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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    I don't care for the new look of Lincoln on any car, but it looks better here than on the MKS. I bet the new Escape and the MKC (which sounds like the name for a coupe) steal sales off the Edge and MKX. That euro-Focus platform just seems so much more modern and better than the Edge/MKX. So how long before the Lincoln Fiesta comes out?
  2. smk4565
    They have some good features, but this is basically the same interior look and feature set of other Cadillacs, mainly the XTS and ATS which cost less money and have over 300 hp, not 207. The Lexus Prius bombed, I just can't see this working well, even though the ELR has good styling and the Lexus hybrids have terrible styling. I do like the Sixteen-style grille on the ELR, I wish that was on the ATS. The ELR front end on a rear drive proportioned car would look good, and the ATS front end just don't pop, it is missing something.
  3. smk4565
    This car makes no sense, it isn't all that much cheaper than the 328i and it gets the same gas mileage. They should have put the 320d on sale, it would probably get around 45 mpg and much different than the 328i. This 320i is just pointless.
  4. smk4565
    The new CLS looks fantastic, the current C-class I think has great proportions and a timeless look to it. I like when Mercedes sticks with classy, dignified styling. The 2014 E-class has those huge air ducts below the bumper, it looks terrible. They are trying to make it overly aggressive looking, but that isn't Mercedes. The current E-class front end is better than what they are replacing it with, aside from dumping the 4 headlight look which I hated, that new front end is bad. The CLA is borderline too aggressive, but they are going for a younger buyer, so I think they can get away with it here. But the C, E, and S-class need to retain that classic and dignified styling in my opinion.
  5. smk4565

