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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    I didn't tear it down, I said it isn't a bad price for the combo of performance and fuel economy. But wagons are non-sellers in general. And this new era of Volvo is much better than it was in the Ford ownership days, but I don't think a single product they make is considered near the top in their segment and a 2 liter 4 cylinder is the biggest engine the brand has. That's a fine engine for small sedans and crossovers but can you imagine Cadillac saying the biggest engine they will offer is a 2 liter 4 cylinder? Or that the CT5-V will have a top speed of 112 mph? And the CLA45 has great performance for front wheel drive, but it is doesn't have the performance of a C63 or GLC63 that send power to the rear wheels. I am not anti front wheel drive, I am anti-front wheel drive for $70,000 when there are significantly better performing rear wheel drive cars at that price.
  2. smk4565
    I’d gladly match up the CLA45’s performance against the V60 Polestar. The CLA45 is 700 lbs lighter, that’s a lot less weight to haul around. Also Volvo S60/V60 are sized and priced more like a C-class. The problem with these Polestar Volvos, or any Volvo, is they don’t have better performance than an AMG or M or Tesla, don’t have a better interior than an Audi or Mercedes, aren’t priced better than a Genesis. So the brand is kind of lost. And does this performance Volvo have a top speed of 112 mph because of safety restrictions?
  3. smk4565
    A wagon is going to be a non-seller. I don't think $69k is a bad price for that level of performance and the fuel economy and electric range. I think if this was a little cheaper it would be more compelling, also if it was rear wheel drive based. On power they top the CT4/CT5-V and Genesis G70 and Acura TLX Type-S which is about $55k. I assume this is available in sedan version or will be, I think the current Volvos look good on the inside and out, but I'd question the performance of the front wheel drive chassis compared to all the rear drive cars in the $60-70k range. At $40k, it doesn't matter, you aren't getting big performance at that price. Question is he is how is handling and performance compared to the cheaper G70, because Volvo is pushing this as a performance car and nearing some AMG and M pricing.
  4. smk4565
    Well if Cybertruck or the Hummer have 1,000, what is Ram’s answer? All they have are dinosaur Hemi V8s that are crazy thirsty. And Ram probably won’t have an EV til 2025 at best. The big issue is money, FCA had none, much like Nissan has none, hopefully PSA had some but we’ll see how the merger goes. Elon has near endless money to build whatever he wants.
  5. smk4565
    The Durango is a unibody CUV. MB already built something better than the TRX.
  6. smk4565
    I would hope that Mercedes doesn't compete with crap that is built on a chassis leftovers from a 2006 Mercedes ML. I'd also say the Explorer, Highlander, Pilot, Palisade, Telluride and CX-9 are all better all around vehicles than the Durango, and I'd probably say, Atlas, Enclave and Traverse which are more the weaker vehicles in the segment and are arguably better than Durango.
  7. smk4565
    True, but the Hellcat Ram generates demand for other Rams, that is where the money is then made. It makes the Ram seem more bad ass or cooler than the Silverado that tops out at 420 hp or whatever and doesn't have a cool name or gimmick. Although the gimmicks eventually wear out, and having good product matters more than something like a Duragno Hellcat, where the Durango is probably among the worst vehicles in the segment. But that is how Dodge has kept a dying brand alive thus far.
  8. smk4565
    They could do a twin turbo V6. Demand almost doesn't even matter. I wonder how many Hellcat Durangos actually sell, because who wants a $80k Dodge Durango, but putting that Hellcat gets the internet talking and creates some free advertising and might steer some dealership traffic, even if those people walk out with a Pentastar V6 Durango instead. The Hellcat Ram will drive some dealer traffic and create some buzz for the Ram. And I bet there is a Ram Demon with 800 hp coming.
  9. smk4565
    Yes, everyone makes cuts. Also keep in mind Mercedes is adding EQS, EQE, EQA and EQB and perhaps more EV's those are just the 4 that have test mules running and are near ready. And they'll put out a some sort of convertible and coupe around $50k, they aren't going to have their cheapest 2-door car start at $100k.
  10. smk4565
    On the Colorado maybe a V8 doesn’t fit and they use turbos, either way horsepower doesn’t cost a lot yet customers pay a premium for it. Ford could “eco boost” the 5.0 Coyote V8, I don’t know why they never did. Really I don’t know why 100% of Ford engines aren’t ecoboost by now. And big horsepower sells when times are good, Toyota revenue was down 50% for the first half of the year. If auto sales tank all these guys will focus on their volume product and trim.
  11. smk4565
    Yes I have said for years they should do that as far as the 750 hp goes. It has very little development cost and they can charge a pretty penny for it.
  12. smk4565
    They want them super expensive because it is easy profit margin. Chevy could put a 490 hp Corvette engine in a Colorado/Canyon and charge $65,000 for it as Cyclone or SS. Easily can add $20,000 to the price and beefing up the brakes and suspension 15% and going from V6 to V8 probably costs them $5,000 so they clear $15,000. As long as people pay big money for trucks the manufacturers will keep making them more and more expensive.
