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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Porsche and Audi are pretty different and is the Toureg even still around? I mean I know it exists but not in USA anymore I don’t think. That is the only VW suv built on the MLB platform. FCA can’t get Alfa Romero or Maserati to compete with the German and Japanese luxury brands, yet the Chrysler brand could pull that off? Zero chance, waste of money if they try it.
  2. smk4565
    Chrysler is not a luxury brand though, it is a Honda Odyssey, Toyota Avalon competitor brand. Chrysler also doesn’t have European or Chinese market sales like some of those other brands do. GM has spent billions upon billions on Cadillac trying to revive them and they are still struggling and they were never a “dead” brand nor did Cadillac have a total product drought like Chrysler has. FCA will probably go bankrupt trying to revive Chrysler, the reason they have no new product is there is no money.
  3. smk4565
    Renegade, Compass and Cherokee are all front drive crossovers, all of those are down this year. Wrangler is down, but I think they just overpriced the new one, that is a different issue. FCA has bad reliability. They can give Chrysler all the crossovers they want to, but until they fix the reliability and build quality they aren't going to make a dent in Rav4 and CR-V sales, not to mention the 7 SUVs over at Hyundai. The Pacifica is down 30% this year, the 300 is down 40% for the year, 50% last month, and probably what they did sell is fleet sales. Chrysler is basically one product and that product is hemoraging 30% losses despite not being that old on the market. They invented the mini-van and can't even win in that segment, why on earth would the dump money into crossovers to take on the Rav4 and Highlander, they have no shot there. Likewise with Dodge, their sales are tanking and they have no new product on the horizon.
  4. smk4565
    And what product will sell there? There is no point in making 3 SUVs for Chrysler as they have Jeep for SUV and Jeep sales are down. Sedans don't sell, FCA could spend $2 billion on a new mid-size sedan and the Camry will outsell it 5 to 1, so that would be a total waste of money. The brand is just a dead brand, Pontiac had more mojo in 2007 than Chrysler has in 2019.
  5. smk4565
    About time this brand had a loss. Sales are starting to drop all over the map, here comes this industry slow down.
  6. smk4565
    AMG sales are up!!! People have a pulse! Sad to see sedans dying, a good bit of Mercedes drop is GLE model change over and they have shown a new GLS but it isn't in show rooms, so that old one is winding down. BMW beat Mercedes last month, on the backs of their SUVs, so that is the weak spot at Mercedes right now. Mercedes still outsold Lexus and the rest.
  7. smk4565
    Chrysler is a North America only brand with low volume, they don't need that. I could see keeping Dodge for North America and Fiat for Europe, but I feel like 2030 onward when ride sharing and autonomy goes up and car sales go down, regional brands won't survive, only global ones will.
  8. smk4565
    Ram and Jeep are the only 2 American brands they need. Alfa Romeo products should probably be merged into Maserati as their luxury brand. They really only need one luxury/performance brand, just pick one. Too many weak brands in FCA, it is like early 2000s GM.
  9. smk4565
    Fiat, Alfa and Chrysler sales are just miserable. This is why Sergio wanted to merge and dump some brands.
  10. smk4565
    That could be true, an off roader may cost less in development cost or a super lux SUV could also if you are just going with a Blackwing V8 and just need to put recline flat seats and a refrigerator and tray tables in the backseat area. I think high luxury is easiest, like the current Maybach approach, then you don’t have massive development cost.
  11. smk4565
    I am talking about a 0-60 in 3 seconds, 200+ mph SUV that can match a CTS-V on a race track. That is the sort of next level stuff you can push into the $300k price range.
  12. smk4565
    Well the Ferrari Purosangue is coming and it is at least going to have the 710 hp V8 they currently have in the F8 and maybe a V12 or hybrid V8. So it is going to be fast. And I don't think they'll stop with 1 SUV either, just like Bentley is planning something above the Bentayga, maybe VW green lights a 2nd Lamorbghini SUV as the Urus is their #1 seller. Mercedes builds the fastest SUV around the Nurburgring, but what they make now won't beat these hypercar SUVs that are on the way, so they'll have to up their game. They have GLS73 trademarked, which makes me think it is coming, the Maybach GLS is on sale in 2020. I don't think they call it a day when the Maybach GLS comes out, maybe they will, but they could do something as a specialty higher up the range. I don't think it would be a continuous model, but like a 5 year run and done like the SLR or SLS were.
