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Z-06

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Everything posted by Z-06

  1. Thanks gentlemen. If I was again looking on paper, VW reliability while not stellar is not something which would bother me. I know three folks in person who have had horribly reliable Passat (2) and a Golf. That makes me anxious. Besides that the VW dealer here really doesn't give me a good vibe. Nevertheless, I am planning to keep an open mind and at least go and test drive it.
  2. Dear Patient, before I put you on other of your crazy pills, let us get this straight that Fiesta ST was brought by you in this thread by comparing it with base Mustang not me. And I gave you five reasons as to why Fiesta ST would be chosen in comparison with Mustang, which you thought was a straight forward choice. At least I did not comprehend in your post about Fiesta ST being compared to a larger FWD smaller vehicles. But then please enlighten me, where in that post you say so. I even didn't make reference to the Fiesta ST in my last response here, but you regurgitated it. You may think Fiesta is Spark competitor, but numbers and magazines say otherwise. Ford may have not packaged its interior better than its competitors, but it is packaged better in utility, COMPARED TO A MUSTANG to which you compared with in that post. Okay I will even agree with you that Fiesta sized vehicles should never be performance oriented. But then Ford has balls to at least make it so, even if it means selling 10 of them a month (see I agree with you here also). Where are GM's balls for Sonic, which according to you should have performance version? Given lack of debt from bankruptcy, flexibility of manufacturing it promised from reemerging since bankruptcy, and existence of similar vehicles in other markets GM should be able to make profits on cars with low volumes, unlike Ford, which still has debt to pay. Isn't that the precise reason why Sonic was moved to US? At least that's what GM croaked as to it being the first small car to be manufactured in US due to GM's manufacturing flexibility. As far as reading comprehension, "It is a true all rounder" or "It is a compromise of all and well rounded at everything segment of performance." is equivalent to "a car for everyone"? I don't think I am the one missing or ignoring. Also, The argument above would not have been made, if comment below was read carefully in one of my other posts, because the single major hole in that theory is none of those manufacturers offer ANY equivalent car in other market, unlike GM, which it does. Your Chevroletdes Benz comment just further solidifies how much you read around here. May be you should own one of the FWD tri-star because based on your post, it seems like you really want one (clarification for your comprehension - assumption here is there's no sarcasm in that post). Given GM already has OPC, GTC versions and the necessary power train along with car platforms are geared to be world platforms, the cost of federalization is much lower than Toyota building a Corvette competitor, which it is BTW with BMW.
  3. Perception is different than reality. Unless you have internal knowledge or concrete facts, you are just posting your opinion. Maybe... just can't say.... Point is you don't think the new camaro's tech is not going to rub off on other models? Can't dream of a twin turbo Cruze? What new tech? Most of the tech already exists and the small cars with performance exist. Bring one then we can talk.
  4. Do it man. Life is too short to think too much. This and another one from Camino (It's just a wire or something like that) have been good threads about vehicle projects.
  5. It's no back and forth buddy, I am a doctor to help you find the root cause of your ailment. I just need to diagnose you right before I can put my name on the prescription. Well, I am using your standards of your choice to dispute validity of arguments you are posing about superiority of Mustang. As Drew has said here, just look at the target demographics for these cars and their desires. With that let us bring the thread back to the subject. It is not ONLY PERFORMANCE but balance of performance, utility, fuel economy, fun to drive factors and value. Sure there is a 6/10 of a second sacrifice to 60 mph but it is not going to make someone loose sleep over. When Fiesta can go 10 to 20% farther even with a smaller tank of gas, while offering room for carrying weekend goods, fully loaded with features and carve the roads at the same time at may be 85% of the potential of a true RWD performance car costing more. It is able to park in the smallest of the parking lots in the city. That's why GTI is loved. It is a true all rounder for someone who doesn't need, want, afford or like all out performance. And that is the segment that GM doesn't compete in. And it is performance segment because you do not have base engines making anemic horsepowers and reaching your performance metric of 60 mph in 12 seconds. Just metrics are different my friend. It is a compromise of all and well rounded at everything segment of performance. If you don't like it fine, you have all out Camaro to go to. But where is a GM fan looking for above going to go to?
