hyperv6

Dave image is the prime factor and it is not built on the number of models. It is Built over time with various models that normally ooze excess in many areas. But it still has to make money and not be on every street corner.

It depends how you do it and that you move the brands to where they do not over lap. As of now there is some overlap at GM because they have not fully completed the changes they are enacting. Now see in the next 5 years how Cadillac finally reaches the segment where they are going fully and Buick fills the void between Chevy and Cadillac. Only on the extreme ends will you see much overlap and it will be in the models of low volume as the top end models and the low end models only. The large segment of sales will be in the models that do not over lap. On the other hand you have Ford trying to sell high priced Taurus and Fusions at prices few will pay for a Ford. Selling a Fusion for $40K is like selling a Malibu for $40K limited at best. Added profits for what you sell but not much volume. No matter how you option it a Ford and Chevy are just that Fords and Chevy. Not much image and not all that much leading edge technology outside the performance models but a good value in the middle priced models. My though if I see a doctor or lawyer driving a Ford or Chevy sedan is they are careful with their money, bad at what they do or still have a lot of student loans. None of which gives me that he is living the good life. It is kind of like the guy who buys the Boxster. It screams I can't afford the 911 LOL! Ford and Chevy are the value cars and no matter how much you tart up an Impala or Taurus they are still just that. Good cars for the money.

Cmicasa I am on your side of the argument but what you posted to me does not wash. Cadillac sells mostly sedans because that is mostly what sells. Diesels for the most part are a non factor as long as Cadillac is not in Europe. Even AWD while a little more popular it is still a small part of the segment. GM can not remake entire models in all variations at one time due to cost and man power. GM has as well as most other MFG have gone to spreading the cost out over several years with timed releases as well for marketing to keep interest in the brand. The first models out are always the largest sellers and the rest tend to be just fillers to the line. Again you can not compare BMW and Benz to Cadillac head to head on volume as Cadillac may never sell more cars and even GM is ok with that. Now where they want to clean up is more profit per unit and how much money they make. They are kind of like Maserati as they will never out sell the two headed beast or Germany. But they can make a good healthy profit and laugh all the way to the bank. Benz and BMW have to live on higher volumes as they have little to fall back on. Trucks, Rolls Mini and Smart cars but that is it. Development cost will really driver BMW to partner more with Toyota or other MFG in the future as they can go it alone. They want to remain autonomous but they will have to share cost. Benz has more leverage as they do a lot of lower priced models in other parts of the world and their trucks have been profitable. Cadillac on the other hand can afford lower volumes too as GM can spread cost out with the volume of the other brands and their truck and SUV lines give them leverage few others have. Audi has the many brands of VW right now and it appears they are carefully managing it by breaking them into smaller units to make it easier to manage and to make changes with market swings. Right now I know GM really wanted to go to two divisions but I think three will work out much better than anyone ever considered in the long run. The real factor now is to get the new Buick models out and let them expand into the void between them and where Cadillac is going.

As for Buick guys you are comparing two car the Lacrosse and Regal that are two of the oldest models on two of the oldest platform. same with the Enclave too. I think if you give them time to finish things here you will see a very different Buick emerge. Note too while the present Buicks are based on similar Chevy Models they are very different in offerings. They give intangible that Chevy does not offer in many areas. Much quieter and better suspension offerings as well as AWD on all models but one. While Ford tries to sell a Fusion with AWD stickered at nearly $44K with the titanium package Buick offers the GS AWD stickered at $42 and is a better car. Buick is moving to compete with more mid to lower Lexus and Audi models as well as the future lower models of BMW and Benz. Buick and Cadillac are not fully repositioned yet and still have work to do. That $12 Billion to Cadillac is not only going to move Cadillac up but give Buick to grow. Lets face it Buick has little room to grow till they get Cadillac right. The ATS price wise is a better deal than a Lacrosse and the XTS is still in the way to a point too. Same for the GS. While a great car for little more you can get a Regal with the same Turbo 4 engine. If Van Gogh was painting a painting would you judge it till completed? That is where Cadillac and Buick are now they are both in creation of where they are going. Cadillac already said they were not good enough and wanted better and won the support from GM finally. Buick has yet to show the future and we just saw a hint this January with the Avenir. We need to let this plan mature a bit as we have more to come on this to fully judge the whole plan. What we have now is far from complete.

