smk4565

It it called Theta premium by some, the platform is steel or whatever the Thetas are, but the suspension components are aluminum like the CTS. Epsilon is a platform for $20,000 mediocre sedans, what there is any good for a Cadiallc SUV. The SRX is moving down market, I predict a $36-48k price, against the MKX and RX350.

Well Cadillac has far less money than BMW. The XLR is rumored to be done after 2011 or so, and they weren't going to do one based off the C7 Corvette. STS and DTS are dying in 2010 with no replacement. So it's CTS sedan/coupe/wagon, SRX, Escalade and an Alpha car.

Like the Enclave was a "hot seller" and such a hit when they are selling 38,000 a year, while Lexus had years of 100k sales of the more expensive RX. The Lucerne and LaCrosse combined have sold 55,000 in the first 8 months this year, that puts them on pace to sell about 83,000 total. If they move the LaCrosse up market, and don't fleet it, they lose a few sales, and the entry-lux market is already saturated. This is a 50k a year sales volume car, with the Lucerne sales dropping to about 25-30k units a year when it comes out.

This car will never touch $42k, my guess is $25,795 to about $34,000 loaded. And it will be a sales dud like the Aura, Astra and G8, unless the Lucerne dies off and they pick up some of that market plus sell to Avis and Enterprise for "premium" class rental car.

Theta platform with aluminum suspension. It is nothing special and the engine is mounted the wrong way for a Cadillac.

The CTS looks overweight, the wheel arches bulge out too much and the body below the windows looks much wider than it does at the roof. And the trunk is high and chunky looking. The old one was a little slab-sidded, but the overall proportions I thought were better. The 3-series isn't striking, but using a similar look all those years helps people recognize that it is a BMW and helps with resale. A lot of GM cars change look so much, by the time they are 8-10 years old they look grossly outdated. Although I wouldn't buy a 3-series either because they are too common and too many wannabees have them. 5-series is ugly, so I wouldn't buy that either. Jaguar XF is probably for me.

BMWs don't have much in common with a Jetta, aside from the company is based in the same country. The Malibu and CTS are more similar than a Jetta and 3-series.

Because BMW's performance exceeds everyone else. No one else has the ride/handling balance they have, and BMWs let you feel connected to the road. I agree that the rest isn't that remarkable. I don't care for the styling inside or out, they use good materials and the car is well built. But when you drive a 5-series, you forget about the dumb iDrive or Bangle butt because the thing drives perfectly. Driving dynamics make a BMW what it is, and that is something other's can't copy. A lot of other luxury brands focus on wood and leather, nav-system, or sound deadening, stereo system, etc. That is easy to copy, anyone can do that stuff. The engineering aspect is what sets the Germans and particularly BMW apart from the rest.

Well the Accord still sells close to Camry volume. Marketing, personal tastes and image of the car are going to play a big part even if a car is worse than another. The Aurora sold pretty well for a $35-40k car in the 01 model year, but sales dropped big time when they announced the brand was going to die. The CTS is a good car, it just can't perform like a BMW, so it is unwise for Cadillac to target BMW, they won't get those buyers anyway. They need to go after Lincoln owners that only buy American as well as other American car owners trading up, Acura owners that like techy stuff and push the nav screen/hard drive. Maybe they can get a few Infiniti or Lexus drivers because the CTS sits in the middle of a G35 and ES350 on the sport - luxury spectrum. If they want to go after the Germans, they need to more with the car, and equip it and price it like an E-class. But I think Cadillac knows people won't spend $52k base for a CTS or any other Cadillac sedan for that matter. So that is why they are the "value" luxury brand.

I am all for gas mileage improvements, but I wouldn't make a special edition of a car and add even more badges to the car for 1 mpg. To prove my point that GM does too many gimmick inspired special editions, the Hummer H2 "Black Chrome limited edition" came out today. What's the point, Hummer sales are dead, a chrome package isn't going to change that.