  6. You, my good friend, are in a rare crowd right now. None of these cars are big sellers at the moment, and I know Ford is cutting back on ST production right now. And while it's good to have a halo car right now, I'm just not sure if the time is right just yet. With GM working on a bunch of updated models right now, I would rather see that finished first. And I am not so sure about the Cruze...I've seen quite a few modded ones, so I know there is some movement out there. Lots of folks are modding that 1.4 anyways.. Trust me, as a small car guy myself, I'd love to agree with ya! Just not GM is ready yet.... I never said that the sales will be sky high, hence my reference to reduced ROIC (Return of Invested Capital). And I never mention them to be halo cars. These cars are never intended to be sold at rate of 25,000 a month, but even at 2,500 to 3,000 a month that is additional 10% sales. GM always seems to look at 80-20, target the 80 and ignore the 20 and this my friend is no different. These cars are mainly for goodwill and keeping enthusiasts within the family while adding some profit and GM is horrible at retention. When is the right time, if not now? Unlike Z-06, Z-28, or V which take substantial R&D, most of these cars are high performance versions of lesser siblings that can be developed with them simultaneously, just ask Mercedes Benz how it does with AMG. Suspension tuning and handling is the only part that will require extra work. But it's not like starting ground up. Given GM's size it will ALWAYS be working on updating models. GM was not ready with Cruze 6 years ago when it did not bring SS version (yes fully agree with bankruptcy) but nothing is preventing that now, I guess with this mentality it will never be ready. Nah, I'll think they'll be ready...I onl y have to look at the new Camaro to see where the future lies for cars like the Cruze. I think for the first time in a long time, we'll like what we'll see...... Perception is different than reality. Unless you have internal knowledge or concrete facts, you are just posting your opinion.
  7. No.. my original "argument" was to the point of PERFORMANCE in these cars to dollars. Why would anyone wanting to purchase a performance car.. buy a Fiesta ST when the Mustang is only $1K more? Make your argument with the Focus ST and I would give U some credit.. but the Fiesta ST is not a real stepping stone IMO. The Focus ST actually offers relevant performance. I 'll stick with 0-60 times despite 0-60 being a metric I hate using when talking about performance. The Focus ST,.. 0-60 in 6.1 which is pretty close to Mustang times. The Fiesta ST??? 6.7seconds. The Chevy Volt is now a competitor. Road and Track and WTF am I arguing about Fiestas for??? I Feel like I'm taking Crazy Pills. LMFAO I don't see anywhere mention about performance. But fine I will give your metrics to argue of 0-60 mph. Honda Accord V6 and Camry V6 are faster than your performance oriented V-6 Mustang, Why should I buy the Mustang now, if Accord and Camry satisfy the other aspects, which a Mustang doesn't? You need more of your crazy pills.
  8. Thanks Sir. That #1 and 4 had really had me scratching every part of my body to find answers. #2 I had seen it in an article that talked about wind tunnel testing, I just didn't know the name. But that was a long Sherlock-esque search. You should be proud.
  9. I agree with knightfan, this is perhaps the most difficult one. My try - 1) Autobianchi A112 2) Schlörwagen or the pillbug 4) 1961 Seagrave
  10. Are you saying the pocket rockets are cross shopped with GTRs and Z06s, given Chevy and Nissan's plethora of performance products and therefore should not be needed? As far as why the EFF someone would pay $22K for a GD Fiesta if Mustang is $1K more: Choices - Didn't you say Cadillac is hurting in sales because of what? Choices. GM flourished in the 50s and 60s due to choices and today it doesn't. Utility - Good luck with putting your ovesized utility items in a Mustang when you make trips to Lowes One Car Does It All - Not everyone has luxury or resources to own different types of vehicles for different moods owing to financial, locational, or desirability constraints. But yet want balance of performance, utility, fuel economy and fun to drive. These cars fit the bills. Insurance Cost - Insurance is not going to be same for those two cars. And which one will a cop catch while speeding? Value - You get a lot more value for a $22k fully loaded fiesta than a $23k bottom dweller mustang. So, performance is NOT the only metric here. The effing one trick pony loses to a GD pocket rocket holistically . Well U only quoted part of my post. If U take the time to read what I wrote entirely then U will see that I was not saying that I didn't want them to build pocket rockets.. My post points out that I see WHY they have come to the decision not to in the near future. The part about the Fiesta vs the Mustang stands tho.. Has the car I picked been a Focus the your point would have been valid. There is very limited utility in a Fiesta. The Focus and Cruz? Yeah. I blatantly said the old Cobalt formula should be put in to place