smk4565

It will be interesting to see how the ATS drives, hopefully better than the CTS. The CTS isn't bad, but it just doesn't feel nimble to me, and handling and steering are just not as precise as a 5-series (E60 generation, havn't driven the new one). I hope the ATS is sporty, as in 335i sporty, not Pontiac Grand Prix sporty, but the exterior of the ATS looks a bit soft and wimpy. The CTS looks too blocky and chunky. I don't get why Cadillac can't make a car sleek and streamlined and agressive looking, the orginal CTS pulled that off much better than the STS, 08 CTS and ATS have. On the roadster front, they need a convertible, but the Allante and XLR were failures, so I wonder if 3rd time is the charm or if they still haven't figured it out.

I also wonder about the torque load the Alpha chassis can handle, many cars now are designed for smaller engines. And if the 400 hp and torque level is the peak for Alpha then a turbo V6 could get them there. But if they can modify the platform or if it can handle power and torque in the 500 range then I see V8s. Genesis coupe is V6 only, if the Camaro were downsized they could go that route, but I have a hard time believing there won't be a V8 Camaro. Of course who thought we'd see a full size Cadillac without a V8. My guess is they find a way to make V8 Alpha cars, there are still customers that want V8s. On wheel bases, the Omega will be needed for bigger cars for sure. The S-class has a 126 inch wheelbase, Epsilon and Alpha can't fight that, and I don't think Sigma or Zeta can, plus they are old and/or heavy.

The Avenger and 200 are such terrible cars, but I suppose Avis and Enterprise will keep buying them. But Dodge does need something in bewteen the Dart and Charger. To me Chrysler and Dodge are still tremendous overlap, I am surprised that company turns profit.

The Volt is too expensive for what it is. It is Cruze/Civic/Elantra level in performance, size, features, etc at double the price as earlier stated. The electric range is not far enough and recharge time not quick enough. Draining a battery in 1 hour and needing 8 hours to recharge it isn't appealing. Battery technology just isn't good enough to make a car like the Volt desirable.

Cadillac needs a convertible. An ATS convertible would probably sell better than a roadster, but a roadster would probably look cooler.

They don't. That is why GMC should be work truck or commercial trim, and Chevy should not build a work truck.

So will GMC be dropping the work truck models and commercial cabs? I always though GMC should be the commercial and business fleet brand and Chevy the retail brand. If Buick and Cadillac have luxury suvs do we need a 3rd brand of luxury Suvs.

Maybe it is 5 forward gears and 5 rearward gears for dual threat street and stunt racing!

So what were they doing for 100 years? They just now figure out you have to build to market demands and they trying to sell old rehashed product that people don't want doesn't work? They do need to go into Europe and become more global, and RHD is needed. But they need diesel engines above all and build quality still has to get better.

FWD hurts when it is all you have or when your mid to large vehicles are FWD. Mercedes isn't making the E-class FWD, a subcompact car in FWD or AWD won't hurt Mercedes especially when they can offset it with V12 rear drive cars. And Mercedes already sells the A-class and B-class elesewhere and it hasn't hurt their brand at all. Cadillac has a more fragile brand image. Although if Cadillac made a Sonic based car with an ATS/CTS level interior and 200 hp base engine and 270 hp turbo 4 optional, I wouldn't mind. But any Cadillac ATS or larger should be RWD.

Looks like evolution of the current car, the shape looks really similar. I wouldn't be surprised if a V6 shows up in this car, they have down sized the engines and cylinder count everywhere but the Corvette and Silverado.

The R-class is a bust, they should kill that thing unless it sells exceptionally well in Europe which I doubt. R-class is a drain in the brand. A and B class can be ways to lure in younger buyers and Mercedes retains about 60%the of their customers and I think the best in the industry is 64%.

I like the A-Class or B-class idea, I like the B-class more than the A. I don't get the CLC, why do they need a FWD car to compete with the C-class, when FWD is not as good as RWD. And no more crossovers please. Luckily that will fail and Mercedes will give up on a FWD crossover the size of a roller skate.

If it is 90% to 95% the size of a Silverado, why not just put a 4-banger in the Silverado at that point and see how much that sucks. They already have the Silverado, which for some bizarre reason still doesn't have a V6, they can improve efficiency on the Silverado a couple mpg to get it to where the Colorado is now. The Colorado I still think should be on Theta or something unibody so it is smaller than the full size trucks. And for people that want the versatility, but don't haul a lot of weight or tow over 4,000 lbs it could be successful. Especially with the commercial market and business fleets that are buying Transits because the fuel economy is better than bigger vehicles.

If names don't matter, why was 500 axed for Taurus after 2 years. Why is the Navigator still the Navigator and not the MKN? The MKnames are dumb, as are all alphabet soup names with no meaning. They should go back to words, especially since they aren't selling cars outside of North America anyway. But the Lincoln product is no good either.

Why 90-95% the size of a Silverado? My guess it is 90% the price too. It would be more like 75% the size and prize of a Silverado to make them different. That is why the Colorado doesn't sell now, it is almost as expensive as a Silverado and not even half as good.

Camry Hybrid drive train will go into the Avalon and Lexus ES. The 2 most boring cars on the road just got even more boring.

I like this car. I like that it has a different number of doors on each side, I like the big sunroof, it seems like a fun car. The only thing it needed was more power and the turbo solves that. 201 hp should make it fairly quick, I think a lot of young people will buy these up.

I don't mind the looks, it fits how other Buicks look. The engine is weak, but the vehicle is small. The orange interior is weird.

Taurus only has 102 cubic feet of interior room, the Chrysler 300 and Toyota Avalon 106 cu ft and the Genesis has 109 cu ft. The Lacrosse isn't a small car, it just isn't as big on the inside as some of the competitors. GM cars are not all that space efficient. But for people that complain the LaCrosse is small, where else do they go really, to the Avalon for that extra 5 cu ft of room? It isn't like people shopping Buicks can go look at an S-class to get a huge car, unless they want a used S-class, which will no doubt last longer than a new Buick, so maybe that isn't such a bad idea.

Was it ever alive to begin with?

The XTS only has a 111 inch wheelbase, though, not really big car territory...and it is narrow. True it is a short wheelbase, but the car overall is 200+ inches long, and that is bigger than most of what is out there. The Taurus/MKS are 204 inches long, but even the Genesis and 300C are only about 196 inches long, granted they are roomy inside because of the RWD and width. Big car territory is now the LaCrosse/XTS and Taurus, unless you want to pony up the money for an S-class. Hyundai Equus is big, but still over $60k.

More information on the 45% sales increase can be found on notgonnahappen.com

A smaller SUV can be a good idea, but the problem is the SRX has a lower price than the X3. Had the SRX stayed on Sigma and be priced where it used to be, it would allow for an X3 fighter under it. But by making the SRX cheaper than an X3, it doesn't give Cadillac much room to work with. Unless the new SUV is built on Alpha and the SRX goes back to RWD and a new platform for Generation 3. In which case the Gen 3 SRX would need V8 power as well as diesel power to compete with the M-class and X5.

The Lacrosse is nearly as large as the Lucerne, and has more available equipment. I haven't looked at the numbers, but my guess is interior volume on the LaCrosse is about the same as the Lucerne, since the Lucerne platform is pretty dated. And the Taurus/MKS is about all that is bigger, the Avalon is not, and GM has the XTS coming for a bigger, nicer Buick.