smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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I like how it is.
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I think the Mazda 6 is a looker also. Even more so I like the Mazda 3 hatchback with the LED light package, it looks quite sharp, especially for a lower priced car. I saw a white one and a bronze one, both looked sharp.
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I like the Ford better in styling, from the A-pillar back the Promaster City looks a bit like the Transit. I think the Ram looks much better than the Nissan though. I do like what they did with the engine giving it a bigger 4 and 9-speed transmission, rather than a 140 hp 2 liter and a 5 speed or something dated. I know you need fuel economy since these are usually delivery type vehicles, but it is still a work van and has to haul stuff. Surprising that none of these small vans don't offer a 1.9 liter turbo diesel, you could get 140 hp and 240 lb-ft out of an engine like that and probably low 30s mpg.
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Cadillac News: Cadillac Not Giving Up On Europe
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Cadillac
There are many issues, but Lexus and Infiniti have failed too, Acura or Lincoln haven't even tried. The market is hard to crack, you have a lot of different countries a lot of buyers loyal to what is made in their country. Here are mid-size luxury car sales for Germany, you can see the dominance of the German trio, "other" is 8.5% of sales. -
Cadillac News: Cadillac Not Giving Up On Europe
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Cadillac
Problem is Europeans don't think there is a role for something other than the three Germans, with the exception of Jaguar/Land Rover which mostly relies on the UK for sales. -
Highway? Did you leave the parking brake on? Not on highway, suburban type driving. I am sure a lot of cars can beat the EPA highway estimate if you really try to, but in everyday driving they aren't going to post a number like that. If a CLA45 is rated at 31 mpg highway I am sure people could get over 35 in it also. There is no way a 5.7 liter V8 4,000 lb car is going to get better mileage than a 2.0 liter 3400 lb car, it is simple physics.
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They have had to stop selling new Cruzes now because of faulty airbags. You'd think they would test this stuff before putting it in cars and shipping them to dealers. So it looks like the 2014 Cruze is the next on the recall list. And yes Toyota is just as guilty as GM, Toyota builds junk too, their owners are just blinded to it, because they haven't driven anything but a Toyota in the past 20 years and they don't know how good Hyundai, Kia, Mazda etc have gotten. I saw a Mazda 3 hatchback the other day and thought it looked like something BMW or Infiniti would make, it looked really sharp.
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The Taurus can run over $40,000 also, I think the Maxima is at least more exciting than a Taurus, or Avalon for that matter. I think the Impala is the most exciting from a styling standpoint, it looks good in the front.
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The E-class is the #1 selling mid-size luxury car, because all around it is the best luxury car. The diesel gets 42 mpg, better than any Jaguar, Cadillac, Infiniti, or Lexus, better than a 5-series or an A6. The E63 AMG S does 0-60 in 3.3 seconds, that makes it faster than any other 4-door on the market.
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I had a 300 rental with the Pentastar last year, it averaged like 22 mpg. Cheaply made car too.
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I noticed that the 300C now has a base V6, sort of defeats the purpose of what the "C" badge was for.
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Notice there were no Pontiacs on this list, that is because they were all about EXITEMENT!!!
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An AWD Chrysler 300C with a Hemi gets 15/23 mpg, not exactly fuel efficient.
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I too would take a CTS v-sport over a CLA, but I'd take an E-class or 2015 C400 or perhaps a Jaguar over the CTS. I'd probably take a 535d or 335d over the CLA and I don't really like BMWs that much. Doesn't make the CLA45 an awful car though, it is still fast and gets over 30 mpg.
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This needs done by segment, I will start with subcompact and move up to large car, then luxury then van, suv. Their list has some boring cars, but I don't think the Altima is as boring as others in the segment, and the Passat in SEL trim looks nice. Mainstream: Toyota Yaris and Mitsubishi Mirage (tie) Toyota Corolla Dodge Avenger Toyota Avalon and Buick Lacross (tie) Luxury: Acura ILX Lexus ES Lincoln MKS SUV or Van Honda CR-V Mitsubishi Outlander Honda Pilot Toyota Sienna Most boring car ever award goes to the Toyota Echo.
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Subaru News: Rumorpile: Subaru BRZ A One Hit Wonder?
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Subaru
The BRZ could easily be a 1 and done, because Toyota doesn't really need Subaru, especially if they plan to partner up with BMW. I'd rather partner with BMW if I were building a RWD sports car than Subaru who is famous for AWD Outback wagons. They could evolve this platform for a new GT86 and a future 2-series, or jointly develop something. Same can be said with the 3-series chassis and a Supra. Although Toyota could just build a coupe on a Lexus platform and drop a twin turbo V6 in there and make a Supra. It must be a cost savings thing, rather than Toyota and BMW each making 2-3 different rear drive platforms, they probably figure they can design 3 total and just build their own cars on it. -
Z06 claimed the CLA was competing with the Cruze, clearly it is not.
