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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    For a number of years I have on occasion called it out that 'auto design is in its 95th percentile' as far as moving forward goes. Coming to mind here is the current Camaro vs. the prior gen, the miata, the SIlverado, and the above audi. There are more, but these alone represent a clear illustration of my point; that consumers at large are seeing less & less forward design progress. Far too many external influences and technology/the science of building cars has made ALL the MAJOR advances already; only tweaks are left. - - - - - Audi has the most palatable styling of the German Big 3, but it still leaves me flat. I don't find it to be aspirational or particularly good looking, just… meh. I wish they had their own engines across the board… but I'd never own one either way.
  2. balthazar
    5 is too many for Cadillac tho. I think 3 would work very well; XT5, XT7 and Escalade/ESV.
  3. balthazar
    Wait, I got a couple of real sticky wickets in this piece. • BMW is going to use a platform they developed with input from…… TOYOTA????????????? There are not enough laffs to express the ridicule this deserves. • With all the flippant, misguided commentary we hear people spout saying 'Cadillac is copying BMW'…. I'm sure as hell expecting a rash of the like 'BMW is copying Mercedes' by revamping an existing established model to "copy" the mercedes S-coupe. Without question on this one. • BTW, expect the nonexistent sales of the 6-series to plunge into the double digits/mnth with this move. Not that I give a crap about sales numbers for luxury vehicles, but SOME FOLK DO.
  4. balthazar
    Don't have or want mud flaps. Trucks registered at a GVW of 6000 or under aren't required to have mud flaps. I just have to make sure the DMV doesn't slap my truck in a 7000 or whathaveyou GVW class. I still think most cops might not know about the 'under 6000 = no flaps' code. Ah; I get the confusion…. code states "over 6000", so 6001 lbs & up requires flaps.
  5. balthazar
    Another month of huge, double-digit car sales declines. Yikes, some heads are going to roll!
  6. balthazar
    Setback #1 on the Get Away With Murder truck. • Filling the radiator- at one point water starts to dribble under the engine; the temp sender in the pass cylinder head isn't sealing. Used a fat O-ring and it sealed- not sure how long that'll last in the heat tho. Kept filling until water started dribbling out again- one of the 2 water pumps is cracked and leaking freely. Motor has dual pumps, and they also double as motor mounts. Might as well change both, I guess. No big deal- there are quality, upgraded repro pumps for $90/ea. • Called DMV- should be no problem RE registering a cab/chassis truck (a few friend were telling me otherwise) and no problem with the GVW… as NJ vehicle code states trucks with a registered GVW over 6000 lbs are required to have mud flaps. I don't want any… so I want to register my 4570 lb 2-seater at 6000 lbs. • Also learned the historic plate cars only need to show one plate in the rear, not 2. Another cool factor.
  7. balthazar
    Could be Drew :
  8. balthazar
    Charger Hellcat's 0-200 KPH time is 11.8, CTS-V is 11.5. 558 HP E63's time to 200 KPH is 12.7
  9. balthazar
    It's not faster, they're the same : 0-60 in 3.4-3.5. Unfortunately, the E63 is governed to 186 MPH (or is it 155??) whereas the CTS-V does 200. Bizarrely, MB made the E63 faster than the SLS AMG! Who unseats their own halo performance car; "makes no sense".
  10. balthazar
    • But no one buys a $90K Model S to drag race a Corvette- that's not the motivation at all. And there's a lot more to ANY vehicle sale than 0-60 times. • Tho I couldn't find this 3-way test (Model S/ Hellcat/ CTS-V) online, obviously the CTS-V ALSO ran away from the Model S, since it likewise has a 200 MPH top speed vs. the S's 155. • If for ONE SECOND you think Tesla is going to drop the price of the Model S P90D LM from $118K down to $55K to sit right on top of the Model 3 in price, you're nuts.
  11. balthazar
    After a year of seeing at least 2 Tesla Model S's per day, finally saw a Model X out in the wild. Certainly not impressive looking; perhaps if they drove around with the rear doors open...
