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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Exactly. But in CR world, if it gets good mileage it is the best vehicle. If they put a pickup bed on the back of a Prius it would be the best truck on the market because it got 40 mpg, the fact that the tow capacity is 500 lbs wouldn't be relevant. This list is laughable, the best value Luxury car is an ES300h? Low MSRP compared to other luxury cars and high mpg make it valuable? Value should be judged on what you get for the money, $40k for an Avalon with an italic "L" on the front isn't good value. Based on CR thinking the Mitsubishi Mirage has the best value of any car, it costs $12,995 and gets 44 mpg, so it must be the best car for sale on the market.
  2. smk4565
    I am surprised they still make the Land Cruiser. They should kill it off along with the FJ Cruiser. I can't see why anyone would buy this over a Range Rover or Mercedes GL.
  3. smk4565
    On a related note to the naming scheme, S500 in the rest of the world is S550 here, it doesn't really make sense. Maybe 300 should mean turbo 4, 400 could be turbo V6, 500 would be turbo v8 and 600 turbo v12. A 200 level could be a turbo 3, because moving forward and probably by 2020, everything will have a turbo and I'm sure they'll be a 3 cylinder turbo CLA or C-class in one day. Diesel engines would be 250 and 350 designation.
  4. smk4565
    I like the looks of it a lot, looks like a little S-class and that is a good thing. The interior looks fine, it seems much more modern than the current car. I give them a fail on the floating nav screen, it looks like it can get broken off if you grab it. Overall I think it has good looks, and will appeal to the current M-B buyers and bring in some new ones. The uptick in size is good since the C-class was actually smaller than the CLA, this new car will be 1 inch longer than the ATS or 3-series. The engine choices look good, the turbo 4 will have enough power for the C300 crowd that doesn't care about 0-60 time, and probably still do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds, and get over 30 mpg. The C400 engine should make it fast, possibly sub 5 second 0-60 times, and the C250 Bluetec is likely coming and that will be over 45 mpg so with the 3 engines it gives a nice variety. Airmatic being an option is a fantastic idea. I have Airmatic on my car and it is awesome. I have driven the current C-class and it rides and handles pretty well, there isn't anything bad about it, but it doesn't compare to my car with Airmatic. I am not a fan of the names, I think C250 for the turbo 4 and C350 for the turbo V6 might make more sense, except the E350 is still around and the E400 has that turbo V6, and perhaps in Europe there still is a C250 that we won't ever see there. Maybe more than anything is that it seems like 80% of C-classes are C300 so they just wanted to keep it familiar.
  5. smk4565
    The CLA is the size of a Verano though. The Regal is in an odd spot, priced like an Impala, Avalon, or Azera but not as big, and not as sporty or luxurious perhaps as an Acura, Volvo or Lincoln. The CLA though might swallow up a lot of sales in that $30-35k segment because there is no strong player there, and on brand name alone it wins.
  6. smk4565
    220 lbs, the body structure of the new C-class is 154 lbs lighter than the current model, I assume part of that weight drop would be C300 going from a V6 to a turbo 4. That would make the C300 4Matic about 3500 lbs with 24/32 mpg numbers assuming 20% gain over 20/27 that it currently gets. If they take 220 lbs off the C350 rwd then they are at 3400 lbs, which would be quite good with the turbo V6, that thing would fly. But I fear they'll put 4Matic on everything, which adds weight. I just don't think the 2.5 liter does the ATS any good. They should make the 2.0T the standard engine, the 3.6 V6 is dated is almost time to replace that with maybe a smaller turbo V6, and they need a diesel or hybrid, preferably a diesel.
  7. smk4565
    I guess it makes sense since the MKX is about $40k. If a Lincoln Fusion is $36,000, a Lincoln Escape might as well be $33,000. But with options at $37-40k it seems pricey for what you get. However, people love crossovers and will buy them.
  8. smk4565
    Agreed the 3.6 will be thirsty and overpowered soon, it is old news. Mercedes announced the C-class engines today, along with a 220 lb drop in weight and claimed 20% improvement in fuel economy. But the C300 gets weak mpg now, so 20% better than that isn't too big a deal. 2.0 turbo 4 with 235 hp, 273 lb-ft 3.0 turbo V6 with 329 hp and 354 lb-ft The 2.1 liter diesel with 200 hp and 369 lb-ft is expected to be added also.
  9. smk4565
    XTS, SRX, ELR, they have it covered.
  10. smk4565
    But is it good enough to be in a Mercedes or BMW? GM often does this "good enough" thinking or cuts corners because they think it is acceptable. But being better than previous Cadillacs isn't the goal, being better than Mercedes and BMW is the goal. I agree with Dwight, 2 versions of the 2.0T would make sense, that is what BMW is doing with the 3-series. Plus the 3-series has a diesel that if a buyer is looking for MPG as a top priority, the ATS is in trouble as the 328d and 2015 C250 Bluetec get 45 mpg. So perhaps 2.0 diesel is in order more so than two versions of a gas turbo four.
  11. smk4565
    Pretty good write up. I thought all along that the 2.5 liter doesn't belong in a Cadillac. I haven't used CUE but everyone that does says it is frustrating, they need to rethink that. I like having dedicated buttons, and not everything on a screen. If anything climate control could be all on the screen, because with automatic modes you can set a temperature and forget about it, but radio stations and volume that you might change a lot need physical buttons I think. I think the ATS interior feels more cramped than the German trio, not by much, but it just seems like there is a little more space in the German cars, especially in the back seat. New C-class next year, so it will be interesting to see what they do, and it should have a 9-speed transmission, the ATS is going to need an upgrade quickly.
