Real Measure of Success: Cadillac ATPs Up 15% for June 2015

[Cmicasa the Great]

 

 

 

General Motors’ prestige luxury brand, Cadillac, is in the process of a well-known transformation, laying down a solid foundation for growth well into the future. And despite declining sales volume, Cadillac is reaping (some of) the fruits from its labor by seeing an increase in average transaction prices.

The average transaction price (ATP) for Cadillacs sold in June in the U.S. market topped $52,000, a $7,000 — or 15 percent — increase over the same period a year ago. The brand attributes the increase to ongoing product enhancements that are “transforming the brand and elevating its position in the luxury marketplace”.

“Our goals are to improve the quality of the business in the U.S., while maintaining global growth,” said Cadillac President Johan deNysschen.

Read more: GM Authority

[Cmicasa the Great]

Once the CT6 and Vseries vehicles go on sale.. expect that 15% to rise even further as more high-end products in the above $65K range start selling. GM backed off incentives last month.. and dropped overall fleet deliveries by 45%.. Cadillac gained in retail numbers thus the very nice improvement to the bottom line.

 

This is what JDN was talking about would happen when he took over and exclaimed that sales would drop, but prestige would rise. The idea of Cadillac being a volume brand at GM is not a necessary one if one looks at the whole picture. GM has quietly raised prices across the board, allowing for 2008-2013 Cadillac pricing to be slowly creeping into 2014-2015 Buick, GMC, and even Chevy pricing. Meaning that the other brands are selling in a price point that used to be Cadillac's.. while Cadillac is now joining the numbers that Benz and BMW pull in, albeit not in their volume, but ATPS are coming into their stratosphere nonetheless. 

[ZL-1]

JDN's point was exactly that: while overall volume might drop, ATPs and consequently unit margins will increase. Of course, some of that drop in will be recovered by the crossovers that will slot below and above the XT5 (people should not forget that Cadillac is losing a lot of sales in the CUV segment as they only have the SRX right now).

[Drew Dowdell]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

[El Kabong]

Yes-a mature, established nameplate that is now acknowledged by many to be the best large SUV out there. All part of the process.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

[El Kabong]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

Yes, because everyone knows that the main competitors in the segment (Range Rover, G-Class, LX570) have never used solid axles.

You want some cheese for that whine? Yeesh

[surreal1272]

 

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV

Well, Ford got away with Mustangs (namely GT500s) that pushed $60K with a live axle for years. That same Escalade has also bested the competition in many comparos so that live axle clearly isn't a big deal.

[Drew Dowdell]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

I saw this pop up on my email and I automatically assumed it was SMK our resident Mercedes Fanboi/Cadillac hater. I was wrong.

However, like him you seem to be more concerned with the "how" rather than the results. The Escalade provides on of the best combinations of ride and handling in this class. The GL is far too soft and the Navigator is truck like.

[El Kabong]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

I saw this pop up on my email and I automatically assumed it was SMK our resident Mercedes Fanboi/Cadillac hater. I was wrong.

However, like him you seem to be more concerned with the "how" rather than the results. The Escalade provides on of the best combinations of ride and handling in this class. The GL is far too soft and the Navigator is truck like.

Hmmph, begin to understand you do! Schtick gets old it does.

[Drew Dowdell]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

I saw this pop up on my email and I automatically assumed it was SMK our resident Mercedes Fanboi/Cadillac hater. I was wrong.

However, like him you seem to be more concerned with the "how" rather than the results. The Escalade provides on of the best combinations of ride and handling in this class. The GL is far too soft and the Navigator is truck like.

Hmmph, begin to understand you do! Schtick gets old it does.

He can have his opinion and I have mine. Mine just happens to be the right one

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

 

 

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

I saw this pop up on my email and I automatically assumed it was SMK our resident Mercedes Fanboi/Cadillac hater. I was wrong.

However, like him you seem to be more concerned with the "how" rather than the results. The Escalade provides on of the best combinations of ride and handling in this class. The GL is far too soft and the Navigator is truck like.

 

Not a slant, but a general fascination….that people spend so much for an SUV. 

Honestly, do you think it is worth the huge price premium over a loaded to the max Sierra? Does a third row and covered storage and more features really add up to the tens of thousands of additional price?

I just don’t think so.

 

And I would say similar for a Navigator above a loaded Platinum F-150, albeit much less of a price delta.  

