smk4565

You guys want to talk smack on the S-class, but what does Cadillac have? The upcoming 4-cylinder, front drive XTS as their range topper? The S-class is probably the most successful luxury car line of all time. It is why Mercedes has a better image and reputation than its competitors. Cadillac would be wise to study how Mercedes did it, and follow that path of relentless engineering, and make the best car in the world, regardless of cost.

They do when it's the Mercedes S-class. Problem is Cadillac needs credibility, which could be gained with a successful flagship, however, the flagship probably won't sell because of their brand image. They are sort of in a lose-lose. The S-class pays the bills by being a Taxi, Rental car fleet, and business airport car fleet whore..... the same way the Towncar does. It pays the bills, and it is a better status symbol than any car BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Lexus or Cadillac has. All those brands wish they had the S-class, it's image, it's history, and it's revenue.

A convertible is needed, something with a back seat like the 3-series and A4 is the way to go. I think a roadster like the Z4 or SLK will be too much extra development cost and not sell enough units.

Saab is dead. No volume, the lineup is small, they had dated cars for a while. Saab has been dying on the vine for years, the time has come, just close it down already, I don't get why people try to save something that can't be saved, and no one will miss Saab when it is gone.

I pretty much agree with Dwight's tiers but I think they could push the prices a little higher. The ATS should base at least $32k, that is where the A4 and G25 start. CTS should start mid-40s. Cadillac needs to get into the middle of the market, not be the low cost alternative in each segment.

That's basically the same interior with some suede inserts on the seat (which I was never a fan of suede on any seat or steering wheel) and some red stitching on the dash. It's still a bad interior.

[quote name='Z-06' timestamp='1304043789' post='660604' How can those be used in the same topic? Hyundai has ZERO credibility and brand image when it comes to luxury. I was only stating that the Equus has filled in the low end slot of the uber-sedan market. Equus has the $55-65k range, Lexus $65k+, Jaguar, BMW, Audi all come in the $70s-100k, S-class at $93-200k, and the Quattroporte, Rapide, and Panamera at different price points of the 4 door sports car market. Each niche is filled at this point, so Cadillac has a tough decision on where to place their car. And Hyundai when compared to Honda, Toyota, Ford or Chevy is looking like they have a lot of credibility. The Equus isn't really here to sell, it is here so they can sell Sonatas. Although the Equus is better than anything Acura, Lincoln, Volvo, Saab or some of these luxury brands can offer. I mean just look at the Equus vs the ancient DTS or even the XTS. If I'm a competitor, I'm scared of what Hyundai could be in 10 years.

Cadillac ain't Mercedes. Even then the S is still not their profit center. The S-class pretty much is their profit center. In 2011, Mercedes sales are up 13%, but the S-class is up 25%. Pre-tax profit rose 58%, and their post tax profit of $1.75 billion in the first quarter exceeds their entire 2010 total. When the S-class is up, Mercedes profit is up. A couple years ago when the economy took a big downturn and S-class sales dropped, Daimler's profit dropped considerably.

They do when it's the Mercedes S-class. Problem is Cadillac needs credibility, which could be gained with a successful flagship, however, the flagship probably won't sell because of their brand image. They are sort of in a lose-lose.

Get the job and see what your salary is, and then figure out your monthly expenses, plus you want to have some emergency fund in the bank. Then you should know how much disposable income you have. Probably best to not max out on what you can afford to pay on a car, if it means living pay check to pay check or even falling behind. Unless you rarely spend money on entertainment or vacations, etc. I agree with Oldsmoboi, get a used car, much more cost effective.

While fun to speculate about it, the rumors have been going on for 8 years and still no word on if they will actually do it. Part of me thinks Cadillac just wants to keep teasing it so it seems like they are a top tier brand and they want to expand their offerings. Since 2003, the A8 and XJ have improved, the Hyundai Equus came at the low end, and cars like the Panamera, Rapide, and Quattroporte have filled in the high end sports luxury niches. This market is becoming more and more crowded, Cadillac is awfully late to the game. Although that being said, I think Cadillac needs a car in there, and it does need a brand new platform like Omega. Problem is cost. It's too expensive to build, and they won't sell enough of them. The bean counters will hate this car.

I wouldn't buy a compact, but if I had to, it would be the Accent, because it looks like an Elantra, which looks like a Sonata. And the Sonata is the greatest mid-sizer of all time. And the Accent has big warranty. And the Sonic is ugly.