for the Cruze. Even the Sonic.. As it is slightly larger than the Fiesta... A car I see as more of girl car that anything else I was seeking clarifications regarding your point there. WHY GM thinks it doesn't need the pocket rockets cannot be logically proved from your statement of so called tiered performance approach that Chevy has but others lack. These cars are going to be bottom of the GM's so called performance steps approach anyways and will not be competing with cars you mentioned in GM's lineup. So GM's logic, if it's per your comment, is flawed. Your initial argument was, why would someone buy Fiesta ST over base Mustang for $1K more. I gave you multitude of reasons as to why one would do so. It seems like you believe the statement for utility is incorrect. Let's look at the numbers: the hatchback offers cargo volume of 10 feet3 (26 feet3 with rear seats folded) compared to 13 feet3 in the Mustang's dickie. So okay I will give that to you are correct about limited utility of the Fiesta, given smaller trunk volume. Although that statement assumes no one is ever going to use hatch's versatility of folding back seats and/or having extra set of doors. Mustang has none such option. But it seems like you have no comments on the rest of the points for Fiesta's superiority, so either you approve what I say or you ignore to point your correctness. As far as Focus ST is concerned, I am glad you didn't include in your comment, otherwise the statement would have made sense like smk's statements - Blatant superlatives with no numbers or solid premises to backup.
  11. Yes and no. The GM 7-speed DCT is (1) Designed with and made in China by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (上气集团)- GM partnership. (2) It is a dry clutch DCT, which is slightly more efficient and cheaper than a wet clutch DCT, but cannot handle high torque loads from high power engines suitable for the aforementioned applications. Thanks, I hadn't thought about the torque loads. I thought DCT were tougher than torque converter automatics on that front. Do you know what the max torque input of that transmission is? I think that DCT is designed for the specific use with the new three, four cylinder family, introduced in China. So it should not be more than 200 to 250 lb-ft.
  12. Are you saying the pocket rockets are cross shopped with GTRs and Z06s, given Chevy and Nissan's plethora of performance products and therefore should not be needed? As far as why the EFF someone would pay $22K for a GD Fiesta if Mustang is $1K more: Choices - Didn't you say Cadillac is hurting in sales because of what? Choices. GM flourished in the 50s and 60s due to choices and today it doesn't. Utility - Good luck with putting your ovesized utility items in a Mustang when you make trips to Lowes One Car Does It All - Not everyone has luxury or resources to own different types of vehicles for different moods owing to financial, locational, or desirability constraints. But yet want balance of performance, utility, fuel economy and fun to drive. These cars fit the bills. Insurance Cost - Insurance is not going to be same for those two cars. And which one will a cop catch while speeding? Value - You get a lot more value for a $22k fully loaded fiesta than a $23k bottom dweller mustang. So, performance is NOT the only metric here. The effing one trick pony loses to a GD pocket rocket holistically .
  13. You, my good friend, are in a rare crowd right now. None of these cars are big sellers at the moment, and I know Ford is cutting back on ST production right now. And while it's good to have a halo car right now, I'm just not sure if the time is right just yet. With GM working on a bunch of updated models right now, I would rather see that finished first. And I am not so sure about the Cruze...I've seen quite a few modded ones, so I know there is some movement out there. Lots of folks are modding that 1.4 anyways.. Trust me, as a small car guy myself, I'd love to agree with ya! Just not GM is ready yet.... I never said that the sales will be sky high, hence my reference to reduced ROIC (Return of Invested Capital). And I never mention them to be halo cars. These cars are never intended to be sold at rate of 25,000 a month, but even at 2,500 to 3,000 a month that is additional 10% sales. GM always seems to look at 80-20, target the 80 and ignore the 20 and this my friend is no different. These cars are mainly for goodwill and keeping enthusiasts within the family while adding some profit and GM is horrible at retention. When is the right time, if not now? Unlike Z-06, Z-28, or V which take substantial R&D, most of these cars are high performance versions of lesser siblings that can be developed with them simultaneously, just ask Mercedes Benz how it does with AMG. Suspension tuning and handling is the only part that will require extra work. But it's not like starting ground up. Given GM's size it will ALWAYS be working on updating models. GM was not ready with Cruze 6 years ago when it did not bring SS version (yes fully agree with bankruptcy) but nothing is preventing that now, I guess with this mentality it will never be ready.
