oldshurst442

Toyota: Only ten less than Nissan per 1000...if one does not want to go back into time to reveal that Toyota has recalled the most cars in history of all time...and those recalls happened in THIS generation in OUR lifetime just a short 10-15 years ago... GM is STILL paying the price for their shenanigans that happened close to half a phoquing century ago... So...is Toyota really that reliable if we are gonna go with this 2018 recall data sheet? Because all others in the lower section are all UNDER 1000 recalls per 1000 vehicles...and by a margin of 43 per 1000 where Subaru sits at 985. Toyota is closer to the highest number of recalls section than they are to the lowest side... You cant accuse me of purely hating on Toyota...I "recommended" the Corolla and the RAV4...because those two are fairly cheap and reliable transportation perfect for folk that just dont give a shyte about cars but need one to get around...but I also know that Toyota cut some serious corners JUST to get to the number #1 spot of being the manufactuurer to sell the most cars 15-20 years ago when they made that decision to try to top GM...and STILL cut corners to this day actually when looking at that very same data sheet. GM is at 958 recalls per 1000. That would be lower than Toyota, right? Yet we STILL hesitate to give GM kudos... At least that is how I interpret this...

I like the Fiat 124 Abarth. Like you said, its a nice little rig. It looks good. Looks like an authentic little Italian roadster. I most definitely would buy one if I lived in an area where there was sun...and it actually warmed up the place at least 8 months outta the year. Because where Im at now...sometimes the sun is shining hard, but it aint doing much other than looking pretty in the sky.

Its a French sir name. Cadillac is a street name, and the Metro station is on that street and so the Metro station takes the name of the street its on. https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5768388,-73.5466271,3a,39.8y,65.5h,88.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sBqKV-qH-HXp0f4krtejSLQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 My 99 soon to be 100 year old auntie lives near this Metro station. In fact her old apartment and her new old age home is a mere 5 minute walk from there. Further east on Sherbrooke Street, there is a McDonald's. That would be the first McDonald's Iv ever been to waaaay back when I was 5 or 6 years old. A little later, a Burger King opened up. And you guessed it...that would be the first Burger King Ive ever been to. Both are still there. A St. Hubert BBQ rotisserie chicken restaurant is a tad closer. My family would eat there too often enough. The Olympic Stadium is further WEST on Sherbrooke street. Yes. The Montreal Expos would play there. And yes...I would go see them play often as I lived close by. On Ste Catherine Street. Yes...The same Ste Catherine Street that is the heart of Downtown Montreal. Pie-IX Metro station is where the Olympic Stadium is. In Between Cadillac Metro and Pie-IX Metro would be Viau Metro station. And those are the streets that those Metro Stations are on. The Stadium would be between Pie-IX and Viau... When clicking on the link, turn the direction towards west, and not even advancing forward on anything and you would see the Olympic Village Appartments.

I will admit....owning a car in the city, in the core of the city, must be a female dog. I could see how ride sharing could be useful. Nothing beats owning your own car, but I could see how ride sharing could be a viable alternative. Me too. Suburban living, but not far away from the city. In Montreal's case, because the immediate suburban cities away from the downtown core are basically little cities of their own...30-40 minutes away from Downtown Montreal is what I prefer myself. There are suburban towns that are farther though, but those are too far removed... (a circular perimeter of 15-25 minutes away from Downtown Montreal still lands you on the Island of Montreal, in any direction and while technically in some on-island burroughs you are considered living in Montreal's burbs, you are still living in an urban environment.) Immediate off-island suburbia, and now you are 30-40 minutes away from Downtown Montreal, but now you are in a real suburban environment, but not so suburban because they are little cities in their own right with everything you described that you would like in having in a modern world with all the amenities you described. And yes, in Montreal, great restaurants need not be soley in the Downtown core...the trendy stuff is Downtown, but we are really spoiled in Montreal.... Ive lived in a rural setting only when I was visiting Greece weeks at a time on vacation. Living in the same house my momma lived. And while I enjoyed that lifestyle, keeping in mind that its on a Greek Island in the summer...I would only like to do that in the summer for a couple of weeks, because, I am a city slicker more than anything else. On vacation, in Greece, chasing down a chicken so we could have dinner later in the night,..eating figs and peaches straight off the trees while WALKING to the beach...WALKING to the village καφενείο (coffeshop) or souvlaki joint... yeah...I LOVE that rural setting...but ONLY on vacation for 2-4 weeks...

