smk4565

I hope they get this right. The BLS/BTS needs to be smaller and better than the CTS, priced about the same, 33k base. I fear the CTS will shift to $36-49k, BLS will be $29,900-36,000 and the zeta car will be $48-60k and 200+ inches long and basically be the DTS converted to rear drive.

Luxury brands rely on perception. The Deville and Ezcalade pickup hurt Cadillac. They've needed to change their perception for years, and it has changed a little, but they still have a dressed up Tahoe (oddly enough it has a good image) and the geezer DTS that dates back to 90s and the bland STS. Mercedes has a $150,000 sedan, BMW has dozens of 10 Best and Car of the Year awards, those brands have image and status and appeal. Cadillac still relies on parts sharing with Chevy and undercutting the competition on price. It also doesn't help that American cars in general have a poor reputation. No one has forgot the 70s, 80s, and 90s of bad cars form American brands. This scares buyers away still. Cadillac needs to go above and beyond to fix the perception gap. It will cost GM billions to get them to where they need to be, I want to see them do it, but I don't think they'll invest the time and money, because they need to give Saab, Hummer or some other brand product, so a new Cadillac gets bumped back 2 years.

It's their main market (2/3 of sales), but they sell them worldwide. Worldwide sales will be over 500,000 this year, up from 394,000 in 2004, and they sold their first car 18 years ago. So they are growing fast. I think Toyota saw the US as the market to attack first and Europe is next. BMW has even said "we have 2 competitors, one is in Stuttgart, the other is from Japan." Worldwide Lexus isn't on par with Mercedes, but they are growing. Cadillac has sold 240-245,000 cars the last couple years worldwide. Only about 10k a year are outside of the US-Canada market. They need to do better than that, and kill that BLS, that is hurting, not helping.

Very funny and true. You can get an 06 STS-V for about 50k, I've even seen $49k and these are for models with 8-13,000 miles, nearly new cars, but $30,000 off original price. The XLR-V is the same, I've seen those for $60-65k for 2006 models, big drop from the 100k sticker price. BMW and Lexus have some unreal ability to hold value, people decent money for them even if they have 100k miles. I just saw a 2005 STS V8 with 30k miles for $23,000 (originally $55k) in the Cleveland area if anyone is looking for a car. Cadillacs make great used cars because of their low resale value, but they make bad new car buys.

That is a good price. They have to price it above the G6 and forget the range the Grand Prix was in. $27,000 is a V6 Aura or Camry, so that is on par. I shutter every time I see the Holden interior, itis so bad. People looking for a cheap V8 will like this car though.

I don't prefer the BMW M engines, they have no torque. BMW's best engine is probably the 3.0 liter twin-turbo I6. But a twin turbo DI V8 is coming too, that should be another winner. The Mercedes V12 is twin turbo, and only a 3 valve per cylinder SOHC. Ford put two Duratec V6s end to end for Aston Martin, if they can get a 6.0 liter V12 in that little car, Cadillac should be able to fit a 5.6 liter V12 in something. The current CTS doesn't go into a price territory that they could justify a V12, but at some point they have to make a car above entry level. Then they could use that engine and the XLR could use it right now. If I were them I'd do 3.6 DI V6, 4.6 DI Ultra V8, 5.6 liter V12, and make a turbo or supercharged version of each. Then they need a V6 2-mode hybrid and a diesel V6 to cover the fuel efficiency end. The 8 and 12 cylinder need displacement on demand obviously to try to keep mpg numbers semi respectable. Cadillac isn't on the radar screens of BMW, Lexus and Mercedes right now, they aren't a world player, sales are dropping with the current product mix, while the other 3 rise. Cadillac needs to shake it up, and make some world class product. They should at least match the 3-series (beating it is probably impossible for anyone), I think the 5-series/E-class segment they can lead with the right car, and they should be able to match the S-Class and LS460 and beat the 7-series, although a new 7-series is coming next year, so maybe it will be the new benchmark, but for now, the S-class is it. The XLR with the right interior and engines should be able to lead that class.

