oldshurst442

ALLS I READ IS BLAH BLAH BLAH! Your opinion just as empty as mine! About M-B and Hitler.... M-B is REVISING its history with the Fuhrer! Dont take my word for it....its hearsay....

Oh God! It looks like YOU are one of those still stuck with your head in the sand! Why dont YOU prove to ME it is NOT!!! All Ive heard from you is wishful thinking through rose coloured glasses. Balthy, its EASY to talk the way you do as you dont have anymore answers than I do.. Its clear that YOUR opinion is not more valid than mine....why: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/02/cadillac-ats-sales-numbers-figures-results-january-2017/ Model January 2017 Deliveries January 2016 Deliveries January 2017 / January 2016 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 6,453 5,079 +27.05% BMW 3/4 Series 5,976 5,119 +16.74% Audi A4/A5 2,041 1,840 +10.92% Lexus IS/RC 1,870 2,933 -36.24% Cadillac ATS 974 1,067 -8.72% its clear that M-B is selling cars in the sub-ATS market.... its clear that M-B is selling in the market that the CTS should be booming http://gmauthority.com/blog/2017/02/cadillac-cts-sales-numbers-figures-results-january-2017/ U.S. January 2017 Midsize Luxury Sedan Sales Overview Model January 2017 Deliveries January 2016 Deliveries January 2017 / January 2016 Mercedes-Benz E-Class 4,155 2,790 +48.9% Audi A6 1,008 841 +19.9% BMW 5 Series 759 3,795 -80.3% Cadillac CTS 691 1,013 -31.8% Lexus GS 422 1,298 -67.5% stop with the phoquing semantic driven bullshyte... I hypothesized an idea I may have...I hear and read shyte about why Cadillac is faltering... Maybe the Escalade DOES bring a negative stigma to would be ATS owners but these new owners dont want to be associated with this: Yes last generation Escalade...still an Escalade...SEMANTICS!!! Like I said...Cadillac to many....seems like a one trick pony.... Pimp my ride Eldos, Fleetwoods and 'Slades... If you dont agree, fine... THAT does NOT mean that the stigma is NOT THERE! You could wax poetic all you like about Mercedes-Benz NOT being luxury ...and I agree to that for the same reasons YOU hold! The thing is, M-B is doing what is necessary to survive and to continue being relevant. I have NO doubt when that strategy starts failing that they will adjust... Cadillac, my friend, needs to do something and of it means doing what JDN is proposing in offering sub-ATS vehicles so be it! About the Escalade....I bet MY LIFE that the next Escalade will be LESS BOLD and more, dare I say it, more European!!! Yeah....for reasons I speculated!!! Laugh and try to ridicule me with nonsense ....I see what JDN is doing and I keep to my opinions because I see the pattern ....The Escala is not a whole lot American in look is it? HMMMMM???!!!

Ive been on both sides of the fence. I really dont know what way Cadillac should go. But at least Im aware that Cadillac's image is not healthy. And I listen to many reasons as to why that is...

Well Balthy, its there! And THAT is the PROBLEM...DENYING that that stigma exists! Maybe if the powers that be in charge of Cadillac and some fans of Cadillac took their heads outta the sand, then maybe they would see reality in a much clearer way! And then maybe that explains why the Escalade is such a run-a-way success story as compared to say a STS, CTS, CT6... You think that a BOF SUV is all that different from a BOF fullsized sedan? Please refrain from the semantics... Cadillac needs to be bold! Cadillac also has stigma issues they need to shake off regardless how long they ceased production of Fleetwoods, Broughams and Cimarrons...to deny that is living in a bubble! Cadillac needs to be in the niches that people are actually buying their luxury rides, perceived luxury or not! Cadillac needs to introduce cars that you and I are not comfortable with...its because those people that will buy their cars in niches we think is not deserving of Cadillac, its these people that will lift these negative stigmas once and for all!!! Escalade for all I know, is hurting Cadillac to move forward. Big gangsta blinged out mobile versus mafia boss hiding dead bodies in the trunk... Yeah...the stigma is there Balthy...

