smk4565

I am with Oldsmoboi on this one. Limo or hearse drivers aren't going to care about speed, and if you are in the back of a limo you can't hear the engine, and if you are in the back of a hearse you probably don't care about NVH characteristics. The Town Car V8 did have torque, but a transmission form the 80s as well. The MKT 2.0 has 260 lb-ft, less than the V8 but the transmission can make up for it. Fuel economy is the real thing here, many limos sit around idling or going at slow speeds in cities, so the 5 mpg extra is worth the slight drop in power. Plus, the Town Car had only 1 engine choice, the MKT has 3, so if you don't like the 2.0T and want that seat of your pants experience in an ugly, pointless SUV, they make a 3.5 Ecoboost also. If looking to be critical of the MKT 2.0 Ecoboost, I wouldn't pick on it having a little less power, I'd wonder why it only gets 28 mpg, but weight and aerodynamics are no doubt dragging it down big time. $49k is a lot also, if it was $49k for that 2.0T with a hybrid system getting more like 30 mpg combined they would have something more marketable to fleets.

A Hybrid could work, most of Rolls-Royce history was done with a V8, but at this point, I doubt any of their current or perspective customer base wants any less than a V12. Maybe bolt the BMW hybrid system on the the Rolls V12, but as stated, people buying a Phantom don't care about mpg or fuel cost. They just care that it took 127 hours to hand stitch the leather on the seats and that a man with white gloves spent a week polishing the chrome.

Jaguar is working on a 1.6 liter supercharged and turbo charged 4-cylinder with 500 hp and 10,000 rpm redline for the C-X75. Granted they are asking over $1,000,000 for that car but if they can get that much power from a 4, I'm sure Cadillac can get enough from a six to make the ATS-V fast. Nissan and Porsche both have a 6-cylinder car faster than the ZR-1 after all. Who's to say they don't use carbon fiber body panels on the ATS-V, AWD and launch control, and even with 6-cylinders don't end up with a car quicker than a base Corvette, or current CTS-V.

Mazda6 and Fusion are both being replaced with new models in the fall also, new Accord is on the way soon too. The new models probably won't need as many rebates, but at the same time, in a weak economy with 6-7 strong players in one segment, the incentives may be what sway people to pick one car over the other.

The BMW straight six is the smoothest engine I've ever driven, those aren't just good engines, they are great engines. But Toyota, GM, Ford, etc all need sixes that can work rwd or fwd, so that is why no one other than BMW will build one (unless Mercedes decides to again). I think M3 loyalists will like the return to the straight six, a lot didn't like the V8 and the car getting heavier. ATS-V I don't care if they do V6 or V8, but if it is the same V8 from a Silverado or even Camaro SS, why am I paying not just Cadillac price, but V-series price for the engine out of a $30k Chevy. The engine has to be worth the price premium, and I'd probably lean toward 6 cylinders because BMW is doing it, even though V8s are nice to have. I always liked the Northstar name, but because they let it soldier on for so many years without many updates, it might be a bit damaged now.

Even with the other trim levels, I can't see the Malibu outselling the Fusion, Camry, Accord, Altima and Sonata, even with the Malibu's heavy fleet sales. At retail it will be lucky to outsell the Optima even. Based on the reviews they brought a knife to a gun fight, and there are a lot of big guns in that fight.

I didn't realize that the GL outsold the Escalade last year until I read it about a week ago, and the new GL is even better. Mercedes quietly moved in and took charge of that full size luxury suv segment.

The Eco isn't even the top model, they said the turbo will start at $27,900, nearly $3k more than a Sonata Turbo (the best car of all time). I think Eco is wasted hype also, it gets worse mileage than a base Altima and gives up a lot to the Passat diesel. If people are frugal on money, they can just buy a cheaper car, and if they are frugal on gas because they want to protect the environment, the Sonata/Optima/Camry/Fusion hybrids all beat the Malibu there.

Since the M3 will have a straight six, my guess is the ATS goes with a turbo V6. They want to be like BMW in the worst way it seems.

I think people just don't want to pay $25k or more for that Malibu Eco, especially when it looks similar to the current car that costs much less. Even after the '12 Malibu is gone, I think customers still won't want to spend over $25k for a Malibu eco and will just go to Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, or Toyota.

On the hybrid front, if the Mercedes E300 Bluetec hybrid is estimated at over 50 mpg. It's possible to have a fuel efficient luxury hybrid, but most are just marketing ploys and don't provide enough mpg gain to justify the price.

This looks like a mid-cycle refresh and not a new car. The exterior hardly changed, and they basically changed the dash design and some interior bits. And I don't know if Lexus noticed, but The S550 has over 500 lb-ft, quite a bit more than 367 lb-ft of this car, the F-sport seems not so sporty. The S550 gets 25 mpg also. For them to build a "sport" version of this car is a joke, this is a snooze mobile selling on badge alone at this point, as this customer base dies off they are in trouble, just like the Town Car and Deville of 15 years ago.

