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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    7 years works if you have a refresh in the middle. 7 years with no refresh does not work except maybe on niche vehicles. Look at the GMC Acadia, that went on sale in 2007, it is in its 8th model year and 2015 will make 9 model years before being replaced. Thats too long, but it hasn't seen sales go down the toilet because there was a refresh in the middle. Maybe VW can bring back the Phaeton, they can give it a 2 year life cycle because sales will be dead by that point.
  2. smk4565
    The S-class Hybrid they have been talking numbers like 70 mpg and 0-60 in 5.5 seconds so that thing could be the bomb and really unmatched in that segment. I still wonder why they don't just take the 2.1 liter diesel and add a hybrid system to that, they have it in Europe on an E-class, that would be ideal on a C-class or ML because you'd have battery power around town and diesel on the highway and could get some huge mileage numbers.
  3. smk4565
    They don't need 4 Lambdas and Cadillac doesn't need more front wheel drive vehicles so this is a smart move. I also think that big families may be a bit on the decline, people wait longer and longer to have kids and they have less of them. And if gas keeps climbing, how much demand will there be for SUVs, when there are cars that might get 10 mpg better. Even in the luxury market, once the diesels catch on and people can take a 38 mpg sedan vs a 24 mpg SUV, that is a pretty dramatic difference. We have crumbling infrastructure also, gas taxes aren't going down, they will only go up. Maybe gas stays at $4 a gallon, but what if it is $6 per gallon in 2018, how will those big SUV sales look then? What Cadillac should do is make an SUV off the Alpha platform, and if they wanted to be economical they could make a short version and a long version like Hyundai does with the Santa Fe, then you can battle with X3 and X5 with one vehicle that has 2 versions. They won't do that though because the SRX sells. The other option is to make the SRX a bit smaller and keep the price in the $35-50k range and keep it front drive like the Lexus RX, and build an Alpha SUV the size of the CTS and not make it look like a station wagon on stilts like the last time around.
  4. smk4565
    Agreed with the previous 2 posts. The price will be crazy high, and how many people want a $60-80,000 Charger or Challenger. And if you want a Dodge, get one that is 2 years old after it lost half its value. A regular Hemi still has a lot of power, granted these are heavy cars, but it has more than adequate for daily use and you could spend $20k for it. Even a 4 year old SRT I bet gets down near $25k. One problem with a car like this is the Challenger is still so heavy it still isn't going to be a sports car, on a track a dopey Boxster with 250 hp would probably beat it.
  5. smk4565
    People still buy Toyotas. Granted, their reputation has been stronger than GM's, but still, people will buy what they are used to or what they think looks good, despite recalls or bad press.
  6. smk4565
    I am surprised Volvo is still here now, I also doubt they make it to 2025. All their stuff is really dated, the S80 is based on the Ford Five Hundred platform from 2005 I think, they still use that inline six from the 90s, turbo 5's from the 90s, etc. When they bring out the Drive-E engine in 2015, it is a turbo and supercharged 4 cylinder with 300 hp. The Mustang has a turbo 4 making 300 hp so it isn't totally new stuff. If they deliver 300 hp and 35 mpg highway that is a nice combo. But no one will notice it with their weak marketing. This business of "we don't count cylinders and we can get the performance of a 6 or 8 from our Drive-E engine" is baloney. Do they realize that V8s are making 400-500 hp? There are V6s making over 400 hp. Their new Drive-E makes 302 hp max. I'd like to see the 4 cylinder Volvo S80 that outruns a CTS V-sport or E550 in a 0-60 sprint.
  7. smk4565
    The lambdas are in the recall, those are current, and the 2015 Silverado is in the recall group too. I think certain ATS models were also. It is pretty wide sweeping, so you wonder if they have really addressed the issues, or are they just focusing on the 2004-2010 stuff now, and will be doing another round next year on 2011-2014 cars.
  8. smk4565
    I don't see Ford recalling 15 million cars.
  9. smk4565
    Up to 15 million this year, that has to be a record.
  10. smk4565
    The S2000 is supposed to come back. Mini sales I don't think will do too much because the styling has been the same for 10 years. And the SUV Mini looks awful, the Clubman was a stretch as it was, then the other variants came in and they are all bad. Retro does only work for so long, Mini might need a new look. The roadster market is tiny, but if you made a cheap roadster like the Miata there would be some sales there, and the platform and engines are there already. An unrelated problem to Mini is that 10 years ago when most small cars were crap, or just boring like the Civic, the Mini had it easy and they would win on gas mileage and looks. But now the Elentra, Veloster, Focus,Fiesta, Mazda 3 etc have stepped up their games, there are several good looking cars that can get 40 mpg now. When Hyundia and Kia made crap and Chevy and Ford had the Cavalier and Escort, the Mini didn't have much to worry about. The competition got good, and Mini still builds the same car from 2003.
