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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    He should do 100 million percent tariffs. Go for the gusto. I think short term the car companies can still make money from financing, parts, warranties, and same with dealers, make money in the F&I office and in the service dept. Tariffs will hurt profits for sure. Longer time I think they are toast if we don't mine lithium and rare earths in the US and manufacture semiconductors in the US, or have way to import them without tariffs.
  2. smk4565
    I actually think the EV Equinox and Blazer are too long and low. The ICE Equinox looks better. And the Equinox EV doesn't have the painted C-pillar like the 1997 Mercedes ML that the Equinox later adopted and the GLE and Equinox still do after all these years. The problem with the Bolt's look is it a 2027 model that looks like a 2020 model. I know they didn't want to spend a lot of money on it to keep cost down but I feel like they could have tweaked the styling a little more to make it look new.
  3. smk4565
    I wish it looked more like the Trax, which I think is really well styled for a cheap car. I think the price on the Bolt is good, the range and performance is fine for a sub $30k car. It does look a lot like the old Bolt EUV which doesn't have good promotions. Stretch the wheelbase 4 inches and drop the roof 2 inches and widen it 2 inches and they'd be on to something.
  4. smk4565
    I do not, but labor is about 7% of the cost of a car. You could say 25% tax on Chinese built cars like you have with the Chicken tax and that has seemed to work stopping Euro truck imports. But the Chinese car companies can also build cars in Mexico, or Brazil or Indonesia or wherever else with lower labor cost than the USA too. The idea of tariffs are needed to boost jobs and manufacturing in the USA is a flawed theory though, because ever since April when the tariffs hit, unemployment as gone up and number of manufacturing jobs in the USA has gone down. It is bad economics. We buy clothes, computers, shoes, phones, plastic lawn decorations and all other kind of stuff form Asia because it is lower cost. I don't think cars should be any different really. If BYD can sell a $25,000 3-row SUV then more power to them, and let consumers decide if they want to buy that or a $45,000 Traverse and if they perceive the Chevy as better quality then they'll pay the difference just as some people buy clothes at Walmart and some buy at Nordstrom.
  5. smk4565
    And they used to make this, with probably the best wheels ever. Then it went downhill fast.
  6. smk4565
    I do still have my Mercedes, just got new Pirelli's on it. Mine is a W211, the photos there are the W210. Since Mercedes has no interest in making V8s (other than in a $150k car) I figure why trade down to a 6 cylinder for more money. If the electric E-class looks like the current W214 model, I think I would get one of those. I think the W214 is one of the better looking E-classes. BMW styling did peak in the 90s with the 850 and 750iL. It is a trainwreck now.
  7. smk4565
    If there was no tariff on Chinese EVs, the time it would take for Chinese EV's to basically wipe out legacy automakers would only be the time it takes for them to build more factories and produce the cars and ship them across the ocean. I for the most part would like to see 0% tariffs because I think for the most part you let the free market play out and costs are lower for consumers that way. I get that in some areas you need some minor tariffs, or putting tariffs or sanctions on countries like Iran or Russia just to stop their imports for a war reason. On Chinese cars, it should probably be 20%, if the domestics can't beat them with a 20% advantage they should be out of business.
  8. smk4565
    A needed cut since this vehicle has been on the market a while. I wonder if they are making any money on these at that price. But the only way EV's take over is when they get cheaper than gas, this is still more than a Tucson, but the gap is getting closer.
  9. smk4565
    Right, but by 2030 an EV Equinox with 300 hp will probably be less than a 175 hp ICE version. The Cadillac Vistiq has 600 hp vs the 300ish hp V6 in an XT6. EV is just going to unlock too much horsepower and it will be cheap horsepower. Yangwang U9 has 3,000 hp and does 294 mph. What's Bugatti going to do, try to make a 12 liter W24 engine to keep up? Corvette ZR1 is 2,000 hp down from the similarly priced Chinese competitor. EV development is going so much faster than ICE at this point, I think in 5 years ICE is going to look like horse and buggy by comparison.
  10. smk4565
    Probably could be named IQ-47.
