oldshurst442

https://fortune.com/2022/01/12/tesla-rivals-audi-bmw-mercedes-vw-cant-match-ev-volumes/ The dedicated EV brand Mercedes-EQ saw global volumes hit only roughly 49,000 cars for the full year. That's barely any better than Porsche's 41,000 from its sole EV model, the Taycan. BMW meanwhile achieved some 69,000 vehicles, by comparison. Perhaps the biggest disappointment came from Audi. Even though it sold more EVs than either of its two domestic rivals with nearly 82,000 vehicles delivered, it failed to keep pace with Tesla since volumes rose only 58%. Schmidt said the four German carmakers would be better served not trumpeting their growth rates lest they draw too much attention to the figures. “It’s nothing they should be shouting about really because their gains are coming from low levels, so you would expect to see a huge rise,” Schmidt said. “It’s a bit of a joke to me, really.” https://jalopnik.com/mercedes-sales-drop-as-supply-chain-issues-take-hold-1849163828 “Ongoing supply-chain problems could jeopardize Mercedes’s plan to cut back on entry-level vehicles in order to focus on higher-end cars that deliver bigger profits. Mercedes said a dearth of chips contributed to a 16% decline in sales for the top-end luxury category. “EV sales were a bright spot in Mercedes’s report, with its EQ sales nearly doubling to 23,500 units compared to the same period last year. The first half of the year saw the brand’s EV sales rising to 45,400 units. --------------------------------------------------------------------- the Lyriq by itself, has a buyers list and sold out with at least 23 000 units as compared to Mercedes' combined EV sales in the US of 23 000 units. But @smk4565 says that 23 000 units for Cadillac is not enough... Down vote this too @smk4565, you are only reinforcing my words to you that you are pathetic...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-11/mercedes-amg-considered-cancelling-its-f1-supercar-many-times-says-chief#xj4y7vzkg Mercedes-AMG Considered Cancelling Its F1 Supercar, Says Chief The nearly $2.4 million AMG ONE lost some buyers along the way. But after six years, it is finally about to hit the street. (Just not in America.)

https://carbuzz.com/news/bad-news-mercedes-amg-one-hypercar-not-coming-to-usa Bad News: Mercedes-AMG One Hypercar Not Coming To USA JUN. 02, 2022 9:16 AM ETBY KARL FURLONG INDUSTRY NEWS / 31 COMMENTS Americans will have to settle for an AMG GT Black Series. After a painfully long wait, Mercedes finally took the covers off the production version of the AMG One hypercar this week. Everything we hoped for and then some, even Mercedes itself admitted that the idea to move forward with the AMG One was a drunken mistake

E series sell at Chevrolet msrps in Europe hence Mercedes volumes... Taxis, police cars. In North America, Mercedes needs volumes to keep, like you said, revenues because S Class sales and the handfull of million dollar AMG ONES dont cut it. Hence FWD down market econoboxes for Mercedes. 300 000-320 000 units sold for Mercedes versus 120 000-150 000 units for Cadillac. Problem is, and Ive done those numbers before is that 40%- 50% of those sales for Mercedes is low end market stuff... That leaves approx. the same amount of actual luxury sales as Cadillac. And Cadillac now has a HIGHER ATP than Mercedes. Mercedes is just gonna drag that ATP down as they need VOLUME to keep the lights on... The A Class is gone but not the GLA THIS starts at 37 000 and Mercedes WILL promote it heavily in the US as it NEEDS it to sell to keep money flowing. And the EV version problem is...those two wwill be competing with these and this Good luck for Mercedes to get an advance in Chevrolet, Ford and KIA market share... You wanna fake it, buy a Mercedes!!!

And the problem for Mercedes is that EVERYYBODY seems to hate that design language. And I mean EVERYBODY. All potential EV buyers... Only the hardcore of the hardcore Mercedes fans like those ugly things. Even @smk4565 disapproves of it. Yet somehow, the Blazer EV and Celestiq have issues for him when he himself finds faults with the jellybean disasters. Yet all reporting of the Celestiq, Lyriq, Blazer EV, HUMMER EV, all give critical acclaim for those particular of gm EVs. Including Euro biased media sources. Literarily, nobody gives a shyte about the EQS, EQB and family. Its all about the Lucid Air nowadays... and of course the Model S. People got quickly UNDERWHELMED with Mercedes and its EVs that there is no buzz surrounding Mercedes anywhere. The AMG ONE has hit the streets and nobody is talking about that either... The Mercedes EVs are quickly set aside also. That is about the worst thing to happen to Mercedes, that Mercedes is an actual after thought. And it has happened in 2022...

