Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

smk4565

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    13,686

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

 Content Type 

Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    I wouldn't buy a Tesla either if I had $100k to spend on a car, I'd get a Mercedes or Jaguar, and probably a Mercedes if I had that kind of money. Range isn't that big a factor to me either. I've driven 300 miles in one day once in the past 3 years. I very rarely drive more than 45 minutes away from my house, if I am traveling several states away I fly. But I'd take gas over batteries any day, batteries aren't good enough. If the ELR and ATS cost the same, I'd take the ATS.
  2. smk4565
    Yes I did, but Mercedes often does small changes to styling and not big ones. The GLK needs proportions and styling changed, but maybe they will scrap the current GLK and start fresh. I think the ML and GL look fine, there is only so much you can do with an SUV.
  3. smk4565
    Tesla Model S can go up to 300 miles on a charge though, and the top line one has 0-60 times like a CTS-V. That thing is fast. The ELR is not fast, and yes it can drive 400 miles or so with gas, but then it is just a gas burning car. If you are going to burn gas, just buy an ATS and save $20,000, and the ATS has better handling and acceleration. I know GM needs to expand the models using Voltec/Delta II and that is why this car is here. But Cadillac has other needs and I'd rather seem them put the time and money into the cars they need and not low volume vanity projects.
  4. smk4565
    The Evoque looks good in both 2 door or 4 door. I'd say it is the best looking SUV on the market right now. The GLK is pretty ugly looking.
  5. smk4565
    Flops don't help Cadillac's image, the Allante and XLR hurt more than they helped. That is what I am afraid of, another one and done car that gets joked about years later. The Allante and XLR had "great styling" and "interior better than any other Cadillac" at launch as well, and they tanked. The ATS does look a bit too homely, I think they dropped the ball on styling on that car. It isn't bad, but it doesn't make you say wow either. I look forward to the next CTS, they might get that one right.
  6. smk4565
    Lame, but people will buy it because they want SUV-coupes. Just think the 2-door Blazer was about 20 years ahead of it's time, it is all the rage now.
  7. smk4565
    So Cadillac has become "acceptable" transportation and not aspirational. About the XLR being an underpowered, overpriced Corvette, one could argue that the ELR is an overpriced and underpowered ATS coupe. The ELR may have a better looking grille than the ATS, but the ATS isn't stuck with FWD proportions and overhangs. You gotta wonder if Ford can make a plug-in Fusion for about $10k more than an SEL trim car, why not just make a plug-in ATS for $55k.
  8. smk4565
    I don't like the A4-A5, 328i-428i, Q50-Q60 naming schemes. It is confusing and sort of pointless. Mercedes has got it nailed down, the C-class in sedan and coupe form, E-class in sedan and coupe, etc. It makes sense. It looks like Cadillac will continue on with ATS coupe and sedan and CTS coupe and sedan. Cadillac and Mercedes have it right, Infiniti seems like a mess right now, but I suppose they have a 20 year plan.
  9. smk4565
    The XLR had good styling and the retractable hard top, and a 320 hp V8 at the time was decent, but not great. The interior dropped the ball, and at $76k the car bombed. The ELR has good styling, but no convertible top, a weak engine, and the interior is better than the XLR, yet I don't think it is is much better than the ATS or XTS. The ELR will flop like the Allante and XLR if they price it up in that range. Just think, the ELR has the same horsepower as the Allante did 25 years ago.
  10. smk4565
    Ford is an import now? Sonata and Optima are the only imports that don't offer a V6 in their mid-size car. Camry has one, Accord has one, Altima has one, Passat has one, Mazda 6 has one, In fact, GM is arguably one of the leaders in this trend from when the Regal debuted. Perhaps they are Imported from Detroit.
  11. smk4565
    It needs reworked, but you wonder how they let such a poor car out to begin with. At any rate, I don't think adding an inch here or there in the back see or re-working the grille is going to increase sales that much. The Malibu is selling around 10k a month, the Sonata, Fusion, Altima and Accord are closer to 20k, the Camry sells over 30k a month. People just don't seem to look much at the Malibu.
  12. smk4565
    The 2014 S-class has the ability to drive itself, however Mercedes won't allow it to. The legal issues if that system fails and the car hits a pedestrian are too big. The technology of self-driving cars will arrive soon, but I suspect the legalities and liabilities of such systems is what will hold it back.
  13. smk4565
    BMW pulled the 335d, which used to cost about $43k. A 4-cylinder diesel should be cheaper than that, and I suspect the German trio will all have one here sooner rather than later. The problem with diesel, hybrid or electric in the USA is gas is still pretty cheap. If gas were $5 a gallon or $8 like it is in Europe, then diesels and electrics would have more appeal.
  14. smk4565
