Jump to content
News
Reviews
Discussons
Activity
Create New...
Close

balthazar

In Hibernation
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    40,855

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    583

 Content Type 

Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Jag survived being without their V12, they can survive no V8. So few buy Jaguars of any cylinder count, the needle will hardly blip.
  2. balthazar
    Uh-oh : >>"Always able to find itself at the center of controversy, Tesla’s latest PR stunt has earned it a slap on the wrist by a Federal safety agency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a statement in rebuttal to Tesla‘s claim that the Model S is the safest car ever and that it earned a, “new combined record of 5.4 stars” according to a Tesla release. “The agency’s 5-Star Safety Ratings program is designed to provide consumers with information about the crash protection and rollover safety of new vehicles beyond what is required by Federal standards,” says the NHTSA release. “One star is the lowest rating; five stars is the highest. More stars equal safer cars.” The statement goes on to comment that the agency, “does not rate vehicles beyond 5 stars and does not rank or order vehicles within the star rating categories.” That said, a 5-star rating for the Tesla Model S is equal to any other car with a rating of 5-stars, with another example being the Volvo S60. In addition, the agency chides Tesla’s overzealous claims, commenting that it, “has guidelines in place for automakers and advertising agencies to follow, helping ensure that accurate information is portrayed to the public.” Did Tesla follow those guidelines? It’s likely the electric automaker, its eccentric CEO, Elon Musk, and its clever PR department will find a way to chime-in."<< Crap like this is a black eye to credibility. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
  3. balthazar
    '76 (circa) Monte Carlo, double white, excellent cond, having a drink at the pumps '67 Chevelle convert, black over red, excellent shape, rolling.
  4. balthazar
    If you look @ their site, they show a singular route across the county by then, but what if that's not your desired route? But corporate promises are only 2 clicks better than political ones- only time will tell.
  5. balthazar
    206" is short. I'm looking forward to piloting 217" again (tho this is down from daily drivers at 221" and 237").
  6. balthazar
    Tesla seems to be firming up their image nicely so far. Right now tho, the station count is nearly non-existant (30). I've seen Teslas in my area but the nearest SC station is 95 miles from here. We'll see how quickly they get their network up vs. their projections. If it's like most other projects, they will not hit that time table.
  7. balthazar
    If this coupe stays a real dynamic, quality upmarket offering (like where the Elmiraj is going), it should be unique, larger than the CTS and priced around $75K. Not that anyone shops with a tape measure, but 200" sounds right about perfect to me. They're not going to sell many, but mass sales volume is mercedees' bag, not Cadillac's, and no one sells a lot at that range. Offering another 'CTS coupe' but jumping the price $10K over the sedan is not a smart move; it must be -in perception & reality- unique... then you christen it Eldorado.
  8. balthazar
    smk :: You think that anyone would consider the ELR, CTS-V, Corvette & an Elmiraj as cross-shoppable?? Tough to get 4 more dissimilar demographics together without including trucks. How come mercedees wasn't worried when they priced the E63 @ $90K and the CLS63 @ $95K? Don't they have a real need to "distance" those two from each other? More worrisome is the overlap of the CLA @ $30K and the C @ $35K. These are interchangeable sedans, unlike an ELR and a Corvette (which aren't even the same brand/in the same showrooms).
  9. balthazar
    IMO, it,s a good next step forward. Cadillac can do better tho. The '14 CTS has even better dynamicism out front than the Elmiraj.
  10. balthazar
    I'm puzzled by those who feel the heritage names are "20th Century", but somehow "Cadillac", the oldest name in the pot, is '21st century'. Why not rename the Division, too, if one really wants to make a break with the past. Personally, 'Miraj' means no more to me than 'CTS'.
  11. balthazar
