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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Who would these parents be that would spend $100,000 for a 3rd car so their kid could surf FB while they are driven around?? Frankly, I have a hard time believing any exist. The last cost I saw to build a self-driving car was $150,000 each. I don't see how that can drop to a mere $20K (OVER the price of the base car) inside of 25 years. Even with economies of scale (of which there will be none), in order to get a 87% drop in costs would have to require massive corner-cutting. The ONLY segment this makes sense in on a retail level is very high-end luxury cars. How many handicapped/ old people drop that kind of coin?
  2. balthazar
    Jeep needs to build this!
  3. balthazar
    Inline engines are ancient tech- not an avenue for forward progression. There is no vibrational roughness that's breaking/making any vehicle sales on an inline vs. V6. smk-logic : 'If inline engines were so good, 98% of the auto industry would not have abandoned them decades ago.'
  4. balthazar
    In the recent Yahoo news brief on the Avenir, there was a VERY significant line from the article. It is : >>"The Avenir is a “concept car” Buick isn’t manufacturing yet, but the concept alone reflects a major shift in the way Buick’s parent General Motors (GM), and other big automakers, are bringing cars to market."<< You see it?? It's taken years, but I am finally seeing increasing mention of the GM brands as distinct entities again, rather than the media continually defaulting to the 'General Motors' umbrella. Here it is specifically : "...Buick isn’t manufacturing…" and "...Buick’s parent General Motors…" ​Over much of the last 2 decades, that would have automatically have been: 'General Motors isn't manufacturing…" and "...General Motors…" I have first seen this trend in Cadillac articles, on the tail of the incredible CTS-V. While it is a small step, it's a major positive move forward image-wise. The 'other shoe' to this turning of opinion should be a PR on the reformation of Cadillac Engineering and Buick Engineering (or however they get titled); hopefully --with Cadillac's recent autonomy quest-- at least that announcement is forthcoming. Image crafting needs to be priority one. I have been advocating the DE-publicization of "General Motors" for years upon years.
  5. balthazar
    Cadillac does not need to, and is unlikely to, enter partnerships with outside engine builders. All they need is proprietary engines, developed within GM Powertrain, but only used in Cadillacs. Back in Cadillac's heyday, they -along with all the other divisions- had their own engineering departments, because that's where the Divisions came from. While Cadillac had higher levels of machining & tolerances, could be run without break-in periods right off the showroom floor, they were still in line with many other Division's engines in terms of displacement & power output. This is fine; be competitive with your competition, what Buick or Pontiac may have been doing was immaterial. And Cadillac ruled the luxury segment for the bulk of the automotive timeline. For example, GM has a solid 3.6L V6. Bump the displacement a smidge (3.7L), change the tuning up & some of the hard parts, sprinkle in a bit of unique tech & make it Cadillac exclusive- this is the IMAGE BUILDING Cadillac needs to get back to. It becomes a 'Cadillac engine' and you lose all the 'its got a Chevy engine in it' nonsense. Even tho it was very limited & brief, I shook my head when the Bonneville GXP was advertised with a Northstar engine. Cadillac had a strong brand recognition there, you just can't DO something like that without image degradation.
  6. balthazar
    Cadillac currently has 20 models, Audi has 42. The butter will get spread much thinner, even at $20B @ Audi.
  7. balthazar
    ATS is exactly on par within it's segment WRT interior room. It's within a quarter inch of the A3 on total legroom. However, CLA has a 3" shorter wheelbase than the ATS but nine inches LESS total legroom- for some reason there's nary a complaint about that. CLA & ATS are both 182" overall. And mercedes cheaped out by going FWD in order to 'increase interior space'. Interior space has nothing to do with ATS sales volume.
  8. balthazar
    I read elsewhere that $9B out of (whatever it currently is) that audi is 'spending' is going into plant refurbishing, not product, plus audi has a lot more models than Cadillac does- so their $15B is spread thinner. Didn't I also read that Cadillac's suspension currently adjusts itself like once every second? How many innings in this pissing match are we going to willingly sit thru??
  9. balthazar
    "This should have already been available 10 or 15 years ago! Too little, too late!"
  10. balthazar
    Thank you, kind sirs.