  14. Beaut. Gotta give credit to those GM engineers from down under.
  15. Excuses. There's already development of these vehicles from GM-Europe and most of the new platforms are federalized. Mr. Reuss, by spending money on things like these you are keeping and creating customers who go to other brands because of lack of choices, even if it means less ROIC than other bread and butter vehicles. For me, e.g., I am looking at a GTI, ST, Mazda3 S hatch as a daily driver, why? Because there's nothing in GM stable that provides utility, performance, fuel economy and fun-to-drive factor in a smaller, cheaper to insure package. When it comes to the main stream cars, GM is following Toyota model for being boring and appealing masses rather than covering all bases. It had a goodwill in Cobalt SS, HHR SS Turbo and blew it with Cruze by not offering one.
  16. If this comment was for me - Good and that's what it should. But when you thumb the nose, you go one up, not one down. 3.6 is not a proper engine to go thumb the nose at when there are other powerful engines from the competitors. The 3.6 ATS is $7k less than a C400 4Matic. Start adding options and the delta between the two grows larger because Benz options are more expensive. The ATS 3.6 is a V6 at C300 price, or a 328i price, or A4 2.0T price.... Now, now let us not go there. There's a difference between price and performance and I'm not talking about the former. This tweener mentality is what has got people like one of the posters on this thread talking about how the Cadillacs should be $5,000 to 6,000 less than what they are currently priced. ATS 2.5 has BMW 320, IS250, nothing from other competitors. You have the 2.0T for 328, A4 2.0T, C300, etc. And then the 3.6 competing with the C400, IS350, S4, 335i (340i). If you match or offer the performance better than the competitors with less price then your performance value coefficient is excellent. When you have performance and value lower than competitors, then you are making excuses.
  17. The new 3.6 just got shared with the Camaro; so much for being only Cadillac and Buick exclusive. So how would you say when the 3.6 got clobbered by other force induced competitors to which it was compared to? Man, there's nothing wrong with the vehicle, the car should have been tested with other engine. Do you mean ATS-V vs the S4 or 340 or C400 or XE supercharged? Priceless! When you price the engine equivalent to its competitors, when you portray the car with that engine to be similar to the force induced motors of equivalent horsepowers, then you should at least be par with them on performance, not down and give an excuse of other choices. In this case the 3.6 is equivalent to the cars mentioned above and it fails in performance. When I've asked about the 3.0TT for the ATS as a V-Sport model, I was told with a wink and a nudge "We don't discuss un-announced product". And there is also always this: The Plug-In Hybrid is comprised of a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder engine and two electric motors. A new rear wheel electric variable transmission and 18.4 kWh battery finish off the powertrain. Total output is rated at 335 horsepower and 432 pound-feet of torque. Good. But till then the 3.6 is going to be a weak duckling.
  18. Tell me how, don't just copulate. Other than the asinine new naming scheme, which I agree with you, what is wrong with copying? Cadillac didn't have any of these markets invented but buyers have moved that way so it is reasonable to benchmark to create your own product. So when you step your foot in, you have to try to beat the best by reverse engineering, nothing wrong with that. Now the comment of SRX being RX shows your IQ level pretty darn well, you just say something to prove your point, don't you? GM invented many markets to which the competitors have mirrored them, where is your opinion on that? So you are fine with Chevroletdes Benz sharing platforms, engines and other components with Nissan/Renault? Or BMW for that matter with Citroen and Toyota? It is economies of scales and given the current caustic environment, it makes more sense to do so. As far as the brand not having clear definition, the brand was in turmoil, it went from beautiful vehicles to big land barges to competing with smaller nimbler cars. The brand is in flux and it will take a decade before it will show its virtues. Till that time go buy your favorite German brands and watch with jealousy the brand picking up. It's already showing a light in the right direction.
