smk4565

Escalade - Navigator SRX - MKX XTS - MKS CTS - MKZ (same size and price, just rwd vs fwd) Possible Lambda Cadillac coming to compete with the MKT. Both automakers even us alphanumeric names on everything except their full size SUV. The ATS is the only difference in the lines. Cadillac isn't moving to all FWD, but they are moving really close to what Lincoln offers, and Lincoln is dead, why copy anything they do.

Cadillac made the decision to transform itself in 2003, and they made the move away from the Seville, Eldorado, Catera to the CTS, XLR, SRX, STS. A move from FWD and an Opel rebagde to purpose built RWD performance/luxury cars. Now they are moving back to FWD with the SRX and XTS. It is as if they went after the Germans for 5 years, then got scared and said we better focus back on Lincoln, as we did from 1935 to 2002.

FWD Vs RWD matters on luxury cars, especially the bigger ones. Just look at sales of the Volvo S80, Acura, TL, Lincoln MKS, and Cadillac DTS. All duds. Even the A6 with a longitudinal engine for better weight balance and Quattro is a sales dud compared to the other 2 German sedans. The Lexus ES350 and Acura TL have moderate success since they are at the bottom of the luxury pyramid, but they still get outsold by several rear drivers of equal price. Luxury car companies make FWD to save money by using mechanics of a mainstream car and/or because they lack the ability to do it the right way (Acura, Lincoln, Volvo). Either way it is a shortcut and a compromise, and buyers notice. Real buyers, the Funeral Home won't care what the drive wheels are, so the XTS is okay.

Nice.

The DTS was very 1995, so I guess the XTS will get up to 2010 standards. The ES350 is slightly smaller than a CTS though, the XTS is huge the Lincoln MKS is the only similar car on the market. It will sell, the same way the Town Car sold, Limo and Hearse market here we come!

They don't need one. Camry, Fusion and Sonata don't have a coupe. The Accord does, but Honda doesn't have a Camaro or Mustang on the lot. I think sedan only for the Malibu is fine, because coupe sales in the family sedan segment don't do that well, see Monte Carlo and Camry Solara. A Cruze coupe I think is more important, or if not the Cruze some Delta based coupe to appeal to younger buyers that can't afford a Camaro. Something to target the Civic coupe, Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster type cars.

Since the new one looks the same as the old, might as well refresh again. It looks really boring as it is now.

This car has led the segment for 30 years, few vehicles are critically acclaimed as #1 in segment and are best seller in segment for even a full model run, let alone 5 model runs. The contenders keep trying, but keep falling flat. The Cimarron in the 80s, the Infiniti G20 of the 90s, the Jaguar X-type came and went, Lexus IS tried twice, and Volvo and Acura never really even attempted. They all fall short, so I suspect this car will stay on top of the mountain even if the front end is a little different.

The look isn't that different, but that is what makes BMW, BMW. Go back to the 90s 3-series, and with each new generation, there is a change, but it is subtle. I like how this looks in black, otherwise I am not a big fan of how the headlights connect to the kidney grille or the Z4 style headlights. The rest of the car fits in with the 5 and 7 series so the consistency is good. That being said, I agree that people buy BMW's on the way they drive. And 50/50 weight balance, 88 lbs lighter, 8-speed transmission, and 0-60 in 5.7 seconds for the base model is pretty sweet. EPA numbers will be interesting, they should be above 30 mpg for the 328i and 335i. This car will still be the standard of the segment that all others are trying to copy.

Probably a 4-cylinder that does it in 9:29, lol.

I am glad they are going to put more technology in cars, really anything an iPad or smart phone can do, the car should be able to do. These new TFT screen monitors are neat, and a lot of cars are using them, however, I think I still prefer good old fashion mechanical gauges made with real metal, as opposed to having a computer monitor behind the steering wheel.