Dave it is kind of pointless to say much on the CTS at this point for several reasons. One the advertising and marketing is being transformed as we speak. They put the spot light on the CT6 in the first installments and right now the ATS V next up will be the CTSV soon that should put a spot light on the entire model line. Second the is going to be replaced as well as the ATS once the flag ship gets here. This was stated by Cadillac not long ago. This hopefully will replace the similarities of each model. Third the real key is as long as they are making money volume is not so much a question. It was made clear that Cadillac was no longer a volume brand and with the increased prices the focus was not on selling more car but more expensive cars to make a profit. We are not provided with these numbers. Note too that a 10% drop in sales in hundreds of cars not thousands. I really do not think things are in that much peril yet and we just need to let the new team complete their transformation before we can judge where they are at. As I have pointed out in this segment you do not have to be the volume sales leader to win. It is all about profits. Sell too many cars for the wrong reasons and you can damage your image if your products are in the wrong hands. This is the Rolex segment not the Timex.

Anyone take note how VW is now breaking down their company to 4 holding companies? Part of this is to make it easier to manage and to make change come faster. It also will help in tough times to protect some divisions from others. This will be a smart move as long as they still communicate and continue to work with each other. If they start to compete with in it could create another GM like failure.

Well product planners try to optimize for every sale and while it makes money it hurts image. It make one ponder if they stopped offering the low end stuff if the image would pick up and they would sell more mid level and higher stuff. Lets face it some base models just damage the look of a model with smaller tires cheap wheel covers and the cheap interior. I was always of the persuasions make the lower car look better even if it cost more and I would fell much better about the entire model But as Drew pointed out the middle is the sweet spot as any parking lot will confirm this. The GS Regal is a sweet car but the normal Regal Turbo is the one you see most. The base you see at the airport or a Disney parking lot.

Well we can dream of many paths this could go but this is what will happen. We will for a while keep the C7 while the new C8 will appear along size it. Both will be Chevy models as like the insiders at GM comment. Chevy sells more cars so Chevy gets more say on what happens. The bottom line is they will not pry the Corvette away from Chevy no matter what. With the advent of the Ford GT return that seals the deal. Now that is not to say they can brand the Corvette overseas as a Corvette in markets with no Chevy lines. I do expect that there will be a Cadillac version of the C8 at some point like the Audi is to the Lambo. You can do two cars and do them well if you plan them right. I also expect a smaller roadster from Cadillac at some point but there is a lot of work to do with the main lines before they need to worry about the two seat segment. They need to get the sedans right first and the SUV segment addressed as this is where the real money is. There are plans for Bowling Green as that is why there is so much investment going on there in improvements. They would not sink all that money there just for the C7 that is already out. Like it or not Corvette was and still is a Chevy and will remain a Chevy. As for the Camaro and Corvette both are Chevy models and both appeal to different groups. The appeal of a $80K Camaro is limited buy the wallet of most of the customers, Now you can almost make an argument the Camaro is redundant to the low end C7 but yet people who want a Corvette buy a Corvette not a Camaro.

Well Buick is working at competing with Acura and Lexus. You have to choose that Ford competes with them all or none. You can not pick and choose. Lincoln is not a Luxury car that competes with Cadillac, BMW, Audi or Benz. They are not even in the picture at this point. They can be with Lexus, Acura and Buick but again you can not pick and choose. There is a low end Luxury segment and a upper scale. Also again you have to step back and look at where Buick is going as what we have now is not representative of where they will be. They will move up from here and the Avenir is an example of where this is all going. Even if they build the Continental it will not compete with that car. Also you watch the new Taurus in China and it will not sell as well as a true Luxury brand name. I am sure Lincoln will improve but how much? Will they get a real RWD/AWD line? Or will they continue to make due with a Taurus platform? Like I have said this is where Cadillac was in the 90's and that was not enough.

