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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    All retail businesses have loss leaders. Corvette can drive showroom traffic and brands need halo product even if they lose money on it. Without a halo product you get brands like Infiniti that are dead in the water. I suspect Corvette overall will make profit due to how many optioned up ones they sell.
  2. smk4565
    VW has money. They can put out a ton of EV’s if market demand is there. Tesla can’t put out product that fast. VW could easily be the largest EV producer in the world in 5 years time. Tesla has a profitability issue, how long can they last not making any money? And personally I’d prefer a Tesla to a VW group EV.
  3. smk4565
    All EV’s are heavy. I also don’t think it matters if GM loses money on C8’s under $80k. It is good for consumers and That can be an overall business strategy. I just wouldn’t be surprised if prices rise in the next couple years like Nissan did with the GT-R.
  4. smk4565
    VW is about double the size of GM, they are massive. They aren't going to lose their shirts in EV's and go bankrupt, if anything they have the best chance to the the world's EV leader. Porsche has the Nurburgring record for a production EV as it is with the Taycan, I know Model S is chasing that. As far as racing goes, Mercedes leads Formula E right now in their first season, but it is like 2 races in so long way for that to go. But Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, BMW and Jaguar are all in there, I'd love to see GM or Ford jump in and challenge, just like I'd love to see either enter Formula 1. Bring it on. I actually like the C8 Corvette, I think it is an engineering masterpiece given the price point even at $80-90k it is. Not sure where the C8 tech trickles down to when GM is killing all their cars in favor of front drive crossovers and GM refuses to do performance crossovers. But the performance they got, the price point, the usability of the C8 are great achievements. Mid-engine 2-seaters aren't really my thing though, like Ferraris have zero appeal to me, I can appreciate the performance and engineering that went into it, but it isn't my sort of car.
  5. smk4565
    Tesla is the future, that is the appeal to the brand. I like Tesla personally, I think they have great cars and I like the idea of EV. But you don't get S-class luxury in a Tesla, you don't get G-wagen off road ability in a Tesla, etc. There isn't a convertible Tesla, etc. There are things Mercedes already does with their lineup that they can electrify and offer something Tesla doesn't. Likewise with VV group and others. Daimler is the 3rd largest auto company in the world behind VW and Toyota, they have resources, they have a plan. EV's are not big sellers right now, the key is to transition people from gas to electric which might take 20 years and eventually the whole line is EV. Mercedes is in a great place right now, all those gas SUV's they are selling are making profit that Tesla doesn't have, and giving Mercedes ability to spend more on EV tech.
  6. smk4565
    They delayed 1 EV on sale date. EQ A and EQ B test mules are out there, those are both probably 2021 arrivals as is EQ S. Daimler has a zero emission carbon neutral goal as a company by 2040, that is for cars and factories. So that push is going to come hard. I personally would put EQ C on sale now and see what happens, Mercedes is a better badge than Jaguar or Audi and the EQ C looks better than their vehicle and is priced better than them also. I think it would sell jut fine, and if they only sell 10,000 all year who cares, it is 10,000 people that didn't go somewhere else.
  7. smk4565
    VW is the 9th largest company in the world. VW has said EV is their goal, with their resources they will figure it out. I also don't think Taycan owners care about range, but again they will sort that all out. Range is also over rated, 95% of driving is done within 25 or 50 miles of home. A Taycan charged once a day can drive 72,800 miles per year. I'd like to know how many drivers put more than 72,000 miles per year on their car. Tesla has a great product, but they also don't give you S-class luxury or Porsche's handling. It isn't all about range, there are other factors to the car. So we have to see what all these cars offer. And same for Cadillac, I have no opinion on the Cadillac EV because it doesn't exist yet. The Cadillac brand name does not have the status of others, the brand image is what they have to overcome so they need a good product. C8 performs like I thought it would, maybe a little quicker than I thought, the price is what surprised me, I thought it would be $80k at least to start. Although GM is losing money on every C8 under $80k, so we'll see how long the $60k price lasts. The Mercedes-AMG One will have the full run built in 2021, they just announced that. And they are doing something never done before, and building a car that is on a level never seen before. It takes time to get that right.
  8. smk4565
    Mercedes outsells Tesla now. Whether it is gas or electric doesn't really matter. Eventually everything will be electric, the rate at which the change happens isn't that important, what matters is that as the change happens car makers have the product people want. Porsche sells various products at over $100k, so they have proven buyer pool that will pay high prices.
  9. smk4565
    Mercedes is going to have EV's before Cadillac, they should have 4 on sale in 2021, which will be about as many as Tesla has. Whether the car is EV or gas, Cadillac still has an image disadvantage, so the car better be good if they are going after Tesla. And look at what something like a Taycan costs, people will pay $150k for a Porsche, they won't pay that for a Cadillac.
  10. smk4565
    Brands like Mercedes and Porsche have cache, they can make a run at Tesla. EQ C was put off here because I think their worry is it won't sell well since the Jaguar and Audi aren't doing well. EQ C is based off the GLC chassis, it isn't on their skateboard like EV chassis, that EQ S is on. I think when S arrives they beat Tesla. Mercedes is in Formula E racing now too, they'll build good EV's and they already have a built in customer base that pays high prices for cars, they don't have to really bring in new buyers as much as some others.