A used Jag XF is still a bit pricey for me, but I figure I will be car shopping in about 1 years time and see what I can afford. Reliability could come into question there, but I do love how they look, although the 2012 update corrected the dumb headlights and now they really have it nailed. My mom has a 124,000 mile Audi and she has spent under $500 in repairs on it (not counting oil changes and tires) and the interior and body are like new still. To quote the Sham-wow ad "it's made in Germany, and you know the Germans make good stuff." I don't much care for Audi or BMW, but would look at a used Mercedes. The STS V8 is a bit floaty, I didn't like driving that car, CTS is better, but I don't like the current CTS. I liked the original car more, it had better proportions and the console angled toward the driver, the interior materials came up short though. The ATS does a lot to get Cadillac back in the right direction, the current CTS I feel like they made it to compete with the Germans, but also the Lexus ES, Acura TL and Lincoln MKZ as well, they are trying to have the CTS wear too many hats, and it looks chunky and blocky. It needs to get streamlined like it used to be, and more of a driver's car. Volvo is mediocre FWD with dated engines, and their interiors don't impress me at all. I see them as a weak automaker, and Lincoln and Acura are teetering also, Cadillac should be able to clean up if they could get their act together.

And if the long term durability is good, they will get repeat business and positive press. They are on fire even with no track record, imagine what they will do with 10-20 years of a solid reputation. Honda and Toyota must be nervous.

The Passat does look very bland, you have to have the upgraded sport wheels to give it any hope. The interior is plain too, but it is well organized and well put together. VW may have dumbed it down a little, but Toyota and Honda have made a fortune on selling bland and dumbed down, so they are giving the people what they want. Which is fitting for the "people's car"

Oh ok. The Malibu seems like a refresh of the current, even if they did change a lot under the skin. And I like many other cars in that segment more. The Impala having only to deal with the Avalon, Taurus and perhaps Dodge/Chrysler rear drivers should have more success. The ATS I think will hit the right spot also, as long as the inside isn't too small. The German trio pretty much own that segment, the ATS can rocket right past Lexus, Acura, Volvo, Infiniti, etc.

The Camaro isn't so much of a cheap performance car any more. It seems to be heading into where a Corvette was priced several years ago.

Could be the Catera in reverse. They could tweak the front and rear fascias and call it a day, wouldn't surprise me if they did. I doubt many people in Europe want one regardless of what they do with it.

Why is that?

Looks like the same as the current car, aside from the new grille, which is hideous. The tag line for this car could be "the new LS460, now with more Camry!" The 2007 Lexus LS460 looked decent, it was boring, but it at least had a subtle sophistication to it and some elegance. Since it seems like in their desire to make it less boring, it just got uglier and uglier. Just another victim for the S-class now, and the posers that buy a LS460 for $65k because they can't afford and S-class can now buy an Equus, which is better than this thing.

The 2.0T even rated at 260 hp and lb-ft wouldn't be too far off than the 275 hp and 300 lb-ft from the DeVilles. Plus a 6-speed transmission rather than a 4. The 0-60 times would still probably be 7.5 seconds, which is adequate for the type of people that buy an XTS. I think they will probably sell the 2.0T XTS here in time, they definitely need it in China where gas is above $4 a gallon, and that could rise with demand. I think the type of buyer that buys an ATS will be more discriminating of the engine than the typical XTS buyer, so if the 2.0T is good enough for the ATS, it is good enough for the XTS. As long as they always offer a V6 option, because there will be old school buyers that are mad about losing the V8, they may accept a V6, but probably won't buy a 4.

If Hyundai can make a DOHC V8, then Cadillac can. It could be used on the CTS, as well as LTS (if that is the name) and possibly future Escalade or a future sports car. And there could be different tunes obviously, with naturally aspirated and turbo or they could do a couple different displacements also. They need a diesel also.

I must say though, that I am glad Cadillac is going for it, and I'm glad they are trying and aiming big. I'd rather see them go all in and see what happens, rather than be like Lincoln and just sit stagnant waiting to die.

I'm excited for this car and to see what they come up with, but Cadillac hasn't had success in this price range in over 50 years. The Allante, XLR, STS-V all bombed out. Different era, but still, this is territory that GM hasn't been been able to break into. If they can nail this car, it will be huge for Cadillac, both in terms of image, and in terms of developing new technology that can trickle down the line. I am not so sure they can hit a home run on this car though, GM will try to go back to the parts bin to cut costs and cut corners, and if they do it will show. The 2 big problems though are 1: Cadillac has very little international sales presence, while the others do, and 2: Cadillac doesn't have the brand image the others in this class do. Even now, Cadillac's top sedan has a base price of $45k, and in 3 years they want to get people to spend perhaps $90k for a full size sedan, it is a big leap. When the traditional Cadillac buyer walks into a dealer and sees a $45k XTS, and a $90k whatever-TS that are the same size, that could be confusing.

Jaguar leather and wood is excellent, the carpets are good, the interiors are just top notch. Plus Jaguar styling is so good, the XK has been around 6 or 7 years now and still looks amazing. Jaguar in 2009 was #1 JD Power in vehicle dependability, snapping the 14 year streak Lexus had. They were below average in 2010, but #3 in 2011. So they aren't the disaster they used to be. The ATS I'd consider, it is the most appealing Cadillac to me in years. From the photos I think they did get interior build quality up to where it needs to be, but I need to sit in on to see. The 3.6 with RWD should be good, because I thought the CTS felt burdened by the weight, the ATS should solve that problem.