Ford's model lineup is terrible. They are dead in the water basically. The F150, Escape and Edge are doing well, the Mustang does kind of well due to no immediate competitor and 40 year history, but that is about it. I see a fair amount of MKZ's, but I don't think any competitor fears them too much.

Good news, I'd like to see the fleet sales drop even more, it will help them in the long haul. Isn't every month at GM a "truck month" sales event? 13,000 Lambdas a month works out to 156,000 per year. Will they sell 250k Chevys? 156,000 a year is nice, but it's 3 vehicles doing that, while the Honda Odyssey does well over 100k, and the Trailblazer had some 200,000+ years. They need one minivan and one midsize 5 seat SUV, and a compact SUV. CTS should break the 60,000 mark they hoped for. I think 60-70k is very realistic as STS sales sink and the CTS is improved over the last model. Cadillac needs more winners though, that is their top selling car, and still selling half as many as the 3-series.

Cargo capacity and number of seats are not the most important thing when it comes to SUVs. The CRV, Rav4 and Escape are the top sellers, Edge, Explorer and even Trailblazer (with the discounts) are still doing well. The 5 seaters and small to midsize do well, and GM has the Vue and a dated Equinox. They need to replace the trailblazer with a midsize SUV and they need a real minivan. I think they are in for a wake up call when they dump the Trailblazer and those that want a 5 seat SUV flee to Ford or Toyota. The SRX is 0-60 in 6.4 seconds, let's see a Lambda do that, or pull .80 g on a skidpad. The SRX is the best SUV GM ever made, shame on them for giving it a wagon look and not marketing it right. The SRX is in it's 5th model year and still better than the Enclave or Acadia.

The old CTS couldn't fit a Northstar, I think this one was made to be able to, plus the Northstar is 15 years old and too big, they should be able to get dimensions down with the Ultra V8. Even the little M3 fits a V8 under the hood, the M5 and RS6 no bigger than a CTS and fit a V10. If they can make it work, Cadillac can too. Mercedes has a 5.5 liter V12, it has 612 lb-ft of torque at 1800-3500 rpm. The Z06 has 470 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm, so where is the pushrod low end advantage? The 6.0 liter's peak torque is 4400 rpm. I picked 5.6 liter, because GM has a 2.8 liter V6, if they doubled that they get 5.6. Turbo charging it might get too expensive, and it probably won't fit in the CTS, but in an STS sized car they should be able to make it fit. I just hope the Ultra V8 is around 4.8 liters and makes 380 hp, then with a twin turbo they can get near 500, and that can be the new V-series engine. Cadillac would be so much better off with an engine like that.

This is a good point. They have to do a DOHC engine for the Escalade and GMC trucks at least, offering it as a top end in Chevy is a good idea. They should still have a pushrod like the 5.3 liter for a mainstream engine for lower cost. A good diesel will give them a big advantage also. 6-speed automatic is needed most on the Silverado though. They can't hold back on what they put into the Silverado and expect buyers to keep buying from loyalty. They laughed at the Camry and Accord 20 years ago, now look at GM's midsize cars. They can't underestimate the Tundra, it will get better, they have to keep the Silverado ahead of it. What will stop Toyota from using the Lexus V10 they are working on in the Tundra? They already use the Lexus LS V8 in it, and have the hybrid V8 planned. GM needs to plan ahead and have stuff ready to go, so they don't get caught behind the 8 ball.

But how many did they sell? And why is BMW still the gold standard of sport sedans? The M3 they claim is 3500 pounds, although I read some estimates closer to 3700, the CTS is in the 4000+ range, if the M3 is really 3500, it has a big advantage. This is the same reason the Corvette has an advantage over Aston Martin and Mercedes SL. Every luxury brand is chasing BMW, every car magazine compares other cars to BMW. The day Lexus and Mercedes are saying, "we need to build a car as good as Cadillac" and buying Cadillacs to take them apart to copy them, is the day Cadillac is where they need to be. Cadillac should do a 5.6 liter V12 and perhaps turbo it for the CTS-V that would get attention. Although it might throw weight balance off, in which case a twin turbo DOHC V8 is the way to go.