  11. smk4565
    Yeah they are making an EV Hyundai Santa Cruze. The Santra Cruze starts at $29,500 and they are on pace to sell about 29,000 of them this year. And that with a gas powertrain that buyers tend to prefer over EV. This isn't a big volume segment and I imagine Ford is just going to cut into Maverick sales. What Ford should have done is said we are building a Rav4/Model Y competitor and it will be under $30k. Those are the 2 best selling vehicles in the world, they should have gone right after them and taken their sales. It won't be that bad. It won't bomb so hard, but also 60 years later people remember the Edsel. 25 years from now no one will remember the Ranchero, much like no one really remembers the Subaru Baja outside of a small cult following.
  12. smk4565
    I get they are using the Tesla idea to build 3 modules then snap them together, saving time and saving on wiring harnesses, etc. But I don't think they are really coming out with any super affordable vehicle, they say $30k, but the F150 Lightning was going to be $39,995 and it ended up like $60k. The ICE Equinox for the first half of the year sold 130,000 and the EV sold 28,000. Losing that $7500 credit for sure will hurt sales and that EV will be a weak seller for a mass market vehicle. Ford Ranger sold 33,000, Maverick sold 86,000 for the first half of the year. Even if this new EV truck sells half as many it is 120,000 sales, most of which will probably just be stolen internally off other Fords. And the Escape starts at $30k and sells 130k units now, they are just swapping product. What the Ranchero won't have is Rav4 build quality, Rav4 reliability or Rav4 resale value. Ford just announced their 96th recall of the year, there is zero quality control at this company. My work vehicle has 3 recalls on it right now, the left front door has needed replaced for a year because the door checks are faulty and pull out the spot welds, but they don't have doors to replace it. Same thing for a coworker of mine. What the universal EV may do however is give a 2nd life to an electric Escape and Explorer and the Mustang can move to this platform because there is no way the bean counters will be able to justify spending money on a new Mustang.
  13. smk4565
    There is no need for an EV mandate or regulation saying no ICE after 2035 or 2040 or whatever date. What will happen is China will build a Rav4 like crossover that is more reliable than a Rav4, costs less to maintain, has a longer warranty, has more horsepower, smoother and quieter motor due to being EV and it will cost $10,000 less than a Rav4. And at that point, no one will want a gas Rav4 and ICE dies for mass market cars. Some sports cars and enthusiasts cars will have ICE engines, long haul trucks will probably be diesel. There are use cases where gas or diesel make sense, but it might be 10-20% of the market.
  14. smk4565
    Stellantis could have sales drop 60% and they won't axe a single brand. Somehow these companies will get loans, investors or government bail out to stay alive. I don't t think Stellantis or Ford would go bankrupt, unless it is like what GM did in 2009, and it would allow them to cut the company in half. Ford would basically build only pick up trucks and commercial vans. Stellanis would be Jeep, Ram and Peugeot with rebadged versions as Opel and Vauxhaull depending on country. GM will be smaller too, they'll get driven out of China and South America mostly. The Chinese onslaught is coming and these guys (and Trump's government) are not ready. BYD just showed the Yangwang U9 Track Edition, it has 2,976 horsepower and costs the same as a Corvette ZR1. Dodge can bring back the Hellcat all they want, it is 2,000 hp less than a Chinese car. And China already makes an EV midsize pickup the size of a Ridgeline and it is $25,000. Legacy auto better innovate fast.
  15. smk4565
    Stellantis is in trouble for sure since they have a lot of imports and their product line already isn't great. And they can bring back the Hemi, but it makes 360 hp in 5.7 liter trim, there are 4 cylinders nearing that now. And the 6.4 Hemi is 470 hp, it is less than the Hurricane high output and is thirstier. The Durango is older than dirt, that just has dwindling sales. V8 in the Charger won't really sell any better than the 6 and the new Charger is $52k base with destination charge, with options probably $55-60k, I don't see that selling well. Hornet is gone for 2026, Pacifica is old, Alfa and Maserati are dated and undesirable and will be hit with tariffs to make it even worse. Ford will survive on F150, Transit and commercial business. They make money there. Lincoln is losing Corsair, the Nautilus is from China so tariffs with shut that down. Bronco Sport and Maverick from Mexico, tariffs are making those not so cheap anymore. I think a sales decline is looming for Ford. The universal platform maybe saves the Mustang, because the Mustang sales are in the toilet, I don't see how they keep justifying a vehicle with low volume that doesn't have a platform share.
