smk4565

About the Sonata, at idle you can't tell the engine is running, even with the radio and HVAC off. The engine is very quiet and vibration free. The Audi 2.0T vibrates the whole car at stop lights. In normal driving I thought the Sonata 2.4L was quite good, north of 4,000 rpm maybe it wasn't as smooth as an Audi, but I didn't do much aggressive driving with it. The 2008 Malibu was a pretty big leap forward from the 04-07 Malibu, and the current car has already gotten lost in the back of the pack. The 2013 Malibu doesn't seem like enough of an improvement over the current car. It seems like less of a leap forward form the teasers we have seen. My worry is they didn't push the bar high enough, especially if they just recycle the Regal's powertrains which already lag behind the Accord/Camry/Sonata/Altima.

I think refinement and fuel economy are more important than horsepower gains. I've driven a Sonata and found the engine to be more refined and quiet than the 4-bangers I've driven from Audi or Saab.

Can't build an SRX-V with a transverse mounted engine. Much like they can't do an XTS-V. Should have made all these rear wheel drive, then 550 hp is fair game on all of them.

If money was no object, I'd be torn between the Jaguar XF and Jaguar XJ, supercharged of course.

It looks nice, and has some Equinox look to the front so it blends well with other Chevys and it looks similar to the current car. My only concern is it looks too similar to the current car, and it shares some similarities with the Regal. This is a car that could blend in, or people may not realize it is new/updated, and think it is just the same old car carrying on. They played it very safe and took no chances, time will tell if that was the best strategy.

Drop a diesel in that sucker.

Exactly, I thought the reason they sold it in other countries was to work bugs out and have a flawless launch. Steering wheel falling off is a pretty big problem. Car & Driver just did a small car comparison and the Cruze was 4th out of 5. Civic and Corolla weren't in that, since they are dated and getting redone soon. I can see the Cruze being back of the pack by 2012, and a rental sedan like the Cobalt with deep discounts by 2013. And when is the new one, 2016 or beyond? Then GM will replace it with a new car with a new name.

Agreed, the Hyundai Elantra has bluetooth. I was surprised that wasn't already standard on the SRX.

Good move, should have had the 3.6 liter from the start. The old SRX had the 3.6 and a V8, they really downgraded engines for the redesign.

Cadillac does need to up their game in interiors, and in engineering, but they have the ability to do that. And I think Cadillac can make more dramatic looking or visually appealing cars than the Germans. Jaguar and Aston Martin have that ability to make beautiful cars, that aren't in your face offensive, they are pretty yet elegant, I think Cadillac can do that also. VW took the Jetta downmarket, but the new Toureg is $60k, and the interior in that is better than the Escalade and blows away the SRX. It depends on what end of the VW spectrum you look at. Yet people seem to have a high opinion of VW, perhaps because it is German or is usually priced above a Toyota or Ford or Chevy. Overall I think VW is a bit overrated, but according to Forbes and JD power they rate very high on appeal.

To extend my point, Forbes just published a list of auto brands that Americans think are the best. The top brands were (in order): Porsche, Lexus, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Acura, Audi, Volkswagen 5 out of 8 German, that is what the people aspire to own. That type of car works. Cadillac needs to build similar, size, price, fuel efficiency, and reliability as the Germans. But with Art & Science style and more comfortable interiors. The Germans, and Lexus/Acura for that matter aren't strong in design or creativity, Cadillac can beat them there.