Apples to apples would be BMW selling a low resistance tires, manual transmission 328i with an XFE badge on the back. Maybe they can do a Corvette XFE, the manual Corvette gets 1 mpg better than the automatic.

I'd say the M models are even more so than AMG or V-series. Cadillac and Mercedes drop i an a huge engine, flashy wheels, and beef up the suspension. The M3 has a carbon fiber roof to cut weight and lower the center of gravity. The M's are a bit more race car inspired, AMG and V-series cars are heavy. BMW and Mercedes can sell a car on merit, even Toyota can sell on a reputation for reliability. I wish GM spent more time making a class leading car, and less time putting body kits or SS/GXP packages on stuff like G6s and Impalas, which are just rental cars.

If most people most of the time found the CTS to be equal or better, than most people would buy it. I agree that the CTS is a credible car in the entry luxury class, but it is large, so 3-series buyers probably aren't looking at it. CTS is closer to the STS, Lexus, G35, MKZ, TL.

The XFE thing is tacky to begin with. GM has too many badges and gimmicks on cars. They should just make a good product, not put SS badges on Malibus, or XFE badges over a 15 mpg truck. Why can't they sell a vehicle on merit, rather than on SS, XFE, Super, special edition, $3500 cash back, $179 a month lease etc. GM sells deals and gimmicks more so than they sell cars.

Equal or better at what? The CTS doesn't perform as well, doesn't have the resale value a bmw has, and the 3-series outsells it by a big margin.

Well it probably is heavy.

I guess this is Cadillac's new flagship since the STS and DTS are dying in 2010 and not being replaced with anything. I don't like the rear window on the coupe, something about the size of it or the slope or Prius/wedge shape of the back doesn't seem right.

Isn't Theta-Epsilon just the theta platform with a better, aluminum suspension? Equinox, BRX, 9-4X, Terrain should all come in at 4000 pounds in AWD trim if GM knows what they are doing, but I predict closer to 4500. A Vue V6 awd is heavier than the current SRX and the Lambdas are near 5,000 pounds, which is more than the GMT360s.

Looks too much like a Vue. I wonder if this thing is 4500 pounds?

Every Chrysler I've sat in has been bad, the 300C interior is about what the Accord, Sonata or Malibu have, but the 300C costs $40,000. The 300C is priced with the CTS, the 300 pails in comparison.

That interior is embarrassingly bad. All Chrysler interiors are far from the competition, I can't see Chrysler lasting very long.

Hooray for rebadges. Shape looks awfully similar to the Equinox, 9-4x, SRX. We definitely need 4 mid size cross overs to go with the 4 Lambda full size brand imaged cross overs. They better make a Buick version too. Crossovers are down 21% this year, and GM is bringing 4 more out. Where are the cars? Oh right, "they are coming in 2 years"

The TL if it grows 5 inches is 194.3 inches long, which is about what the Accord is. The Acura RL is 193.6 inches long, so Acura has 2 cars of the same size, with basically the same power/drive configuration. Edmunds says the TL is square in the mid size market with the 5-series and E-class, but the TL is $34-42,000. Do they not know an E-class bases at $52,000, a base E-class is more than a loaded RL. And the MKS is 204 inches long, that is the size an extended 7-series or LS460L, so that isn't in the mid-size segment either. What will hurt the MKS is it is huge and front drive, which isn't a good combination Lucerne and DTS sales are proof of that. The MKS may take the big front drive market away from the G-body cars or Town Car, but that is about it. If these brands want to go after the Germans they better use rear drive, overly engineered cars that are low in weight.

Buick isn't a luxury car, so it shouldn't be at a Cadillac dealership. And Saab is just as weak in Europe as they are here, there is no reason for keeping a brand that doesn't sell and doesn't make money.

Hard for the Malibu to post better sales when GM produces the Impala, Aura, G6, LaCrosse that are within a couple thousand dollars of the Malibu and compete with it. Plus the Accord and Camry have solid reputations and their customer base is loyal.