Or it leaves them at a disadvantage as they will not sell as many upper level Ford as they would if they had a well established and funded mid model. The problem with Lincoln Is they have not had real luxury since the 40's, The 50's got diluted and by the 60's Cadillac and Lincoln went mass market and only hurt their image as they went on. I would like to see Ford have Lincoln high up in the low volume higher profit segment and take them back to what they were around 1940. As for Ford offer the premium packages but even a middle brand would do better but Mercury was so damaged I am not sure that would work today, It would be almost as bad as doing Edsel again. Other than Wings is there anyone here that considers a $50K plus Taurus a competitor to Lexus or Acura? Even the FWD Benz is more enticing than the Ford to the public. $329 a month and you can be a Benz owner. While that is not flatter to Benz in my eye it will make them some money but it needs to be closely managed. If it get out of hand it could damage the Brand. The way I see it with the way the market is going. You have the volume brands, Then you have the mid level Luxury and then you have high end luxury The Big players are moving down to pick up some easy sales while the volume brands struggle to pick up the crumbs. I would not be shocked to see more companies move to a mid brand to pick up the low end luxury cars as to protect their high end cars. In the end it is about making money and max profits not who sells the most in these higher segments. Volume is for value leaders. Value leaders don't get sprinkles. I just think it is damn near impossible to do it with one brand anymore and getting difficult as the high end cars are more and more crossing into six figures. Benz tried to add to theirs with Maybach but I think they would have been better off doing a sub brand vs a higher one. Audi is one of the few doing the best on the low end but they still really lack that top end killer. BMW is doing ok on mid and upper priced cars but their bottom end are just bla. They do get help with Mini but they try to reinvent the Mini much like Pizza Hut tried to reinvent the Pizza. It is difficult to when boxed in like they are to an image. At least sales are steady. Hyundai Genesis is withering on the vine as it needs its own identity.

In fact the latest Road and Track has a column buy Bob Lutz addressing this very subject. Price does not determine luxury Excess in all areas is Luxury. Excess in Technology, luxury, Comfort, power, Service and other areas. There are some one ton truck now at $80K and they are not luxury. They may have some excess in some areas but not luxury. The term luxury is shifting each year with many different models. As with many thing the market is evolving.

Wings I hit the point right square in the ass. The point is that it becomes more difficult to sell a mass volume value brand at a high end price when you have so many other offerings with more prestigious names. Not saying a Ford or Chevy is a bad car and yes you can load them up but they are still just Ford and Chevys and expensive ones at that to the mass unwashed public. You and I know the high end Ford is similar to the Lincoln but it is still not just a Ford. Now look around at what is offered at a similar price from the other brands with luxury names and tell me what most average none loyal Ford and Chevy people will buy. To me these models are ok to offer but they do not replace a true name that holds some luxury equity. To me these are just added income just as the Denali is to GMC. Good move to make money but it the Denali does not replace the Cadillac line. You have made your point and I mine lets let the others have their say on this. My point is backed up buy what the market is doing so I have to be at least in the ball park of reality. Lets make it simple Ford Luxury cars hold as much equity as the Hyundai Genesis. While good cars they are in no danger of replacing the iconic names known for Luxury. Even Honda learned this long ago with the American Public. They perceived Honda as a Economy brand and not a Luxury car. They renamed their brand Acura to set it apart even though they are much like Buick and just better appointed platforms that Honda uses. They understood there is a limit to what Americans will pay for a Honda. Again my VW example of the Phaeton It was very nice car but at a price no one would pay for a VW here. Ford while a great brand has limits people will pay. If it is over $50K it had better have Shelby, GT or be a large SUV or truck if you expect many buyers.

SMK I have said it as clearly as I can. I will just leave it here for you to ponder and sort out in your own head. I can lead you to the answer but I can't make you think.

