smk4565

The Black Series has flat plane crank, the other AMG V8’s do not.

Because that is how a Ferrari is. And it shouldn’t really matter, if you spend $100k on a car you aren’t worried about gas mileage and most of these will get driven a couple thousand miles a year so maintenance isn’t really an issue either. But Corvette fans like to bash the high revving, expensive, over complex Dohc V8s that the Europeans make, Corvette is copying that strategy and rightly so.

No way would they hit that kind of volume, the Corvette isn’t even sold in China, the worlds biggest car market and they barely sell any in Europe. Even years ago with the C5 and C6 30,000 sales was a good year in the USA and people don’t buy sports cars now. C8 is on pace for 29k sales in the US this year, chip shortage isn’t costing them half their sales. And last year they sold 21,600 Corvettes with no chip shortage. Ford once sold over 500k Mustangs in a year, this year they probably won’t get to 50,000 and next year will be worse. There is no volume in sports cars, which makes me think the only way manufacturers will be able to justify them is if they are over $100k.

I don’t know if it has stayed that true, besides the front engine to mid-engine switch, the Corvette is getting expensive, at least with all the higher trims. And it used to be that most Cadillacs were more expensive than a Corvette, the Corvette is more expensive than 5 of 6 Cadillacs which doesn’t really make sense for a Chevy. The Corvette is still a lot of performance per dollar, but with them costing $70-80k and young people not buying sports cars the Corvette has also become an old man’s car. I actually think they would be well served to put a turbo 4 with a mild hybrid in the C8, they could get the price in the low $50s probably get 23/33 mpg out of it do attract new buyers. Going up market to take on the Europeans pretty much ruined Cadillac, trying to push Camaro to higher prices and making it a track car is going to kill it off because people don’t fit in it, can’t see out of it, and it is too expensive for millennials or Gen Z to buy. I know GM wants to take the Corvette up to the high dollar range because they see European sports cars selling for $200-300k and making big profits off them, but that isn’t what the Corvette is. So are they going to attract new buyers and keep their core or price people out while the Euro snobs ignore it anyway?

Seems like they are going for Ferrari V8, DOHC, flat plane crank, high rev screamer. Probably will suck gas and require a lot of maintenance. Sort of doing everything opposite of what the Corvette usually stands for. Will be interesting to see how it is received, because usually Corvette enthusiasts don't care for the European style sports car, but they are turning the Corvette into a European style car in order to compete with European sports cars.

I don't think it is a very good looking car, in fact Ferrari hasn't made many good looking cars in a while, they seem to have peaked in the 90s as far as styling goes. Maybe that is why old Ferraris are worth so much, these new ones don't look so good.

Mercedes volume is way higher than Lincoln, Mercedes coupes are mostly high dollar or something like a C-class that is a re-bodied high volume sedan. Also Mercedes dropped SLC, S-class coupe/convertible and the C and E class coupe and convertible ate going to get merged into a CLE I assume similar to how the CLK was. They will have CLE, SL and GT as their 2-door offerings because the market just doesn’t support more than that.

Still have to stamp all the metal for a coupe body, have unique parts for lights, bumpers, grill, seats and interior probably won’t come from another vehicle so need to develop that too. Hard to make money on a low volume car that isn’t expensive. Could be possible that Lincoln will build a coupe even if they lose money on it just to have a halo product.

Yep. I am thinking of a convertible as my next car since I don’t use my back seat and if not now, when, because by 2030 there won’t be any 2 door cars left. Which will also raise prices of used convertibles.

Coupes won’t make money though, unless it has Porsche 911 pricing scheme. If the Zephyr works really well then maybe and that’s a big maybe. I think Zypher will go about as well as Continental did. Also the Mustang was the worst selling Ford last quarter not counting discontinued stuff like Fusion or Focus. Coupes are a hard business unless you have global footprint for volume and/or share the cost like Supra and Z4.

Coupe will probably never happen, maybe Lincoln gets 1 sedan. If Lincoln had 5 SUVs and 1 sedan, the sedan would likely be the lowest seller, so the product planning people probably won’t green light a sedan unless they play to grow how many vehicles they have. You could still do a SUV below Corsair and it would outsell any sedan, they can go above Navigator with an SUV and turn better profit than a sedan. I like sedans but most car companies don’t sadly.

