smk4565
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Everything posted by smk4565
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Jeep News: Jeep Reveals the Wrangler 75th Salute Concept
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Jeep
That looks pretty cool, really spot on with the design.- 8 replies
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- 75th Salute Concept
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SMK, you jump to saying MB is the best approach to building an EV and yet you clearly DID NOT read the full story. BMW will have a new platform for this updated 3 series that will cover gas, diesel, plug-in and EVs. This new platform will take a page from their I series with using carbon fiber to reduce weight and improve structural rigidity. I did read the whole story. Why does an EV 3 series need a body and that accommodates an inline six engine and 8 speed transmission? The anchor points and front end bracing is a lot for a diesel engine. If you had a chassis designed for an EV, like Tesla does, you get more interior room, better weight distribution, etc.
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I don't think C & D is too far off on their assessment of the XT5. The problem is they first say for similar money you can have a Jaguar F-Pace, Porsche Macan, X3 or GLC and those are all way better. Later they do say the XT5 fairs well against the Lexus RX and Lincoln MKX. Because that is where the XT5 is, it is a2nd tier luxury crossover, competing with the mid-size front drivers. It isn't in the same league as the Rear drive crossovers. Even consider the 310 hp V6 XT5 is slower than a 241 hp GLC, it has no chance against an F-Pace or Macan. For 2nd tier luxury brand, the XT5 is probably pretty good, it just isn't ready to fight the big boys.
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Cadillac's "competitive product" can't catch the German 3 here in the USA, no chance can they catch them in German car loyal Europe. Cadillac in Europe is like Alfa Romeo in the USA. It is a tall mountain to climb. I think the 10 year warranty idea could help them get some people to take a chance on them in Europe. I'm sure they will undercut Audi in price too. Think of this too, Alfa Romeo has a sedan faster around the Nurburgring than a CTS-V, that competes with ATS-V and M3. And sales of the Alfa Quadfiglio or whatever it is called will be under 500 a month while the 3-series sells 10,000.
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What would concern me is an EV car doesn't need to be built like a gas car. You don't need as large a hood, you have different center of gravity, etc. Converting a 3-series into an EV probably gets you a compromised EV since the car is first and foremost designed to fit around an inline gas six engine with transmission tunnel. I think Mercedes has a better approach by having a dedicated electric car chassis, that way the car can be designed up to be an EV, and you can do more things with styling and interior space when not worrying about having hard points needed to accommodate an inline six. Eventually there will be more and more electric cars, in Mercedes case there could even be an Electric E-class and a gas E-class, but on difference chassis, until the day that gas just goes away. For BMW I think one day they'll have 3-series EV and no gas engine as well, you don't want to throw away the 3-series name brand equity, they need the 3-series name on an Electric car, but I wonder if they get a good car retro fitting batteries and electric motors to the current car.
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If the XT5 was based on the CTS and cost $49,000 base, sort of like what a BMW X5 is, then they could get 2 crossovers under XT5 easily. With the XT5 priced starting in the high 30s, hard to get 2 vehicles below that without one of those being $29-31k. I figure Cadillac will roll out a Lincoln MKC/Lexus NX/Acura RDX fighter that is around $35k, which makes sense, but to go below that you have to get down to $30k. As far as Mercedes goes, they had the 300SL Gullwing which in the 50s was one of the fastest cars in the world, in the 60s they had the 600 Grosser, the best 4 door car in the world at the time, and the most expensive. So they had built up some name when they got here, and the S-class and SL roadster of the late 60s and 70s were good cars. By the 80s they had the Americans worried and they passed them by in the 90s, and left them in the dust in the 2000s. No way Cadillac can overtake any of the German 3 in sales in Europe, in 20-30 years. They could sell CTS-Vs for the price of a Golf diesel in Germany and not outsell BMW.
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Cadillac priced the XT5 like the GLC, so if there are 2 products below XT5, looks like Cadillac will have a GLA competitor and sub-GLA competitor. The GLA may not be a very high bar, but I doubt Cadillac will do any better with a Trax based crossover or Cruze based crossover which I'd imagine will be their XT1 and XT3 respectively. The CLA and GLA are weak by Mercedes standards, but the worst Mercedes is still better than most of what anyone else does.
