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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Fiat won't look at it that way. They will see themselves as the owner of Chrysler LLC or whatever that company out of bankruptcy is called, and Fiat will call all the shots. Fiat in their minds doesn't need all these brands that are basically all in one dealership anyway, they'll trim it down and streamline it. Fiat didn't buy Chrysler to keep everything, they bought it to raid it, get Jeep which is a valuable brand, get Ram trucks because pickups = profit in the usa, and most importantly get entry into the US market for their own products. I think Fiat's plan is to dump Dodge, align Chrysler against VW and Buick since there is a bit better profit margin there than there will be batting it out on price and volume with Toyota and Hyundai, and rely on truck and SUV sales for profit in the short term, while importing more and more Fiats and Alfas to the USA because car sales in Europe are at a 20 year low. But Fiat can't beat Ford or VW in Europe and they won't beat them here either.
  2. smk4565
    The Dart could be the "all new" Chrysler 100, and they would just have to change the front and rear fascias. It is a cheap way to make a new model.
  3. smk4565
    I think Dodge is toast. The Durango is basically a longer Grand Cherokee, they could easily replace it with a Jeep, or a 3 row Chrysler SUV. The Dart could get a new grille and move to Chrysler, and the Charger is already at Chrysler and no one buys the Journey anyway. Plus there is potential to expand the Fiat brand, or to bring Alfa Romeo here. I don't really care for Fiats or Alfa's, but Fiat may be thinking there are better profit margins to be had on selling European imports, and the current Dodge cars can be merged into Chrysler and then you don't have competition among Dodge and Chrysler.
  4. smk4565
    I hope they bring it here, because then they'll do it in Jaguars, and others will do it too. You put a V6 turbo diesel and an electric motor together and you are talking over 500 lb-ft of low end torque. That is Bentley-like.
  5. smk4565
    Jaguar doesn't care about CAFE, it's a small fine (per car) and they actually itemized it added it to the sticker (really*)! When the XF first came out it had two V8 powerplants -- with or without supercharging -- that's it. It stayed that way from the 2009 through 2011 model year, although the 2010 and 2011 V8s are 5.0L vs 4.2L in the 2009 cars. 2012s actually got a face lift and the new engines but NOT the 8-speed. 2013 brought the 8-speed online. Under Tata, Jaguar has a progressive product upgrade strategy, every year brings something new instead of waiting 4~5 years for a major overhaul of the model. *I just acquired a 2010 XF Supercharged (5.0L SC w/ 470 bhp) to replace the 2005 C55 AMG... they kept the original window sticker. How do you like the Jaguar? I drove a 2009 XF, not supercharged, and it was nice but it feels cramped because of the high belt line. I think even the 09's will be out of my price range, unless it has 90k miles or something, and I don't want that. Jaguar probably doesn't care about CAFE, but they do care about getting buyers, and I think V8 and Super V8 was overkill for most people. Offering 4 and 6 cylinders gives adequate performance and fuel economy that people want, because 15/23 might turn a lot of people away too. The turbo 4 is hitting all these luxury cars because an engine like that can make 250-270 lb-ft of torque at a low rpm and with an 8 speed transmission that can get a 0-60 time under 7 seconds which is more than adequate for most. But like Cubical, I still wouldn't want one, I'd want a 6-cylinder at least.
  6. smk4565
    Lambda's are big, over 200 inches long which is gives it more length than a Tahoe and similar length to a Honda Odyssey or Chrysler minivan. They just don't have the width or height as a Tahoe, but like vans they are pretty long. I can see a lot of people not wanting something that big and GM wanting more in the midsize space, or compact suvs like the Encore. However this smells of a Trailblazer-Envoy-Rainier repeat, and GM is going back to it's product overlapping ways.
  7. smk4565
    The Jaguar XF 2.0 is $47,000, but $50,000 will get you the 340 hp supercharged V6. I don't know if these car companies are putting the 4-cylinders in for CAFE or to keep the price under $50k, or as a way to say $47k gets you the crap engine, so pay $3,000 more for the good one. Perhaps it is all of the above, but I wouldn't want a 4-banger in a mid-level luxury car even if the 8-speed tranny makes it accelerate like a V6. The only exception I can see is a diesel 4-cylinder because it has loads of torque and possibly 40 mpg, that makes it a sensible buy especially for people that do a lot of highway driving.
  8. smk4565
    The 4-cylinder 5-series will start over $50k for 2014. I wouldn't pay $50k for a 4 cylinder either (assuming I could afford $50k to begin with), but people will. If it were me, I'd want my car in this class to have at least 6 cylinders. I love V8s, but the A6 3.0 and 535i have 0-60 times around 5.2 seconds, that is quick, a V8 isn't much quicker in everyday driving and is much thirstier. I know people will fork out $50k for the BMW, the question is will they pay $46k 4-cylinder Cadillac and over $50k I assume for 320 hp V6.
