smk4565

This is like some unholy alliance. This could either end up terrible, but sadly I fear it could work. Engine sharing for Mini and Toyota is a no brainer, especially for diesels, BMW with their turbo 4 or turbo six bolted to the Toyota hybrid drive could be interesting. Toyota has zero sports car ability right now, with some BMW knowledge and Toyota's deep pockets they could come up with something.

It is good that they highlight CUE, it is all this car has to highlight, but I don't think the typical Cadillac buyer is of the iPad generation. And I know Cadillac wants to get the iPad generation into their showrooms, but I don't think these ads will do it. So they still need to draw in the loyalists, which these ads don't do as much. Interesting how they mention the E-class in the first ad, is that the XTS's main competition? And the E-class has a laundry list of things the XTS doesn't.

2nd gen Lexus SC went there then went away. Yes, but poor execution, and much cheaper than an SL. It was almost more placed against the CLK500 of the day. The big sedan market is loaded, not with just the traditional Germans and the XJ, but Maserati, Porsche and even Aston Martin now (albeit a higher price). If Infiniti wants a halo they probably do need to go the sports car route, and hope they don't end up with an SC430 or XLR.

Well, you've got a few things wrong here. The 172 ft-lb is from the gas engine alone, the electric part rounds it up to 200 ft-lb total and it isn't a standard automatic. Toyota hybrid drive is a CVT, so no hunting at all. I meant in the LaCrosse eAssist. That has less power than the Avalon and even more weight. Both are snooze mobiles to me.

They, like Cadillac, realize that having small and mid-size luxury sedans, a small crossover and a luxury SUV based off a pickup isn't enough. The G37 and M37/M56 are good products, but Infiniti just doesn't have a full enough line, or the halo vehicle at the top. Normally I'd say they need a big sedan, but they tried that and failed. Since they are more of a performance brand, I could see a halo sports car, why there isn't some form of a GT-R, even if tuned down to 450 hp and suspension set a little softer, they could have a grand touring coupe like a Jag XK or Maserati Gran Turismo.

Can't be any worse than 172 lb-ft pulling a 3800+ lb car with a 6-speed that wants to hunt for 6th gear. Bottom line is most of these LaCrosse or Avalon hybrid buyers like a numb car. The Avalon hybrid does have that 40/39 mpg rating going for it, they will get sales just on that. The MKZ is a good example, they sell almost half hybrid, Lincoln buyers don't care about speed either. The Taurus ecoboost gets 32 mpg so that is pretty good, and the V6 Taurus has 288 hp and 29 mpg but that is still a heavy car. Not that I'd ever even bother with test driving an Avalon, I will say it is a very mass efficient car. The domestic full sizers have a lot of weight in them, maybe you can give Chrysler a pass on the 300 since it is wider and rear drive, but the Taurus is practically SUV weight.

The V6 may not be the most powerful but 31 mpg is a solid number. That is 2 better than the Azera and 4 better than the LaCrosse. The 40 mpg hybrid is going to stand out because only the LaCrosse has an electric assist in some way, and that gives up about 15 mpg on the city rating. And the Maxima and Taurus don't offer anything. One thing that is impressive is the Avalon V6 is only 36 lbs more than an ATS V6. They kept that car under 3500 lbs while a V6 LaCrosse is over 4,000.

The Regal could sell better with no Verano there, but I for years have thought Buick needs a small car because no one makes a small luxury car. All the small premiums are like the Golf GTI, Mini Cooper, Volvo C30, etc that place the emphasis on sporty driving. I actually wish the Verano had less Cruze to the interior and were a bit nicer. The exposed cup holders, short armrest and shifter are more economy car than luxury car. I wonder how much staying power the Regal has, the interior isn't that impressive to me, the seats and everything you touch is hard. It is pretty well made, so I don't think it is a bad interior, it just doesn't wow me in any way. The Regal has weak engines also, it is outpowered by the Sonatas and Camrys of the world so I don't see how they are making the sport sedan claim. The Regal just seems like a car that can quickly get dated and forgotten once the newness wears off.

Costs too much, that is basically SRX money. And the problem with Denali vehicles is the interiors aren't all that different than the base model. They add some wood trim and stitching on the leather. To me the Terrain Denali interior is no better than a Verano or Malibu LTZ which are nearly $10k less.

I'm sure it is taking Regal sales, but I don't think Regal sales were going to be great anyway. The Regal is supposed to be a sporty Buick and have a firm German ride, something Buick owners don't want. The Verano, LaCrosse and Enclave fit the Buick image and are more for quiet and comfort with burled wood trim and soft seats.

I had a G37 rental for several days last year, and I've driven the CTS 3.6. The G37 is much quicker and it corners better too, but the transmission is really jerky and either wants to be in 1st, 2nd or 7th (conversely the Mercedes I drove with a 7-speed is the best transmission i ever experienced). The G37's ride is okay, CTS is a bit softer and smoother, and the CTS has more features. I would take a CTS over a G37, the G37 is too rough around the edges and a terrible transmission, and that is what makes BMW so good, they give you the performance without the roughness. Cadillac's average buyer is 57, BMW and Audi are around 48. To me, Cadillac still has an old person image that they need to shake, and they need to get younger people in the door, the ATS hopefully can. They need a flagship sedan also to trickle down technology to cars like the CTS. Because the stuff these $100,000 have that 5 years later ends up on $40-50,000 cars can't be introduced on a car like the CTS.