    Aside from the CTS-V which has best in class power anyway, what engines does the CTS have that are out of the Chevy Parts Bin? The 3.6 and 3.0 both went to Cadillac first and both have higher ratings than the same engines in the other divisions (save for Camaro). But the 3.6 V6 is all over GM, it is like the Nissan/Infiniti VQ engine. Although in time the 3.6 may be seen less and less in Chevy/Buick models as engines are downsized. But I think it would be nice if the CTS got a turbo V6 and an 8-speed transmission, since Audi and BMW have boosted engines with 8-speeds and Mercedes may introduce a bi-turbo V6.
  15. smk4565
    Your favorite Mercedes S-Class 350 bluetec, with as tested price of $113,000 ran 0-60 in 7 seconds. According to your logic, it is twice the cost of the ELR it should have done the time in half. Even the lowly Camry V6 is faster than that. Chevrolet Silverado Duramax outruns it. The S350 Bluetec gets 31 mpg, which is a lot more than any of the other big luxo sedans. Plus you can get the V8 for the same cost and that is fast. And the 2014 model can basically drive itself at speeds up to 124 mph, so that puts it in a class of 1.
  16. smk4565
    You realize that not everyone is a speed freak right? The 0-60 may be in the 8 second range but that doesn't mean the car will feel slow in normal driving. Drivers appreciate the low end torque of Voltec. The Fleetwood was also an 8 second car and few people would find that car to be slow in normal driving even today. I know everyone isn't a speed freak, that is why they should make a turbo 4 diesel for the ATS. It would probably do low 7's in 0-60 and get 40-42 mpg, and it wouldn't cost $60,000, it would be more like $40,000.
  17. smk4565
    I think the Passat CC, Volvo, Acura, the Regal, and that segment of lower volume Euro premium cars that live in the $28-35,000 class are in trouble. The CLA may not look as good as other Benzes, but it looks better than any Acura or Volvo and it has the 3-point star on the front, and that badge alone can sway buyers. Too bad it isn't rwd though.
  18. smk4565
    The Viper and Vette look a lot alike now up front. The 911 always has the same shape, but it seems to get more refined and expensive looking with each new generation (aside from the flashy GT3 trim). The 2014 Corvette has the Corvette shape, but instead of refinement or pretty styling, it just seems like they loaded it with tacky vents and scoops. I think the shape, especially around the C-pillar is better is better than the C6, but the styling is let down by some tacky bits and that rear end. What does everyone think of the interior, because it is always the #1 complaint and they never seem to fix it. I think the 2014 interior looks like it came from 1995.
  19. smk4565
    Car and Driver is estimating $60-75,000 for the ELR, 0-60 in 8.0 seconds and top speed of 100 mph. This is a 4070 lb car that is longer than the ATS sedan. The ATS is a really good car and sells about 2,500 a month, I just can't see people paying double ATS money for less car because it goes 30 miles on battery. And if it is about styling, then make the ATS look better and sell more of them. I do think though that the Gen 3 CTS could kick ass though as Cadillac is finally getting Sixteen and Cien styling cues into their cars and upping the interior quality, and that CTS should have new powertrains that aren't out of the Chevy parts bin.
  20. smk4565
    They need an ATS coupe to erase this car away. Imagine how good an ATS coupe could look with the ELR's front end. And the ATS coupe would weigh 500 lbs less, and have 100 more hp, use Alpha platform not Delta 2, and cost $10-20,000 less. They could also make an ATS 2.0 liter diesel with 200 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque that posts 40-45 mpg.
  21. smk4565
    That is just an offensive looking car with a terrible interior. I can't believe Lexus sells as many cars as they do, as the German trio and ATS are so superior to the Lexus IS and it's carry over engines that have been around for 6 years. My favorite car in this class is the C-class, but the ATS, A4 and 3-series all have appealing designs in their own way. This new IS is just ugly.
  22. smk4565
    516 lb-ft of torque, yes please!
  23. smk4565
    I don't care for the new look of Lincoln on any car, but it looks better here than on the MKS. I bet the new Escape and the MKC (which sounds like the name for a coupe) steal sales off the Edge and MKX. That euro-Focus platform just seems so much more modern and better than the Edge/MKX. So how long before the Lincoln Fiesta comes out?
  24. smk4565
    They have some good features, but this is basically the same interior look and feature set of other Cadillacs, mainly the XTS and ATS which cost less money and have over 300 hp, not 207. The Lexus Prius bombed, I just can't see this working well, even though the ELR has good styling and the Lexus hybrids have terrible styling. I do like the Sixteen-style grille on the ELR, I wish that was on the ATS. The ELR front end on a rear drive proportioned car would look good, and the ATS front end just don't pop, it is missing something.
  25. smk4565
    This car makes no sense, it isn't all that much cheaper than the 328i and it gets the same gas mileage. They should have put the 320d on sale, it would probably get around 45 mpg and much different than the 328i. This 320i is just pointless.
×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search