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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565

    HEAD STOPPER

    smk4565 replied to Lucerne06's topic in Buick

    I have a Toyota Camry Hybrid 2012 and it has the largest opening doors I have ever seen on a car; tall and wide and open real wide. It has more front seat space than my old Lucerne and it was really big. Two problems with this. 1) While it is big for many, I have tried the latest version of Camry and while roomy to a point, it is not for tall people as once I got the front seat so that I was comfortable, no one could sit behind me and I really do not like sitting partially reclined. 2) I support American jobs first before anything else and will buy from GM and Ford as long as they exist to support our country. So Toyota will always loose out. My 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid was made in Georgetown, Kentucky USA!!! I think the Camry has the highest percentage of American made parts of any car sold in the USA.
  2. smk4565
    Forbes still stated that Mercedes was best and BMW 2nd among luxury brands. But I find their study odd since they had the Cruze so high and it was the first year it was on sale, how did they have repeat buyers within it's first year of sale? Regardless, Mercedes and BMW have been 1-2 in luxury sales in the USA the past 5 or so years with Lexus in 3rd, and no one else is really closing the gap. Just look at this year, BMW, Mercedes and Audi are all up over 10%, so the Germans aren't really losing business. Lincoln is the only luxury brand that is shrinking and Acura is barely growing. Cadillac up 29% this year, but they also had no ATS or XTS for a lot of last year, so last year was a down year.
  3. smk4565
    I agree with making diesels an option on all GM vehicles. But why is an 8-speed necessary? Fuel economy and marketing. The Ram has an 8-speed and gets 25 mpg, GM's trucks don't get 25 mpg. Usually an 8-speed is going to return better fuel economy than a 6 speed. Plus it gives them marketing ability. If Hyundai and Chrysler have 8-speeds, and soon someone will have 9 or 10, GM is going to look way behind with a 6-speed.
  4. smk4565
    They need some diesels. Also an 8-speed transmission, others had them 5-6 years ago, GM is behind here.
  5. smk4565
    Or equally as crazy as a $96K VW Tuareg TDI sorry, Porsche Cayenne Diesel. A Toureg TDI is $51,000 base price, the Cayenne TDI is $56,600 base price, they are pretty close actually. It is the GTS and Turbo Cayennes that are really expensive.
  6. smk4565
    BMW's retention is pretty good, JD Power (2012 study) had them at 59% owner retention which is the best of any luxury brand, Mercedes is 2nd place at 57% and only the only other luxury brands to crack 50% are Lexus and Cadillac. So BMW drivers aren't fleeing the brand. I think the trade up thing doesn't apply as much to a luxury brand, as it may from a Focus to Fusion or Civic to Accord. I would suspect a lot of 3-series drivers buy another 3-series because they like the nimble handling and don't want a big car. Also think of how the 3-series has grown in size from the 1980s to today, every generation adds a couple inches in length, a bit more width, a bit more weight. The car is evolving with the owner base (getting a bit softer as some would criticize), and the 5-series has gotten bigger too. Despite the ATS and a revised Lexus IS, the 3-series is still up 29%, the X3 is down because the X1 took sales from it. 5-series is down probably because there is a new E-class that sells big, but they still sold 4,800 5-series that is still quite good when you consider the rival Audi or Lexus product is more like 1,500 per month.
  7. smk4565
    It better have a profit margin, it is $76k for a Chevy Volt with Cue and a wood and leather package. They might as well put a $55k Cruze diesel with a Cadillac logo on front on sale too if GM is looking for low volume, high profit. Because a $76k Volt is equally as crazy as a $55k Cadillac Cruze diesel.