[Drew Dowdell]

You're comparing to the wrong vehicle. At $100k, you're in Escalade ESV Platinum AWD territory.  The vehicle to compare that to is the GMC Yukon XL Denali. Once you check all the boxes to get to feature parity with the Escalade ESV (and still come up a bit short), the price is $78k.  These are clearly not vehicles for budget minded consumers... the escalade has a much nicer interior than the GMC and I could see that plus the branding as being important to drivers in this segment.  None of whom will care (as sales number prove) about the configuration of the rear axle.

[El Kabong]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade.

zactly.

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

I saw this pop up on my email and I automatically assumed it was SMK our resident Mercedes Fanboi/Cadillac hater. I was wrong.

However, like him you seem to be more concerned with the "how" rather than the results. The Escalade provides on of the best combinations of ride and handling in this class. The GL is far too soft and the Navigator is truck like.

Hmmph, begin to understand you do! Schtick gets old it does.

He can have his opinion and I have mine. Mine just happens to be the right one

Congratulations. You have won the Internet for the day.

But on a serious note: the Escalade is the target for the sedans to follow as far as market buzz goes. If they can get a an a fraction of that then Cadillac will be a force to be reckoned with.

[Guest Wings4Life(BANNED)]

You're comparing to the wrong vehicle. At $100k, you're in Escalade ESV Platinum AWD territory.  The vehicle to compare that to is the GMC Yukon XL Denali. Once you check all the boxes to get to feature parity with the Escalade ESV (and still come up a bit short), the price is $78k.  These are clearly not vehicles for budget minded consumers... the escalade has a much nicer interior than the GMC and I could see that plus the branding as being important to drivers in this segment.  None of whom will care (as sales number prove) about the configuration of the rear axle.

I obviously meant to say yukon, but my point stands compared to a top level.

[smk4565]

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

I agree.  I wonder what the ATP is on vehicles other than Escalade and if those are up.  Escalade sales rose a lot in 2014 and so far this year, and it is the most expensive vehicle.  Increase Escalade sales by 50% at an ATP of $80,000 that is going to pull the brand numbers up.   If Cadillac stopped selling ATS, they could get ATP up even higher, but that isn't what is good for business.  At some point they still need volume.

[smk4565]

I think $75k for a Yukon Denali is nuts, just like I think nearing $100k on an Escalade is nuts, but people will pay it, so more power to GM for getting it.  Obviously Escalade sales are up, so people are willing to pay the price for it. 

[surreal1272]

 

You're comparing to the wrong vehicle. At $100k, you're in Escalade ESV Platinum AWD territory.  The vehicle to compare that to is the GMC Yukon XL Denali. Once you check all the boxes to get to feature parity with the Escalade ESV (and still come up a bit short), the price is $78k.  These are clearly not vehicles for budget minded consumers... the escalade has a much nicer interior than the GMC and I could see that plus the branding as being important to drivers in this segment.  None of whom will care (as sales number prove) about the configuration of the rear axle.

I obviously meant to say yukon, but my point stands compared to a top level.

 

You know that same rule can be applied to the Expedition and the Navigator (which starts at $17K higher than a similarly equipped Expy) as well right? Just built a Navigator on the Lincoln site for almost $74K! Yikes!

Edited July 8, 2015 by surreal1272

[smk4565]

If BMW does the X7 well, I think some of these big body on framers could be in trouble.  And maybe not so much because buyers know the difference, but if the X7 rides and drives well, has technology and performance, better fuel economy, etc, I bet they can steal some sales off the establishment.

[Cmicasa the Great]

 

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

zactly.

 

Kind of a amazing that people will pay over $100K for truck axled SUV.

 

 

 

 

But U kno what?!?!? They DO Tho.. constantly.

 

And despite Drew's words.. Cadillac is getting some damn high ATPs from the CTS, with over $50K, XTS, and even SRX and ATS. The ELR is a foregone conclusion

 

As recently as  March, Cadillac’s ATPs were $54,000, near the top of the luxo segment, according to J.D. Power.  ATPs were up more than $9,000 per unit from the previous March

 

.

[Cmicasa the Great]

And to further my point... last year... June 2014:

 

Audi’s average transaction price was $51,696

Mercedes’was $58,669

BMW’s was $52,104.

[Cmicasa the Great]

Some may balk.. but keep in mind that the A8, R8 and A7, Audis most expensive vehicles don't sell as many as the Escalade alone combined

[balthazar]

So, to nutshell it; Cadillac's transaction prices have surpassed Audi AND BMW. Not bad… but in some ways not surprising as those brands (and MB also) have been busy pushing downmarket / going mainstream in recent years.

