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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The Chinese are showing an EV that has a 435 mile range and 0-60 in under 4 seconds at the LA Auto show. I don't know what this thing will cost, but once they get the cost figured out, they'll probably import those things and sell some cars.
  2. smk4565
    Here is the problem with the N performance brand (besides the general public having no clue what it is), any high power Hyundai is going to be less than a Genesis, or end up with the same engine for the same money as a Genesis. What is Hyundai going to do, make a sedan with a 5.0 liter V8 and charge $50k for it? They tried that and it doesn't sell even with an upscale badge on it. Plus the whole Hyundai line is front drive cars, so you can't do anything with much performance on those, a turbo 4 basically maxes out what those chassis can handle. They could do a coupe version of the G70/Stinger but those probably aren't hot sellers so how poorly will a more expensive coupe sell? The beancounters know all this, that is why nothing good will ever get off the ground. Notice there isn't a twin turbo version of the 5.0 liter V8 making 600+ hp in the Stinger, G80 and G70 sedans, why not? Beancounters.
  3. smk4565
    This is a good move by them, 100 times better to do it in summer rather than winter. Because Auto shows now are more about an entertainment event, and they can do outdoor car cruises, food trucks, bouncy castles or whatever. You don't need the auto show to show off new cars like you did 30 years ago, because they are all on the Internet before the show ever happens.
  4. smk4565
    Sergio did pull Fiat out of bankruptcy and they profited billions from the sale of Ferrari. FCA is still stuck with 2 brands that make money and several that don't, and Maserati is something he wanted to spin off to make a cash grab. I think this company is a mess because they don't have EV's and driverless cars in the works, so they are way behind. Altavilla resigned today also. So we'll see what happens now without the CEO and COO there.
  5. smk4565
    I think it will be near impossible to revoke California's waiver, because CARB pre-dates the EPA and any other agency, and what legal authority do they have to revoke it? Then you get into a political situation where most conservatives will advocate a smaller federal government with states having more power, this does the opposite, it is revoking a state's ability to set laws. As far as the cars go themselves, if these automakers want to lobby for low standards so they can keep their profits up in the short term, you'd think the'd remember what happened in the 1970s. Detroit didn't want to build fuel efficient, they just wanted to make big V8s to get a profit, and the door was left wide open for the Japanese to come in and clean their clocks. China is going to go all EV, and in 10-15 years they'll have EV's that are like today's Tesla at Chevy prices and they will flood this country unless GM, Ford, Toyota, etc beat them too it.
  6. smk4565
    I read Sergio is in extremely serious condition, it sounds like there is nothing they can do for him. A very sad situation. As far as FCA goes, these big corporations usually plan a new CEO at least a year in advance, a sudden change like this can send shockwaves through a company. This is shocking news that the guy who turned around Fiat and has been regarded as one of the great automotive leaders is now gone from the company. Could be a tough year for them ahead.
  7. smk4565
    Jeep is the strongest brand they have so it makes sense. FCA still has the same owner though, so I don't think the product roadmap or plans for their path forward changes at all.
  8. smk4565
    The 5.7 Hemi is probably the worst V8 on the market. If the super dated Nissan 5.6 liter V8 is still around throw that in there too. Most V8s now are in the 450 hp range. If you are going to put a V8 in a car and charge a price premium for it get V8 mileage then you shouldn’t get V6 horsepower. The Corvette had a 400 hp V8 in 2006, the Hemi is still behind that.
  9. smk4565
    Can they build an IS on a Supra platform or would that require BMW's permission? At which point BMW may not want that 3-series competition and veto that idea. The LS and LC are brand new but not selling that well. Combined they are at 4,385 for the first half of the year, the S-class is at 8,425 and Lexus is undercutting Mercedes in price by $15,000 on the sedan and $32,000 on the coupe. Imagine when the LC and LS sit around for 5 years with no improvements, the last LS went 10 years with the same 4.6 liter V8, 10 years! The GS for the year sold less units than the E-class sells in a month, the GS is dead in the water, another car that has gone too long with no powertrain improvements and all they did was put an ugly grill with boy racer looks on the outside with a chopped up mess of an interior on the inside. The RC sells even worse than the GS.
