oldshurst442

I made a quick, dramatic post about what vehicles and markets Id want Cadillac to be in without really thinking about it too deeply, but yeah, what you said here is what I believe in as well.

Quebec has NEVER mirrored France. The people have NEVER wanted even to be, French...fromm France. The people are very quite comfortable in being French Canadian with our, (yes, even I Im Greek, I see myself as a Quebecois) own French (Quebecois) culture that is...Canadian... The love of hockey. Yes its a Canadian thing, but its a religion here. The Quebecois were the first in North America to denounce religion...to distance religion from politics and public affairs. Therefore hockey remains the sole religion. The French Canadians have adopted mainly American sports like baseball. Curling is not a thing in Quebec. Baseball is. Football too. Soccer aint a thing here. We follow it as there are many Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Irish, Mexican folk, but baseball, hockey, football (yes the NFL) still has a stronger following than soccer. As much as Montreal is very European in many regards, its American too. But Montreal prides itself of being both. Quebec city prides itself being of French settlers, but its QUEBEC City...not a French from France city. Quebec has always wanted to speak French...in THEIR province. Speak English but not to have the English dictate to them in THEIR province what to do... France is nowhere mentioned in Quebec affairs. While some France cultural aspects along with European ones are quite apparent in Quebec, like alcohol drinking at the age of 18 in bars or closing time for bars being 3:00 AM or sex not being such a taboo... prostitution not being frowned upon, pimping yes, not prostitution per se...Quebec laws balance European way of life as much as North American... And I could go on, but it is a car forum... I just wanted to make that clear. That French Canadians LOVE being Canadian being French Canadian, in North American having their own little piece of Earth called Quebec.

Let me guess. Quebec is one of those provinces? Quebec does buy more small imported vehicles than any other province and the French population might adopt Peugeot as PSA is...from France. It may be a cultural thing now that the Quebec people have slowly accepted their Frenchness as for the longest time, the French Canadian Quebecois hated France for ditching them in North America. Some cars and CUVs that they sell are attractive, but relying on one province to do you success in North America is foolish as I dont think the other 3 Canadian provinces and the 15 American states gives a shyte for French cars.

Yes. I could agree to that. I cant disagree because it really is the truth. That "brands overlap brands & models overlap models. It's the way the industry has been for decades." Was it a smart move on Chevy's part to introduce the Impala and the way Chevy sold the Impala with all that class and "luxury" features it had? Over 13 million sold making it the highest selling Chevy model. The answer is clearly yes! My beef, if its not already clear, is not that Chevy is aiming that high. Im good with it! My beef is with Buick not focused properly and their product line is suffering for it. My other beef is that Cadillac is aiming TOO low. I dont mind if they do go low somewhat, since GM does not have the Pontiac and Oldsmobile filler brands anymore, but to encroach Chevy levels of price, not a good thing. Again, Ill bring up ATS and XT4. Cadillac does NOT need this. Chevy could handle that part. BLAZER anybody???!!! Camaro anybody? If Cadillac wants a small performing RWD car, maybe the ATS-V Sport with a TTV6 400 horsepower that the V currently has SHOULD be the LOWEST ATS it offers and the full out V should be the V8 that the Camaro ZL1 offers... Lease queen ATS with the 2.0T should NOT even be a thought for Cadillac dealerships. BUICK could handle the lease queen 2.0T ATS level vehicles... XT4? Same thing... Cadillac does not need this... The problem with this is that BMW and Audi and Mercedes has this world wide. That world wide, BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz sell lower market vehicles, but these lower market vehicles are NOT sold as entry level luxury or luxury. Those models are really sold as econobox cars. Cadillac's strategy to emulate that is doing it wrong... Therefore, if Cadillac wants to sell a bazillion 2 Series and 3 Series econobox competitor cars in Europe and in China, that Cadillac has to sell itself as an entry level brand...there, and here... But Cadillac was NEVER that. Therefore Cadillac should just cut that crap out! No need for Cadillac to overlap Chevrolet... THAT is how I sees it. ATS, XT4, XT5 is just Cadiallc overlapping Chevrolet. I dont sees it as the Blazer overlapping Cadillac. I sees the XT5 overlapping the Blazer...not a good thing for Cadillac!

