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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    63,000 F-series is amazing.
  2. smk4565
    You know America has an elderly population when the Avalon and ES350 combine for over 11,000 sales in a month.
  3. smk4565
    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.
  4. smk4565
    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.
  5. smk4565
    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.
  6. smk4565
    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.
  7. smk4565
    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.
  8. smk4565
    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.
  9. smk4565
    Hyundai and Ford have a 1.6 liter turbo, Chevy/Buick could benefit from one I think.
  10. smk4565
    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.
  11. smk4565
    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.
  12. smk4565
    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.
  13. smk4565

    HEAD STOPPER

    smk4565 replied to Lucerne06's topic in Buick

    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.
  14. smk4565
    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.
  15. smk4565
    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.
  16. smk4565
    They need some diesels. Also an 8-speed transmission, others had them 5-6 years ago, GM is behind here.
  17. smk4565
    Or equally as crazy as a $96K VW Tuareg TDI sorry, Porsche Cayenne Diesel. A Toureg TDI is $51,000 base price, the Cayenne TDI is $56,600 base price, they are pretty close actually. It is the GTS and Turbo Cayennes that are really expensive.
  18. smk4565
    BMW's retention is pretty good, JD Power (2012 study) had them at 59% owner retention which is the best of any luxury brand, Mercedes is 2nd place at 57% and only the only other luxury brands to crack 50% are Lexus and Cadillac. So BMW drivers aren't fleeing the brand. I think the trade up thing doesn't apply as much to a luxury brand, as it may from a Focus to Fusion or Civic to Accord. I would suspect a lot of 3-series drivers buy another 3-series because they like the nimble handling and don't want a big car. Also think of how the 3-series has grown in size from the 1980s to today, every generation adds a couple inches in length, a bit more width, a bit more weight. The car is evolving with the owner base (getting a bit softer as some would criticize), and the 5-series has gotten bigger too. Despite the ATS and a revised Lexus IS, the 3-series is still up 29%, the X3 is down because the X1 took sales from it. 5-series is down probably because there is a new E-class that sells big, but they still sold 4,800 5-series that is still quite good when you consider the rival Audi or Lexus product is more like 1,500 per month.
  19. smk4565
    It better have a profit margin, it is $76k for a Chevy Volt with Cue and a wood and leather package. They might as well put a $55k Cruze diesel with a Cadillac logo on front on sale too if GM is looking for low volume, high profit. Because a $76k Volt is equally as crazy as a $55k Cadillac Cruze diesel.
  20. smk4565
    Why is it ok for Audi to build their sports car, the TT, off a VW platform? It is all about intent. The ELR is not intended to be a sports car, ever. For the vehicle it is intended to be, the Delta platform is quite capable. You forget that the Cobalt SS was beating BMWs around the 'Ring when it first came out. That platform, a full revision behind today's version, was able to handle the job.. I see no reason why it couldn't handle the job of a E-REV at Cadillac as long as all the touchy feely bits have been upgraded accordingly...and they have. The Audi TT isn't very good and doesn't sell very well either. It also costs $40,000, not $75,000. You can get away with a $20,000 or $25,000 car chassis on a $40,000 car because everyone does it. Every Acura and Lincoln, the Lexus ES350, Buicks, the Cadillac XTS even, it is pretty common place to take family sedan underpinnings and make an entry-lux model because buyers at that price point aren't looking for performance and luxury. I am aware that the ELR isn't supposed to be sporty, but it is mechanically a Volt, they can tweak it but it isn't going to drive all that different. So you are then asking people to pay $76,000 for a 2 seat car with Hyundai Elantra level performance, the interior on the ELR better be Rolls Royce worthy or the price tag doesn't match up. To be $76,000, this should be the best Cadillac they make, and it is probably the worse, how is this ELR $40,000 better than an ATS or $30,000 better than a CTS?
  21. smk4565
    Not only that, but they tried it back in 07 on the Saturn Aura, the eAssist thing just isn't catching on. But GM likes to repeat mistakes.
  22. smk4565
    If the platform doesn't matter, why not build the Corvette of a Cruze platform and charge $75,000 for it. If they built a Corvette of a lower GM platform or put a combo 4-cylinder/electric motor in it there would be outrage in the streets. Even talk of a turbo V6 Corvette was sacrilege. Yet if Cadillac makes their most expensive car a 2-seat sports car based off a Chevy costing less than half as much, it is okay. Maybe Cadillac should charge $150,000 for the new Escalade while they are at it.
  23. smk4565
    New S-classes are going for $10K above sticker around here. But you're right, as the vehicle ages, discounts become commonplace. I would imagine so. Mercedes never really discounted the S-class, even in it's 7th model year of the previous generation, the manufacturer incentives were pretty low. Dealers may discount, but dealers discount every car. This ELR won't sell, it is nearing Porsche 911 money and it ain't gonna perform like a 911.
  24. smk4565
    Exactly. Or $20,000 more than a Corvette Stingray or $25,000 more than a loaded ATS. If the ELR has an options list it will be over $80,000!
  25. smk4565
    Scott is right about the tax, if you tax diesel and gas the same, then the price of diesel and premium should be the same, and all these German cars run on premium so it makes the cost per gallon the same at that point, and the 30% mpg gain for diesel gives it a huge win. Also with more demand, maybe supply is upped, no reason diesel couldn't end up cheaper than 87 octane in the future, again taxes could play a role there. I think diesel is the near future, BMW is running ads like crazy too, when people see 400lb ft of torque and 40 or 45 mpg, they are going to want that. And I still believe whatever Mercedes, BMW and Audi do becomes the hot thing, and everyone else will copy it. When Audi had Quattro and Mercedes 4Matic, suddenly every Lexus and Infiniti, then Cadillac and Jaguar started doing all wheel drive.
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