Yeah...that infamous smart phone. I lived dead smack in the middle of the urban city. 15 minutes by bicycle from Old Montreal. 20 minutes by bicycle from Downtown Montreal. That was a great time. I must admit. By bus, downtown Montreal was a mere 10 minute ride if I entered the metro (subway) station and the train was just arriving. If not...add a minor 2 minutes to that trip. By car, with traffic lights and the like, 20 minutes trying to find parking... I tell you one thing though... Hooking up with some hot blonde that lives on the other side of the Island, maybe snapchat or FB on the iPhone could land you a date, but a car gets you to pick her up and then, the world is yours to discover with her... A smartphone is many a thing...but it aint a car. Living downtown or uptown, a car will always be a car... A date on a subway ride, is not ideal. Ive had those too, before I was able to legally drive, while I was a teenager. So...a movie and ice cream in Old Montreal was as cute as a teenage date could be. And in Montreal, we have the underground city, where we could avoid the frigid cold above ground, and like you said...where you can walk by a bar or restaurant every minute or to your place of work in 30 minutes....all underground and all connected from metro station to metro station...in the downtown core. Which is awesome, like you say...but...a car will always be a car, because sometimes, one aspires to see other things other than the downtown core. I do not know about Toronto (im just being a smug douchebag), but Montreal and Vancouver have beautiful nature on the outskirts of the cities, that make beautiful date destinations when hooking up with hot blondes...or date night with the hot wife you married 10-15 years ago...and while a smart phone books you that awesome resort at Whistler or Mont Tremblant, a car gets you there, and when you wanna be romantic and spontaneous to blow your hot blonde tinder pick-up or your hot wife's mind of 15 years...owning a car is really the only way to go...you could have all the lap tops and iPhones and virtual reality goggles and apps and tinder dates and Trivago listings...a car is the ONLY way to get you there, when YOU wanna go there on your OWN time...IF...YOU...OWN....YOUR OWN....CAR...

Of course there is a need for Taxis! Or even *SIGH* Uber... But for the arrogance of some in the car sharing business that are trying to convince us that the future of the automobile is car sharing...I say bullshyte, and hence my rant above. Which also has some real stories to it about why I think the way I do about car sharing.

I loved those 300ZXs. Especially with the T-Tops. It took me a couple of years after they came to market for me to fall in love with them because I had this "nothing could touch an American car" attitude with my love for Trans Ams. But I quickly changed my tune. The Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000 and the Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon changed the way I viewed "imports". And so I also looked at the 300ZX differently. It was a Car and Driver article of 1992 or 1993 that I read about the 300ZX that said that they viewed the 300ZX as a (then) modern classic car that had a timeless design, much like a 1969 Camaro. I think that was the turning point for me liking it. I secretly loved the Eclipse/Talon and I thought the Stealth/3000GT were awesome looking, that I finally was honest with myself about it being OK to like other makes and brands. I always hated BMWs. I still do. THAT will NEVER change...

Wouldnt that be "ACK ACK"??? LOL

I see what you are saying. I think that is the very reason why Seinfeld made a skit for that word. Its a funny word. https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/bff8b307-717a-4f1d-b1a9-a9614eca480c

JDM 1990s Nissan 300ZX. Non-turbo and no T-Top. Bummer for the no T-Top... Right in back of it was a newer 350Z. Maybe a 2018 model. What a contrast between the two. Id rather the older 300ZX than the newer 350Z.

Seinfeld reference? Todd Gack...

