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Suaviloquent

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Everything posted by Suaviloquent

  1. Suaviloquent
    Compliance cars suffer from obsolescence or being overpriced all the time. Ask the ELR about that. Plus, despite how half-hearted Mercedes seems at times....I fully think they expected the B-Class EV to struggle and probably accepting any development work as cost of doing business. Now, they have their new as-of-yet unseen and untested EVs coming by 2020. Those are the ones to watch. And the Porsche Mission E as well. But also demographics - car sales are slowing. And think about this way - if ride-sharing becomes the new norm of car ownership in the distant future, where it's not a pay for holding on to, but paying to merely access - would not one expect fleet sales to jump? (That's the meta however)
  2. Suaviloquent
    Suddenly Tesla making a very good choice, something that will keep them going is to be frowned upon, because it changes the vision, and it proves that they have to be humble to themselves and be honest to their future, more mainstream customers. Well we all want the world to improve, but many of us don't want it to change. It's unbearably naive to think this is yet another occasion of the rich preying on the masses. Their purchases of the Roadster and S, and X are what got this automaker here. The willing shareholders eventually want profits, and the company has to grow up, but not compromise itself. And I don't expect the free superchargers to last for anyone. Part of the problem is that again, what was meant for occasional use suffered the tragedies of the commons. Free-for-all means a destruction of a resource for all to enjoy in the sparing moments. Sure, you had to pay to play, when have we not? We all cry about the price of gas, yet suck it up and pump it, shove it into our vehicles
  3. Suaviloquent
    Yeah, and GM will suddenly start expanding the the electric infrastructure which Mary Barra went on record to say GM isn't interested in supporting fast charging for its cars at this time. Yep, that's the rule of every industry. Look at personal finance/credit - people with modest means have many times been forced to use payday loans with tremendous EAR's. Poor people get shafted everywhere. Cheap GM cars once were cost cutted in such a simple place - we all know where. Ford with the Pinto did a cost/benefit analysis by placing a value on the lives of people (the cost of settling litigation versus the cost of re-engineering the placement of the fuel tank. Toyota in a treacherous bout of Japanese greed started to fall in love with its products that had poor quality. It's the same as luxury buyers getting free car detailing and other perks of paying high premiums. Or are you going to say that suddenly GM has the means to pay for Bolt owner's charging in their own specific charging stations? Most likely this way...Tesla can get some or all of the cost recovery of the supercharger network and expand it even more rapidly. See that's the thing... I was talking about this even before this announcement was made. Electric cars will have to become viable, and that means doing things right - which aren't always favored by all.
  4. Suaviloquent
    I think we all fully expected this. Let's see how the pre-orders go now. But here's the deal. Electricity ain't free. So this is a sound business decision. But will people be taken aback? Certainly. But then you look at where the automaker is, it simply cannot afford any mistakes or unnecessary costs. at this time.
  5. Suaviloquent
    WRT the Camaro - it's probably because it has very few fleet sales of any kind. I think while the Mustang and Camaro are totally on par when it comes to total passenger volume, the Camaro has a noticeably smaller trunk and the worse visibility. So the Mustang is probably preferred by the fleets simply because it is just a little bit more of a practical two-door.
  6. Suaviloquent
    Nope, that's outmoded thinking. You have to find the most profitable segments that fit your organizational identity and pursue opportunities there. The car business has some razor thin margins in the compact and below segments, with gains in CUV's being more more valuable. If you're competing in an undesirable segment - you better ensure your competitor tries to woo those customers, as they make your competition weaker. There's a whole meta about it.
  7. Suaviloquent
    I'd call that being practical.... Then again, I personally still disdain EVs. Anyways. EVs are still heavily incentivized, and the cheap leases won't last forever. Automakers will have to figure out a way to make money on these cars on their own without using the conventional cars to keep them afloat. That is the true challenge. Take away the wow features available in a Tesla. Take away incentives (which do go away pretty soon for anyone mfg that has volume EV sales goals). Create a full cost recovery taxation model which pays for the Interstate, and not some other fuel levies that pay for stuff totally unrelated to vehicle usage....raise the price of energy to promote conservation.....and on top of that applications of minor electrification such as hybridization that can achieve decent mpg, say like 70 perhaps for a car costing $30,000....then the electric car becomes just another car fighting for it's life, with obscure benefits, since low priced EV's will not be rockets. And that is what will make or break the electric car.
  8. Suaviloquent
  9. Suaviloquent
    Well, we know now that that performance EVs can deliver on being quick? Can they deliver on being fast though? And as consistently as ICE powered cars? That'll be a big hurdle, and I don't see how Mercedes can solve that on its own.
  10. Suaviloquent
    Yeah, but driven on a winding road an E63.....oh wait, it can keep up with the CTS-V....it's the M5 that gets dropped.
  11. Suaviloquent
    Audi is cold and calculating though, almost aloof too. I mean, that's what I think of Audi as its character traits of the vehicles. Buick. Honestly, all I think of it (as the younger folk would) is as a brand that had a history, had way of doing things....but it's all obscure, more like a feeling, less like a fact now. So it means they have a golden chance to redefine themselves - but remember their past. Refinement, comfort above all some value.