GM is downsizing its model range if I understood correctly with the selling off of Opel and the explanation given that GM might retreat in some world markets and might stop offering some models in certain niches possibly eliminating a couple of those models all together. With that being said, Cadillac needs a direction to follow. Cadillac needs to sell cars and SUVs regardless what direction GM is heading down and we as of March 31, 2017 should realize that Cadillac needs to do whatever it takes to become relevant to remain in business. I was against cars and SUVs smaller than the ATS. Hell, I was against the ATS. But with the news of GM downsizing, my mindset is changing. Cadillac needs to break free from several stigmas in my opinion going forward from March 31, 2017 and beyond. 1. That Cadillac is a one trick pony selling land yachts. The Eldorado and Fleetwood Series 62 cars are loooong gone but the Escalade took their place, but Cadillac is much more than that! So Cadillac needs more work in convincing people for that. Its clear that the "V" Series cars are not that answer. They help, but another stigma has arose. 2. That Cadillac is a bargain luxury car maker. 3. Cadillac needs to distance itself to the connection to GM ....CHEVROLET through GM.... I dont know if selling ATS and sub ATS cars are that answer because to me, selling small and more or less affordable cars contradict the luxury status Cadillac is pursuing to reclaim its position it held 30-40 years ago, but Cadillac DEFINITELY needs to get butts in the showrooms and into their cars to drive off in them. That does mean more models, and it may mean picking up niches where Buick and Chevrolet may be abandoning....it seems contradictory but maybe a higher status vehicle might succeed where a lesser badge has failed... It hasnt been all fail for the ATS. People have bought/leased it. The ATS stumbled because it and the 3rd gen CTS were poorly conceived and to boot, so was the CT6... All 3 models step on each others toes somehow or other. So... Cadillac needs the right vehicle to sell in the HOT niches and if they fail to do that, they will miss yet another boat and train ride to relevancy. And if that means sub-ATS vehicles, so be it! They better be built right though befitting a top tier luxury line-up!

I should un-friend then! Cut me some slack, Im Canadian. From Quebec.

I dont know? You wanna buy the same car over and over and over and over and over again? About the Camaro... The Camaro has had 3 ZENITH designs...3. The 2nd and 3rd gen defining the 1970s and 1980s respectively. If that was the case, not changing for changing's sake, we'd be still having the 1st generation NEVER experiencing the 2nd or the 3rd...

How about we also move on from the pseudo 1967-1969( they say its more 1969 than 1967) retro look and evolve the bloody model... As much as I LOVE the Challenger, I feel that the Challenger also has played out its retroness if anybody thinks Im being hypocritical....I CAAAAANT WAIT for a Guilia platform Chally to make an entrance if FCA and Dodge exist long enough for that to happen...

The TLX has very vanilla styling. I own a 2012 TL, and yes, the beak is ugly, I love it, but I aint blind to the fact that most people hate it! The TLX looks awkward with the beak worse than the TL does. At least the TL has all kinds of crazy lines and triangles to its design that compliments the beak. Maybe this new grill will fit in better. The MDX is just a pathetic SUV.

About this new Equinox that the focus group supposedly got right that GM changed the look to this one... HOW THE PHOQUE DO I KNOW THE FOCUS GROUP GOT IT RIGHT? 1a. There is no picture of the previous non focus group Equinox so I could at least compare and see for myself!!! 1b. If there is such as story...it could be #fakenews just for #fakenews sake to sell a story to tell us how new GM is different than the old GM!!! 2. Only time will tell as SALES SALES SALES against its COMPETITION COMPETITION COMPETITION will determine if the focus group got it right! TALK ABOUT FLUFF MARKETING!!! AND WE GAVE WINGS SHYTE BECAUSE FoMoCo BULLSHYTED US WITH FLUFF LIKE THIS!!!

Hey, @Cmicasa the Great Ill make you famous! Casa, the Camaro6 LOOKS EXACTLY like a copy then pasted and reduced by 10-15% Camaro5. There are more VISUAL differences between a 1970 Camaro versus a 1978 Camaro than the Zeta Camaro versus the Alpha Camaro! There are more VISUAL differences between a 1982 Camaro then there is a 1992 Camaro! There are more VISUAL differences between a 1993 Camaro and a 2002 Camaro! The Camaro6 is an absolute MONSTER of a car performance wise...VISUALLY though...it leaves much to be desired. The Camaro6 should have been the Camaro5 visually and dimensionally. GM had to make do withy the Zeta platform, and that is GREAT! So the Camaro5 is what it was, which at the end was a FAN-PHOQUING-TASTIC car that was LOOOONG in the tooth in the VISUAL department...and what does GM do for the next gen? GM copy and pastes the Camaro5 and reduces it by 10-15%.... The Camaro6 should have NOT looked that way. It SHOULD have taken a different approach. But @Cmicasa the Great, its OK...we had are showdown at the OK Corral a looong time ago regarding this! Time to move forward. A little reminder... Transformers the Movie came out in 2007 when we got a glimpse of what the Camaro will look like...we are in 2017....that is a decade of having a similar look! Deny is all you could do...but unlike Johnny Ringo, I am your huckleberry and I do NOT back down and I certainly don't lose to you!

