oldshurst442

https://www.best-selling-cars.com/brands/2019-full-year-global-mercedes-benz-sales-worldwide/ Sounds impressive, right? pretty phoquing awesome, right? UNTIL...you get to THIS statement down below... Selling SUVs is not that big of a deal anymore... The REAL focus here SHOULD be...and a complete phoquing lie when analysts keep on banging the luxury car brand thing... A Class and B Class cars are NOT luxury cars. Taxi liveries of of the E Class and NOT luxury cars. The C Class is NOT downright luxury. Its Pontiac level in MOST European and Asian markets. The article does say that the C Class and E Class enjoyed sales increases as well. But when one peels off the REAL story, one realizes that Mercedes Benz does NOT sell nearly as many LUXURY cars as many idiots in the industry claim they sell... Im not going too much into detail, Ive done a similar exercise a year ago. I dont have to assume and guesstimate. Ive got cold hard numbers to work with right here. 2 339 562 - 667 000 = 1 672 562 Im NOT going to minus the taxi liveries and the Chevrolet/Pontiac trim leveled C Class and E Class and GLA and GLB CUV sales. (AND...I wonder of commercial truck sales are included in this figure as well...) But REMEMBER...THAT 1 672 562 sales number becomes soooooo much SMALLER. One thing that is being FORGOTTEN in the mix is that Daimler in 2021 will be (hot news right from the press)...Daimler will be spun off into its OWN brand. What will Daimler be peddling? The trucks. The busses. The sanitation vehicles, the lories, the public transportation busses, the military vehicles. WHY? BECAUSE APPARENTLY, image plays a BIG factor and NEWBIES that want to buy new cars today and folk that have REALIZED that A Class and B Class vehicles are NOT luxury are NOW starting to make a NEGATIVE connection to the commercial stuff that the company builds. Most of that comes from investors and the EV folk so M-B is off shooting Daimler in one direction while M-B could keep a "clean" image to sell EVs and to get investor money to build EVs. https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/daimler-become-mercedes-benz-split-trucks-unit-cars If...Mercedes is the WORLD'S most selling LUXURY car company...then WHAT is the BIG deal regarding commercial trucks? BECAUSE REALITY is that MOST Mercedes branded cars EVERYBODY sees on the roads ARE NOT LUXURY cars. But AVERAGE JOE and COMMERCIAL type vehicles. FAR from the "luxury" nameplate EVERYONE seems to be tooting. Spinning off Daimler and renaming the busses and sanitation trucks as Daimler would eliminate some of that non-luxury appeal and make it easier to sell EVs to folk that know nothing about Mercedes history... Which is IRONIC to what we are talking about here about Cadillac...

For @balthazar x2

Jealousy of a life she wished she had but could never attain would have been guess #2. LOL

For @balthazar

Diary (as in diary of a wimpy kid) (I got kids and the books and movies were quite popular with them...)

I actually like the idea for classifying the differing trim levels with the newton/meter badging. Even for ICE. Id prefer if they didnt do that with the V and Blackwing cars (which I think Cadillac does NOT put the newton/meter badge) BECAUSE the "V" logo makes a statement as is and the newton/meter badging is not needed in my eyes.

Why? What was her problem with that image? Its all positive in my book. Go to school, get an education, work hard and the world is your oyster. Lack of sex would probably be my assessment.

I answered my own question This is one hot car

Serious question. Do these Blackwing Vs have the new newton/meter badging in the back too like the rest of the Cadillac line-up? I wouldnt like that if they did.

Irrelevant because Rolls Royce is known to advertise their horsepower, torque and performance figures as 'adequate' or 'more than adequate'. In other words, Rolls Royce does not waste their time computing such mundane stuff and their owners dont care for such vulgarity. As long as they have 'adequate' or 'more than adequate' power to move them along swiftly, in comfort and isolation. And Rolls Royce definitely does that. And that is all that matters... And it showed throughout history. Maybach was a flop...SEVERAL times in history, while Royce Royce never looked back once they took over Bentley so early at the turn of the last century until today.

Im not sure, Im taking a WILD guess here, but @David could attest to that statement.

