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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Mercedes in September posted its best global sales month ever. Their biggest growth sector is the S-class up 105%, granted it is a small volume product at 76,000 sold globally so far this year. The A-Class, B-class, CLA, GLA combined have sold 335,000, but they have sold 261,000 E-class alone. GLK, ML, and GL sales combined at 250,000. Their #1 selling product line is still the E-class. The A/B-class chassis cars are mainly getting their numbers from China and emerging markets. In the USA the CLA is 7.8% of Mercedes sales (barely outselling the S-class), but it gives them a model to bring in younger buyers. If you are waiting for the collapse of Mercedes so that buyers will flee to buy a Cadillac it isn't going to happen. Mercedes keeps improving the S, E and C-class to keep the loyalists coming back. Cadillac better step their game up if they want to be the Standard of the World, and I still believe it comes down to money. Cadillac just can't spend money like the German trio, maybe not even as much as Lexus.
  2. smk4565
    Mercedes and BMW have better brand images than Cadillac. Mercedes just won the Formula 1 world championship Sunday. Cadillac has a more damaged image, I think they are trying to reboot with CT6-5-4-3, to start fresh, but the danger there is generic name products from a weak brand name. It is the problem Lincoln and Acura have, generic names from weak brands. Infiniti also, Q50, Q60 don't mean anything, so the sale comes from an emotional tie to the "Infiniti" brand and they aren't damaged, but they aren't thought of as prestigious either. 2nd problem comes down to money. Cadillac will never have the R&D budget that Mercedes or BMW do, and Audi benefits from a big budget and having other brands above and below them at VW, so there is a lot of money and resources to pull from. When you don't have the money, Cadillac is forced to pull from the Chevy parts bin or do things like an ATS sedan in year 1, ATS coupe in year 3, ATS-V in year 4, and never make a wagon or convertible. They have to stagger product roll outs because the money isn't there to do multiple body styles and engines in 1 year. Give Cadillac a $5 billion a year R&D budget and they can do some damage in the luxury market, but they aren't ever going to get that.
  3. smk4565
    AWD V6 is a poor combo for fuel economy, that hurts Acura compared to some competitors. Probably why they want some FWD and 4 cylinder models to advertise the higher fuel economy. Acura doesn't have a diesel or a turbo 4 in a sedan, they basically are an Accord V6 with AWD to give it a 1-2 mpg penalty. Making every Acura a hybrid of some kind would make them unique, but then you also risk adding cost and trying to sell a $45,000 TLX, and I don't think anyone wants a $45,000 Accord hybrid. Acura has the same problem Lincoln has, you can only do so much with a Ford or Honda, and can't really put a price tag much over $40k on them.
  4. smk4565
    How about they make a RWD car instead of rebodied Civics and Accords.
  5. smk4565
    Most people aren't going more than 200 miles per day, most of the world only drive 40 miles a day or less. The Tesla has plenty of range. For those that need to travel halfway across the country they can get on an airplane.
  6. smk4565
    If they had a cheaper model they would get a lot of younger buyers. I think people under 35 would be more open to an electric car than people over 35. Most people under 35 just can't afford $100,000 car or even a $40,000 car.
  7. smk4565
    Well when Johan was at Audi he seemed to want to be like the 2 more successful Germand brands, then when he went to Infiniti he wanted a naming scheme like Audi had. I don't think we are dealing with a great innovator here.
  8. smk4565
    I think Cadillac should use names because they always did and they have solid heritage names that they threw away. If BMW decided to rename the 3-series the Falcon or Cheetah just for the sake of giving it a word name and for no other reason, I would be critical of them for throwing away 35 years of brand equity. Time will tell, we'll see if Cadillacs new plan is successful.