[oldshurst442]

 

A lot of that pull northward is from the Escalade. 

I agree.  I wonder what the ATP is on vehicles other than Escalade and if those are up.  Escalade sales rose a lot in 2014 and so far this year, and it is the most expensive vehicle.  Increase Escalade sales by 50% at an ATP of $80,000 that is going to pull the brand numbers up.   If Cadillac stopped selling ATS, they could get ATP up even higher, but that isn't what is good for business.  At some point they still need volume.

 

Well...yes and no about Cadillac needing volume.

Like we have said countless of times...

Cadillac is NOT Mercedes Benz and BMW where those brands NEED to be everything to everyone....from mainstream to blue collar to aristocracy...

Cadillac needs the ATS for image rather than volume.

Chevrolet and Buick and GMC are there for volume.

Technically...Cadillac's cars are ONLY about image...prestige....and on certain cars...LOW VOLUME is PREFERRED.

OK....crossovers from Cadillac may be needed for volume more than low volume prestige....

 

And why the ATS could actually sell in low volume...but high price tags?

Because Chevrolet Camaro helps with the amortization of the platform....and any crossover that Alpha will spawn from Cadillac and/or Chevy and/or GMC and even possibly Opel...

And...CTS...isnt that car on a modified Alpha platform too?

 

Whatever....It seems to me that GM finally has a sound business plan for its entire brand umbrella for the first time since the early 1970s...

 

Unfortunately for Mercedes-Benz and BMW...North America is not post WW2 Europe in which us North Americans could easily accept mainstream offerings and not judge harshly...plus....Europe is home for BMW and M-B and THAT is why BMW and M-B gets sooooo many passes...because Europeans are used to seeing BMW Isettas on their streets...eventually in North America...M-B and BMW are risking image regression with all these mainstream offerings....if it happened to Cadillac...it could happen to BMW and M-B...

BMW and M-B are walking a fine line with that...because if they slip up on their top tier models....its over for them...just like it was for Cadillac...

Edited July 9, 2015 by oldshurst442

[smk4565]

Jaguar and Maserati have high ATP's and they have super low volume.  But I don't think any other luxury brand is striving to be like those two.

[balthazar]

Cadillac doesn't have "super low volume".

 

Jag barely moves 80K units/yr globally.

[cp-the-nerd]

With the V-series models and updated powertrains next year, I would like to see roughly 2500 to 3000 monthly sales from the ATS and CTS. Of course, in order to achieve that they'll need decent advertising. The cars can't simply be world class, people have to KNOW about them.

[Cmicasa the Great]

So, to nutshell it; Cadillac's transaction prices have surpassed Audi AND BMW. Not bad… but in some ways not surprising as those brands (and MB also) have been busy pushing downmarket / going mainstream in recent years.

 

 

In a nutshell. Cadillac is in a precarious situation where people, or rather analysts want it to be the Cadillac of Luxury and prestige while at the same time having the volume of Chevy. Its inconsistent. Quite frankly the tight-rope BMW, Benz and Audi are walking is the epitome of inconsistent. 

 

De Nysschen is right. 100% right. The thing that has actually held Cadillac back is that it allowed the brand to be dictated by the traditional buyers instead of dictating the direction of the traditional buyers. There simply is no growth in playing to the same buyers who once enjoyed driving sofas down the road. Once the forefront leader in all things luxury, they are without a doubt the one brand besides Mercedes that actually have the heritage to pull it off. If losing the bargain luxury shopper, thus some sales on the low end...  is the way of bringing in even more affluent buyers. why would they balk at that? Truth is GM has quite frankly the best opportunity in the market to truly offer a real luxury brand. Mercedes and BMW have fundamentally blurred lines between what is a what isn't luxury. We have Benz peddling S-Classes and catering to S-Class customers while at the same time selling CLA and having those same S-Class customers hob-nobbing with the help. For example, at some point S-Class buyers will be sitting in the same service bay as CLA buyers. Those are the same CLA buyers that bought the car because it was a luxury name put on a basic "Nissan Sentra" with a Sentra price. The executives will be essentially sharing their aspirational car with, not even their management teams.. or even their factory workers.. but the cleaning crew. When I take my Cadillac in.. at a my Cadillac only dealership I have always been treated exemplary.. including a loaner Cadillac for the day while my vehicle was being serviced. If U really think a CLA customer is being treated in the same manner as an S-Class customer then U are lost in the sauce. Furthermore the experience of driving the inferior dynamics of the CLA would negate any thoughts of arrival placated by the dealership experience. The car is disgusting to look at.. disgusting to drive.. and disgusting for the current leader of the luxury segment to put on buyers for no other real reason but sales numbers and CAFE compliance.