    Benz actually did follow Cadillac and ran fins on their early '60s cars (when it was already on the decline here... but mercedes has traditionally had trouble maintaining pace with the styling line of scrimmage, at least until the 1980s. Of course, I only know this because I apparently "live in the past".) Fact is, you can't fully appreciate the present unless you also know the past. Cadillac has had many times over the original stylistic idea vs. mercedes, and as a fan of the marque, that's a large part of what attracts me to it. The Elmiraj is not an "original" idea in that it doesn't propose anything new (in general), but it is a very well done piece all the same. I prefer the Ciel immensely, tho- has tremendous presence. I look forward to the '3rd shoe' in this series, esp if it is some degree of a melding of the two.
  12. balthazar
    I love how when you have no argument you take things so out of context. I just gave an observation on the Cadillac grill in this car, did I say anything about BMW or Benz.....No! I merely responded to this, your words : No one echoes the shape of their grilles to their emblem, so if it was a point, it has zero context in the auto industry. BMW & Daimler were examples of (the lack of) that.
  13. balthazar
    passed a driveway on the fly with 2 AMC Eagle AWDs, a sedan & a wagon, both looked like runners.
  14. balthazar
    ^ It is borderline. On one hand, from some angles it gives the car attitude. However, from other angles the car has a lot of 'underbelly tumblehome', and from this angle it makes the rear tire protrude too far out of the wheelwell, AKA a off-road truck. I think the bulk of the issue is that the tail is a tad too tapered in plan view. Design could use a bit of detail refinement here & there, IMO.
  15. balthazar
    Dodge did toy around with cross-hair grilles in the '50s & '60s, but not consistently; mostly it was used on their trucks. Chrysler's came out for '60, ran thru '67.
  16. balthazar
    Audi : Don't forget ferrari.
  17. balthazar
    Riiiggghhht- that's why mercedees & BMW and every other car maker shapes it's grille emblems to match the grille outline. I LOVE all those mercedes/BMWs with the perfectly circular grilles, gets all my ducks in a row. You so crazy.
  18. balthazar
  19. balthazar
    Reg, did you read the post above yours?
  20. balthazar
    I prefer to do it on my schedule, for free. Not having AAA for as long as I've owned my truck will pay for the exhaust/tuner. Now, if I could give my 20"ers to AAA and have them demount them, that would be worthy of consideration. The last one I did took me probably 1.5 hrs. They don't work on my tire machine.
  21. balthazar
    Thinking aloud here......... if a handful of people loudly voice that the Wreath evokes a "dreadful" Cad from the '80s, how oh how will General Motors handle renaming the brand to something that is new with no baggage? After all, those same '80s cars with the Wreath & Crest also always had numerous "Cadillac" badges. Because, you know, these things aren't important to anyone. Hm-mmm......
  22. balthazar
    Noticed this morning my Silverado has a flat. Even worse, I am certain I ran over something on my own property, so that makes it my fault. So's I get to R&R my tire, AND plug the puncture.
  23. balthazar
    The one Viagra ad where the guy hitches his horse to his stuck truck always strikes me; the ad states 'this is the age of knowing how to get things done', yet the opposite is true in these scenarios. The vast majority of people simple dial AAA when stuck- they don't do anything by themselves. The last bastion of 'knowing how to get things done' is probably truck guys, tho, or at least a higher concentration there than any other demo. Yea Moltar; that was a calf, not a sheep. The Silverado ad is not bad, just a bit on the 'smooshy' side.
  24. balthazar
    ^ google-imaging is showing a lot of retro-fitting. The two '74 brochures (what's pictured above) fail to show a car with both a stand-up and a hood ornament together, and my google imaging seemed to show a slight majority with only 1. The car above, with both a Wreath and a V is a bit too schizoid for Cadillac to have approved. The circa '71 'vertical wing' emblem appeared on the taillights, I don't know that it was used anywhere else on the cars.
  25. balthazar
    Interesting point, tho CUVs don't sell by what wheels drive the vehicle. It might look that way, but I'd like to see the evidence that was a prime factor. Sales should never be the 'prime directive' for a luxury marque; profit should.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

I've whitelisted
Continue without support

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search