Je ne sais pas, mais tabarnak, il fait froid!

Yes. Easy. Let me explain why. I read Frogger's remark about how his offroader was the lowest amount as that category would be the least utilized and I went from there myself. I added to that logic, what are the categories and cars I cherish the most and which will I drive the most. I figured, why spend a ton on a track car when tracking aint my thing and why choose an SUV offroader loaded to the gills? The 1st and 2nd price categories with the type of vehicle was selected... I wanted to spend 35-40 on the Wrangler 75th anniversary model, but that wouldnt leave me much for an enjoyable and sexy week-end warrior track car in the ever so miniscule amount of 27-30. When I figured, thanx to Frogger, that the Wrangler is a decent offroader for dirt cheap, it paved the way for me to enjoy Italian sexiness with Mazda road and track awesomeness. Then, as I explained in the post itself, the daily driver was simple as phoque...I daily drive a Challenger 392 and I aint apologizing motherphoquer!!! Then it was just a matter of choosing what luxury ride I want. I really wanted a BMW 6 Series Gran Sport but the car breaks the budget allowed.

What the hell is it doing in....Quebec?

This was easier than I thought... 1. as my off-roader/SUV in the 27-30K in price range. Jeep Wrangler Sahara Limited base 2. as my week-end warrior AND track car in the 35-40K in price range. Fiat 124 spyder Abarth 3. I figured, since I also have an expensive 4 door cruiser as an option, and I burned up my week-end warrior car with a small roadster, I might as well daily drive a real bonafide 2 door muscle car! Dodge Challenger SRT392 in the 45-50K in price 4. Long Distance boulevard cruiser in the 65-70K in price. Cadillac CT6 3.6

I did not know that. Plus the 2nd link I posted, the Jalopnik one, states that in 2014 at least, M-B had/has a 0.14% percent stake in Tesla. I did not know that either...

That got me thinking, so I googled "Tesla powered Mercedes Benz". This is what got me postin' and linkin' http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/27/autos/mercedes-tesla-b-class-electric/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 http://jalopnik.com/the-tesla-powered-mercedes-b-class-is-coming-to-the-u-s-1569161110

@William Maley Thanx for the update!

I like the styling. I dont love it though. Just like. But it is enough like for me to change out my Acura TL for it when I properly amortize the TL. Its a 2012. Wow. Time flies. 5 years in the fall. Im gonna keep her for another 3-4-5 years me thinks, but unless another manufacturer makes a nicer and/or better 100% all electric than the Model 3 in the next 3-4-5 years, the Model 3 will definitely be my next car. Oh...and Im not talking about 100 000 dollar EVs either...30 000 or 40 000 dollars max....(50 000-55 000 CDN MAXIMUM!) I could never bring myself to spend over that much money for a car...not in this stage in my life...I am looking to spend that much on a restomodded and pro-toured (maybe an EV conversion)1970 Olds 442 though (or on an authentic, numbers matching garage queen 1970 442) when the time is right, when the kids become very independent and the wife and I are old and grey and the 2nd house in Greece or Tamba Bay Florida is complete!

There was also this video last week of the Model 3.

All these cars belong to VW AG right? Can't VW take all of the diesel cars and swap them with normal gasoline powered 2.0T engines and sell them on the used market? Is that a legal path they could follow? Even if they sell them dirt cheap, some monies are recuperated, non?

Id say...to have a level playing field... EV and ethanol should ALSO get 100 years of subsidies, then we could call it quits!!! FAIR is only FAIR!!!

1. That was when Detroit had North America all to herself! It was easy peasy to do it then! 2. GM announced that they will be downsizing further, so M-B probably saw that GM had the guts to it and they dont have that insane amount of intertwining models, so they probably followed suit after they were probably thinking about it for awhile.

And the sole 2dr coupe that Cadillac gets is a shared platform with a Chevy and the Chevy version gets the V8 top line engine and spanks every performance oriented 2dr coupe in its sight. The Cadillac version fails to do that, fails to do the interior space that it should also focus on as its German competitors address that! FAIL FAIL FAIL ABOUT M-B...

'Cause that is what I do...I create...MAGIC! @Cmicasa the Great may think he is great. Everyone KNOWS IM GREAT! (I dont have to write it in my name...)