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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    There aren't many American V8s left anymore. Lincoln doesn't have any, Cadillac only has the CTS-V which is much bigger and wouldn't surprise me if the new one pushes $90,000. So you have the 300C/Charger and Chevy SS which are all big cars and not really luxury cars either. Hard to compare a Mustang or Camaro to a CLA45 AMG, since it is coupe vs sedan, non-luxury vs luxury, etc. I have a German V8 though and it is fabulous. I wouldn't want a turbo 4 from any country.
  2. smk4565
    I think $64k is insane for this car, if you took out the performance seats for $3,800 (which seems like a Porsche type option and price) and if they either made the premium package or multimedia package standard, then it gets down to $57k loaded, which I could see as reasonable. I mean there are Nissan Maximas and Chevy Impalas priced over $40k, and a Chevy Tahoe can cost $70k loaded, so cars all over the place are over priced. My car has a bit of a dead zone in the pedal also, I think Mercedes just does that with a lot of cars, but it is good that they do or else my neck would be snapping back every time I hit the gas. The other thing is Mercedes when in comfort setting on the transmission start in 2nd gear so they feel even more slow off the line, but I think it is done for comfort and the buyers over age 60. On the CLA45 AMG they should include AirMatic, that would help with the suspension problem, that is an easy fix they have in house, so we'll see if they bother to do it. Personally I'd much rather have the coming C400 with the 339 hp turbo V6, and you can get Airmatic on that and an AMG appearance package and it would probably be closer to $50k.
  3. smk4565
    I think GM will lose some sales, but perhaps the 1500 level wasn't really profitable and they don't care about losing those sales. I did read how the 1500 uses the older engines and they could save money buy closing that factory or reallocating it to make something else. This is a move that will lose sales, but save money at the same time, so from a business standpoint it probably makes sense. However, more business for Ford or Nissan. I saw an S-10 the other day and those were really small trucks. The Colorado is way bigger, and GM has no van smaller than the 2500 Express now other than a Nissan badge job. Sort of sad there there isn't a minivan or small van like the Astro or a small truck like the S10, even if they used a unibody set up, possibly adapted from the Theta platform. Ford has really got GM beat on commercial vehicles right now, although Ford doesn't have a little truck either.
  4. smk4565
    Who's to say the cars being built now are any better than the 2004-2009 era stuff. I mean the 2014 CTS and ATS are on the recall list now, these were supposed to be the best GM had to offer and challenge the Germans. The 2014 Silverado had recall issues too, so have things really changed? It seems like same old, same old.
  5. smk4565
    Schremp messed up. Really 1996-2005 were the weak years at Mercedes. That era E-class was worse than the W124 it replaced and they were all about the M-class that had shaky reliability in the beginning. Mercedes in the 1980s over engineered, then management decided they over did it and backed off to save money, the Chrysler mess happened, more models, no focus, lack of quality, etc. Thankfully Dr. Z came to the rescue and they dumped Chrysler like a bad habit and got back to the core values and over engineering cars. Chrysler is again a mess, and possibly with even worse leadership this time around. The 300/Charger are getting quite dated and that is really the bulk of their car sales, the 200 and Dart aren't lighting up the sales charts, nor is the Fiat 500. I don't see how this company survives for that long because they don't have the money to keep making new platforms, engines, etc to keep all these cars fresh.
  6. smk4565
    Eventually they will run out of cars to recall.
  7. smk4565
    That could all be true, but even Maserati could die. They aren't ever going to compete with Mercedes or BMW or Audi. Maserati is really low volume. I'd think Chrysler had a better chance to stick around. Really almost any of these brands could go away and few people would care. Pontiac and Oldsmobile are gone, few people care anymore, I mean they built some fun cars in the past, but people move on and buy something else.