  12. smk4565
    I am not a fan of the big air intake scoops in the lower bumper that almost every car company is doing now. The increase in torque should really make this car quick. Gotta wonder about the electric power steering, it seems like everything with electric leaves people wishing it was hydraulic.
  13. smk4565
    I would agree. I don't think any Mercedes hits dealerships without the premium 1 package on it, so depending on the model that will add $2-4k to the base price. Plus the CLA can easily be optioned to $40,000 and that is where most IS and ES sell, not that they are direct competitors but they are in the same price point. And Lexus has almost no sales above $50,000 the Lexus Land Cruiser bombed and the LS460 has class average sales with the lowest price in the class besides the Equus. In the "segments traditionally associated with luxury" the E-class and S-class are crushing Lexus.
  14. smk4565
    The ones I see on the road usually have an older driver, in their 70s usually. So I think there is a buyer there that likes a big softer riding car. The Lincoln or Cadillac buyer that likes full size and rear drive and either can't afford or just won't spend $80-90k on a big car will like the Equus I think. And if you had a Town Car or Fleetwood way back and like the big rwd feel, I can see them buying this instead of an XTS or MKS.
  15. smk4565
    The next GM engine to die will probably be the 3.6 V6. By 2020 I would think everything will be turbo except for your base 3 or 4 cylinder in entry level cars. Probably no one thought full size cars or Cadillacs would lose V8s, but they did. I bet the next-gen Lambdas have a turbo four under the hood, maybe a V6 option for the 2010s, but around 2020, the V6 might be as rare as a V8 is now.
  16. smk4565
    But only on the V-sport and optional on the 3.6. And not available on the turbo 4, or ATS or Escalade. Most of the luxury segment has 7 or 8 speeds, and Mercedes will have 9 on the 2015 models. Even Chrysler, Dodge and Hyundai have 8-speeds. It seems that Cadillac should have 8-speed standard across the line, if brands below can offer it.
  17. smk4565
    GTO was on sale for 3 years, and 40,800 units. G8 was on sale for 2 years and sold 38,000 units, the last 5,000 or so of those on big discounts once Pontiac was killed. The SS may last more than 2 years, but it looks like 3 is it and they won't sell 30,000 of them. This import from Australia idea isn't working.
  18. smk4565
    Why don't they make a car with good styling, instead of making their "F Sport" cars just uglier versions of their already ugly cars. Adding big smoked chrome wheels, big exhaust pipes, a rear spoiler, and big wheel arches doesn't make a sports car. It doesn't work when college kids do that to their 1997 Civic and it doesn't work on a Lexus IS either. Their performance cars aren't even fast, they have 1 car with 1 body style with over 400 hp (the LFA already sold out), compared to Mercedes where every car except CLA and GLK have a 400+ hp model, 10 cars, most of those have a 500+ hp option.
  19. smk4565
    No surprise, the GTO was short lived and not successful, the G8 was even shorter lived, and they keep going back the the same well expecting a different result? It was pretty much doomed from the start. Had they put the Impala on a rear drive platform and priced it like a Charger/300 or Genesis sedan they would have had a shot. This SS idea wasn't going to work.
  20. smk4565
    I like the Eagle Vision spot, you almost never see a Chrysler product older than 15 years on the road.
  21. smk4565
    I am sure they picked the best person for the job. Hopefully she is there for a while, as she is the 5th CEO since 2008, they could use some stability.
  22. smk4565
    Isn't there rumor that the ZR-1 was a one and done? If so I could see them making a 600 hp Z06 to fill that void. Looks like an 8-speed is finally coming too, only 8 years behind Toyota/Lexus but better late than never.
  23. smk4565
    When your rebuilding a brand and their image, I can understand the desire to have a halo car like a 2 door convertible, but I think that is a waste of money at this time and there are better options to sink R&D into for expanding models that will have a greater impact on the Cadillac line. The coupes and diesels / Hybrid power trains will be better for Cadillac than the convertible. That can be done down the road when profits are deeper. It doesn't have to be a halo convertible, but the A5, 3-series Lexus IS and Infiniti G37 have convertibles, I assume the Infiniti Q50 will spawn a convertible once the G is totally gone. Then you have the TT, SLK and Z4, and none of those are halo products. An ATS coupe and convertible makes sense. Cadillac needs and 8-speed, since the Corvette is getting one, I assume all Cadillacs will too. They need a hybrid SRX to battle Lexus, and some diesel power in the sedans. If Audi, BMW and Mercedes have 40-45 mpg sedans and Cadillac comes back with a 29 mpg CTS, that doesn't look too competitive, and they will lose the green buyer. If they don't have the R&D budget to do it all, they are in trouble because Mercedes has a big R&D budget, BMW seems to also with their green movement push, and Toyota isn't running out of money anytime soon.
  24. smk4565
    Percentages can be deceiving, Lincoln may have been up 17% but does anyone see them as a threat? When your sales are in the gutter, going up 17% isn't too hard. It is hard to see Volvo lasting much longer, that brand seems ready to die. Cadillac needs more models, they need ATS and CTS coupes, they need at least 1 convertible if not 2. The product line just isn't as diverse as the German brands. Cadillac doesn't have hybrid or diesel powertrains like Lexus or the Germans do. I think those areas need addressed to see the sales gains, because some people will buy solely on MPG, or want a coupe or convertible and Cadillac doesn't have that product yet.
  25. smk4565
    I could see Saturn or Pontiac owners going to Kia. Kia has a bit more of a sporty line than Hyundai and the Soul has that fun, quirky look to it, so they deviate from the boring mainstream cars. The Optima I am surprised doesn't sell a little more, it is a good car. The Soul shows how people love crossover type vehicles. The Cadenza doesn't sell too well, you wonder what the K900 will do.
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