About Cadillac and the Celestiq. It will sell as many as Cadillac wants to build. Which is not many. It will be in the low hundreds as its mission is to remain exclusive and elusive. Its a boutique offering. Not mass produced. To help advance the exclusivity and luxury of a brand that was meant only for the rich. Unobtainium. Better be rich if you wanna be a Cadillac owner nowadays. The real deal. If you wanna fake it. Buy a Mercedes.

The Lyriq was not even out then. The Mach E is also on its way to its 3rd year and it proved to be a worthy EV not only as a Tesla rival, but as an EV on its own merit. Let the Lyriq prove itself as it just hit the actual streets and the Lyriq sales will follow through. But you wanna nag on it. Nag on Mercedes for failing on plenty of levels...

Not the reason that they filed for bankruptcy. But if 2-3 years is pre-history. 15 years ago is a land before time. GM aint hurting for cash. Cadillac is not hurting for profit. Mercedes' revenue is but a shell game. Its going to be tough time for Mercedes now that Mercedes doesnt have access to Chrysler/Jeep platforms to revive their coffers with Jeep platform SUV money that carried them through the ICE AGE SUV craze. The EV thing is going to slaughter their coffers as they have nobody to sponge off of. GM is quite in a good position here... The next decade will be futile for them. They dont even have a halo car for the EV future. The AMG ONE is a hybrid. So is a Corvette. And nothing yet on its specs. The Corvette hybrid and Z06 will mop the floor with it all for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS less. Sooooo much needed R&D money wasted on that shyte. The last great hybrid EV from Mercedes was 15 years ago with the SLS. Now...that would be about the time GM went bankrupt. since then, GM has brought out image enhancing hit after hit. Styling greatness, one after the other. Mercedes has relied on diesel scandals, melted bar of soap designs and laughable EV tech and going DOWNMARKET. Hoping for them that they have truly unlocked the batter tech they so desperately need and its not a lie like with their diesels...

ATP has everything to do with revenue. ATP also means that Cadillacs sell at a price higher than Mercedes. Meaning, Cadillac buyers now are WILLING to spend MORE money on a Cadillac than on a Mercedes. Also meaning that Cadillac no longer resides in a Cadillac in every garage market niche which means that Cadillac is truly luxury as not everyone can afford a Cadillac. Unlike Mercedes who wants to do exactly that... A Mercedes for everybody. THAT would NOT be luxury... as you highly want to toot Mercedes as the world's most sold luxury brand, and yet, BMW took that crown. And yet, BMW aint luxury either as even BMW is down market in Europe... So Mercedes is losing sales to another down market auto sales company. Chevrolet sells more 50 000 dollar vehicles than either of them. Not so useless statistic when you consider the implications... Image is going up. Mercedes' image is leveling and with CNBC's opinion piece, is actually true to what is being said about Mercedes' luxury perception problems. Ive been stating THAT for the last 15 years that it will finally catch up to Mercedes. Self loathing Americans much like yourself, is what makes you pathetic, have COMPLETELY ignored and gave a pass on for Mercedes, BMW and Toyota but much have crucified and NEVER forgave the American brands for shyte they done half a phoquing century ago. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/06/business/mercedes-benz-brake-recall.html Mercedes has just issued 1 000 000 cars for rusted out brakes and fear of failing. Mercedes has sold about 300 000 cars year after year for the last 15 years. 300 000 x 15 = 4.5 million cars. Mercedes has recalled 25% of those... Diesel scandals Going down market and the failure of many shytty models in the US market ALL in the last 15-20 years. Yet you, SMK, not a nigh of malcontent, dissing or complaint of Mercedes but you yap, yap yap negative shyte on GM and Cadillac. Phoque off!!!

https://insideevs.com/news/588048/2023-cadillac-lyriq-sold-out-70percent-buyers-are-new-to-brand/ 1. The 2023 Cadillac Lyriq sold out a mere four hours after orders opened on May 19, the automaker revealed. GM's luxury brand opened the order banks at 9 am and by 1 pm the 2023 Lyriq had sold out 2. While the representative declined to say how many orders Cadillac received, in March the brand did report having about 233,000 people who expressed interest in the car. Back then, Cadillac also said it expected to convert about 10% of those hand-raisers to buyers. It's safe to say Cadillac is planning a production run of more than 20,000 vehicles for the 2023 Lyriq, 3. Speaking about Cadillac Lyriq customers, the brand’s first-ever production EV appears to be quite an effective conquest vehicle, as approximately 70% of buyers are new to the brand. The percentage was reportedly communicated by Cadillac in a recent media presentation, according to Cadillac Society. Interestingly, many of these new customers are younger than the typical Cadillac customer, with 68% of Lyriq customers being members of the so-called Gen X and Gen Y demographic groups.