  8. smk4565
    Why is it ok for Audi to build their sports car, the TT, off a VW platform? It is all about intent. The ELR is not intended to be a sports car, ever. For the vehicle it is intended to be, the Delta platform is quite capable. You forget that the Cobalt SS was beating BMWs around the 'Ring when it first came out. That platform, a full revision behind today's version, was able to handle the job.. I see no reason why it couldn't handle the job of a E-REV at Cadillac as long as all the touchy feely bits have been upgraded accordingly...and they have. The Audi TT isn't very good and doesn't sell very well either. It also costs $40,000, not $75,000. You can get away with a $20,000 or $25,000 car chassis on a $40,000 car because everyone does it. Every Acura and Lincoln, the Lexus ES350, Buicks, the Cadillac XTS even, it is pretty common place to take family sedan underpinnings and make an entry-lux model because buyers at that price point aren't looking for performance and luxury. I am aware that the ELR isn't supposed to be sporty, but it is mechanically a Volt, they can tweak it but it isn't going to drive all that different. So you are then asking people to pay $76,000 for a 2 seat car with Hyundai Elantra level performance, the interior on the ELR better be Rolls Royce worthy or the price tag doesn't match up. To be $76,000, this should be the best Cadillac they make, and it is probably the worse, how is this ELR $40,000 better than an ATS or $30,000 better than a CTS?
  9. smk4565
    Not only that, but they tried it back in 07 on the Saturn Aura, the eAssist thing just isn't catching on. But GM likes to repeat mistakes.
  10. smk4565
    If the platform doesn't matter, why not build the Corvette of a Cruze platform and charge $75,000 for it. If they built a Corvette of a lower GM platform or put a combo 4-cylinder/electric motor in it there would be outrage in the streets. Even talk of a turbo V6 Corvette was sacrilege. Yet if Cadillac makes their most expensive car a 2-seat sports car based off a Chevy costing less than half as much, it is okay. Maybe Cadillac should charge $150,000 for the new Escalade while they are at it.
  11. smk4565
    New S-classes are going for $10K above sticker around here. But you're right, as the vehicle ages, discounts become commonplace. I would imagine so. Mercedes never really discounted the S-class, even in it's 7th model year of the previous generation, the manufacturer incentives were pretty low. Dealers may discount, but dealers discount every car. This ELR won't sell, it is nearing Porsche 911 money and it ain't gonna perform like a 911.
  12. smk4565
    Exactly. Or $20,000 more than a Corvette Stingray or $25,000 more than a loaded ATS. If the ELR has an options list it will be over $80,000!
  13. smk4565
    Scott is right about the tax, if you tax diesel and gas the same, then the price of diesel and premium should be the same, and all these German cars run on premium so it makes the cost per gallon the same at that point, and the 30% mpg gain for diesel gives it a huge win. Also with more demand, maybe supply is upped, no reason diesel couldn't end up cheaper than 87 octane in the future, again taxes could play a role there. I think diesel is the near future, BMW is running ads like crazy too, when people see 400lb ft of torque and 40 or 45 mpg, they are going to want that. And I still believe whatever Mercedes, BMW and Audi do becomes the hot thing, and everyone else will copy it. When Audi had Quattro and Mercedes 4Matic, suddenly every Lexus and Infiniti, then Cadillac and Jaguar started doing all wheel drive.
  14. smk4565
    That is Cadillac's problem, the XTS, ELR and Escalade are based on a Chevy product. The Escalade gets away with it, but it is also the #2 seller in a class weak competitors; the Navigator, LX470 and Infiniti Q56 are based on a Ford/Toyota/Nissan product that is inferior to the Tahoe.
  15. smk4565
    At that price this thing may sell in the dozens per month. Way too high, Cadillac couldn't sell a V8 convertible based off a Corvette at this price, they think they can sell an electric coupe based off a Volt at this price? This car will flop and possibly need $20k incentives to move them.
