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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Money.
  2. smk4565
    Basically same size, price and power as an XT4. They will have a 306 hp option and a 416 hp option which isn’t too anemic. Small crossover is a huge volume segment, why wouldn’t Mercedes be in it with 3 entries no less.
  3. smk4565
    Correct, it isn’t on sale anywhere yet. This is a new product for them and I think will be way more successful than the GLA which looks stupid.
  4. smk4565
    A little Honda Element in the headlights, the D pillar looks off a GLS. I think they wanted some GLK squareness but had to keep with the smooth body lines theme of the current cars.
  5. smk4565
    Glad is has “powerful off-road proportions” for the tens of people that will go off road. Seems a bit excessive on the black plastic but I guess that makes it “off road” as we learned long ago from the Pontiac Transport Montana. I bet these sell in big numbers, it is the only 7 seater in the segment, it looks good in and out and the 306 hp engine is coming right after launch. The crossover sheeple will like up all day for it.
  6. smk4565
    I am sure ZF makes something off the shelf that is transverse and can handle 350 lb-ft. If they really wanted a higher output XT4 there are options out there. In XT5 with more room I think it would be a no-brainer. Although if XT4 and XT5 were built on the alpha platform, then none of this would be an issue.
  7. smk4565
    It would make a lot of sense for an XT4-V. I could see that engine in the XT5 also, if not as an option, maybe as the only option since it would out power the 6 and probably get better gas mileage. Jaguar had Portfolio for a while. I don't know why they don't use Barritz or Brougham or something from their past.
  8. smk4565
    Shocker.
  9. smk4565
    Some of these luxury brands are claiming 10 EV's by 2025, so if Cadillac wants to be ahead of the curve, they might as well go all in on EV.
  10. smk4565
    Every AMG has legit performance credentials. AMG has the Nurburgring record for SUV, station wagon and 4-door car. The GTR Pro I think has the record for front engine/rear drive car. I imagine an A45 hatch will take the hatchback record unless there is some ultra powered Renault Clio Sport out there that I don't know about. I don't know if a Terrain Denali screams luxury, where as a 416 hp A45 is pretty damn fast. Although I don't really knock GMC for having Denali everything bees GMC isn't a luxury brand. If Cadillac does Barritz, they should be going for high end luxury with that. I say V-series every Cadillac too, 100% of Cadillacs should have a V-series, especially when 320 hp counts as V-series these says. That is why I think they needs SUVs on a rear drive platform.
  11. smk4565
    I do agree that a lot of buyers don't care about motor racing, they are going to buy what they like. Maybe some hardcore racing fans build up loyalty to a team and that helps build brand image and loyalty and that's all good. I think in Europe it matter more than anywhere else, racing seems more popular there. GM's 6.2 liter V8 isn't European emissions compliant so this summer GM is pulling all V8 models form Europe, that includes the Corvette, so no need to worry about potential buyers there. Regardless of what happens on the racetrack, the Chevrolet dealership experience isn't going to rival the Aston Martin or Porsche or Ferrari dealership experience. Barritz would work. They can make XT6 Barritz, CT6, Barritz, Escalade Barritz. Make those top engine trim with acoustic laminated glass and extra sound deadening, executive rear seat packages, upgraded leather, suede or silk headliners, etc. Put that fiber optic headliner in that Rolls Royce has. Something to make it a special model with a 20% price hike or whatever is deemed appropriate.
  12. smk4565
    EVs are expensive, and Audi and Mercedes already have 400 hp EVs now and many more coming. The volume of the luxury market is still in small to mid size crossover.
  13. smk4565
    Except Nissan and Ford have Platinum trim cars, so "Platinum" means crap. No one else has "Denali" that is ubiquitous with GMC. If Cadillac had a "Brougham" trim for CT6, Escalade, the Eldorado they should be building, whatever EV they come out with, XT6, etc they can build that brand equity and cache like GMC has done with Denali. I wouldn't put Brougham on any CT5/XT5 or lower however, I would reserve it for the top half of the line up.
  14. smk4565
    Problem is Cadillac has no sports car, no grand touring coupe, no convertible, nothing. The only aspirational product they have is the Escalade, and not everyone wants a massive truck. People on this board love Denali, because it a big profit maker for GMC. Yet Mercedes uses the same strategy and it is a bad idea? At least Mercedes reserves Maybach for top of the line product, where as GMC would Denali trim anything.
