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CT5 interior is fine for a $36k start price, no complaints there, CTS interior wasn’t up to par for a $46k start price. The XT6 interior is about the same as a Kia Telluride, the XT6 is overpriced for what it is. Problem is Cadillac isn’t a premium boutique brand, they are the American Acura. They aren’t the American Bentley as they should aim to be.

They don’t need to carry the corporation but a luxury brand with no coupe, no convertible? They have 4 SUVs that could be enough but BMW has 7 with an 8th on the way. And where is the performance SUV? The top powertrain in an XT4 is 235 hp, you can get more than that in a Ford Escape. I am not saying Cadillac needs 15 models but how about 7-8? How about V-series on everything or a “Brougham” trim for a higher trim interior like how GMC has Denali and Buick has Avenir. And if Cadillac is only going to do 6 models they should be outstanding, 4 of the 6 are basically re-imagined Chevy SUVs with Chevrolet powertrains.

The Z06 will probably run like 7:04 (assuming 10 seconds better than the C7) and we'll see what the Zora does. Mercedes holds the Nurburgring record right now, they'll hold it for sure once the AMG One set a lap time this year. The Corvette is going to beat them, and I know Cadillac will never build a car faster than a Corvette. Cadillac has 2 V-series cars, which right now are both under 400 hp, and the "Blackwings" are limited to like 250 each of the CT4 and CT5 or something, so they must not expect much demand. CTS-V was a fast car, but the M5 and E63 were faster, and Mercedes has cars faster than the E63. Mercedes has over 15 cars with 500 hp. Cadillac isn't committed to performance because only 2 of their 6 models have performance variants and they are the 2 slowest sellers they have. Why doesn't Cadillac make a coupe, a convertible, a performance SUV? They don't even have a full line of cars, yet alone a full line of performance cars. There should have been an Escalade-V 10 years ago, and they should make a V-series of every electric car they sell. Also Cadillac interiors need to get better, they dropped the price by about $10k going from CTS to CT5, that helps align the interior with the price you pay. But Cadillac has often fell on their face with interiors on the more expensive cars, even going back the the XLR.

This is sort of a disappearing market, but it is nice that there are still big rear drive V8 sedans out there.

But the Model S is a sedan, my point is Tesla's CT5 sized sedan can put up performance times like a Corvette on a track, any sedan running sub 7:30 on the Nurburgring is insane because the Tesla, Panamera and AMG GT 4-door are the only 3 that can do it. And Tesla has a sports car coming but we can't compare it and C8 Zora because we don't know what they'll actually be. The Corvette (C8 and C7 Z06, ZR1) Nurburgring times are just in a sea of other super cars, as I said there are several in the 6:40's on sale now and dozens in the low 7's with the Corvette. There might be 25 coupes running sub 7:30 Nurburgring, but 2-door cars are 1% of global volume. SUV is where the volume is, the people that can make performance SUVs and performance sedan to some degree are going to get the sales because that is where the bulk of the market is. As far as performance minded products go, whoever is first to make a crossover with RAV4 size, performance, quality and price that is electric will sell them like hot cakes. Cadillac competing with Germans is a false myth, all those V-series cars were often slower than the German counterpart, and Cadillac had 2-3 V-series cars at a time at most, where were the V-series SUVs? Where was the V12 sedan to compete with the 760Li and S65? And that turned out to be a bad direction for Cadillac as a brand to go anyway, because Cadillac buyers want something like the Escalade, a big, comfy seat, comfy ride vehicle for cruising down highways, not a small interior corner carver like a 3-series. So Cadillac lost customers because they built a German knock off instead of building a better version of "American luxury." I actually think Cadillac is beyond saving, baring a massive amount of investment (say $100 billion of over 10 years) and GM won't invest that much in them.

Unofficial times of times of the Model S Plaid at 7:13, so if that holds it will be faster than the C8 Z51 by a lot, and on par with the C7 Z06. I'd imagine a C8 Z06 with enough track focused upgrades will beat 7:13. But is Cadillac going to make a sedan that can do a track times of a C8 Z06 to top where Tesla is at? Tesla is throwing down some pretty big performance numbers, and that is with sedans and SUVs what other car company is going to make SUVs (the most popular body style) that has performance of top level sports cars. Really only AMG is making an consistent attempt across the line, VW group with the Urus and RS Q8 and BMW has X3 and X5 M's but no X7 M. Cadillac I think is selling less cars now than they were in 2005, so that attempt to take on the Germans was a bust. I have driven the first 2 generation CTS's and the final generation STS but I haven't driven a Cadillac is about 8 years since I bought my car. I've sat in them at auto shows, the interiors are sub par and Cadillac gives me no reason to even waste time test driving one.