  8. smk4565
    They don't ever move from Focus to Fusion or from Sonic or Cruze to a Camaro or Malibu? I mostly agree with you though, I could see a lot Cruze or Focus drivers buying another of the same car, or jumping to another brand that has the hot model that year. What seems more likely is small car driver moves to a small crossover for some perceived level or luxury or safety, and they feel like they upgraded when really that CR-V is the same as the Civic they just traded in, they just paid more for it. As far as Fiat Chrysler goes, anyone that buys a Fiat and wants to trade up will probably go to Mini, Audi, Volvo, maybe Volkswagen but those are a bit boring, unlikely that they trade that Fiat on a Chrysler 200. I also don't see a Chrysler 300 driver saying they want more luxury and buying a Maserait Ghibli, they'll go get a Cadillac or Lincoln because they want a big American car. Chrysler can't really even get people to move up into other brands with their line up (excluding Jeep where you can go Patriot/Compass to Cherokee to Grand Cherokee).
  9. smk4565
    So you think Dodge, Ram and Jeep are fine, all they need to do is consolidate Fiat into Chrysler and they are good. Yet then you say they might be bankrupt in 5-7 years. That doesn't make sense. And the Chrysler went bankrupt twice in the past 30 or so years, clearly this strategy isn't working, yet they keep doing it. Part of the problem they face is Fiat has name value in Europe, where Chrysler has zero. The personalities of all these brands are so different, and the platforms that sit under Dodge-Chrysler vehicles are dated. How did MB lose? 2011, 2012, 2013 Mercedes set a company record for annual sales and net profit, and they have been in business for 125 years, pretty good to have the top 3 years since 1886 in this decade. Daimler's mistake was in buying Chrysler, but it goes to show what a mess Chrysler is and how far beyond saving they are. If Daimler couldn't save them, I don't think Fiat has any chance in doing it.
  10. smk4565
    I don't like any of these brands, they are all weak in line-up and image except for Jeep and Ferrari. The brands can somewhat co-exists because they have do few models in each brand, so the overlap isn't too bad. However, can brands with 3 vehicles really survive long term? Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep are in the same dealership at least, but their brands don't have vehicles to move up through except for Jeep. Jeep has entry level SUVs like the Compass, the Cherokee for middle and Grand Cherokee at the top. But Chrysler has no entry level car, Fiat has nothing but compact cars, Dodge has a small car and a big one and nothing in the middle, Ram has 1 pickup and a commercial van, etc. It is just an odd mish-mash of products.
  11. smk4565
    What do we want? "Diesels!" When do we want them? "Now!"
  12. smk4565
    The Corvette gets its power down, the ZR-1 seemed to just fine, but at some point you reach a bit of a limit for a rear drive road car. Unless you create a car with a ton of down force like a Formula 1 car has. That is why the 700-900 hp hyper cars are mostly AWD. Although the Koenigsegg is RWD. On a side note, I'd like to know what kind of time the Mercedes Formula 1 car sound run the ring at now, because their car is tearing up F1.
  13. smk4565
    Cars are more reliable and last longer now. Plus, cars are rather expensive also. I would imagine a lot of people can't afford to buy a new car every 5 years or so, so they hold on to them for 10 years.
  14. smk4565
    You better wait for the diesel and the 9-speed before you buy.
  15. smk4565
    Hybrids are heavy because batteries are heavy. The whole point of this car is to be light weight, if you put 500 lbs in you defeat the purpose. The base engine is fine, but this car needed a turbo yesterday, because no matter how well it might handle, there are always people that will want power, and if you don't offer a more powerful engine, they can go by a Genesis Coupe or Mustang.
  16. smk4565
    A ton of power to be sure, but you have to put it on the ground also. The McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 are truly different animals, those cars can lap the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes with ease.
  17. smk4565
    It would be a good buy I think, they really took the gloves off an pulled out all the stops. The 2008-2014 C-class basically made due with carry over engines, and the interior was a bit basic, well put together, but nothing special. The new C-class looks special inside and out.
  18. smk4565
    There is a reason SRX exists, even if it is a FWD and per your standards - SALES - it has to prove it. And GM makes FWD better than RWD saviors of the world a.k.a. GMW, Chevroletdes Benz who in turn are going FWD. In your lifetime you will see a FWD S-Class. ATS should move to Delta, CTS should move to the Malibu's epsilon platform. XTS stays on stretched Epsilon. Then Cadillac would have the same mechanical bit as the Cruze-Malibu-Impala, think of the economies of scale! ATS could get the 140 hp turbo 4 as the base engine, the Verano's turbo as the optional. CTS would get the Malibu 2.5 liter base, 2.0T for the v-sport and the CTS-V would lose the 556 hp V8 in favor of a 410 hp turbo V6. XTS continues as is. FWD equals sales and the Camry proves it, so that is what Cadillac should do.
