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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The Tesla and Fisker Karma don't sell either, very few people want to pay mega bucks for electric cars. The case for hybrids or high mileage exists more with environmentalists looking to save on transportation costs. Thus why the Prius has been a success and the Lexus attempts flopped. The A8 and 7-series have 6-cylinder power as well, that is going to be coming to all cars. The S400 doesn't make sense, the mileage is too low, the S350 Bluetec makes sense because it has 455 lb-ft and gets 31 mpg. Plus the reliability of diesel and that all appeals to the commercial use of the S-class. My guess though is the V8 crushes those in sales though, gas is cheap here. The diesel S-class is here for CAFE offset of the V12, limo market that wants reliability and high mileage and just in case gas prices rapidly go up. To me, people that pay $60k for a car, or especially $100k for a car don't want slow, they want performance, that is why all these eco-luxury cars don't sell, it is like making an hybrid V6 Corvette, no one wants that, they want a big V8.
  2. smk4565
    This won't be nearly as good as a Tesla Model S from a performance standpoint. The Model S with the best battery/motor combo has a 0-60 time of 3.9 - 4.3 seconds depending on who tested it. That's pretty fast. I am not really sure what this will compete against, there are no other cars that close to it. When you think of $50-60k 2-door sports cars you think Z4, SLK, Boxster/Cayman, even Corvette. Those cars have way more performance than a FWD Volt based car will and 3 of the 4 have good interior too. People that want high MPG usually don't care about luxury, that is why the Lexus HS250h and CT200h bombed, and I don't think I've ever seen an S400 hybrid on the road, but I see S550s every day.
  3. smk4565
    In Europe there is a short wheel base S-class that is 200 inches long; we only have the long wheelbase version here. But there is going to be an even longer version offered as well to replace Maybach. The S-class coupe replaces the CL, and the convertible idea comes from the Ocean Drive concept, which was a 4-door convertible. Should they pull off a 4-door super convertible, it could take them well over the $200,000 price point.
  4. smk4565
    Not sure about the CLA, slumming into FWD I am not a fan of, although, Audi, Lexus, Lincoln, Cadillac, Acura all do it, Mercedes should be better than that. However the A-class and CLA might bring in younger buyers that would otherwise go elsewhere, and if gives Mercedes cash cow cars a feeder system of customers. If the S-class gets a convertible, as is rumored, they will have 6 convertibles. Cadillac doesn't have any, time to get to work.
  5. smk4565
    Agreed, it looks like it is from a 90s Crown Vic or something. The top of the dash with the dual cockpit look and the leather thing above the steering wheel looks too busy. The gauges and center stack look good, but that steering wheel area is a disaster.
  6. smk4565
    Weren't the transmissions for FWD cars only? Or was there to be a rear drive version as well?
  7. smk4565
    What Cadillac really needs is a new transmission. 6-speeds are old news in the luxury market, they should have 8-10, that makes you not need huge engine for quiet highway cruise. Especially in the wake of them pulling the 6-speed manual since every car magazine bashed it. They need a new manual, might as well replace the automatic too. And the 2.0T ATS is slow, not sure if that is the transmission's fault of not, probably is. I still believe Cadillac needs their own DOHC V8, and they should have a Cadillac only turbo or supercharged V6. Audi and Jaguar both have 3.0 liter supercharged V6s, Hyundai is working on a twin turbo 3 liter V6, BMW has a twin turbo six, so it seems like the boosted 3 liter with low end torque paired with an 8-speed is the hot item for mid-range luxury cars. On the top end, you need a V8 though.
  8. smk4565
    Premium fuel and synthetic oil is no big deal for a luxury car, all the German cars require it and people keep buying them. What would you put this engine in though? CTS-V? A Cadillac flagship sedan has to register around 60 dBA at 70 mph, hard for a pushrod engine to do that. Even the Bentley Mulsanne and Brooklands with all their sound deadening run 65-67 DBA, while Rolls Royce Ghost is 63 and the Phantom is 59. The CTS-V is over 70 dba at 70 mph, too noisy to go head to head with an S-class. Bentley is dropping the pushrod also in favor of DOHC for all models. That would leave Cadillac with the engine out of a Corvette/Camaro or Charger, while every other luxury car has something else. Hard to convince the masses why Cadillac is right and 12 other car companies that people pay high premiums for are wrong.
  9. smk4565
    If names didn't matter, Camry and Accord wouldn't dominate the sales chart. Acura and Lincoln names seem too much like alphabet soup, easily lost in the shuffle. I think Cadillac is in danger of going that route, and even Lexus names make no real sense either. The only way to make those names work is use CTS or ES350, etc for 20 years so people just get used to it.
  10. smk4565
    Agreed that Series 60, 70, etc would make more sense than just using random letters. I would rather them use Eldorado, LaSalle, and Seville than the alphabet soup names. Mercedes uses its names for A-segment, B-segment, C-segment, D/E-segment classifications. S-class is for "Sonderklasse" German for Special Class. SL is for sport lightwight, and SLK sport lightweight Kurz (Kurz is Germand for short). So their names make sense aside from CLS which I think they just made up.
  11. smk4565
    I have driven the 3.6 with and without DI in the CTS, but that was before the LFX upgrade. I thought the problem with the engine was above 4,000 rpm it sounded harsh, thrashing and wheezy almost. It was like the engine was resisting higher revs and made a lot of unpleasant sounds so you would slow back down. It is a far cry from a BMW engine. In regard to the 2.0T, reviews of the ATS say that engine feels more like 230 hp than 270 hp. So you wonder if it really has 270 hp to begin with, because the 328i outruns it with ease. But BMW engines are severely under rated in horsepower. I think Cadillac needs and all new turbo 4, all new V6, all new turbo six and all new transmission. What they have isn't matching up to the Germans. Which is a shame because the car magazines love the ATS's chassis and rip it on engine and transmission.
  12. smk4565
    Looks pretty much like the same car, with the same formula. Somehow after 25 years of complaints, they will still mess up the interior so they will only sell these to the same group of 55+ year old males that are loyal to the car. The Corvette is like the Cadillac Deville of sports cars, GM is so afraid to change it because they don't want to alienate the "traditional buyer" yet sales keep dropping until one day it becomes irrelevant.
  13. smk4565
    Ugly grille, and all they did in the back was flip the tail lights upside down. Underpowered as well, I think this car is about to get left in the dust by the European big sedans. The Europeans have more fuel economy and more power to offer.
  14. smk4565
    Encore and Verano need that, and optional for the Cruze. Then Buick at least has some separation from Chevy, rather than having the same powertrain.
  15. smk4565
    Ferguson said they are looking at a flagship model, what are they still looking at or considering? All the big boys have one, if you want to play with them you need a super sedan. Another 2-seat sports car? Here comes XLR 2!
  16. smk4565
    I gas powered turbine would be even more compact. Electric cars just don't work right now, if/when the batteries and recharge abilities get better and cheaper then maybe they will catch on. But until you have electric cars that perform better than gas ones at less cost, people won't switch. People won't leave what they know for an unknown or unproven. This is why 87% of Camry buyers buy another Camry and the other 13% die off.
  17. smk4565
    It isn't so much the exterior size, but the interior room that matters. People will buy small cars, especially as big cars get more and more expensive and gas goes up. But I think the Encore doesn't have enough to justify the price. Do people really want this over a Mini or VW product that have a bit more cool factor than a Buick? Or a CR-V or Escape that have more room and power for the same price. Tough sell for Buick here I think
  18. smk4565
    Cadillac needs a lot of help in the EU. They have a mountain to climb there.
  19. smk4565
    Disappointed, but how can they not be surprised? You take a car that is smaller, less practical, less attractive, no more luxurious, and worse performing than an Altima, and charge $36,000 for it. Not surprised that it didn't sell well. I am almost surprised they were able to sell 5,000 of them. But now it gets tougher, the green freaks wanting to make a statement already bought one, so now they have to convince the general public to buy one.
  20. smk4565

