smk4565

Hyundai/Kia outsold Honda, trailed Toyota/Lexus/Scion by only 1,000 units. Hyundai is rising fast. I am curious to see where they are in 10 years time, they could be huge.

The main problems I see with the XTS is it doesn't fit what Cadillac claims it wants to be, doesn't improve brand image, and isn't a sustainable vehicle. The Deville sold well at one time too, and now it is dead. XTS is short term thinking and another GM stop-gap. They aren't making a car for the next 30-50 years, like Mercedes did with the E or S-class in the 1970s.

Ooooooh what a feeling. So nice to see Toyota do poorly. They are the most over rated brand, most of their products are mediocre at best and many have become very stale. Toyota of 2011 reminds me of GM in the 1990s, a big giant waiting to fall.

The A6 is a real sales dog in the midsize segment, the e-class outsells it over 10 to 1, but then again the A6 is pretty bland and underpowered. I am surprised the A7 is doing so well, if you call 800 sales well, it did outsell the A6 and A8 which is interesting.

What I read was cars up 13%, crossovers down 1% and pickups down 14%. Cars are coming back, and this is still a truck heavy company, although not as bad as Chrysler is.

The base V6 S-class is $91,000. I don't see the XTS competing with that. There will also be the next generation S-class on sale at the time the XTS debuts, and Mercedes does have some powertrain enhancements in store.

The XTS is just a DTS but fatter, with a cheaper platform and a cheaper engine. Yes that new engine may make 25 more hp than a 17 year old V8, but pretty much anyone's V6 makes more power than a V8 did in 1993. The XTS is not worthy of the wreath and crest, regardless of what they do with the engine or the interior. It isn't as good as a German full size car, or even a full size Hyundai. Cadillac is supposed to be world class, not 4 years behind Lincoln.

The 7-series has a 535 hp V12, and the XTS has the front wheel drive and a 300 hp V6. What is Cadillac offering the luxury segment, that the Lincoln MKS and Acura RL (neither of which sell) already offer. The XTS is offering $30k sedan powertrain at a $50k price. All the XTS is, is an over sized (and over weight) Lexus ES350. Everyone here is quick to rip the ES350 because it is a Camary and will claim the CTS is better than the ES350 because the CTS is rear drive, sporty, unique platform, etc. Yet when Cadillac does exactly what Toyota does, it is okay and all is forgiven. I already can't wait for the day the last XTS rolls off the line and it sees its death.

A V6 with 50 to 75 more horsepower than your Northstar. I'm a big fan of the DTS, but if they get the XTS's interior anywhere close to that of the concept, it will be a knockout. It looks 100 times better in person. None of the pictures do any justice to it's size and imposing look in the when viewed in the steel. I don't think that V6 is going to have 350 hp. More like the 304 hp from the 2012 Impala. And even if it does have 350 hp, it will have to also have AWD or face ridiculous torque steer. AWD adds weight, and Lincoln already put a big 350 hp V6 awd sedan on sale in 2009, and hardly anyone cares about it or buys it. The 2013 XTS is a 2009 Lincoln MKS, with maybe a better interior. Even better is how the next Impala will share the platform, engine and transmission with the XTS. So that Impala-XTS is just like Taurus-MKS, that is not standard of the world.

They can't offer both types of engines if they do a mid-engine car that is more like an Audi R8 or Lotus Evora. Then they probably have to go with the high revving, turbo engine. If they keep it front engine, rear drive they have more options. They can stick with the big pushrod and use the formula they have used for 50 years, but sales of that car are down. The Corvette isn't brining in new customers as it sits now, so why make the C7 just like the C6. The GT-R may be a computer, but only the Veyron beats it 0-60 and around the Nurburgring it beats the ZR1 and a lot of other high priced exotics. The 911 Turbo is faster than the ZR1 also, so really if the Corvette is supposed to keep up with those cars, and attract a younger customer base, they probably do have to change the formula. On a side note, I think an AMG engine is around $18,000, but maybe it depends on which engine. Regardless of cost, Mercedes doesn't care, nor do their customers. That is the difference between Mercedes and GM though. Mercedes spares no expense to get the best available regardless of cost, and GM does "good enough" on a nickel and dime budget.

The DTS's death was long overdue. That car is ancient by current luxury car standards. As is the Northstar and 4-speed auto. It was a great powertrain in the 90s, but it is 2011 now. Perhaps what is sad, is that the Deville/DTS is dying because Cadillac was unable to keep it current or modernize it. Where as a car like a 7-series or S-class has seen generation after generation and constant improvement. The XTS looks a bit tall and slab sided to me, it also looks rather bulky. The XTS seems like another GM car that will come out, sit on the market for 6 years with no update and become stale and cancelled.

This isn't just DOHC vs Pushrod. Because they aren't proposing a 4.8 liter DOHC V8 with 420 hp vs a 6.2 liter pushrod with 420 hp. That is sort of Mustang V8 vs Camaro V8 and which is preferred. This is considering a super high tech, high revving V8, and doing an engine like you'd find in a McLaren, Lexus LF-A or Koenigsegg. If they make the Corvette mid-engined, that is another drastic change. So really the debate is whether or not the Corvette's time has come. Can C7 be a front engine, rear drive, big V8 car, or does it become a mid-engine, 3 liter, 9,000 rpm car.

