been trying since 2003 to catch up. So are they going to make the same mistake on crossovers?
  21. smk4565
    Lexus motors have no torque either. Them trying to build performance cars is a joke.
  22. smk4565
    It may outsell them for now, maybe the FWD crossovers always will, but Lexus, Lincoln, Acura and Cadillac have to sell a mid-size vehicle at the price BMW and Mercedes sell compacts. The Lexus ES350 outsells the CTS, does that mean the CTS should move to FWD and have a price cut to $37,000 because that is where the crowd goes? The real problem the brands like Acura and Lincoln and to a lesser degree Cadillac and Infiniti have, is that too much of the product is too similar to the mass market vehicle and the brand image gets hurt. Over time that 2nd tier image sticks and it gets harder and harder to compete. It also creates a culture of build what is "good enough" instead of build the best, and there are too many brands and too much competition to just build "good enough" products.
  23. smk4565
    Sounds right, but that makes Cadillac's entire crossover/SUV lineup shared on Chevy/Buick platforms and it is the 80s all over again with 3 versions of the same product, and the Buick is a little nicer than a Chevy but with the same engine, the Cadillac is nicer than a Buick and with more power. Why wouldn't you build crossovers off the Cadillac Alpha and Omega platforms?
  24. smk4565
    WOW! 5 liters and 500 horsepower, BMW didn't do that until 2004, oh wait that was 11 years ago.
  25. smk4565
    If the CTS becomes CT5, you'd think that the crossover with a 5 in it would cost more than a sedan, so that puts the XT5 at $50,000 base, If they make an XT5, there is probably going to be at least and XT3 and XT4, maybe even XT2. Hard to price the XT5 at $35k base like the SRX, how do you get crossovers below that? Unless the plan is to do an XT3 at $33k to compete with the GLA, MKC and Lexus NX, an XT5 at $40k to compete with the MKC and RX350 and then an XT7 (lambda size) crossover at $55k to fill the gap currently between the SRX and Escalade. That plan also gives Cadillac 3 front wheel drive crossovers (on platforms no doubt shared with Chevy), when they claimed RWD and independence was their future. But the XT5 doesn't look big enough to have a 3rd row, and it looks front wheel drive, which probably means Lexus RX and Lincoln MKX pricing. You can't get RWD money with a FWD car.
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