  9. smk4565
    This is what I expected, pretty close to Audi A6 or Infiniti M pricing, and a little below BMW and Benz. If it sells, I wouldn't be surprised if they push the price up another $2,000 in year 2. It will be interesting to see what the sales are like, since the Lexus GS, A6 and Infiniti M aren't strong sellers in this class.
  10. smk4565
    It is a cultural thing for sure. It is marketing and product both, I get that. Vehicles GM spends money on developing and then advertises every year sell. But some cars are done a shoe string, get advertised then forgotten about and left to die. I haven't seen many Regal ads on TV lately, and they ran all the time when it first came out. VW can advertise the luxury brands in Kiplinger because that is cheap to do and it is targeted. GM has to buy ads during NBA finals, prime time sit-coms, NFL games, etc, they are buying high dollar media because they need to hit mass market eyeballs. Ford and Toyota are in the same boat, but I think Ford does a better job of keeping a fresh and well advertised line up than Chevy does.
  11. smk4565
    Mercedes and BMW advertise the low end cars because that is where the volume is, and people in the masses can afford them so they do mass advertising. You don't need to advertise a $100,000 car during a football game to get a lot of eyeballs to see it, you can put a small ad in the Wall Street Journal and the one percenters know the S-class is there anyway, you hardly have to advertise it. Mercedes and BMW have bot always done a good job of advertising the brand, with luxury goods, the brand is often more important than the actual product. If GM can keep 4 vehicles lines fresh and advertise all 4 then they should keep all 4. But if they advertise the Impala a ton this year, then for the next 5 quit and don't offer any updates and just let it get out dated, they are hurting core products to chase after niche markets. I'd rather have class leading Cruze-Malibu-Impala than making a GMC clone of a Chevy SUV to cater to a few people that want a different badge on the front of their Tahoe.
  12. smk4565
    I suppose, but they are better managing 4 brands than there were managing 8. The problem is their managing of resources, but the fewer brands or models to advertise the simpler it gets. VW doesn't advertise Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, it isn't like they need TV campaigns to sell those cars. Porsche needs little advertising too since they basically have a 4 model lineup and get lots of free press from magazines and TV shows anyway. VW mainly has to advertise VW, Skoda, Audi. GM advertises it's pickups every year of the life cycle, but most cars get forgotten about, then the sales really drop off. In the case of the Cobalt or STS/DTS, so forgotten about that they have to dump the product and release an all new one. I mean how many compacts has Chevy gone through in the time Toyota has had the Corolla nameplate. Cadillac's oldest name plate is the Escalade at 15 years, compared to the S-class at over 40 years, or the 3-series at over 30 years.
  13. smk4565
    But the Camry and Accord at the end of their life cycle were still 1-2 in sales. If you advertise a car throughout and do some updates you keep it selling. Old GM was guilty of doing a new model, advertising it a ton for a year or 2, then letting it site there for 5 years. If you didn't have to advertise 5 GMC models, they could spend those dollars on Chevy or Buick products.
  14. smk4565
    Amen to dropping the 2.5 liter. 2.0T is a good base engine. Agreed that if they ask a premium price, you have to have a premium product. As far as turbo V6's the Nissan GT-R does fine with what it has, in pretty much beats every V8 and V12 in 0-60 sprints. But I still think once BMW said the M3 would have 6 cylinders, Cadillac made it's mind on 6 cylinders. BMW decides what the market wants, and Cadillac is going for the Euro-Import buyer that BMW, Audi and Porsche already have groomed to shop a certain way. If that crowd wanted big V8s, they would buy the Corvette over the Boxter or an SRT8 Charger over an S4 or 335i, etc. Even Mercedes and Jaguar who used to love V8s are moving away from them to use more V6s.
  15. smk4565
    Problem with trying to have unique cars, is Alpha will underpin the CTS and ATS, thus the CTS becomes a bigger, more expensive ATS, and the Camaro and maybe a Buick get that chassis too. So now you have a shared platform, an 8-speed bought of ZF that everyone else had 3 years ago, and the 3.6 V6 that is in every GM product, just with turbos added. AMG has hand built engines and carbon ceramic brakes. Alpha is a great chassis, but GM seems to always default back to the parts bin, rather than developing an all new engine, all new transmission, and spending the money on all the little details that make the difference to make the car whole. You can't get the reputation the Germans have by taking shortcuts, Cadillac needs perfection, otherwise the people buying the German cars will keep on buying them. You have to give them a reason to switch, or just keep stealing sales off Lincoln, Infiniit and Acura, which works too.
