balthazar

It's a complete joke. 'Luxury car', 'world class'...

hyperv6 ~ >>"Some companies got so deperate like Mazda they added the odd extended doors to an RX7..."<< But did it sell even 1 more RX-7? >>"The 130R was interesting but with the Camaro going to this style coupe I think it was a hint at the size and direction of the new Camaro butnot so much the styling."<< >>"Again if there was so much demand everyone would offer one on each model and that is just not happening."<< Yet.. there is STILL no 4-dr Camaro, Mustang, Corvette, Beetle, Miata, 370Z, Challenger..... Just saying. >>"Time will prove who is right here. I think we will find we will have a coupe coupe options but don't expect a great return of these styles of cars unless market demands change."<< BTW- I, nor anyone else here, said they expected a 'great return' of coupes.... but of course by claiming that 'something will continue to be uncommon unless it becomes common' does leave a bit of CYA wiggle room to proclaim an internet discussion victory.

Yeah... no.

^ That is the volume at birth, but the volumes today are quite close in each 5-yr age bracket from 15-59. Obviously a greater percentage of Boomers have died than Gen X or Gen Y. Not sure that comparing the above volumes, over such a large year span, WRT vehicle purchases today, means anything.

BME & mercedees were far from being a 'world class standard' circa the early '80s. BMW interiors for one were horrendously cheap & spartan. BMW of today (still not great) wouldn't even recognize early '80s BMW. Both have made huge leaps in interior quality, appointments, equipment & luxury, but they were pretty bad then. You need to cut yer revisionist history timespan down a bit. '81 5-series:

hyper, he's got a solid point WRT the ABA issue, 'whether you like it or not'. The ever-pursued 'youth' demo falls farther & farther beyond the manufacturers reach, in spite of the spin, hype & wishful thinking of the ad men. The buyers are families, parents & grandparents, not 20-somethings. Everyone pursues them, but they're not a factor. Also true of the passenger-capability issue. The ad men love to show/brag about seating 7 or 8 in an SUV/minivan, and we're asked to believe that 'the majority or the market wants this, so that's what they build', yet sedans have dropped from 6 passengers to 4. There's a hoot for you. You need to realize that a considerable amount of what manufacturers build is decided by them as opposed to the consumer.

Not sure you can be the "world standard" when you pretty much only sell in North America and even in the USA Cadillac is mid-pack in sales. Be sure that being a 'world standard' is NOT aspirationally based on merely reaching a crushing sales volume....

For the burdensome hardships of cranking down windows ( and the like).... perhaps a lot more younger folk could get into a new car, rather than having to wait until they are 50 yrs old. AFA power seats go- who ever re-adjusts their seat after setting it once? Waste of money & excess weight. At least you use power windows regularly...

>>"Focus is selling for an average of $;3,100 more per car"<< Say what?

You people are giants.

'Large Americans' I can see having issues with both 2- & 4-drs. The '60 Bonne flattop I have in the back right now is surprisingly tight to get into the rear seat, and it's on a 126" wheelbase. I find getting in the back of my '59 Invicta 2-dr easier (123" WB)... but I'm not of the size caliber many of you folk are. I watched the guy I bought it from, barely able to get his head inside. I think he's about 6'4" or maybe 6'5". But what many by default call 'full size' today is pretty pathetically sized, IMO.

^ you just substitute an irrational response to FWD instead.

CTS is already more than the STS was. The idea that we have but 'thin hope' that the next one will be another strong competitor is not very credible... but keep on pushing that broken wheelbarrow.

^ yeah, but not everyone has kids, hyper.

Sweet black '63 deVille convert

Citing NASCAR is equally as relevant as the parking lot @ work. NASCAR used 2-drs because they were lighter (plus they were available). After circa 1980, it was merely tradition (hence the Taurus 2-dr). Automakers need to condense the number of model lines and offer more body styles. It's fiscal madness to offer a dozen sedans each separated by a half foot in overall length. There's simply no specific, quantifiable demand for so many steps on the ladder. Simplify the offerings and there's more room for more variants. The pick-up teams understand this completely.

Who has what in the parking lot at work fails to reach 'meaningful'. This is besides the fact that who gets into Car X may not have actually bought Car X (vs. a parent). Figures for age breakdown as of 2009 show pretty even tallies for every 5 yr bracket, IE: 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, etc. at between 19M and 22M. Every 5 yr bracket is very comparable WRT to totals from age 15 thru age 59... yet the average buyer age is still 50. It's certainly not an issue of population breakdown WRT ABA...

Didn't get a chance to call him 2nite. I believe it's an '06, and it's a CX.

'63 Caddy CdV, sitting forlorn in a side yard. Now.... where was I when I saw it......?

The car is coming regardless, and yet there's still room to discuss the minutiae of the car. How about that.

Yea- but it happens. There's a VERY tiny demo out there for these, and the values reflect that. A '72 boattail Riviera gave up it's heart for my B-59 (it's rear quarter WAS accordion-ed pretty good, but it could've been repaired for maybe $15K). Truth is, these were far secondary for manufacturers by this point, and I see it 'in the steel' on these all too readily.

Whoa- a CONSOLE in a 4-dr! This is DAMNED early for that now-ubitquitous feature. ALso dig the central (cavernous) glove box. Beautiful, stately lines on this, love the rear end. If I was in the market for a lux sedan, I'd buy this over anything on a showroom floor.

I'd much prefer a '57-61, esp a '59 or '60, but this is still pretty cool. My only real issue with this is that it's a convert.

I think they were trying to pick up on the interior color- agreed; doesn't really work. Change the stripe to red & give it a black interior with red accents and it could be really sharp.

To that last point; cars have been getting taller with seemingly tighter interiors. Blame insulation, thickened cage edges, more laid-back windshields.... not moving forward in my book.