There are tons of sports cars, super cars, hyper cars, track cars, etc on sale now with loads of capability. This is a narrow niche of buyers, yet there are probably dozens of options. I feel like there is more choice than there is buyer pool, as 2 door cars are like 1% of sales. Also the Z51 Stingray has a 7:30 Nurburgring time, there are several cars running in the 6:40's, so the higher power Vettes have a lot of ground to make up. Enthusiasts have plenty to pick from, they don't have to wait for a Z06 or Zora, there is fast stuff for sale right now.

Exhaust note is part of the appeal, but even AMG knows their longer term future is electric and their short term future is hybrids. I expect the Model S Plaid will be faster around the Nurburgring than the C8, the Panamera and AMG GT already are faster than the C8, and the Model S Plaid should be faster than a Panamera. Now the Z06 may beat if, it they get enough grip, power and aero working the right way and that would be a more fair comparison as far as price goes. Agreed that Tesla has quality issues, but they keep selling. And I expect Tesla quality will improve over time, just as their capacity improves over time. Someone may teach Tesla about quality, but I don't know if Cadillac is going to be that brand. I suspect Cadillac trying to take on Tesla will be more of a struggle than when Cadillac tried to take on the Germans the past 15 years and that basically went no where.

Car companies design cars (and powertrains) for world use though, some of these car companies are operating in over 100 countries, so they have to take into account a global view. Granted, they might be able to sell a V8 model of something in the USA where gas is cheap, and the same car with a turbo 4 in China where these is displacement tax. The Corvette is fast, but a Model S Performance can do 0-60 in 2.4 seconds and get 104 mpg-equivalent. And it is a full size sedan, and there is a higher performance model coming later this year. The V8 or even V12 can't win a performance argument anymore. You can argue V8's are relatively cheap, and have a good performance per dollar attribute, that is the biggest thing V8's have going for them while EV's are still expensive.

I think gas engines will be around 15 years at least. But Europe has stricter emissions standards than the USA, and a lot of countries may also ban sale of ICE cars as early as 2030. So it is only a matter of time, whether it be 2030 or 2040, electric will eventually take over. I also think electric will take over from top down, because the performance of electric will be so much more than gasoline. The only reason to buy ICE will become cost, on stuff like an Elantra or Corolla, where you can get the car cheap.

Tesla is going to have 1,100+ horsepower this year. Don't have to wait until 2025-2026. What they could do with the C8 s try to cut weight, it would drive up cost, but they could make higher ends more track focused and push the handling and braking capabilities rather than straight line speed. Mercedes is my favorite brand, 7 consecutive Formula 1 championships too. But Tesla is the brand everyone is chasing.

Right, Ford could do lots of things, they will need an EV cheaper than the Mach-E that can start under $30k at some point. And they can do mid-size and larger SUVs that aren't performance oriented. I get that most of the market is not about performance cars, that is why the Rav4/Camry are top sellers in the 2 biggest segments. So Ford can look at more practical EV's that aren't just about performance. But when you use the Mustang name, you position the Mach-E as your top performance EV, now maybe they have a faster version coming, like a Mustang Mach-E Cobra R or Shelby GT, only time will tell. But Tesla has a 1,100 hp car going on sale this year, so we are entering a world where the Hellcat V8 is weak and obsolete as far as performance goes. Companies are going to have to hop on board the EV train for performance cars in a hurry.

Tesla is probably the coolest, most desired, or hottest brand name in cars. Tesla is the "it" brand. They don't even advertise and yet everyone talks about them. That's what I am comparing, no brand name carries the impact of the Tesla brand name.

The Camaro V8 couldn't pass Euro emissions, I think the Corvette was reworked to pass it, but yes, it will only get tougher or ICE powertrains could just be banned in 2035. It is nice to let the V8 run out it's life cycle, but that isn't the future, so it isn't where companies will put their engineering dollars. But I think they can make an electric Corvette that is faster than the V8 Corvette, so I don't see losing the V8 as anything that hurts. It is just evolution, most family sedans had a 3-3.8 liter V6 15 years ago, now most have a 2 liter 4-cylinder and are faster. It's just progress.

