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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Which means they could have just called the car STS, and what is now the ATS should have been called CTS.
  2. smk4565
    I still think a big problem was the CTS changed classes, it was the entry level Cadillac now it goes higher in price than the XTS. So you are trying to sell people a CTS at $55k that might have bought one for $35k 5 or 6 years ago. The new naming scheme I guess will erase that problem. And I agree that Johan can put the sticker price wherever he wants but finding people willing to pay it is the issue.
  3. smk4565
    All 2 of the Lexus F models which still use the 5.0 liter V8 from 5 years ago. The RC-F is using 2008 IS F running gear, great R&D spend there. Audi has the RS5 with an 2008 R8 engine, and the RS7 used the same 4.0 twin turbo V8 in the S8 and the Bentley Continental. AMG has 4 engines, the V12, 5.5 V8, 4.0 V8 and 2.0 four. Oddly enough Daimler's CEO just challenged Audi and BMW to enter Formula 1 next year, that would be their chance to prove it on the race track who has the best engineering. Lexus or Cadillac could jump in if they want.
  4. smk4565
    I had a Malibu Eco as a rental last month in Florida, the car doesn't sell because it is emotionless and souless. The front end looks good, the rear end is awful, the interior I didn't think was so small that it would deter people from buying one. The dual cowl design though is ugly and makes it feel more cramped in the front two seats, the 2.5 liter is buzzy at anything over 3,000 RPM, and it has no power under 3,000 rpm so you see the problem there. It rode okay on smooth, flat Florida roads, my guess though is on Pennsylvania pothole roads the ride turns rubbish. The brakes were mush too and you get a bit more tire/road noise than you'd like on the highway, wind noise wasn't too bad. Nothing about that car is enjoyable to drive, the interior isn't really a nice place to be either, it is like standard cheap rental car.
  5. smk4565
    AMG co-develops their cars along side the development of the base car. AMG doesn't use the same transmission or 4Matic system as the other cars and they hand build the engines. Mercedes-AMG has a team in England that builds their Formula 1 car and in their down time they work on AMG road cars. I don't change goal posts, I don't think it is unreasonable to release a sedan one year and release a coupe and performance version the next year. It should not take longer than 1 year for any car maker. Chevy doesn't release the Silverado in extended cab only and make you wait 2-3 years for a crew cab or standard cab.
  6. smk4565
    The ATS and CTS sedans are in model year 3 and 2 respectively. There is no reason the V-series and coupe versions of both shouldn't be on sale now, plus the ATS convertible should be on sale now. ATS and CTS should both have a diesel or hybrid by now also. This is Cadillac's own fault, and it is either due to inept management or lack of funding. I suggest their budget just doesn't allow for many models to be produced, because for 15 years they have had a 6 product line up or less, and V-series has been limited.
  7. smk4565
    Audi is cool selling 162k cars in the USA because the USA accounts for about 10% of global Audi sales. Audi sold 1,590,000 cars last year, only about 160,000 of those in the USA. Cadillac doesn't have that luxury, they need the American market sales to survive. I would disagree that Mercedes whored themselves out, they introduced an A-class level car in the USA, which they already sold elsewhere. And they have raised the price of the C-class by $5,000, and the E-class and S-class have the highest base prices in their segments. A base model C-class is $40,000, look at the base price of an ATS, 3-series, A4 or IS250, they are all around $33k. The CTS sells okay, it sells worse than the old one, but that is to be expected because they raised the price. But the STS used to sell over 2,000 a month too back in 2006, then it dropped off the map.
  8. smk4565
    Cadillac only had 6 models before bankruptcy too. The CTS-STS-DTS became the ATS-CTS-XTS, the failed XLR became the failed ELR, and the SRX and Escalade are the same. They are going on 15 years of the same 6 models with the exception of the XLR for ELR change. Because Cadillac needs more money, more money to make more body styles, more money to make new engines, new diesels, new DOHC V8s and new transmissions, etc. Only way to get more money is to cut another brand because going from 8 to 4 hasn't solved the problem, or to price gouge GMC trucks to Porshce-like margins so you are making $12-15,000 profit on a GMC where the comparable Chevy might only make $2-5,000.
