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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    The American market is Mercedes’ #3 volume market so it isn’t their most important and they sell a lot of A-class based product in China and Europe so some of this stuff that may not sell well here sells well other places to pay for it. Business is always boomin’ even when it isn’t.
  2. smk4565
    I bet the AMG GT outsells the ZR1 that is equal money. Probably still less money since an AMG GT can go to $200k.
  3. smk4565
    Problem with this brand is Nissan is pretty much a discount/fleet kind of brand, so how do you make a luxury brand out of those products? And some of this stuff like the Q70 is older than dirt.
  4. smk4565
    Japanese luxury brands all down, Audi down, over at Mercedes business is boomin'
  5. smk4565
    Up 22.9% without a GLS to sell really as they clear out the left over models from the old generation. Back in business here, GLE is doing really well now with the new one, and G-wagon and AGM GT are going well which is good when the big money stuff sells. Could use more C-class sales.
  6. smk4565
    Chevy made the right call to go automatic only. Manual would add to the price, add to the engineering budget then they have to pay to certify it , and then they would sell 50 of them a year and have to discount them when they sit on dealer lots.
  7. smk4565
    Enthusiasts don’t drive the market or determine what gets built. Crossover buyers and government regulations do. Another reason to kill the manual is electric cars are going to replace ICE anyway, government regs will force that in time.
  8. smk4565
    Manuals are dead, automatics shift faster, get better gas mileage, etc. Total waste of money to engineer a vehicle to take a manual, and to design a manual transmission to put in it.
  9. smk4565
    But not with 540 hp or whatever the NSX makes.
  10. smk4565
    No, I honestly think they could sell 250-500 Pilots a year with an NSX powertrain and I don’t know what an NSX sells but it probably isn’t any more than that. And a better comparison would be a $125k MDX with the NSX powertrain, I forgot the NSX was Acura and not Honda in the USA. So my mistake, I think an MDX Type R would outsell the NSX.
  11. smk4565
    Well if everyone else is going to bail on sedans except Toyota and Honda, someone has to compete with them. And the A-class is smaller than a Corolla at double the price, so I don't know if they are really competing with Toyota. I am glad Mercedes still makes sedans, and hasn't just let the whole brand drift into bland front drive 4-cylinder crossovers like almost everyone else.
  12. smk4565
    I am not so sure they need the CLS when they have an E-class sedan and coupe. And an AMG GT 4-door if an E-class isn't enough performance.
  13. smk4565
    Purpose of being a small car and in the $30-40k range. They don't need 2 sedans doing the same thing.
  14. smk4565
    We seem headed to a market that among the mainstream brands there could be 100+ SUVs and 12 sedans. And I wouldn't mind being the Camry/Corolla or Civic/Accord in that situation when they have almost no competition to deal with. The Cadillac CT4 will be priced like a Stinger if that helps.
  15. smk4565
    I am not a fan of black out packages. This would sell better as a Pilot with an NSX powertrain. I bet a $125,000 Pilot Type R with an NSX motor would outsell the NSX.
  16. smk4565
    The cars being cut are sports cars and coupes. Because people wants sports SUVs now. It is easier for Audi to sell a $100k Q8 than a $50k TT. A5 could die, but they have a 4 door A5 now to grab more sales, but really that is redundant to the A4. I think Mercedes should kill the CLA also, A-class sedan and hatch would serve the purpose. The thing with the A7 and CLS though is they cost $10k more than the A6 and E-class and have the same mechanics, interior, etc. Sheet metal probably doesn't cost $10k, so they are picking up $5k pure profit on top of a vehicle that had $5k profit to begin with.
  17. smk4565
    Audi is planning more performance crossovers due to high demand. They have an RS Q8 coming and I don’t see why they would do the same on Q7 and Q5.
  18. smk4565
    Porsche build quality is on point so Tesla better be ready. Will be interesting to see how Tesla does once the Taycan is out an Mercedes EQ S a year later.
  19. smk4565
    The X8 crossover coupe is green lit for production I believe. The Gran turismo models don’t sell at all they can cut those, I would be surprised to see the 8-series go die to high price = high margin but maybe they don’t see a future. No Z4 means no Supra and hopefully they do kill the 1-series and let Mercedes have that market.
  20. smk4565
    The Chinese market could save it, but they could also remove Encore/Trax from the US market if there is a big sales drop. Once the market is so crazy flooded with crossovers, the weak ones will die off. Just like what is happening with sedans. These are the people that want to kill Malibu, Impala and Camaro that are 50 year name plates, I don't think they would think twice about killing off the Encore. YTD the Malibu is GM's #4 seller being Silverado, Equinox and Sierra.
  21. smk4565
    Because the Cadillac red/awd sport sedans sell? The CT5 is $38k, so CT4 is probably going to be about $31k. And that is before discounts which will be available after about a year on the market.
  22. smk4565
    I bet in 5 year pa GM and Ford are cutting the Encore, Trax, Trailblazer, Ecosport, etc to “focus on more profitable models” and Equinox and Escape will be the base models, and post 2025 they might kill them off too if the RAV4 crushes the market the way the Camry did to the sedan market.
  23. smk4565
    Easy fix to the sedan lineup, change Altima name to Maxima and offer awd with the top engine (which it currently isn’t). This puts the Maxima nameplate vs Camry and Accord. Rename the next gen Sentra the Altima to be a Civic/Corolla fighter. Kill the current Maxima. Titan/Armada/QX80 either need serious overhaul, like multi-billion dollar overhaul or killed off.
  24. smk4565
    So Ford and GM’s game plan is to put everything into pickups, SUVs and 1 sports car each, after giving up on minivans and sedans. Meanwhile the Asian car companies are stealing crossover/SUV business off Ford and GM and Toyota has new trucks coming and Hyundai and Kia are doing pickups. You can only retreat for so long until you run out of places to retreat to.
  25. smk4565
    What are first year production numbers though?
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