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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    That may be the case on Oct 1, 2014.. but once the CT6 arrives this could be completely false. Beep Beep.. who's waiting on the corner for the GROUPIE bus on its way to Stuttgart BMW, Audi and Lexus could never pass it in technology. Doesn't mean that Cadillac can't, but I think it unlikely that on their first try they succeed where the others have tried and failed for years.
  2. smk4565
    Cadillac sedan sales are in the tank again. Huge month for the Silverado. What amazes me is that the Lambdas continue to be strong sellers and most of them date back to around 2008 or so. America has such a thirst for SUVs and pickups, I think they will buy them no matter what gas costs.
  3. smk4565
    A strong month, as more 2015 C-classes hit that should keep the momentum going. Same with the GLA that is brand new and they almost sold 1,000 of them.
  4. smk4565
    No... I think they are doing everything but backing down. My real interpretation is that outside of the full 206 inch 124 Wheelbase we will see a slightly shorter at 200 inches and 120 WB car to compete more as a driver's car than the S-Class is. More like an upgraded 7series with better than S-Class technology and amenities. THEN with in a few years a CT8. I'm pumped. Because as much as I love the idea of the CT8 I would not buy one if it drove like an S-Class. Not until I'm in my 60s anyway which is 20 years away. I'd buy a 95% SClass size with 110% S-Class tech and certainly 200% better than S-Class looks No car on the planet has more technology than the S-class. If Cadillac is going for smaller, lighter and better handling with a boosted V6, they are basically copying the Jaguar XJ. I personally like the Jaguar XJ, it is a cool looking car, but it also sells worse than the big 3 Germans, the Panamera or LS460. The XJ is my second favorite of the big sedans, but to market doesn't seem to buy them.
  5. smk4565
    A sub ATS doesn't have to be FWD, it could be a RWD hot hatch or rwd 2+2 coupe with a 3rd door like a Mazda Rx-8 had. I think a small entry crossover is more important though. The ATS is already pretty cheap. There are thousands upon thousands of CR-V, Rav4 and Escape or Rogue buyers that will move to luxury mini utes one day. And that crowd is mostly clueless about car engineering after 10 years in a CR-V they'll think a Audi Q3 or Mercedes GLA is like driving a Rolls-Royce, and won't they look cool when they have an Audi or a Benz and their friend or neighbor has a Ford or Toyota, or so they will think. The C-class is now $40,000 base, so it won't overlap with the CLA, despite similar size.
  6. smk4565
    2014 MB CLAh, FWD ~ overall length: 182", MSRP: $31,605 2014 Cadillac ATS, RWD ~ overall length: 182", MSRP: $33,065 What in the World are you talking about ??? Are you suggesting another sedan, the same exact size, except FWD in order to "be in the market" ??? Or perhaps Cadillac needs to drop the price a few hundred, give it a cheap chassis & interior, and you'll sing the ATS's praise. Fact of the matter is; Cadillac was out first in this segment, with a better product getting much better reviews, and MB -instead of building the car they should of in the first place- is instead diverting funds to even cheaper, MORE downmarket models. I've never seen a more robust 'toyotafication' of a brand. First in what segment, the ATS was supposed to compete with the C-class, A4 and 3-series. The SRX is supposed to compete with the RX350 and Lincoln MKX, but now Lincoln and Lexus both have a compact SUV, so Cadillac needs a crossover that is smaller and cheaper than the SRX and they need something between the SRX and Escalade. Cadillac needs an entry level SUV more than a sedan, the GLA, X1, Q3, MKC, Lexus NX, etc, that is a quickly growing segment. Perhaps instead of a sedan below the ATS they can put a hot hatch which would appeal to euro minded buyers, without just being another sedan in the line up.
  7. smk4565
    So after years of promising an S-class competitor, they all of a sudden back down? A couple months ago a Cadillac executive also said how they were surprised the new S-class was so good. If the CT6 becomes a CLS or Gran Coupe competitor, that makes no sense. First off it doesn't look like a coupe, and the CLS and Gran Coupe are dressed up version of the E-class and 5-series. If Cadillac were to make a CLS competitor it would be a rebodied CTS with a sportier feeling interior and some extra options. I like most of dfelt's name ideas, but leave Deville on the shelf. I think Seville, Fleetwood, Eldorado are still good, they could bring back LaSalle, maybe Catera, most people probably forgot what the Catera was by this point. The crossovers would need some new names, so that is where they could tap into the concept names.
  8. smk4565
    I can't wait for the new XT4 that is going to be awesome. Sounds like a quad or jet ski. Why is the Escalade not the XT6? If alpha numeric is superior and names like Eldorado, LaSalle, and Fleetwood are no good, why is Escalade acceptable? This naming scheme makes no sense. If anything Cadillac should take a look at their most successful product of the past 15 years has a word name while their alphanumeric cars like STS, DTS, XLR bit the dust.
  9. smk4565
    Ummm Mercedes will soon have 3 Vehicle under $32.. no $30,000. What's your point again? My point is 4 of 5 Buick products are under $32k so they aren't a luxury brand. Most of Mercedes lineup is above $50k.