What platform is this? I would think making something smaller than the current Colorado would do better than going bigger. They have the Silverado for real truck buyers. If this Colorado is more Equinox sized and light duty, it should in theory not be super heavy and could have 4-cylinder power to help with fuel economy.

They went to the right place. Interestingly enough, the new 3-series in unveiled Friday, so the goal post is going to move a bit.

So take a Benz to a Cadillac dealer for an oil change. I don't drive a Benz and spend $70+ for oil changes at Jiffy Lube because my car requires 8 quarts of oil. So $90 every 10k miles is still better than me paying $70 every 4-5,000. And I know there are some cheaper places, but Jiffy Lube has good service and does free top off, and my car burns about 2 quarts of oil between oil changes, and they checked, it has no leaks. A Mercedes is also built to last. If may have expensive oil, but I still think a lot of GM product is built to look good for the first 5 years, and not for the long haul. To quote an S-class ad from a few years ago "you get what you pay for, it is that simple"

Agreed with Riviera74, there is no vision or unique selling point. Mercedes could make an ad with a 3.0 liter CTS vs a G55 AMG and laugh about how the Cadillac sport sedan is slower than a military truck/suv but they don't. They have better things to do.

The Camry is still doing pretty well considering it is at the end of the model cycle, and the new one is coming for 2012. It is still the top seller in the segment. I am surprised the Corolla hasn't dropped more, because it is so inferior to the newer offerings in that segment. They were lucky to sell 16,000 Corollas, unless they fleeted a ton of them. On the Lexus side, nice to see them dropping. They used to be good for over 20,000 a month, lately only about 14,000 a month. Maybe customers don't want to spend big money on a dressed up Toyota anymore. The German brands have stepped it up the past couple years, the Lexus line-up seems so stale, the only new stuff are dopey hybrids like the CT200.

Lincoln sales are pretty miserable, the decline keeps on going. F150 on the other hand is kicking butt.

The mid-size crossovers are doing well. The Malibu is the spot for concern, even if near the end of a model run, that is a pretty low sales volume. Cadillac's line-up is pretty thin.

That's weak, I want a million speeds! Although I wonder what this would do to the acceleration and fuel economy numbers of an Accent or Elantra that have a little engine without a broad power band.

Audi has to make claims on how they do something better than Mercedes or BMW, because in the USA they get crushed in sales despite selling cars at a lower price. These comparison ads are usually ways for a lesser brand to try to get noticed, because overall their car isn't as good. When you are on top, you don't have resort to stuff like that.

Agreed with Bimmer and Moltar. A V6 Camry can smoke an Escalade in a drag race, so what? It is a pointless and irrelevant comparison. Cadillac needs to get their own house in order and set the standard, not just make meaningless claims to appear like they matter.

I agree 0-60 in 7.5 seconds isn't really slow, it is adequate for regular driving. A V6 Camry or Accord can crush a C300 in a straight line, but so what. The C300 isn't meant for straight line speed. The C300 is there for people that want a Mercedes and don't care about speed. So many brands want to try to knock Mercedes down to their level, but it won't work. If Cadillac wants to beat Mercedes, they have to raise themselves up, not try to bring Mercedes down.

That is a lot of shifting, but I suppose the 6th and 7th gear wouldn't be used much unless on steady highway cruise. 7 or 8 speeds works when the computer does the shifting for you, but I don't know if manuals will be able to follow that trend when the driver has to do the work.

Everyone picks on the C300, the Suzuki Kizashi claims to be faster or handle better than it to. The C300 is slow, but that doesn't make it a bad car. And they do offer better engines for people who want to go faster. In general, I am not much of a fan of non-direct comparisons because you can always find one thing a car does better than another. But look how many automakers want to make comparisons in ads to Mercedes. Compared to Mercedes who rarely mentions other auto brands in their commercials, they know they are the top brand, no need for them to compare to others.

They are 0.4 inches different in length. But they aren't that comparable since the Sonata is more powerful, lighter, more fuel efficient, lower in cost, and has better warranty.