 

Cadillac can, and has the luxury, excuse the pun, to be autonomous from the lower ranks because it has not just Chevy to bridge the gap with upper LTZ models, but Buick and GMC. Mercedes and BMW can not do that and stay the course of luxury. As more and more "bottom feeders" buy the CLA, more and more sales of the C_Class will fall off the charts. This will also effect the ML once the GLA is introed. Mark my words. At BMW a similar thing will happen..

 

[smk4565]

I do think Cadillac needs to play on the heritage more, their advertising right now is very weak, the heritage is something they should celebrate, but they seem to run and hide from it.  I think now they are seeing a path to what they want their product line to look like, but for a while they thought we need a 3-series clone, a Lexus RX clone, Navigator clone going back to the late 90s, etc.  They just wanted to copy the leaders in segments, regardless of whether it fir their brand or not.   I think now they are trying to define a brand identity and be more consistent.

 

As far as service goes, I haven't really noticed any different treatment of people regardless of what car they drive at the Mercedes dealer I go to.  Everyone gets a free loaner car regardless of what you drive, the loaner fleet is C-class and GLK.  The nearest Cadillac dealer to me has its service department at the Chevy dealership.  OMG, the Escalade owners might run into a Chevy Sonic owner, chaos will erupt!  I don't think it really matters that much, half these people probably don't even go to the dealer for service.

 

As far as the CLA goes, obviously they have the A/B segment platform already in place, the CLA helps attract some younger buyers, that probably otherwise wouldn't consider the brand and helps the CAFE equation.   I am not a CLA fan, but I understand why it is there.  The electric B-class is dumb, but California mandates you have to have an electric car, so there you go.   Sometimes you have to have a couple compliance or business case models in place.  Mercedes knows what they are doing though, they know how to market and create brand image.

[Cmicasa the Great]

I do think Cadillac needs to play on the heritage more, their advertising right now is very weak, the heritage is something they should celebrate, but they seem to run and hide from it.  I think now they are seeing a path to what they want their product line to look like, but for a while they thought we need a 3-series clone, a Lexus RX clone, Navigator clone going back to the late 90s, etc.  They just wanted to copy the leaders in segments, regardless of whether it fir their brand or not.   I think now they are trying to define a brand identity and be more consistent.

 

 

 

Every maker sees a successful model and they eventually emulate it. Every luxo maker has a 3series clone. ATS, IS, A4, C-Class, Q60, upcoming XE. Every luxo maker has a comparable RX.. and calling the Escalade a clone of the Navigator when GM has owned the large SUV segment since it was created is going a bit far. U wish to condemn Cadillac for going the exact route everyone wanted them to go.. while at the same time ignoring and making excuses for your German brands for gradually becoming more Buick/Lexus like than anything else. 

 

 

 

 

As far as service goes, I haven't really noticed any different treatment of people regardless of what car they drive at the Mercedes dealer I go to.  Everyone gets a free loaner car regardless of what you drive, the loaner fleet is C-class and GLK.  The nearest Cadillac dealer to me has its service department at the Chevy dealership.  OMG, the Escalade owners might run into a Chevy Sonic owner, chaos will erupt!  I don't think it really matters that much, half these people probably don't even go to the dealer for service.

 

 

 

 

Actually.. the Cadillac/Chevy dealers I kno of in my area literally treat their Cadillac owners quite different than they do their Chevy ones. The even have a separate waiting room. Now Buick/GMC owners do get the same treatment.. altho I have no complaints their either.

 

 

 

 

As far as the CLA goes, obviously they have the A/B segment platform already in place, the CLA helps attract some younger buyers, that probably otherwise wouldn't consider the brand and helps the CAFE equation.   I am not a CLA fan, but I understand why it is there.  The electric B-class is dumb, but California mandates you have to have an electric car, so there you go.   Sometimes you have to have a couple compliance or business case models in place.  Mercedes knows what they are doing though, they know how to market and create brand image.