  13. smk4565
    I’d bet on Elon Musk before betting on anyone running GM, Ford or Excellious or whatever the hell the company that builds the Ram truck is called. Elon is worth $76 billion, GM’s whole company is worth $42 billion and Ford is worth $27 billion. So Elon must be doing something right. Also the billionaires on Wall Street aren’t billionaires by betting on losers and they have bet on Elon. And Ram will make some nice short term profits off the Hellcat TRX, but just all these Dodge/Chrysler products are really dated. At some point you need actual new stuff.
  14. smk4565
    Surprised it took this long, for Botha Raptor competitor and for a Hellcat Ram. I think there is room for an off road Ram with less power at less price and also something more like the Ram SRT-10 that was a more road focused truck with the Hellcat. Also don’t know why there isn’t a ZR1 engine in a Silverado, it is easy to drop in a big engine and jack up the price and people will pay it. Of course is Tesla can pull off the Cybertruck then all bets are off.
  15. smk4565
    I am excited for it. Will be nice to see some new entrants and cars that the rest of the world gets that we don’t. And Citroen and Peugeot make crossovers too.
  16. smk4565
    Correct on the 7:48 time for CLA45/A45, I think I miss read something. But that would beat a current CT5-v in a battle of similar priced 4-doors. Maybe, but those Broncos will be a hot item, they’ll sell for over sticker the first 6 months, Ford will have the 0% financing and cash back offers on F150 from day 1. The average incentive on a full size truck in the USA is around $9,000. They aren’t discounting Broncos I know that.
  17. smk4565
    Steve Carlisle has now said under $60k for Lyriq. Moving people from Chevy to Cadillac is great for GM maybe not great for the Chevy dealer if they don’t have a Cadillac dealership. I have a coworker with a 2015 F150 who is really interested in the Bronco. That might be a move across rather than move up but I think there is a good amount of move up within a brand.
  18. smk4565
    Sure they move up within a brand. Escalade buyers never owned a Cadillac before? Impala or Equinox don’t pull buyers from Cobalt, Cruze or Malibu? If any brand is letting all those 3 year lease return customers go out the door instead of moving them up through the brand or at least keeping them in brand, they are not doing their job.
  19. smk4565
    Rumor now is that the Lyriq will start under $60k. That’s a good move but we still need to see the final version. But price is key to this car, they have to make the pricing look like a good deal to get people to buy a Lyriq over an XT5 or a rival brand’s product. And maybe GM is willing to lose money on them because they need CAFE numbers and want to keep cranking out Silverados and big SUVs, and the CAFE helpers like Sonic, Cruze, etc are gone.
  20. smk4565
    The CLA goes to over $76,000. And the CLA45 does the Nurburgring ring in 7:42 which is the same as the estimated time of the 640 hp CTS-V so it no doubt would spank the CT5-V. If we do get a Blackwing CT5 I imagine it will edge out the CLA45, but not the bigger AMG’s.
  21. smk4565
    The CT5 starts $10k lower than the CTS, and it is 3 inches shorter which doesn't make much difference. The CT5 has roughly the same base price as a CLA, and a CT5-V starts about $5k lower than a CLA45. The CLA45 is also faster than the CT5-V in a straight line or around a track. So I wouldn't say the CT5 is in the E-class's segment, it it's a CLA fighter now.
  22. smk4565
    I mean Cadillac with the whole line up spent the better part of 15 trying to copy the Germans and that didn't really work. If CTS and CT6 were successful, they'd still be here. And Germans again pretty much have the mid and large luxury segments to themselves, with the exception of the tiny volume of Genesis and Jaguar and the Lexus LS, since GS is dead.
  23. smk4565
    What car designers don't seem to get is people started walking away from sedans to get SUVs because they wanted more cargo space and more head room. So their answer to make sedans desirable was to make sedans lower and sleeker with sloped rooflines, and then more people left sedans for SUVs. Now they are making the SUVs lower and sleeker with sloped roof lines, next people will go buy vans since SUVs will have useless back seats and cargo room. And come 2030 we'll see the new Ford Transit Fastback Coupe combing the utility of a van with a attractive fastback design of a 68 Mustang.
  24. smk4565
    I meant Cadillac's whole brand market share has shrunk over the past 15 years in the USA. CTS-V and CT6 are now gone, so I guess they have 0% market share against 5 and 7-series and E and S-class. Now that the luxury market is 70-75% SUV, performance SUV is going to be the measuring stick, and Cadillac doesn't have a player there. Essentially Cadillac is back to the 90s with a slew of front drivers pitted against more agile, better handling rear drive Europeans
  25. smk4565
    Cadillac didn’t steal any market share, they have less now than they did in 2005. And Cadillac left the middle and upper sedan segments and now compete with CLA and C-class. If Cadillac’s strategy had been working they wouldn’t change leaders, change the names, change the product line, etc every 5 years.
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