I know the Lambda is the size of the Trailblazer EXT, but the canceled the EXT due to poor sales, and what replaces the 190 inch long Trailblazer? Not everyone needs 7 seats, in fact the majority of the top 15 selling SUVs are 5 seaters. There is definitely a place in the market for 1 Lambda, even 2, but 4 is nuts and counting on them to replace all midsize SUVs and minivans, while being the same length as the full size SUV is senseless. The regular length Trailblazer is 4530 pounds with 4wd. The Toyota Highlander 4wd is 4200-4320 pounds, most minivans are 4400 or so. The Lambdas have a weight problem. Even the SRX V8 AWD (the best SUV GM has) is 4442 pounds. Here are an example of the gray plastic trim on the Lambdas.

I think a 5.5 liter DOHC with a lot of technology in it would make far more power than a pushrod 6.2 liter. They could reduce to 5.5, which is still big, and have the power they need. Switching to DOHC is a good idea, because people are going to demand it in trucks, just like they do with cars. The Tundra has a DOHC V8 with 380 hp, everyone else is going to have to do a similar engine. Just like the Camry and Accord's DOHC V6s made all the pushrod American sedans almost no factor, the Tundra is going to promote DOHC in trucks, and the F150 has OHC too, so GM might as well jump on board.

You don't have to, you can keep it the same and make more, or be like BMW and go from a 360 hp 4.8 liter V8 to a 410+ hp 4.4 liter V8 like they are about to do for the 555i. They are going smaller with better fuel economy and adding 50 horsepower. Honda's 3.5 liter V6 used to make 215 hp, they are at 244 hp now. Going from pushrod to DOHC should allow a huge gain, look at the 3.8 liter in the Lucerne making 197 hp and the smaller 3.6 liter in the CTS making 304. 107 more hp from a smaller engine. Makes sense to do everything DI and DOHC. Never hurts to add a turbo if needed.

I really like the exterior, I love it with the metal mesh grille, the plastic makes the car look cheaper. I don't like the monotone gray interior, they needed to do better there, the Accord is way better than that. From the outside it is the best car in the class, inside looks like a rental car still.

4 rebadges is a horrible mistake too, they flood the market and drive down resale value. They just recreated the Envoy/Trailblazer/Bravada problem, and look at where they are now. 5 years from now the Lambdas will be the same, low resale, too big, too slow and thirsty and dated looking because of the plastic body moldings on the sides of them all, including the Enclave. The Lambdas have a smaller, less powerful engine than the GMT360s had, but the Lambdas are 400-500 pounds heavier. While they spend 2-3 years getting these out, stuff like the Impala and Cobalt get put on the back burner, and those are the vehicles that need help, as well as the Cadillac line.

250k units a year is a little ambitious I think. It is much bigger than the Trailblazer, so Trailblazer seekers may go to Jeep or Highlander or Explorer, and it isn't a minivan. Minivans are lower and easier to get into than the lambdas, moms with kids are going to still like a minivan for that reason. I am sure it will steal some sales from the minivan segment, but it doesn't make up for not having a van at all. Being 10 inches longer and 500 pounds heavier than a Trailblazer could hurt it, or it might sell at 250k a year by eating into sales of Tahoes and Acadias. I bet they price it around $25,000 base, a Honda Odyssey is that much base, and that allows them to have a smaller SUV around 23k. Chevy needs product badly though, the Impala, Cobalt and Equinox are all dated and in need of replacement. GM needs to cut the models, they can't update them fast enough, by the time they get the new impala, Equinox and Cobalt out, they will need an all new Malibu again.

DOHC is good news, the more DOHC engines the better. 6.2 liters is rather big though, that could use up a lot of gas. It seems like the only way GM knows how to make power is increase engine size, the Corvette was 5.7 liter 4 years ago, then 6.0, now 6.2, 7.0 in the ZO6. At some point they need real technological breakthroughs, hopefully more direct injection and these gas engines that act like diesel are it. I'm curious to see what they do with the Ultra V8.