  12. Suaviloquent
    Batteries cannot get incredibly cheaper. Inflation taken into account,you can get better batteries over time. But the problem is not really capacity in kwh or range or the configuration of cells or even the chemistry. The problem is that batteries degrade quickly when driven in high performance situations for extended periods of time and/or when they are recharged and depleted a lot very quickly. There is no maintenance that can fix that as of now, and in ICE cars the similar issue is wearing out the engine oil, but those are now extended service cycles, and replacing the oil early is always an option. Another side issue is that batteries are heavy as well. A battery that is depleted needs a warranty against it to cover that happening. And I'm not saying that batteries can't get cheap. But their component materials and sub-assemblies have a theoretical limit in production capacity due to a lack of raw materials. With current technology, we sure as hell don't have as much lithium as there is oil in this world. In fact, Lithium prices are steadily rising, rationalizing production will also have to offset increasing production costs. And there's the whole issue of infrastructure. Tesla, while incredible in what they have done towards that, you need nations all over the world to finally get the will, the gut to do it. And the world is so over leveraged that BEVs, no matter how superior face a steeper challenge whenever oil prices go down, or cars become radically more efficient.
  13. Suaviloquent
    Well, here is where I'd normally retort...but touche. I do believe that the higher end models - their mere existence... and darned efficiency of copy pasta, more luxo...should be applauded even. Lexus is going to compete there, their new LC will be 90k and above. Cadillac sure hell already does with the CTS-V in that it's better than the E63, but costs far less. But alright, luxury is traditionally granted the right to charge more for less to the extreme. The Escalade is already 75k+. With V Model, the Escalade can go even higher. Actually Tesla is American, so take that! See, Tesla solves all the problems.
  14. Suaviloquent
    Buick will become more distinctive than ever. The Lax is totally unrecognizable as ever being close to an Impala. Again... sales are not always a great barometer of success. Yes, the Regal will have to sell. But I think of relative sales...and I think the quite a few of same people who perhaps bought a Verano before, are now ready for an upgrade. A big upgrade.
  15. Suaviloquent
    Well, in that case the CLA is heartily outsold and every car you mentioned is notably better in every way possible. Look, the CLA is the Camry of the small luxury segment. It sells only because of reputation of the other products that Mercedes makes. But since it can't be considered a real Mercedes, how does it impart a positive reputation. I reckon it's either 50/50. 50% are repulsed by it and leave the brand. 50% trade it in for a C-Class. Fully 100% wanted to buy the C-Class. And 50% or less brand retention is terrible for any car.
  16. Suaviloquent
    And how are the German and Asian luxury sedans faring now? They're victims too, and yet also see them becoming more luxurious, with more power and more expensive. They're down in sales - some losses far bigger than those at Cadillac.
  17. Suaviloquent
    Mercedes wants to win every segment? Well, do you mean sales, or actually quiet European motoring, class, tech and craftsmanship - you know, what they're known for? Because the CLA is none of those, and the AMG version is heresy. Even the auto pundits say the A3/S3 is a better car, but hell even it's not good because it's beaten by a VW costing less. How about this, consider the VW Golf. It's a small practical hatch, but you want quiet European motoring, class, tech and craftsmanship, you'd buy that every single time. Somehow, the CLA play card worked though. AMG...known for V8s and V12s,,, suddenly doing a small displacement four cylinder with a fwd transaxle & awd setup?!
  18. Suaviloquent
    In twenty, thirty years they can perhaps be like 25% of the market. Maybe that's too generous. Unless Trump becomes president, those CAFE goals will come and come down hard.
  19. Suaviloquent
    That's not true about Ford. The company has actually lost overall car market share to many car makers, and trucks. And their profits have gone up steadily still. Market share is a stupid metric used by people to point at sales volume in terms of units, NOT Revenues. Look at Ford vs GM revenues. Much closer than would be suggested, given GM typically sells 4 million more light vehicles annually over Ford.
  20. Suaviloquent
    But Chevy's are damn good now man...heck the Chevy Malibu is 1 fine leather covered interior away from being better than a Platinum Ford and anything Buick in the leather department where you still can't get real leather on the dash boards. Look, it's still just a Chevy kind of thinking that is wrong. There's an Opel car which is also basically the new Spark. What about THAT? Suddenly it's a Buick by definition, right? But still, I still believe the new Verano would be a great addition....but it's not like Buick won't gain something by actually losing something. As stupid as it sounds, automakers do things that hurt sometimes. Or maybe it'l be mistake and they bring it over anyways.
  21. Suaviloquent
    Special editions are usually always done to cap off the product cycle. Some of them are not really special, but value packages like Nissan's tried and true Special Edition thing they do in the last model year of a car. Or it can be like the Ford Focus RS kind of deal, they would always develop the previous RS well into the model generation. I mean they already make the LSA powered Commodore. So maybe they'll give it some Z/28 bits here and there and the more potent LS9. Alright....it'll be faster around a track than GT3's and Nissan GTR Nismo's.
  22. Suaviloquent
    Okay...the CT6 is better than anything Mercedes that isn't an S-Class; and even against the S-Class, there are things where it exceeds the S-Class. But the two are still far away from another. Also the CT6-V will be a performance monster in the large executive sedan segment. The Metris is what you get when you decontent everything inside from a minivan, add a diesel engine, make it narrower but higher roof. Pretty much a RAM C/V kind of deal, except now FCA uses its ProMaster vehicles.
  23. Suaviloquent
    So it'll be like a last gen ZL1 sedan. Pretty nice, the SS/Commodore have great interiors too.
  24. Suaviloquent
    *Quicker....not faster as of yet. Besides, even though there are some rare stories of the Z06 going into limp mode....the Tesla will ALWAYS go into limp mode on a track. When the EV incentives go away, a much harder battle between ICE and BEV will be fought. Agree with Balth, though I see a point where both cars become very substitutable. There will be a lot of redundancy.Maybe gas stations will also be the charging stations?
  25. Suaviloquent
    Look man, they did it right by atleast naming their top car a Continental. And somehow MT feels the MKX would place higher in a comparo than the XT5. In fact, it was actually more quiet, luxury and sporting..than the Cadillac. So there's that. But the rest is kinda ho-hum, but Lincoln is very viable, and in God China do they trust.
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