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PROPAGANDA PHOTO! From Ford's 2020 Super Duty site:

whatcha squintin at? - - - - -

'63 Merc S-55 ~

i was at the auto show locally here yesterday and spent a fair amount of time looking at the Cadillacs on hand. Cadillac had great representation in terms of people and examples of their cars. Since they finally have the new XT4 it seemed like a lot of Cadillac interest from the show attenders, more than recent years IMO. Most people were looking at the Escalade or XT5 and those looking at the XT5 discovered the XT4. I have been a bit of a rag on the XT5 but admit that it is probably the core product for Cadillac right now and the one that keeps the doors open the most along with the Escalade. And so the XT5 is positioned to sell (to the women like mentioned above by someone, c'mon this is the truth). Looking at all the competition in one place it is true, the Cadillac interior does lack when compared to nice high end Mercedes and BMW, and then you look at Ford Edges and the like and you understand that Cadillac perceives their best sales volume to be in the squishy zone that is above the mainstream brands but not top tier. They position their crossovers to blend some perception of luxury but not be exclusive. I think the XT6 is needed, it's unfortunate its a frankenstein rushed to market with parts bin approach but it is far too clear that crossovers is where the sales volume is, and this is the quick way to solve that for Cadillac. Cadillac could and should improve interiors and try to offer something more enticing in the powertrain department than just the 3.6. Unless Cadillac can feel like they can exclusively compete in the market only in higher priced segments, we will continue to have B grade interiors and common powertrains. On the higher trim packages the Cadillacs do make a much better impression on interiors so maybe the problem is the base level interiors that they feel they need to keep their base trim vehicles attractively priced. EVERYONE at these shows is looking almost entirely at crossovers and trucks. So you can understand why Cadillac may be wanting to soften the quest for excellence and just try to get stuff out there that sells while the market is scorched earth. (I would even suggest that Cadillac should consider offering a pickup again). I spent a lot of time in this sweet rig yesterday. Had a nice long conversation with a gentlemen and his very young son (his son proudly said he was 'a Cadillac man too'). Heard some other people talk at length too and ask some of the reps some questions. One of the reps told someone the CT6 will go on 'haitus' for a year or so in about a year or two and will be 'redesigned'. Not easy to decipher if that means whole new model or if current model changes plants and gets some cosmetic surgery. I would have taken this sweet CT6 as is exactly (although i wish it were the twin turbo). Crystal white plus tan. oOh yeah. People still believe Cadillac is a large sedan brand, despite the Crossover focus, it is still clear Cadillac's stereotype is large crusing sedans. When they have gotten away from that the last ten years or so like they have that partially explains Cadillac's faltering. It also explains that I believe to still have a large sedan in the future is critical for brand image, crossovers be darned. How well Cadillac does this car and the Escalade IMO will do far more to keep Cadillac's image than getting too tricky on the crossovers part. Crossovers, just give the people what they want and cash the checks.

Why I've always said mercedes really wasn't successful/competitive in this country until sometime in the '90s (but not the early '90s) ~

Sorry I let the answer to this slip thru the cracks : Pretty much on the nose, Robert, tho not when you might've thought. Mid-century, there were countless small-town garages that were also car dealers.

Gorgeous limited-production '54 'E' ~

Tucker.

After getting used to the lights, it has quite a nice flow to it......

Yes sir, that is a 2020 Soul EX, with a trim package of two-tone paint, 18" wheels, LED lighting all around, unique interior trim and whatnot.

First luxury SUV was 'indisputedly' the '63 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. It 'invented' the segment. ^ And how does one come out with 'it's the first except for 2 others that came before it' ??? Grain alcohol, much?

zzzzzzzzzzzzz.. you're right, Drew

Actually... it is BMW's interior which is plastic intensive. Everything on the dash that's in beige is plastic. As is everything in charcoal below the arm rest. And this is on the top level trim. On the entry level trim it's vinyl everywhere and the entire upper dash is not even wrapped in anything. The interior is also cluttered and untidy from a design standpoint and the semi-tablet on dash infotainment display -- while not as silly as M-B's -- still looks like an afterthought. Exterior wise, I find the Caddy XT6's styling to be more distinct and "cleaner" than the X5's. The styling opinions are subjective; the qualitative ones are not. As I said, I have no problems with the interior. I do preferred the previous gen Caddy styling with the vertical headlights. The one thing I have a problem with is the 3.6 LGX engine -- which is refined enough but weak for the segment and Caddy's positioning. And, as I said, the XT5/6 should offer the excellent 2.7T four cylinder as the base engine with the 3.0TT V6 as the option. The LGX 3.6 can go in the RX350 fighting Buick and the Pilot fighting GMC/Chevys.

Random Ford Lincoln fact... Them doing crap like this is what has helped hold Lincoln back. Hopefully since the Navigator and Aviator they've turned a new page buuuuut Ford released an upgraded 2.0T for the Escape, Edge, MKX, MKC, and Fusion but in 2017 the Escape for the new engine and the MKC is just getting the update in 2019. relatively minute changes but a twin scroll replaced the single scroll for a 5hp/5tq bump but throttle response was supposed to have been improved. Isn't this the kind of thing that should start in the Lincolns THEN spread to Fords if Lincoln is supposed to be the premier company? ??‍♂️

That'll also get one engine choice and you guessed it, n/a 3.6. That'll be anther show stopper!

Totally tubular!