  9. smk4565
    Probably in the early 80s (when I was born) was the last time Cadillac was on par with Mercedes, but then Cadillac had the failed V8-6-4, the failed diesel, the failed Cimarron and the unreliable 4100 all within a 5 year span. That pretty much did them in, plus they had moved so many of their cars to front wheel drive in the 70s and 80s. In the 80s Mercedes brought the 190E, BMW had the 3-series start it's Car and Driver 10 best streak, the M5 came out late 80s and those two brands started to climb. If you look back to any of those sales training videos or old tv commercials from the late 80s you can tell Cadillac was worried about the Germans, that is why they made the Cimarron in the first place. The Northstar engine was made to compete with the Germans because Lexus and the German cars had DOHC V8s. Problem is it took Cadillac another 10 years to turn the engine to face the rear wheels. I actually always like the Seville, I wasn't a big fan of generation 2, but in 2 tone paint it looked better, gave it a more old fashioned look that went with the bustle back styling. And I like the downsized late 80s Seville and I likes the Northstar Sevilles. I'd much rather see Cadillac make the Seville, Eldorato and Fleetwood than some CT4-5-6-7-8 names. The ATS-V doesn't require going from concept to production which I know takes a couple years. The ATS-V is an engine option, that doesn't take long to do. Mercedes had the AMG versions of the S-class sedan on sale the same model year as the base, they are doing the same with the C-class. I don't see why the ATS-V and CTS-V aren't on sale now, especially if all they are going to do it put a twin turbo V6 which is already in production in the ATS-V and a Corvette engine that is already in production into the CTS-V.
  10. smk4565
    Why would Cadillac release a SECOND 182" long, 4-dr sport sedan in the low $30K range (and up), with RWD & 4 or 6-cylinder power??????????????????? Because de Nysschen said they were looking at a car below the ATS. I am not saying I would do that if I were running Cadillac, but I also wouldn't call my cars CT6 and CT8 and roll out the new XT4 crossover. Maybe he wants to make the CT6 a full size car at $65k like an Equus or K900 and dump the XTS, leave the CTS errr CT4 in the $45-60k range. Maybe the ATS can grow in size to 190 inches in length to make it the size of a gen 1 CTS. Or maybe Cadillac will sell the ATS as it is and add a Cruze based FWD model at the same price. They already offer the CTS and XTS a RWD and a FWD at the same price point. Even better, take the Regal slap some vertical lights and a Cadillac badge on it and they can have an Acura TLX/Lincoln MKZ competitor, so that the ATS would be the $33k car that is small and sporty, the Cadillac Regal would be mid-size and FWD. Cadillac's product planners are clueless, it took them 2 years just to get an ATS coupe out, and where is the ATS-V? Where is any kind of convertible? What would actually be cool and clever is if Cadillac made all future V-series cars plug-in hybrids with a twin turbo V6 and a 200 hp electric motor and some carbon fiber body panels to cut weight. Then the V-series cars wouldn't just be fast they would be green too. The Tesla P85D just threw down the gauntlet with a 0-60 time of 3.2 seconds and it is a green machine, why not take the best of electric and gas for the V-series and come up with something new.
  11. smk4565
    Germany didn't really copy America. Post WWII, Mercedes had the 300SL sports car then in the 60s the 600 Grosser which was the most technologically advanced car of the day and they built there legacy on safety and engineering. At no point did Mercedes built land yachts with loads of a chrome and no handling like the 70s Lincolns and Cadillacs. BMW made handling a top priority from the start. Audi after years of unreliable sporty luxury has their act together. But if you look at what the 3 German brands had in the 80s they basically build the same size and style car now.
  12. smk4565
    Cadillac often copies the imports. They blueprinted the SRX after the Lexus RX350, the AtS after the 3-series, the CTS is closer in size to a Jaguar XF, but still in that Euro mid size segment. Cadillac copies what made the others successful thus they tend to be a product cycle behind. If they release a CLA/GLA competitor in 2019, they are again 5 years behind. On the CT8 if they want to compete with the Phantom that is $450,000+ territory, no way could Cadillac pull that off. And to compete with the Ghost of Flying Spur Cadillac would need a V12. Mercedes can put the S600, S65 and S600 Maybach/Pullman in that arena, but I don't see any other brand competing with Rolls or Bentley.
  13. smk4565
    Cadillac needs to be Cadillac and build American luxury cars, and innovate new technology. They can't copy what the Germans do and always be 3-5 years behind. No one mentioned about the 2nd generation ELR, what a waste of time that is. De Nysschen did say it might not be a coupe, maybe this time it will be a crossover sized like a Buick Encore, but priced like an Escalade.
  14. smk4565
    Because Cadillac's goal is to always follow the Germans?
  15. smk4565
    The P85D is crazy fast. I do think it is really impressive that they can make an electric car that is almost GT-R or Corvette Z06 like acceleration.
