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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    You don't need a ton of models, but you need models in 2 of the top 3 largest segments. Daimler got Chrysler rear drive full size sedans, a halo sports car, a revamped Grand Cherokee. Dodge/Chrysler had to come up with small and mid-size sedan and they let the Sebring stick around 5 years too may and brought out the Dodge Caliber. What a mess. The one hit they had was the PT Cruiser and that was a Diamler era car. I am all for 3 basic platforms, but how can a main line car company not have a small sedan or a mid-size family sedan? FCA still has all their investment in the large sedan category, the one that is shrinking the fastest.
  2. smk4565
    Since they are independent they will want one in their line. They probably have people that would pay $300k for a Ferrari SUV so they might as well take their money.
  3. smk4565
    Well it is all history now. And I don't see Chrysler-Dodge as viable brands past 2022. Large sedan market overall is collapsing, they don't have a small or mid size sedan, no small crossovers, no EV. Case in point this "new" 2018 product has a V8 from 10 years ago. Imagine if GM cancelled the Malibu and Cruze and dropped a Z06 engine into a Tahoe because it was "badass" and could do burn outs and have a midnight edition with red brake calipers. That is basically the FCA play book.
  4. smk4565
    No, I said Daimler never should have bought them. After they did, they did help Chrysler out, but when Jurgen Schrumf or whatever his name was, was let go, and Dieter Zetsche took over, they started to look on how to get out of it, so at that point they weren't going to pump money into Chrysler. At least they got new products like the Pacifica, Crossfire, 300 into Chrysler. FCA is taking Chrysler and Dodge down to about 2-3 vehicles each, and they don't have any plants to replace or update the 300/Charger until 2022 I think. And you know they will lag on autonomous cars and electric cars because that stuff costs money.
  5. smk4565
    First off, Daimler should have never bought Chrysler to begin with. It was a bad idea and the people who thought it was a good idea got fired and the people in charge now are the ones that got them out of it. I never said the Durango should have a 4-cylinder, it needs a big engine because it is a big, heavy vehicle. But Dodge-Chrysler brands as a whole don't have small and medium vehicles or a good 4 cylinder which is the majority of the market. Even Jeep sales are down this year while crossovers are fire.
  6. smk4565
    Daimler gave them the Crossfire, a Mercedes mechanical twin, they gave them the 5 speed auto for rear drive cars, the Grand Cherokee platform and the LX platform. Chrysler let that stuff rot since they are still using it 15 years later. If not for Daimler Chrysler would still be selling front drive Concordes and Stratuses.
  7. smk4565
    I would be fine with trading the V8 for a bi-turbo V6. An E43 adds about 15 hp to my engine with the same torque, adds about 3 mpg, and the car is quicker. I wouldn't feel like a need a 5.5 liter engine if a 3.0 turbo can do the job. That being said I would take a turbo V8 over a turbo V6 also. I've driven the C300 and GLC300 with the turbo 4 vs the old V6, I think the 2.0T is fine, it doesn't feel stressed or like there isn't enough power, if you put your foot down the turbo kicks in and you get the torque, and the car moves adequately, it doesn't feel laggy. Maybe the 4 lacks a little refinement of the V6 at higher rpm. But there is a fuel economy gain to be had too. I always felt like the Infiniti G37 needed to be revved up to get anything out of it, the CTS 3.6 always felt sluggish to me if it wasn't at 4,000 rpm. All these V6s should go to turbo, Infiniti has since I last drove one of their cars, but the rest need to. They can put an Alfa Romeo 2 liter in a Charger, Wrangler, 300, etc and then turbocharge the Pentastar as an upgrade. That 6.4 liter Hemi in the Durango is so dated it makes less hp and torque than a 2.9 liter V6 from the same company. And the Hemi has more than twice the displacement! That is embarrassing.
  8. smk4565
    But the Pentastar makes peak torque at 4,800 rpm. How often in normal driving are you at 4,800 rpm? The Giulia has 306 lb-ft at 2,000 rpm, and most people are always round 2,000 rpm, and accessing full torque. This is why the 2 liter Giulia can equal a 5.7 liter Hemi V8 Charger/300 0-60. This will be even more amplified with electric turbos that don't need exhaust pressure to spool up. The new Mercedes inline six with that can spool the turbo to 70,000 rpm in 0.3 seconds, so that is pretty quick, I doubt the Pentastar can get from 1,000 to 4,800 rpm in .3 seconds. I thought the Aurora was a really good car, it had a few thousand dollars in repairs around 100k miles, then was pretty good until I got up around 140-150k miles and it was going to need more work, and just wasn't worth keeping anymore. Silky smooth V8 in those with ash Northstar get outta my way roar. It wasn't the most powerful or fastest car, the 0-60 was like 7.4 seconds, but it sounded good. That car suffered from the 4 speed auto, even if it had a 5 speed auto it would have been a big improvement.
