smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)GM sells 4 or 5 vehicles for every 1 Daimler sells, so them making equal profit would suggest Daimler does a better job. Mercedes ran something like a million simulations to see if there was any benefit in efficiency of a 10 speed to a 9 speed, and there was not, so that is why they made a 9-speed. They already build a convertible Maybach G-Wagen. The G-class is also not the flagship Mercedes, the S-class is, always has been and is stated so on the Mercedes website.
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I actually think 20-30 miles is plenty of range for a plug-in hybrid because you aren’t going to be in EV only that much and a lot of commutes are less than 20 miles anyway. The problem with any plugin even if it had 100 mile range is you still have 2 power systems and you still burn gas. A mild hybrid almost makes more sense from a cost-benefit standpoint until you can switch to full electric.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)Hahaha, the G-Wagen should never change. That box on wheels is here to stay because that is what the G-class buyers want. It set a global sales record in 2016, I imagine when the 2017 global numbers are out it will outdo 2016. It is plenty modern, the chassis is brand new, the 4.0 V8 and 9-speed first came out in 2016, it has current Mercedes interior trim and electronics. What Cadillac fans don’t get is the Escalade doesn’t compete with the G-Wagen and if Cadillac wants to then they need a product above the Escalade, but Cadillac/GM management thinks no SUV at GM can be above the Escalade, just like no sports car can be above the Corvette. This kills Cadillac when trying to take on high end cars.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)The G-class isn’t changing it’s look, just like the Wrangler has looked the same for 50 years. And it now is on a 2018 so all of a sudden the G-Wagen has the most modern chassis in the industry. And the GLB will feel nothing like a G-Wagen, plus the GLE is the same size as the G-Wagen, half the price and has been more modern than it the past 15 years and G-wagen sales went up every year. What Mercedes is doing is similar to what Jeep has done, they can run 2 styling themes on SUVs, one boxy and off road like Wrangler and Renegade, one more smoother out like Compass and Cherokee and both can work.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)Not sure how it is a lost opportunity when they are building an SUV based on that concept.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)First off, as I said, the Ener-G Concept was not meant to be the G-Wagen, that was a electric fuel cell concept which obviously isn’t commercially viable from a powertrain standpoint. They are building a GLB crossover in 2019 based on that concept, so the masses will line up to get a mini G-Wagen. The current G-Wagen has more rear seat legroom than the Escalade, the new G-Wagen is getting 5.9 inches more so no problem there. And keep in mind the G-Wagen is a mid-size SUV.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)The Concept G from a few years ago was never meant to be a new G-Wagen, the G-class is what it is, they aren’t going to mess with the formula. There has been talk that the Concept G will turn into a GLB boxy, off road looking crossover in the mid $30s price range.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)Max water fording depth is up to 27.5 inches on the new one, that is insane. Anyone that buys a G-Wagen should take it off road at least once a year. Even if you are a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills wannabe celeb driving this thing, it is a total waste of you don’t drive it up a mountain or over a sand dune or through a brick wall or something. The new model is said to be roomier on the inside it, and several hundred pounds lighter, same exterior size.
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When you think Cadillac you think Escalade, it has the best reputation of any product they have which is why it is a class leader in sales and the sedans they make are dead in the water. No image on those sedans. To Cmicasa’s point, yes there should be a CT6-V already and I think they held back on the interior, they should have gone way more upscale with it. $128k for a top end sedan is still too low, unless that is before the options list gets it over $150k. As far as the G-Wagen goes, the new one looks identical with LED headlights, and they fixed all the technology and ergonomic issues that resulted from a 1979 platform. The sales will continue to rise
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I am saying that a lot of Americans like big trucks, whether it be pickups, Tahoes or Expeditions. I suspect a lot of Escalade buyers come from truck buyers more so than they come from people trading in a CTS or XTS or any other sedan. And those American truck buyers aren’t likely to buy an import. Plus Navigator sales have dropped a lot since 2010ish which probably helped the Escalade too. The GL has had years when it outsold the Escalade, and there is a new model coming later this year, I think they can outsell the Escalade with it. But as I have said many times, the Escalade is executed and marketed really well, it is the one vehicle Cadillac gets right and it is a bit of an icon. I also think for 15 or so years the Escalade was the biggest most expensive SUV so it was a status symbol, but now that Bentley, Rolls, Maserati, Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari soon, are getting in the SUV game that is over. Which is why Cadillac needs an SUV above the Escalade but that would jack up their stupid naming system.
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The GLS starts cheaper than the Escalade but goes up higher than the Escalade. There is a vehicle above GLS that could take sales from it (which is a good thing) but I think mostly the Escalade has been in the USA longer and Americans love pickups and Tahoe’s so it has a good feeder base of buyers.
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It isn’t about chasing volume but building better product to still have sales without having to give huge discounts to clear dealer lots. The XT5 was down, (Acura and Lincoln SUVs down too) the Q5 and GLC were up and closing in the XT5 sales volume. These front drive crossovers are dripping just like the front drive luxury sedans did, the rear drive performance crossovers are going to take over in time.
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CT6 should have been nicer and more powerful, but even as it stands is is about 2/3 the price of an Escalade, that is why it should outsell it or sell even at least. CT6 does not have sales figures that rival the German sedan of equal price, CT6 is priced like a 5-Series or E-class both of which topped 5,000 units last month.
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smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in North American International Auto Show in Detroit (NAIAS)Problem: people are moving away from sedans for crossovers with higher seating position and more cargo space. Solution: make sedan lower with sloping roofline and less passenger and cargo space. Good luck with that.
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S-class had a refresh this year and sales dropped in summer and they didn’t have the V6 model until a couple months ago. No worries on its volume especially with the profit margin of that car. SLC needs to die, SL will never die, I think they should retro style it like they do with the G-wagon and give it the 1954 300SL look.
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