oldshurst442

Too bad that the luxury part of the luxury equation was missing from M-B in the 1970s... And in the 1970s...luxury was about plushiness rather than speediness...you know...you said it yourself...Oil crisis slowed down the performance in the late 70s, early 80s...

It is also rumored that when Daimler-Chrysler sold off the Chrysler part...and left the Dodge Viper to rot to its inevitable demise in 2017 at the hands of Fiat- Chrysler...it is rumored that the next gen Viper was stolen from Dodge to become the SLS... Just a rumor...and never proven because of lack of concrete evidence...but all rumors have some % of truth to them...no matter how small the %.

I am not sure about a motorcycle carrier on the back of an Avalanche. But there was a wacky British idea during WW2 to put an aircraft carrier on an iceberg... http://99percentinvisible.org/article/project-habbakuk-britains-secret-ice-bergship-aircraft-carrier-project/

Regarding Cadillac. Cadillac was hardly a brand that wanted to flex its muscles on a road course or drag strip. Not in the 1920s, nor the '30s all the way to the 2000s. Cadillac did race in its 115 year history. Even in its early years. But it wasnt part of the brands identity. GM had other brands to do the racing thing...and throughout those 10-12 decades...GM's other brands shuffled the tides with each other for racing dominance. In the late 1960s...during the height of the muscle car era where there was no replacement for displacement, Cadillac had the largest displacement V8 ever...but it never did the muscle car thing. Buick did...not Cadillac. Cadillac did not have to! And you know what? Cadillac still kicked the 6.9 SEL's ass in any metric you wanna make them compete in!

PS: There is a reason why I talk smack back at you SMK regarding M-B and the Italian cars when I say Italians do it better. 1957 with a V12... And although the 300SL was a great race car...it became a Beverly Hills trophy wife's choice... That Ferrari on top...its lineage is legendary to this day... It NEVER ceased to exist either in body nor in engine....unlike the 300SL... The 300SL took a completely different turn by its 5 year of existence and it took the SLS of this century to get back to its roots... The 300SL started life as an inline 6.... The 250TR had a V12 and from 1957...all of the 250TR successors all had the same goal in life all with a 12 cylinder under the hood! And although the 250TR that I showed was a race car and was not the GT California roadster and later coupes inluding the 250GTO...they were not exactly the same vehicle...they were all closely related to one another anyhow...and that V12 was one of the things that tied them together...they shared other things too...this aint a Ferrari thread for me to go further into detail. So yeah...Italians do do it better!

He also forgot that his beloved 300SL also did not come with a V8... First supercar, huh? You go and talk smack When in the 1950s....American cars were all about the V8 Balthy even told you about a certain HEMI powered Chrysler with the same 300 name... It is to laugh!!!

You know what I have noticed? You and I...we have some common ground when it comes to cars, but when we are off...we are miles apart. LOL (BMW comes to mind) This here for instance also. I too saw the DB11 in person and fell in love with it right away. I also remember you saying that you prefer the Vanquish (or was it the DB9?) 10 fold and they were parked side by side so you saw and compared the sexiness right then and there. I also LOVE the Vanquish and the DB9 but...with me...I am ready to move forward with the DB11, V8 and V12. Which do I prefer? In order of preference 3. 2018 Bentley GT Coupe (but the Bentley being in 3rd place does not mean I like it) 2. AM DB9 and Vanquish (tied for 2nd) 1. DB11

OK....I will give it to you. I am nuts! Ill admit...as far as modern 2017-2018 GT coupes go, this one is one of the better looking ones. Id still rather Aston Martin DB11 though.

I second those 2 sentences.

Are less likely...sure. But not impervious. https://jalopnik.com/nooooooo-first-porsche-918-spyder-burns-to-ground-in-g-1640157724 Better fit and finish? Sure! But German styling is soulless. Italian styling has passion...hence why Italians do it better. In a sexual explanation of how German engineering and styling works... A German making love will give you the optimal thrusting speed and frequency per minute to orgasm and ejaculate quicker and more efficiently. Will calculate how many out of breath "Oh God!" were shouted and divide that by how many palpitations he feels his woman is having and then he will proceed to thrust harder. So yeah...they have everything down to a calculated science...which may be a good thing. But it aint hot and passionate...at least to me it aint...concerning some German cars. Porsche is an exception for me. Certain Mercedes models as well...but over all...this is how I feel.

