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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Correct; not with the parameters you stated. But there are plug-ins in conventional sedans that are roundly rejected by the market... because this (and any) vehicle purchase is never a singular criteria. My point was within the field that's out there now, the Bolt is doing very well; 7 months straight of sales increases & #5 overall. I don't see it's shape holding it back so far.
  2. balthazar
    Well, GMC certainly doesn't have the patent on decreasing visibility. Been in a CR-V? I can't get visibly past those giant protruding 'blocks' below the headlights on the '17.
  3. balthazar
    I don't understand how people continually forget the timeless truth : Everybody is Different". In other words, not everyone else does/likes everything a given person does. It's like if I said 'who still goes to fast food places / why are they still around?' merely because I personally haven't been in one in like 5 years. If "no one" listened to FM, there wouldn't be any FM.
  4. balthazar
    Saw an '18 Terrain at the dealer I was at last night. Looks very good IMO. I was NOT a fan of the '17- way too blocky esp. the fender arches.
  5. balthazar
    It's the whole 'fake scoop' thing all over again.
  6. balthazar
    You know; I'm old school (duh) and never quite saw the logic in leasing. I mean, I spent wholesale (paid cash) to buy my 2500HD when it was 2 years old. I've been driving it 11 years now, put 127K miles on it. In my case, I HAVE to be ahead financially... but I understand most people don't keep vehicles that long/ many miles. Was talking to a buddy I only see a few times a year- he's in a brand new Sierra EC/SB 4X4 and he started telling me why he leases- I think this was his 3rd in a row. I don't remember everything he said (he's not the best communicator) but for the first time I saw the potential. He keeps his vehicle immaculate in & out and goes with the same dealer- they 'treat him good' WRT the numbers because they know what they're getting back from him. If it makes financial sense, I'm down with it. Never looked into it before, still not sure how it all works. - - - - - Got clarified info from my son today; he doesn't NEED a car until May... so the pressure is off right now. I think we are going to still try and shop pre-emptively and pick something up sometime in the spring (unless something amazing shows up).
  7. balthazar
    Those are some tiny, cold, unwanted hotcakes...
  8. balthazar
    • I don't want to get calls 'the car is doing X' and feel like I have to try and figure something out from here. I got enough going on as it is. • I didn't realize Audi's burnt that much oil 'normally'.... but the Malibu never did until this year. If something else pops up while it's in NY and he has to handle that, plus school and an internship, that's a bit much.
  9. balthazar
    • I'm not going Buick, I'm certainly not going Lincoln. • Mercedes... you know they're money pits after warranty and -in case you didn't catch on over the last few years- the brand doesn't either impress or entice me. $1300 headlights, don'tcha know.
  10. balthazar
    • Not going to send a car that may be needing increasing maintenance 2 hrs away from me. • Ecotec doesn't throw any oil pressure warning lights, quantity just gets low- has been over a quart low. At that point it starts getting... weird. • The other Chevy in the driveway has 173K on it & has never had anything on the powertrain touched & is running on the high side of the best MPG it's ever delivered. • You seem to really like Lincolns; shopping for one for you?
  11. balthazar
    This theory doesn't come CLOSE to being borne out by the sales numbers.
  12. balthazar
    No; no it's not. Thru September, S & X production has only been 34,650, and that's after some sort of firesale that saw both models post huge leaps in Sept. Even if Tesla equalled Sept's numbers for the next 3 months, it would only sell 58,350 S & X's for the year.
  13. balthazar
    I've seen it in Jersey...
  14. balthazar
    Sorry; I said 'Regal' above but it was a Verano. Just looked at it in the dark/glare of the lot lights. Nice car, interior was immaculate but some scars on the exterior. 15K miles is real low, and Buick has higher warranty coverage than Chevy, but for other reasons I won't get detailed on- not feeling that this is the right vehicle for this situation. Had a '14 Cruze on lot, 55K miles, $9999, said they'd drop that to $8999. Obviously a lot more spartanly-equipped and was pretty scratched up (who was putting what on the roof of a Cruze?), but combined MPG is 2 better @ 26. Started looking online- found another Cruze with 37K and alloys for $10900, if that could get bumped down to 9900, that might be worth a grand for 18K less miles. Going Saturday to look at that one, plus there's a giant AutoLenders lot a miles from it. - - - - - My wife is beginning to express doubts on her Malibu. I shudder to think we may be courting 2 new-to-us cars at once. Malibu is an '09 with 122K on it, and tho 'til now it's been excellent, it currently seems to be burning oil. No smoke or drips, but crankcase runs low between changes. If she doesn't feel confident, it's time to shop there, too. Great Spaghetti Monster; help me!
  15. balthazar
    September sales ~ Mercedes GLE550e : 14 Mercedes S550e : 35 - - - - - At the price premium EVs & hybrids are carrying, the only way to make inroads is to offer meaningful range (even if that's on perception-ally) at a competitive price. Everything else is just wheel spinning right now. A 31-mile hybrid Range Rover? No one cares right now.
  16. balthazar
    BMW sedans are dying hard. 7-series is down 22% M-t-M and 30% Y-t-Y. It cannot last, and if it's not built here, it's a money loser to ship, certify, advertise and service here. 6-series is an undeniable flop. A7 and A8 "no one" buys. Being "#2" and selling only hundreds of cars/mnth is losing. The last year of the Olds Aurora outsold what the 7-series is doing over 2:1 and people KNEW it was dying. The real problem is, attempts to bolster/save these sedans have already failed. The S550e sold 35 units last month. BMW 530e sold 345. No one wants electrified versions of these "#X and #Y" sedans. There's going to be a luxury sedan bloodletting soon.
  17. balthazar
    ^ You STILL see signs 'Horses prohibited on the highway' on select on ramps!
  18. balthazar
    Global volume numbers of course sound fine. The question remains : is it worth it to import models that only sell 200-300/mnth (Audi) ?? A lot of the luxury sedans are dropping like stones and may not level out until they hit 100 units/mnth. At that point, it makes financial sense to pull it off the market. Even in the Monte Carlo's last full year, it was selling 2700/mnth.
  19. balthazar
    "It's buyers like it the way it is".
  20. balthazar
    The stats don't remotely make sense- why would there be any difference for the same make/model but a different bodystyle? It's statistical nonsense. Silverado base MSRP is $27.7K, but even mercedes buyers don't pay MSRP. And there are a lot more low-option Silverados sold than high end MBs at base MSRP, so the loose extrapolation on "$40K" is groundless.
  21. balthazar
    Another crushing decline for the S-class, next month it'll be down into the triple digit range. Horrible month for all their cars overall. Daimler announced all EV smarts coming and the bottom fell out of the line. It won't survive until they can bring an EV out.
  22. balthazar
    Again- not the question I asked. No, I don't think so either. And there's very tangible reasons why- an OEM can put power whatsis's in any vehicle, but there are features and capabilites a truck offers that a luxury sedan cannot. If that weren't true, trucks would not still be riding the longest marketshare rise perhaps in the history of the industry.
  23. balthazar
    A7 and A8 continue to teeter on the edge of irrelevancy.
  24. balthazar
    I didn't say truck buyers WERE asking that... of trucks. My question is, are sedan buyers asking those questions. Because your implication was that in order to be 'hi-end', trucks are lacking high end sedan features. Aren't sedans lacking truck features?
  25. balthazar
    That's how the F-series outsells everything in the country (besides being a very capable & competitive vehicle) - variations and packages. Do tell: do high end sedan buyers ask for towing capacities and shift on the fly AWD? How about better ground clearance and different cabin & cargo dimensions/volumes in the same line?
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