The 300 000 dollar plus price tag and the thought of a bespoke everything, handcrafted halo vehicle that will be the Celestiq is what is greatly missing in Cadillac's showroom to showcase that Cadillac is truly in the business of making prestige vehicles. For far too long, Cadillac peddled the wrong car, the wrong price tag and in the wrong market niche to establish itself amongst the top premium brands. Cadillac made the decision to go down market and go after sales in the late '70s or early '80s and almost immediately bit them in the ass. They did eventually see the glaring error they made, and teased the world what Cadillac could be again, but for whatever reason, never executed on it. Several times in the last 20 years I might add. Finally, they got the cojones to not only do it but to do it right. 1. Not half-assed like the Allante, XLR, ELR before it. 2. 300 000 dollar plus price tag. 3. extremely customized and bespoke to the individual buyer 4. the vehicle itself being bespoke and not shared with any other Cadillac or GM product. 5. hand built to enhance exclusivity, prestige and specialness 6. high tech 7. great awareness and execution and focus on quality, fit and finish and luxury And to top it all off, in thee last decade, Cadillac made steps in the right direction to fix the image they had with their other cars. They built a cult following with their V cars. Which greatly made folk forget about the land barges of yore. But still kept that legacy alive with the absolute monster of an icon, the Escalade. But for the 21st century AD. And with the Lyriq and Celestiq, Cadillac's image is just building up steam to rise to the top. When the EV Escalade joins the fray, and the Escalade again, has a great platform to continue on, the HUMMER EV, and the electric V cars, to do battle with Porsche Taycans, Audi E-Tron GTs, Lucid Airs, and the benchmark Tesla Model S, Cadillac is finally on the right track. Any of that means nothing still, to the rise of Cadillac again, its just that the sky is that much more clear, blue and sunny for Cadillac. Lets just hope they dont fumble the ball again.

Benzinsider take on it though: Our Take We agree with most of the arguments presented by CNBC about Mercedes-Benz losing its prestige over the years because several of them have been manifesting within the brand already. Then again, it’s worth mentioning that the data offered from several sources were two or three years from the present, and since then, Mercedes has made big leaps in its marketing, particularly in its EV development. So far, the German automaker is enjoying success in its Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV with 51,805 units sold in 2021, and 16,910 units sold in the first quarter of 2022 and is about to roll out its next-generation model for the range in dealerships. Lastly, the three-pointed star marque just made big strides in its electrification via the triumphant demonstration of the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX, which recently displayed an actual range of 747 miles on a single charge. The said car serves as a preview of what the brand has in store for its EV units going forward. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- they agree, but glance over the problems.... they say 2 or 3 years from the present as 2 or 3 years is pre-history.... They site sales of a particular SUV as a measure for prestige yet reasons #2, #3 and #4 all contradict their glancing over facts...to which they agree to anyway... Its gonna be hard to be a Mercedes fanboi in the next decade... 2. Dilution of Exclusivity Due to Aggressive Market Expansion Another is that over the years, the efforts of the company were mainly focused on boosting the volume of its products to capture more market share. With that, Merc has been enticing younger buyers by making less expensive vehicles with lesser luxury features. However, such a strategy was not always successful as with the case of the C-Class Sport Coupe in 2002, which failed miserably in the market resulting to its discontinuation in 2006. It should be noted that the same thing happened when the brand dipped into the luxury pickup truck segment through the short-lived Mercedes-Benz X-Class. These and the presence of so many vehicles in its lineup tend to dilute its exclusivity as a brand, too. 3. SUVs Don’t Inspire the Same Level of Interest as Its Cars Moreover, the source stated that its SUVs don’t inspire the same level of interest as its passenger cars. This may be attributed to the presence of formidable rivals in the industry, including BMW, Audi, and Lexus, not to mention that some of the said brands sometimes have products that are almost alike design-wise such as the Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Lexus RX. Add the fact that Merc has initially held back from introducing its hottest SUVs from Europe into the US like in the case of the GLC so it missed out on its huge demand there. 4. Losing Ground in the US Luxury Vehicle Market CNBC further cited Benz lagging in the third position in terms of the number of luxury vehicles sold in the U.S. Citing 2020 data, BMW was on the top of the list selling 278.9K units, Lexus on second with 275K sold, and Merc on the third spot with 274.9K sales. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/mercedes-loses-premium-sales-crown-bmw-chip-shortage-hits-deliveries#:~:text=Mercedes-Benz sold 2.05 million,year%2C parent Daimler said Friday. January 07, 2022 09:18 AM Mercedes loses premium sales crown to BMW, as chip shortage hits deliveries First time in five years that the BMW has outsold its German rival Mercedes-Benz sold 2.05 million passenger vehicles globally in 2021, losing its crown as the world's top-selling luxury brand to BMW. It's the first time in five years that the BMW brand has outsold Mercedes. Sales of Mercedes brand passenger cars fell 5 percent to 2.05 units last year, parent Daimler said Friday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Glance over facts... its a Mercedes thing with their sales folk, marketing folk and fanbois , to misinform and propaganda their way to success.

