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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    I don’t think this is a Mercedes platform but all Aston Martin V8s are from Mercedes and so are their Nav-Infotainment systems I think.
  2. smk4565
    I can't wait for the big 4 SUV comparison of Lamborghini vs Ferrari vs Aston Martin vs McLaren and who sets the best lap times around some F1 circuit or Laguna Seca.
  3. smk4565
    This will be impressive if they pull it off. This is also the sort of thing that would get EV’s mainstream.
  4. smk4565
    I think Toyota has 5 of the top 10 highest domestic parts content cars. Camry, Highlander, Tundra and Sienna for sure are up there.
  5. smk4565
    Making the TT a sedan makes no sense. They already have A3, A4, A6, A8 sedans and a 4-door A5 and a 4-door A7. That is six 4-door cars! And yes Mercedes has six 4-doors but I feel like they can kill the CLA or CLS and not miss a beat. This is a move that just reaks of stupidity.
  6. smk4565
    Lexus GS can die off, the German sedans crush it, and Lexus has the ES which is a midsized car for less money than a GS and their buyers are fine with it. RC is a coupe of an existing model, so I don't know if that is so much it's own model, they could call it IS coupe if they wanted. The Avalon they can do without because the top trim Camry is about as nice as an Avalon, and if you want a car a little bit nicer than a Camry they have the Lexus ES which shares a platform and drivetrain with the Avalon. They need something below the Corolla I think, and if the Yaris is built by Mazda or shared however they do it, that may not really be costing Toyota much.
  7. smk4565
    And I personally have never seen an Escalade, Navigator or GLS with a trailer behind it. Although I also don't do cross country driving in the midwest where that may happen. But I feel like tow rating is about 50th on the list of considerations for which of these 3 to buy.
  8. smk4565
    The AMG has a 7500 lb tow rating. So in fact, a GLS63 could probably tow a Navigator and go 0-60 faster than a Navigator can get itself from 0-60. As far as what ballers drive, it is this because it has side pipe exhaust: And it is body on frame and tows more than a Navigator. Some other towing capacities: Mercedes GLE: 7200 lbs Cadillac XT5: 3500 lbs Lincoln Nautilis: 3000 lbs Why are Lincoln and Cadillac so far behind if they are so focused on towing needs of Americans?
  9. smk4565
    The GLS has the most torque in that segment, what is not to trust? And the G63 has as 627 lb-ft and that engine/transmission combo will go into the 2020 GLS. I also suspect towing capability is rather low on the priority list of luxury SUV buyers. The Infiniti QX56 tows 8,500 lbs, how does that thing sell?
  10. smk4565
    A V6 GLS yes, but the V8 is 5.2 seconds and the AMG is 4.5 seconds 0-60. And those should improve next year with the new model. 99% of GLS owners may not go off road but the point is they have the ability to, they engineered that in. Just like they tested it on the Nürburgring for handling. They go the extra step, the Navigator at the end of the day is an Expedition with 30 way seats and the turbo boost turned up. The Escalde would get crushed off road by a Range Rover or GLS, I have seen enough Top Gears and car shows to see those things struggle off road. In global sales the GLS wins easy, I know we are talking American market sales, the GLS out sold the previous generation Escalade, it does not now. I do think Mercedes needs to step it up on the new model, the current GLS is way old, and not in a good way like the G-Wagen where the older it got the better it sold.
  11. smk4565
    It is a higher league? The Escalade and Navigator are slow, poor handling, body on frame SUVs. The GLS has up to 577 hp and stuff like independent rear suspension which the Escalade is lacking. The GLS also offers an off road package, the other 2 do not. I do think the Aviator will do well. They sell a lot of Exploers and have for years, you get some of those people to move up to Aviator, and get some MKX/Nautilus drivers to move up, and steal some Acura MDX drivers (which sells well) and Lincoln should be able to stir up about 3,000 Aviator sales a month.
  12. smk4565
    I do think the Aviator looks like it will do well and is a huge upgrade over stuff like the MKT or MKX. The Navigator looks better and they did a good upgrade to it to get it more competitive, but look at the sales of it. Navigator has averaged about 1,000 per month all year, the Escalade easily does 2500 and is getting dated, the GLS does over 2000 per month and has been on market about 7 years without a lot of changes. The Navigator barely outsells the Continental and the Continental is on it's death bed due to low sales.
  13. smk4565
    Also consider Mercedes makes over $1.2 million in profit per hour, so all these models and variants must be a good thing. Lincoln, Cadillac, Acura, Infiniti, etc that have small lines don’t have that kind of cash flow and profit margin.
