smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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Jaguar Teases The New F-Type Coupe: Comments
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in LA Auto Show
I think this is going to be one of the best looking cars on the market, if not the best looking car on the market.- 4 replies
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Cadillac needs a middle size SUV, but the SRX is actually 1 inch longer than an M-class and 1 inch shorter than an X5, it is sized right with them. So if they make an SUV off the CTS platform sized like an X5 they will have 2 SUVs the same size. If they make an X5 competitor then the SRX has to shrink. Maybe this is part of the problem, Cadillac wants to compete with Lexus. Lexus isn't a global luxury brand, they are an American luxury brand that lives on vehicles under $40,000. The RX sells about 7k a moth, the ES 6k a month, and the IS 3500 a month, no other Lexus topped 1,500 units last month. The GS, GX, LX are duds, always has been, the LS sells okay because it is $20k cheaper than the German rivals. Lexus is just a step above Buick, a better managed and marketed Lincoln if you will, they will never make it globally. They make it in the USA because 300,000 people a year get rid of their Camry and 20% of those people mindlessly buy a Lexus.
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LA Auto Show: AMG Turns Up The S-Class To Twelve: Comments
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in LA Auto Show
Good to see them sticking with the V12. The S63 will probably be quicker 0-60 because of awd, but I bet this thing from 100-150 pulls like a freight train. I'd like to see what happens when the speed limited is turned off. I am also more interested in seeing the Pullman. -
Yes, the CTS was going to challenge the 3-series, the STS would challenge the E-class, the SRX would take on the BMW X5, and the XLR would compete with the Mercedes SL. None of that really worked, 2 of those products are dead, the CTS stuck around and the SRX went FWD to take on the RX350 and Lincoln MKX. The ATS and CTS are now better equipped to take on the Germans, but the rest of the product line needs some work. It could be doable in 10 years, but they need to improve marketing and distribution channels while enhancing the product line. That will cost a lot of money, and I don't know if Cadillac can keep up with BMW or Mercedes in that regard.
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Imagine the CTS and ATS with a 3.0 liter twin turbo straight six with around 340 hp and 340 lb-ft instead of the 3.6 liter V6 shared with the Impala.
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They can get rid of the V since most of their products are rear drive and the A-class platform cars are FWD and 4 cylinder. A company like GM or Toyota will need to keep the V6 because their SUVs an cars like the Avalon and Impala have a V6 and an inline 6 likely wouldn't fit. BMW and Mercedes have a product line conducive to inline engines, and probably 85% of BMW and Mercedes sold here and around the world are 4 or 6 cylinder, and most of the ones in Europe are diesel. When the V8 and V12 are 15% of sales that could be done on a different architecture because they are going to charge a lot more for it anyway.
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Probably because at the time they had a lot of V8s, and they probably sold more V12s in the 90s when gas was cheaper, so having all the engines in V formation was easier. But now that gas is $8-9 a gallon in Europe and they have CAFE and Euro emissions requirements and smaller engines can make more power, they are in downsize mode. Times change, Cadillac put a V8 in everything they made back in 1995, now 2 of their cars have 4-cylinders and the only V8 is the Escalade and CTS-V.
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The V12 is going to continue on for this generation of the S-class, but it is just a revised version of the same V12 they have had for years, basically making it meet emissions standards. Maybe they will combine two of the new inline 4's, rumor is they are planning a 4.0 liter V8 for the 2016 AMG C-class, that V8 could be re-tuned for use on the S-class and GL. A twin turbo 3.0 liter V6 is supposed to replace the V8 E-class and it is likely that it replaces the V8 in the ML and CLS also. They are looking for better fuel economy, and BMW and Audi are also heavily using turbo sixes in most of their cars now. I wonder if this means an inline six turbo diesel will be coming to replace the 3.0 V6 diesel. That could be interesting.
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This would be a good move, inline sixes are smoother than V6s. They get the benefit of better refinement and it makes it easy to share the inline 4 and 6 cylinder architecture. They already announced this is the last year of the E550, their V8s are going to get limited to the GL, S and SL class and AMG cars.
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GM News: A Peek Into The Mind Of GM's North American President
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in General Motors
The Panamera is a hideous looking car, hopefully they don't copy that. Buick could probably benefit from a coupe/convertible. If they build a slightly bigger and nicer LaCrosse as the flagship, then it will just be an XTS. Trying to fill every niche sounds of old GM and that is what got them in trouble. They need to focus on making the core products great. The Malibu is a joke of a product and that is the #1 segment in the industry. A lot of the current products can be improved, which is a better use of resources rather than to make niche cars with low sales volume while ignoring key volume segments. -
63,000 F-series is amazing.