  13. smk4565
    Well they don't advertise it much and it is a pretty forgettable looking vehicle. It doesn't look all that different than a Mazda CX-5 of the same size that costs $10k less. Not really sure how it is "priced too high for the market" when it is $5k cheaper than a GLC or X3. Maybe people just don't care about Infiniti.
  14. smk4565
    A G-wagen is Mercedes 3rd largest SUV but is their most expensive. The Urus is big, but not Escalade big, the Levante is like a mid-size Bentayga is pretty big, but not Escalade big, although a bigger Bentley SUV could be in the works. The Aston Martin SUV doesn't look that big in prototype. So I don't see why Cadillac couldn't have a mid-size SUV with a Blackwing V8, or something CT6 sized with luxury above the Escalade. Maybe just go for one or the other and not both. I will say I think AMG should do an SUV that starts at $200k, maybe electric is the answer there with like 800 hp. They can make it a limited run model, make it for 4 years as a halo for the EQ Power vehicles, and surely it would outperform Ferrari's SUV.
  15. smk4565
    Well duh. I think pickups make the most logical EV. They have high margin to hide battery cost, they have a lot of space to add battery packs, they require torque which EV is best at and if you take away the front engine for a trunk you have massive cargo and utility ability.
  16. smk4565
    Doesn’t have to be bigger, has to be more luxurious and higher performance. I actually think they could put 2 SUV’s above Escalde, one that like Bentayga size that is luxury focused and one that is more midsize with high performance. Bentley and Lambo may each get a 2nd SUV, Ferrari and Aston Martin are getting at least one each, plus the Lagonda SUV, a Maybach SUV hits dealers in 2020, etc.
  17. smk4565
    The Escalade is that, but I think there is room above the Escalade for another SUV. That high dollar SUV segment is about to get flooded. CT6, CT5, CT4 aligned against E, C and A-class respectively is probably Cadillac’s best strategy to go with. And you can swap in 5, 3, and 1-series or A6, A4, A3 or S90, S60, S40 if you prefer those comparisons.
  18. smk4565
    I suppose they could go that route. But we are also in a position where Cadillac’s “flagship” is competing with the E300/E450.
  19. smk4565
    Oh 2.0T, we hardly knew ye. CT6 needed to ditch the 4 cylinder. AWD on all models makes sense, most buyers will opt for it anyway, so it just gives less configurations to have to build. I actually think the CT6 would be more compelling with the 3.0 turbo standard and make the car $59,000. Then it would align with an A6 and E450. And allow some space for the CT5 in the $40-59k range. I actually think all Cadillacs should be turbocharged and all wheel drive.
  20. smk4565
    The idea of 4-door coupe is so played out now, Mercedes should drop the CLS after this generation. They have an E-class sedan and E-class 2 door coupe, as a coupe should be. That is enough, and the AMG GT 4-door is there is you want something else and that has actual performance, where as the CLS is like an oversized, overweight E-class at this point.
  21. smk4565
    4Matic+ is the way to go. You need grip to put the power down. Makes sense to make it standard.
  22. smk4565
    What would probably make sense is to build Electric vehicles, since such a huge portion of Mitsubishi's business is you know, Electric.
  23. smk4565
    It is, but they botched the 2019 model, I think that is the worst looking car they make now. Gen 1 and 2 were spot on though.
  24. smk4565
    Agreed and I imagine China will be the super power of the world in 20 years. It won’t be the USA given their population size and economic growth rate.
  25. smk4565
    The Stinger because of the roofline has less rear seat head room than a C-class. I still say the Stinger isn't worth the money. It either needs a better interior, or Mustang level pricing.
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