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The Cadillac brand has lacked leadership and focus for the past 10 years or so. They started on a plan in the early 2000s to dump the FWD boats and bring out the CTS, the first SRX, the STS and XLR. The idea was great, a pair of rear drive sedans to take on the Germans, a badly needed crossover giving them an SUV priced below the Escalade, and a convertible halo car. The execution was just poor. Now Cadillac is sort of back to square one, the ATS is getting crushed by the Germans and the IS350, so they missed the mark there. The CTS and XTS cost the same, similar to the failed STS-DTS strategy of 10 years ago, and they have no convertibles or sports cars. Cadillac doesn't have any hybrids or diesels either so they are missing on the "green" crowd, with the exception of the ELR which no one is buying. Lexus has loads of hybrids which can sucker people in, and it makes it seem like Lexus is cutting edge technology because they were the first luxury company doing hybrids. The Germans have a wide range of body styles and engines to hit every niche there is. You can't build a luxury brand on gas V6 powered sedans: see Acura, Lincoln and Infiniti for proof. As far as profit margin goes, it is hard to say if Cadillac is successful because GM doesn't seem to break down the numbers of where the money is made. Audi makes about $5,000 profit per car, Porsche makes a staggering $23,000 in profit per car sold which is an 18% margin. A 10% margin is what the luxury brands strive for, Mercedes actually has the lowest profit margin of the German brands, they have been between 6-7% the past few years, but they also aren't dressing up Volkswagen's like their neighbors are.
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The CLA45 is a Cruze/Focus competitor? It is faster than a CTS V-sport. Last I checked the Cruze couldn't do 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, and the CLA interior is a lot nicer than a Focus. The CLA45 is probably the only car on the market that has over 350 hp, does 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds and gets over 30 mpg. Off the top of my head I can't think of any other car that can claim that, especially not a sedan. I think $64k is too much for one, but I think $70,000 for a Tahoe is too much, and $42,000 for a Nissan Maxima is too much; there are a lot of over priced cars out there.
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Does the ELR go 0-60 in 4.2 seconds? Superior depends on what you are looking for, if you want performance, the ELR is no good. If you want a luxury car, then you aren't buying a CLA AMG when you can get an E-class for that money. I will say the Mercedes dealer charges a lot, but I think a lot of dealers do and the Mercedes dealer always gives you a free loaner car which is nice. But my car has a 13,000 mile oil change interval, there is spark plug replacement every 100,000 miles and engine coolant every 150,000 miles, and air and fuel filters are the same as any other car, transmission fluid is every 40,000 miles. Pretty standard stuff and you don't need to go to a dealer for that.
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Audi is sort of the hot brand for up and comers, but I wonder how long it will last too. BMWs seems to be being designed to fit with their customer base as it ages. 15 years ago BMW made cars for 40 year olds, now it seems they are making cars for 55 year olds to satisfy the base. Mercedes, Lexus and Cadillac always had a bit of an older person's image, Audi doesn't have that image problem, the people that bought VW's and Subarus 10 years ago are flocking to Audi. Audi has image right now, but I think their car line up top to bottom is the worst of the German trio. The cars have poor reliability, are noisy, that 2.0T idles rough and is buzzy like a lawn mower, they ride stiff, etc. Smart buyers will look past the 5 spoke wheels and LED lights and buy something else.
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So what about the Cadillac ELR? That is a $76k FWD econo car. The CLA is definitely a cut above the STi and Evo, those cars have no luxury features really and basic interiors. The CLA starts more than $10k above an Impreza, I can easily see a CLA AMG costing $50k, but at $60k I think Mercedes themselves have better options. The CLA45 does get 23/31 mpg, that is pretty good for a 355 hp car, so I do have to give it credit there. I have also seen car magazines with the 0-60 time clocked at 4.2 to 4.5 seconds, that is pretty fast. There aren't many 4 doors pulling 0-60 in the low 4's, so when you think of it that way, it isn't such a rip off. Still not a car I'd buy though, but there will be a market for it.
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The diesel should get solid mileage. The smart thing Audi is doing is making multiple body styles to broaden the appeal of the car. This is why Audi outsells Acura, Cadillac, Infiniti and Cadillac. Those brands mostly make sedans and crossovers and forget about the sports cars, especially Lincoln and Acura.
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So an Impress WRX and a Chevy Impala would be competitors? Or the ATS and Lacrosse are competitors? Obviously price is a big criteria, but size and driving characteristics of the car are nearly as important. The CLA AMG doesn't have a lot of direct competitors, but I do agree at $63k there are many better options new or used. If the CLA45 for $47k base included airmatic and the premium package standard it think it would he a good deal and if the loaded price was more like $55k I could see that. Personally I am not a CLA fan, I don't like the car much, but if an STi or Evo is $40 grand then I can sort of understand the CLA's price. Not sure also why everyone assumes Mercedes have such high repair costs when they are constantly near the top in 3rd party reliability studies. And look at resale value, a 200k mile Cadillac or Chrysler or Lincoln is worthless, I have seen 10 year old, 200k mile Mercedes selling for $12,000 or more.
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Hard to compare a 300C to a CLA, they are way different in size. That is like comparing an Impress WRX STi to a Chevy SS or Dodge Charger I doubt those are getting shopped too much. If we are talking used cars at $60k one could get a 3 year old M5 or E63.
