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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The Tesla Model S has far more practicality too and is in a way an intriguing prospect. But to get the good range and acceleration you need to option up to the really expensive model. I just don't see a big market for electric luxury cars, let alone luxury coupes. Usually people buy a coupe because it is a fast sports car, not because it is slow and can go 40 miles on electric. This is also the type of thing that keeps Mercedes and BMW on top, and the rest chasing. Cadillac, Lexus, Lincoln, Acura, whoever all default back to turning a Chevy/Toyota/Ford/Honda into a luxury car and it comes out half baked, because at the end of the day, that ES350 is still a Camry, the MKS still a Taurus, the ELR still a Volt, Escalade a Tahoe, etc. Mercedes and BMW are purpose built for the class on a clean slate, not modified from the parts bin.
  2. smk4565
    In this case I don't think I need to see the finished product, we've already seen the Volt. There is no way the ELR is going to be $20,000 better than an ATS.
  3. smk4565
    I agree, it is another compact slow Chevy turned Cadillac. The only difference is 2 door not 4 and the interior should be more of a step up than what the Cimarron had over the Cavalier. The ELR might have CTS-V price tag and Chevy Sonic performance. Perhaps the ELR is more Allante than Cimarron, a high price flop could be coming.
  4. smk4565
    Looks like the same front end as the Volt, but with vertical headlights rather than horizontal. My fear is it will have the same powertrain as the Volt, and we saw how Lexus bombed when putting the Prius powertrain into a CT200h or that HS250h thing (that was Camry hybrid system I think). And the Prius is a sales success, the Volt is not. Unless the ELR has a big performance or range improvement over the Volt I can't see people buying it. If they sell 20k Volts per year, how many $60k Cadillacs with the same performance and a less practical 2-door style will sell?
  5. smk4565
    Coupe and plug-ing hybrid are nice offerings. In this segment most have abandoned coupes, and I think only the Fusion is getting a plug-in hybrid. Honda looked pretty lifeless the past couple years, but I think they stepped it up with this new Accord. The masses will eat it up, just like they are buying the Camry in droves.
  6. smk4565
    Awesome fuel economy for a V6. This car looks a bit like the Hyundai Genesis from the back and the front has a bit of a VW vibe going on, but it still looks like a Honda. So even though it isn't very distinctive, it will probably be a strong seller because it will appeal to so many. Vanilla is the #1 seller after all.
  7. smk4565
    I'd take a Mercedes E350 Bluetec over this. The quicker automakers push diesel power over costly and heavy hybrid systems the better.
  8. smk4565
    Terrible, it is like they sat around a table and said, "how do we make the 3-series worse?" "add weight and make it uglier" "ah, good idea." This could do better than a 5-series GT though since younger people tend to buy the 3 and younger people may like versatility. But to me, the 3 and 5 should both be offered in sedan and wagon, no odd body styles. They make an X3 and X5 for people that want an SUV version of the 3 and 5-series.
  9. smk4565
    Diesel is the path to better fuel economy, not an overweight hybrid system tied to a 6 liter V8. When CAFE hits 54 mpg, which is only 40 or so EPA mpg, they will need the Silverado getting over 30 mpg. I see a 3 liter diesel, perhaps with an eAssist, and 8-9 speed automatic and tons on weight saving measures being what the Silverado gets. Or they make an electric version if batteries are good enough.
  10. smk4565
    But then the Regal has the same engine as a $50k Cadillac XTS. What GM has created by making Cadillac a V6 brand, is that Buick becomes a 4-cylinder brand. Wouldn't surprise me if even the Lacrosse loses the V6 in favor of a turbo four on the next redesign. I have a feeling GM is going to put eAssist on everything and just make people buy it. Cruze will get it, Equinox, Enclave, CTS, etc. GM's 2011 CAFE number was 32 mpg for cars and 23 mpg for light trucks. By 2025 they need to get to 54 mpg, get ready for a lot of eAssist fours, and no V8s.
  11. smk4565
    In a way, this could be a way to push Buick as the "green" brand and trying to compete with Toyota and their hybrids. I see Buick as a brand that wants to keep the base, but steal some baby boomers off Toyota and females off Mercury. Maybe this is a push to get the environmentalist buyer also, although the eAssist cars still get whipped by the full hybrids and Buick has no full hybrid to offer. I think the real reason though is CAFE prep. GM has the Silverado and other GMT900s as heavy drains, and are even pretty heavy in crossovers. Conversely, GM doesn't have a lot of 40 mpg cars to sell.
  12. smk4565
    This thing costs a lot. Especially when you compare to a Ford Fusion Hybrid starting at $27,200 that is rumored to get 47/47 mpg.
  13. smk4565
    Epsilon 2 cars are too heavy, and it is bad news when this car just went on sale a month or two ago and people are already wanting the new one, which is likely 6 years away. To me the 08-12 Malibu looked good in LTZ trim, but the other trim levels look like a boring rental sedan. Perhaps it is the narrowness and slab-sidedness of it, but couple that with cheap wheels and the black grille and the car looks cheap. Another thing I wonder is how good is Epsilon 2? The Malibu looks like it will finish at or near the bottom of the pack once all the comparison tests start, how much of that will be due to chassis, because this is the same chassis Cadillac is using for their top end car.
