
smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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I didn't say it had to be 3300 pounds, especially not in V8 form, that isn't happening. I just questioned if even the base 4-cylinder turbo would weigh around 3300 pounds, because GM cars are often heavier than class average, and 3300 pounds would put it on the light side of the class. Of course all those cars have flaws, especially the non-sporty Lexus and the cheap interior Mercedes, although they still have good reputations. The new Audis seem pretty good. I don't like iDrive and am not a fan of BMW styling, but their brakes, steering and suspension are excellent and can make you forget how dumb iDrive is rather quickly.
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M3 has a V8 C63 has a V8 RS4 has a V8 IS-F has a V8 Why does this car not need a V8? The V-series needs at least a 7-speed transmission, the IS-F has 8-speed. And they already sell that, Cadillac is bringing out a similar car in 2012, that is 4-5 years behind the curve.
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1. Can GM make a car platform that is only 3300 pounds? Most of their stuff is heavier than class average 2. They have to compete against the A4 also, they better make the interior better than Audi and better than BMW 3. The 3-series has 6 cylinders (perhaps the best 6-cylinder on the planet) and a V8, Cadillac better have the same 4. Agreed, but they need a heavy duty version for the V-series 5. Agreed, and wouldn't mind seeing it start at $34,000 And there will be an all new 3-series when this car comes out, so Cadillac better not just build something as good as the current A4 or 3-series, they better do better. The 3-series has been king for 25 years, for Cadillac to beat it on the first try is a near impossible task, unfortunately, it is what they have to do if they want to stay in business.
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Driving Away Excitement...G8 dead in 5 years
smk4565 replied to mustang84's topic in Heritage Marques
This brand is dead come 2013. Solstice and G8 have no replacement, G6 is living on til 2012 or so with no update, G5, G3, Vibe are lame rebadges. There is no point it keeping this brand anymore, give up and spend the money on Chevy. -
GM to absorb Chrysler - as Chrysler absorbed AMC?
smk4565 replied to Oracle of Delphi's topic in General Motors
Plymouth, AMC, Studebaker, Oldsmobile, Eagle Packard, and Hudson all had history too, and they are all gone. History and pleasing dealers has nothing to do with it. It hinges on how many brands can a shrinking American car market support, and right now the Detroit 3 have too many models, and too much capacity, so they have to give huge incentives to move metal. They've all done the same basic tactics for the last 15 years and it isn't working, GM needs a radical change, this could be it. -
GM to absorb Chrysler - as Chrysler absorbed AMC?
smk4565 replied to Oracle of Delphi's topic in General Motors
I say do it. With Chrysler's $11 billion in cash they can pay off all the dealers to close. Close down GMC brand, and put Jeep (Wrangler, Liberty, Grand Cherokee, Ram) in its place. Chevy gets a minivan, the 300C could go to Buick or Chevy and everything else dies. GM would get a few products and factories that have value, and clear out one competitor in the market. -
Getting Hummer one more step to being gone is a good thing. I don't think Jim Taylor had done such a hot job with Cadillac over the past few years, so I am glad they are getting someone else. The renaissance that LaNeve started stalled badly when Taylor came in.
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I just read that Cadillac may put the 4.5 liter diesel V8 in the CTS, which is very intriguing depending on what kind of mileage the engine gets.
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I think the pricing is good, pretty much what I expected. It is a lot of styling, performance and value. The base model has floor mats as an option, so I am guessing it is pretty stripped down. I would imagine most cars have an equipment group or LT package and there won't be many $22,995 models built anyway, most will be $25-27,000.
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Where is Kirk Kerkorian? This is his chance to buy GM, Ford or Chrysler. I don't know why he was buying 10% stakes in those companies in the past, and here is the chance to buy 100% and he is nowhere to be found. Which is probably better for the Detroit 3, but I am just surprised his name hasn't come up.
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But it is a GM-Chrysler merger, not GM-Cerebus. And even GMAC is barely making money now with the mortgage and banking problems. Cerebus owns 51% of GMAC, I doubt GM wants it back.
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Chrysler has nothing to bring to the table, none of their stuff is competitive anymore, their interiors are bad, engines are dated and unrefined, and the LX platform is old too. Chrysler and GM are both too deep in debt, with declining revenue and not turning a profit. If either were that appealing to buy, Toyota would have done it already. I don't think this merger will happen, but I do think Chrysler will be bankrupt and gone by 2015.