  11. smk4565
    I wonder if when people go into a Hyundai showroom (or any car dealership), the goal of the manufacturer is to have 9 SUVs there to pick from so the customer is just so overwhelmed, they just cave in and buy something there rather than going to a 2nd dealership to look at another SUV.
  12. smk4565
    Cadillac doesn't have to beat out everyone, but they aren't a top status symbol brand, they don't have a great image. If Cadillac puts out a car that matches specs with the Tesla in every way shape and form and costs exactly the same, the Tesla will outsell it easily on name alone. GM doesn't break out brand profits so we don't know how profitable any of the brands are. I would assume that all make profit, but we don't know how much.
  13. smk4565
    How so? Cadillac has more status than Tesla, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Bentley, Rolls, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover? Cadillac can’t sell on status. They also aren’t a viable brand if they shrink unless they use a GMC blueprint and sell versions of Chevrolet’s which is sort of GM’s direction with them.
  14. smk4565
    Problem is they need to climb over about ten brands to get that Status. That is going to be a long road. Right now they aren’t about volume either but they need to maintain at least the volume they have to stay in business.
  15. smk4565
    Eldorado is their best nameplate that needs to be the first one out of the gate. After that debate can go on using Fleetwood or Seville, I think those are their next best 2, DeVille doesn't really sound good as a name even if you don't know what the old car was, Seville rolls of the tongue better. Other names like Catera, Cimmaron, Calais, etc, forgettable and not catchy, so they need new names for new EV product. But it is quite possible that Eldorado is the only nameplate they have that carries any weight, a lot of damage was done to the Cadillac image over the past 40 years.
  16. smk4565
    Eldorado coupe/convertible should be a given. Even if a 4-door coupe due to low demand of 2-doors, they have to do an Eldorado. I could see Fleetwood and Seville for sedans, I can't imagine given the market's thirst for SUV's they'd have more than 2 sedans, one on the smaller side, one on the larger.
  17. smk4565
    I had a Camry rental in Florida which granted is straight, flat roads, but it was getting near 40 mpg at highway speeds around 70 mph. I thought that was rather impressive. $28k for a Corolla is a lot, a low equipped Camry is that much and probably gets the same gas mileage.
  18. smk4565
    EV will take over the luxury segment first then spread down. As batteries get better and cheaper, the cost between EV and turbo V6 or V8 gets closer. And the EV is faster, more refined and quieter than ICE.
  19. smk4565
    They need the T-Roc and T-Roc convertible here. Definitely need something smaller than Tiguan since the current Tiguan is bigger than the old one. I think they could fit something between Tiguan and Atlas too, unless the Atlas Cross Coupe thing is the middle.
  20. smk4565
    About time. Real names are much better for them, it fits with their roots. I wonder if CT4 and CT5 are one and done nameplates and that will help them get back to all names much quicker, however we know XT4/XT5/XT6 aren't going anywhere due to the crossover craze, so do they leave those 3 as is or rename them.
  21. smk4565
    Of course they are. There is no limit to how many SUVs a brand will make. Eventually this 10 SUVs per brand strategy will fold like a house of cards but there is demand now.
  22. smk4565
    Right so 20/25 is the leader in the clubhouse for full size SUV gas engines. Which is why I said GM should aim for a 20% bump from current Tahoe.
  23. smk4565
    The X7 has a stated 335 hp/332 lb-ft of torque but they always under rate, and the X7 40i is a full half second faster 0-60 than a 420 hp Escalade or a 450 hp Navigator (both do it in 5.9 seconds) No way that engine makes 335 hp and moves a 5,350 lb vehicle that fast. GLS450 has 362 hp/369 lb-ft plus a 21 hp, 184 lb-ft electric motor. 0-60 in 5.5 seconds again faster than GM's 6.2 V8 while beating the 5.3 in fuel economy. Expedition has 400 hp/480 lb-ft, 0-60 in 5.7 seconds. Still faster than the 6.2 Tahoe, but better fuel economy than the 5.3. Car and Driver's real world highway fuel economy for GLS was 24 mpg while 28 mpg for the X7 and 20 mpg for the Expedition.
  24. smk4565
    GLS last month sold at a higher rate than Escalade has in 59 of the past 60 months. Only 1 month, but my guess is 2020 sees GLS as the top seller, X7 2nd, Escalade 3rd and Navigator 4th. True to the Tahoe though (loads of fleet sales due to government and police packages) but they do outsell the Expedition. I feel like Ford dropped the ball for a lot of years on the Expedition and this new one is a competitor but for 10 years it was substandard. The Japanese full size SUVs are basically pre-2009 recession designs, those things are ancient and they should just kill them off if they aren't going to come up with a 100% new product.
  25. smk4565
    2020 Tahoe 15/21 mpg 17 mpg combined 2020 Expedition 17/22 mpg 19 mpg combined 2020 GLS450 19/23 mpg 21 mpg combined 2020 BMW X7 20/25 mpg 22 mpg combined The Tahoe beats the ancient Land Cruiser that is 13/17 mpg however.
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