Solid fuel economy figures, but at the same time, the Sonata, Fusion, Altima, and Camry all have full hybrid models that do better. So pricing will be key, they'll have to undercut the hybrids in the segment.

They should start calling it Chevrolet Classic and make it a fleet special by next year if they want to use the Impala name again. When it comes time to replace the W-body Impala, the nameplate will be in about the same position as "Cavalier" was in 2003. Unless they plan to let "Impala" soldier on a couple more years and rename the replacement car Caprice.

More power and less weight is good. I like that the grille doesn't have as much dark gray plastic visible. On the downside though, the grille looks a lot like the one on the STS. Perhaps it is the wheels also, but the car reminds me of the STS which looks dated and designed for the elderly at this point.

Poor interior packaging by Cadillac, likely do to the FWD chassis. Although the CTS also has a small interior for its exterior dimensions. I always thought you wanted the most interior space for an exterior dimension. Cadillac could also make the CTS front drive, price it at $29k, and sell 100,000 units a year, but that isn't exactly winning. All they did with the SRX is cheap it out and drop the price down to get sales. Cadillac gave up on the rear drive crossover SUV market, they gave up trying to match BMW and Mercedes in the mid-size (and mid-price) market. I don't think Cadillac needs to outsell Mercedes everywhere, but I do think Cadillac needs sales in all parts of the globe. I'd like to see high end and profitable sales too. Cadillac should be a car people aspire to own. I don't see what is so hard about Cadillac making small-medium-large sedans priced $35k-$50k-$80k. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi all do this, Infiniti covers the lower two, Jaguar does the top two. I'd like to see Cadillac build a lineup that matches the imports on size and price, and have some sales success. Even 3rd place in USA, 5th globally would be pretty good.

Did they confirm 35 mpg? I read there was no official EPA estimate or rating yet. Only the legendary Sonata does 35 mpg.

SRX is sized more like an X5 or ML-class. SRX and the RX sell because they appeal to the lowest common denominator of the luxury market. Sales does not necessarily equal prestige or profit. The Camry lights up every car on the sales chart, no one thinks the Camry is the best sedan in the USA. SRX may also sell because it is new, I am curious to see how it sells in year 3 or 4.

Exactly, Cadillac has chosen to compete with Lincoln and the bottom of the Lexus lineup, and wishes not to compete with the big league models. Sad. For all the great stuff the United States has engineered, we can't build a car that competes in the big leagues. And we had Duesenberg and Pierce Arrow, Cadillacs of the 1920s and 30s. We (and Rolls-Royce) were the big leagues long ago, it would be nice to see that once again.

Never a good sign when you take out more wheelbase than length. Weight will be interesting.

We need to know what it will cost.

I like the exterior, it looks quite good from the front and front 3/4 angle. The trunk looks better than the current car, but it has a bit too much Bangle-butt for my liking. I also like the interior overall, it has more style and finally a Nav screen. I do have a couple complaints about the interior. The wood trim is terrible, it looks worse than the fake stuff Buick has, GM needs to find a new fake-wood shop or else buy real or use something else. My other complaint is the overuse of blue lighting and the blue stitching on the brown seats. The color scheme of that interior clashes, but that is perhaps fixed by alternate interior color combinations. The engine seems like nothing special, there are more powerful currently for sale, and 35 mpg is the standard, so we'll have to see if the Malibu can hit better than 35 mpg. Otherwise the powertrain is just class average, although a lot of buyers in this class won't really care or notice the difference between 10-15 hp or 2-3 mpg. At least with the new Malibu, it looks like GM is willing to put up a fight to the Sonata and Optima.

I do think the Impala should switch to rear drive, basically taking the spot the G8 had, but rather than a car imported for Australia, design it here and give it an proper interior. It would give Chevy something similar to the Charger/300 and make it different than a LaCorsse. But if they make this with a 330 hp V6 standard, that is more than not just Buicks, but more than the ATS, CTS, XTS, and SRX. I don't think Cadillac dealers will be too happy if a Chevy Impala has a better engine than any of their sedans.

Sounds like a Fiero, so no, bad idea. And you have to have power steering, and I doubt a car with an aluminum chassis could be sold in the $20s. Cadillac can't even use aluminum at their price point.

I don't know, it looks the same as the current car that has 25% of it's sales going to Avis and Enterprise. The Malibu doesn't look better than the Sonata or Optima. The Accord coupe looks pretty good, but comparing 2 door to 4 isn't really fair. The Malibu has the 200/Avenger, Legacy and Camry beat in styling, but I wouldn't make it the clear cut winner of the class.