Wings as it is Lincoln is no better than Buick. Now if they follow the path of Cadillac and move Lincoln up then they will have room for the premium Fords. But the risk is you are just selling a fancy version of a car you already sell as a volume value leader. No real prestige or icon luxury status to the Ford line. It is just like selling a higher version of a Impala for $50K once you get to this price there are some much better names to choose from. If given the choice many in this segment will lean to a lower models BMW or Audi vs. the Ford. A Taurus is a good car but it is still just a Taurus. GM may have taken the same path if it had not been for China but I think that the three brand strategy has it's merits and may pay off in the long run. right now it is too hard to say what will happen as GM has shown so little of the future of Buick at this point. If the Avenir is a hint of the future then things could well pay off. Ford would have almost been better off keeping Mercury and really making them matter. They left them to wither on the vine as they were really no better than any other Ford out there in the end. By the way I got second place over all at the BOP show today. I beat out a really well restored 57 Starchief. I had him picked for best of show but he got third.

I am not ignoring they fact they have Lincoln. I am merely pointing out that their past leader was working to one brand and at the last second Lincoln got a reprieve. You were the one pointing out that they had a Taurus Premium package. As it stands now Lincoln at best is as Buick Acura Challenger. The real money at low volumes are with the big boys. You can make money at the Buick level but you will have to live with higher volumes and lower profits per car accept the SUV models. If you want the money to flow at lower volumes with the cars you need to go big on price or not go at all. Lincoln is entering a phase much where Cadillac was with the 90 STS and Eldorado. Nice cars but not enough for the top game. The middle ground at volume is very competitive today and will become even more difficult to turn a profit unless you can rely on China as Buick does and Opel and Holden to leverage out models. The best thing to happen to Ford in along time was Mulally but the worst thing too was Mulally. I think Fields has a better feel for the market and product much like Reuss. They are very similar in their approach. Now I do not know if he has the supporting cast to help him accomplish what they need. Mark does have that as today it appears those where not the problem at GM are now taking command. The real big factor here for Cadillac and Lincoln it will take some people with balls to approve the needed money and time to fix these divisions. GM has stepped up and I hope Ford goes all in if they expect to do it right. The thing is the results need to be measured as profit and not volume. Like so many here they mistake luxury as a race to sell more cars. It is all about making more money not volume. Volume can damage an image as we have seen in the past at Cadillac and Lincoln. I think some of the Euro MFG's tend to forget this at times. The key to this segment is to own what not everyone else has. If grandma bingo player on SSI is driving your car odds are you are over selling your product. Benz is getting into this field and while they will realize short term profits on the cheaper models they must use care to protect their long prized icon status. If the car falls into hands of people without means then the image suffers. People in these classes want their cars to represent who they are. Some rich are fine with a cheap beater but some like to show it and this is one way how. Same with a Rolex and other slap on icons. Lincoln has a lot of work to do and it will be just as Cadillac painful at times. Cars like the Continental are not really where they want to be but it is a model on the past to redemption. It Is their XTS and compromise to buy time. Now as long as they build on this they can move up but it is yet to be determined how much higher they will climb. I still believe there is still a lot of opposition to keeping Lincoln so they may not get as much time or money as Cadillac has been afforded. To be honest if Cadillac continues to make a good profit it may save Lincoln. What better way to sway thinking than profits. Well I am off to a car show and will continue this at a later time.

Just let it go smk as you just don't get it. The point is they have no volume issue because of the multiple brands they have bought. But if the auto market drops they will be left with excess greater than what GM had and will have to cut brands to survive. It is a risky move over the lesser way but they had the money to do it. It is not a case of when but it. GM did this and did not adjust and it nearly killed them. The same could happen here if they do not keep company viable. If you have one or two brands you kill models if you own many brands and models you kill both. Killing a brand as we all know now is not popular and very damaging to a company's image even when done for the right reasons. Read up on their strategy as it has been writing about extensively.