  19. smk4565
    There will never, ever be a front wheel drive S-class. The S-class chassis isn't shared with any other car, even under the platform consolidation plans Mercedes has for 2017-2020 the S-class will continue to have it's own chassis into the next generation. They know what their customers want, and that is what they build. As I mentioned earlier a fwd SRX works because most entry-lux crossover buyers are probably moving up from a Rav4/CR-v/Equinox or CamCord. The type of people that buy a Lexus RX350 or an Acura SUV or an SRX probably prefer fwd because it is all they know and all they have ever driven. This is why the Lexus ES350 has always sold well, it is mass market entry lux, and it feels like the Camry the sheeple used to drive. Front wheel drive products over $50,000 are destined to fail, that is why the middle Cadilac SUV should be built on Alpha. The XTS sales have dropped below the CTS, because people want RWD at that price, any Volvo, Lincoln or Acura near $50k is a sales dud, the A8 is a sales dud, etc. People spending big money on a car don't want the chassis and engine from some generic family sedan.
  20. smk4565
    Maybe the Corvette and Camaro should move to FWD too. I mean if FWD is good enough for Cadillac (GM's most exclusive and highest end brand) then obviously it is good enough for the Camaro.
  21. smk4565
    Does it handle better than a CTS V-sport or 535i? And how would a 420 hp SRX handle or ride compared to a SRT Cherokee or X5 or M-class. And what if they need 500 hp since that is what BMW and Mercedes offer? You can't go against those vehicles with a front wheel drive Chevy chassis.
  22. smk4565
    The 7-series used to be about performance also, the 90s was the last time it had good styling, and back then it was a big car but a performer too. Now it is just a big heavy luxury sedan, it doesn't look good, isn't good at handling or performance, it is just a big BMW now. The 3-series is the last BMW stronghold and I think Mercedes is coming for it full force.
  23. smk4565
    I don't think Mercedes benchmarks any other car, they usually set the benchmark. Plus they tend to try to make the best all-arounder, they don't make a car that is all performance and nothing else. The new C-class will sell because it looks good, it will have Mercedes-Benz ride quality and refinement, and the typical Mercedes traits. And they have new engines to help with fuel economy and performance. I think the market is shifting a bit and the C-class will give the 3-series a serious run and possibly outsell it.
  24. smk4565
    The dowsized theta SRX could stay fwd based since the people that buy entry lux crossovers don't care and probably have driven fwd all their life anyway and are used to it. The mid-size Cadillac SUV needs to be on Alpha because they need to put over 400 hp in it. I would like to see Cadillac with a halo sports car, but I don't know if the Corvette platform is the answer. That didn't work the last time, but the XLR also just wasn't that good. It is a tough call on how to proceed there, because they can't make a mid-engine V12 sports car, they have none of that in house to pull from. A GT car would be more fitting, but would they do it better than an F-type, or Mercedes SL, or the coming AMG GT, or an Aston Martin or Maserati, etc.
  25. smk4565
    I would agree with that, except for who really cares about competing with anything Lincoln makes. They can make 2 crossovers off the Alpha platform, make the better packaged, smaller on the outside SRX (you could probably cut 4 inches in front bumper overhang), then make an M-class and X5 competitor. The CTS wheelbase has to be longer than an M-class or X5 so we know size wise it would work, and no one is driving any of the above mentioned vehicles off road. Plus you already have the CTS powertrains in place, the mid-size crossover can start with the V6 perhaps and offer the twin turbo V6 in a V-sport model. Jeep has the SRT Cherokee, the Germans have V8 and AMG/M models of their SUVs, even the Toureg has a 380 hp hybrid option. Cadillac needs some kind of high power SUV.
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