  11. smk4565
    A 160 hp, 3-cyldiner front wheel drive roadster sounds awesome! Oh wait, no it is about the worst idea ever. BMW more than any other luxury brand needs to be RWD because their whole mantra is "ultimate driving machine" and handling and performance. If they want to utilize the Mini platform why not build a small British roadster, since the British were the kings of the small roadster. Who says every Mini brand car has to look the same, why couldn't they mimmick styling of a Triumph or Austin Healy roadster of the 60s but with modern interpretation. That would be way better than a cheaper, crappier looking Z4 with less power and handling.
  12. smk4565
    From all the magazines I have read, they say electric power steering has killed steering feel. I haven't driven a new BMW, I have only driven the previous 2 generation 5-series that had hydraulic. Maybe BMW should not worry about the .3 mpg improvement from electric steering, and go back to the good stuff.
  13. smk4565
    And longer than a Suburban.
  14. smk4565
    $75k for an electric SRX, that wouldn't sell either.
  15. smk4565
    The Camaro has a lousy interior. People would buy this over a Camaro or Mustang for luxury and probably size and looks, and handling. The same reason people buy the A5, C-class coupe, 4-series, etc instead of buying a muscle car. Once the Camaro shifts to the Alpha chassis then the comparison gets a little closer, which is why I think the next gen Camaro will have a 4-cylinder as the base, because they can't give the Camaro a better base engine than a Cadillac on the same platform.
  16. smk4565
    I did read the next 7-series will weigh 3700 lbs due to carbon fiber usage, if they pull that off, then BMW might be back to the Ultimate Driving Machine, right now the 7-series is the bloated driving machine.
  17. smk4565
    An awful idea to build a Rolls SUV, but I am sure they will do it. To me, Rolls, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lambo, etc shouldn't build SUVs. But once Porsche did it, and Bentley seems to want one, and Maserati might, I guess Rolls wants to jump in. This is probably the reason Mercedes is working on a V12 GL600, they know these Bentley and Rolls SUVs are coming and they want to fight them off. There is a long wheel base Ranger Rover Autobiography also, they pumped up the Range Rover no doubt to fend of future competition.
  18. smk4565
    The chassis and powertrain are still Chevy/GMC with the exception of the Escalade having the 6.2 liter standard rather than optional, the center arm rests are the same, the body shape is basically the same, knobs to the left of the steering wheel for the lights are the same, shifter is the same, the dash shape is similar, but the Escalade has the Cadillac center stack and more wood and metal trim. The Escalade has a nice interior, and I'd say more worth the price than a Tahoe. The Tahoe starts under $50k, but Car and Driver tested one that was $70k, at that price, might as well get the Escalade, it is nicer.
  19. smk4565
    Another day, another recall.
  20. smk4565
    Agreed. Infiniti and Acura sales are weak, and at the bottom end of the luxury market, especially with Acura. Lexus relies on the RX and ES for the bulk of their volume, the IS, GS and LS aren't doing too much, and Lexus in the global market isn't making that big an impact.
  21. smk4565
    $5,000 isn't enough. I don't think I have ever heard of a 719 day supply, if they stop making them now it will still take 2 years to sell them off. And how big of a discount will they have to give in the spring of 2016 to sell a "new" 2014 ELR that has been on a lot for 2 years. Unless they put $20,000 off stickers on these ELRs they aren't going to sell. This car makes the XLR look like a sales success, and I think we all saw it coming except for GM.
  22. smk4565
    MB is pretty much what they always were. Since the beginning they have been about engineering, the S, E and SL class have basically used the same formula for 40 years with success, the C-class keeps getting better. Mercedes hasn't left what they were. Cadillac did drop quality in the 70s and 80s and lost their way, BMW still puts driving dynamics first, but they are losing focus, they could still recover quickly, but they could go the wrong way also.
  23. smk4565
    I think the per mile tax is a fairly good idea. Because a Prius weighs more than a Corvette, so if it is about road damage and wear and tear, why should the Prius driver pay 1/2 or 1/3 as much in tax as a Corvette driver? And what happens the day 50% of the cars are hybrid or electric, should 50% of drivers not pay to fund the roads they are driving on? It has to change eventually, it is possible that in 2050 that a gasoline engine is only 10% of cars, so you can't fund roads with a per gallon tax forever. They could do a hybrid tax system for now. For example, Pennsylvania has a 41 cent tax per gallon of gas, what if they dropped it to 20 cents per gallon but added a per mile tax that you paid when you registered your vehicle every year? Then you have 2 revenue streams, and can still get revenue from the EVs. You can't just keep upping the tax on gasoline because it will motivate people to move away from gasoline and switch to an alternative.
  24. smk4565
    The current 3-series is taller and wider than an E34 5-series, the E34 is 3 inches longer, weight is about the same. But the E34 was a bit small to be a mid-size car. I think the E39 was the gold standard, I don't know why they keep moving away from it. In fact instead of making these pointless Gran Turismo body styles and 4-door coupes that don't look like a coupe (at least the CC and CLS look good), BMW should remake E39 Chassis cars with a modern interior.
  25. smk4565
    The coupe I mean is the send off. They will sell those in the fall, and I suspect it won't be until spring 2015 before the CTS-V sedan goes on sale.
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