Wings It is what the public perceives. While Ford is trying to do this with one brand nearly everyone else of the major names are doing it and doing it well with two names. Toyota has Lexus, Nissan Infinity, Honda, Acura, GM Cadillac, VW, Audi ETC. All of these companies have a luxury brand and a value brand. The Big Boys at Benz and BMW are trying go the other way. BMW does have Mini but all Benz really has is trucks. They are looking to down size some and go with smaller and discontented models to increase volumes. There is some risk involves as I pointed out as like Harley and Porsche found out. Now Ford has two camps one that wanted one brand and one that wants to fix Lincoln. It is a risk but not as great as some think it is and if it is done right it could pay off handsomely even at low volumes. Some there get what GM is doing others don't. An example of a company not going the premium brand has been Hyundai with their large sedan. While it has gotten great reviews it has not done as well or gotten as high a price as it could if it were set apart. The Luxury divisions have to be set apart because of what they represent. They are excess, ego and image all wrapped up in a mechanical package. These cars have to deliver more options, more luxury more power, more of everything. The customer is trying to satisfy their image and show they are not the average person. Some really have the means and show it with these cars others like to pretend with a high lease payment. It is all about excess as no one really needs a car like this but as we all could get along well with the smallest 3 cylinder model from any brands and go the same places for a lot less. But it is the intangibles the others deliver that drive the lines. We could all get to work and the golf cause everyday just fine in a Sonic but your business friends would look at you and ask are things that bad? The other 800 pound gorilla in the room is China. They are eating up luxury cars to the point they are even getting special longer models with larger back seats. They perceive name before anything else. To them a Ford and a Chevy is a commoners car but the other names hold reverence with them. Now Ford could live with just Ford and I would not expect them to come close to failing with the one brand path but I do and many others believe they will leave a lot of money on the table. Luxury brands make up over half of the income in the car segment even with limited sales. Ford will lose a lot of sales as not many people will value a Premium Taurus as much as a Lincoln done right. The other key for them is they need to make Lincoln more then rebodied Taurus too. It comes down to the points I outlined that customers value and perceive here to get that extra money. Ford is pulling up short as even Chevy could not take the Impala and make the kind of money they could with Cadillac done right. Even on the SUV models just look at how much people will pay for the Cadillac over GMC and Chevy. The main reason for GMC is people will pay more but more for the fact they can sell trucks at any GM dealer in the world this way and not have to use the Chevy name. Right now it is this way here but I would not be surprised if GMC goes to over seas exports on some models at some point in the future. They will get some of their own models and this will make them hold greater value. Look for the jeep like Hummer Like model in the near future not shared with Chevy. They Also have a Granite of some kind coming as the name was just secured for use. Could this be the Jeep like offering?

Read all the words you quoted. If they fail to keep the volume with all their brands it can come back to bite them. Do I need to put it in red and enlarge print size too? Big picture brother.

Thanks olds hurt 442. Just calling it as I see it. Too often too many micro analyze and leave out much of what is really going on. You have to look at the big picture of what we have, where we are going and where the market is at or will bear. It is all about controlling cost and maximizing profits. The strong companies can afford to invest and will reap the profits with these investment. On the other hand those like FCA are begging for a dance partner and unless they have something of value to share they may have to sit out the next dance and may never dance again. They are in real trouble and any company is one major mistake away from the same thing. Even VW if they fail to keep up volume they will struggle with all the brands they have.