From my perspective: Cadillac shouldn't be playing at this level. Cadillac shouldnt be selling cars at this price point. Cadillac shouldnt be trying stoop to Lexus or Acura levels of entry level lux. That WAS Oldsmobile territory and Pontiac. Cadillac should be higher level than that. Now that Olds and Pontiac are gone, leave that to Chevy and Buick and let Cadillac BE Cadillac. THE standard of the world. You aint gonna get there by selling "entry level" BS marketing... THE standard of the world MEANS building and selling dreams. Not crappy XT5s. By building and selling sky is the limit Ciels and golden dreams Eldorados... ATS...nope CTS...nope. CTS-V: YES! CT6 and CT6-Vs: YES! Escalade: YES! XT5:NOPE XT6: MAYBE XT4: ARE YOU MAD???!!! NO WAY!!! The Blazer is fine where it is. Its Cadillac that is out of its league here! It SHOULD aim higher! We are bitching about a Chevy having a base 2.0 liter 4 banger, but over at Cadillac, Cadillac uses the same base 4 cylinder in certain models yet we dont cry fowl for Cadillac doing that. Am I missing something?

THAT would be the answer to everything, right? Different people value different things... Now, if you noticed, I did not quote you on the horsepower/torque numbers. Nor do I wanna us to go on a defending rant of why X model is worth more and is valued more than Y model because of whatever reasons... I could cry fowl and shout 'til the cows come home why BMW is NOT worth their price of admission at ANY level they sell CUVs and cars at, but there are takers. I could call those BMW leasers/owners fools and laugh at them just as we have done here with the Blazer. But in reality, if ANY car manufacturer sets a price for a certain car, and it sells in the market place in high enough numbers for a profit, then its a sales success no matter what we say about it. Like I said, I could turn blue in the face with anger about BMWs, but BMWs sell in quite the high numbers....at a profit... We'll see what the market place has in store for the Blazer. Especially vis-a-vis its competitors. Personally, I do prefer the Edge ST, any Edge, over any CUV, but I really dont care how many it has got over the Blazer. Personally, If I valued speed over anything else, I wouldnt even be looking at a CUV, and I know, you even showed me how the Edge ST is a GREAT performer, but in MY eyes, I dont value CUVs in that light...I STILL would prefer a car, coupe, for speed over a CUV...even though the Edge ST may wipe the floor over some cars that I deem to be performance cars... In other words...different people value different things. I dont find a problem with the Blazer being that high in price. I havent sat in one either to see if the fit and finish is on par with its competitors, but assuming that fit and finish, options are on par, hey, if Chevy can peddle a Blazer at 50 000 dollars, more power to them. Ive seen quite a few Edge's in my neighborhood. None of the ST kind. Gasoline prices are high where Im at. Bolts and Model 3s are everywhere though... (at approximate same price points...) Different people value different things...

I do not know what to tell you on that. Pontiac is no longer around, the excitement brand. Mind you, Chevy was always full of excitement after 1955. The Tri-box Chevys, the Corvettes, Corvairs, the SS vehicles from Impala to Malibus (Chevelles) to Camaros. Chevy also had a touch of lux as well. The 1957 Bel Air. The Impalas of the 1960s. The Caprice name plate after that. The Monte Carlo. The Kingswood station wagons. A touch of lux on the Chevrolet side of things, but you have to admit, those cars had class. Therefore, Chevrolet could EASILY today and has done so countless of times throughout is history, be Pontiac, Oldsmobile AND Chevrolet all at the same time. People gravitate towards Chevrolet. Chevrolet would be missing a big opportunity to NOT try to get as many sales as Chevy can at whatever price level. If it could go slightly up market to where Oldsmobile was and still sell affordable stuff, why not?

Yeah... But The Acura RDX is a competitor too. The RDX starts at 38 000. It is slightly smaller than the Blazer, but..still has a 2.0T... Which one is the Blazer and which one is the RDX? The Murano seems to have been a pioneer for this segment 15 or so years ago.