  16. smk4565
    Which begs the question... do you believe that GM will be able to render a better Turbo 6 than BMW is putting in the new M3? FYI, by starting with a conventional V6 the GM engine already has some disadvantages -- not being able to use one larger turbo instead of two smaller ones for greater efficiency and responsiveness, not being able to use a sequential twin-turbo setup efficiently because the exhaust exits from both sides, etc. On the other hand, GM already has a V8 engine that is better than BMW's Turbo 6 or Turbo V8s. Better as in -- lighter, smaller, similarly powerful, no turbo lag, no less efficient and cheaper to build. To not use it in the ATS-V will be like folding a pair of aces in a poker game when the flop has no pairs and is not a flush magnet. But then, people have been known to do that... LOL GM's engine won't be better, an you mentioned many of the reasons. A straight six is going to beat a V6 in smoothness and vibration every day of the week, and the BMW inline six has been the gold standard of engines for about 30 years. Most automakers want a V6 though so they can use it in FWD cars, so Toyota, Ford, VW, GM, etc aren't going to make an inline 6, thus they are always fighting with 1 arm tied their back so to speak. I think Cadillac so wants to be like BMW and Mercedes they will copy anything they do, but really they need to be Cadillac. At the same time, I think they could put the 550 hp CTS-V engine in the ATS-V and the M3 will still outsell it and sell for a higher price simply because of the badge on the hood.
  17. smk4565
    GM still has a lot of brands and models to advertise, and it still seems like they focus on the new ones and forget the others. I'd take the money wasted on GMC Sierra advertising and send that to Buick. Double spending to advertise the Sierra and Silverado so they can compete against each other still makes no sense to me. I know GM will argue they need both, but people used to say they needed Pontiac because Pontiac buyers won't buy a Chevy now Pontiac is gone and Chevy and GM are stronger for it.
  18. smk4565
    They might as well show the ILX, TSX, TL, RLX, and RDX all the door. Close the whole brand down, no one will miss it. It does make sense to make the TL smaller, it is fairly big, if the ILX is around 180 inch length, and the RLX is 196, the TL could slot in around 190 inches long, which is very midsize. That is actually very close to how Buick has their cars sized. Still not sure why you'd buy an Acura, they are just the Japanese Lincoln, waiting for extinction.
  19. smk4565
    The ATS-V will have 6 cylinders because the M3 does. The M3 decides what the rest do, Cadillac basically copied every dimension of the last-gen 3-series when developing the ATS. BMW has the formula down, Cadillac (and the others) are trying to copy it. But the original always seems to be better.
  20. smk4565

    2014 Forte EX

    smk4565 replied to RjION's topic in The Lounge

    I think Kia is doing a lot of good cars right now and they do give you a lot of equipment for the price. Motor Trend just named the Cadenza best in class (although Car and Driver said it was 5th out of 6 in the same group of cars MT drove). I think the powertrain offered in the Forte one of the best in the segment, the Cruze has less power than a 2004 Cobalt, sot of a backwards move there. I like the Elentra and Focus a lot in this segment, but the Forte is cheaper and gives you more for the money over the Focus. I think you made a good buy.
  21. smk4565
    My guess is the ATS-V bases around $60k, they'll keep it lower than the M3 because they have to to get people to consider it. And in reality, the ATS-V should be as fast as a CTS-V in a straight line or around the Nurburring, or the M3 is going to blow it away. If the ATS-V runs like a current CTS-V, I see no problem in charging $65k for it. It is Cadillac, not Chevy, it isn't supposed to be cheap. Let's also remember that most BMW's make more power than they claim, and they get a lot of acceleration out of their cars. Car and Driver had the 335i at 4.6 seconds 0-60 and Motor Trend had 4.8 seconds. So either that engine is underrated or the drivetrain is full of smoke and mirrors and witch craft.
  22. smk4565
    So basically, no one on a board full of GM fans who like sports cars wants to buy one. If GM fans are turned off by it, the mass public probably won't even notice its existence. I see two problems. The first is the Impala looks better than the SS, the SS looks a bit more rental car than it does Super Sport. Second problem is people looking for sports cars or sport sedans aren't really looking for the big V8 sedan anymore. It is more about light weight and agile handling and turbo 4-cylinders nowadays. I think at $45k a lot of people would rather have a 3-series or ATS than a 4200 lb, 17 ft long V8 sedan that goes well in a straight line and that's it.
  23. smk4565
    The S-Type was so ugly and frumpy looking though, hard to imagine a Jaguar looking so bad but it did. I drove a Lincoln LS V8 but that V8 had Ford engine sound and the window switches reminded me of a Taurus, but it was a nice driving car. I just found a 2006 LS with 60k miles and it was only $11,900. They were always good deals on the used market. I guess the Genesis has now has replaced it as the V6/V8 near luxury sedan that is cheap used.
  24. smk4565
    Cars like this depreciate quickly though, see Genesis, Charger/300C and Pontiac G8 as examples. Probably in 3 years you'll be able to snag one for the price of a base Malibu.
  25. smk4565
    I figured once BMW announced the M3 would get a 6 cylinder, that the ATS-V would also. The CTS V-sport powertrain is my guess, but you wonder if 420 hp is enough. It will be if it can beat the M3 in the corners, but the M3 since the day it was born has won in the corners.
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