https://www.benzinsider.com/2022/06/is-mercedes-benz-losing-its-prestige-as-a-luxury-car-brand/ Benzinsider.com an opinion piece responding to the CNBC opinion piece of "If Mercedes is losing its prestige as a luxury car brand" video CNBC made in April of 2021. The Benzinsider piece was written on June 2022. THIS YEAR... Meaning, the CNBC video touched some nerves that couldnt be ignored... 1. Quality Control Issues One of its contentions is that the brand has suffered quality control issues over the years as it struggled with its electronic components and its predisposition to cut production costs. We would like to add that this still happens based on the frequent recalls it has announced in the past couple of years. 2. Dilution of Exclusivity Due to Aggressive Market Expansion Another is that over the years, the efforts of the company were mainly focused on boosting the volume of its products to capture more market share. With that, Merc has been enticing younger buyers by making less expensive vehicles with lesser luxury features. However, such a strategy was not always successful as with the case of the C-Class Sport Coupe in 2002, which failed miserably in the market resulting to its discontinuation in 2006. It should be noted that the same thing happened when the brand dipped into the luxury pickup truck segment through the short-lived Mercedes-Benz X-Class. These and the presence of so many vehicles in its lineup tend to dilute its exclusivity as a brand, too. 3. SUVs Don’t Inspire the Same Level of Interest as Its Cars Moreover, the source stated that its SUVs don’t inspire the same level of interest as its passenger cars. This may be attributed to the presence of formidable rivals in the industry, including BMW, Audi, and Lexus, not to mention that some of the said brands sometimes have products that are almost alike design-wise such as the Mercedes GLE, BMW X5, BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Lexus RX. Add the fact that Merc has initially held back from introducing its hottest SUVs from Europe into the US like in the case of the GLC so it missed out on its huge demand there. 4. Losing Ground in the US Luxury Vehicle Market CNBC further cited Benz lagging in the third position in terms of the number of luxury vehicles sold in the U.S. Citing 2020 data, BMW was on the top of the list selling 278.9K units, Lexus on second with 275K sold, and Merc on the third spot with 274.9K sales. Nevertheless, it should be recalled that Mercedes remains the top-selling luxury vehicle brand in the world. (my take on that.... BULLSHYTE! That misinformation is always spewed as Mercedes sells downmarket vehicles in Europe like GM does with Chevrolet, and now they are doing that in North America, but Benz biased related articles want to disinform us and spew lies. The reason why CNBC did that video in the first place is to showcase how downmarket Benz has REALLY gone...as in REASON #2...) 5. Fall in Profits Next, the presenter took into account a time in 2019 when Daimler, the then-parent of Mercedes, saw its profits fall by $5 billion due to its involvement in the Dieselgate scandal and electrification R&D. If its EV investments fail to produce favorable results in the years to come, it could threaten the confidence of its shareholders. 6. Strong Competition in the EV Market Speaking of electrification, the brand has to struggle amid strong competition in the EV market. One of which is Tesla, and the entry of many other brands in the segment, particularly the cheaper Chinese EVs. Based on McKinsey’s Electric Vehicle Index, Tesla holds a 16% global market share EV. Mercedes is not even in the top 10 list of the data as of 2019. Its traditional rival, BMW, made it but most entries came from Chinese EV makers. When it comes to China, which has the largest demand for EV nowadays, Merc also has to watch out for its local EV brands. 7. The Tesla Threat An interesting fact that was pointed out by the video was the tendency of the top German luxury automakers (Mercedes, BMW, and Audi who own a 60% slice of the Chinese market) to drop their overall market share advantage whenever Tesla opens up a new store in a location. From the looks of it, Tesla is aiming to maximize its exposure by opening up more international dealerships in the years to come, thus, if the trend continues, it will be one hell of a ride for the German luxury brands. Furthermore, Merc takes more time to develop its EV models due to its high standard and efforts to make it right the first time, which are not exactly a bad thing. However, competitors like Tesla are moving quicker and more adventurous when it comes to exploring tech that other automakers are reluctant to adopt. The state-of-the-art tech is usually what attracts younger buyers to the American brand. Nonetheless, Tesla is far from secure in the American market because EVs still comprise a small percentage of total vehicle sales in the US. (another misinformation bullshytting.... Not only Tesla, but GM and Hyundai/Kia, Lucid, RIVIAN and all others... The thing is, Mercedes WANTS to go downmarket, and their EV offerings are all ugly anywhere in the price spectrum. #6 reason... But this author, like you @smk4565, glances over straight out facts and tries to lie to counter...)