Touché on the Pagani. But... regarding Lamborghini...'tis Lambo that is used for V10 engine tech and the platform work from the Gallardo and Huracan regarding old and new Audi R8 and not Porsche.... And Ferrari LaFerrari successor to come in 2021-2023. You said it yourself that Ferrari will up their game further...but as we speak....in 2017...there is nothing from Germany that touches Ferrari...because simply enough...there is no hyper car from Germany. (Porsche explanation further down...Mercedes/BMW has NOTHING) Or even Lamborghini regardless if VAG owns Lamborghini... There is Porsche... But VAG lets Porsche be Porsche and Lamborghini be Lamborghini...therefore Lamborghini remains Italian... I should correct myself as Porsche creates awesome hyper cars...the Carrera GT and the 918...but like I said...Audi uses Lamborghini for their go fast R8 car... all Porsche gets from Audi is diesel scandals. Until M-B produces its hyper car...Italians do do it better...but by that time...Ferrari will still be better enforcing further that Italians do it better!

yup...half. And? The next Corvette is said to go hybrid... http://blog.caranddriver.com/latest-spy-pics-of-mid-engined-2019-c8-corvette-best-view-yet-of-cabin-and-overall-proportions/ From July 31, 2017 The Camaro will probably get Voltec at that same time....which is a short 3-4 years away... Its incredible how some of you prefer to keep your heads under the ground on purpose...

But isnt there, like, one HUUUUGE successful one... I will admit that the term and definition of "successful" could be argued. Consumer demand and acceptance vis-a-vis profits... In the early days of the automobile industry in the early 1900s...werent there literally thousands of different manufacturers that eventually went broke, merged, collapsed, or disappeared? Why do we insist on shytting upon this new era? Its coming...actually...it is already here! US sales figs only... 9563 Chevy Bolts have been sold YTD through July...another 1500 minimum for August... In 2016...24 739 Chevrolet Volts have been sold and YTD through July, 12 450...add another 1000 minimum for August. Chevrolet alone has sold 50 000 EVs in just 1.5 years... Peanuts for the amount of gasoline powered Silverados and Colorados and Equinoxes, right? That would be the argument, right? (last two questions are not to be answered...its sarcasm...)

Who needs a hyper car from any German when Italians do it better!

I like it better than the outgoing GT. I HATE the outgoing GT Hell...Im about to say Im digging it! But Ill hold out on that thought because I also see ugliness... The front end is OK...better than the outgoing model...but not by much. I like the over all interior...wide angle wise What I dont like is this...complete ugliness: I like the side silhouette...but I also feel disappointment. I dont like this angle at all the next two angles reminds me of some other car...cant put my finger on it.... I think it reminds me of the Aston Martin Vantage And that is why I feel disappointment. Like a rapper sampling and re-hashing rock songs...not original...

Sept. 1, 2017. You will not believe it folks! Elon Musk's weird couple of days just got weirder. At least his odd tweets are finally explained, but it does not however begin to explain what madness has gone to this billionaire's brain.. At approximately 8:30 AM Pacific time, Musk announced that he will build 50 special Model S with the Hellcat supercharged V8 just to stick it to Bob Lutz and Henrik Fisker. As you all know, In August 2007, Fisker and Quantum Technologies teamed up to launch the luxury electric car startup Fisker Automotive in Anaheim, California. The car they engineered was the Karma. And when that company went bankrupt, Bob Lutz swooped in to buy a handful of Karma bodies and fit them with Corvette engines to make the VL Destino. Fisker as it turns out, before heading out on his own, also worked for Musk on the Tesla Model S. Well, this is his tweet. I think someone needs to give Musk a rest because like his cars, he is becoming ludicrous!

Aug. 31, 2017. In another confusing tweet today, Elon Musk seemed to be dishing it out on poor old Bob Lutz. Tweeted on Bob Lutz's tweet account, all his tweet said was "Hey Bob! Go Lutz yourself!" with a pic of Lutz's VL Destino:

Aug. 30, 2017 In a very confusing tweet today, Elon Musk just posted a pic of a Hellcat engine in his tweet at 10:06 AM Pacific time.

