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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The plus side to doing this is they should learn a lot about what European buyers want and what these prospective buyers like or don't like about the cars. Without a solid dealer network and sales and service channel through Europe it is going to be hard to sell cars. Plus European luxury cars are half diesel, the 2.0 turbo is too thirsty compared to 50 mpg A4's and 3-series sold in Europe. Gas prices range from $8-9.20 per gallon in Europe with diesel ranging $7-9 per gallon. With prices like that you have to have high mileage options, Cadillac doesn't have that.
  2. smk4565
    Only $60,000 base price, which isn't bad for that kind of power. Pretty cheap actually.
  3. smk4565
    I look forward to seeing what they come up with. Jaguar has some awesome products, the F-type looks stunning, even the XK which they are discontinuing still looks good. Jaguar looks at a more affordable price point is a good thing. I would think the engines are basically the 2.0T and 3.0 V6 that the XF uses now. Jaguar has direct injection and turbo and superchargers now, so I wonder how much is new, versus just doing an update of what is already there.
  4. smk4565
    They look pretty dopey, clearly trying to mimic Fiat. The multiple color options is cool and should appeal to the young, urban buyer. Overall it still looks pretty ugly. The gas mileage better be awesome, because on the old one it wasn't all that fantastic. The good news here is since it is rear engine and rear drive it should handle exactly like a Porsche 911.
  5. smk4565
    I do think GM has a lot of SUVs, that is why I don't think the GMC brand should exist since they are all Chevy clones. You could give Buick and Cadillac each 3 SUVs (not clones) and Chevy has SUVs and you don't need GMC. I would also argue if it isn't a global brand, they don't need it. But I know GM won't cut GMC. There could be an argument made that Cadillac should just keep 2 SUVs in order to put more R&D dollars into the ATS and CTS, because as long as you have to make Buick and GMC SUVs, they only have so many dollars to spread around. But the SRX is pretty comparable to the RX350 and MKX, and Lincoln and Lexus both saw the need for a smaller crossover. Granted Lincoln has one foot in the grave too and could just be desperate. On the image and buyer preference issues, Audi seems to be the hot brand among younger and newer luxury buyers. But Audi also relies on the A3, A4 and Q5, their bigger cars don't sell. The CLA proves that Mercedes buyers aren't just after a badge, because they aren't buying it, and the E-class has been the best selling Mercedes. If they just wanted a badge, they wouldn't skip over the 2 cheaper models and go for the more expensive one. BMW is pretty strong up and down the lineup in sales, despite them watering down steering feel and driving dynamics. Consumers don't seem to care.
  6. smk4565
    I'd take the Range Rover against anything off road. It has a lot of technology like the terrain recognition and traction and stability control, and the hill decent thing, etc. The Wrangler doesn't have the high tech goodies or the power of a Range Rover. I'd put the Grand Cherokee and Wrangler just behind the Range Rover, and you have to put the G-wagen in there too. I've seen Top Gear (the real version) put the Range Rover through a lot of stuff and it always is impressive. When you look at a Durango, it seems as big as a Tahoe, I wonder how the two compare. Body on frame is sort of old news, so which is the better driver, the Durango or Tahoe, and I am talking on road, because I doubt many Tahoes are going off road.
  7. smk4565
    Some people don't like big cars, my mom thinks my E-class is too large and it is smaller than the new CTS. I'd imagine the sort that buy Mini Cooper, Golf GTI, Jetta, Prius Impreza, etc see the ATS as almost too big. Those cars I mentioned are in the 175-180 inch length area. Spend 10 years in one of those cars and no way would they go to a large mid-size like a CTS. That is where the Audi A3 and BMW 1 or 2 series come in. Urban buyers like small cars. The SRX isn't small either, it is a foot longer than a Mercedes GLK, 8 inches longer than a Lexus NX200, 7 inches longer than a BMW X3. The SRX is just on a dopey platform that doesn't utilize space well. The CTS has gotten big too, at 195.5 inches long, it is just 2 shy of a Chrysler 300. I think Cadillac should have a small, medium, large SUV line up, the SRX is covering 2 segments, it needs to pick small or medium, and then they can release a 3rd SUV. They should use Alpha, but they could make their small and medium crossovers FWD, crossover buyers won't care.