Talk about fantasy land. you havent realized that Cadillac is kicking Mercedes ATPs since 2020. And the thing is, even when all car makers' ATPs have shot up since Covid, Cadillac's have skyrocketed and widened the gap that much more against Mercedes. https://mediaroom.kbb.com/2021-10-13-Average-New-Vehicle-Transaction-Prices-Top-45,000-for-First-Time,-According-to-Kelley-Blue-Book Makes September 2021 Transaction Price (Avg.)* August 2021 Transaction Price (Avg.)* September 2020 Transaction Price (Avg.)* Percent Change August 2021 to September 2021* Percent Change September 2020 to September 2021* Acura $48,105 $48,297 $39,900 -0.4% 20.6% Alfa Romeo $48,549 $48,458 $44,965 0.2% 8.0% Audi $57,547 $56,806 $54,718 1.3% 5.2% BMW $65,043 $63,713 $60,418 2.1% 7.7% Buick $36,319 $35,086 $34,185 3.5% 6.2% Makes September 2021 Transaction Price (Avg.)* August 2021 Transaction Price (Avg.)* September 2020 Transaction Price (Avg.)* Percent Change August 2021 to September 2021* Percent Change September 2020 to September 2021* Cadillac $81,938 $75,399 $54,202 8.7% 51.2% Chevrolet $50,451 $47,095 $40,903 7.1% 23.3% Chrysler $45,387 $44,622 $40,434 1.7% 12.3% Dodge $45,052 $42,637 $38,048 5.7% 18.4% Fiat $27,726 $27,032 $28,303 2.6% -2.0% Ford $50,853 $51,446 $45,677 -1.2% 11.3% Genesis $60,087 $59,148 $46,328 1.6% 29.7% GMC $61,557 $58,042 $54,182 6.1% 13.6% Honda $33,915 $32,983 $29,284 2.8% 15.8% Hyundai $33,390 $32,879 $29,644 1.6% 12.6% Infiniti $52,873 $51,962 $46,679 1.8% 13.3% Jaguar $73,893 $69,477 $59,058 6.4% 25.1% Jeep $44,445 $44,340 $39,906 0.2% 11.4% Kia $33,036 $31,892 $29,637 3.6% 11.5% Land Rover $86,757 $85,056 $80,195 2.0% 8.2% Lexus $53,316 $51,261 $50,374 4.0% 5.8% Lincoln $62,394 $61,751 $57,782 1.0% 8.0% Mazda $34,144 $32,831 $30,103 4.0% 13.4% Mercedes-Benz $75,369 $74,885 $59,899 0.6% 25.8% Mini $35,534 $35,580 $32,929 -0.1% 7.9% Mitsubishi $28,978 $28,753 $23,415 0.8% 23.8% Nissan $33,376 $32,407 $29,700 3.0% 12.4% Porsche $102,397 $100,747 $96,118 1.6% 6.5% Ram $55,383 $54,051 $51,549 2.5% 7.4% Subaru $33,911 $34,804 $31,911 -2.6% 6.3% Tesla $55,085 $54,538 $54,270 1.0% 1.5% Toyota $38,592 $36,743 $33,608 5.0% 14.8% Volkswagen $34,992 $35,105 $30,594 -0.3% 14.4% Volvo $54,903 $53,767 $48,604 2.1% 13.0% Industry $ 45,031 $ 43,418 $ 40,159 3.7% 12.1% And the A Class is being scrapped in the US? Another failure for Mercedes in the US market. And the real thing that should hit you hard is that Cadillac is going UPMARKET while stabilizing their sales and Mercedes is trying to sell more while going DOWNMARKET. Cadillac doesnt need, or want at this juncture to increase low end sales, Chevrolet is there for that. But Mercedes needs to try and steal sales from Chevy to do so... And while it seems that Mercedes also has 500 mile range EV capability, as does GM, GM and Cadillac have what it really takes to sell cars... This is frumpier, uglier and more dated than the Model Y from Tesla is... And this is a fresh design. The Model Y is from 2017 as its a sister design to its sedan counterpart. The Model 3. I think folk, even Euro loving freaks, will be embarrassed to be seen in that EQA that will replace the better looking (believe it or not) A Class that was a phoquing failure (yeah, not that hard to believe).... You might not think so, but you are also an ass kissing mercedes fanboi, but the Equinox EV CUV is eons ahead in design against that EQA good luck to Mercedes trying to capture any sales in this market with the ugly shyte they are gonna peddle And I sensed fear when I read you werent impressed by this And you ought to be scared.... what in the holy heaven do you see beauty in any Mercedes design the last 10 years? The phoque is this mid 2000s design? It looks like a 1st gen Edge from 2007 NOT the way forward.... And what the phoque is this shyte? or this? But you have problems with the Blazer? The thing is, even Hyundais and Kias look better And how is this pertinent to Mercedes? Well, its MERCEDES that wants to go downmarket. Its a great danger that they will fail BIG TIME, bud! All the influencer, content creator youtubers out there, the actual CURRENT purveyors of what is the next cool marque simply dont talk about Mercedes. Cadillac is actually on their radar...believe it or not. Tough times up ahead for Mercedes. Cadillac too, had that blind aura in the 1990s with their brand new sexy FWD STS... and the deealerships were sooooooo happy. The Brougham was featured in Seinfeld, the STS and Northstar were killing it. The Cimarron was finally buried in the mid 80s as this is now the mid 1990s. yet somehow you wanna brush under the rug yet another compact entry low class car from Mercedes.. You are pathetic, SMK...