  11. balthazar
    Panamera is distinctly dowdy in appearance, it cannot get past the 'limo builder' look of an obviously stretched 911. In other words; it's a terrible adaptation- the tiny front & rear clips of a sports car tacked onto a fat sedan body. It has no fluidity. A LaCrosse looks more cohesive and frankly, more upscale. Panamera is not remotely a stylistic comparison. Avenir is galaxies above the Panamera. CLS is a very sleek design- that should have been the s-class all along but the roofline gives 3" less headroom front & rear than the S, and that's crucial for livery service. I'm reading comments attributed to GM folk that the Avenir is NOT intended for production, which is borderline criminal, of course. We'll see. But the production changes are of some concern. Avenir is wearing 21" rims - that's not going to happen. The concept LaCrosse GL wore 20s but largest you can get on the current car are 18s. The way the Avenir sits is a huge piece of it's visual impact- if a production car only gets 18s, a lot of wind is going to slip out of its sails. I'm not expecting to see this built at 85% of the concept.
  12. balthazar
    I can see that as a business case, tho undoubtedly it's a very temporary situation. I don't see nissan gaining any share here; trucks in general are expensive enough & sell in such large numbers because the work truck segment is not that cash strapped, IMO. Also, IMO you'd see a tangible return all along the life on that 10-15K with a Ram 2500. EDIT :: Looked into this. The '15 nissan Pro-X CC starts at $40.2K. You can get a Ram 2500 CC SLT starting at $41.9K. Diesel I6 is an $8200 option, but we don't yet kno where nissan is going to tag the V8 diesel… so there looks like potentially, maybe a $5K savings… or none, yet you still get a half-ton truck vs. a 3/4-tonner (with a MUCH higher towing capacity : 11000 vs 18000). No contest; nissan falls short yet again.
  13. balthazar
    Of course the Ram has a light-duty diesel (V6), tho it's power number are obviously lower with the lower CI. 240 HP / 420 TRQ / 9200 lbs towing is still pretty good. If I needed more, I'd rather get a Ram 2500 diesel, 800 TRQ than a Titan, then I could tow 18000 and have the chassis/components engineered specifically for it. I don't think I'd be comfortable hauling HD-loads with a 1/2-ton truck frame underneath, no matter how nissan 'certifies' it. I mean; its Nissan, after all.
  14. balthazar
    a "few" were about european cars??
  15. balthazar
    I like everything back to the C-pillar. The front fascia & lighting details are VERY nice, but a shorter rear overhang than the front is not something I would gravitate toward. I see a number of other details I would have refined differently, tho overall on the exterior I'd give it a 8.5/10. Hope to hell Buick slots something in this tier for production.
  16. balthazar
    Well, I wasn't holding my breath- I saw the way the current one was going vs. prior. Not making much sense IMO other than catering to what's faddish. Which I understand from a business standpoint, but still... The LaCrosse is a very 'thick' car; this move will only accentuate that in a less positive manner.
  17. balthazar
    Hopefully they'll be a considerable bit less generic than the A3. The A7 has a very inelegant look to it. I like the idea of a hatch in general, but it's half-baked here. With the rear seats up, the amount of space inside above the belt line is nonexistent, yet it dictated the entire profile of the car. Just as efficient to engineer a full rear seat back fold down inside a sedan 3-box. Sometimes I think the fad WRT CUVs is getting taken too far. I hope the next LaCrosse gains MORE decklid rather than less.
  18. balthazar
    Looks pretty nice & has some different, nice touches (center console). Sits real well body-wheels wise. Anyone have an idea what's going on with the hinged nose emblem? Lincoln has one negative they can use to their advantage- relative obscurity. It gives the division the potential to 'come out of nowhere' without having to fight much of an established negative image. They're making small noises like they are aware of this...
  19. balthazar
    Toyoyo has a lot of consumer-image baggage problems, ESP in the Tacoma line. With a fresh contender from Chevy & GMC, (is the Ranger still en route?) toyota has a steep hill to climb.
  20. balthazar
    I had been picturing the Casada with a Buick waterfall grille, but I see it's not to be. I like the basic vehicle and the fact it's a tonneau-covered convert, but it need a LOT more Buick DNA to blend in with the rest of the portfolio, IMO. This looks…. hurried.
  21. balthazar
    No, he's an en thusiast - - - - - Got to give Ford one thing, they offer a lot of truck-related packages that allows for a lot of individualization. The more Chevy & GMC offer, the better for the consumer.
  22. balthazar
    I'm sure a new CTS coupe would again garner around a 30% portion of total production; the same basic shell with the new front clip would be fantastic. That car is a modern design milestone in a lot of people's book.
  23. balthazar
    G-wagon is unique; I don't think any other OEM is still making something designed in the 1960s.
  24. balthazar
    The haters will trumpet this, yet ignore when mercedes cuts $13,000 off S-class stickers (MSRP vs. actual transaction price).
  25. balthazar
    Oh no; if SMK can have the Escalade as a 'rebadged Tahoe', I can have the Sprinter as a rebadged Freightliner.
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