  10. smk4565
    De Nysschen did say something about a new engine family solely for Cadillac and not to be shared with other brands. So that may come to be and Cadillac may have twin turbo V6 and V8s that don't even exist yet. I think the CT6 will launch with an off the shelf engine though, probably by the time they redo the CTS or ATS there will be a new engine.
  11. smk4565
    Buick is not a luxury brand, they have 3 sedans under $32k or whatever a Lacrosse goes for, those are VW prices. I would argue that Cadillac can't just leave entry luxury to Buick because the old days of buy a Chevy, trade up to a Buick, trade up to a Cadillac are gone. Cadillac needs to do what is best for Cadillac and they need to think how do we get people under 40 into the brand so they come back and buy more Cadillacs for the next 30-40 years. A3/Q3 and CLA/GLA sales will have Cadillac in the compact luxury segment by 2020, they can't miss out on the entry market when they already said they would alienate the tradional Cadillac customer with the new product line.
  12. smk4565
    The R8 is like $150,000, no one expects it to sell in high volume. Cadillac does need more models, Audi is supposed to have 60 by 2020 because they count A4/S4 separate, A5 coupe and convertible are counted as two, etc. It takes lots of body style and engine choices to succeed in the luxury market, that is something Cadillac hasn't seemed willing to do. Cadillac needs convertibles, coupes, crossovers galore. The AMG C63 will be on sale before the ATS-V and the standard ATS beat the C-class to market by 2 full years. Cadillac moves too slow, people will go elsewhere if they want a coupe, convertible, wagon, compact SUV, etc.
  13. smk4565
    S-class dimensions since 1973 W116 length/width/height 210.0/73.6/56.0 (Euro market car had different bumpers so they were 199.3 inches long) W126 length/width/height 203.1/71.7/56.7 W140 length/width/height 205.1/73.4/58.5 W220 length/width/height 203.3/73.1/56.9 W221 length/width/height 205.1/73.7/58.0 W222 length/width/height 206.5/74.8/58.7 The inconsistency is out of control! Although Cadillac could take those numbers and average the 6 together for the dimensions of the CT6.
  14. smk4565
    1986 E-class length/width/height 188.2/68.5/56.3 3826 lbs 2014 E-class length/width/height 192.1/73.0/57.1 4012 lbs Less than 4 inches in length and less than an inch in height in almost 30 years. The size creep is out of control!
  15. smk4565
    Poor product planning got Cadillac 2 sedans that are at the same price point. If they did it so one could be a fleet queen to protect the CTS I can see the point. Although one could argue you could have made the XTS a Buick Park Ave and done the black car sales through Buick. Why doesn't this CTS have a coupe? Why no ATS-V yet? Poor product planning again, and Cadillac moves too slow. Probably due to financial constraints rather than ineptitude. Either way, they can only blame themselves for their product line. If Cadillac gets really aggressive and launches a massive product assault maybe they can make a dent in the luxury market, but I still question where the money comes from to do it.
  16. smk4565
    The Cavalier was junk, the Cobalt was junk, the Lumina was junk, the Lucerne of the 2006-2010 era was riding on a 90s G-body platform with a 217 hp pushrod V6 and a 4-speed auto. GM in general trashes nameplates, they did it to a lot of Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs through the 90s and 2000s which in part led to the demise of those brands. Even GMC dumped the Jimmy (which was a dumb name) then Envoy was a one and done product, Acadia replaced it. Which Envoy would be a good name for a mid-sized Buick SUV actually. BMW sold 3-series to baby boomers in the 80s, and they are selling them to baby boomers kids now. The Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have pulled off the same feat, for 30 years they have been near the top of the sales chart, they have gotten multiple generations to buy them. Mustang and Corvette have lasted 50 years I don't see them being replaced with an alphanumeric to woo in younger buyers. Cadillac needs a flagship in a bad way, I have been saying for years they should have a top end sedan and they need a halo sports car too, I have also thought for years the fastest car at GM should not be a Corvette, it should be a Cadillac. Corvette is the every man's super car, value is part of its appeal. There should be a 200 mph Cadillac supercar that is the real performance champ of GM, but the Corvette people won't allow an internal product to top the Vette, this the weak and overpriced XLR. CT6 just sounds like a weak name to me, and if this flagship is lackluster it will probably be a one and done product also. Balthazaar is always going on about Cadillac heritage and how the Eldorado Barritz was one of the most expensive cars sold in the 1950s. Cadillac was the first to have an electric starter, first to mass produce a V8, first to make a V16, they were once a proud brand. Poor management just killed it in the 80s and 90s (maybe some of the 70s), but that doesn't mean what Cadillac did from 1902-1975 needs to be buried so we can have big marketing campaign for the "all new" CT6, CT4 and CT2, only to have those products dumped for DT3, DT5, DT7 10 years later.