And this is another reason why I think all this car sharing shyte will never be a thing...even though you have areas like in Toronto as how you described it. Expensive to park...but... As much as habitual humans are, we are also equally impulsive, and the ownership of a car facilitate our impulsive nature. And this is THE #1 reason why cars are such an important and integral part of North American life and culture. And...why the automobile has won the hearts and is as equally important and an integral part of the rest of the world too. In European culture, in Asian culture...it took a longer time to get there because of economical reasons, but when their economy equaled that of North America's and was thriving like North America was in the 1950s, then the car for them became EXACTLY what the car was for us in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s... Therefore... When you want to go somewhere, and you need wheels...NOW...to get to where you wanna go to do what you wanna do...NOW... and walking or biking, or public transit, or taxi just wont cut it, but a car is what it takes...but you cant get one...because well...trust me... All that that above that you experienced...you WILL find a way to afford it some how...you WILL make sacrifices on other luxuries just to own a car and its expensive parking because car ownership is just about the ultimate (materialistic)freedom we have...even though its expensive to upkeep a car, its downright frustrating to be stuck in traffic, but man-o-man is it ever worth it when you wanna go somewhere and well, you go because you own a car... You might take public transport to go to work. You might quit cigarettes and eating out all together. You might only use your car once a month... Just to save money to continue owning a car... But you will do it. I know I was in that situation in my life. I was young. I was in my early 20s and I did not have a ride. My parents took the(their) family car to Boston. I wasnt 21 years old to rent a car (I was 20) and I didnt have a credit card anyway so it didnt matter...so I was stuck. I had a really hot girl wanting to go out with me one night, had to turn her down because I had no wheels, never to get a chance to meet up with her again. The next night, I missed a really cool house party that nobody could drive me to. The following night...I did go out with my friends, went to a dance club...flirted with a cute girl dancing on an elevated dance floor while I was on the lower level. My friends thought it was a boring club, and before I knew what was going on with them dumb ass friends, we left the club. I didnt get a chance to get the girl's number or even stay and get a taxi to drive me home...maybe even get her to be driven with the same taxi as me so we could be together even longer... So...at 20 years old I learned very quickly, that I will NEVER EVER be left without wheels...I knew the importance of owning a car right then and there, even if my lesson was from a shallow perspective... That is my point of view at least. Im not saying Im right and you or anybody else is wrong. But for me....this is how I view it: One WILL find a way to afford it some how...one WILL make sacrifices on other luxuries just to own a car and its expensive parking because car ownership is just about the ultimate (materialistic) freedom we have...even though its expensive to upkeep a car, and its downright frustrating to be stuck in traffic, but man-o-man is it ever worth it when one wants to go somewhere and well, one goes because one owns a car... One might take public transport to go to work. One might quit cigarettes and eating out all together. One might only use his/her car once a month... Just to save money to continue owning a car... But one will do it.

Is that really a bad thing? It worked out for GM... You know...Tesla cars, in some cases, are MORE desirable than some GM cars at the moment. There was a time when GM cars...were not so desirable at all. The problem as I see it, is not with Tesla. One could say Elon. But that is still masking the problem, and maybe Elon is to blame 100%, but Tesla needs car guys to figure out the car building process. And not old school car guys either. Not the dinosaur old school car guys either. Kinda like in the NHL currently. Old school hockey people have old ideas that are no longer relevant in the sport anymore. See Don Cherry (and I LOVE Don Cherry or Brian Burke) But not far out...clueless new brains either...just using analytics to manage an NHL hockey team either. But some youngish guy, that has ties to old school but isnt afraid to innovate and get within the times. Elon Musk maybe too far removed from reality on how things actually work in the manufacturing business. Especially in the automobile manufacturing business. The Chinese seem to understand where the future of automobile manufacturing maybe heading.... Apple.... Steve Jobs had to get back to Apple to save it. He was fired from his own company because he was too much of a visionary, but the folk running Apple were simply too old fashioned to progress forward... Steve Jobs was that perfect modern visionary that Im talking about. He used old marketing ideas but modernized the context. That is what Tesla needs. A modern, hip, visionary to progress the company forward with manufacturing, but a guy that is grounded enough to understand that sometimes, the old way is perfect enough. Just to teak the old ways a tad...