  9. smk4565
    High truck sales is a good thing for GM, obviously that has been their profit center for years. I am just saying that I wouldn't get overly excited on transaction prices being up, because they are probably not up across the board. And if the truck sales ever tanked, it could spell trouble, much like it did back in 2009. And to Drew's point, I would price the base model GMC's where the Denali trims are now and add $5-10,000 more to that price for Denali trim. Terrain should be $33k base, $40k for Denali, Acadia at $45k base, $55k for Denali, Yukon $60k base, and $75k for Denali. Sierra would be $40k base and $50k for Denali, Canyon at $30k base. I wouldn't change the trucks either (with the exception of the base Canyon and Sierra would become the current SLE trim), just the price. Those trucks should be so outrageously priced that the profit margin is Porsche level, and if GMC can't get sales with that much markup then GM can dump the brand and sell Chevys plus Buick is about to have 3 crossovers and Cadillac is getting more too. And if people are foolish enough to spend $50k on an Acadia that has the same equipment as a $35k Traverse, then that profit GM can put into fixing cars like the Malibu.
  10. smk4565
    So why doesn't Cadillac have more models? We all know you need multiple body styles, so where are they all? Until GM spends more money on them you'll have a shoe string lineup and cars that are competitive but not best in the world. This is what Infiniti is. GM transaction prices are up because GMT900 sales were up. Those are GM's cash cows. I bet GM's average transaction price on sedans is awful. Sidebar, if I ran GM I would raise all GMC prices by 10-15% without adding any content. If the "GMC" brand name is so strong, people will pay Escalde money for a Yukon, and if GMC can't support Land Roger or Cadillac level pricing then they don't need to exist. Pump those dollars into Cadillac.
  11. smk4565
    Cadillac needs more crossovers for sure, 2 SUV lineup doesn't cut it, but let's just look at the current cars. ATS and CTS are selling under 2,500 a month. 3-series is 14,000, C-class was over 9,000, E-class and 5-series most months are near 5,000. So there must be flaws in the ATS and CTS, they have a lower price and deeper discounts but still no sales. For specifics, brand image is #1, most Cadillacs have a 6 speed when the Germans have had 7 or 8 for years, no diesels, no hybrids other than ELR when Lexus has a hybrid on everything, lack of body styles too. Then you have the 3.6 V6 which is dated, the Germans all have turbo/super charged sixes with much more torque. Cadillac interiors still need to go up a level, gotta dump CUE. Impala at this time last year probably had some fleet sales of the previous model left over, Impala sold over 9,000 cars that is good for a full size sedan, that is a shrinking segment and the Avalon and Taurus never sell that well.
  12. smk4565
    The point of the Volt was to always run on electric motor, and use the gas engine to recharge the battery. What BMW is doing it more like the plug-in Prius, it can run on electric only when there is little load, or the gas engine can drive the wheels when you need more power or when the battery is dead. BMW has to roll out more plug-ins because Mercedes will have 10 of them by 2018. The German horsepower war is ending, the fuel efficiency battle is about to begin.
  13. smk4565
    I think SUV coupes are stupid, but I sort of think most SUVs are pointless because a lot of them don't offer any more interior room than a sedan (as far as seating goes), and you trade handling, braking, fuel economy, etc due to extra weight. This looks better than the X6 though. And Mercedes got people to spend $10,000 extra on a 4-door coupe E-class, might as well get them to spend $10,000 extra on a 4 door coupe ML-class.
  14. smk4565
    The 3/4 series sales are huge, that car alone outsells several whole luxury brands. Mini could cut down to the Cooper Hardtop and Countryman only, I guess keep the convertible around because it probably gets a few sales in summer, but there are too many models there. I don't think it would matter what they put into the 7-series, the S-class is monopolizing that segment, if the 7-series didn't have a starting price $20,000 below the S-class, then it would have no sales.
  15. smk4565
    Sort of sad that 2 SUVs are their top 2 sellers. Doesn't say much about their sports cars if more people want a turboed up VW Tiguan over a 911.
  16. smk4565
    Ford and Lincolns sedans got killed this month. MKC the lone bright spot at Lincoln, not surprising, people love small crossovers.
  17. smk4565
    Cheap gas = Sales for full size pickups and SUVs. What is a little scary is 1/3 of Chevys are fleet sales, and you have to figure a lot of that % is on the Malibu, Cruze, and Silverado, if the Malibu is 40-50% fleet, the retail sales on that car could be 6,000 a month. GM is really weak in that key segment. XTS looks to prove that FWD luxury cars can't last, sales of the XTS are starting to look like how the DTS was selling 5 years ago. That is another one and done poduct.
