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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    My original point about those other really fast high end cars is most are all wheel drive. When you go to these crazy power levels you need to send it to all 4 wheels, otherwise it doesn't really matter if you put 2,000 hp in a car, it won't get to the ground.
  2. smk4565
    I am just saying there are dozens of fast cars out there. The Tesla Model S can do 0-60 in 2.3 seconds, a Chiron can top 260 mph, there are full size sedans that can do 207 mph, the 911 GT2 RS can do the Nurburgring in 6:47, etc. Heck there are SUV's that go over 200 mph now. There is a lot of performance out there, and more than anyone that isn't a pro driver can even use on a track let alone the street. So you need other differentiators that just performance. They are all fast, so what gets someone to pick a 911 over an AMG GT or a F8 over a Huracan? In most cases it is brand image. The the car sells on the brand name more than the performance. If a Chevrolet is better than any Cadillac, why is Cadillac still here?
  3. smk4565
    GM's halo product should not be a Chevrolet, their value brand. Cadillac as the top brand, should have the halo product.
  4. smk4565
    That's a performance per dollar argument. 90% the performance at 50% the price, but some people want that last 10%. And Zora will give that to them. So i am glad GM is going up after that high performance level. This also has a higher top speed than a C8: So why can't there be a Cadillac whether it be a mid-engine coupe, front engine coupe or a full size sedan with C8 performance. Bentley made a car the size and weight of an Escalade do 207 mph, why can't Cadillac? And same goes for Mercedes, Brabus tuned an S-class to go 217 mph, but I feel like AMG should be able to take the next gen S73 to 217 mph to beat Bentley.
  5. smk4565
    That is why I have long said Cadillac should have a car above the Corvette. If you want an interior nicer than an Escalade and you want a sports car, you have to buy something European. The Corvette can't play in that level, nor should it, the Corvette works because it isn't crazy expensive. But clearly there are people that think $300k is cheap for a new car, that is why they walk right past the Rolls Royce Ghost and buy a Phantom.
  6. smk4565
    The AMG GT costs too much to qualify for Car and Driver's 10 best list. The AMG GT R is faster around the Nurburgring than any Corvette ever made. As far as sales volume goes, the Corvette costs E-class money, if the Corvette were double the price that volume would be gone. The Corvette is outstanding performance per dollar, perhaps the best performance per dollar in the world, but that doesn't make it better than other cars. Better value maybe, but not a better car.
  7. smk4565
    The SLS AMG and that C63 are over 10 years old. The E63 runs an 11.0 second 1/4 mile and a GT63 4-door a 10.9, those would beat that ZR1 easily but Car and Driver did clock a 2019 ZR1 at 10.8 seconds. The GT coupe is not all wheel drive, that is why it has a 11.4 second 1/4 mile. The next gen GT is going to be all wheel drive, they will get their straight line specs. Although keep in mind an AMG GT with 577 hp beats a 755 hp ZR1 around the Nurburgring. AMG has the chassis, brakes, handing, steering, and suspension already there, when they add all wheel drive they can add power. Corvette is fast but doesn't have a nice interior, I'd like to see the Corvette have a 2021 Escalade level interior and Super Cruise so that is is more on par with interiors you get from other high end sports cars.
  8. smk4565
    All wheel drive 911 weighs less than a C8. On the 911, awd adds 139 lbs, it isn’t that big a penalty. They can cut weight from the Corvette if they want to spend money, build it out of carbon fiber if they are worried about weight. The AMG One is 1,000 lbs lighter than a C8, so weight can always be removed for a price.
  9. smk4565
    The 911 Turbo S probably beats all them because it is all wheel drive. Even the 2020 Ferrari F8 which replaces the 488 and has 710 hp, has the same 0-60 time as a 443 hp 911. And look at lap times on tracks, the 911 and Huracan are among the best out there with all wheel drive.
  10. smk4565
    They should offer AWD on every Corvette. Lambo and Porsche offer it on every model, AMG is moving to it on every car, the AMG GT is the last of their RWD only cars and it is at the end of the life cycle. McLaren is going to have all wheel drive, Ferrari has it on some models, etc. I think AWD would expand that appeal of the Corvette being the everyday, every man's sports car, if you can use it all winter long in the snow belt.
  11. smk4565
    Chevy is going to build a high revving, flat plane, turbo DOHC V8, which is something out of a Ferrari playbook, and you expect low maintenance? And maybe it will, but we won't know until they have been on the road 5 years. Still need all wheel drive for the ZR1 and Zora, Lamborghinis are all wheel drive for a reason. Would be good to have all wheel drive on the Z06 also. And I mean all wheel drive from the V8 not just from the electric motors up front. Because without AWD, that ZR1 will bet beat in 0-60 and 1/4 mile runs all day long by less powerful Porsches. A 911 Carrera 4S does 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and that's with 443 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque. That's giving up 100 lb-ft to the C8 and it is still quicker and the C8's 2.95 seconds.
  12. smk4565
    This engine won't be like an LS/LT engine, they are building an engine more like the Panamera Turbo Hybrid or the 2021 AMG GT73 hybrid. Maybe those cars aren't expensive to maintain, but I would guess they don't have NA V8 ownership costs.
  13. smk4565
    True but the Blackwing V8, which is closest to the LT6/LT7, makes 131 hp per liter. Now they are going to 155 hp per liter, so that is extra boost. Now there are 200 hp/liter engines out there, so I don't think it should be an issue, but I don't think these are going to have LS1 maintenance costs. The issue is really getting the power on the ground, they need an all wheel drive system that can handle 825 lb-ft.