Here again you have to step back and look at the big picture. Ford because of past management is trying the one brand fits all stategy and while it saves money it is almost as bad as GM was having too many divisions. To make it in todays market you need at least two different brands. Selling a Ford as a Premium package is not akin to selling it as a Lexus or even an Acura. As for Buick it is premature to really compare them yet as Buick really has not seen much in the way of new post chapter 11 product at this point. The cars they have are the oldest in GM's fleet on some of the oldest platforms accept the Encore. We will soon see new platforms with a new Lacrosse and Regal in the next year or two. A new Verano on a new platform and a slew of new SUV models that really have been the basis for Buick. GM could afford to let Buick rest on China and just so minor work here as they had their plates full with Chevy and Cadillac. I also expect the Buick Omega to appear soon too. Also you have to factor in that they had to move Cadillac up before they could move Buick to replace them. Now while Chevy and Buick share some things the Buicks do offer many things you can not find on a Chevy option list and the differences will grow even more. While Ford is selling a Fusion AWS for over 40K GM is trying to do it with a GS Buick and leave the LTZ Malibu to clean up with a lower price. It will take time to do but the Three car strategy at GM will work well once they get all the divisions done. Also the pressure of Buick is offset with Opel, China and now Holden. We will continue to see some cross over at Buick and Chevy but it too will fade with time. As for Ford doing it all under one brand on about two FWD and one RWD platform. It makes good solid economic sense but the problem there is it make horrible marketing sense. In the end people have always seen Ford as a value brand and it too will be like VW when they tried to sell the Phaeton and fail as that is just not their segment. Lets face it now the Top Taurus is nearly $50K. What would you buy a Ford for 50K or one of the real Luxury brands for the same price or even less in some cases. That is why we see some of the cheaper models of the top luxury brands as they can discontent a car and sell on image and not so much on options. To grasp this you have to look at all angles as this is a complex deal and not just one simple view can deal with all that is going on. The bottom line is there is a lot of money to be made in the luxury segment. People with means will pay a lot of money for a car with image. Those who want to pretend they have the means are now willing to pay for the cheaper versions of these cars and while the profits are less it will reap some volume sales. The key is not to over sell the cheaper models. Porsche did so in the 70's and 80's and suffered some damage to their image. When they gave us the 924 and 944 it made Porsche a brand of the masses and not so exclusive as it once was. They learned from this and now even on their cheaper models they are still expensive and not for everyone. Care must be taken to regulate the brand as if you sell too many to the wrong segment of people you can do major damage to your brand image. Harley Davidson did this too in the 70's under AMF. It nearly put them under.

Nothing is beyond saving with the right support and funding. The question is will Ford be willing to give them the support and the patients. to get the job done. Here too Lincoln does not need to be number one in the segment as they could profit handsomely with the sales of these models even in low volumes. Lets hope for Lincolns sake the people that are not the problem win as they did at Cadillac. The reality is if Ford wants to save Lincoln they need to jump beyond the Taurus based models and move to making their own products in AWD and RWD. They also need their own engines or at the very least their own tunes of the Ford engines. You can continue to do as GM did in the 90's. Lincoln can fail even vs. Buick once they move to the Avenir. Yes it will reach production. As pf now the Continental is all show and not much else. They need to finish the program fully not just go part way. This is the equivalent of a 90's STS. Since we brought up Buick this is an added dimension too here. GM has this brand and can cover a segment that Cadillac does not even have to address. While the others have to be all to everyone GM can focus these two divisions to cover different areas and not have to prostitute themselves to segments they do not want or need to address. While they are two divisions they are two tools GM can use effectively. No longer do they need to drive a tack with a sledge hammer as they also have the proper size for each job.

