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Not allowed to bring phones into the meeting. I LOVE the name btw! A double jibs up from me to Lincoln for that. It fits perfectly in the rest of the Lincoln SUV lineup. It sounds distinguished. Leagues better (see what I did there?) than GLx### or Q/QX or X/XT at the other brands.

????

This is exactly what I'm talking about with you insisting that cars if different sizes can't compete. They can and do compete. If the 2004 CTS had been the size of a 3 Series, I never would have bought it. The 3-series was never a consideration because it was way too small. The other car I looked at was one of the last Aurora's Cochran had in stock that wasn't a Final 500. Had I waited another 6 months, the 300C would have been an option. By offering a larger car at the same price, Cadillac won a sale over BMW. The CTS-V was clearly targeted at the M3, of which it beat in hp and torque, performance and price. "Oh, the CTS-V is faster and handles better than the M3 and costs less.... But it has usable rear seat legroom and a decent sized trunk, so that must mean it competes with the M5 that costs $35k more!" Don't you see how ridiculous you sound? Cadillac's 5 series competition came in the form of the STS which got shit on for having a "dull" interior. No German car fan from that era has any business talking about dull interiors of other cars.

Ideally, mainline brands in 2020 (Chevy, Ford, Nissan, Mercedes, etc) should build 2 sedans, small & mid-sized. The luxury brands should build mid- and full-size.

My mom had an 2002 9-5, she actually drove a CTS after I told her to give it a try, she didn't like Cadillacs then and still doesn't now. After the 9-5 though she got an Audi A4 because she thought the 9-5 was too big. I am just using that as an example, that some people don't want a mid-size car, just like in your example your mom wanted a full size car. So you have to build 3 sizes of car, Cadillac in 2001 had 3 cards over 200 inches long and the Escalade, how do you only build 4 large cars and ignore the rest of the market? Lexus seems to be going down that path now, build the ES which is Avalon size now and LS, an upper mid-size and a full size, because full size sedans are a hot segment to pour money into... Not sure how Mercedes is missing out on a market for large trucks unless you are talking pickups. Not counting the vans (which a Sprinter is pretty large) they make a full size SUV. I am not opposed to Mercedes building a full size pickup, I think they could do it better than Ford can. I think if they took the X-class and modified it more for the American market it would sell.

Less people WANT cars smaller than mid-size. Almost anybody buying that small is doing so because they don't have money for something larger.

And for people who want a large truck, Honda and Mercedes have nothing to offer. You don't get a yuuuger segment than that. Where's your scorn for Mercedes missing out on probably the most important and lucrative market in North America? I don't know what you mother was seeing, or if she was shopping with a tape measure. The CTS is 2.4 centimeters longer than the 9-5 (I'm assuming the 2001ish model, the final 9-5 was nearly XTS sized), and less than half a centimeter wider. Furthermore, the 9-5 should feel larger inside due to the FWD packaging. Thinking the CTS is too big compared to a 9-5 is just making an excuse for some reason to not like the car. My own mother went the other way. She had a 94 Bonneville and really liked the look of the CTS. I tried to sell her on the Aurora instead, but she didn't want an Oldsmobile (brand snobbery, you might know about that). I tried to tell her she wouldn't like the CTS because it would be too small for her. Make sure the Cadillac dealer we went to was an Olds/Cadillac dealer. I put her in a Sunburst Orange CTS on the showroom floor. She immediately was disappointed. It was too small. She got out. I told her to try out this other car behind the CTS without telling her what it was. She got in and went "Ooooo, I like this". It was a black Aurora. That one wasn't the one she bought, but she did end up in an Aurora. She beats up her cars badly, but she got that one to about 170k miles before she sold it to an employee who promptly totaled it. These days she drives Ford tough. Her King Ranch is well over 170k miles now.

The MKT is popular with Lyft/Uber drivers for a different reason. It is the most efficient vehicle at the lowest price that fits into every single Uber/Lift car category. They can be UberX, UberXL, Uber Black, Uber SUV. The only other vehicles that can do that and match it on fuel economy would be the GLS diesel and possibly the Q7, but those are a lot more expensive, even used, than an MKT. No other vehicle can hit all of the requirements while also being cheap to buy and cheap to fuel relative to its competition. MKTs, with their big cargo areas, are also good for the coveted "airport runs". If you have an MKT and get an Uber Black ping for an airport run, you probably just struck gold.

