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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Hybrid CR-V is a no brainer when it is probably going to be their top seller for the near future. Really crossover market is where to go with hybrids because you have a larger vehicle that you can charge more for easier to sell a hybrid CR-V than a hybrid Civic. Rumor is they are doing a 5 passenger Pilot too to slot in between CR-V and the current Pilot.
  2. smk4565
    Why not build Porsche 911 with no gas engine, just put a 450 hp electric motor in back and a battery in the floor.
  3. smk4565
    Good points all around, the EVs are coming. The air quality problems in china will push them to EV, Europe is going there too. And one the EVs are more viable in 5-10 years I bet the displacement taxes go up in China to kill off engines over 2 liters. Porsche needs to get on the electric SUV bandwagon and they can share engineering with Audi and Bentley which makes it pretty easy. The 911 can work as an electric car too they can still put the motor in the back.
  4. smk4565
    I think a smart move would be for them to go heavy on the luxury side and less so on the performance side. They will never out performance the Germans, so better off to focus on luxury and go after buyers that don't care about performance. Lincoln is trying to do that, but with Ford front drive chassis, Hyundai actually has some rear drive platforms that they can give a good ride quality too.
  5. smk4565
    I am not writing them off, I liked the original Genesis a lot. But you have to have some sales volume to gain traction and look desirable. Hard to judge them when they only have alt a line up, but their interiors aren't as good as European competition and they don't have turbos on their V8. They still have that nice Hyundai vibe but they aren't charging Hyundai prices.
  6. smk4565
    Well yes, every Audi, BMW and Mercedes is all wheel drive around me (except mine is rwd). People gobble up all wheel drive luxury sedans, and Subaru does well in Pittsburgh too. But for mainstream cars people want the crossover.
  7. smk4565
    I don't like the headlights and front end on the A-class concept, it looks too much like an Audi or Kia, and I don't care for the vertical bar grille, the horizontal grill worked pretty well the past 60 years. I do like the S-class, not much changed but I think it looks good how it is. I like the 4.0 V8 replacing the 4.7 and 5.5 liter engines. I wanted to see the inline six debut here, rather than use the 3 liter V6. The car does need a 6 cylinder option in the US, I think they miss out on sales by starting where the others have their top end model.
  8. smk4565
    Hard to build any credibility if you don't sell any cars.
  9. smk4565
    People in the snow belt buy all wheel drive in the form of a crossover. I have heard multiple people they say they bought a crossover for the snow, and they probably didn't even consider an all wheel drive car. Also remember back when the Regal GS had a supercharged V6 it had 240 hp. A turbo 4 easily beats that. And back then a Cadillac had a V8, now they even have turbo 4's and V6s. And the large car segment everywhere is down, as every brand made their mid size car bigger and more luxurious it made the large sedan pointless. Plus a mid size crossover replaces a large sedan just as a small crossover is replacing mid size sedans.
  10. smk4565
    Not to mention the 3.6 has no torque unless you wind it up to 5,000 RPM. But in a Regal or any other front wheel driver car, over 300 hp is pointless. Which is going to make front drive V6 cars obsolete around 2022 (maybe sooner) because turbo 4s will be able to max out what a front drive car can handle very soon. Now if they want to make a Buick on Alpha or Omega, then different story and bring on the turbo V6. I think Cadillac should drop the 3.6 like a sack of dirt, and go with all turbos. And really they should have e-turbos on the way.
  11. smk4565
    Yes, all true. And that was back when sedans sold, and now sedans are like 25% of the total market.
  12. smk4565
    Probably going after the Acura TLX and Maxima that offer a V6. Eventually I bet they merge Regal and Lacrosse into one sedan, they are awfully close to each other at this point and the sales of either won't be that high. Especially when they lose input from Opel, Buick might just go with 1 sedan and 3-4 crossovers post 2020, or maybe add a version of the Volt as their 2nd car.
  13. smk4565
    Not sure that would fit under the hood of an E-class or AMG GT.
  14. smk4565
    Basically all of Mercedes gas cars will be light hybrids with a 15 or 20 hp electric motor and no more alternator or tradional starter motor. I am not sure how it is all going to work but the 2018 S-class is supposed to be the first car with it.
  15. smk4565
    Every car maker will go to 48 volt eventually because they will need the gains to hit CAFE. They will have to do it to get over that 50 mpg number, gas engines alone will never do it and the EV take rate is too slow to pull the average up fast enough. Mercedes spends over $1 million per hour on R&D. It is costing a fortune but if they are ahead of the game in 2020 it will pay off.
  16. smk4565
    Well, they could probably sell 5 Maseratis a month and Sergio would keep the brand around.
  17. smk4565
    Yes, inline 4, inline 6, V8 gas, and inline 4 diesel which looks like it won't make it here. Four engines, all with 48 volt system. Which will clean up the number of engine offerings and get fuel economy up about 15% across the board.
  18. smk4565
    Because 48 volt is for gas engines, replacing the 12 volt system that ever other car has. And they have other plans for Tesla.
  19. smk4565
    This car is dead man walking. The S-class owns this segment, and to try to keep up with it, would cost Jaguar or anyone else too many R&D dollars. The 7-series has enough global volume and platform share with Rolls to stay profitable for years to come, but you wonder how Jaguar or Maserati last much longer.
  20. smk4565
    Mercedes had integrated screens before because my 08 has one, then they want to the floating screen which looks stupid and BMW and Audi jumped on board or BMW may have been first, but it became common. I prefer a built in screen, and Mercedes doesn't use touch screens so if it is far to reach it doesn't matter in their case. no one mentioned how the 3.5 liter Navigator has more power than the 6.2 liter Escalade and here is a fun fact, the original Navigator had a 5.4 liter V8 making 230 hp. Progress.
  21. smk4565
    Diesel isn't worth it for 3% of sales, especially when electric is the future. Might as well just invest in the future, work on the 48 volt system and new inline engines and hybrids.
  22. smk4565
    Every car has a pentagonal grill now. That front end could be on a Ford or Subaru and no one would even question it. No originality on the design, but the inside looks nice.
  23. smk4565
    The 300SL dragster is surely a kit car because an original SL even in bad shape is a million dollars. The restored or original ones go for over $2 million. No one is hacking up a 2 million dollar car. I also saw the Jaguar F-Type 2.0, which is interesting, that is a great looking car and with a 2 liter probably really light and would handle great. I won't be fast but it should still do 60 in 6 seconds I'd imagine, it isn't that big a car.
  24. smk4565
    The Hellcat is more all around yes, though it isn't going to beat an M5 or CTS-V in handling. But the Demon really is a 1 trick pony, it is made for drag strips, which it is awesome at, but it isn't really made to do anything else. AMG did used to just put a big engine in a 4500 lb sedan but they seem to have evolved over the past 10 years, putting more focus on handling and braking too.
  25. smk4565
    Agreed. Even Dodge says this car is basically just for the drag strip. And that they weren't trying to make a sports car or track car or pony car. They just wanted a beast on the drag strip and they succeeded at that.
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