Well the C-class, A4 and 3-series could be thrown into that entry lux mix, but the 3-series is not being cross shopped with a Lexus ES or Lincoln. The CTS being a Cadillac does attract some old buyers that are looking for soft ride and not performance or that like domestics and would consider a Lincoln. In that regard the G37 is probably a bit too sporty for most CTS buyers, the Genesis is actually closer to the CTS than the G37 is in terms of ride/handling balance. Audi sales are okay, they beat Acura, Lincoln and Infiniti and are pretty close with Cadillac. Audi just can't match BMW or Mercedes. The base A6 gets 25/33 mpg, so I can see why they offer that engine. VW has to play the CAFE game too, and some buyers rate fuel economy very high. They do offer a V6 and a V8, so they cover all bases. Audi gets a lot of good press from the car magazines and Audi cleans up in China also, their Chinese sales alone are about Cadillac's total global output. So they're doing fine, although I don't really care for them and wouldn't buy one.

The CTS (1st and 2nd generation) was sized and priced to compete with Infiniti G, Lexus ES, Lincoln MKZ, and Acura TL. And I agree it is a very solid contender against those cars, better than all but the G37, and the G37 is a bit rough around the edges, the CTS is better than that car in many ways also. CTS isn't competing against an E-class no matter how much Cadillac wishes it was, E-class costs more than the STS did. And an Audi S6 does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, and gets 17/26 mpg. That is quicker than a CTS-V and only 1 mpg less than a V6 CTS. If the CTS wants to really play with the German trio, and I hope it does, Cadillac needs to step it up.

Sonata/Optima turbo is better than this.

You guys want to knock BMW and Mercedes, yet Cadillac is powerless to compete with them head on. And without a flagship sedan, what is Cadillac doing to try to catch up. The CTS has been here 10 years and with no impact. Cadillac sales are lower now than 10 years ago. Meanwhile the past couple years BMW and Mercedes have had their best years ever. Mercedes has been around 125 years (they invented the car after all), and 2011 was their best year. Cadillac's best days were 55 years ago.

By building a car good enough to sell over seas. With better product they can grow a little in the USA, but they need a global winner to get sales. Which is why they need a flagship car to be taken seriously over seas. You don't sell a flagship in volume. You sell 3-series and C-class size cars in volume... which is what Cadillac has in the ATS. That is what I meant, ATS, CTS and a flagship together that are good enough for people outside the USA to want to buy one. Even if the ATS is good, there is still no image behind it, they need the whole package.

People have talked about how the Allante and XLR failed, a car like this would be double the price (adjust Allante for inflation). If Cadillac can't make it at $75,000, they aren't going to make it at $150,000. Cadillac has too little street cred to try a move like this. People that own or are about to buy an Aston Martin, Ferrari or Lamborghini aren't even thinking about Cadillac, let alone walking into a dealership. The only way Cadillac could make a name for themselves with this is to top the Bugatti Veyron, and that would cost so much money and they would lose money on every one sold. And even if they built it, people would think it would just fall apart.

Most car magazines rank it lower, and it does sell worse than the Altima, Camry, Accord, Fusion and Sonata. And it isn't like the Malibu has any price mark ups to make it a big profit center. My guess would be the Malibu has the highest rental car sale percentage of that list of cars, on retail sales is is probably really trailing those 5.

Diesel > Ecoboost

It wouldn't sell. I agree with Hyper on this, they can't even break into the big sedan segment, going into a Ferrari/Lamborghini segment is not going to work. And I agree with Drew also, they can't get the Malibu right, they need to focus on the volume cars and if GM can't compete with a Fusion or Sonata, how are they going to compete with Ferrari? A Cadillac supercar would be cool, but it won't work right now. I do think they need a big sedan though, start there and with getting the ATS and CTS up to world class and then maybe in 5-10 years time evaluate a Cadillac sports car.

This car could have a top speed of 3 mph and still be fantastic. Although I am a little more partial to the DB9, I think that is the best looking Aston, but they all look spectacular.

It will be a Volt. What is funny is a $40,000 Volt doesn't sell well, so a $50,000 Volt with a Buick badge or a $60,000 Volt with a Cadillac badge could really struggle. I get GM is trying to broaden the range and use the technology but we saw when Lexus tried a hybrid Prius, that bombed and the Prius people actually buy. These eco cars are tough, because Prius buyers (and other greenies) don't care about performance or even style or equipment, they have that minimalist view to some degree. So basic and efficient they like. A hybrid battery car with lots of luxo goodies doesn't appeal to that segment, and people that spend $60k now on performance luxury sedans don't want an economy car.

By building a car good enough to sell over seas. With better product they can grow a little in the USA, but they need a global winner to get sales. Which is why they need a flagship car to be taken seriously over seas.

Without the beak, it would look the same as a Honda. GM does need to try to crush this brand and Lincoln. This is where Cadillac can get growth from, and to a lesser extent Buick.

The Mercedes-Nissan/Renault alliance doesn't mean the Nissan V6 is going to Mercedes. Mercedes is going to have Nissan build turbo fours (of Mercedes design) in Tennessee to be used n C-class production in Alabama and for use on future Infinitis. Then there will be platform sharing on the next Smart car and Renault Twingo, and Infiniti is supposed to get an A-class based car. There will also be joint powertrain development for 3-cyldiner engines for Smart and Renault. So the partnership is about compact cars and a Europe-only entry level van. I pulled this from egmcartech.com "All rear-wheel drive Benzes of the future will be based on their new global Mercedes Rear-wheel drive Architecture, or MRA. This means that it is subdivided into 93 different modules with the only two fixed points being the front and rear firewalls, leaving different axles and drivetrains to be applied." Right now Mercedes uses different platforms for the sedans, another for sports cars, another for the ML and GL. So this will allow them to put all the sedans and SUVs on a common platform to give them economies of scale needed. Cadillac could do the same with Alpha and Omega. If they make enough ways to vary length, width, etc, the ATS, CTS, big sedan, SRX, Escalade, etc could all be build off them.