You should. Lucid has built a better, faster, more pleasing luxury EV than Mercedes has. Lucid has caught the attention of many would be luxury EV buyers. Tesla has stole plenty of upscale Mercedes clientele with midlevel interiors. Lucid has equaled and bettered Mercedes upscale interiors with matching state of the art EV tech and with glitzy gimmicky EV specific techno interiors. Mercedes does also, but with a very stale, dated, ugly melted soap aero styling of the '80s and '90s'. As does the Lucid Air, but the Air is much much more modern lookin'. A more advanced 1990s. The Mercedes is just sooooo...dated. The Celestiq actually looks like what the future of what an inspiring luxury EV should look like. The Lyriq actually looks like what a real luxury EV should look like. Cadillac has upped their game on all levels of what it means to be luxury in the new world past 2020 and in the new world of EVs. Sucks to be you in all that GM hatin' and the Mercedes' lovin' Seems like I no longer live in the past of Cadillac land yacht barges but 'tis you that lives in the Jurassic Park 1990s glory days of when Mercedes could do no wrong...with Chrysler money no less... But I havent forgotten that Mercedes knew they needed to go down market in the US even since then... Maybe you have suppressed these memories. I havent. And now, they actually peddle FWD cars here in the US... Front phoquing wheel drive. Like a phoquing J Body Cavalier... Oh yeah....that is a Cadillac... Just for reference to what Mercedes sells in that Cimarron market. we give a pass to Mercedes though... Cheap ass thing.... But that seems like soooooo phoquing loooooong ago... small Cadillac in 2022 small Mercedes in 2022 The Cavalier hatch looks better...from 1985 for phoques sake... and that A class shyte box is EXACTLY in what market class the Cavalier was sold too. Phoquing pathetic...

You better include Mercedes in that group, bud. The reasoning why they merged with Chrysler... The reasoning why they are going down market in the US when in the US they were ALWAYS upscale. 'Twas only in their home market in Europe that Mercedes needed to be like Dodge and Chevrolet. But NOT in the good ole USofA. Mercedes, despite as you put it, the S Class out selling its direct competition, it aint doing too hot in the upmarket... Mercedes sales are great in Europe with their low to mid level market. Its low end stuff. Hence why they want to replicate that in the US market. And once Mercedes gets American people thinking that Mercedes is at Hyundai and Kia levels, Mercedes is toast. As I said before, Chevrolet sells more 50 000 dollar vehicles than Mercedes does in the US... The Lyriq and Celestiq have a new Cadillac design language, front and back actually, that seems to have clicked with people. Cadillac has fixed their quality and their luxury and that means Cadillac is finally on its way in reprising their standard that they flubbed on. The V cars actually have a cult following. A cult following that resembles the fervor of BMW M cars, Mercedes AMG cars and Teslas... Mercedes is actually, ironically, at the crossroads of where GM and Cadillac were in the 1990s and Cadillac and Chevrolet to a lesser degree is where BMW and Mercedes were in the US in the 1990s. My my my, how have the roles reversed...