 

 

CLA is not MERCEDES the way U make MERCEDES out to be. GLA neither. U are making excuses because they eat Strudel instead of Apple Pie

[Drew Dowdell]

As far as service goes, I haven't really noticed any different treatment of people regardless of what car they drive at the Mercedes dealer I go to.  Everyone gets a free loaner car regardless of what you drive, the loaner fleet is C-class and GLK.  The nearest Cadillac dealer to me has its service department at the Chevy dealership.  OMG, the Escalade owners might run into a Chevy Sonic owner, chaos will erupt!  I don't think it really matters that much, half these people probably don't even go to the dealer for service.

Bairel Cadillac picks up your car for service and leaves you with the loaner.   The loaners were almost always STSes back when I had a CTS.   So it doesn't really matter which garage the oil is changed in.

[smk4565]

GM is the big SUV leader for sure now.  But I was more talking about when the Navigator was announced in 1997, whoever was head of Cadillac at the time said Cadillac was not a truck brand, and the Yukon Denali was the GM luxury SUV.  Then the Navigator sold like hot cakes and 1 year later they did a literal badge swap on the Yukon Denali and called it the Escalade.  Cadillac has often been a reactionary brand, so often they are chasing segment leaders rather than being the defining car in a segment.  I think the 2006 Escalade really left the Navigator in the dust, and other car makers started to give up on big trucks, so the Escalade became the king of that segment, despite the GL outselling it a couple times, the Escalade is sort of the defining vehicle there.

 

For Cadillac to really be on par with the big boys they need more models, and some high end models, a true sports car, true flagship sedan, V12 engine, diesels or hybrid, convertibles, etc.  I think Cadillac knows what they need, but I just don't know if they'll really follow through on what it takes to get there.  Like will Cadillac ever have a sports car faster than a Corvette?  I'd love to see a mid-engine Cadillac supercar, but I don't think the Corvette people would like it, so it probably won't happen.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Denali was originally intended to be the Cadillac, it was developed that way first and then Cadillac rejected it so it went to GMC.

 

A year later Cadillac called "BACKSIES!"

[smk4565]

True, I forgot about that part of it.  Either way the original Escalade was pretty bad, they hardly did anything to change it from the Yukon.  Te 2nd gen had distinct headlights and the 345 hp when the GMC had 315 or whatever, but I feel like the 2006 Escalade is when Cadillac really stepped it up and tried to differentiate more.  Although even still in side view there is a lot of commonality between a Suburban and Escalade.

[Cmicasa the Great]

True, I forgot about that part of it.  Either way the original Escalade was pretty bad, they hardly did anything to change it from the Yukon.  Te 2nd gen had distinct headlights and the 345 hp when the GMC had 315 or whatever, but I feel like the 2006 Escalade is when Cadillac really stepped it up and tried to differentiate more.  Although even still in side view there is a lot of commonality between a Suburban and Escalade.

 

 

 

sooooo... what's Mercedes' excuse for this nasty mess???

 

 

or this

 

[smk4565]

Small crossovers is what the people want.    The CLA gets 38 mpg highway, 35 mpg for the GLA.  Pretty strong numbers, and as was discussed they need that for CAFE when the V12 cars get 12/20, most of the V8s are around 16/25.  I'd much rather them make a CLA than stop selling V12s and V8s.

 

The CLA is outselling the Regal, ATS, ILX, 1/2-series, and the A3 sells even better than the CLA.  I don't think Mercedes would want to hand over another 25,000 sales a year to Audi.  The CLA makes good business sense from a sales standpoint, from attracting new buyers to the brand, and from a CAFE standpoint.

[smk4565]

They do make this though, Cadillac has no answer for it.

 

[Cmicasa the Great]

^^^^ OH.. I agree.. ironically Chevy does tho. Don't go and get that Benz EFFED UP by a lowly Chevy now. 

 

 

[Cmicasa the Great]

Shiiidt. I could have posted a pic of my Stingray for that one to be honest

 

[smk4565]

Corvette not quite a luxury car.  But we can compare a Z06 Coupe (which is quicker than the convertible) to an AMG GT  with Car and Driver numbers, they are pretty close.  But the Corvette does nothing to help Cadillac sales or Cadillac brand image. 

 

                       Z06                          AMG GT

0-60  mph:    3.0 seconds             3.0 seconds

0-100 mph:   6.8 seconds             6.9 seconds

1/4 mile:     11.1 sec @ 127 mph   11.2 seconds @ 127 mph

Top Speed:     185 mph                 193 mph

70-0 braking:   128 feet                  141 feet

skidpad         1.19 g                       1.05 g

Fuel econ:     13/21 mpg               16/22 mpg

[smk4565]

This does more to help Mercedes sales and image than the Corvette does to help Cadillac sales and image, and at least it is built by Mercedes and wears a Mercedes badge on it even if you can't have one.  And nothing beats this on a road course or track with turns.

