smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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The 7-series is up 48% this year because they have a new model, that is clearly hurting the S-class. The S-class refresh with the new engines should help, I think no 5 cylinder option hurts the S-class when all the competitors start $15-20,000 less in price point. But it isn't all doom and gloom, S-class has sold 15,834, it is outselling the CTS that costs less than half as much. he A8 is down 8% with 3,300 sold YTD, the Lexus LS is down 30% with 4,465 sold, the 7-series has sold 10,372, Panamera has sold 3,636. They are clobbering the competition still. Mercedes overall sales are up 29.5% in China and up 12.7% in Europe.
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Well no need to trade in a 2010 S-class, that has 20 more good years in it. They are probably making $15-20,000 per car in profit on the S-class, Mercedes has a 10% net margin overall on the car line, the S-class has to be like 20% margin, because I'd guess a C-class or CLA is more like 7 or 8%. Big sedan sales are shrinking, some of the other guys will just drop out of the market, leaving the S-class with few competitors.
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This has been rumored for a while and makes no sense when the E63 when the E63 is built on a modular platform with a 4.0 V8 and will add 48 volt and ISG eventually. The AMG GT makes sense because they don't want to lose sales to 911s or GT-Rs or NSX, and the SL is a touring convertible with a big engine. I don't see them selling these GT sedans to anyone that wasn't already buying a Mercedes, unless the GT sedan is a 730 hp electric car. That makes more sense than another V8 sedan.
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I don't think that TT4 will see the light of day in the S-class, not even in China, unless it is combined with en electric motor as a hybrid. That twin turbo 4 is to replace the 241 hp turbo 4 in the C-class, GLC, E-class and GLE and be the workhorse of the mainstream cars. The inline 6 will replace the V6s, which saves on manufacturing costs since it shares a lot of parts with the inline 4. They already have the 4.0 V8 with the AMG cars in various stages of tune, but they need to move away from the 4.7 and 5.5 liter V8s due to fuel economy, displacement tax etc. The Exciting thing is an inline six S-class would still have over 400 hp and probably start at like $88,000 not $96,000, that's good value.
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Lexus's customer base came from Toyota or old folks that think 200 hp is plenty, so when you give them 268 hp V6 they think it is a lot. But anyone with a performance car isn't going to go look at Lexus, even the GS-F is like CTS v-sport or E43 sort of speed, the top Lexus performance sedan is mid level at Cadillac or the German trio. Lexus has that loyal buyer but they aren't atttracting new people, they are like Buick of the 90s clinging to a dying customer base.
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Lexus has reliability on their side, however their engines are severely dated and outmatched in the luxury game. That 3.5 V6 has been on sales for over 10 years with zero increase in horsepower. The Lexus LS V8 launched in 2007 when the S-slass launched the new 5.5 liter V8 that had more power and torque. Next year the S-class is getting it's 2nd new engine since then, the LS460 still has the same 385 hp V8, that is pathetic. V6s make more than that now.
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70 consecutive months of sales gains!!!!! Unbelievable performance by Audi! This is the best ever sales and marketing team of all time, ever in the history of the world, bar none. No doubt they were selling A4's at $10k off sticker the last week of the month or at $299 a month leases with no money down, or selling A4's to previous Jetta TDI owners that VW "bought back" their cars. Anything to squeak out an extra 100 sales to top last year's number. When you look at this brand none of these cars sell great, the A4 and Q5 do okay, because they are in the heart of the entry lux segment but others in the segment double their numbers. The A6, A7 and A8 combined got outsold by the S-class. True story the S-class in September and October has sold more units than the A8 all year, and the A8 is $25,000 cheaper. Why even keep trying with the A8, it is over, you lost Audi, give up. They could sell A8s for $49,995 and the S-class would outsell it, they could do buy an A8 get one free and count both as sales and the S-class would outsell it still.
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The dated styling and monotonous look is hurting them, and their crossover line is a bit dated, which hurts when crossovers are hot. The 5-series is just getting clobbered and it was once good for 4,000 cars a month easy, I know it is near the end of the model cycle, but the new 5 looks the same as the current 5, I don't see how they change course there. By upsizing all their cars, they got big cars that aren't performance cars anymore, and luxury was never their strong suit.
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ATS, CTS and XTS look dead in the weeds. Judging by Impala and LaCrosse sales we are approaching the end of the large sedan. I bet the Malibu is the largest Chevy or Buick car by 2025. Maybe since GM loves to market cars as the "First Ever" G6, CT6, First Ever XT5, etc, they should run an advertising slogan for the "Last Ever" Impala and tell people to get them while they last.
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Nissan chassis, Mercedes engine and transmission and suspension and interior and body. I have no idea what they want to do with this thing, but if they wanted to put an assault on the mid-size truck market I am pretty sure they could beat anything in that segment. If Mercedes can beat the Lexus LS (with ease for the past 25 years) which is the best Toyota there is, I am pretty sure they can handle the Tacoma.
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But look at the torque in other mid-size pickups. The Tacoma, Frontier and GM twins all have NA 4-cylinders base, the GM 3.6 V6 needs to be at like 5,000 rpm to make any torque, the Tacoma and Ridgeline use Camry and Accord V6s, those don't have any low end torque either. And Mercedes has a turbo V6 with loads of toque, and diesels. Mercedes did introduce the new 48 volt engines today, the new turbo 4 should make about 265 hp, 275 lb-ft and the electric boost will help it off the line before the turbo spools, so that solves the turbo lag problem. The new Inline 6 has 408 hp, so there is lots in the arsenal to pick from.
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No one buys manuals, I agree with what everyone else has said. What Alfa needs is to actually get this car on sale, they have been talking about it for 3-4 years like it is going on sale next month.
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The Touareg is really expensive, that was always the problem with it. It cots as much as a Mercedes GLE and is the same size. Which one are people going to buy? The Touareg is smaller than the Acadia, it is actually closer in size to the Equinox and starts at $50k. It is just too much money for a VW mid-size crossover. If they price the Atlas competitive with Ford and Chevy, they might sell some.
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I think it makes more sense as commercial, but given the concept interiors, they could easily make luxury trucks, and they could probably sell a lot of pick ups. Pickups are a big segment with few players, and there is no luxury truck. You can run a Tacoma over $40,000 easily, if Mercedes sold their truck for $50k it would be a huge value, most pickup trucks are over priced due to brand loyalty and few players in the segment. If Mercedes really wanted a pickup truck and didn't have the Nissan alliance, they could build a unibody truck off the GLS chassis. If Honda can build a capable truck (that is probably best in class when it comes to storage and ride and handling and fuel economy) off the Pilot chassis, I am sure Mercedes can build a truck off the much more rugged GLS chassis. Plus Mercedes has an army of high torque at low rpm engines to pick from. Here is a fun fact, the Mercedes 2.0T engine makes more torque (at much lower rpm) than the optional V6 in the Tundra, Canyon/Colorado or the V6 in the Ridgeline. The Mercedes 9-speed automatic would be best in class too, and they have the 362 hp, 369 lb-ft V6 to use as an option, plus the diesels. They really could dominate the segment.
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The outside looks boring and bland, but crossover buyers may not care. The inside looks nice, it is a simple design interior but looks appealing. The engines are fine, the Acadia has 197 hp base, this beats that by 40 hp, and I doubt Pilot or Highlander buyers know the horsepower rating of their vehicle. The 280 hp V6 is adequate for the segment, especially with how VW/Audi gear that 8-speed transmission.
