smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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Industry News: More Luxury Car Buyers Are Moving to Trucks and SUVs
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Industry News
I think a lot of the growth is due to pick ups being more and more expensive, and cars in general being more expensive. BMW and Mercedes have had record sales years the past 4 or so years in the USA, so it isn't like they are losing ground. 25 years ago a Cadillac Eldorado was $32,000, today that is V6 Camry. A lot of people trading luxury sedans are going to luxury SUVs, and the Europeans make a ton of luxury SUVs. I think the Japanese brands are more behind on this trend other than the Lexus RX going strong. And for as much money as GME makes on Denali, I bet if Cadillac had all those SUVs they'd be making even more. -
It has an inline 4. ???
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Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 Review
smk4565 replied to cp-the-nerd's topic in Product Questions and Reviews
I got these a couple months ago, I actually bought through the dealer because they had $150 off any set of 4 tires deal and I think it was about $900 installed for a staggered size 18 inch low profile set. I thought that was pretty good because the Michelin Pilot Sport and Pirelli P-Zero were around $100 more. I think these tires are great, I had Hankook and Pirelli tires in the past, these ride and handle better, and surprisingly I think these do about as well in snow as the Bridgestone Blizzak tires I used to use in winter. I'd recommend the Continentals for sure.- 9 replies
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It seems a bit pricey, but I'd have to sit in one and look at the features of it vs the Atlas, Traverse, Pilot, etc. But it seems like a lot for a 4 cylinder SUV and a Subaru.
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I've had these as loaner cars, in around town or highway when you are under 3,000 rpm which is most driving you can't hear too much and there isn't any vibration or shake from the engine at any speed really. But north of 3,000 rpm it is kind of harsh and noisy as all 4-bangers are. I think with an inline six this car would be epic. My biggest complaint of the C-class is the electric power steering, in comfort mode it is too light and vague, in sport it feels sharper but also feels sort of stiff, and no matter what mode you put it in, the steering isn't as good as my E550. Airmatic is worth every penny, a brand new Mercedes without ride rides worse than my 10 year old Mercedes with it.
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More standard equipment and semi autonomous driving tech is nice. But I'd like to see the 48 volt electric system with the updated 4 cylinder engine.
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BMW should make an X9, the world’s first 4 row crossover.
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And this is confirmed now, they are skipping it. But who needs it, they just introduced a mid cycle refresh of the C-class and Maybach and an AMG G63 at the Geneva show. Lots of places to show off product, and the USA is the #3 sales market for Mercedes behind Europe and China.
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That is true, but you would need a ton of road to get to 145 mph, where as a car with an 8 speed auto can whip through gears and accelerate much faster. That was more my point, the trip from 0-150 in a 4 speed auto is going to be a lot longer than 0-150 with an 8 speed with the same horsepower. And depends on what you do to modify the GTO, if it has a 2015 engine and transmission in it, then of course it would beat a Camry, but a V6 Camry could beat some 80s Ferraris in a drag race, I think the 308 had a 6.4 second 0-60 time, which was lighting for the time, but family car today.
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You know, they better make an X8 crossover coupe, preferably with 2 doors but as large as an X7. Because there is no idea too stupid when it comes to crossover sales.
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I never built or raced a car, I have had mine to about 125 mph which is does pretty easily, and I forget what gear it was in at the time. I had a GM 4 speed in my last car, you get stuck in those tall gears for way too long. I'll stick with my 7-speed.
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But the Model S can seat 5 adults and 2 kids and it has 2 trunks.
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150 mph in a 4 speed automatic vehicle? I doubt it, even with a tuned up engine. Unless the custom tranny is a 6 speed at least. But even then, it goes back to my list of 500+ hp vehicles that have 7 or 8 speed transmissions and that is what you need to get an SUV to that speed.
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The EV platform design does do wonders for interior space, see any Tesla as proof of that. I know Mercedes will have EVs on a skateboard style chassis with the first on sale in 2019, the Asian car makers seem behind.
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Mercedes-AMG did trademark G73 and GLS73, so there should be a version above this G63 coming that will add an electric motor to the V8. I think a wave of high performance SUVs are coming, but 5 years ago I bet you could have counted the number of 150 mph SUVs on one hand.
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Agreed and they for sure compete because they are similar size and prize. The GLS has more 3rd row leg room than an Escalade or Navigator, and it beats the Escalade by a wide margin actually because the unibody design. And most people won't know the difference in construction under the sheet metal. What is concerning for the Escalade and Navigator is the Fleetwood and Town Car were once their own category and they died when superior unibody luxury sedans that did everything better ran them out of business. I think Cadillac needs an Omega based SUV in a bad way.
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How many SUVs can do 150 mph? The Porsche SUVs can in top trim, the Bentayga, AMG and M SUVs can easily do it, and the Stelvio Quadrifiglio, Maserati Levante and Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, and I think there is a Ranger Rover SVR, but I don't know if they even sell it here. I guess there are more than I thought, with Ferrari and Lamborghini joining soon, but still, most of the cars on that list are really low volume.
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I don’t like the Panamericana grill on any of their cars, other than that I like it. I imagine this thing must be terrifying to drive at 149 mph.
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They will fix the fuel economy with the inline six and weight reduction of the new platform, and most of the competition has last decade’s V8 so this isn’t a segment where fuel economy matter that much. And even if the new interior is E-class level it will be the best in segment and it will probably be more like S-class level. This is an area that needs addressed because the GLE/GLS dashes are way behind the rest of the Mercedes line.
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The Mercedes GL/GLS has outsold the Navigator for 11 years in a row, that has been no contest for a long time. The GLS outsold the Escalade in 2011, 2012, and 2013 in the USA, I imagine with European and Chinese market sales the GLS is the #1 selling full size luxury SUV in the world. The X7 is in an uphill battle being new, but they'll sell them in China where there is no Escalade and I think they can make a dent in the USA. What will be interesting is to see if Lexus and Infiniti stay at this segment or just fold up shop, because you'll have an all new GLS in 2019 and this all new X7 and an all new Audi Q8 and the Germans can be quite relentless, and they'll ride better, handle better, have more performance, and more tech than those dinosaurs. And how will the Escalade and Navigator hold up to new competition?
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They need this badly with how the Navigator is selling. These big SUVs are a small segment compared to small SUV but big time cash cows. And BMW can’t have their M5 and 7-series owners going to another brand for an SUV.
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Chicago 2018: 2018 Fiat 500 Becomes All Turbo: Comments
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Chicago Auto Show (CAS)
I think 500’s had no resale anyway and making the turbo standard makes it easier on production to just build one engine and most cars over time see a power in tin the base model. This won’t move sales any but fewer build combos will save them money. -
Some of these auto shows are quite expensive, and a lot of car companies go to CES in Vegas which is at the same time as Detroit. Then you have Frankfurt, Geneva and Paris auto shows, Shanghai auto show, Chicago, LA, New York, etc. Every month there is a big auto show so unless you have a dozen new models to show, you don't really need to go to all these. Especially when most marketing is done online.
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I think the hatchback style is a plus for the added cargo room, although I wonder if these hatch style cars are louder than a car with a separate trunk. At any rate, it is still going to be over priced. The Arteon is 5 inches longer than an A4, so it isn't like you are getting full size car for the price of a small Audi, the Arteon is smaller than a Malibu, Camry or Accord. This is a $40,000 mid-size sedan, and this is why the CC sold 3,000 units in 2016.
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It looks pretty good but I read a rumored base price of $37,000 so why not just buy an A4 with the same engine for the same money?