The literal shyt two tone paint on this thing aside, (personal taste paint choice, I get it,) this generation of S Class is ugly. Conservative does not mean, nor does it imply, or need to be ugly. I get the fact that the old money guard does not want to advertise or flaunt wealth. I know many of the many reasons why... And I know that the S Class caters to this wealthy class of people and it has so for a long time now. But Ill repeat, conservative styling does not mean, nor does it imply, or need to be ugly. And this generation of S Class is quite the hideous thing. Its actually uglier than a Rolls Royce. But the Rolls has one thing above the S Class. Its imposing and its stately and it majestic. OK, the Rolls has 3 things over the S Class. Make it 4. The Rolls also has the NAME behind that royalty! The S Class wants to live in the melted bar of soapy aero styling of a 1986 Ford Taurus and of GM's and Chrysler's 1990s stylistic offerings! The Celestiq is way way better stylistically than ANY sedan Mercedes offering right now. Mercedes better get its shyte together because I see Cadillac in the EV future restoring its place in the luxury world and displacing Mercedes and leaving Mercedes to compete with Chevrolet. And even there, Chevy styling is so much better than Mercedes.

Par for the course for SUV styling. Which will always be 'meh' at best. But it does one styling thing well that I actually like. The beltline has a coke bottle effect that is kinda sexy to me. Along with the roofline mimicking a Landrover start high and sloop low effect. That kinda roofline sometimes excites me, and other days bores me. I like the Blazer EV inside and out. Range and speed for all trims are par for the course, which is good. RWD and (surprise surprise) FWD is a GREAT option to include. Why the phoque not? Why with EV motors and software when AWD is also offered, why would a vehicle be either/or? EVs are not limited to what powers the wheels like a a chunky ICE does with the transmission.... GREAT engineering and marketing thought process for the Ultium gang from gm!!!

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a40679950/cadillac-celestiq-concept/ I read this article comprehending this is still a show car. There are one or two direct mentioning of it being a show car, but more than that, the way the article is written, it makes me believe that these pics may not be 100% the Celestiq that will eventually BE the Celestiq. The exterior styling may not just be a stylistic exercise, as it is presented to us as how the Celestiq will actually look albeit with minor changes, I believe. The fast back silhouette and hatch and front and all that will probably be final and 99% intact. The interior pics are definitely renderings though. With that being said, I like it! Love the front. I like the rear less. I dont mind the fastback look. I dont mind the hatch styling. Wish it were more of a squarish design rather than a rounded one. But it's worthy of a Cadillac design for a halo vehicle being the priciest Caddy ever. The Tesla Model S was a sexy car when it came out a decade ago. Its still a great looking vehicle today. It has aged well enough, albeit it is long in the tooth. It has been since 3 years ago at least. It needs to have a 2nd generation. The Audi E Tron GT is very sexy. Like the Karma Fisker before it. But both of those dont figure in the Celestiq realm of motoring. Too sporty. Not enough classy. The Lucid Air is a welcomed, classy design to counter the ugliness of the Mercedes offerings and the now old styling of the Model S. The problem with the Lucid Air and the Mercedes offerings is that they do 1990s retro very well. Not very forward. When the Lucid Air is put side to side with the Celestiq, the Air looks dated very quickly. BECAUSE the Air looks like it came straight from 1999... Like it would be an Oldsmobile of some sort. One that Saturn could badge engineer and sell also... I read that it is rumored to have more than 300 miles of range... With all the luxurious accents and finishes and touches aside with the bespoke this and the bespoke handcrafted that, north of 300 miles is not merely good enough for 300 grand. North of 500 mile range should be the goal and maybe Cadillac is being less than truthful about the rumored 300 mile range. Hopefully north of 500 mile range is what it will have. People look at numbers and 300 for 300 grand may leave people unimpressed when a Lucid Air has 500 and the Air seems to do the luxury thing quite well... Mercedes also seems to have unlocked that kind of range 500 mile range as well... That would be my only gripe. Ultium better be better for range because range is the new horsepower wars since EVs have no problem achieving horsepowers... Slick Black Cadillacs are BACK!!!!

There is no turning right on red ANYWHERE on the island of Montreal. It is clearly marked at ALL bridges entering the island. And yeah, with the Euro style signage. But the message is in French... Oh well, Montreal is a bilingual city, but it is a French settlement of a city in a French populated province that was settled by the French therefore people visiting here could at least make the small effort in learning a little bit of French. One does have to have a small sympathetic take of Quebec politicians and French folk living outside of bilingual Montreal wanting to stave off the English language juggernaut that will eventually take over the Province of Quebec..quite possibly in the next 50 years... But Quebec highway signage is not so uptight about this whole language thing that it doesnt realize plenty of English speaking 'Mericans visit us occasionally.

