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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Ford, Chevy Ram have sold trucks because no one really put a competitive entrant in there. If Toyota went all in on the Tundra and made it superior to the domestic trucks they would start to take market share, just the way the Camry shut down the domestic sedan market. The Camry did that because it was good, the Tundra is not competitive, thus hasn't. And if Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Tesla or whoever wanted to go into a luxury pick up market they would steal some sales. Problem is what % of F150's are that top trim vs the 100,000s of work truck trims sold? When you have a huge quantity to suck up most of the engineering, it is easy to do a top trim level and sell a few of them. Just like BMW can do an M5 because 528i's exist. It isn't that Daimler with all their truck knowledge couldn't build the best pick up out there, but how much volume would they get on a Mercedes truck that was $70,000 base? If Ford made the F150 start at $70,000 then sales would drop from 700,000 a year to about 25,000 a year, and there would be no business case for it.
  2. smk4565
    Daimler is the largest truck maker in the world. That is the most “real” truck company there is. Useless but people pay a premium for them. 4 door coupes are useless too but every keeps making them.
  3. smk4565
    The problem with the X-class is Mercedes owners aren’t going to buy a truck made by Nissan and Nissan owners aren’t going to pay Mercedes pricing.
  4. smk4565
    I think the money is being diverted to EV’s. They have to bet on the future.
  5. smk4565
    It is. But they were never in the American pick up market. It is hard to enter too. I was never a big fan of the Mercedes pickup idea. I think it better left dead. If anything I would say Daimler could do a Freightliner pickup that could mop the floor with the F-super duty and Silverado HD.
  6. smk4565
    With that low of a volume, plus needing the Renault-Nissan alliance to make the truck work, it makes sense to cut it. If they wanted to get into the truck market again they could do that, but they would have to be in the American market where trucks are big and not try to base it in Europe. Better for them to focus on their core products though if the market starts to shrink. Plus they need to put money in EV and autonomous because that is what investors want to see. The Tacoma is the #4 selling truck in the USA and the super old Nissan Frontier outsells the Ranger and Colorado/Canyon. I do think if Mercedes wanted to do a truck the MRH platform that is under the GLE/GLS is the platform to use. That platform is only used on 2 vehicles (3 if you count GLE coupe) and it is made in the USA
  7. smk4565
    If you took a current Fusion, added a 1 inch lift kit and called it the Fusion Cross sales would go up 1100%
  8. smk4565
    Last Friday on my way home from work I saw a Lamborghini Aventator, 1960s Mercedes SL Pagoda, Lotus Evora and Audi R8 in about a 10 minute span.
  9. smk4565
    So an A8, 7-series or E-class or S-class which all have adjustable height suspension is the answer.
  10. smk4565
    I love the genius of Ford management, the Fusion is their #3 seller and up 10% for the year while the brand overall is down. But kill the Fusion. Once you leave a segment it is almost impossible to go back in. I think someone at Ford read the Rick Wagoner "cut your way to profitability" playbook and thought it was a good idea.
  11. smk4565
    Why can't you get a CT6 in your driveway? Oh never mind I read about the low scraping. Probably the CT6 should have height adjustable suspension.
  12. smk4565
    "The largest tech add is Lincoln Co-Pilot360 which includes, auto high-beam headlamps, blind spot detection, lane-keeping system with driver alert, pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking, dynamic brake support, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, and rear-view camera washer. " That stuff wasn't standard before? Also why isn't the back up camera retractable so it only comes out in reverse, thus isn't an eye sore when not in reverse and also can't get dirty, thus doesn't need water sprayed over it and the back of the vehicle leaving a washer fluid trail running down the bumper. Side note, I think the Black Label Navigator should be a 4 seater with lay flat seats, refrigerator, folding tables, power shades over all rear windows and a full glass roof with electrochromatic dimming and a blackout power retract suede headliner .
  13. smk4565
    And of those new buyers about 25% will buy another Navigator and the rest will be one and done and go elsewhere. Attracting new buyers is only good if you retain your base too. Lincoln has done a good job the past couple years, going to real names, stepping up the interiors, rear drive platform Aviator, ecoboost engines, etc. 5 years ago I didn't think they'd still be around past 2020, so it is a nice resurgence they have had, but they still have a long way to go.
  14. smk4565
    According to Car Max data, Lincoln is #19 in brand loyalty there, vs Lexus #1, Mercedes #2 and Cadillac #4. Edmunds did a report on brand retention for 2018, among luxury brands Lexus was #1, Cadillac #7, Lincoln #9, Volvo, Jaguar, Infiniti were the bottom 3. I don't know if 9th out of 12 is something to write home about.
  15. smk4565
    And yet Navigator sales were down 13% in Q2, and down 3% for the year, and that is without facing the new GLS yet, just the X7 is doing that to them. The Navigator has a bigger drop in sales last quarter than the MKZ, and lower volume too (granted way different prices). So there is no huge influx of new buyers.
  16. smk4565
    So only 34% of Navigator buyers are from Lincoln owners. Seems like a lot of Lincoln owners are leaving for other brands then.
  17. smk4565
    Agreed, diesel is done. Except maybe in big trucks. Elsewhere the people just don’t want it.
  18. smk4565
    It is a good video, and a good point that if you take the F1 car and put a body around it, then it is possible. And there is not a shortage of cash at Mercedes, they'll throw money at it until it works.
  19. smk4565
    They aged well because you never see them on the road, there are so few out there it is like it never existed. They better price these cheap because I can't imagine a 10+ year old 9-3 with some batteries stuffed in it is anywhere near as good as a Tesla Model 3. Unless they are selling these at less than $35k with a 200+ mile range this is dead on arrival.
  20. smk4565
    The newer stuff is selling, the old stuff like GLS, CLA and SL are not. But that is to be expected. New GLS is out soon, a GLB in winter and a GLA next summer. That SUV lineup will be very fresh, plus EQ C on sale later this year.
  21. smk4565
    Mustang, Minivan, Grand Cherokee and others, he did come up with a lot of great ideas and even the K-car which was kind of junk did help save Chrysler in the 80s. 94 years is a good run.
  22. smk4565
    Tesla is putting up some big numbers. Nearly 25,000 Model 3 a month is nearing Camry/Accord numbers.
  23. smk4565
    GM does do way too many gray interiors. They could learn a think or two from Kia and Hyundai interiors at this point.
  24. smk4565
    Must have been a 5-series sale this month. X4 up 1134% Build more crossover coupes!!!!!
  25. smk4565
    They have volume now but Jeep has been down almost every month the past year or so. And the market they compete in is getting more and more flooded. I think Jeep has great brand image and styling, but the nuts and bolts of their product is still FCA parts bin which means lackluster interiors and poor reliability. Jeep is right down there at the bottom of reliability ratings with Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Dodge. Hyundai and Kia are bringing a ton of SUVs that look pretty good online, and their quality and reliability is really good, they are going to steal sales off Jeep all day long. Ford has 1 or 2 Bronco's coming, GM has more SUVs coming, although most of these seem like boring Asian designs. VW could step up their SUV game, their stuff looks boring and isn't that nice inside for what you are paying.
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