Frisky Dingo

On 4/13/2019 at 11:38 AM, dwightlooi said:

Well, Mercedes has a lot more brand kudos and image than Volkswagen, Most people will pay $6K more to have a Mercedes over a Volkswagen even if both cars have identical performance, equipment and quality. That's reality.

Actually, in this segment- hot hatches/sport compacts- I think you'd be surprised how many won't. 

Subprime buyers the country over, rejoice!!!

6 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The profile reminds of the Ferrari 360 and 430, but squared off.   

Yes, I think the lines and proportions are going to end up looking strange.

I mean, it's a cool little car, but in typical Mercedes fashion, it will be expensive for what it is. It's coming to the scene with current Golf R power levels, and price tag that is sure to be 5-6K more. Just as the Mk8 Golf in a year's time will see the GTI almost reach this power level, and the R climb to ~350hp. With nigh equal levels of refinement and build quality.

This is shaping up to be an unattractive looking car from what I can tell.

49 minutes ago, ykX said:

@Frisky Dingo And yet at autocross events Miata and GT86/BRZ seem to be in the majority as best suited where good handling is concerned.  It seems the spread in the best times of capable drivers at autocross is between Porsche/Corvette and Miata/ GT85/BRZ.  

I don't doubt that. But we don't drive auto-x courses on a daily basis.

On 3/23/2019 at 4:37 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

To harp on power in these cars is to completely miss the point.  These are handling and agility cars.  They are extremely satisfying drives without having to break the speed laws to get satisfaction. 

Counterpoint- 

No, it's NOT.

People seem to keep implying that there is only A) light, low-power, handling focused and B) big, heavy, speed-focused. An GT86 or a Hellcat. A Miata or a 488 GTB.

What everyone is ignoring is that is a huge multitude of ground between those two bookends. These cars' engines are underpowered, tragically slow, unexciting, aurally mediocre, and just generally lackluster. They have no low-end, they don't really rev out, they aren't linear, they don't have character, and they don't inspire you to wring them out. You simply have to drive the balls off them to get them to do anything. They are not fun at virtually anything other than backroad carving, and they leave some to be desired even at that.

That's putting aside the fact this car been on the market for what is rapidly approaching a decade, with 0 major changes. It has not evolved to keep pace with the market and industry. It was in development for too long, and arrived on the scene already with unimpressive numbers and performance. This is seeming to be a consistent trend with Toyota performance products. This car needed a turbo model with 270hp 5 yrs ago, or at the very least, a Cosworth-tuned N/A variant w/ 230hp and an exciting powerband.

It is a massively underwhelming product that is stale and long overdue for a major upgrade. Point blank.

Coming soon to a Toyota dealer near you......with 210 hp and 156 lb-ft.

We all knew this was coming. It does look very good. But I have to say, the standard Cayenne has such a sloping roofline as it is, this loses it's drama a bit, I think. 

Though it's nothing I'd be interested in buying, as long as it is successful and contributes more profits to Porsche so they can continue to build the best sports cars on the planet, they can knock themselves out.

The C Class is supremely nice even in modest spec form. I drove a mid trim C300 yesterday that really impressed me with the interior design, materials, and fit/finish. Really impressed me. 

Nah, I'm good. 

1 hour ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Better styling, reliability.. I see nothing about this vehicle that suggest Chinese knock-off.. I see Escala scaled down. That's it.. I'm ate up.. Eat these nuts B***h 

I think it's hilarious that you are like the personal embodiment of a GM product. You're every bit as classless, and as much a piece of trash. It's no wonder you love them so much. 🤣

@Drew Dowdell

Is there any reason why we let let this vile, GM leg humping garbage pile continue to plague this site?

36 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I would say they were building a scaled down Escala and then the Bean Counters showed up at the point of the B Pillar and said you have X amount of cash left, finished the car with X dollars and we ended up with that back end mess.

This is EXACTLY what happened, I guarantee it.

14 hours ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

For one.. Americans seeking a better vehicle than those asswipes in Germany can provide.