  16. smk4565
    They didn't even show a vehicle though, just said that in 2 years we'll have a pickup around $30,000. Which probably means $30,990 plus a $1995 destination charge and you are at $33k before any options which will quickly push it to $40k. They already have the Maverick in this same space. I don't see this as a "Model T" moment. It would have to be $5k cheaper than the Maverick to get people to really start buying EV's en masse. And where do they go with this, the Chinese already make midsize EV pickups for $25,000, so you can't see it overseas because the Chinese will win on price. The Model T had years where it sold over a million units. If Ford wants their new age Model T, then the vehicle has to be so good at such a price that you can't pass it up for a Rav4 or CRV. This will be like the Equinox EV that was going to be $30k, but ended up more like $35k base and $40k for most of the ones at dealers and when the tax credit goes away sales will dry up.
  17. smk4565
    $60k SUVs with 4 cylinders is what will bring on the era of EV's. That and batteries getting cheaper. Once you can get a 400 hp EV for the same cost of a 200 hp 4-banger, ICE dies.
  18. smk4565
    I think they should have just made Denali's nicer instead of doing this Denali Ultimate. Half the trim levels are Denali now. is a Buick Avenir Ultra next? I feel like the Traverse/Enclave/Acadia is kind of a weak spot in GM. Grand Cherokee is same money (not that I'd trust Jeep reliability) Toyota has Highlander, Grand Highlander, Lexus TX, Land Cruiser, that Palisade and Telluride are good, the competition seems to have GM beat here and the GM trio is pretty new to market.
  19. smk4565
    Well all the MB-tex colors are no cost option, going to leather or Nappa leather on a GLC or GLE is an upcharge. So it does give the customer choice and also give Mercedes and opportunity to make extra profit. Even looking at the Escalade and Escalade IQ, there are 2-3 seat color options depending on the trim and the Escalade IQ is only faux leather. An Escalade should have 10+ interior colors to pick from. They have offer more customization, kind of like the Celestiq customization but in Escalade, Vistiq and Lyric. That's what Porsche does.
  20. smk4565
    Home run on the power and performance at that price point too, with the tax credit while it lasts this is a 3.5 second 0-60 car for like $61k. There is lot to like here. 300 miles would have bene nice, I don't know if they could make an eco mode to decouple a motor to increase range. Faster charging would be nice, but I think most people charge at home and won't care about that. Where this car misses, like David said is the interior choices. There are only black and that light gray leather and the dash is the same on all of them. This is a problem with a lot of Cadillacs. Every Cadillac should have 5 leather colors, 5 different dash trim options, 5 different wheel options. You have to give luxury buyers customization choices. The Lyric-V is black interior only, unless you get the Premium trim you have an option or tan. Can't have 2 choices only on an $85,000 car. The Mercedes GLC has 10 wheel options, 6 MB-tex seat options, 7 leather choices, 6 dash trim choices. And that is a bottom end Mercedes, on par with Optiq. Even if the Optiq offered 10 seat covering choices instead of 2 they still have less than the competition.
  21. smk4565
    I think that is with Employee pricing and not including the $1695 destination charge. $29,840 + $1695 destination is the new price without the employee pricing.
  22. smk4565
    The Maverick has been a hit, but the base price of the XL model was about $25k last year and is up to $31k after the first round of tariff price adjustment and I suspect the 2026 will go up again. I think in that $25-35k range the Maverick is a hit, when it gets over $40k it gets a bit steep. Much like it's Ford Escape sibling, in the low $30s it is a good deal, but not at all at $40k+.
  23. smk4565
    The problem with Infiniti (aside from they have no performance like the old days), is this car when this car is 5 years old, it will be worth about $20k, and when it is 10 years old it will be worth about $7k. So you have to be nuts to spend $50-60k on one of these.
  24. smk4565
    Staying pretty true to formula here which is smart since they sell 475,000 of these a year. And the price will go up since they are all hybrid now, but that won't slow down the sales.
  25. smk4565
    The Lexus ES is getting a FWD EV variant with about 215 hp and an AWD 338 hp EV variant. So it looks like they will use same EV powertrain for a lot of Toyota/Lexus products.
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