Hasnt failed...yet... And besides...what constitutes failure nowadays, anyway? 1. Amazon has lost billions in the first 10 years(give or take 2-3 years) of its existance before it became the unstoppable (for now) force that it is. 2. Uber and Lyft are currently losing billions as I type this and for the last 2-3-4-5 years. Do you consider Uber and Lyft as failures...I do...but I dont see you bitchin' about them. I bitch about them. You dont. Irony is that, Uber and Lyft and Tesla, seem to fit in the same category as it seems enough people gravitate towards them for investors to continue to have faith in them to poor billions into them and it seems like Tesla, Uber and Lyft are now part of our modern landscape, yet...we bitch about Tesla being a failure...not Uber and Lyft, yet Uber and Lyft...REALLY have NOTHING concrete to offer us...they just manage an app on Android and Apple....but Tesla, you know....actually builds cars...real cars...not vapour ware...unlike...you know...Uber and Lyft... 3. Ford, Chrysler and GM lost billions. GM and Chrysler DID go bankrupt. Got bailed. Ford ALMOST went bankrupt. And its still paying the price for it because they did NOT go bankrupt...unlike GM... 4. Tesla cars, although Tesla the company is losing money and not generated profits, like just only 2-3 maybe 4 (and that is stretching it) quarters in their existence, Tesla cars are quite desirable all over the world. And Tesla has sold quite a few of them and continue to do so. I could go on...but I dont think any of you folk want to continue to read my rants...

And...repairs NEED to be made. Why? 1. cars on the road, by law, have to be safe. Have to be road worthy. If a car accident happens and especially death occcurs, if the investigation reveals that the car was not road worthy, especially if its a car that is used as a revenue generated car, then criminal charges WILL be applied to owner of car. 2. Its good for business to have a car that looks good, Same like any other service oriented business. Will you ever walk into a dilapidated restaurant, that reeks of shyte, to eat? yeah, I didnt think so...so why would this endeavor be any different? Ive done several costly renovations to my restaurant over the years. Decades. But in this case, costly renovations to the car, if not taken car of properly, need to be made almost on a weekly or monthly basis. OK...yearly. But like I said, wear and tear and stuff like that is expensive. Almost as expensive as renovating a restaurant... But my restaurant generates a lot of revenue. And my asset, the building, is an APPRECIATING asset...

I have a day off today. My wife does not work. We are both sitting home shooting the shyte. Both cars are sitting in our driveway. NOT EARNING REVENUE because we are NOT part of this car sharing business thing... So...our cars are not earning revenue... But...are cars are NOT incurring expenses either. Most importantly...NO WEAR AND TEAR... THAT is some costly shyte...this wear and tear phenomenon... Remember...a car sharing ride program, the cars are being driven ALL THE TIME... EVEN IF THERE IS A PASSENGER in the CAR AT ALL TIMES...the WEAR AND TEAR occurring will ALWAYS be GREATER than the revenue being generated. Other businesses, when their sales increase, businesses may be able to reduce their costs and expenses through this capitalistic phenomenon through economies of scale...meaning, businesses could get better deals on what causes their expenses... In this case, a taxi fleet could get good deals on oil changes and repairs at specific dealerships or car repair shops like Pep Boys or whatever. Uber and Lyft...have onbe fatal flaw to the detriment of their drivers. What seems like an excellent idea for UBER and LYFT NOT owning a taxi fleet, by that extension, the drivers are supposedly repairing their own cars on regular Joe car dealership prices... In this case here, when car sharing is concerned. If a driver of a car is NOT the owner, but is using it, well, this driver does not give a shyte about repairs, so he/she will run it to the ground. And where does this leave the owner of that car? With a broken ass car. And to put it back on the road for it to be a safe car...well...THAT LITERALLY costs thousands of dollars... Like I said, I aint no cost analyst expert getting paid millions to make a business case for General Motors, UBER, LYFT, Zip...Im just using LOGIC. Im using KNOWLEDGE that SHOULD be apparent to EVERYBODY as the automobile and automobile ownership is over 120 years already... THIS is the reason why cars are a DEPRECIATING ASSET. AND THEY DEPRECIATE AT AN ACCELERATED RATE. ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVEN A LOT. I GUESS THE KEY WOULD BE FOR 1 CAR TO GENERATE REVENUE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...PROFIT...THAT IS GREATER THAN THE EXPENSES AND DEPRECIATION IT OCCURS... Yeah...Good luck with that with an asset that has incredibly high...expenses.