Worth it for the growth rate they have, up 50% last year (when the industry overall was down 16%) and up 54% this year.

Tesla sold over 205,000 units in the 2nd quarter, a record number for them.

Automakers will get there by 2035. Battery tech will be figured out, EV pricing will be more like current gas powered pricing. By 2035 people won’t even want a gas car, like who today wants a cell phone from 2005? Or a TV from 2005? Or a V8 from 2005 with 300 hp that gets 17 mpg when a turbo 4 can make 300 hp now and get 27 mpg. Tech changes over 15 years.

Less competitive than what? We know Toyota does reliability and resale probably better than anyone. The 2022 Land Cruiser is 440 lbs lighter than the 2021, has a new twin turbo V6 with 409 hp and 479 lb-ft. Seems competitive, and the Land Cruiser I would guess is better off road than an Expedition or Yukon, probably more so than a Grand Wagoneer too. If they put a Lexus badge on, and pretty up the interior a bit, I don't see why it won't be a competitor to the Escalade and Navigator.

The 4Runner powertrain has to be the oldest still on sale today, that thing is Dodge Journey level old. But people still buy these, the resale value is insane on them, I don't get the appeal myself. I am surprised Toyota hasn't updated the Tacoma and 4Runner with new powertrains and new interiors. The new Land Cruiser is not coming here, but I have to imagine they will slap a Lexus badge on it and send it here. No way will Toyota spend the money to develop a new Land Cruiser and then just not send it to North America where they can cash in.

The EQC will probably never come here. I think the USA will only get Mercedes dedicated EV platform vehicles, and they will have replaced the current EQC and EQA that are built on the MRA and MFA platforms by the time they are ready to bring them to USA. They had to get EQC and EQA out in Europe or face billion dollar emissions fines.

Is their 2nd EV going to be called the Chapter 1? Maybe their last gasoline car will be the Epilogue.

46 is a low average buyer age for a premium brand, lower probably than any luxury brand is.

Tesla hit volume around 3-4 years ago when the Model 3 came out. That has put a dent in all luxury brands. 46 is younger than the average new car buyer which is mid 50s.

Mercedes outsold Tesla in Q1 of 2021 in the USA, but Mercedes needs their EV's and they have 2022 S-class hitting dealers soon, new C-class is out in Europe so should be here soon, that is a good volume model. But they need the EV's too for the consumer that will only consider EV. And I think the Cybertruck will sell in big numbers. People like what is new and exciting or different, the Cybertruck will deliver that, and with over 1,000 hp if you so choose.

Or do younger buyers not care about burled walnut wood trim, supple leather and lambs wool rugs, and all the stuff you find in a Rolls-Royce or a 90s Jaguar? Tesla with their let's call it mediocre interior, with a 4 model line up is still outselling Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Audi, etc. Brands with great names, long histories (except for Lexus) much better interiors than Tesla. Maybe upscale isn't in wood and leather, and it is in tech, lifestyle, sustainable material seats made from recycled plastic, etc. I am not saying it is, but Tesla has appeal with consumers, even with a worse interior than any rival. The problem is more how do you predict today what the market will want in 2025 and how to you capture that volume that Tesla is seeing.

Porsche actually bought VW. I also think copying Germans is a bad idea, Cadillac tried that for years with a lot of swing and miss products, and the Escalade which is traditional American and the opposite of German luxury has been their most successful product. I don't know they they didn't do more vehicles with Escalade characteristics rather than E90 3-series characteristics.

Tesla happened. So far this year they are outselling BMW, Lexus, Tesla, Volkswagen and Mazda. They need their EV fleet to prevent people leaving them for Tesla.

The Mach-E interior is better than Tesla's. People will still buy the Tesla over it for performance, technology, charging network and brand image. It isn't as easy to just roll and EV out there and take out Tesla. The EV purists probably won't even consider a car from a brand that makes ICE vehicles, the Tesla loyalists are die hard, they won't consider anything else, and for people that never have bought an EV, they are probably going to trust Tesla who has more EV experience than anyone and the best charging network than the traditional OEM's. Will take a lot of time, effort and money to displace Tesla as the top EV maker.