smk4565

The Panamera Turbo S has 550 hp, 590 lb-ft of torque with overboost and gets 23 mpg. Not bad for a 4.8 liter DOHC.

The new M5 has like 570hp from a 4.4 liter, so the CTS-V isn't more powerful. The CTS-V also gives up over 100 lb-ft of torque and is less fuel efficient than the AMG 5.5 bi-turbo. GM only uses the pushrod because they were too broke to replace it. Regardless of the power, I have big doubts that they can get the refinement and fuel economy and beat the displacement taxes and gas guzzler taxes with a huge pushrod V8. Although horsepower is easy, fuel efficiency is harder. This is where I think Cadillac has to really set themselves apart. Audi has a 37 mpg A8 going on sale soon, I think the Cadillac flagship should aim for 40 mpg. No one makes a 40 mpg large luxury car, that would be a first. Unless of course Mercedes keeps the promise of a 70 mpg S-class, in which case it is pretty much game over anyway. I think suspension is another important criteria, they have to nail that.

VVT is from like 10 years ago, and DI was on 2006 model year cars. Everyone else already has that in the segment, Cadillac arriving in 2015 with it isn't going to give them any advantage whatsoever. And there is a reason to make a unique power plant, so that your $80-100,000 Cadillac doesn't have the same engine as a $30,000 Camaro or Silverado. Cadillac hasn't had success selling a high end car in over 50 years. They have to do something to attract buyers.

Oh right, because I just read how Maserati is dropping the Ferrari engine from the Quattroporte in favor of a 6.0 liter V8 from a Chevy Silverado.

Turbo a pushrod for a Cadillac? It works for the last dinosaur that Bentley makes, but in the segment Cadillac is going after I don't think it will. Look at what the competition has, and also consider the move toward fuel efficiency in this class. They could do without the V12, since there are very few of those. But, Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes, Porsche all do a DOHC V8, even Hyundai if you want to throw in the Equus at the low end.

I did forget about 60 degree angle for V12s, the V8 would have to be done from scratch. The Mercedes S65 has 621 hp now. The 760Li is 535 hp, and 550 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm, so Cadillac could better compete with a car like that, or the Audi A8. I think 7.2 liters would be awfully thirsty though, they need at least 20 mpg highway. And I suspect come 2016 or so when this car comes out, the Germans will have raised the bar on power and efficiency. And power won't be the real challenge, fuel economy will be. Aside from getting people to spend serious coin on a Cadillac sedan.

The Omega needs a V-12... let's hope they endeavor to create a stretched version of the 3.6 liter LFX block. Such an engine will displace 7.2 liters and produce about 640 hp @ 6800 rpm / 550 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm. It'll require a "high input speed" 6L90 transmission to fully harness (otherwise it'll have to be capped at 6200 rpm for an approximate loss of about 40 hp; which actually isn't too bad). A 3.0 or 3.6 liter Bi-turbo V6 -- making 360~430 hp -- will serve it well as an base power plant. If they want to do a hybrid, it can be clobbered together using the Bi-turbo V6 and the same Dual-Mode Hybrid transmission currently in the Escalade Hybrid. 7.2 liters is a bit large. Mercedes gets 740 lb-ft of torque from a 6.0 liter, and that engine is 6 years old. I'd rather Cadillac just design a V12 from scratch, and do a V8 derivative of it. And max torque should be no more than 2,000 RPM. The S550 makes 516 lb-ft @ 1,800 RPM and returns 25 mpg hwy. Cadillac has to step their game up for this car.

Those were their only 2 good ones, although American Revolution was a decent one. I think they should go back to something with "America" in it.

I don't think Lutz will hurt in any way, but I don't see him as the savior. He had his chance, with he and Wagoner at the helm the company tanked, and I realize a lot of that had already started before Lutz got there, but he couldn't save them before. And even headed toward bankruptcy, he Fritz and Wagoner were more of the "stay the course" mentality, rather than blow up and start over. Lutz may be able to help in a few places, he knows how to rattle the cages, but I don't think he'll have much impact. The ZR1 isn't that good an example of Lutz success. All they did was supercharge a Corvette tweak the suspension and put a body kit on it. The interior is terrible, Corvette sales have declined since the ZR1 went on sale, and it isn't like the ZR1 got Chevy tons of publicity and drove up showroom traffic. Yes it is a fast car, but Corvette sales and Chevrolet sales would probably be right where they are now even if the ZR1 never existed.

I never cared for this slogan much, it just didn't seem to make sense for a car company. But GM does have a problem with changing slogans every year, and not developing clear brand identities that you can have a slogan fit. "Chevy runs deep" doesn't really inspire me at all to look at a Chevy. The best slogan out there is "ultimate driving machine" (and BMW needs to lose the Joy crap), because it is what the car is, and it makes you want to drive one.

I actually think he should stay retired. He had some good ideas and pushed GM to improve interiors and quality and get a more global approach. But with the winners also came the Astra, Aura, Sky, Solstice, G8, and a lot of money wasted on brands that ending up dying anyway. Most outsiders knew in 2005 that GM had a brand management problem, he himself said GM had damaged brands. If Lutz were great, he would have scrapped those brands then and worked on Chevy and Cadillac. I'd like to see GM get some new blood in there, like Ford did with Mullally. At least Bill Ford recognized the problem was bigger than they knew how to fix, and Mulally saved Ford form bankruptcy and government bail out. Bob Lutz is the past, GM needs the future.

They should have green-lighted it years ago, I don't get what is taking them so long, but at least it looks like they are doing a flagship car. Hopefully the economy is better then also, because big sedan sales aren't doing so well, and that segment is getting more and more crowded.