All three German luxury brands sell over 1 million units a year by being utter fleet whores outside of the U.S. and selling stripped down models with 180hp 4-cylinder engines.... is that what you want Cadillac to do? Yet transaction prices on the German cars are still higher than what Cadillac gets. In China, the Cadillac SLS has a base price 10,000 RMB lower than a C260. Although the SLS can be optioned up higher than the C-class goes, it is still under E-class pricing, and the E300 is the top end E-class there. The Chinese E-class is pretty well stocked with equipment, if Cadillac had the same feature/content list I think they would be in good shape. And yes, Cadillac should put diesel and turbo 4's in cars for countries with high traffic congestion, high gas prices or CO2 taxes. Especially in ATS and CTS sized cars, and have more powerful engines as an option. Cadillac has to model what the Germans are doing because they need volume. The other option is to go up in price, but and go high price/low volume, but I don't think they can get the high prices. I don't see people paying $60,000 for a V6 CTS or $90,000 for an XTS. And Cadillac doesn't have an SLS AMG or Audi R8 type of specialty car they can charge $190k for.

$45k for a 300C loaded up, an SRT8 will likely be around $50k. The interior may be much improved over the old car, but the old car had a bad interior. The 2011 300C in my opinion is still behind the LaCrosse, Taurus, Genesis, and even an Avalon or Maxima in interior. If you want to go fast for $50k and have a bad interior, just buy a Corvette. At least that won't lose half its value in 2 years. This car is more expensive than a CTS with that interior. Yes it does 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, but I'd bet a V6 CTS can out handle it. All this car is, is a 6.4 liter engine in a $30k car, and a mediocre $30k car at that. This is typical Chrysler, all they know how to do is build an uncompetitive product and then cram a huge engine into it in hopes of getting a few people in love with muscle car nostalgia to buy it. Why don't they take that $13 billion the government gave them and get to 35 mpg CAFE, because right now they are last place of all automakers.

There is a difference in improving driving dynamics, build quality, and performance so that it is competitive with or beating other luxury brands, and not having identity. Lincoln for example has no identity, unless you call a rebadged Ford with no clear brand image identity. Cadillac needs to improve their products, but they need to have American styling and image, they have to find something they stand for. Cadillac has to build cars that people want, the Germans and Lexus figured this out in the 90s, while Cadillac put square pegs in round holes, which led to Cadillac's downfall. The challenge for Cadillac is to align their products with the others in the luxury market but do it in a unique way that stands out. And Cadillac can not just ignore Europe. The E.U., China, and U.S. are the 3 major auto markets. Cadillac can't just not compete in one of the big 3, while trailing in the other two. Japan is pretty closed off, so where outside of the U.S. is Cadillac going to get sales? All three German luxury brands sell over 1 million units a year, that gives them economies of scale and ability to spend a lot of R&D dollars per model line. Cadillac will have a hard time keeping up if they only have American sales and no where else to generate revenue.

You might want to put a bit of effort into getting your facts straight...the '11 body is not the '05-10 body. Similar shape, but no panels in common. And it's probably only 4500lbs or so. Yes it is new panels, but it is basically the same. They made some improvements, but to me all they did was a mid cycle refresh of a 6 year old car. It wasn't like the 300 went through the transformation the LaCrosse had from W-body to Epsillon 2.

The teaser photo of the interior looks promising. It looks like there will be a big upgrade from the current car, and finally GM realized that touch-screen nav is popular, something that should have been on the 2008 car. I'd like to see the whole interior, but so far I like what I see. And the current Malibu's interior isn't bad, but nothing really wows me about it either.

I don't know why everyone is in love with this car, it the same body as the 05 model with headlights off a Town & Country. Interior is monotone charcoal gray, and it is no doubt SUV heavy. It's $50k for a mediocre sedan that goes fast in a straight line.

I agree with Z06, Cadillac, like many American car brands has lost it's identity and a lot of the American brands are just chasing or copying what else is out there. Cadillac needs better focus, but at least they have their own look with the sharp edge Art & Science theme. American styling is good, but they need cars that they can sell globally. Only the CTS works outside of the USA, and it barely registers any international sales. Which brings us to the real problem of Cadilac. Most of their line is built of platforms for Chevy/Buick so they are restricted on what they can do. Cadillac needs it's own platforms that are designed with global performance/luxury in mind. Taking LaCrosse and Equinox platforms and trying to make a Mercedes out of it is insane. (this is why Lincoln is in the tank)

Yes they should, but they need global cars that can win here and in other countries. Which they currently do not have. I'd build cars that work globally, and try to get success here first before branching out.