Car repairs are expensive... Hit a pothole, because you just dont give a shyte, and possibly hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs might happen instantly as soon as the tire enters and exits that pothole... So yeah...again for the millionth time Im ranting about this... Who thought that ride sharing is a good idea? Car repairs and the cost of wear and tire have been on the minds of car owners as soon as the first automobile was sold to the first buyer in history. Over 120 years ago.... Uber and Lyft... Dont pay taxes, or dont declare ALL of their revenue to all three levels of government... They dont pay taxi licence fees. Dont own any taxi fleets per se. Because their drivers use their personal rides... Dont pay their drivers a fair salary. And STILL lose billions while while the onus for car repairs fall squarely on the shoulders of their drivers... because the drivers use their personal rides...and the recent report Uber and Lyft gave us is that ride sharing will NEVER be as cheap as car ownership EVEN if robots drive the cars... Why is all this shocking to people? Why isnt this common knowledge? Why is this even news? This type of news is a "duh" moment!!! I understand some of us use UBER...but let us not be biased by our personal choices because we use ride sharing programs but at least let us see the reality of this car sharing thing for what it truly is.... Its fraud... Its flawed. Its not sustainable. Its not reality. Its not even that convenient... (in some cases.) Its not even that much cheaper than regular taxi service. (in some cases) Uber and Lyft and all others will quietly go away as fast as they became a thing, they will disappear....

How big does the car need to be? Hyundai and/or Kia may be a good choice. Elantra. Kona. Sportage. Soul. Sorento. Then there is the the company Id never consider...Toyota. A Corolla is a good car. The Rav4. Honda Fit. Honda HRV. Honda Civic. A Civic looks like an enthusiast's car, but many non car people gravitate towards it. A Chevrolet Cruze is a great car too. Dare I say Trax? I think that is a good litte CUV. Nissan Sentra and Nissan Rogue and Quasqai all seem to be reliable. Cheap transportation.

Downsizing is an amicable and sensible idea. Assuming that GM wants to sell and move out of RenCen is for downsizing reasons and assuming that GM is still considering selling and moving out... There is no need for an ostentatious and lavish headquarters in today's world reality. However, a big corporation as big as GM or Mercedes does need sufficient real estate to house all the necessary offices required... Has GM outlived the need for a headquarters as imposing as RenCen? Whatever building they decide to move to if they sell RenCen, Im willing to bet the new place wont be as flamboyant nor quite as big either.

I learned about Led Zeppelin relatively late in my life. As compared to other music artists that I learned about and listened to before my time. I was in my mid 20s when I discovered them. As you could see, the Honeydrippers had come and gone a loooong time before I could make that connection. And I never saw the movie. Probably the only movie with Al Pacino in it that I did not see.(False Claim...Ive seen many of his films, but he made a lot of films) I remember the commercials for it on TV, but I never got the chance to rent it on VHS. Strangely enough, I dont ever recall seeing it at any video rental shelf that I was a member at. I would have rented it otherwise. I heard that Led Zeppelin gave awesome concerts back in the day. Yeah...he would as a solo artist too. I dont know Ship of Fools. 1st time I hear it. And I like it!!! His vocals are awesome. Love the guitar work in the song. Strong drums too. Good song! Im more familiar with the Stray Cats and The Brian Setzer Orchestra though. That would be during my time. Not popular with my circle of friends, but I was a fan.