Better? Haha, that's a good one. Better at what, exactly? Looking a mashup mix of a Chinese knockoff of a Caddy concept and a Genesis G80? You're ate up. 🤣

The more I look at that C-pillar, the worse it gets. They completely botched it. It lets the entire design down. They should have made the Escala the way it was. They always do this. Make a jaw-dropping concept, and then make a production version that is more like a Chinese knockoff. What a shame. 

Looks like a Gensis G80. And is this another cop-out 'tweener that they are afraid to offer as a true competitor to the established German set? 

19 hours ago, balthazar said:

Platform may be shared, but that doesn't mean the car makes a profit. I doubt it does with those minuscule sales.
No doubt the TT will get chopped, I think the 8/7 is not far behind... at least the a7.

The A7 and A8 aren't going anywhere. They are actually expanding the range of both models. 

16 hours ago, balthazar said:

How does a 2nd, 3rd, 4th or whatever copy have ANY relevance on being 'the first'?
The qualifier used most commonly is "invented".

It don't fly.

 

Lookit me; I'm disputin'.

First with no influence means nothing. There may have been firsts even before those you claimed, they were just obscured by history. 

@balthazar

The important questions are what powered it and how many were built?

4 minutes ago, regfootball said:

nope they're working on EV's hahahahah

They still had and have gas engines in the works.

3 minutes ago, dwightlooi said:

Actually, Cadillac interiors are just fine. Better than BMW's in many areas actually -- especially BMW's base trim examples. YOu have to be drunk off cool-aid to think that all German interiors are superlative. Again, this is particularly true of the plastic adorned BMW examples. MB does better, but MB also has dubious design elements like the silly iPad on dash infotainment displays.

No, they are not. They are a joke. The joke of the entire luxury car segment. They're not on par with BMW or anyone else. They're not on par with the aforementioned and snubbed Volvo, either. 

The fact that you have to bring up a base model BMW to support your claim with regards to a Caddy SUV that will start @ 55K proves it. 😂

On 3/6/2019 at 4:55 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

A 275hp V6 is always better than a 275hp 4 cylinder... 

Definitely NOT always, no. The 2.0T was the right move. The VR6 had it's time, it needs to be phased out now. And it is, in fact. VW needs a 3.0 Turbo VR6 in the worst way. Rumor has it they are working on one.

13 hours ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

All opinion.. and to be honest I thinking your opinion isn't worth $h!. The interior of the XT6, if it is on XT5 Premium Lux or Platinum levels is better than many of the German ones. Sorry. The 3.6L corporate V6 is actually a damn fine engine. When Turbocharged it becomes even more so. f@#kk Germany. f@#kk German cars. f@#kk those who like them

LOL at thinking Cadillac makes any interior that even remotely approaches the German cars in their segment. That is hilarious. And then the whole FWD vs RWD thing......just comical. You're so drunk off the Kool-Aid it's sad.

Also, Lincoln is embarrassing Cadillac with their recent offerings. Navi upshows Esclade. Aviator blows this thing out of the water. All Lincoln needs now is a few proper RWD sedans. Cadillac's time is up. They tried to be an American BMW and it failed. Now they're resorting back to their 'old GM' tricks of slapping the Caddy crest on everything. They're not even trying at this point.

16 hours ago, smk4565 said:

An Audi Q7 starts at $53,550, granted with a turbo 4, but it is a much nicer vehicle than the XT6.   XT6 is $6k cheaper than an X5, but again, X5 is a much nicer vehicle.  The Acura MDX starts at $45k, I feel like that should have been Cadillac's target with this.

Beat me to it. The Q7, even in 2.0T form, will embarrass this thing. Step up a few grand more to the blow V6, and forget about it.

Another overpriced, poor value, badge-engineered GM product. What a shame. 

I am going off of true impact on the automotive industry, and nothing more. In no particular order (most have been posted already)-

-Benz patent-Motorwagen

-Ford Model T

-VW Beetle

-Willys Jeep

-1991 Ford Explorer

-1934 Citreon Traction Avant

-1984 Dodge Caravan

And fwiw, that list is pretty indisputable, imo.