They don't need a team, that is just more waste of time and dollars. Stop making Ford rebadges and maybe people will buy Lincolns. I actually like the front end of the MKZ and MKS, but from the sides, they are Ford sedans. Engine, chassis, transmission, etc are from a Ford sedan; interior is similar to a Ford sedan, and bolting on bright chrome to a Ford isn't a luxury car, it just results in a tacky looking Ford. Lincoln is now beyond saving, and will become more along the lines of Buick and Chrysler. I think that is a dangerous spot to be as mainstream brands like Hyundai (even Toyota/Ford/Chevy) creep up in price and feature content and luxury brands like Infiniti and Lexus come down in price. That puts a big squeeze on the tweener cars. Lincoln is also a gutless automaker, that is content with a lineup of Ford rebadges, they even rebadged an F150 for a number of years. What I don't understand is Ford has a 5.0 DOHC V8, a hybrid system, and a rear drive platform, and they never thought to put all 3 together in a Lincoln.

Throw the 2.4L in there with a 4-speed auto. It'll cost less and help slightly with CAFE Yes, because people claim the 2.4 liter in the 4,000 lb LaCrosse or Equinox provides adequate acceleration, in a 3200 lb Corvette it should be a rocket. The Z06 could get the 2.0T.

The Corvette buyer I believe is mid 50s and rising every year. Lowering the price would get sales, but that is why they make the Camaro, a cool looking sports car at a lower price point, and it has a back seat, even if it is little. Price is an issue though, $50k to start, and easily to $60k with a couple option packages, for an interior not fit for a $25k car. I think price needs to drop back to $44k to start and $50k with the typical options. The car used to be more affordable and have a better value proposition, they need to get that back. Aside from price point, the car has some flaws. They have used the same formula for a long time, thus it looks out dated or old fashioned to younger buyers. I mean that car has leaf springs, and basically the same engine since the 1970s. The Corvette also is very plasticy and not very refined, due to the old fashioned blueprint and fiberglass body. Asking people to spend $60k for lack of refinement is tough. Next problem, interior is horrible. With no back seat, this is a single person's car or a person with grown kids car (or second car for someone with disposable income, read older people). So a percentage of buyers are automatically turned away because it is 2 seats, the people on the fence about a 2-seater better we wowed about the interior. And the Vette's interior is behind the 2012 Focus, it is embarrassingly bad. The easy ways to improve the Corvette are make it not as wide, add a back seat, lower the price, add a V6 that is easier on gas, and Chevy already did that with the Camaro and the Camaro is selling well. I would keep the Corvette 2 seats, add a V6, update the chassis, shape, technology to make it more modern, and most importantly, quantum leap in interior quality. I think they have to address the lineup as well, there is too big a price gap from base car to ZR1. They should focus on $43-60k like the old days, or if they want to play big, make it $80k base and go after Porsche, Aston, etc.

Exactly. A volt convertible would weigh 4,500 lbs. I think the Volt convertible goes on sale the same day as the Honda Crosstour convertible.

Looks promising so far. Fiercely competitive segment and a new Camry is coming too.

The Fiat 500 is the new Saturn Astra, except smaller with less room. $15,500 base and hardly any equipment. It may sell off novelty in year one, but then people will realize you are getting Aveo/Versa like equipment in an even smaller car at the price of an Elantra or Corolla. The Fiat 500 is not their savior. Mercedes couldn't save Chrysler, Fiat surely can't either. Chrysler is going down, all the 2nd bailout did was delay judgement day, it didn't prevent it. And when Chrysler does go out of business once and for all, GM and Ford will be better off because of it. I look forward to America having 2 strong car companies, rather than 3 weak to mediocre companies that we had over the past 5-10 years.