smk4565

A base ATS (turbo 4) should be 0-60 in about 6.2 seconds, since a BMW 328i can do that, and with the V6 it should be closer to 4.9 seconds because a 335iS can do that now. BMW will have the next generation 3-series out by the time the ATS comes out. The G37 does 0-60 in the low 5s, but that car is closer to the CTS's size than the 3-series. They have to make the ATS faster than the CTS to keep up with the rest of the class. The ATS-V would have to have CTS-V type performance to match the M3.

An NA 4-cylinder in a Cadillac should not happen. Cadillac should have the best engines of General Motors. That is still a problem at GM, they hold back on Cadillac so they can pump money into other brands, or figure Chevy needs V8 trucks and muscle cars, but Cadillac can get by with only V6s because the old geezers won't care. The ATS needs to be running 0-60 in 4.8 or 4.9 seconds in standard trim, the ATS-V better be closer to 4.3 seconds. So I hope they don't hold back any punches as they say.

I hope "high out put, small displacement" doesn't mean 4-cylinder and turbo 4-cylinder. A turbo-4 cud suffice for the base model, but this car needs the 3.6 V6 tuned to at least 330 hp, turbo charge it if needed. Cadillac has been claiming they were going after BMW and Benz since the late 1980s, that I will believe when I see it. Can Cadillac really charge $45,000 for a compact car and sell it in volume?

I like the Sonata, to me it is one of the most appealing cars under $30k. 113,000 miles doesn't seem like much, but Pontaics did always seem to have the worst build quality of any GM brand. I like the HHR, its the best looking of the small boxy cars.

I actually like that. It looks better than the HHR (which I think looks good if you like retro), and looks better than the Orlando and Granite. The headlights have a bit of an Acura/Lincoln vibe, but in a good way. The styling is really good, but I don't have any interest in a 150 hp electric car. But for people that do want a 150 hp electric car, this would be the way to go.

S-classes last forever though. Most GM cars need a lot of repairs around the 100k-150k mile mark, and then are dead around 150,000 miles. I saw a 2009 Town Car Signature Limited for just $23,900 the other day. I think those cost about $50,000 new, so that is fantastic depreciation.

For around $30k they could get an 05-06 S-class 4Matic, that is much better equipped than any new GM car and will probably last longer too. But I suppose if I had to chose a car from that group, I'd say the Regal. It seems like they are traditional sedan buyers, and the Camaro is pretty aggressive and a fairly big departure from full size family sedans.

Porsche is #1 in long term reliability, and they only make DOHC engines. It isn't really the number of parts, it is how well it is made. Really it doesn't matter if the ATS-V has a million horsepower, Cadillac has an image and reputation problem. They are struggling to be the 4th best selling luxury maker in the USA, and they are nothing overseas. Cadillac needs to focus on build quality and turning around their image. Cadillac is still a brand that you have to justify why you bought one rather than a BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus.

Exclusive from the rest of GM. The BMW straight six (gas or diesel) is the world standard for that class, and straight sixes are smoother than V6s. Now my 4.4 or 4.8 liter V12 idea would be really exclusive.

Twin-turbo DOHC V6 would be my choice. It works for the GT-R. The next M3 is going to be an inline six, so that seems like a good way to do. The 5.5 liter pushrod sounds like something in the Silverado, thus not something that should be in a Cadillac. Notice Mercedes never put the Hemi V8 from the Ram into an E-class. In an ideal world, I think the ATS would have a straight six and they would copy BMW's engine as closely as possible. GM's 3.6 V6 and Infiniti's 3.7 V6 still lag behind the BMW and Benz in refinement and smoothness. A Cadillac straight six would be more refined than the 3.6 and then Cadillac would also have an exclusive engine to offer. Although I'd still like to see a twin turbo DOHC V8 the most, and a V12 Cadillac would be nice. Even if they did something like a 4-5 liter twin turbo V12. The Ferrari F40 only had a 3 liter V8, a 4 liter V12 is possible. The F50 had a 4.7 liter V12 that weighed 435 lbs, which is right in line with what the LS-series engines weigh and less than the Northstar.

No doubt it will have a lower price than the Civic and Corolla.

Wow, it's a 1982 BMW X6!

Shouldn't the 4Runner be unsafe also? It is the same thing. I always thought the Lexus GX was way too tall and narrow, it looks like it should roll over easily. Even just from a design standpoint, a vehicle that tall and narrow is ugly. Lexus should get rid of this vehicle anyway, they have the RX and LX SUVs and the GX is just ugly. A 3 row crossover would serve them better, but then again, the GS sedan is pretty sad and sits at the bottom of the class, perhaps they should invest there.

Brazil does that, they use sugar cane ethanol. A problem in the country for sure is the lack of production facilities to produce more ethanol and more diesel. We have a lot of dated refineries, and as was already mentioned, they aren't set up to produce diesel. Europe already beats our 2016 CAFE standards, if they did it, we should be able to do it. And Even if it does take 10 years to get new refineries up and running, that isn't an excuse not to build any, in fact it means we better start expanding now because it does take so long.