Right now, the ZR-1 gets beat by a $30,000 cheaper Nissan with a V6 (that is also more efficient). The Corvette formula still appeals to Corvette fans, but that is an aging bunch and the current car isn't appealing to non-Corvette drivers. I still like front engine, rear drive, I would go with a boosted V6 and a V8, make the car not so wide, with a better interior, and I think they can get more appeal. The potential risk I see here is the Corvette going after the Audi R8, Porsche 911, Ferrari California, Aston Martins, etc, and the Corvette isn't a mid-engine super car, nor is it a luxurious grand tourer. If they aim too high and try to sell Corvettes to people that are driving European exotics, the C7 will be a bust. Current price point is mostly good, I think the Corvette could even drop a little in price (unless way more content is standard). Interior and width hurt the current car. I think Chevy needs to stay close to the current formula, but with something new and different to pull new buyers in. The Corvette has basically been the same car for the past 10-15 years, save for a couple power increases and interior tweaks. The car is dated, why spend $60k on a new one, when a used one for half that price or less is basically the same. Chevy has to give people a reason to buy a new Corvette, while at the same time staying loyal to he fans.

Hart to do choice on a low volume car. I think the Corvette should stay front engine, rear drive as it always has. I like DOHC more, but if they want to keep the Corvette cheap (lower MSRP) than today's model, they can stick a pushrod in there. But then again, the Camaro offers that for people, unless the next generation Camaro is losing the V8. There is always the option of doing a mid-engine Cadillac supercar with a DOHC, twin-turbo V8. Mercedes had the SLR, now has the SLS AMG, Audi has the R8, and Lexus the LF-A, perhaps Cadillac wants a supercar too. The the Corvette can appeal to it's base, while the Cadillac appeals to the global crowd.

The Ferrari F40 had a 2.9 liter turbo V8 and it did okay. Koenigsegg has 900 hp and 250 mph out of a 4.7 liter V8. The Corvette can learn from those two, although I still think that cost of an engine like that will make it not feasible.

Those that have reservations can take comfort in the fact that an engine like this would be costly to develop and produce. Doing what is expensive and difficult isn't the way of GM. Plus Corvette sales are down, raising the price higher probably isn't going to help the Corvette recover, and the interior is the biggest short coming of the current car. To fix the interior and do an engine like this is going to drive the price up pretty high.

It isn't like the Transit or Dodge Caravan have all that much capability. Matching an Econoline in towing or cargo load may be possible for the Vito, but that is why they have the Sprinter. And they could roll out the Vito 55 AMG.

I like the turbo DOHC V8 idea, but I would go with something closer to 4 liters and not that high of a redline.

Prime example, over 400,000 miles on a Sprinter that says Dodge on the back, but has a 3-point star on the front. Sprinter That one even had the crappy 5-cylinder diesel, the new ones have the V6 which is better. The Mercedes vans would outlast the Ford and Chevy competition, if Mercedes launches a full scale commercial truck operation in the USA, they could really put a hurt to GM, Ford and Dodge, errr Ram.

The Enclave needs over 400 hp? Shouldn't Cadillac have the best engines at GM?

I should take a picture of the lineup of Sprinter vans that clearly didn't "run forever" down near the waterfront. Those are all Dodge Sprinters. If you put a 3-pointed star on something it runs forever.

I think it is a good idea to bring it here. There is the Transit at the compact van end, and the Sprinter and Econoline at the big end, and the Sprinter is really big. The middle size Vito could do well here, there is no minivan cargo van, except maybe for Dodge, and the utility companies will buy it. If no one else is going to go after the cargo van market (aside form Ford who doesn't have a mid-size van), Mercedes might was well take it over. Vito probably gets better mileage than even the Transit, and Mercedes run forever so businesses will like that durability.

ZDX is really terrible, even worse than the X6. The ZDX not only looks bad, but it doesn't have utility or cargo space. So you get small car space but SUV handling. But Acura is lost and since everything they make is basically $30-40k, they have to do odd stuff like the ZDX to find 5 models, because really they are all the same dumb car. Gimmicks don't last long, if you try to survive on that you are in trouble.

This thing is too big and heavy, not to mention ugly. Wagons don't sell in the USA, but this is worse than a wagon. It looks like a wagon but has SUV weight and handling, so it is like the worst of both worlds. I would guess the Honda Crosstour is a sales dud also. A 5-series wagon would sell better than this. And the 5-series sold well for years by being agile and the ultimate driving machine, they broke what worked. Maybe the product planners at BMW will get rid of garbage like this and the X6 and get back to 3-series, 5-series, 7-series and perhaps an 8-series coupe. On a side note, I like when automakers do what they know how to do. Porsche building an SUV bothers me, yet it is one of their top sellers so I know why they do it. I don't get why Lincoln needs a pick-up, Buick needs a minivan, Mini needs an SUV, BMW needs a 5-series Malibu Maxx, etc. IT is product planners getting greedy, rather than making your core products better. The 5-series GT is Crystal Pepsi, no one asked for it and no one wants it.

Aluminum body panels is a start, but obviously a lot of cars do that. To really see the weight savings you need the whole frame made of aluminum, which is of course very expensive. Electric steering saves fuel, but isn't hydraulic steering better?