Cadillac is in on the fleet market in China, that and the EV requirements are why the CT6 PHEV is built there. That's why there is an ATS-L, an XTS 2.0T, and there was an STS-L in China. Your question regarding Lexus and Infiniti in China reveals your ignorance of history. The Chinese largely shun Japanese cars due to that little disagreement Japan had with China from 1931 - 1941. The Chinese like Buicks because their former Emperor used them and they became a cultural status symbol. This is true even to today. American and European cars are status symbols in China, the Japanese are parihas. Once you understand the cultural implications, then you see why Lexus and Infiniti have an uphill battle there. In Europe, it doesn't matter if Mercedes is only producing Trabants, Germans will still buy them over any current Cadillac because they are culturally loyal. Wash, Rinse, Repeat with the French and the CV2.

They didn't (in the US) other than this : IF GM had produced these, I'd SO own one right now!

Yeah, these compacts that the lux brands are coming out with just scream status seeker, badge snob, fake.

It's a '63-ish Bel Air / Impala. Or was.

No, you don’t.

I think it was pretty clear I am talking about F-150. Wait, you think Mercedes can out F-150 the F-150? Not Ram, not Toyota, and not Nissan have come close. You think you have some brand loyalty with Mercedes, you haven’t seen F-150 buyers yet. They’ll laugh at that rebadged Frontier.

You always wanted to drive. EVERYONE has that one car they've either seen, read about, knew someone had (Personally or at the office complex/on the block/etc.) that they've always wanted to drive and experience, but haven't yet for whatever reason (Like dealers not letting you unless you're actually gonna buy it) Got a lot of cars, but to keep it simple, gonna list... Mk2 TT RS! Even before I owned a Mk1 225 Roadster, even before I drove a mk2 3.2 and was disappointed with it's jelly soft clutch, always loved this beast and would love to own one! While I'm new here, should be picked up on I'm a manual guy, so it's Mk2 or Bust, even if Mk3 is supposedly better That's my One car, how about you?

I've never driven an air-cooled Beetle, but have driven a couple of air-cooled Porsches..a buddy in Colorado had a '73 914 and a '76 911 that I drove a couple times each. Fun cars.

Update: Fate calls.... I might get to drive a Corvair this week, though it is an automatic and I had hoped for a manual.

Always wanted one, but was in college at the time so never got to buy one or drive it. 1987 Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe. https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/12/16/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1987-chevrolet-monte-carlo-ss-aerocoupe/ This is a sweet clean fully loaded one with only 37K miles on it in Silver. I wanted one in Maroon, but I have seen these with an updated powertrain package from GM Performance that makes these auto's fly. If I could I would love to drive this 1988 Monte Carlo that was modernized and highlighted on The Block website with a modern Powertrain. LS376/525 6.2L LS3 525 HP / 486 lb-ft of torque connected to a T56 Super Magnum six-speed manual transmission. These connect and cruise systems are just AWESOME! http://www.theblock.com/?article=cd21a687-34ae-4f7f-9b83-b8c840aae880#news @balthazar I bet you would love to test drive this C10: http://www.theblock.com/?article=dbb4f11c-e1fa-45f3-8c5b-0f1352896ce3#news LT1 powered

Honestly this is literally a dollars and cents kinda deal. I don’t think they even sell the GS in Japan, and the ES sells way better in China too, who gives a crap about driving there! like really the GS sedan could probably fold because it isn’t a carrier of Lexus prestige anymore. I think it just got lost naturally. Now there’s an F sport ES, the IS is still on an old platform... and the GA-L, like I really do not want to see a 3/4 LS 500 sausage turned into the next GS. the LS is already a tweener in terms of passenger space since that damn racy styling gives it only 97 cu ft. of passenger space compared to 115 in a 7 Series.

People DO NOT buy vehicles that way. If they did, and the C-class was a"good size", why has it packed on 7-8 inches since? What makes NO sense is a luxury brand offering compact vehicles- who wants to pay premium pricing for a tiny car? If they did, the 1-series would sell more than the 3/4, and it's no where close.

Beautiful day, after work went downtown to the 55th St pier to enjoy sun and Lake Erie..snapped this pic of sunlight on the water.

(Slightly) Better looking than a Jaguar, but not as good reliability. I really want to be impressed with these new Alfas... I was in love with the 159s.... but these just fail to impress me.

Hahah..that was 'Si' as in 'Yes'...

That is actually a '70. But cool nonetheless... From that list, I'd go with the Chevy Kingswood 427 wagon or '70 Chrysler 300 Hurst. My favorites, though, aren't on the list...kind of under the radar biggies w/ 429 v8s... '69 Ford XL GT and '69-70 Mercury Marauder X100.

I just think this one looks the coolest. 1969 Oldsmobile Rallye 350

Ya know... a Mk II drive could be pretty sweet- I think I agree with you there! Tho I think I"ll go with the Turbo-Drive. :D

Point of correction was : S-class being down 16% is certainly not "on fire". SL creeps along, continually outdated for decades. How, nobody knows.