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Ford GT is an exotic, the rest of their line up now and through history is not.
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Tall mountain to climb here. I think they'd do well by offering a 10 year warranty on Cadillacs in Europe. In addition to dealerships they need to give people a reason to look at their cars. It helped Hyundai and Kia here, although I'd go a step farther and do 10 year bumper to bumper warranty for Cadillac Europe. On 1,000 or 2,000 cars a year it isn't going to cost much anyway. Two crossovers below the $39,000 XT5. I hope all those GLA bashers are ready for a $30k Cadillac SUV with a 1.6 liter engine.
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Bentley News: Bentley Mulsanne To Swap V8 for Electric Power?
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Bentley
This would probably be 2020 or after offering, by that point battery range will improve, price will fall. It makes sense since the Mulsanne is already huge and heavy, weight and price are not a worry. If they can pack 800 lb-ft of electric torque and silent operation, I think most Mulsanne buyers will like that. And range isn't even that big a deal, how many miles will they ever go in one, probably half of Mulsanne owners have a privet jet. -
Mustang is not expensive nor dies it have power and performance in the top 5% of car models. Corvette Z06 performance level I'd say is enough to get to that level, but the Corvette isn't rare. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenegsegg, Paganism, McLaren, I'd call exotics. They are on another level of performance and rare.
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Audi News: Rumorpile: Audi's Latest V8 Could Be Its Last
smk4565 replied to William Maley's topic in Volkswagen
Sad that the V8 will die in most places, even the V6 could die in a lot of applications by 2025. Audi/Porsche/Bentley/Lambo though I would think would have use for a V8, that is weak on their part to give up on it. Most business for Mercedes though. I think the V8 will still have a place for high end sports cars, like $100k+ territory, even though I think electric will get more and more popular and engine downsizing will continue. -
Just out of curiosity... what do you consider an "exotic"? I had this discussion with my friends awhile back and it seems everybody has a different perspective of the phrase "exotic car". I would consider exotic a combination of rare, expensive, powerful, bold/unique styling, and capability or performance beyond 95% of other cars. Or some combination of those traits. I think an exotic has to stand out looks wise, but also be in that top 5% of performance.
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The Range Rover is a legit off roader for sure, one of the best out there. The real Range Rover, as I call it, that starts at $85k sold 1,044 units last month. The Range Rover Sport that starts at $64k sold 1,500, and that isn't a true off roader, and the $41k Range Rover Evoque isn't even a Range Rover. So if we look at the real Range Rover it outsells the G-wagen by 3 to 1, but starts $35,000 cheaper too. I think the GLS can hold its own off road, they do sell an off road package for it. It is no Range Rover, but it could mop the floor with a Lexus RX or Acura MDX or any of those car based crossovers.
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It is low volume for sure, but so are Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris, Aston Martins, Audi R8s, Acura NSX, Lamborghinis, etc. The G-glass is an exotic car in the SUV world. There are several V12 sports cars out there, mid-engine supercars, etc. But until the Bentley Bentayga hit the market, get G-class was the only exotic SUV out there. That's what makes it special, and the Bentley can't go off road, there is still nothing like a G-class. As far as the Ranger Rover goes, the better comparison is probably to the GLS, even though the GLS is a little bigger, they line up more on price, features, etc.