Last I heard this version of this song was when this song was a hit. Whenever that was. If memory serves me well, 1984. I just knew of this group as the Honeydrippers. This song was everywhere. It played non stop. It was a cool song. Great song! Great vocals! The Stray Cats were popular then too. I knew that Sea of Love was a cover back then, and I knew that Rock This Town was a tribute to 1950s Rock, and this tune made me think of Bill Haley...thanks in part to Happy Days. And then, well, both tunes faded into memory as the 1980s marched on with more awesome music. So...Im in my car today, and the Honeydrippers Sea of Love is playing on the radio. So I listen to it with nostalgia. But then, that voice. Oh sure...I remembered that voice from 1984: "Do you remember, when we met...I want to tell you, how much I love you...come with me, to the sea..." I remembered just how awesome those vocals are. But THIS time, Im also identifying that voice with other stuff...I cant put my finger on it....I am positive that I know that voice. It escapes me and then the song is over. Honeydrippers rushes to the front of my memory banks. So I google. ROBERT PLANT???!!! "Waaaaaay down inside...Woooman! Yoouuuu need! Loooooove!" MIND PHOQUING BLOWN!!!!

Not in SUVs... Besides...those 1950s and 1960s Cadillacs... They go a long way with automotive historical prestige with people. Yes...rivaling Ferrari and Rolls. Id say SURPASSING Lamborghini, Bentley, and even Rolls Royce... Cadillac...Cadillac's past achievements still resonate strongly with people all over the world...Even in markets that have NEVER had a Cadillac sold in their country. But through music and movies... So yeah...stop being a douche...you know this to be true. Stop acting like you are a naive little 5 year old girl playing with your Barbie dolls... Not now...they need volume models... This is the only volume model they have that sells... How many 300 000 dollar cars do YOU think anybody could sell...month after month...year after year. Common man...stop being a douche. yes...EXACTLY! THIS is what Cadillac needs... As rich as Bentley's history is...Cadillac's is richer... Bentley stumbled too you know...and was just a less expensive Rolls Royce from years 1970s-1990s... All Cadillac needs is a similar kick in the ass. Which they havent done... But they are on the verge... Of course you think that.... Maybach has failed countless of times....this time wont be any different... Ironically...you think highly of Maybach, but wont give Cadillac its due...with the CT6 and the Escalade... Yes...THIS is what Im saying... Cadillac needs to overhaul its mission statement. Mercedes is doing it with Maybach... Yes...Cadillac WAS the Standard...THAT would be Rolls Royce terittory once upon a time ago...(let us not go why they are no longer that...we've done that...we understand the reasons....going forward is what we should be discussing here, you and I...) No...they dont execute any plan well the last 40-50 years...THIS they gotta change. The Corvette was ALWAYS GM's ultimate show for performance. Its Chevrolet that was lucky enough to get the car. Because reasons. I dont remember why...something to do with demographics of the time and the car wasnt the right car for cadillac at the time. But perfect for Chevrolet. But Corvette was supposed to be spread around the brands... Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick were also to get one. Or at least there were concepts of what Corvette could have been with those brands. And guess what? Cadillac did not get a Corvette version concept... I STRONGLY suggest you read up on your automotive history...I certainly wont waste my time googling links for you... That is the thing...having a mid-engined Corvette IS sticking to its roots... Never mind the idiotic argument that that is...sticking top its roots... But...Zora wanted a Mid-engineed Corvette as early as the late 1950s...again...I STRONGLY suggest you read up on your automotive history. I wont be wasting my time googling links for you... ROADSTER....Cadillac clientele dont necessarily want a roadster...I dont think... Stop misinterpreting what I said...

The Escalade's secret sauce? For it to be replicated to the other cars in the line-up? Simple! People really want big Cadillacs...Big Cadillacs is what Cadillac is. THAT is the secret sauce. It wasnt cool to own a big Cadillac at one time. Or any Cadillac for that matter. For reasons. But...THAT time has come and gone. Its time for Cadillac to embrace its lineage and heritage once more.

