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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. riviera74
    They could do a 3 row crossover right now to top the F-Pace as we speak without dumping the XJ. The XJ probably needs an MCE rather than an all-new model anyway.
  2. riviera74
    Jeep has supported Chrysler and Dodge ever since Chrysler bought American Motors back in 1987. As for the Italians, FCA should dump them, but Sergio would probably ditch Chrysler and Dodge long before he would dump FIAT, Alfa Romeo and/or Maserati. It really sucks but the Italians are NOT carrying their share of the sales or profit load at all.
  3. riviera74
    Sergio's loyalty has always been to FIAT, not Chrysler. This is the same reason Daimler-Benz basically looted Chrysler after the 300/Charger twins came out. The original sin is that Bob Eaton sold Chrysler back in 1998. There are no REAL Chrysler advocates at the executive level; that is the real issue. Jeep should be thriving, but it cannot unless the Italians are dumped from FCA forever. As much as I hate to say this, FCA now is where GM was before they ditched Oldsmobile in 2004: too many brands, not enough sales and profit to justify any of it.
  4. riviera74
    I am glad that the CT6 is not on the chopping block. As for why the ATS and CTS are not selling, especially compared to MB and BMW and Audi, I don't know what to do about that. The fact that the XT5 is doing gangbusters does necessitate a larger and smaller crossover for Cadillac. But an Enclave clone may seem like badge engineering if Cadillac is not careful. That is WHY I advocated an Omega crossover to distinguish the Cadillac from the Lambda CUVs. Cadillac needs competitive and unique vehicles people will flock to dealerships to buy off the lots period, regardless of which side of the Pacific Ocean we are talking about. A better question is: where the hell is the luxury compact CUV? Buick has its Encore; Cadillac needs a better version of one too --- right now. Cadillac can survive (and probably thrive) with two cars and the rest are CUVs and SUVs. The CT6 is mandatory; an upgraded ATS or CTS should be the other since sales of both look problematic.
  5. riviera74
    Th best or nothing. Can MB explain the CLA then? That is the problem with German cars: the repair bills tend to be stratospheric, especially compared to anything GM.
  6. riviera74
    Well oldshurst, it is not that we do not care what GM is doing in China. It is that most of us care about what is sold here. Sure, Cadillac could use some clarity here. They ultimately need to decide whether the standard is defeating BMW or Lexus. The XTS is a dead car walking at this point. An Omega crossover would work wonders for Cadillac and keep the CT6 on dealer lots and make the platform $$$ case better. Cadillac does NOT need an Enclave clone; it needs an upgraded CUV to take care of the large luxury CUV segment. The XT5 is doing well in its midsize luxury CUV segment, especially against the Lexus RX. The ATS seems to be doing OK but can do better. Historically, Cadillac has been the smooth ride luxury leader for decades, but the market switched to the Germans back in the '80s and especially after Lexus debuted in 1990. I wish I had an answer for Cadillac's situation.
  7. riviera74
    Personally, I suspect that the CT6 will survive. Until further notice, the Escalade is NOT the flagship for Cadillac. Few would ever accept that as a possibility. The underlying technology of the Volt will survive and spread, even if the Volt does not. Why there is no Volt crossover puzzles me. As for Epsilon 2XXX (i.e. the Impala, Lacrosse and the XTS), one will certainly go and probably two. The XTS is a little too backwards looking and not quite Cadillac enough anymore. The Impala for some reason is being rejected for Traverses and Equinoxes. And the Lacrosse may end up suffering the same fate as the Lucerne did in 2011. No more large sedans is in my view rather sad, but time marches on. It wasn't that long ago wagons were everywhere, only to be supplanted by minivans in the '90s. As for the Sonic, I have no idea why Chevy has a Spark AND a Sonic. One of them will go soon.
  8. riviera74
    Plugging in is a lot more like going to the gas station rather than getting an oil change. It is much faster and easier so owners will do it.
  9. riviera74
    When GM sold those Oldsmobile/Cadillac diesels in the late 70s, people bought them but GM then dropped the diesel cars and failed to support or service them. I wonder if Porsche will do the same with their diesel-powered autos once they no longer build them.