  14. smk4565
    Way too much money for a Sonic. $22k+ for 140 hp and an automatic in a subcompact? A Veloster Turbo is that price, and there are others, a Focus, or VW, etc.
  15. smk4565
    Or more likely, Kia is planning a rear drive competitor to the Volkswagen CC, but that could be a very good thing. A Kia 4-door coupe would probably have to be priced around $35k, they obviously can't price this at $80k like a CLS550, no one would buy it. But priced against Buick, Acura, the Maxima, CC, and other front drivers, a rear drive swoopy 4 door could be a hit.
  16. smk4565
    Weren't there 4 of them? Malibu, G6, Aura and 9-3 (which was heavily differentiated) and the G6 and Aura died mid-way through the current Malibu's life cycle. Epsilon 2 has Malibu, Impala, Regal, LaCrosse, XTS and very briefly a 9-5.
  17. smk4565
    I agree, we look down on taxis in this country because they are crappy Crown Vics. The view is likely different in Europe, and Mercedes are bought for longevity. In Greece, a 1976 Mercedes 240D taxi logged 2.6 million miles, before the owner traded it to the Mercedes museum in exchange for a new C-class. Mercedes has a reputation of being built to last forever, Cadillac still has some baggage of being what old people in Florida drive. WTF has longevity has to compare with perception of "baggage of being what old people drive in FL"? Do you proof before you post? I am just saying that Mercedes, whether it be here or in Europe, has a reputation for being built to last; they have a strong image. Cadillac still has some old geezer image that they were saddled with in the 80s, 90s, and even 2000s with the DTS. Most of the baby boomer generation (the ones buying luxury cars now) grew up with Cadillac and Lincoln being what their parents drove. Cadillac's average buyer is 63, Mercedes 54, BMW 50, Audi 48. So it does seem that the younger buyers go for the German cars over Cadillac. And in Europe Cadillac is a damaged or even unknown brand. That is a massive uphill battle to break into there.
  18. smk4565
    There are way too many complaints on this car already in a segment where you need to get everything right. The Camry and Accord may be boring, but they have a super loyal customer base and build quality and reliability. The masses trust those nameplates. The Sonata, Optima, Fusion and Altima are proven winners as well, and none of those six cars I just mentioned have multiple glaring flaws like the Malibu does. GM dropped the ball here, and perhaps there are too many Epsilon 2 cars and they can't manage them all.
  19. smk4565
    I agree, we look down on taxis in this country because they are crappy Crown Vics. The view is likely different in Europe, and Mercedes are bought for longevity. In Greece, a 1976 Mercedes 240D taxi logged 2.6 million miles, before the owner traded it to the Mercedes museum in exchange for a new C-class. Mercedes has a reputation of being built to last forever, Cadillac still has some baggage of being what old people in Florida drive.
  20. smk4565
    Yet Daimler set a company record with $8 billion in net profit in 2011. That is $3,791 per vehicle, compared to General Motors who made $844 per vehicle sold in 2011. GM sold 7 million more vehicles than Daimler last year, yet Daimler made more money, so those taxis must be pretty profitable. Again, the Daimler business plan works, it may not work for everyone else, but it works for them.
  21. smk4565
    I sat in one of these (display car) that was an uplevel trim, didn't look to see if it was LTZ and I did like the color selections and thought they used some nice materials. Didn't look that closely on quality or fit and finish. The lack of interior and truck space, bland driving and high price will hurt this car big time. $29,000+ gets you a Jetta or Passat TDI or Camry or Sonata hybrid that will crush the Malibu in mileage. Plus, new Accord and new Fusion about to go on sales, new Altima just came out, this segment is loaded right now.
  22. smk4565
    Mercedes (Mercedes brand cars, no Smart or Maybach or Sprinter) sold 1,261,000 cars in 2011. Only 245,000 of those were in the United States. They don't rely on any one country or region for survival, they have sales all over the world and growth sectors all over the world. As far as trucks go, their trucks are the best in Europe, the Actros wins truck of the year frequently. Mercedes past 3 years were the best in company history, at the same time, Lexus, Acura, Cadillac, and Lincoln are having some of the worst years in company history. If Mercedes business plan were so flawed, others would catch them. But as it is, the others just keep falling behind.
  23. smk4565
    They still make Lincolns?
  24. smk4565
    Because the FWD SRX is $10,000 cheaper than the rwd one. The Malibu also outsells the CTS, maybe the CTS should go FWD and get a $28,995 base price so they can get more sales.
  25. smk4565
    Mercedes makes the A and B-class for markets that request that type of vehicle. If gas were $8 per gallon here, how many V8 trucks and SUVs would be sold? In 2011 a lot of countries in Europe were over $9 per gallon, before dropping some this year. There are parts of the world where people expect 50 mpg from a family car or luxury car, that is why Mercedes builds that car.
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