How loud and unrefined will a supercharged pushrod be? This is like a 3800 Series III Supercharged on steroids. BMW is working on a twin turbo V10 and 8 speed transmission, the M5 will still beat this car, the M3 could probably beat it on a race track due to the massive weight advantage. Can't compete with BMW with a pushrod. Or with the Mercedes AMG cars or Audi V10s.

Buick's average car buyer age is 67, which has risen from 63 in 2004. The Lucerne and LaCrosse are not reversing the trend they are making it worse. You should trade your Lucerne in on an 03 Aurora, the Aurora is a far better car in every way (which is sad, it was designed 8 years ago). The Camry's average buyer is about 54, Lexus is up in the 50s too. I agree that is becoming the baby boomer car and will be the car of choice for 60+ crowd in a couple years, but Buick still gets older buyers, oldest of any brand still, even with the Enclave. If they are going to keep Buick and want to make them good, it is simple, and stuff they should have done 10 years ago. W-body and G-body have to go. They need smaller cars! People that are in their 50s with no kids don't need a 200 inch long vehicle, this is why the Camry and ES350 sell so well, midsize sells! Full size is declining fast. 6 speed tranny and DOHC engine standard in every vehicle, hybrid option on every model, no pushrods ever in a Buick. All real wood, no fake, leather standard on all models, no plastic body cladding like the Enclave has, 17 inch alloy wheels standard on all models, no wheel covers. 0% fleet sale. Zero rebates, the Enclave has a $1000 rebate, I thought it was a hot item, why give money away. Every Buick should be 68 dB or less at 70 mph and have a 5/60,000 bumper to bumper warranty. Also abandon all base models, base models flood the market and kill resale values and base model Buicks look horrible. There should be 2 trims per model, both looking the same on the outside. The only change would be a wheel upgrade on the CXS vs the CXL. To have any chance at a future they have to throw away the past and build stuff unlike anything form the last 25 years. It could take 8 years to get their image just to where Lincoln is today, I don't know if GM can pump money in that long on a brand that sells 200k units a year. If they do it right, they have a chance to save Buick and win back some of those Toyota buying boomers but, GM hasn't shown the commitment yet and given them the products to do so. Toyota outspends GM on new product development and has far fewer brands and model lines to worry about. GM is in a perpetual catchup mode, they have to break that cycle.

Will the CTC be 192 inches long with 5 foot long doors to pay homage to the defunct Monte Carlo?

Buick will not attract younger buyers because they are Buick. It has a bad image, people under 40 associate Buick with the car their grandparents drove. I agree that they have to go all out or they might as well just close up shop now. I don't see them making it as nice as the worst Lexus, because they'd have to charge $35,000 for it or more. Lexus can build a car for less than it costs Buick to make one. If they are projecting 60,000 CTS sales and that is priced in the $30s, how will they sell 65,000 Buicks if they price it in the $30s? Regardless of how much horsepower they put in the Regal/LaCrosse, it won't have the image or resale value of Lexus. Cadillac doesn't even have that image yet, how will Buick? This car will be a step below the Lincoln MKZ, and cost in the high $20s to about $32k. Nothing wrong with that, they'll sell some, but no one should be comparing it to Lexus.

XLR is in dire need of a refresh, the shape is good, but needs a new grille, better interior and more power, I hope they address that before 2012. DTS and Lucerne until 2010? They are really letting those drag out, although the G6 is worse, that car is cheap and dated now, I can't wait to see how bad it is in 2012. It'll be sad to see the SRX go, a CTS wagon is a bad idea, no one will miss the STS. I am curious to see the execution of the Alpha and Zeta cars, it is a shame they are so far away, BMW will be on their next generation 5 and 7 series by then.

And all those cars torque steer like crazy, and have 63% of their weight up front. I have an Aurora which isn't as bad as the more powerful V8s in torque steer, but the car is too front heavy and V8s should drive the rear wheels. It is easy to do 300 hp in a front drive car, it just makes no sense. I am buying rear drive next time, it is better.