  14. smk4565
    How much is it really costing though? GM makes a Corvette convertible of which probably 95% of them sell in the USA and no other GM car shares that chassis. The 8-series will sell in Europe and China (although low volume) and is on a chassis shared with other BMWs. Plus they will sell these for $130,000, I am sure they have profit margin baked in. This car is $50,000 more than a 550i which has the same powertrain, and is about the same size. I guarantee BMW isn't spending $50k on a convertible top and interior trimmings. Yes there is tooling and manufacturing costs, but the Germans have that figured out. Wouldn't surprise me if they made $20,000 per car on these.
  15. smk4565
    If there is a recession the billionaires will just get another tax cut in the name of "job creation" I actually think a crossover convertible is stupid, but I think a lot of crossovers are stupid and people still buy them in droves. No one thinks it is dumb for GM to make a Corvette Convertible, the 8-series convertible is no different. This is a car BMW needs, because for one it is easy profit margin and because Mercedes has 3 $100k+ convertibles, BMW has to have something to offer.
  16. smk4565
    Millionaires and billionaires got a tax cut this year, they need something to spend money on. Also BMW should build an X8 crossover convertible for $150,000.
  17. smk4565
    The Aviator isn't on sale yet, and the Navigator is selling about 1,000 units per month. Where as other vehicles in that segment such as the GLS or Escalade that are much older can easily sell at double that rate. The Navigator starts at $73,000, it maxes at $100k, and there are plenty of SUV's that cost way more than that.
  18. smk4565
    I said when they launched this program that it wouldn't work. It is too expensive to pay $1800 a month to drive a car that you can lease for $600. Plus people tend to hate changing cars, they get one and stick with it. A subscription plan only works if you pay a monthly fee to have an autonomous car pick you up and take you were you need to go, sort of like unlimited Uber for a monthly flat rate. People would pay for that to replace having to own a car.
  19. smk4565
    As far as range anxiety, how often do people's phone's hit 0% battery? People remember to charge their phone, they will remember to plug in their car. And with wireless charging, you don't even plug in, you can just park it in the garage. Plus we are probably 5 years away from being able to charge a battery as fast as one can fill a tank with gas.
  20. smk4565
    It is a bad run to be sure, but they are still #1, no one passed them after 5 crap months. I would be more worried if they fell from #1, but the lack of 2019 models is what is hurting. It isn't that people don't want their cars, although they are losing potential sales by not having product. I just looked at the inventory of my local dealer, they have fifty 2019 cars on the lot: 14 E-class, 10 C-class, 5 S-class 7 GLS, 6 GLE, 4 GLC, 2 GLA CLA, A-class, CLS, G-wagen, SL, AMG GT they have a combined 1 car, a CLS that is so new it doesn't have a picture or price. They have nine 2018's left, so those are pretty much cleaned out. Small SUV is the hottest segment, they barely have any. The only things that seem well stocked are E-class and GLS.
  21. smk4565
    The Model 3 has 5 more cubic feet in the trunk plus the Model 3 has the small trunk up front too, where the Volt has an engine. I have not been in a model 3 but I assume no center tunnel for exhaust exists either.
  22. smk4565
    Mercedes is the #1 selling luxury brand YTD, they are down but they aren’t losing to anyone else. It isn’t like these buyers are fleeing to somewhere else, they are more likely waiting for the model they want to be in inventory. The manufacturing and production people are the ones that need to step their game up to get all this new product out.
  23. smk4565
    Here is an article from Automotive news from August 2018 that says Mercedes has a 45 day supply of cars, 2nd lowest of any brand, behind Subaru. They have demand, they need the 2019 refresh e-class, CLS, A-class, G-class that are on sale in Europe to be at dealers here. http://www.autonews.com/article/20180813/RETAIL01/180819951/subaru-inventory-2018-u.s.
  24. smk4565
    They don't need extra incentives, there is not a demand problem, their sales problem is not enough inventory. Maybe they will put incentives on the remaining GLE/GLS during the winter to blow them out, but that depends on how quickly the new generation GLE hits dealers.
  25. smk4565
    Take off 30,000 car sales next year and these numbers will look even worse. Lincoln is about dead in the water, the Navigator is supposed to be their star and it is their 4th best seller (granted it is their most expensive). There will be a new GLS and the X7 on sale soon, a new Escalade at some point, this Navigator probably won't see an update until 2023, by 2020 it will be back to selling 700 units a month and basically a non factor.
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