  10. riviera74
    Honda is making the right bet that coupes no longer sell. The real question is whether Honda Accord coupe buyers will stay loyal or switch to Acura, instead of going to the competition.
  11. riviera74
    So Genesis wants to become the Korean Lexus. Good luck to that.
  12. riviera74
    Sorry MB, that dog won't hunt. Next time MB, rebadge a RAM pickup instead.
  13. riviera74
    My $$$$ is on China. They are still in a buying spree.
  14. riviera74
    A bunch of CUVs from Genesis is not surprising. But a bunch of coupes from Genesis may not be wise simply because the sales are not there anymore. One luxury compact and one subcompact sedan make Genesis look like it is chasing Lexus or Buick, although I have no idea why they would do that.
  15. riviera74
    Once upon a time BOF SUVs were the thing. It seemed as if everyone wanted one. Then came 2008 and the recession AND the oil price spike to $149 a barrel. Gas prices marched to $4 or more per gallon. BOF SUVs were out; hybrids and small cars were in. It was all about MPG rather than comfort or MPH. I wonder how long that loyalty to SUVs and CUVs would last in an era of $4 for a gallon of gas.
  16. riviera74
    I had forgotten that homologation was a racing term. The first time I saw that word was a Car and Driver article some years back that concerned racing engines and those same engines available in street-legal cars. Homogenized is a better word for what I described.
  17. riviera74
    Homologating engines did not kill GM in the 1980s. Homologating cars did. Remember "Keep it cheap, keep it common" from Roger Stempel, I think. GM screwed up because they tried to sell the exact same car across multiple GM lines (usually 5 and sometimes more). Honda and Toyota and Nissan often only had ONE CAR (per market segment) to push, at least until Acura and Lexus show up. In too many cases, the differences between Buick, Olds and Cadillac were vanishing right before our eyes. Chevy and Pontiac had the same set of problems, all because GM corporate kept making them cheap and common. VW on the other hand never made that mistake here or in Europe. There is nothing inherently wrong with engine sharing. It is terminating the unique selling point of the car marque that is inherently wrong and self-defeating.
  18. riviera74
    Yes it is a strange dichotomy. Then again, if the car is not sold here, why would anyone care? There are a lot of cars meant for JDM or EDM that will never see the dealer lots here in the USA. What annoys me is that they keep showing models not available here on commercials all the time. BMW and now the Jaguar F-Pace are the latest examples of this. Chances are the i30 will show up in the US as a model we already have selling here. I think we can all be patient about this.
  19. riviera74
    Good idea from the word go. Now, how much is that S8 again?
  20. riviera74
    Sounds like there are some nice improvements for an MCE Charger. I would still take the 300 instead. YMMV.
  21. riviera74
    Other than fuel economy, what is the advantage of a turbo four over a v6?
  22. riviera74
    Sorry, but who is buying coupes in large numbers again?
  23. riviera74
    We are. So the power plant market in the US has shifted to natural gas replacing coal in a lot of cases. That is a good thing. More importantly, replacing diesels with EVs will shift the pollution profile away from autos to power plants and steel plants. That is even better, especially given the acid rain problems Europe apparently still has. Thirty years ago, the Northeastern United States had a serious acid rain problem. The cure was shuttering a LOT of steel plants and other heavy industry and the significant reduction of coal burning over the last two decades. Europe will need to deindustrialize in order to fully enjoy the lack of acid rain in their forests like we have in the United States. Volvo's efforts can help with that.
  24. riviera74
    Wow. As I suspected, the F-Pace keeps Jaguar relevant by being their best-selling vehicle. Now they release a little brother to the most popular model in the lineup. An E-Pace starting around $40K puts it just above Buick Envision territory given the similarities in size. In this increasingly crowded luxury CUV space, I wonder how the E-Pace will stand out these days.
  25. riviera74
    Another Chrysler plant bites the dust. I wonder how many other Chrysler plants have bought the farm since 2007.
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