True. It seems though, that Chevy is focused on Acura as well, on the Blazer. Not a negative mind you. A very good thing. Where it becomes bothersome is that Buick is not focused on anybody in particular and is getting lost in the shuffle by its other corporate siblings which leaves Buick to be in no man's land. Cadillac's focus is ever changing with all those changes on top. Johan is gone, the new guy is in and yet again, the ship is sailing in a slightly different course....again. The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Yeah! GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. It seems like the Cadillac XT5 and soon to be XT6 is the Pontiac Lemans, 4 door Bonneville and Grand Prix while the GMC Acadia would be the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme or something like that... The only cure for that would be to cut Buick loose. GMC, as long as GMC is quite different in philosophy than Chevy and Cadillac, which they are, then it be fine. But it seems like Buick is lost in space somewhere. Chevy is encroaching its territory from below while Cadillac is encroaching its territory from above.

How I see the price situation with the Blazer vis-a-vis the Cadillac XT5 Cadillac is trying to go downmarket to sell higher volumes. The ATS...the base price of an ATS is lower than the highest trim Malibu...has the same 2.0T engine...OK, one is FWD and the other is RWD. Does that really make that much of a difference when most folk either dont care or dont even know what the difference is? Chevrolet, more like GM, is trying to fill a void in the mid level of price for the lower end brands, ie Chevrolet, when Pontiac and Oldsmobile are no longer in existence. This Blazer could have been a G-Body equivalent back in the day. I see the Blazer as it being a G-Body equivalent. Back in the day there was a Malibu, and Monte Carlo and the Monte Carlo came in "luxury" LS trim or "muscle car" SS trim. The Malibu was a coupe or 4 door family haluer that had a V8 option making it a "muscle car" on the cheap. Then there was Pontiac with their Lemans coupe and 4 door Bonneville and the Grand Prix. At a higher price than the Chevys. Then there was Oldsmobile and the Cutlass and Buick with their Regal... Cadillac did not even play in this market. Well...The XT5 is what the Cutlass and Regal was and the Blazer is what the Monte Carlo SS and the Grand Prix were. And this is why there is an overlap in price with a Chevy and Cadillac. Ive complained about this before, but not on Chevy. But on Cadillac. For me, its fine that Chevy is aiming high in that price range. For me, I do not want Cadillac to be aiming that low. I have a problem for Cadillac playing in the 40 000-55 000 dollar price range. I want Cadillac ONLY to be at the 60 000 dollar price range and up.

Maybe that dealership relocated to Washington due to lack of interest by Montrealers for Opel vehicles...

Yuck! The last Mercedes of that size I liked was the 190 way back when. And even then... One thing that I was surprised to see in Greece last summer, that Bimmers were nowhere to be seen. But the C Class was everywhere. It was shocking to me as in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s the BMW 3 Series in Greece was a staple. I guess your feeling for getting your partner into one may not be such a bad idea...if Greeks like it (not this Greek though) then you cant go wrong... But you sure you want to trust a nation that has a hard time with their money for the last...100 years...yet drive Mercedes Benz C Classes? ? Their judgement may not be the best you know... Something to think about...

Im laughing. But for you at the time must not have been that funny! Im also laughing at the effect our resident M-B fanboy has had on us. +1 on the Skylines! I dont think Ill ever own a German car. Ever. Ill drool over some cars that have come out of Germany, but Ill never buy one.

The story actually made me tear up. Family owned business. Knowing their customers. GM reps telling them to get rid of the gas pumps but the guy knew that was a stupid idea as he knew how to get people to come in his dealership. He knew his customers. He would order vehicles with specific clients in mind with specific options knewing well when the time has come for his loyal cutomer base to change vehicles back in the day... Small town mentality. Small town friendliness and hospitality. Sure it was a business....to make money, but doing business with your friendly neighbors is what we have lost in our selfish ways nowadays. They support your business, you sell them stuff at fair and reasonable prices. Which in turn makes you buy from your other friendly neighbor Hood stores around you.... THAT is what made me tear up! Thax Balthy. Great story indeed.