As Cadillac turned 115 years old this year, it will be celebrating its anniversary by finally aligning all their products together into one logical naming scheme. It looked as though Cadillac forgot its own birthday, but this week the brand announced that by 2018, all their products will wear a letter and a number for their name. The ATS and the CTS will be the lone exceptions as when those vehicles are set to be replaced soon by the now familiar 'CT- #' alpha-numeric designation. Coming off the heels of Audi announcing their new direction in nomenclature badging, Cadillac is to continue to remake itself in Audi’s image by eliminating the only vehicle they sell by an actual name and re-badging it as the XT7. Yes folks, the Escalade is to become the ΧΤ7 for 2018. Here it is, our camera crew caught some spy shots of it as its also getting minor refreshments for the big 115th birthday. There is good news though as Johan de Nysschen hinted at a Cadillac XT9 ultra-SUV that could top the XT7 (former Escalade) that would see a price tag north of $300 000.

You've got much to learn, young padawan... Oh...Good morning Mr. Tyler, going...down? If you are a REAL man...It really is not about how long before shooting your load... Dont take my word for it...straight from a lady... And if you really cant understand all that what is going on...you are completely hopeless. Now back to cars...and electric vehicles

Law of Newton #1... wait for it... wait for it... BANG!

Sorry Drew. That would be my fault. I was the one that sucked the fun out of your intentions. Ill take this stick (hey...I am Canadian!) outta my ass and just let you folk have fun!!! I will join you guys when my ass starts feelin' better. Im usually not that uptight...(and no...no hidden messages in this...even if Im Greek....ha ha ha... The fun starts NOW!!!

I agree...like I said...there will always be tell-tale signs if you know where to look. Which leads us to your other part of your post I will ALWAYS discount any RWD American car especially one with a V8 as a sleeper as the muscle car/hot rod mentality to hop up those cars is hard to pass up on... Even a late 1970s-1990s BOF B-Body from any GM brand or fullsized FoMoCo car. The next two cars below Along with GM and MOPAR and Ford crate motors...LS SWAPS etc... paved the way for these so-called sleepers below...which I dont think are sleepers... That Caprice...has a huge exhaust pipe...either factory LT1 from a police pack Caprice or LS swap...but probably a V8 under the hood that means business regardless and that exhaust pipe reveals the situation at hand. When the owner starts up his car...if it rumbles...it probably means its a legit muscle car... So yeah...I agree with your sentiment down below

Except that RAM pick-up trucks sell 400 000 units or so per year for the last 3 years and are on track to hit 500 000 plus this year. If RAM trucks division is sold off alone away from JEEP, A corporate entity other than GM or FoMoCo could use those sales to bolster profits further or its easy entry for the North American market. Think about it, Renault-Nissan could buy RAM and Nissan is instantly a pick-up truck contender... Think about it...if Renault-Nissan was to buy RAM...RAM instantly has a small pick-up truck to sell...the Frontier...to compete with the Canyon/Colorado, Ranger, Tacoma and under a RAM badge...just BECAUSE of a RAM badge...will be competitive sales wise versus the others...and the Frontier aint a bad truck either...RAM engineers could easily improve upon it... That goes for any Chinese company (or European for that matter) wanting to enter the US market...400 000-500 000 instant sales... If any corporate entity buys JEEP and RAM together...the sales from those two brands are endless...for the short term anyway... The corporate entity all it has to do is just pair up JEEP and RAM in one showroom and the sales and profits will just be pouring in....helping that corporate entity's other cars get engineering dollars and presence...kinda like Fiat...if the poker hands are played right...unlike Fiat... Its a little iffy for Dodge and Chrysler as of now... Dodge is known for police cars and muscle cars...both require V8 images (from a consumer stand point) Police departments are moving away from V8s as we speak while the muscle car image as to where its gotta go is still up in the air... Anybody that buys Dodge better get their marketing straight because V8 police cars and V8 muscle cars are slowly dying...and as of now...that is the ONLY two images Dodge has. They were stripped of the trucks... Dodge has to be the one to re-invent the muscle car...and the corporate entity that may want to give Dodge a try better understand what a future mainstream muscle car is and what Americans want from a future mainstream muscle car...that seems like too much work for a corporate entity wanting to get a foot-hold in the USA... Unless someone buys RAM and Dodge and just re-unites RAM with Dodge again. Its not too late for that as consumers still have memories that include Dodge as pick-up truck brand...400 000-500 000 sales per year shouldnt be ignored and could just as easily remedy Dodge as any other brand...