CTS, LaCrosse and the crossovers are doing well, I think the 3 body styles on the CTS is helping big time. The surprise to me is the Yukon, must have been big incentives on those. I think the Regal had a nice month considering it doesn't really fit in a normal segment, it slots between family sedan and entry-lux. DTS and Lucerne are dead, I wonder if many of those that would have bought a DTS or Lucerne are opting for the cheaper (and better) LaCrosse. Makes me wonder what the XTS is going to do.

The Genesis is picking up some. I figured it would once the Equus went on sale. No doubt people go in looking at an Equus, and then settle for the Genesis.

A turbo 3.5 liter would make more than 300 hp. The 3.7 makes 330ish hp, a few years back when the VQ V6 was a 3.5 liter they were near 300 hp with it. Perhaps they will turbo the 2.5 liter V6 and combine with the 7-speed, which could get near 300 hp and high mileage. I'd think a turbo 3.5 liter would be 360-370 hp. The Mercedes diesel is a nice addition.

Well, it's like with Corvettes...it's the older guys that can afford to buy expensive toys. Better to see them driving one than some subliterate rapper felon or Justin Beiber. Beiber has a Ferrari. It was just in the news that he had a minor accident in it. But the trend of old guys buying a CTS-V doesn't surprise me. The guys that grew up with 60s era muscle cars and have money for toys like Corvettes and Cadillacs. The under 45 crowd with money for toys would most likely prefer an import. Which is hopefully something Cadillac can change.

You are pinning Cadillac's future on the XTS? I don't see an oversized Lexus ES350 as the answer to their problems. Well, the XTS will give them a model to compete w/ the MKS, RL, ES, S80, and 9-5. And the ES is smaller and cheaper than all the others. Look at the rest of the list, all sales duds. Why even bother competing with that.

You are pinning Cadillac's future on the XTS? I don't see an oversized Lexus ES350 as the answer to their problems.

It looks a little better than the current car, but the grille is a bit Audi and the look up front is of a Nissan/Infiniti. The current car as a weird look from front view, but looks good form the side and back. Hopefully the finished product looks good, I'd like to see them put the V8 in this car.

FWD from a performance brand = Boooooooo. FWD on a hot hatch type of car is acceptable, but all RWD is still better. I don't get why all these brands want mediocrity over superiority.

Read people over 70.

I would agree that being #1 in sales doesn't make a car the best one in the segment, especially in segments with fleet sales. But the E-class and 5-series are about tied for tops in that segment. I like the Jaguar XF, but it is V8 only, so that limits it on buyers. My main point was to refute the claim that Audi turned around, why can't Lincoln do the same. The A6, A8 and Q7 are all in the back of the class in sales, even the A4 sales at about the same rate as the Lincoln MKZ. Audi does a few things well, but they aren't exactly the model of luxury success for the USA. Globally, with A3's and 4-cylinder A6's and diesels they do well because they have fuel efficiency and lower price point than a Mercedes. I don't see Lincoln being successful by improving the sheet metal and interiors of the MKS and MKZ. A $40,000 Fusion is still a hard sell.

VAG was able to do it with Audi, so why can't Ford do it with Lincoln? Or, rephrasing the question, why is Ford management so incompetent in your opinion? Audi has a global market, and most of their global sales are at the lower end of the luxury market, on smaller cars. In the USA, Audi isn't having a ton of success, but they do alright. Lincoln doesn't have a chance internationally, so they have to make it in the USA. An E-class outsells an Audi A6 nearly 10 to 1, so Audi's plan isn't working in that regard. Audi does have good interiors across the board, this is something they do well, and their cars get fairly good mileage compared to other luxury brands, and they did a good job marketing Quattro. Audi also has had a ton of racing success at Le Mans, and VW owns Lamborghini and Bentley, so they can do an Audi R8 based off a Gallardo, or a put a Lambo V10 in an A8 sedan. Ford doesn't understand global luxury (see Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin) first off. Secondly, they don't have other brands or racing pedigree for Lincoln. At best Lincoln can work on interiors and fuel economy, but I don't see that as being enough. When you have 270 hp, 34 mpg family sedans for $25,000, why spend $40k on a slower, thirstier Lincoln. Plus the technology and features on family compact sedans is catching up with the entry lux sedans.

Can't save Lincoln by doing their current strategy executed better. Taking the MKS and making it more gorgeous or changing the interior doesn't solve the obesity problem it has, or the nose heavy problem. Regardless of what they do to the MKZ and MKS on those platforms, the car won't be as good as a European car. The absolute best Lincoln can hope for is to build a better Acura. And Acura is in the dump also. Unless, they leverage the Ford Falcon and Mustang platforms and basically re-invent themselves. To fix Lincoln you need to blow it up and start over, at a cost of billions of dollars. That is a big gamble, which I don't see Ford making.

Revamped LNF could work. But the engine as it is now isn't fuel efficient enough. I don't know how the NVH is since I haven't driven one, but obviously that engine was designed with Pontiac, Saturn and Chevy Cobalt/HHR in mind. So I'd imagine that it wasn't designed to Cadillac specification. The fuel economy race will go all the way to the top. Audi just revealed an A8 hybrid that gets 37 mpg. And there are plug-ins and electric cars at high dollar amounts coming. I think for a luxury brand to make it they have to cover both ends. Some will want performance, some will want economy, and many will want both. So if Cadillac can do a CTS-V, but also a 40 mpg CTS, they are hitting both ends of the market.