    Here's Your ELR

    smk4565 replied to ocnblu's topic in Cadillac

    The interior is very consistent with other Cadillacs, but at the same time it doesn't look any better than an ATS or XTS interior. The piano black console with the little buttons reminds me of the Ford Touch system, I am not a fan of those. They don't look good and they don't work as well as normal buttons. So here we have a car with overly huge wheels giving it awkward proportions, an interior like an ATS, less practicality and less performance than an ATS, yet could cost $20,000 more than an ATS. For the good of Cadillac, I hope this thing bombs more than the Allante, so they can get back to working on rear drive sedans.
  6. smk4565
    The proportions look odd because it is small and FWD. I think that is what hurt the look of the car, overall the styling themes work, but it is just a bit more overdone than it is on some of their other cars. I hope Mercedes doesn't start making a lot of overly styled cars, they always had timeless designs. Parts of this car look really awkward, the front end especially, and over the front wheels. Amazingly low drag coefficient, so kudos for that. I think this car will bring in a new type of buyer to Mercedes, although I myself would never buy one.
  7. smk4565
    I am not a fan, I thought the C5 for the time was one of the best looking Corvette's. This car has the same profile shape, but I don't like the back end and there is just too many black plastic air vents all over this car. It is like since the C5 they kept the same shape, and just tacked on more and more bling to try to make it look modern. The headlights look too much like a 458 Italia. The interior seems no better than the last Corvette. The design looks dated, unless the build quality is fantastic I think they dropped the ball on the interior.
  8. smk4565
    BMW Brand (no Mini or Rolls) sold 281,000 cars in the USA in 2012. Mercedes Brand sold 295,000. Because the Sprinter wears the 3-point star rather than a Frieghtliner or other badge, Mercedes outsold BMW.
  9. smk4565
    Porsche is owned by VW, they make more 40 mpg cars than any other automaker I believe. Ferrari has tiny volume, and I'm not sure how they factor in with Fiat and Chrysler, or if Ferrari is just exempt all together. BMW has Mini, and the Euro-BMW line gets about 38 mpg average because of all the diesels, they have an easy CAFE solution if they need it. But Europe will want more than 38 mpg, thus the electric i-cars are coming. I don't think the Corvette will need a V6 for CAFE reasons, I was thinking more for sales and price point. The Corvette in the 50's and 60's was priced at about $28,000 in today's money. Ten years ago a Corvette was $41k, which is $50k today with inflation, and the Corvette still costs $50k base. But my worry is because of the price premium on V8s, they push the Corvette to $60k base and then it isn't so much the affordable sports car that it once was.
  10. smk4565
    The Aztek wins, everyone else is playing for 2nd place.
  11. smk4565
    LaCrosse down 25%, Regal down 50%, the Verano is eating away at those two. Especially the Regal, I think the Verano is a better car even at even money, being $5k cheaper than a Regal and it is no contest. I am a little surprised the XTS is selling around 2900 a month, I wonder what % is fleet sales. I thought that car would be closer to 2,000 a month, but it is year one, and it may cool off, especially when a new CTS arrives. Also interesting is that the 2013 Malibu sells worse than the model it replaces. That car is a big disappointment and the CamCord duo are back with a vengence. The Sonic and Cruze both went up in sales, even with the Spark coming in to market. Shows the small cars are going well, actually, those 3 are performing far better than the Malibu/Impala.
  12. smk4565
    Thanks to Sprinter, Mercedes beat BMW.
  13. smk4565
    I agree that cheap V8s are going away, suppose a V8 Corvette bases around $60k with the C7. Wouldn't it be nice to have a $50k V6 model to get some more sales? But it depends too on what they want the Corvette to be. It used to be a more attainable car, then as the Z06 and ZR1 models came, they sort of pushed it into Porsche 911 territory. If they want it attainable, put the V6 in there, if they want it to be expensive, keep it V8 only.
  14. smk4565
    Pointless. No one will ever buy a V6 Corvette. A lot said that about Cadillac, at least on the full size ones. But here we are with 4-cylinder Cadillacs and V6 full size Cadillacs. The V6 (or flat 6) hasn't hurt the 911 or GT-R any. I think people would buy a V6 Corvette, especially if it got the price down to keep the car affordable. And let's remember a 2004 Corvette had 350 hp, a V6 in 2014 could make that easily.
  15. smk4565
    I will say that I am not a fan of the XKR-S and putting black wheels, Recaro seats, spoilers or big hood scoops on the XK. It isn't a track car, it's a luxury car, it should be more dignified than having a big wing on the back like a 90's Eclipse.
  16. smk4565
    It is a grand tourer right now pretty much. The XK is 189 inches long now and 74.5 inches wide, that is pretty big for a 2-door, I don't think they need to make it any bigger. It would be risky to push the price up even more, sales would drop. The styling is still fantastic, the 2013 model is basically the same as the 2007 in terms of design, and it looks better than ever. I hope they don't mess with the looks.
  17. smk4565
    It was never a good tag line, but Chevy needs to get something they can use for more than 2-3 years.
  18. smk4565
    At least BMW doesn't promise differentiation... BMW has 3 brands and one would not confuse a Mini for a BMW or a BMW 7-series for a Rolls-Royce. GMC for years has just been Chevy, yet Generals Motors pretends they are a unique brand.
  19. smk4565
    I think GM has promised "more differentiation" on vehicles for a decades, yet they all end up looking pretty much the same. Perhaps this means the pickups get the work truck style interior while the SUVs get an evolution of what they had.
  20. smk4565
    There are already plug-in hybrids on Toyota and Ford lots, it isn't like Cadillac is breaking some new ground here. And cars still come down to cost to buy it, cost to own it, and performance it gives back. The Volt doesn't sell because you get the size and performance of a Cruze, for double the price. The ELR is going to be more of the same, it will probably cost more than an SLK, Boxter or Corvette and perform like a Civic, that is a hard sell even if it runs on water.
  21. smk4565
    I think that new MKZ is ugly, it looks worse than the MKS that nobody buys. And even though they redesigned their car, the Fusion looks better and is cheaper, and you have a new Lexus ES and new 3-series on sale, the ATS and a new CTS coming, a new Mercedes C-class isn't far away, there are too many better options than the MKZ. The NKZ got a little bigger too, so it might even steal sales off the aging MKS, and the Navigator is seriously outdated, so sales should keep sinking there, and the MKX has probably hit it's sales peak and will decline. Even if the MKZ goes up 15%, the rest of that lineup could drop 15%.
  22. smk4565
    Unless there is only one engine, like the G37 has just the V6. They could do the Q50 with the V6 for example, then the IPL trim has more power. Or maybe they do regular and turbo, like Sonata or Verano turbo options but same model name. So you have a Q50 and Q50 turbo.
  23. smk4565
    I meant GM overall of the past 10 years or so. They did the SSR, Solstice/Sky and some novelties of Bob Lutz like the G8 and GTO even those were just imports, but then they abandon minivans, small pickups they have neglected as of late, the Impala was neglected for years until now, etc. GM for a lot of years liked doing those niche products, then putting a half assed Malibu out there to get clobbered by the Accord and Camry.
  24. smk4565
    The ELR might sell even worse than the XLR did, and the Volt probably loses money, dumping more money into that platform to create a low volume Cadillac sounds like another money loser. This smells of old GM when they used to make a lot of low volume, niche segment halo cars like the Chevy SSR, while neglecting the key segments. I'm curious to see the final product to see what they do with interior and how they price it. But I still feel that another Cadillac flop is coming with this car.
  25. smk4565
    Even using the Volt base, I think the ELR could be a money loser. This car doesn't help them catch the Germans, they need to pump money and resources into the cars that do.
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