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I thought about this a year or so ago when Chrysler was for sale. The only way it works is if the new company sheds a bunch of dead brands like Dodge, Saab, and Hummer and repositions the leftovers, but Chrysler has become over 40% fleet sales, so they have lost the status to be positioned between Chevy and Cadillac. Chrysler has nothing of value to offer GM, it would just be more brands and dealers at this point, and a dated, uncompetitive product lineup. Bad idea to merge. It would make more sense to merge with Ford, make Saturn small import style cars again, GMC, Pontiac, Mercury, Hummer, Buick, Saab die, Ford and Chevy handle mainstream, Lincoln is a step up, and Cadillac is a step up from that. Although they could probably keep Buick as well and keep them as soft luxury and Lincoln a little more tech and sportiness like Acura and Infiniti.
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Agree that Olds will never come back, but Rolls-Royce isn't going anywhere. They have been doing well this year and have a new model coming. There will always be people willing to pay $330,000 for a car, especially in Dubai. A Duesenberg comeback would be incredible, but no one would do the name justice. Duesenberg was the greatest car ever built in my opinion.
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Nova doesn't work in Spanish speaking countries, GM went down that road before. They should just call it Cobalt, so they aren't changing names with every new model launch. Civic and Corolla have been around 35 years or so, people know what they are. Chevy's small car in 2030 should still be Cobalt.
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Hiatus won't work for a brand, the dealers whine now about not having enough products (when they should want quality over quantity) so they won't go for it. The brand is pretty much dead anyway. I think a 3 tier setup of Chevy-Oldsmobile-Cadillac (maybe with saturn as the Holden/Opel import outlet) could have worked but too late for that.
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After Employee Pricing Ends 9/30/08 - What's Next?
smk4565 replied to rivieraranch's topic in General Motors
GM seems to be in the business of selling discounts and deals rather than selling superior product, so I would expect some fall sales event, followed by the Red Tag holiday event. -
If GM decides to kill/emasculate Pontiac...
smk4565 replied to Camino LS6's topic in Heritage Marques
Even if only 1/3 was real money, that is still a $31 billion difference. And GM is going to lose money this year and probably next, while Toyota is raking it in. I know Pontiac isn't the reason they are losing money, but the company is losing too much to keep operating the way they have in the past. -
If GM decides to kill/emasculate Pontiac...
smk4565 replied to Camino LS6's topic in Heritage Marques
The media is already having a field day, but who cares about them they need to build cars that beat Honda, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes. GM has lost $51.3 billion in the past 3 years. Meanwhile Toyota made $42.75 billion in profit. That is a 94 billion dollar difference over 3 years. GM isn't going to be competitive for very long at that rate. It's time to cut the fat and pour money into Chevy and Cadillac and protect the core. -
I was thinking Mercedes GL class proportions, but aluminum could make the Escalade lighter and give it a performance and fuel economy edge. Obviously rear drive, maybe even go after the Range Rover a little bit.
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Why not make the Escalade a unibody aluminum frame vehicle, with a diesel V6 and DOHC V8, both with a two mode hybrid option and 7-8 speed transmission. You don't get to "standard of the world" with Chevy/Buick platforms and front drive SUVs.
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If GM decides to kill/emasculate Pontiac...
smk4565 replied to Camino LS6's topic in Heritage Marques
No one should be upset if Pontiac goes away. G3 and G5 fans can get the same car at Chevy, Vibe fans can get a Toyota, G6 fans can find a better car in the Aura or Malibu, Solsstice fans can get a Sky, and the G8 isn't selling, and they could easily sell a Holden as a Chevy. GM's road to recovery is not in rebadged Pontiacs and GMCs, it is in making Chevy at least equal to Honda and Toyota, and Cadillac equal to Mercedes, BMW and Lexus. Chevy and Cadillac have a long way to go still, Pontiac, Saab, Hummer are distractions at this point. -
If GM decides to kill/emasculate Pontiac...
smk4565 replied to Camino LS6's topic in Heritage Marques
I don't care if Pontiac gets killed, they are mostly making rental cars now anyway. They probably should kill the brand or make them rental car only with 3 models. I'd rather see them make better Cadillacs and Chevrolets than to keep wasting dollars on G3's and G5's no matter how incremental the cost to do it. Cadillac has to go up market to where they should have been all along, GM needs Cadillac as a symbol of greatness for American cars. Many people have an image/perception that American cars are unreliable junk made of plastic that have poor handling. Cadillac needs to get to Mercedes level pricing and restore the lost image of American cars. Cadillac is the last brand that can do it, Chrysler can't, Lincoln can't, it's Cadillac or nothing. -
But where I live there is a Buick-Subaru dealership and a Pontiac-GMC-Hummer-Saab dealership. Cadillac-Saab or B-P-G is basically impossible as rival companies own them. The Saab dealership used to have it's own building, but closed down, and they are in the Pontiac showroom now.
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How do you pay for it? They can't keep the models they have now current, if they add models, they'll be on 8-10 year life cycles.