  15. smk4565
    This engine is for 3400 lb cars with transverse engine and awd. Limited to 4 models, A-class, GLA, GLA, and GLB. 0-60 times will probably be 4 seconds, not sure what they need more power than this for in a FWD application for compact cars. What does the competition have in this segment? Cadillac, Lexus, Acura, Audi all have turbo 4's that max out around 260 lb-ft maybe 290. Where is the 400 hp XT4? The 400 hp Lexus NX? The 400 hp BMW X1? Mercedes is a country mile ahead here.
  16. smk4565
    It is basically like a racing engine, this is tuned for track days and people that want to drive high in the rpm band. Mercedes makes plenty of engines with low end torque for applications where that makes more sense.
  17. smk4565
    Well true to the first point, Wilhelm Maybach worked for Daimler and went out on his own and the company didn't make it. Much like probably half the car companies in the 1920s, 1930s, etc, that didn't make it. You can't have an AMG version of a Maybach, that wouldn't make sense. It is one or the other. Although AMG builds the Maybach S650 engine, but that engine is dying. If Buick has Avenir, and GMC has Denali, I don't see why Cadillac couldn't get something similar.
  18. smk4565
    Maybach stopped making cars in in WWII when they got converted to make tank engines like many automakers of the time quit building cars. Then after the war car production never restarted. The 2nd attempt was that 2002-2012 era with the car built on the W140 chassis which was older than the W220 S-class which made no sense. The trim level is their 3rd attempt and seems to be working since they are launching a Maybach GLS this year, and a Maybach G-wagen seems like a no brainer and would make more sense than an AMG G-wagen. Cadillac launching a luxury sub brand could be a good idea for them. V-series hasn't really helped the cause, as they are still in a sales rut and they cancelled the STS-V, XLR-V, ATS-V and CTS-V in favor of a couple 320-350 hp "V-series" cars to sell at a discount. The luxury route could be a better direction, especially since we know the mid-engine Corvette is GM's performance champ and Cadillac isn't getting a version of it. Given the the new level of V-series and the markets thirst for SUVS, super lux SUVs is probably the way to go. GMC has Denali, I don't see why Cadillac can't have Brougham and take $20k onto every model for an interior upgrade.
  19. smk4565
    And the lesser badge failed. Exactly my point. And Maybach is a "luxury" trim level, it is not about performance it is about being chauffeured around in comfort. AMG is performance. Clearly defined roles with clear mission. The problem Cadillac has, it is there is no clear mission, for the past 20 years.
  20. smk4565
    If Corvette is going to be the ultimate sports car, Porsche/Aston Martin/Ferrari fighter then the Corvette needs an interior to match. The Corvette should have all the luxury and tech of a CT6 or Escalade. And really this is all a moot point anyway because people aren't buying sports cars. If GM had a 500 hp rear drive SUV that cost the same as a Corvette, the SUV would outsell it 3 to 1. Porsche and Lamborghini sell more SUVs than sports cars, and their mission is sports cars. I the Ferrari Purosangue is the #1 selling Ferrari next year.
  21. smk4565
    The 2004 Phaeton had a 420 hp W12. The A8 in 2005 got its optional engines (it was V8 only in 2004 as it was a new model). The A8 got a 444 hp W12 and a 450 hp V8 from the Lamborghini Gallardo. So the A8 has 2 engines better than the Phaeton at the time they were on sale together. As mid-range models sure. But the Blackwing V8 should be in the XT5 and XT6 which means making them rear drive.
  22. smk4565
    It doesn’t. If the Corvette was faster (all around better performance) than a Supra, Boxster/Cayman, Jag F-type, Shelby Mustang, etc and is the fastest Chevy and can do that in the $50-90k range then it has achieved its mission. Let Cadillac worry about Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley or whoever else. And I am not really saying slow down the Vette, I am saying Cadillac should build a car that out performs the current C7 ZO6 but with Escalade Platinum level of luxury.
  23. smk4565
    The Corvette has a dime store interior. But not sure why Corvette must beat competition but Cadillac does not have to. Maybe that is why Cadillac is a mess.
  24. smk4565
    You don’t think it would make sense for VW to sell a $135,000 sports car while a top Audi is around $100k? ? They can call it Phaeton 2.
  25. smk4565
    My beef is the market wants crossovers. The market didn’t say they don’t want performance or sporty vehicles, but they do want crossover/SUV whichever you want to call it. So GM, and mainly Cadillac, needs performance SUV’s. Maybach version 1 and 2 failed also, 3rd time seems to be the charm, although the early 2000s Maybachs had 600 hp, there was no shortage of power. But that is also a chauffeur driven car too.
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