  18. smk4565
    They should make cuts. They need the original, the Clubman, convertible and the Countryman because it is more like a crossover. That is about it. They should worry more about reliability or offering a high mpg diesel rather than body styles.
  19. smk4565
    I have Airmatic, in Sport 2 it handles pretty well, very little body lean. But bumps are noticeable, especially on our garbage roads, so I almost never use Sport2.
  20. smk4565
    So why do Audi's ride hard compared to a Mercedes or BMW. Audi has to use a super stiff suspension for handling because they are front heavy and not as well balanced as a BMW. Rear wheel drive cars have a handling advantage over fwd, thus the suspension can be tuned somewhat for ride comfort and still handle better than a stiff suspension front driver. Mercedes and BMW make a superior car to Audi is all I am saying, they have better ride/handling balance.
  21. smk4565
    I don't like Audis personally, the lower end cars aren't luxurious, the 2.0 is a buzzy engine, they are unreliable and they have stiff suspensions because the don't have a rwd chassis, so they have to sacrifice ride quality for handling where as a BMW or Mercedes is pretty good at both. I don't think Cadillac needs to copy Audi, I am just saying Audi sells a lot of cars and they have a lot of resources and money to work with because the Premier group is VW's profit center. Cadillac isn't seen as the cash cow of GM that gets whatever it wants.
  22. smk4565
    BMW has spent a lot of money on carbon fiber, electric motors, batteries, etc for the i3 and i8. If cars like that become the future of driving they might look like geniuses 10-15 years from now. I think BMW wastes money on things like the 3-series Gran Turismo, 3-series Gran Coupe, X4 crossover coupe, etc. They should put money into a 7-series based SUV to go into a new segment, rather than making 8 versions of the 3-series when the 3-series already dominates that segment. Mercedes has a more complete and well thought out line up. If Cadillac were to go the Mercedes route, they would need compact, small, medium and large size cars with sedan and coupe (8 models) compact, small, medium, large SUV (4 models), and mix in at least one sports car, and at least 2 of the 4 cars (like ATS/CTS) should have a convertible version. That is 15 models, at least 10 need a V-series, so that is 25. They would have to roll out 4 products ( a coupe or v-series version of an existing car would count) a year on 6 year cycles to keep the line up fresh. It would be at least $2 billion a year, probably $3. They aren't rolling out products that fast now, I doubt they have the money to do so.
  23. smk4565
    Audi has an A5 convertible, TT convertible, to which Cadillac has no convertible. Cadillac isn't in the A3/Q3 segments, the XTS is a one and done product, the XT6 if it is priced in the 70s probably straddles the A7 and A8 in pricing. It isn't yet clear what that car will be against. There are a few product line gaps, more importantly Cadillac has a lack of diesels, and the ELR is their only hybrid/electric. Cadillac takes too long to get things to market too, alternate body styles and V-series trims appear 2 years after the base sedan. Again it goes back to lack of funding, Audi might lie about what they spend, but we know BMW and Mercedes are good for about $6-7 billion a year in R&D and Cadillac barely has the budget to keep a 5 vehicle lineup fresh, imagine if they tried to do it with a 10-12 vehicle line up. And to give Cadillac more money that means you have to take it away from Buick and GMC, which would be fine with me, but GM won't do that.
  24. smk4565
    I don't know what Audi is spending it on either, most of their cars seem to have barely changed in the last 5 years. I am only saying that Audi stated they would spend $30 billion from 2014-2018. But remember Audi is the #1 selling luxury brand in the world, they sell like 400,000 cars a year in China. This is where the problem for Cadillac is, they don't have the economies of scale or volume for GM to give them a massive R&D budget. So Cadillac gets limited to 3 sedans, a couple SUVs and maybe a coupe. It has been that way for 15 years. And they haven't expanded the line yet or got the money to do so.
  25. smk4565
    Audi is supposed to expand to 60 models, but A4, S4, RS4 is 3 models by how they count. They spend a lot on body styles. Perhaps money will go into new engines because that 2.0T and supercharged V6 have been around forever. Maybe they will role out a new version of MMI and a self driving system for the A8, there was rumor of a new rear drive platform for the A8. Electric drive could consume a lot of dollars, if they make that E-Tron sports car, or a fully electric sedan that could be a big R&D investment.
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