  19. The new 3.6 just got shared with the Camaro; so much for being only Cadillac and Buick exclusive. So how would you say when the 3.6 got clobbered by other force induced competitors to which it was compared to? Man, there's nothing wrong with the vehicle, the car should have been tested with other engine. Do you mean ATS-V vs the S4 or 340 or C400 or XE supercharged? Priceless! When you price the engine equivalent to its competitors, when you portray the car with that engine to be similar to the force induced motors of equivalent horsepowers, then you should at least be par with them on performance, not down and give an excuse of other choices. In this case the 3.6 is equivalent to the cars mentioned above and it fails in performance. If this comment was for me - Good and that's what it should. But when you thumb the nose, you go one up, not one down. 3.6 is not a proper engine to go thumb the nose at when there are other powerful engines from the competitors.
  20. This is the typical GM buyer mentality Cadillac has to meet or overcome. You guys are so smart. GM is following your line, and it is sinking. Wisdome does not come from spouting the company line it comes with seeing reality, and reacting properly. Lexus got to be a major player by coming in lower, and giving more. Cadillac was doing that and getting built back up in volume and transaction price. Low and behold the geniuses come in, say that is wrong let them pay more, and they will come. Guess what, wrong again. By the way I can negotiate and get incentives from BMW dealers and etc., but that just flies in the face or your "logic," and you are wiser than I. I bow to the superior marketing and sales intellect. Those are not similar things mister. If you would have said all luxury vehicles are over-priced the comment would have not arisen. No one is doubting or caring about your Henry Kissinger like negotiating skill. It was a statement that can be read either way depending on what the goal Cadillac wants, your wise-dome (sorry wise-dumb or is it wisdom) decided to Low and Behold the wrong way. And besides that go and educate yourself on my prior posts, to save your energy just go a few ones above and you can see whether I parrot what GM feeds. For your uninformative Lexus comment, the only reason(s) Lexus outsells other luxury brands is/are FWD vehicles - namely two of them - ES and RX. The rest of the vehicles mostly trail behind the more expensive German competitors despite of, according to you, giving more while cuming in lower.
  21. I take your bigotry personally. This is unacceptable.
  22. That engine is uncompetitive with the force-induced engines from the competitors. And he still soldiers on this site. There are 4 engine choices in the ATS with 2 more coming in the future. If you don't like that V6, there will be no less than 5 other engines to choose from. In my experience, the 2.0T is the best choice in the ATS, excluding the V-series, as it keeps the car lighter and still has satisfying thrust. I also want to say that you are badly pre-judging it. There is more to the powertrain than just the engine and my assessment of the new 8-speed auto coming to Cadillac is that it is a whole new level of good. In sport mode it can shift as fast or faster than the Porsche DCT and it has a wider range of gear ratios than the previous 6-speed. Drew, a transmission cannot add to what the engine lacks. The competitors are already offering 8 speeds, don't have SAE numbers to abide by, thereby providing more power than advertised. Is it cheating? Yes, you bet it is, but GM has to respond and the 3.6 is a 38 special in the battle of 45s. Besides that, isn't that's what got GM into problem? The lack of full commitment. The peak torque of the new 3.6 is less than the torque of the 2.0T. That is unacceptable. The truth is this engine as much as GM claims is new, which it is possibly, is not going to be an exclusive Cadillac and therefore was "needed" by the bean counters to make financial sense. "If you don't like that V6, there will be no less than 5 other engines to choose from." Why stop there? No, I will find some other company that will. And that's going to be everyone else except Cadillac. I'll give you even better, why even offer that engine? It'll save you typing to defend that decision, since ATS has already 5 other engine choices, according to you. We have had this discussion before, and there's no contest that GM has messed this one up. Even the Cadillac Fan here who is supporter of the two bozos in charge at its helm claims that too.
  23. This is the typical GM buyer mentality Cadillac has to meet or overcome. Mind you if they were still offering previous gen workmanship on the CTS, which wasn't bad, quite nice in fact, but not on the current car's level, then I would agree with your original assessment. They are not. What original assessment?
  24. Dimensionally GC is within inches of the RR except for the length. It has bigger interior volume and engines that can out perform the RR in many forms. Offroad capability and value-wise it is superior and so with respect to reliability and build-quality. What is Mariachi really looking for in a LR competitor? Perception or raping the consumers for more money? You already do, Sergio. Get to know your products better.
  25. That engine is uncompetitive with the force-induced engines from the competitors. And he still soldiers on this site.
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