  12. balthazar
    But that's NOT "all they get"- why describe a scenario that just isn't? Dealers don't get to decide what vehicles are or are not produced. Sucks for them perhaps, but they know this.
  13. balthazar
    Won't happen in our lifetimes. Sure it will. Take a car like the Corvette Z06, fastest car…. Were you referencing SALES as usual, or just performance? Excuse me if I erroneously assumed it was your Prime Directive : SALES. We've had 15+ years of hybrids and they're still only 3% of vehicle sales. Pure electrics are behind hybrids, and while it's possible they will surpass them, they have monstrous uphill public perception battle to gain 51% of vehicle sales.
  14. balthazar
    Won't happen in our lifetimes.
  15. balthazar
    A brand is not 'dead' without crossovers, not to mention (again) Cadillac currently has two SUVs/CUVs; therefore it's is 'impossible' for it to be dead/dying. Another is surely coming, but that's enough to cover the SUV/CUV shopper. Not 5 or 7 SUVs/CUVs; Cadillac only needs to plan for 3. Cadillac is not a full-line mainstream, mass-production brand like mercedees.
  16. balthazar
    1 more; a total of 3. After that, any brand is splitting hairs and chasing dollars. I'll excuse that for volume players (like toyota, Chevrolet, Ford, Nissan and Mercedes), but not Cadillac.
  17. balthazar
    Numbers have probably crept a bit, but "60%" don't want CUVs. 2014 breakdown was • 47% cars • 37% SUVs AND CUVs, • 13% pick up Cadillac has TWO 'non-cars' currently, not one. They have room for 1 more, that's it. Phuk the volume chasers.
  18. balthazar
    Cadillac doesn't have to worry about CAFE AT ALL. However, customers will want to see decent MPG, so don't expect Cadillac to offer nearly as many 16 MPG vehicles as MB. EVERY mercedees car line is DOWN in 2016, some down over 30%. It's NOT anything to do with your suggestion that the ATS-V isn't 'doing what they want it to', it's a market shift that EVERYONE is dealing with. It's probably why mercedees is going to bring their rebadged nissan pick-up here, they are sorely lacking in the truck segments, now well over 50% of the market, and they have NOTHING. MB s-class is supposedly the 'best of the best' and was brand new for '14, yet it's down 23% this year. Guess it's not measuring up to customer's wants. MB undoubtedly will be applying pressure to up sales there, they lovelovelove 'best ever' PR releases. I'm expecting incentives more along the lines of the prior generation, $12-15K off sticker soon.
  19. balthazar
    "Where the market is going" is irrelevant when you keep in mind Cadillac is but 1 out of 4 divisions, not the only one (ignoring the experiment that smart has been). It's not 'Cadillac only has 2 CUV/SUVs'; to be realistic it's 'General Motors has 14 SUV/CUVs'.
  20. balthazar
    Cadillac doesn't need 5 CUV/SUVs, for crap's sake. Tiny, Encore-sized CUVs should not be made into Cadillacs. Ceed the sales to Buick / elsewhere. Just because something CAN be done, doesn;t mean it SHOULD.
  21. balthazar
    Snapped this last weekend :
  22. balthazar
    Changed the COE's oil right after I got it. Checked it last week & level is fine, it's still completely clean looking. Going to run it a bit with this oil in it. SAE 30 straight weight, NO oil filter. :/
  23. balthazar
    Unfortunately, for decades -early on- it's reputation was 'underpowered & antiquated'. Ties best severed.
  24. balthazar
    WHy not just offer EV options for the existing lines, instead of bringing out 4 MORE additional models?? If slotting between the C & E, the sedans would HAVE to be dubbed 'D-class' now that MB has supposedly gotten their naming system in order. Too many models !!
  25. balthazar
    So what's your opinion on the problem factors plaguing the Audi A4? Is it marketing / image problems there also?
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