Cadillac needs to be on its own to have a BASE turbo V6. But I agree with that philosophy. But NO! Corvette was ALWAYS about high performance. Even when it was introduced in 1953 with the inline 6. Its just that it was rushed into production when it was shown at the Autorama show...or wherever it was shown. Chevrolet big wigs saw a buzz surrounding the Corvette, so they pitched the idea to GM and GM greenlit it...and they had less than 1 year to produce it...Chevrolet did not have time to really engineer it the way people saw it, the way the Corvette looked like it was a barn burner... People flocked to it, but WERE disappointed that the performance figures did not translate the way the Corvette looked. It was faster that the conventional American cars of the time, but the Corvette looked like it would be a rocket... Zora, 2-3 years later engineered it to be fast like a rocket and then the sales took off for it... And after that, the Corvette always stood for performance... The Corvette was ALWAYS the General Motors PERFORMANCE halo car...ALWAYS... Its only YOU that does not get it! Folk at Cadillac, dont want fast Cadillacs. They want disgustingly huge, excessive opulence. Cadillac folk want a fast car...they buy a Corvette! In the case below...they buy Cobras... That dude's Cobra was hitched to the back of his Cadillac... But there are no more Cobras to be bought...no more Vipers to be bought....no more Porsche 928s to be bought. No more Toyota Supras to be bought (its coming back...it aint a big deal for Corvette)...no more Mazda RX7 or 8s to be bought, That is right...the Corvette beat them all on the track and in the showroom. The Corvette has got a really good battle going on with the Porsche 911 and Ferrari 400 Series...(and it nearly made the 911 go away too...and Porsche did the 928, but purists realized that the 911 is truly special...so they flocked back top it...) But...a Corvette (any front engine RWD car actually) with excess of 500 horsepower and 500 ft.lbs torque cannot put the power down the way it should to compete with the current AWD RE 911s and ME Ferraris. Corvette NEEDS to go ME to EVOLVE to CONTINUE the performance battle... Or it could go AWD, but that would add weight...and Corvette has ALWAYS been about REDUCED weight....except when it was the smog equipped, low compression, CAFE Disco days... I really dont get it why YOU dont get it... Cadillac does NOT NEED a Tesla roadster competitor. Cadillac clientele are NOT ASKING for a Tesla roadster competitor. Cadillac clientele are asking for a Ciel convertible with a possible EV powertrain that has the power of a Tesla roadster....

So they do outsell the 'Gator. My remark was more tongue 'n cheek regarding the 'Gator... About the Escalade. There is NOTHING that Ferrari, M-B Maybach, Bentley, Lamborghini will do to dethrone the Escalade. The Maybach, Ferrari, Lambo will be priced higher, but as far as cache goes...the Escalade is THE one. Cry, whine, yell and complain. The Escalade is king of the fullsized SUVs. The others wills sell solely on the merit of a higher price tag. And THAT right there is what Im talking about with Cadillac... You mentioned that Mercedes sold out its million dollar F1 derived sports car... To that I say: YES!!! EXACTLY!!! THAT is what people are waiting for Cadillac to do! No...not a sports car, but a vehicle, any type of vehicle except a sports car that emphasizes stinkin' rich, give no shyte about nothing and nobody, excess to the point of increasing global climate change at an alarming rate, high priced HUGE CADILLAC! If Cadillac built a Ciel EXACTLY the way the Ciel was as a concept, not watered down, with all the technology available and the opulence necessary and Cadillac priced THAT Ciel at at extremely high price...they would sell every single one they build... Like I said...275 units on a souped up CT6 that detractors like yourself would not blink an eye at priced that no other Cadillac sedan has ever been priced before in the last 40 years... Not quite Eldorado Brougham Biarritz of the 1957 vintage...but...that is the thing... Cadillac finds itself into a price realm they havent seen since those 1950-1960-early 1970s glory days... If you dont want to see that...I cant help you. But like Balthy said... The Maybach failed for umpteenth time in the early 2000s. Now...Mercedes is reviving it again as a TRIM package. A far cry to what Maybach USED to mean to the luxury world in the past and from the last time Maybach was a thing... Cadillac...whether you want to admit to it or not...even Cadillac CEOs dont see it I bet...Cadillac has crept up in price and people are accepting of it...slowly...but surely... And it took the Escalade to get there. Not the Zig Zagging, ATS, CTS, STS...but what Cadillac was ALWAYS famous for... Arrogant, excessive, huge...vehicles... And THAT is why I still feel that the CT4 is a mistake. This is why I feel that the road to success is with high priced, arrogantly styled, mid to huge vehicles...