This car is too cute for my tastes. Or so I thought. But there are soooooo many cute details embedded in this car that Im ashamed to admit that I like. I like that charm the Mini Cooper has. Take here these taillights for instance. And there are other similarly cute details too. You cant help BUT like a car this cute. It is embarrassing when you pride yourself a very macho muscle car lover though. This next one needs no words explaining why. Im mean, just look at it!!! And finally. I hate SUVs. Cant STAND THEM. I HATE BMWs. Im VERY local with my friends and on any automotive forum website on how much I hate SUVs and how I LOATHE BMW and how I LOATHE BMW for insulting our intelligence with this SAV bullshyte. With that being said... So you could see how me admitting to this becomes embarrassing. Ok...downright hypocritical. Hey...it is what it is!

Yet Ferrari...went from a 6.3 liter V12 to a...gulp...6.5 liter V12 in their 812 Superfast, that they will continue to build. Coincidentally, Chevy's, Dodge's and Ford's largest displacement V8s in their 700 plus horsepower behemoths are smaller than Ferrrari's 6.5 liter V12.. Hey...arent F1 engines 6 cylinder affairs nowadays? So what does F1 races have to do with 1%er V12 engines anyhow? Alls I know is that Ferrari is doing juuuuust fine with V12s and their supercars! sometimes downsizing doesnt always work while keeping the status quo works miracles...if past history taught us a lesson...

Not a real Ferrari in the movie...but you get the idea... Not a real Ferrari, but you get the idea Not a V12...but a flat 12...but you get the idea 12 cylinders + Ferrari = the best ?

I guess Ferrari is better than Mercedes. Suck on that!

That Hellephant 426 That and the SD455 from Trans Am Depot/Worldwide Just about my two favorite crate motors today!!!

Well... You either swear by Consumer's Report or you dont... If, in 2005 you found that Consumer's Report was crap because it crapped on your favorite brand, then in 2019, you cant just magically start respecting Consumer's Report's reports just because THIS time around you like what you hear from them... And then start calling out people on it on how you are a wizard for hatin' on the brand Consumer's Report dissed on... I...LOATHE Consumer's Report even for dishwashers... Tesla cars arent even close to being built without faults. Like far far from... But they are built to a world wide standard that is more than satisfactory... Fiat...there is NO surprise that Fiat cars were always built lower than the industry average. Its common knowledge. Nobody needs Consumer's Reports findings to acknowledge that fact. Ford...on the Fusion has had plenty of quality recalls... I dont see you, Blu, waving the Conser Report report on the Fusion and laughing... You dont see me dissing on Ford nor do you see me complimenting Consumer's Report just because it suits my dumb ass biased agenda... I never got flaky and sentimental when GM was and probably still gets dissed by Consumer's Report, nor do I cheer for Consumer's Report when they sometimes downgrade a Toyota product... THIS is why, once again, your genitalia and your ownership of a Chrysler/Fiat product gets shat on by some... Tesla cars have got something that GM/FoMoCo/Chrysler cars has lost a long time ago. But...truth be told, GM/FoMoCo/and Mopar trucks have never lost, and Corvette, Mustang and Challenger will NEVER lose... But it is fun to seeing the pissing matches between you and the others regarding this Jeepiat/Tesla feud... Thanx for the long lasting memories!

The only one Id go outta my way for, if I was a millionaire/billionaire playboy, would be the GNX. Not the regular Grand National, but the GNX. My favorite G-Body though would be the Olds. Then would be the Grand Prix. Then would be the Regal. But not just any Regal, the T-Type and the GN/GNX. Unlike the Cutlass and the GP, those I like in any trim. Then in 4rth place its the Monte Carlo. The SS is cool, but Id rather the LS over the SS. I like the SS, but I prefer the LS. Say what you will about the G-Bodies. They make for really cool beaters...

I forgot about the Corinthian Leather... That commercial too has been etched in my memories! I just forgot about it... ha! ha! ha! get it???!!!