  17. smk4565
    Lucerne had a negative image, just like Lesabre had a negative image. Why isn't the Verano called the Skylark? Again negative image of the Skylark name because they were junk, so the marketing folk have to come up with an all new name with no baggage tied to it. GM often dumps model names so the marketing people have something "all new" to sell since "all new" is perceived as better. I just think they should do a better effort keeping products more competitive so they don't have to dump name plates. I also have a hard time believing that anything called "CT6" will restore Cadillac to greatness. I think Cadillac has marketing guys running the show and the car will have a limited engineering budget. Which has led to failed GM products of the past because they oversell and under deliver. "CT6" just isn't catchy or memorable, at least Fleetwood or Eldorado have some weight to them. It is also interesting that Cadillac is trying to bury their past as if they are ashamed of it.
  18. smk4565
    Agreed, and I think part of the problem is having marketing people run the show. We've seen the renaming with Cavalier, Cobalt, Cruze, Deville, DTS, XTS, look at the whole Buick line, in 2005 you had LeSabre, Park Ave, Century, Rendezvous, Rainer, then a few years later all those name plates were dead, Lucerne came and went. They figure they can build a mediocre car, put some flashy ads out and gets sales for a couple years before people realize the car sucks, then they start all over with a new product and repeat the process. Infiniti looks a mess right now, why is the G37 still on sale if the Q50 was supposed to replace it? And there is no brand equity in Q70 or Q80 or whatever used to be the M37, I have never heard of a car changing names mid-cycle. I can only imagine the base G37 is being pushed to fleets or low end buyers until they can get a FWD entry car based on the Mercedes CLA platform in place.
  19. smk4565
    I think the S-class has plenty special, it can steer itself for one, Audi, BMW and Cadillac are planning on introducing that technology in 2017, Mercedes had it last year. The S-class (and SL) have lasar cut windshield washer blades that dispense the washer fluid, better drag coeffcient than a Prius or a Volt, it can raise and lower the ride height, it is the only car in the world that can scan the road and adjust the suspension before it hits a bump. It has been the technological trailblazer for the past 30+ years. I can see lots of people saying asking if the CT6 is a CTS with a V6 engine. And if a CT4 comes one day, is that a 4-cylinder CTS or a CTS 4-wheel drive, because they make a CTS-4 (with the subscript 4) And why is it a CT6 if it has 4 doors and I would assume a V8 engine. And why is there an "Escalade" if word names are bad, why not call it ET6 and throw away some more model recognition. The quicker Cadillac gets back to Fleetwood, Seville, LaSalle, Eldorado, etc the better. Heck use Vizon or Ciel if they want to.
  20. smk4565
    S-class stands for Sonder-klasse in German. But they have stuck with that name for 40-50 years. Cadillac and GM in general changes names a lot. I think Cadillac should use word names like they always did. They should embrace herritage and not just be an import copy. Import buyers will buy the import anyway.
  21. smk4565
    But the chassis was already developed for the Cruze, Verano and Volt. All they did was put a new body on it and the Volt powertrain was already there. If they ripped the Volt powertrain and put a 2.0 turbo in it, GM already has that in the form of a Buick Verano which is like $30k. Ocnblu wanted an ELR body/interior and a Buick Verano powertrain, to me $40k would be a fair price for that.
  22. smk4565
    Lamborghini Hurcan, Gallardo, Diablo, Aventador, Countach, etc. Here is the thing. The S-class has been around nearly 50 years, whether it was 280SE or 560SEL, or S500, they have always advertised it as the S-class, likewise with the 3-series. That has always been their naming scheme. Acura dumped names like Legend, and Integra for RSX or RLX, just to be like Infiniti or Cadillac, Lincoln later followed. I don't get why you throw away a 30-50 year name plate like Continental or Fleetwood in favor of alpha numeric. That is like BMW changing the name of the 3-series to the BMW Cunningham just for sake of giving it a word name that means nothing. So if the sales of the CT6 are bad, in 10 years they will rename it something else because "CT6" is a "damaged" name plate and the marketing people will think give it a new name and it will sell. I am surprised Chevy hasn't renamed the Malibu the CM-4di Turbo since it is clearly the name and not the product that leads to the low sales.
  23. smk4565
    This car is like 3,650 lbs too, pretty good for packing 500 hp.
  24. smk4565
    And charge $39,995. If an ATS coupe with rear drive on Alpha chassis is around $40k, the same powertrain on a Cruze chassis is worth less. It could compete with the Audi TT.
  25. smk4565
    Lame name, as I said in another thread, they seem to care more about naming schemes than the product itself, as was the case at Infiniti. Not that Infinitis' names made any sense, over hauling it to Q50, Q60, Q70 doesn't make any sense either. Cadillac should have gone back to real names, it just seems like they are trying so hard to be like Infiniti or Audi with this CT6, CT5, CT4 plan. What is CT mean anyway, and what about the Lexus CT200? Cadillac is run by marketing guys so this is the type of stuff they care about. They will try their thing, 5 years from now de Nysschen and Ellinghaus will move on to new jobs and Cadillac will have new marketing, another new naming scheme and another renaissance coming. Compared to Mercedes who has Dr. Z, and Thomas Weber who both have PhD's in engineering running the ship, and Tobais Moers head of AMG is an engineer. All 3 have been with Daimler over 20 years. Cadillac needs engineers in power, not marking guys and bean counters.
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