  10. smk4565
    I predict a 100% chance of a Hellcat Grand Wagoneer happening, I am shocked there isn't a Hellcat Ram pick up yet. This is FCA's one trick and they'll keep playing it as long as they can. This is the only way they know how to get profit margin on a car, but eventually this will run it's course and these Hellcat V8s that get 11 mpg will be getting smoked by every electric car on the market and no one will want them anymore. Once upon a time, GM thought the way to make profit margin was to drop Northstar V8s in Bonnevilles and Lucernes, and 5.3 V8s into Impalas and Monte Carlos and throw lots of SS badging on them. No one wants those cars now, and the modern turbo 4 sedans outrun most of those beasts. The same will happen with all these Hemi vehicles, some of which are 365 hp from a 5.7 liter V8, there are 2 liter engines making more than that now.
  11. smk4565
    Well the ES is the same size as the GS, so they can just keep the IS as a small car, ES is mid-size already and the LS sticks around to sell its 500 cars a month. The LX and GX are sales dogs, I can't see them lasting much longer, LX might since Toyota will probably keep the Land Cruiser. But when you look at LX, GX, LC, LS those combined are like 30,000 units a year, there is no volume there, which is why Toyota has lets those vehicles on market for ever to die on the vine. The previous LS went nearly 10 years before a major overhaul and that is their flagship and original Lexus, now they barely pay attention to it.
  12. smk4565
    Which is how many Lexus if the GS dies like is rumored and the IS may or may not get another generation, and even if it does the majority would be 4 cylinder models. So now they are making an I-6 for the Supra, and LS500 because 80% of Lexus sales are fwd crossovers and grandpa's ES350. Lexus is stuck with the Camry platform and V6 because that is where the Toyota volume comes from. If Toyota had rear drive platforms and engines suitable for a sports car they wouldn't need BMW to do it for them. And if the Supra is priced anywhere near a Corvette they are delusional.
  13. smk4565
    A Kia Stinger starts at $31k for the turbo 4 and $43k for the V6 and it has similar horsepower to the Supra. Plus it is a larger car and we don't know what the Supra's interior is, but I imagine it isn't BMW level and is more Kia level. With that being said, I think around $31k for the base Supra and $39k for the inline six seems logical. If they go higher it won't sell.
  14. smk4565
    But Toyota doesn't make straight six and never will since they can't use it in the Camry/Highlander/Sienna, so the Toyota transverse mounted 3.5 V6 will live on another 10 years.
  15. smk4565
    I think a Z4 with a BMW nose would sell better than a Z4 with a Toyota nose. I still wonder how they will price the Supra, I feel like they will price it too high.
  16. smk4565
    Japan lost the same war. And Lexus wants to talk about F as serious performance but compared to Porsche, Ferrari, or an AMG or M car they are nothing. Mostly F-sport is just a trim level on an RX350.
  17. smk4565
    These guys don’t know how to do performance. What racing league have they ever won? I think still to this day Lexus has never made a car with 450 lb-ft of torque and that is the stuff that makes you go. When F sport has at 10 models with over 500 hp I’ll take them seriously. Right now they have zero. AMG has like 25 cars with 500+ hp.
  18. smk4565
    Seems like a very competitive price for that level of performance. I am excited for when all these EV’s hit.
  19. smk4565
    An electric van would make sense. If the City Express was a Chrysler product they would just drop a Hellcat V8 in there and sell it 2 more years.
  20. smk4565
    I would like to see what they come up with, it would be nice to have an AMG car that isn’t a $125,000 V8 car. Their board seems to approve everything else, so I don’t know what would stop them here.
  21. smk4565
    Every auto maker is dumping diesel in favor of electric cars. This breaking news is on par with news of water being wet.
  22. smk4565
    People don't want small cars, they don't need more in their line ups, so from the consumer standpoint I get not going forward with it. The bigger story here is the trade wars and tariffs. Companies are afraid to expand and put forth new investment dollars, which will slow economies and slow job growth. Because first these 2 cancel a project, then Ford does, then GM does, then VW does, etc And it becomes a huge ripple effect when they all pull back.
  23. smk4565
    They make 5 different Range Rovers so they can move it up market. But they aren't going to get it to Bentley territory. Because now you have "Range Rovers" that start under $50k, it is a bit diluted. I feel like changes are super gradual with the Range Rover though, and it takes a decade for something to change on them.
  24. smk4565
    A halo car doesn't have to be a coupe, or hatch if that is what this is, but I don't think Cadillac is building this to replace the ATS. So I am guessing they want something at the top of the range with this.
  25. smk4565
    They did have the SL in the 1970s, plus the 600 Grosser. The W123 E-class did offer a 182 hp inline six, that puts it in line with the 180 hp V8 Cadillac Seville of the late 70s and more powerful than the Lincoln Versailles of the era, even though the E-class was a much smaller car than those. The W123 E-class was a mid-size car for the day, it is like today's C-class in size, but that is 40 years of evolution.
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