  16. smk4565
    So a CT8 now to compete with the S-class? What exactly is the CT6 going to be priced like or compete with? The CT6 is going to be as big as an LS460, 7-series or XJ. Unless Cadillac has some bizarre idea to make CT6 sized like a 7-series but priced like a 5-series. Cadillac seems to have no real strategy or plan, it seems like the let's throw it against the wall and see what sticks mentality is being used. Perhaps they have ambitions for the CT8 to be a competitor for the S600 Maybach or Bentley Flying Spur, but good luck with that. A Sub ATS front drive sedan is a bad idea, the ATS is already cheap. And if they add $5,000 to the ATS price to make room for a $30k Cadillac, then ATS sales will fall apart. If they go below the ATS, it needs to be a hot hatch I think, something that could sell in Europe or South America and be more of a global car that they happen to offer here also.
  17. smk4565
    I side with Drew on the political stuff. On the car buyer age issue, I am surprised Lincoln and Buick are that low, but the crossovers are probably helping keep the number near 60. I bet if you polled sedan buyer age Lincoln and Buick would be near 70 with only the Lexus ES giving them a run for their money. These are 2013 numbers too, so no GLA and only about a half a year of CLA sales. Less than 10% of Mercedes sales last year were CLA, so it isn't like that is why they are at 54. That had pretty much been their average for a long time, Mercedes builds luxury cars which have appeal to 50-somethings. Audi and BMW I think are both in the 40s for average buyer age seeing as they build "sport sedans."
  18. smk4565
    The CTS is 5 inches longer than a Lexus GS. The 5-series has gotten too big also, it is wide, long, heavy and bulky and sales are down.. The E-class in 30 years has added 4 inches of overall length, it has stayed a mid-size car. If they are going to make the CTS big, why not just keep the STS around? Because people didn't want to pay $50k for an STS, Cadillac figured they could get people to pay $50k for a CTS, the car below the STS? Odd thinking. They could have just chopped 5 inches in length off the CTS to make it the 3-series competitor it should have been 10 years ago and redone the STS to give it another shot against the Germans, Jaguar and Lexus. Instead they spend all the marketing dollars to introduce the "ATS" which will be a one and done model replaced by a CT2 or whatever it is, then the process repeats of more marketing dollars.
  19. smk4565
    XTS doesn't really have any history to dump. But they did dump 50 years of Eldorado. I think they should have names. They had names in their glory days, XT4, CT3 sounds like names for Kawasaki bikes. At least if you use Eldorado, Seville and Fleetwood most people would know it is a Cadillac.
  20. smk4565
    The CTS is as big as the 2005-2010 STS. If it is supposed to be a driver's car why is it huge. Maybe when it gets called CT4 it will be perceived as smaller.
  21. smk4565
    On the mainstream cars I think the engine upgrade is always worth it. Who wants the weak base engine? The only time it is not worth the upgrade are cars like the Z28 as Drew said and M and AMG models would fall into that class. If you aren't doing track days you don't need it. But to use the Camaro as an example you would still upgrade to the SS, just maybe not all the way. On something like a Bentley where the base engine is already 550-600 HP, there is no reason to upgrade there. But the only sub $75000 car I think the base engine may be better than the upgrade is the E250 bluetec because it gets 42 mpg and the V6 is old news in that car.
  22. smk4565
    Not over time, and the S-class is their fastest growing model right now and they raised the price of the C-class to $%0k. Mercedes sells more cars over $40k than it does under. Audi can't say that, they sell like 400 A8 and 1400 A6 per month.
  23. smk4565
    I think this is a product that Chevy needs, but it is priced about $5k over the Kia Soul base. And the Soul +! or whatever it is has a 164 hp 2 liter, and may add a turbo or awd soon. I think the Soul looks better too. Chevy may be a bit optimistic on pricing, put some options on a Trax and you are probably at $25k.
  24. smk4565
    I think they have issued over 70 recalls this year, that is absurd.
  25. smk4565
    I thought it was the C-class and it was the 2013-14 model that isn't even on sale anymore. Ruess said they aren't going to copy anybody, but the A8, 7-series, and XJ all have 3.0 turbo or supercharged engines and the S500 hybrid has a 3.0 turbo V6. Two of those cars are aluminum body also, so Cadillac sort of is copying what has already been done. I just think they are talking the CT6 up a lot and in theory it will sound good but the reality will fall short. We shall see, maybe it will go 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, have better luxury than an Escalade and get 80 mpg. Maybe they will shock us all and make it a Tesla Model S competitor with 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds and 400 mile range. I just don't see how Cadillac will do anything that hasn't already been done by those that have been in the high end segment for 10, 20, 30 years already.
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