Well one has to step back and take in the whole picture here on what is going on. As pointed out by several we have less models and higher price but we need to adjust more to see even more what is going on here. We all knew going in that Cadillac is not longer expected to run high volumes. They are now a lower volume and higher profit vehicle. With this said even with selling less cars odds are GM is seeing more profit vs. the heavily discounted older lower price models that sold in a little higher numbers. We also have to consider with the lower volumes higher percentage drops and gains are cars in the hundreds not thousands of units as high volume units see. We also are seeing some very good cars but lets face it GM has made it clear that these are not the cars that those at GM with vision want. The folks who are not the problem have finally convinced GM to put the money up to make these cars just what they need to be and that is better than the others. Not just bench mark the others but set the bench mark. So while we now have $12 Billion dollars to spend it will take 5 years to see the results in the product. We will see improvements in dealers and marketing in the mean time. As for who is number one, two three or even four it matters little as once GM gets better product going they will maintain and grow sales slowly. There is not going to be any rocket to number one here. Image and trust has to be earned one model at time and even over a series of products. While this is going on the profit per unit sold will be as high or higher than the most profitable pick up trucks out there. Even sitting number 4 in sales GM will realize around 50% of their sedan profits from the low volume of Cadillac's they will sell. That is why they have invested so much. Cadillac is and will be a car only a select few will be able to afford and buy. It no longer will be for the Faux rich that like to pretend. GM will make inroads and continue to make more money even at these lower volumes here. There is really little risk here for the most part as with this segment you have room to take these risk at these prices. For the most part it is not much more expensive to make a car like the CTS over a Malibu from an engineering stand point. Now it does hold more content and better quality materials but the development is not much more and even then much of the technology trickles down and gets paid off with all the models it makes its way to. Now for a dose of reality on Lincoln they were on their way out. Mulally if he had his way would have had them gone with their one brand thinking. with the way sales have been it was a case where it made sense till those inside Ford showed the profit potential of a Lincoln brand if done right. At this point those who saved Lincoln have preserved the brand and are working like Cadillac used to do and are working to make the best cars they can out of lesser platforms. They like GM of the past are working their platforms up and not down as GM is now doing. This ass backwards approach is not ideal but it is all they have for now. They too are wanting Ford to go all in like GM did for Cadillac but at this point that is not going to happen. So for now they will do the best they can with the Taurus transformed into a Continental and a Mustang transformed into some kind of coupe. They will supplement with the Ford SUV line much as Cadillac has been doing for profits. If they can prove their worth they may get the money they need but they will be years behind and at best challenging Lexus and Acura. They will make money but not as much per unit. They will have to rely on higher volumes and be the luxury of the masses. The Continental will replace the 300 as the favorite of the Bingo hall gray hairs and not the movers and shakers of Wall Street. I do wish Ford would fund Lincoln properly as they are pissing away a chance to do it right. Some there have learned from GM and want to follow the same path. Too bad there is not enough of them. As for the big picture just step back and look at all that is going on and that will be happening and it all will work out. These cars will be bringing in good money got GM and never have to be out selling Benz or BMW. Now as they do gain more market with time and new product it will be all the more. The bottom line here for Cadillac is not volume but profits. Read the profits and follow the money. GM is selling Cadillac's like Cadillac's used to be sold not like high volume fancy Chevys. But I see some of you already understand this and a few others really have no clue. The industry is no longer one product plan fits all in the 80's and 90's. GM tired that and we know that worked out.

Make you wonder if GM will get sued for the guy who died with his dog in his Corvette in TX. The battery was dead and he could not figure out how to open the doors? They said he died looking at the owners manual. I hate to see anyone die but some people really make it hard for them to live a full life.

This BS needs to stop. If they want to fine GM then do it and get it over with but the witch hunt to fine a way to charge GM with something no one knows exactly who or what to charge them with is getting ridicules. Yes people got hurt but so many of them also got hurt because they did not make use of the basic things like a seat belt and not driving while under the influence. what normally would have either avoided an accident in the first place or saved their life was ignored. GM should be fined but the fact is with the damaged culture and layered management they had at the time odds are only a few people knew what really happened and they will not talk because they will not want to incriminate themselves. GM at this time was all about meeting and making numbers. The higher ups for the most part had no idea what was going on as long as people met metrics. Many at mid management fudged and hid much and is much of what sent GM to chapter 11 in the first place. So unless you can find where some one can be proven beyond a doubt did something all they can do is collectively fine GM like they did Toyota to let the government save face on their lack of knowing what was going on and move on. A lot of people on all sides screwed up here and not only GM. If it were not for the anti GM media and blood sucking lawyers this would have long passed. Yes some people suffered but so many are really only suffering as much as the lawyer is telling them to.

I think what most miss on this new car is it was derived from a platform that was created with Cadillac funding to compete with a BMW. In the past we had to make due with left over Chevy II/ Nova, Modified Monza like platform and rehashed aging Holden platform. This car should have much greater refinement in areas in the past were left wanting. while it will not have the Cadillac level of materials in all areas it will be so much more a complete package than we have had in years. I had the past F body manager tell me he always had money for engine and chassis but always was cut short of truly finishing the car inside and in other areas. This is why the window lifts fail and the interior plastic always was sub standard. This car needed to shrink as it was too large and bulky. As for ergonomics of getting in or out.... well it is a coupe. People do not buy coupes for convenience they buy them for ego and looks. Same with some of the sight lines. For the most part most people expect some issues but the last one just pushed it too far. It is one thing not to see out the back well but when you can't see out the front that is where the line got crossed. The lower cowl, hood and fenders will take care of most peoples issues. The rear quarter blind spot..... Well just stab the gas and move over as that will take care of anyone in your blind spot. LOL!