[El Kabong]

Ok... Except that companies like BMW are avoiding F1 like the plague.

[hyperv6]

The fact is F1 is in real trouble right now and they need to make some major changes. Cost are too high and ratings are way down even in Europe.

There is talk of some major changes and it may include the use of production blocks. That would draw the interest of many MFG if cost come down and real product can be promoted. Also talk of building cars that put the drive back in as a factor an not as much the wing set up.

 

I think right now and for the near future the money $100,000,000 plus per car would be put to better use else where.

The Pratt and Miller Cadillac racing has been doing a hell of a job but they get so little promotion. I got to hang out with Johnny O Connell last year at Mid Ohio and it was amazing how much of his car is production bases. It even came off the line. The sound is so close to pro stock but it runs more than a quarter mile.

[Cmicasa the Great]

and my colleagues say all of that Smk... so I can say F**K MERCEDES BENZ!!! 

[oldshurst442]

Ok... Except that companies like BMW are avoiding F1 like the plague.

Even Ferrari is threatening Bernie to leave F1 if he doesnt improve his racing league...

If I was SMK...I wouldnt have presented this as an argument...It dont do his argument any good.

 

Oh well...the man loves his Mercedes Benz....leave him be.

Here..SMK...I dedicate song for you.

[Cmicasa the Great]

Tidbit.. Cadillac ATPs were helped last month when they went the German luxo route and shut down 56% of their fleet sales in a planned reduction. 

[smk4565]

F1 could use improvements to make it more exciting.  Maybe go to a V8 hybrid instead of V6 to allow for some more power and noise.  Maybe modify some tracks to make more passing zones, etc.  But Ferrari is probably just mad because they can't win.  If Ferrari was winning every week they'd probably want no rules to change.

[El Kabong]

F1 is an overpriced spec series. If I was a company looking to spend a bazillion dollars to make a statement I'd at least choose a series where the rule book isn't a mile thick.

Edited July 10, 2015 by El Kabong

[cp-the-nerd]

This does more to help Mercedes sales and image than the Corvette does to help Cadillac sales and image, and at least it is built by Mercedes and wears a Mercedes badge on it even if you can't have one.  And nothing beats this on a road course or track with turns.

 

GM races in a number of series with both Cadillac and Chevy models, quite successfully I might add.

 

CTS-V.R

 

ATS-V.R

 

Chevy Indy Car

 

Camaro Z/28.R

 

Corvette C7.R

[oldshurst442]

F1 could use improvements to make it more exciting.  Maybe go to a V8 hybrid instead of V6 to allow for some more power and noise.  Maybe modify some tracks to make more passing zones, etc.  But Ferrari is probably just mad because they can't win.  If Ferrari was winning every week they'd probably want no rules to change.

Nah...that is not it with Ferrari.

 

Lots of stupid rules Bernie incorporates...

 

Like this new generation racer.

Void of all wonderful noises that makes F1 appealing to most.

And who is on the forefront of aforementioned wonderful noises?

The one company that is INFAMOUSLY famous for producing wonderful, glorifying, beautiful music from their engines...

That would be Ferrari.

Ferrari is F1....F1 is Ferrari...

 

This is like in baseball.

Everyone hates the Yankees. Including myself. But baseball IS the Yankees and those pinstripes.

Yeah...yeah...yeah...

The Red Sox and the Cubs...and the Brooklyn Dodgers....BOO freakin' Hoo....the Yankees are da team...

 

Well....Ferrari is the same...It dont matter if Ferrari is losing...one wants to see the famous red Ferrari racer wailing by...

Wailing by is the key phrase.

 

And other stupid moves, rules and regulations that favour other manufacturers while handicapping others....

Dont ask me for proof...I  dont follow F1 anymore because I got tired of those "rules".

I used to follow Jacques Villeneuve back in the day...but trying to remember what rule changes were done to limit the Williams teams and then BAR to favor Ferrari...yeah...the irony...and McLaren-Mercedes only to change the rules again to handicap McLaren-Mercedes...is like...impossible...It is far too long ago for me to remember specifics and I wouldnt know where to look for proof...So....it may seem like hot air that I just spewed...it dont matter...I know that is the trutth...