Last week's Karen: In her 50s. Orders a trio. 'Upgrades' to a sweet potato french fry. yells so loud so other customers in the place hear her how the restaurant is ripping her off on the account the upgrade is too expensive. doesnt want to pay up for the 'upgrade' over the regular fries. yells at my cashier, as young as she is, 16, that it was her job to advise her there is an upcharge for the upgrade. I had told her between the yelling episodes that the prices are clearly marked on the menu at the front and top of the counter and clearly visible and readable in large bold letters in 2 phoquing languages as soon as you walk in the restaurant. tells me that its not her job to look at the menu. As soon as that gets blurted out I swear at her to get the phoque out of my restaurant. refuses to leave because she says I have no right to kick her out. I had left the kitchen at this point talking to her showing her the menu how clear and legible it is... I had my phone with me at this point, I was dialing 9-1-1 because I knew I was going to do something illegal on my part. I knew I could snatch her purse, and so I did, walked out the door and threw it. More like lobbed it on the side. She yelled that she was going to call the police, asked other customers to call the police, but I showed her my phone screen that 9-1-1 was already dialed. Told her "beat ya to it" and proceeded to tell the 9-1-1 operator my story, including the part that I grabbed her purse and that I tossed it outside because as THE owner I no longer wanted her as a client on the account that she was disruptive and rude and refused to pay and that I had told her to leave, but didnt after multiple times being told to leave. That was a lie, I only told her once to leave... She quickly left the store, hysterical, picking her purse up, and quickly getting into her car to the cheers of the other patrons. I quickly apologized to my other patrons and continued my day. I still had adrenaline of hate, anger and bewilderment until I posted that rant. I now laugh at the sheer stupidity of it all. Including me snatching the purse from her hands...

Disclaimer: I had a Karen enter the restaurant today. Had to kick her out, forcibly. My rant above regarding plant based vegan burgers, although this is how I truly about vegan people and plant based vegan burgers, maybe the rant could have been more on a friendlier tone. I was still fuming about it. Im proud to say, Im not fuming anymore.

Damn right! But.....if one wants to be vegan, then be vegan for phoque's sake. None of this fake meat burgers that are so called plant based but have so much sodium in them to taste like meat. <Dudes and dudettes out there that want to be vegan> especially those that want to be righteous about it... I got a phquing message for you: EAT YOUR VEGGIES and NEVER YOU MIND THE FAKE-NESS OF PLANT BASED MEAT FLAVOURED ANYTHING!!! Im a meat eater through and through. But Im NOT a carnivore. (no human is actually) Im an OMNIVORE!!! I EAT all KINDS of veggebles.... I LOVE all KINDS of veggebles. I dont WANT my vegetables to taste like meat. A little bit of olive oil and lemon juice goes a LONG phoquing way for MY vegetables to taste good. And there is COUNTLESS of OTHER ways that Greek cuisine lends to for vegetarian dishes... LEARN to eat THOSE kinds of veggie cuisines and STOP THE BULLSHYTE OF LYING TO ME THAT YOU ARE A VEGAN/VEGETARIAN THAT WE HAVE SHYTTY CORPORATIONS INVENTING SHYTTY WAYS TO MAKE A SO CALLED PLANT BASED VEGAN BURGER!!! PS: If ANY self righteous vegan moron wants to try me, try me!!! I CAN go on an all vegan diet. I LOVE GREEK CUISINE that is on the vegetarian side. Not a problem for me to do so. But I dont believe in ANY foolish vegan ideology therefore I will continue to be an omnivore...

4 electric motors 4 doors 2 modes (sports sedan/sedate sedan software programming) (It hunkers down like a Tesla in Cheetah mode accelerating, but stays there for a low center of gravity for sport sedan shenanigans. But the other mode's programming, the height and suspension tuning is pillowey soft but confident for luxury isolation heaven-ness.) (air suspension is standard equipment...obviously to make all this happen) AND another variant 4 electric motors 4 different stances (hunkered down like a modern 2 door sports coupe, lifted rear like a 1970s muscle car, lifted front end like a gasser, lifted on all 4 corners to be used as an off roader. 4 wheeel drive, right with 4 electric motors on each wheel? Of course the relevant tires for each mode are to be bought separately) (air suspension is standard equipment...obviously to make all this happen) 2 door coupe

Premium? 35 US gallons equals to 132.5 liter as per google calculator. Premium in Quebec is 2.15 dollars/liter That would equate to approx 285 Canadian bucks... Holy sheet that is a lot of dough!!! If one in Quebec daily drove that, he would have to fill up every 3rd or 4rth day... That would be approx 7-8 times a month... 2000 dollars/month. 24 000 dollars a year... In a nomal time, that number would be at half that amount. 12 000 CDN dollars per year. yeah...either way, I dont want or need space or a V8 THAT bad.... Its a lot of dough for being 6 feet 6 inches tall...