  8. smk4565
    The diesel makes the most sense because the GL has one, as does the Grand Cherokee if you want to call that an Escalade competitor. The diesel could give the Escalade a fuel economy bump that is sorely needs, and for the fleet or limo type Escalade buyers it could be a popular option for operating cost and durability. The twin turbo V6 is a tough call because it basically has the same power as the engine they already have. Unless the fuel economy and refinement are better, then there isn't really a point to offering the TT V6, why have two 420 hp engines. As for a V-sport model they might as well leave that on the shelf, you can't make a body on frame SUV as big as the Escalade handle half decent, so why put 500+ hp in it, it is pointless really. And yes the G63 AMG is body on frame with a big engine, but they sell so few globally, and the G-wagen is like SRX size, maybe smaller, it is only about 186 inches long.
  9. smk4565
    I would pretty much agree with Reg, a lot of people just don't like the Cadillac image. My mom is 60 and mention a Cadillac and the response is "ewww, I hate them, they are for geezers" because she remembers her grandparents getting a new Cadillac every other year, my great grand parents bought over 20 Cadillacs, all land barges of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. They could sell Cadillacs at half price and she still wouldn't consider one just because of the negative image she has formed of them. I think a lot of 20 somethings are probably the same way, they see Audi as cool and hip, and Cadillac as grandpa's car. And Cadillacs are big, some people don't want a mid size car even, they only want small or compact. The SUV line up I would propose is make the SRX smaller on the outside, same on the inside and keep the base price at $35k. It could be FWD because the mindless crossover buyer likes that, Acura, Lincoln and Lexus get sales on FWD crossovers because those Rav4 and CR-V and Ford Escape buyers have to go someplace when they trade up, and they are clueless to why RWD is better. The middle SUV should be on Alpha, more like the CTS in size and price, 3.6 V6 base and twin turbo V6 optional (or whatever engines the CTS has at that time), this would be more in the $50-65k range like an X5 or ML350. Escalade will stay as it is, the Tahoe is already there so it is easy to do. Rumor is they are thinking of a turbo V6 or diesel V6 since the Navigator has a turbo V6 and the Mercedes GL has a diesel. Other than powertrain or trim changes, the Escalade formula works for now. Probably one day body on frame SUVs will die, just as body on frame cars died and body on frame mid-size SUVs died, but for now they are still holding on.
  10. smk4565
    Based on what I can find searching the internet, MB has only 2 SUV platforms. Their military version mad consumer overpriced dino G-Class and the 4 model family GLA, GLK, GL and M-class suv. How is this any different than Cadillac with their 2 SUV platforms? They have their Escalade, Escalade ESV and SRX. I expect a second model off the SRX line but with Buick, Cadillac does not need to have a model in compact, Mid class and Full size. More then enough with what they have. Mercedes does have 2 SUV platforms but they have more than 2 SUVs. The GLA is on the A-class platform, the GLK is built on the C-class platform. The ML and GL share a platform but in different size similar to ATS and CTS on Alpha, and the G-wagen is their 2nd SUV only platform. So 2 of Mercedes SUVs are built on car platforms. I'd like to see Cadillac build an SUV off Alpha, maybe to slot in between the SRX and Escalade and they can help them keep the price of the SRX down to keep it in the entry-lux suv sweet spot.
  11. smk4565
    I imagine there will be a 3rd Cadillac SUV somehow, GM loves SUVs, they can't let Cadillac have only 2 when Mercedes has 5 of them, granted the GLA will probably be a slow seller and the G-wagen is a niche product.
  12. smk4565
    I think they will do a Cadillac Encore. The Cruze is as big as an ATS, so no sense in making a Cadillac out of that, I doubt they do a Spark or Sonic sized Cadillac, but I can see them doing an SUV smaller than the SRX.
  13. smk4565
    Diesel fuel is cheaper than premium gas around here. That is a good sign for those that want a diesel. A friend of mine has a diesel BMW 535, he gets about 31 mpg average in mixed driving, mostly commuting into the city or driving in the suburbs, about 38 on the highway. So there is a pay off, he had an older 535i gas and got like 21 mpg in that.