  9. smk4565
    Yes, the Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 that I drove for 10 years.
  10. smk4565
    I've driven a 300 with the Pentastar, wasn't impressed. I'd take a Honda or Infiniti V6 over it, and the GM 3.6, and maybe the Pentastar is as good as the 3.5 V6 Ford had in the old MKZ. Here's another problem though, the Pentastar V6 still has to be used in a lot of cars who's competitors have turbo 4's making similar torque with better MPG. Even in their own company, the Alfa Romeo 4 cylinder gets better mileage with more torque.
  11. smk4565
    G-wagen is one product, and they left it like that because that is what the people buying it want. The rest of their line is pretty fresh. FCA is still selling cars based off a 90s E-class. Their newest engine is the Pentastar V6 which came out 7 years ago. The Hemi in these SRT's and in the 5.7 liter form are over 10 years old. And in a way Sergio is smart for doing it. If he starves Dodge and Chrysler of new product, he milks the current stuff for every last dollar without spending any money, and in time he can kill one model after another, until nothing is left. Then he can finally get his merger with someone else because he sees Jeep and Alfa as his merger bait.
  12. smk4565
    It isn't the fastest or most powerful 3 row SUV sold in America, maybe the fastest build by FCA, Ford or GM. But there are 3 row European SUVs that are faster. But this is the FCA playbook, take old dated product, drop a big engine in and hope it stirs enough excitement to get people into dealerships, then dish out the $10,000 rebates to move metal. And agreed that in a couple years these will be half the price on the used market.
  13. smk4565
    Sheetz is a good place for EV charge stations, because they want people hanging out there eating anyway. I imagine a lot of people spend a half hour or so in there getting their MTO sandwich and 32 ounce sodas.
  14. smk4565
    Charge at home. Problem solved. I can see battery tech offering 400-500 mile range in the 2020s, that is a solid 8 hours of non stop driving, and people just don't drive that much in a day. When gasoline sales drop to 1950s level what are all those gas stations going to do? Sheetz will be okay because they make their money on food anyway. But the rest better start selling electricity refills or they'll be out of business.
  15. smk4565
    Really, the S-class is in a class of it's own. I would guess the ATP of a 5-series is rather similar to the CT6 ATP.
  16. smk4565
    We aren't all that far away from the day when an electric car costs less than the gasoline car, and then gas cars are finished.
  17. smk4565
    If they go to all electric then they don't really need the hybrid. I imagine they will have to offer electric and the V12 side by side for a while to see how each sells.
  18. smk4565
    FCA has terrible reliability too. I get that some like a big rear drive car and they are the only game in town. But when you look at Impala, Cadenza, Avalon, Taurus sales they are tanking. FCA has no small or mid size car, ignoring the 2 largest car segments. It is a miracle called Jeep that they are even still in business.
  19. smk4565
    The EU car companies are running away from ICE like it is the plague and toward EV's like it is the second coming. But i am all for it. Bring on the future.
  20. smk4565
    But the 5-series outsold the CT6 4 to 1 and they cost the same. In fact the 5-series can go over $100k and has 2 V8s. Cadillac doesn't have a sedan that covers the 7-series price range, other than a loaded to the max CT6 vs a 740i. But you can load up a Camry to Cadillac ATS price, I wouldn't call them competitors either.
  21. smk4565
    I am not saying Chevy should drop the Corvette or anything. But do they need a Sonic and Cruze? Or could those merge into one product? Impala is going to die just because the segment is. Personally, I would down size the Cruze and kill the Sonic, offer, a 3 door, 5 door and a sedan of it. Downsize the Malibu to about 185 inches long, cut the price to $19k base, and I would downsize the Impala to the size of the current Malibu and cut the price to $23k base.
  22. smk4565
    A brand like Chevy that is full line could support 6 crossovers. Crossovers outsell sedans and coupes combined and look at how many sedans and coupes Chevy has. Once they start dropping car lines, they will put more crossovers in.
  23. smk4565
    I am shocked that they can still sell 6000+ Challengers a month. Even if a lot are fleet sales, who is buying a a big coupe like that. I am surprised they sell that many 300s too and that the Dart and 200 are still on sale, they stopped building them like a year ago. Really I am surprised that FCA sells over 100,000 a month, half these products shouldn't even be on the market they are so old.
  24. smk4565
    Subaru has done something like double is American market sales since 2007 or 2008. They do a good job pushing the safety with all wheel drive and eye sight, and I think there is a lot of appeal with that brand to older buyers you like that sort of security.
  25. smk4565
    The Atlas and Tiguan will drive growth. They could get another crossover under Tiguan. Hard to get any sales momentum with hatchbacks and small sedans, that is why VW h as struggled for so long. And Audi keeps growing because they have 5 or 6 crossovers .
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