balthazar

All BMW's past EV or electric-assisted / hybrids have bombed.

I used to buy/sell 2 vehicles a year on average. Now the last buy on my list was like 7 yrs ago (Taurus wagon beater).

Mercedes has been regurgitating the same stale design ‘language’ for 20 years now.

^ I’m not actively shopping at the moment, and it’s not costing me repair money. Powertrain seems to be made out of bedrock. Have new bumpers to install this spring, plus new rear pads. I’ll do those jobs. It’ll probably be with me thru most of ‘20 at least. I never imagined I’d be in the same truck for 14 years and 150K miles.

Still daydreaming of a new / newer full-size truck. Coming up hard on 197,000.

Then every ad with either/or a speaking actor or a voice-over is likewise ‘fake-ass’, no? How are clinic/ reactions more fake than reading a script provided to someone? I admit I do not like the ‘MC’ of the Real People ads...

A paid actor/spokesperson is no more believable than a 'real person'. They're just paid more to say lines a bit better. But that in & of itself, is more staged than 'real people'. The Chevy Real people ads have been slammed by many. I guess those detractors don't recognize just how many other industries, like medical or legal for example, also use that same selling approach, and have for decades upon decades. And many actors have pedaled autos; Spenser Tracy used to hawk DeSotos. Did/does it move the needle? Is there any possibly way to gauge if either approach is specifically successful? Nope. Yes; the Real people ads aren't as polished, but are you buying 'polish' or are you buying recommendations?

It was not the ‘cladding‘, it was the design/styling. Needed Pontiac DNA but didn’t quite get it. Remember the wags saying the GTO looked too much like a Chevy? Regardless; 3 or so MORE RWD cars would still have been low AND lower-volume and the Fed would still have shut Pontiac down.

Holden versions of the G8 & GTO were more generic than the Pontiacs which were widely criticized. Pontiac did what they could with the budget they were allowed, and they were definitely improved, but they didn’t quite meet up to consumer expectation. And of course; these were low-volume specials. At least Pontiac had those 2, plus the Firebird & Solstice, plus GXP versions of other models; some very solid performance Pontiacs. The Bonneville GXP was a really sweet sport sedan. And while I appreciate the GTO / G8, and they were excellent (despite not quite having Pontiac DNA), don’t forget that the Fed forced the closure of Pontiac, not a naming convention.

I think that's your individual interpretation, not any projection from the ads themselves. Frankly, whenever I see a successful actor hawking a product, I automatically question whether they're in fact a consumer. And when it seems they're 'stepping down' in product, the whole thing becomes a farce. Anonymous individuals work better IMO.

Just saw it again on Hulu watching the Container Home show. NO car commercials “inspire” me, I am largely numb to advertising influence and I’ve seen it all / its all been done before. That’s just your strict association with 3-row CUVs tho. Anytime 6 or so want to travel in one vehicle, what are they supposed to do; hire a stretch limo?

This is the 30 sec version Ive been seeing; theres a longer 1 min version too Theres also the one from a bit ago where someone is peeling the vinyl wrap camo off a CT5.

I saw the Cadillac 'running' ad yesterday on TV. Seen that one at least 4 times and it just came out. - - - - -

Inconsequential.

Agreed- traditional TV has to be losing significant marketshare to other mediums.

Whoops.

I disagree that 8 channels is necessarily a representation of all media. Cadillac stat I saw said they're advertising on 250 different media outlets. How many total are there? Cadillac is not at a mainstream production volume, like nissan or Chevy or mercedes, and they traditionally have done heavy 'event' ads (sports, award event, etc). Question- how many Tesla ads did you see at the gym?

I’ve seen the Lincoln ad where Matt is ice fishing in the wilderness probably 8 times, but can’t recall seeing a single GLS ad.

Pffft- you don’t think every car brand advertises on every channel, every day, do you?

As pointed out recently; the base Escalade has 40 more HP than the base GLS.

Only the Escalade has a chassis at Cadillac- all the rest are unibodies.

OK- I should have assumed, but you didn't state you were talking about you as a consumer. I can easily say ferrari or lamborghini doesn't build anything exciting (because I have no intention of paying $100K+ for a vehicle).

I don’t know if all the BW’s are sold out or not. They definitely are exciting tho. CT5-V is on the way shortly (along with the CT4-V), so if one wanted a hi-po Cadillac, there obviously are products ‘out there’. Oh, and a ‘21 Escalade V. You just can’t sit there, not buying, then complain if it goes out of production. Didn’t the last gen BMW 3-series, when it first came out, take 1.5 years for the M version to be released?

Blackwing CT6-V 4.2L TT does nothing for you? 600+ HP 6.2L SC CT5-V too slow?

On a job I was on a bunch of years ago, PSE&G showed up to install a new telephone pole at the road. They set up, bored the hole, unloaded the pole. Then they started standing around. I asked, 'Time to set the pole?' 'Oh no,' the guy answered. 'That's another team; union rules. They should be here late afternoon.' Mind you; they had the boom/grapple that lifted the pole off the trailer, well able to turn the pole 90 degrees and stick it in the bore. Why the F would you need independent, separate union bargaining to drill a hole than you would to backfill a hole? Corruption.