  14. smk4565
    Over $50k for a Durango seems like a lot, I'd think an Explorer or Lambda (though dated now) is a better value. $30k for the van with the same engine and basically same people carrying ability seems like the deal, but people don't like vans. Personally I don't see much difference between a van and a crossover, it is still a tall box on wheels and doesn't handle like a car.
  15. smk4565
    Nissan has huge economies of scale too, it isn't like Infiniti was a little independent. But Ghosn may have killed any flagship ideas, it is a surprise they got the GT-R out because he is probably the tightest bean counter of them all. Infiniti probably couldn't build a business case for anything above the M37/M56 so they just gave it a new name to make people think they made a new high end car.
  16. smk4565
    Audi did well when he was there, he didn't do much of anything for Infiniti, but Infiniti has limited resources also. This guy did once call the Volt a "car for idoits" because no one would pay double the price for what is basically a Corolla competitor, so I wonder what he thinks of the ELR? The good news is this guy may shelf the ELR and XTS and push for a flagship sedan because he wanted Infiniti to get a flagship and/or halo models, but I think the bean counters had other ideas.
  17. smk4565
    $10,000 off a $100,000 car is the same as $2,000 off a $20,000 car. Silverado has $4500 off this month, that is more than 10% of the MSRP. The S-class is the most profitable car Mercedes makes, and it sells better than any competitor. There is really no problem with it. Mercedes-Benz passenger car division makes more profit than all of General Motors. Where is all the profit from GMC truck and Cadillac? New grille and badge isn't going to save them, they need new marketing and better cars.
  18. smk4565
    I found that currently Mercedes has about $2,800 in incentives per car and BMW $3,100. GM is offering about $3700 per car in July but they have $4500 on Silverado so that pushes the average. Cadillac and Audi I couldn't find a breakdown from the parent company it gets lumped in with GM and VW. I think if it were as simple to give $1500 cash back plus 0% finance on all Cadillacs and get BMW sales numbers GM would have done that. The problem is deeper, it is brand image and the product.
  19. smk4565
    Can't wait for the new C30, C50, and C70,sedans and CX40 and CX80 SUVs!
  20. smk4565
    I haven't driven a CLA, sat it one at the auto show and wasn't impressed. The Mercedes build quality is there in that everything fits together tightly, but the materials aren't what you'd expect in a Benz. The A3 sells because younger people like Audi's and people trading in their Jetta probably like the A3. Mercedes buyers want an E-class with tank like feel and legendary ride quality. The CLA doesn't seem to be competing or taking sales from other Mercedes though, so if nothing else, the CLA kept another 1600 people a month from buying an A3 or Acura ILX.
  21. smk4565
    Dwight nailed it. Lincoln does that black plastic touch button thing too, I will take real buttons any day. GM's incentive spend is $3,376 per car, highest of the biggest 8 automakers, the industry average is $2,450. January 2014 was the newest I could find, but GM was spending $3,600 per car in incentives in 2012 also. http://www.ibtimes.com/here-are-january-2014-big-8-us-auto-sales-numbers-gm-ford-chrysler-toyota-honda-nissan-kiahyundai So the deals and incentives are there, the Cadillac sales problem is half product, half brand image in my mind. Both are hard to fix.
  22. smk4565
    GM discounts as much as anyone. Cadillac can't match BMW leases though because Cadillacs depreciate too quickly. Cadillac can offer free maintenance or cheap leases, if that is all it takes to sell cars but I think the problem is in the product and not the lease payment.
  23. smk4565
    Audi is doing well because of the A3 but those younger buyers are key to get if they can get repeat business. The Lexus IS sales are up 118% this year, I would say they are surging. The 3-series is up 5% but by far the best seller in the class beating the C-class 2 to 1 right now. The ATS is down 22%. Buyers are looking elsewhere, if badge is what is hurting Cadillac then they need a flagship sedan and a mid engine supercar or something to build image.
  24. smk4565
    The 335 twin turbo six gets better gas milage than the ATS 2.0T. The ATS needs new engines and transmissions not a new logo on the front. Audi and Lexus are starting to surge in this segment too, the ATS needs more help than it got, but maybe that is coming next year.
  25. smk4565
    If the ATS is so good why is it the 5th best selling car in the class? The car is a dud, the XTS is becoming a dud also, as it gets older on market it will become damaged goods like the DTS.
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