The performance specs are very close but range isn’t. And Tesla’s are very competitively priced compared to other EV’s of similar performance/features. And I think the Mustang Mach E turned out really well even though the name is dumb. Making money doesn’t seem to matter for Tesla. Tesla is worth $802 billion and Ford is worth $45 billion. No matter how many F150’s Ford sells, investors will still put their money on Tesla. Right or wrong that is just how it is.

But the Mach E GT starts at $60k and is slower with about 100 miles less range than the Tesla Model Y Performance that is $59k base and with the couple options outside of autopilot it is $63k. And Tesla has the Model S Plaid coming this year with 0-60 in under 2 seconds, 1/4 mile under 9 seconds, top speed 200 mph, range over 500 miles for $145k. Not that I expect Ford to answer that, but Tesla is going to be throwing down some new performance standards. So who is going to match it? If GM wants to do an electric Corvette, maybe they can target those numbers, even though a sedan is doing that, which is insane.

They are priced about the same, the Model Y is $1,000 cheaper base price but I prefer the Ford interior of the 2 from what I’ve seen on video. But what is next for Ford also? If the Mustang Mach-E is the top performance Ford EV, do they just go down from there? The Model Y is the slowest Tesla. For Ford I think electric F150 is key to get that market locked down before the Cybertruck takes it over.

Daimler had a $10 billion R&D budget in 2019 vs Tesla’s $1.3 billion and $7.4 billion at Ford. Their 20% cut is more aimed at fixed cost. Daimler in December 2020 said they will invest 70 billion euros in EV’s from now until 2025. Money isn’t a worry. The question is if they can build Tesla killers. I think they can but they have to prove it.

The Taycan 4s is $103k and has 227 mile range and 0-60 in 3.8 seconds. The $69K Model S beats both those figures, the $91k Model S Performance has a 387 mile range and 0-60 in 2.5 seconds. Porsche should be selling the 4s at $80k, they are $23k too high. Diesel fines have nothing to do with the pricing of the EQA and the Daimler R&D budget is pretty huge. In fact Mercedes R&D budget is about 5 times Tesla’s. That EQA and any other Mercedes EV should be priced competitively. And final pricing isn’t out on the EQA so we’ll see what happens. All I am saying is Mercedes and the rest better be competitive or else when gas cars get banned Tesla is going to own the car market.

The Model Y is faster and cheaper although I prefer the Mach-E’s interior with an actual center screen. The Model Y has more range too. They are comparable, but the Tesla seems like the better buy. But I don’t think the iD4 or Bolt compare well to the Model Y and the iD4 isn’t even on sale yet. Talk about aiming too low. Also brand image matters a lot, Tesla brand image is Mercedes/BMW level and maybe better. Ford/VW are a far cry from that. I imagine all things being equal, people would pay $5k more for a Tesla than a VW or Ford.

What is embarrassing is no one else makes an EV as good as Tesla. The Taycan is fast, but doesn't have the range of a Model S and it costs more. Taycan interior looks nicer, but the Model S is old. And after seeing the EQA, I am thinking Mercedes is putting not enough motor and too much price into their EV's.

An electric Corvette would be cool, if it is a C8 body and not an SUV.

Rolls is good now because of the BMW running gear underneath them, so mechanically they are much more competitive than say the Rollers of the 90s that were really dated. But Rolls is on point as far as design and interiors go. The Maybach S650 has more hp, torque, technology and safety than any Rolls, it is also half the price. The Maybach GLS580 is comparable on power and performance to the Cullinan and also half the price. The Rolls have more opulent interiors, but the purpose of the current Maybach is to exist in the space between a standard S-class and a Rolls, not to compete head on with Rolls. Consider a Phantom starts at $455,000, that is 4 S500's.

But Maybach was a dead brand, brought back to life as a trim level of the S-class and GLS. Hummer was a dead brand brought back as a model, sort of different but same idea. In keeping with that idea, GM has plenty of dead names they can use for EV’s, Bonneville, Aurora, Envoy, Riviera, Electra, Rainier, Aero X, Belle Aire, Eldorado, etc. All those can work on EV’s.

Which Maybach? The original was built in a modified W140 S-class chassis, but a Bentley Bentayga is based off an Audi A6 platform and no one cares because of how flexible these platforms are. And offering a $200k Maybach S-class now is the opposite of diluting a brand. It is pushing the s-class up market. And there is no Maybach brand anymore so you can’t dilute it. Just like the GMC Hummer doesn’t dilute the Hummer brand because the Hummer brand died in 2009.