What I don't like is the separate standards for cars and trucks. Why should someone that wants a V8 performance car get penalized while someone that wants a V8 pickup is not. Diesel is going to play a big role in this too, automakers will have to push it, especially in SUVs and trucks.

The DTS was up 80%, so either it was a good fleet sale month, or a lot of people in Florida got their tax return checks early. CTS down 26%, it has been struggling lately. The SRX and LaCrosse are selling better than I thought they would. With Saturn and Pontiac gone, Buick and Chevy should both see increases all year long. Then the question will be can they have increases again in 2011.

I was comparing sedans, but if you want to compare the ZR1 to another sports car, compare it to the 911 Turbo. The Vette gets 13/20 mpg, the 911 gets 15/25. The Vette's 6.2 liter engine gets it from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds, the 911's 3.8 liter engine does 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. The ZR1 is 97 dBa at full throttle and 80 dBa at 70 mph, the 911 is 83, dBa at full throttle, and 72 dBa at 70 mph. The flat six is just more refined, quieter, more fuel efficient and faster.

The M5's 4.4 liter V8 will make 578 hp, Cadillac's 6.2 liter V8 makes 556. DOHC can rev faster and more freely. Some countries tax displacement, even Washington State is considering taxing displacement. The CTS-V has a $2600 gas guzzler tax, Jaguar XFR has $0. A 6.2 liter engine is thirsty, a 4.4 liter that uses less gas and makes the same power is more sensible.

In JD Power customer satisfaction, Lexus is actually #1, Cadillac is #2, and Jaguar is #3. Buick scored well for mass market brands, but Chevy was one slot behind them. Hummer and Saturn actually placed higher than Buick, so I guess they had satisfied customers, just not enough of them. Chevy is the everything brand, they can't cut back on Chevy. The problem with cutting back on Cadillac is BMW and Mercedes rarely cut back, so Cadillac has to keep up or go down market. If Cadillac goes down market with FWD Chevy based products then Buick isn't needed.

A Mercedes or BMW isn't designed to be cheaper, it is made to be excellent. Doing what is "cheap" shouldn't be a primary concern for Cadillac. And the fuel efficiency argument isn't really valid, a CTS-V gets 12/18 mpg, an E63 AMG gets 13/20 and an XFR gets 15/21 mpg. The Corvette gets good mpg (for a V8) because of weight, aerodynamics and gearing.

I'll just say, that Chevy pays Buick's rent. Buick had a very full line up, Century, Regal, LeSabre, Park Ave, Riviera in the 90s. Then Century, Regal, Rendezvous, LeSabre, Park Ave, Rainier in the 2000s. And in 19 of the past 20 years Buick posted a sales decline, the only year they had a gain, is when Olds died, and they picked up some extra buyers. Buick has a full size vehicle, it is the LaCrosse. That car is over 197 inches long and over 4,000 pounds (with awd), that is bigger than a Hyundai Genesis, G8, or Cadillac STS. How much bigger do they need? Plus the Enclave is 200 inches long and near 5,000 pounds, which is a really big vehicle. To me, Buick-GMC doesn't contribute a lot to GM's cause, what GMC sells, Chevy can sell, and Buick to me is the new Saturn. They pump in new product hoping to revive a dead brand, but it is throwing good money after bad. Meanwhile Chevy and Cadillac had to make due with stop-gap products form 2006-2008 because GM had to spread the wealth 8 ways. The few dollars GM has are best spent on Chevy and Cadillac.

When I sit in a Lucerne I feel like I am in the 1990s. I wouldn't trade my old Aurora for a brand new Lucerne, because the Lucerne interior is worse, and even with the Northstar it isn't any quicker because it is so heavy, and the Aurora handles better. On the outside the Lucerne just looks boring and like an Impala for older people. I don't see why anyone would buy a new Lucerne, when an 08 DTS goes for $20-25k, and there are other good bargains on slightly used cars. Or if you want new for the warranty, a Hyundai Azera has 5 years bumper to bumper and 10 years on powertrain. Used Lucernes are pretty cheap, but there are just so many other cars out there that are better.

The 5.5 liter AMG engine makes 660 lb=ft of torque, that is substantially better than the CTS-V's 6.2 liter engine can put out. As far as packaging size, the Merc engine is going to fit under the hood of the E-class, so I don't see how the future GM 5.5 liter pushrod taking up less space matters. And remember this isn't even Mercedes top end engine, they still have the BiTurbo V12.

Because GM will always chase volume over profitability and will chase short term sales to appease dealers rather than worry about the long term. Cadillac could put the CTS on the Malibu platform and sell it for $28,000 and sell tons of cars, then where will Cadillac be in 5-10 years? So my worry is that GM will push Cadillac down market to Lincoln level or even below in order to stir up sales. The only positive in that is that it would signal the end of Buick.

Scary that with all that bad press, they were only down 10% and Lexus went up. 6 months from now people will forget about Toyota's troubles and they'll go right back to how they were.