    Air it out

    smk4565 replied to wildmanjoe's topic in The Lounge

    I bet the A-Team has the lead for most rolled Jeeps. That show wrecked a lot of cars too.
  21. smk4565
    You realize that most Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes and Audis have loads of low end torque. And the GM 2.4 liter and 3.6 liter engines make similar torque to the Asians, often at even higher RPM. But to your point, more gears should help to keep the engine in the sweet spot and get more out of it. The switch from 4-speed to 6 allowed for downsized engines, and the 4-cylinder replacing the V6 in many cars. I remember reading a while back that Mercedes thought 9-speed was the ideal and that 10+ was of no benefit, but of course they are making a 9-speed so that could be a biased point. I will say that the Mercedes 7-speed is the best transmission I ever experienced, so I suspect their 9-speed will be great too. Infiniti's 7-speed though is one of those gear skippers and it hunts for 6th or 7th to save fuel then throws itself down to 2 if you get on the gas, it makes for a jerky car to drive.
  22. smk4565
    4-series is dumb to me, just like Audi A5 is dumb. It should be 3-series sedan, coupe, convertible, wagon. Multiple body styles on the 3 as it is now. 6-series/Gran Coupe are niche vehicles anyway so I don't mind the use of 6 there, especially since it is more 7-series than 5-series now. Mercedes is going the opposite direction and I think for the better. C-class, E-class, S-class will all have a coupe, no more CLK or CL. Makes more sense. Much like Cadillac having CTS in 3 body styles makes sense, calling it CTS, CTC, CTW, or CTS2, CTS4, or something would be stupid.
  23. smk4565
    Bi-Turbo V6 Aluminum Body to cut weight. Oh wait, Ford already did that, but better late than never.
  24. smk4565

    Cadillac VLR

    smk4565 replied to dwightlooi's topic in Cadillac

    It is still FWD and still not what a Cadillac should be. I don't think they could get it under 3200 lbs either with the Delta II platform with the added weight of the hybrid system. Unless they use carbon fiber body panels, but then cost is way up. Should just make a diesel ATS and CTS instead because right now hybrids and electric cars suck, unless maybe the top of the line Tesla model S or the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive which has 740 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque and AWD. If Cadillac wants to build a 700 hp electric CTS-V I am on board for that.
  25. smk4565
    Maybe GM should spend some money on a new transmission then. And use bi-turbo VVT, DI, etc. No one is telling GM that they can't, shell out the money and build a new engine with all that stuff on it. We can compare the Bentley Mulsanne 6.75 liter bi-turbo pushrod V8 with the S63 AMG 5.5 liter bi-turbo DOHC V8. Bentley makes 505 hp, and 752 lb-ft put through and 8-speed transmission and gets 11/18 mpg. S63 AMG makes 564 hp and 664 lb-ft sent through a 7-speed transmission and gets 15/23 mpg. Both are similar in weight and the Bentley has an extra gear which should offset the weight advantage the S63 has. Perhaps the closest comparison is the Genesis 5.0 and the 300C because both have VVT. The Genesis is rated at 17/26, the 300C at 16/25 mpg even with cylinder deactivation. But again the Genesis has a better transmission, and the Hyundai 5.0 makes 66 more hp than the Hemi.
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