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You know America has an elderly population when the Avalon and ES350 combine for over 11,000 sales in a month.
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The Corvette is a hot item so people must like the redesign. I think there is also that want of Corvette fans to be the first to have the new one. The Malibu had to have some fleet sales, 60% gain is too much to get without Avis's help. Although 15,000 Malibus is still behind the 20-30,000 a lot of cars in that segment sell. I wonder if old Regals were discounted to get the sales up, the 2014 Regal doesn't seem any better than the 2013, or maybe it was a flukey month, because that car usually doesn't sell.
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The CLA is a hit, with little loss to the C-class, so that is a good sign for Mercedes. The C-class's losses may also be due to it being a dated model since it came out in 2008. S-class is out to a hot start, being the 7-series 3 to 1.
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Cadillac News: Rumorpile: Cadillac's Three-Row Crossover Is A Go
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Cadillac
The path to Cadillac's success is to convert as many Chevys into Cadillac's as possible. This strategy has worked very well with Lincoln and Acura. -
The 2-series looks a lot better than the 1-series which was an ugly car. Agreed that BMW styling isn't great and looks the same all the time. I think their top designs of the past 30 years or so are the late 90s 750i (which still looks good today) and the 90s 8-series coupe. The new 2-series could hit the sweet spot for BMW traditionalists however since it weighs 3240 lbs, the same as an E36 M3, and that is like the holy grail of small sport coupe/sedans.
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GM News: GM Dealers Not Pleased About Pickup Prices
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in General Motors
If they can't sell the new truck at higher prices, either they aren't good dealers or the truck isn't good enough. Probably this is just dealers crying, but I think when the 2015 F150 arrives they will have something to cry about. The F150 is said to be dropping over 700 lbs and rumor is a transmission of 8 or more gears and a new ecoboost engine are in the works. -
Because they are GM and the company motto is "that's good enough." And I agree with you about needing more punch from the start because loaded up you have some weight to move.
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Hyundai and Ford have a 1.6 liter turbo, Chevy/Buick could benefit from one I think.
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1996 Chevy Cavalier Coupe: 1999-2003 and put about 80,000 miles on it 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0: 2003-2013 and put 123,000 miles on it 2008 Mercedes E550: I have had it about a month, it has 70,000 miles on it currently Each was black also.
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They are a nice car, I only did brief test drives of them, but I imagine on a long trip that car is great on the highway. I always felt since the car came out in 2009 that the ergonomics were good, it is easy to get comfortable in in and all the controls are easy to use and understand.
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CNG is an intriguing option. There is a gas station in Pittsburgh that sells it for like $1.97 which I think is a gallon of gas equivalent. So if you are getting about the same mileage but at $2 a gallon vs $4 a gallon, CNG seems pretty appealing.
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I have a Toyota Camry Hybrid 2012 and it has the largest opening doors I have ever seen on a car; tall and wide and open real wide. It has more front seat space than my old Lucerne and it was really big. Two problems with this. 1) While it is big for many, I have tried the latest version of Camry and while roomy to a point, it is not for tall people as once I got the front seat so that I was comfortable, no one could sit behind me and I really do not like sitting partially reclined. 2) I support American jobs first before anything else and will buy from GM and Ford as long as they exist to support our country. So Toyota will always loose out. My 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid was made in Georgetown, Kentucky USA!!! I think the Camry has the highest percentage of American made parts of any car sold in the USA.
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Forbes still stated that Mercedes was best and BMW 2nd among luxury brands. But I find their study odd since they had the Cruze so high and it was the first year it was on sale, how did they have repeat buyers within it's first year of sale? Regardless, Mercedes and BMW have been 1-2 in luxury sales in the USA the past 5 or so years with Lexus in 3rd, and no one else is really closing the gap. Just look at this year, BMW, Mercedes and Audi are all up over 10%, so the Germans aren't really losing business. Lincoln is the only luxury brand that is shrinking and Acura is barely growing. Cadillac up 29% this year, but they also had no ATS or XTS for a lot of last year, so last year was a down year.
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I agree with making diesels an option on all GM vehicles. But why is an 8-speed necessary? Fuel economy and marketing. The Ram has an 8-speed and gets 25 mpg, GM's trucks don't get 25 mpg. Usually an 8-speed is going to return better fuel economy than a 6 speed. Plus it gives them marketing ability. If Hyundai and Chrysler have 8-speeds, and soon someone will have 9 or 10, GM is going to look way behind with a 6-speed.