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First off, G-wagen buyers could care less about depreciation. The NBAer that makes $18 million a year doesn't care, Kim Kardashian doesn't care, Sylvester Stallone doesn't care, etc. It could get 4 mpg and they wouldn't care. The fact that it is expensive is what makes it appealing. Car and Driver just had an article on depreciation after 3 years, industry average is to retain 53% of value. The G-class is in most cases going to be above that. I just did a search on Auto trader for G550 within 100 miles of Pittsburgh. There aren't many, but a 2014 is $89,900, a 2012 is $79,900 and there are a pair of 2003's for $35,000. That is a 13 year old truck still selling for $35,000. Using the 2012 model, it is still worth 67% of what it was new after 4 years. For fun, the top 6 in resale value are Toyota FJ Cruiser (98%), Toyota Tacoma (77%), Jeep Wrangler (76%), Toyota 4Runner (75%), Honda Ridgeline (74%) Range Rover (72%). A pair of Subarus, the Avalanche and Tundra round out the top 10. The 10 worst in resale are Smart ForTwo, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Suzuki Kizashi, Chevy Impala, Suzuki SX4, Chevy Caprice, Fiat 500, Lincoln MKS, Chevy Sonic, Ford Fiesta. For large SUV, the GMC Yukon was the worst, Toyota Sequoia was best, for luxury SUV, Lincoln Navigator was worst, Range Rover best.
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All I know is I want a boat with a garage door. The genius to the G-wagen is that once the V12 went on sale and Schwarzenegger buys one, then a guy like Stallone looks inferior in his G63, so then he has to go buy a G65. Kim and Kanye will need one too.
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They should build it. It is good to build something crazy and push the limits of engineering.
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The G-wagon sells great for a $145,000 vehicle. Look at BMW i8 or Audi R8 sales. Or Bentley Continental sales. Norhing in this price range is high volume and they do have global sales, they are probably selling over 10,000 globally, and these have to have $20,000+ margins.
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The G-wagen is getting a new chassis next year. This will be the first major update since 1979. And really that is probably more for compliance reasons and keeping parts similar to other models that are newer. Demand is huge for the G-wagen and sales are increasing. No reason to change what is successful.
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I don't see a 4 or 6 cylinder in the Escalade. Or a 2.0T in the Corvette. Because buyers of those cars want a V8. The current G-wagon is so heavy, a V6 isn't enough. There is a turbo V6 diesel in Europe, but the current weight is around 5800 lbs or something, if they take 440 pounds out then the turbo 6 becomes a more viable option. However that would have a low take rate still, the people buying a G-wagon want a V8, or V12 even. They also aren't bilking customers, they are giving the customers what they want. The people buying G-wagons want a 560 hp V8 retro off road tank. The G is unique vehicle with no rival really, that is why people pay top dollar for it, and sales keep climbing. That is why it sells. The more outdated it is, the better it sells.
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No concept, straight to production. It will probably look exactly the same, but the new chassis cuts 440 lbs and lets them put in the new engines and transmissions. For those who want a cheaper, more fuel efficient SUV and integrated turn signals, they also have the 2018 GLE coming.
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I would agree that people don't want it to change. The customers buying the G-wagen like it the way it is. I also don't think they need a lower priced model, the V8 is the entry level model, the AMG versions are 60% of sales, so you have an AMG V8 and a V12 as 2 step ups from the V8. Rumor is they will add an inline six turbo with 360 hp, maybe that comes in around $110,000 base. But like ccap said, a GLE is the roughly the same size a a G-wagen and gets better mileage and isn't a tank. So Mercedes is already giving customers the option of softer SUV with better mileage. Here are the spy photos for the new G-wagen, doesn't look like much is changing.
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The G wagon sells well for its segment, in fact it is pretty much alone in its segment. If a car like the ATS sells 1500 compared to 4,000 Lexus IS, 3000 Infiniti Q50, 13,000 3/4 series, 6,000 C-class, etc. Then the ATS is struggling in its segment. G-wagon isn't struggling, for its price point it sells well. There is also a new G-wagon coming next year.
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Name one Cadillac that sells in such low numbers, and is still for sale today, over the course of the last twenty years? Example of what I'm talking about? When the ELR sold jack squat, Cadillac killed it after barely a year. The G wagon has sold in paltry numbers for years so show us a Cadillac that was sold for that long in such low numbers.And in sorry but if I'm Mercedes Benz, selling 3000 of a vehicle that has had basically the same form factor and look since 1972 isn't exactly in line with what they have done with everything else they have ever made. It is clear that this exists purely to bilk a clueless customer by selling on some mysterious prestige. Name one Cadillac with an average transaction price of $145,000.