  16. smk4565
    MB does make a full size SUV, the GL is full size and the #1 selling full size luxury SUV. I see GMC Terrain in the front and sides with all those straight lines. Gl might have out sold the Escalade by just 2500 units, but it cannot pull a trailer like the Escalade and does not have as much interior space. Plus the maintenance cost on the MB compared to the Cadillac SUV is huge and I would go with Escalade which has a better reliability record. MB might have cutting edge tech, but the cost of keeping it functional is way higher. Course in this group, most have the disposable cash to pay when things break. I doubt people paying $70,000 for an SUV are too worried about maintenance costs, but lets also look at fuel cost. The GL350 gets 19/26 mpg, while the Escalade is 13/18 mpg. It works out to about an $800 a year savings for the GL350 even with the higher cost of diesel and putting 87 octane in the Escalade. Over 5 years you are looking at $4,000 in fuel savings for the Mercedes. The tow ratings are pretty close too, 7500 lbs for Mercedes 8100 lbs for the Escalade AWD, and I've never seen either of these vehicle towing a trailer. !st and 2nd row leg room and head room are with in an inch of each other, 3rd row leg room the GL has a 9 inch advantage (it has a longer wheelbase) and the Escalade has an advantage in shoulder room in ever row and cargo space with the seats folded.
  17. smk4565
    MB does make a full size SUV, the GL is full size and the #1 selling full size luxury SUV. I see GMC Terrain in the front and sides with all those straight lines.
  18. smk4565
    Another lame car company idea, this is like Range Rover Sport and Evoque, but there is really only one Range Rover. Making cheaper knock offs just cheapens the original. Why not call the SRX the Escalade Evoke, then do an Escalade Sport crossover, then of course they need an Escalade 4-door coupe SUV.
  19. smk4565
    I think it is a dumb idea. The ML is a good seller, but why make an MLC, that won't sell that well and will only take away from the ML. I am sure the business case they are talking of is it will be identical to the ML, except for the sloped rear end and it will cost $10,000 more. They'll get a few dopes to buy it for a few years, then like all the other niche cars it will die.
  20. smk4565
    Still looks like a dressed up Tahoe. But I wasn't expecting anything different, the Escalade is what it is. The front now has more GMC Terrain in it, and the rear has Saab 9-3 wagon tail lights. Not a fan of either of those cars. But as I said it is what it is, it's a luxury Tahoe and it has a good profit margin and there is that following that will stay pay for it. Like and Acura TL, it is just an Accord, but there are enough people that will pay the extra price for a grille and some dash trim, it makes good business sense to make it.
  21. smk4565
    I don't think Toyota-Lexus-Scion offer one convertible. That is pretty lame from such a huge car maker.
  22. smk4565
    True, but those awful Silverado ads about a man and a truck and a sheep and a fence end with claiming 23 mpg. It isn't even good, they should just throw the horsepower number up there, that is what people care about anyway. If they wanted gas mileage they wouldn't be buying a truck.
  23. smk4565
    Why don't they just do it instead of saying they are ready. GM is always ready to do something or it is "coming next year" but only after the competition beat them too it. The new trucks should have 8 speeds standard, and the diesel option should be there already. The 30 mpg pickup is coming, I bet the Ram diesel is near 30 mpg highway in real world, if you get some weight savings like the F150 is planning, you could have a 30 mpg highway rated pickup. And yet Ford and Chevy run ads bragging about 22 or 23 mpg, highway, imagine when Dodge starts claiming 27 or 28, or if the next-gen Tundra hits 30 mpg, and GM and Ford are still putzing around with 23 mg.
  24. smk4565
    He was amazing.
  25. smk4565
    The Regal costs all most as much as an ATS, why move the Regal to Alpha? And then would it be mid-size, like a cheaper version of a CTS? The Regal is a car that GM doesn't need, especially if they have a more desirable Malibu Turbo. The real solution is to make the Lacrosse a bit smaller, so it is closer to Hyundai Azera size and hold the price where it is. Then make a Buick Park Avenue in the $39-50k space and kill off the XTS. Then Buick has 3 sedans all with similar focus, and Buick would do battle with low end of Lexus, the Avalon, Azera, Cadenza, low end of Acura and cars like that. That frees up Cadillac to make sports luxury.
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