@Drew Dowdell @William Maley I too have a message. In musical form Thank-you Its like that and that's the way it is! (you know...COVID...)

Katy Perry

Well...maybe not hockey, but baseball. And then there are football players who decide they also be doctors Oh...hockey players need not be outdone by football players Hockey players cutting short, very short, their hockey hall of fame careers to be lawyers. Barely played 8 years. Won 6 Stanley Cups all the while studying to become a lawyer, then left the hockey world to be a... lawyer. Its called re-inventing yourself. Never being afraid to learn new things to do new things. And more true in TODAY'S world, one has to re-invent one's career path SEVERAL times over. But it seems easier to bitch, whine, complain and blame everything and everyone rather than actually learning new things... to do new things to survive today's ever changing jungle. Survival of the fittest, strongest, smartest and the one that is willing to work the hardest to go that extra extra mile...more so than EVER!

The Mach E in size is in between this generation Escape and the first generation Edge. I dunno about Lexus folk, but Acura folk actually DO care about performance. Acura and Honda folk that actually buy cars not CUVs and SUVs from Honda and Acura are one of the most performance oriented buyers in the car world. Acura lost market share BECAUSE Acura STOPPED offering performance oriented cars. I dunno if you noticed or not, but Acura and Honda CARS have been re-invented in their latest generations to offer MORE fun to drive qualities for their owners. Back to fun driving is the motto... No...not with torque monster RWD muscle cars, but with what Honda does best: great powertrains and nimble handling. Honda/Acura seems to me that going electric will only ENHANCE these qualities for Honda/Acura sporty cars and their owners. Only drawback to BEVs for Honda/Acura is that BEVs are quite hefty negating nimbleness. However, low center of gravity due to the battery pack being THE floor pan, at least lessens the heft problem...

http://www.autoextremist.com/ THE AUTOEXTREMIST - RANTS GM’S PARTING SHOTS FOR THE END OF THE ICE AGE. http://www.autoextremist.com/universal/images/transparent.pngTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2021 AT 11:17AM By Peter M. DeLorenzo Detroit. The True Believers at GM are living in a strange Twilight Zone as you read this. They have one right foot pressing down hard on machines that will define the End of the ICE Age, while working feverishly on a dazzling array of new-generation products that will usher in the Dawn of the Electron Age. We’ve already had a preview of some of these new battery-powered machines, such as the Cadillac Lyriq and the GMC HUMMER EV, but these vehicles are just the first volley in a product offensive the likes of which has never been seen before in the company’s history. GM is developing EVs for every product segment in their current portfolio, plus some for segments not even imagined yet. When GM announced last week that it plans to become carbon neutral in its global products and operations by 2040 and has committed to setting science-based targets to achieve carbon neutrality, there were plenty of skeptics. But GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra made it very clear: “General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world. We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.” In a clear departure from its past, GM worked with the Environmental Defense Fund to develop a shared vision of an all-electric future and an aspiration to eliminate tailpipe emissions from new, light-duty vehicles by 2035. This is as real as it gets, and it's a serious, big-time commitment on GM's part. Big, bold goals require real vision, and skeptics will always be part and parcel of the process. To be sure, a lot will have to happen between now and then, but 2035 is not that far away. We're heading for a different world, folks. And GM is all-in on redefining its - and the automobile’s - role in it.

Steve Clark was a very underrated guitar player. Come to think of it, so is Phil Collen to this day. BECAUSE of that little ditty on top there, I had to Rock Rock 'til I drop And a little bit of Armageddon as its OUR turn up here to get slammed by this snowstorm phoquing up the North East...