  14. smk4565
    GM currently doesn’t make a turbo LS/LT engine, nor do they make a V8 hybrid. So they are going into new territory. Also Ferrari engines need a ton of maintenance, if the LT7 does also, I see no problem with that as long as they disclose it up front.
  15. smk4565
    They need all wheel drive if they are adding power otherwise it won’t get to the ground. The Z06 is probably the limit of 2 wheel drive. They said Zora was 2025 model year, I assume it will be low volume, probably really expensive but why not go that route. Good money maker to have a low volume high price version. I have a big question on LT7 reliability. Yes you can get 850 hp from a 5.5 liter if you rev the hell out of it, but I have to imagine that is going to be Ferrari like reliability and maintenance costs. I wouldn’t be surprised if every 25-50k miles there was a $10-15,000 service due.
  16. smk4565
    I am surprised the V6 is still around, yeah it is in the Avalon and ES350 so it is easy to do. But I read a couple years ago the V6 take rate was only about 7% it is probably lower now. Seems like it would be easier for Toyota to put a turbo on the 2.5 liter 4-cylinder, get about 260 hp, 260 lb-ft and replace the V6 in their front drive products. Maybe keep the V6 for Lexus, or a rear drive Toyota. The V6 here makes the Camry $37k, that is a lot, with a 4-cylinder it is $33k which is more reasonable, and appropriate for this buyer segment.
  17. smk4565
    But that is more than G90 money. Although I will also say the current Lexus ES and LS have a high belt line, and high inside center console which makes the interiors feel kind of cramped on both. The LS has really lost it's way, it used to be a more stately and roomy luxury sedan, now it looks like a glorified Maxima or Mazda 6, and it is trying to be a sports car or something. The Lexus GS is dated, but the ES sells because it is the same size as a G80 or GS or E-class and it starts at $39k. It is mid-size car for G70 money.
  18. smk4565
    The Palisade is roughly the same size as the GV80, even if they grow the platform they can’t go against the Escalade with a front drive Hyundai platform and they can’t charge more for a Palisade based SUV than they do for GV80 which is a rear drive Genesis platform. GV90 will be a a rear drive product as I suspect GV70 would be. And a GV60 could be made off the Tucson platform or whatever small suv platform they have.
  19. smk4565
    Who here thinks the G80 is better than the CT6? CT6 was in the $50-70k range, was G90 size and had 4 engine options instead of 2. CT6 also had livery and past Cadillac owners to pull from.
  20. smk4565
    Genesis is cheaper to maintain than a Cadillac, has better product than Cadillac but still people aren’t buying Genesis. This new G80 is a step forward but they need to do more with G80 or price it at like $42k. This thing should be CT5 and Lexus ES money, but Genesis will price it like a BMW and the product will fail. And personally I think Hyundai/Kia are really on top of their game. But no hybrid, no EV, no twin turbo V8? If you want to play with the big boys that is price of admission.
  21. smk4565
    If Genesis is such a good deal why did they sell 21,000 last year and they are down Q1 this year? They aren’t that good a deal because they needed better styling, interior and power trains which the G80 addresses. G80 looks nice, but it isn’t better than what exists already. A challenge brand has to beat competition not build “almost as good as”
  22. smk4565
    I went through Volkswagen’s 2018 annual report since I didn’t see a 2019 up yet. They do a nice job listing global sales volume of every model and they break out brand revenue and profit. VW brand had 3.2 billion Euros in profit, Audi had 4.7 billion Euros and Porsche 4.1 billion Euros. Skoda made 1.4 billion euros. VW had 6.3 million units sold to Audi’s 1.8 million and Porsche’s 253,000. Skoda sold 1.2 million units. That little volume of a Porsche made more money than VW brand. Audi beat VW and Skoda combined profits. Note that Audi numbers include Lamborghini, because Lambo is part of Audi. They definitely want to sell Audi and Porsche over VW and Skoda.
  23. smk4565
    Audi has VW, and they still make A3 and Q3, heck they make a Q1. Why? Because a Q3 is going to make more profit than a Golf GTI or Tiguan, etc. Volkswagen would rather have people buy a Bentley than an Audi A8, same chassis, but the Bentley has higher profit margin. VW makes something like $700 per car, Audi makes about $5,000 and Bentley makes about $20,000. Which do you think they want to sell the most of? Every sale Audi takes from VW is $4,000 extra profit. Porsche does about $20,000 per car also, think they'd rather sell a Porsche Macan or an Audi Q5? Every Macan sale stolen from Audi is a $15,000 win for the company.
  24. smk4565
    The most expensive E-class is $25,000 more expensive than the most expensive Escalade.
  25. smk4565
    Once upon a time, BMW sold over 10,000 3-series a month, and the X3 didn't exist. Now the 3/4 series sell maybe $5k units a month, but the X3 sells another 6-7,000 units at a price higher than the 3-series. BMW made a product that stole sales from their own model, but did so at a higher price and higher profit margin. If Cadillac made an XT3 that brings in new buyers that otherwise never would have bought a Cadillac, and also takes 10,000 sales off Buick/GMC at an additional $1,000 per car, then Cadillac just made GM $10 million in extra profit. This is why GMC and Denali exists, to take sales away from Chevy and make more money because they can jack the price up more on the same product.
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