I should have been more precise with my response to you. Sorry. What I meant to say is that Mustang and Challenger sales would benefit if a Camaro would cease to exist and not Cadillac performance vehicles. Different market with different buyers. Some might go to Cadillac, just as some might even go to Toyota with their Supra, but MOST would go to Challenger and Mustang. And about Camaro EV and Mustang EV... According to Autoline Detroit, the Mustang coupe V8 and all, is going ALL EV in 2029. No ICE engines in the Mustang. Just electric motors with battery. There hasnt been a hint from gm what they are planning to do with Camaro, but seeing as gm has been upfront and concrete about going all in with EVs and stopping production of ICE by 2035, then Id say if they choose to continue on with the Camaro name plate, then as with Ford with the Mustang, a next generation Camaro will be battery electric. Tim Kuniskis also said that the Challenger will be an electric muscle car. https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a35381043/dodge-ceo-says-hellcat-v-8-dying/

The CT5-V Blackwing is expensive as A-chhh eee double hockey sticks. I guess price parity for V8 performance for the every day (wo)man doesnt exist. And hasnt really for a loooong time as Mustang GTs, Camaro SSs, Challenger Hemis as ENTRY level V8 performance is unobtanium since at least a decade now, never you mind the ultra performance versions...

I highly doubt that. Mustang and Challenger will however.

I remember reading somewhere several months ago that FCA had tried to negotiate a deal with Faraday to supply their skateboard platform. I wonder if that is still a thing? But yeah...if Stellantis does NOT have an answer for a more or less big, Dodge muscle car type platform for American muscle car type feels, then I would say good-bye tp Dodge myself! I did say that Stellantis (Dodge) has to deliver on a new age MUSCLE CAR in order for me to accept a new Charger and Challenger.

That is what Sergio did also. This time, they used Jeep and the RAM pick-up trucks to siphon the money out of Auburn Hills. At least Mercedes had the smarts to actually prop up Mercedes-Benz. Sergio squandered its opportunity to do the same. We will see how Group PSA will treat Chryco. I dont see a future for Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Honestly, I dont see Chrysler survive either. Fiat is iffy. Dodge has a good chance. If this merger allows Dodge to be Dodge in the US and Canada. Jeep and Ram are THE Golden Geese for Stellantis in general and not just for the North American market and Jeep could DIRECTLY contribute to the well being of Europe's market as well. Peugeot and Citroen, Ive read, are doing more than OK in Europe. I do not know how true and real it is that Opel is profitable, but hey...if they didnt flub Opel, we should be optimistic in the short term at least, that they wont (and dont) flub Dodge either.

Start saying good-bye! Like NOW! Chryco. itself hasnt invested in anything EV related. Fiat hasnt invested in anything EV related either but I imagine anything electrical made in Italy is a no go either for more than 1 reason... (cue in burning Ferraris and Lamborghinis...and some of those fires are BECAUSE of the electricals...) Therefore... But really, Chryco. hasnt been 100% American for a loooooong time. Sure...the V8s are born and bred in Auburn Hills...but...the skeleton that is that particular platform has a strong German ancestry. It has become an American citizen and pledged allegiance to the flag all these years. And...it ditched the very cheap American interior for a much improved ITALIAN blessed interior, because 'twas under Marchionne's tutelage and suggestions that the interiors of these cars be improved and WERE improved. And...the MOST IMPORTANT detail here is that Tim Kuniskis HINTED in NOT so many words that DODGE is here to stay in a STELLANTIS merger. By saying that the performance of Dodge's muscle cars are gonna CONTINUE on but with electric motors and batteries, he is in fact STATING that Dodge will continue on as an ELECTRIC MUSCLE CAR BRAND... But lets be honest here. If it werent for Sergio's buyout, Chrysler and Dodge would have been dead 10 years ago. Sergio pissed on that opportunity to make something big out of FCA, WITH Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep LEADING the way for Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo instead of the other way around, but it doesnt matter, Fiat S.p.A. was what saved Chryco from the Grim Reaper. Now its France's Group PSA that is tasked to save Chryco's butt... Lets be even MORE real here. The next gen Charger and Challenger will probably be on a Peugeot/Citroen platform... Unless of course the French owners are less pompous than the previous Italian (and German) owners and let Auburn Hills contribute. But who are we kidding here? The French to be LESS pompous than either the Italians and the Germans? HA! But...Im gonna post a song by a fellow New Jersian and I will NEVER SAY GOOD-BYE...to Dodge if Dodge delivers me a NEW AGE muscle car regardless what powers it and what underpins it.