Drew Dowdell
Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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The badge jobs are the other way around... XTS came out first, Impala came out later, ATS came out first / Camaro came out later. The Escalade is the only one that was released after the Chevy, but it has also gotten more updates in the meantime. The XT5 and Acadia were released simultaneously. Those are a different segment. GLC and XT5 compete in the same price class. Cadillac doesn't really have a true entry to compete with the GLE/X5. Escalade is the answer to GLS and does just fine in the market competing with Benz.
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I'm fine with that. I'm actually not a big fan of the XT5 myself... I would go GLC. However, it has nothing to do with 0-60 or RWD/AWD. I would be interested in a Traverse platform Cadillac that was restyled to look like a baby Escalade.... as long as they fixed the interior quibbles I have with the XT5 and maybe put the 3.0TT in there.
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He's not wrong and those people aren't necessarily trolls. People just aren't that knowledgeable. Ages ago when I had just gotten my '04 CTS, a neighbor of mine came over to talk about it. He was an owner of an STS. He insisted that my CTS was FWD and Northstar powered and walked away in a huff saying I didn't know anything about cars when I corrected him. A lot of people really just don't know. Since when is a GLC or X3 not a lowly lease appliance? That's pretty much all the vehicles in this segment are. Status Leases.
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A valid hypothesis. How has that helped Jaguar, Genesis, or Infiniti? How has RWD helped Lexus? Their best sellers are still FWD and their worst sellers are RWD and consistently rank (undeservingly I might add) at the bottom of the sales charts for their segments. Infiniti in particular saw big sales increases when they started moving back to FWD platforms. The bulk of Infiniti and Lexus brands sales hang on FWD vehicles. Cadillac saw huge sales increases when they moved the SRX from RWD to FWD, and dropped the V8. I'm thinking from a purely business perspective rather than an enthusiast perspective. How does Cadillac make more dollars by switching to RWD on a vehicle they already make a ton of money on? How does a RWD XT5 translate to more CT5/S/6 sales? If we're going to get into "proper" materials on the XT5, the drivetrain is the least of that vehicle's worries. Once you get away from the nice dashboard, the plastics and other materials are Chevy grade and not at all premium. I much rather Cadillac spend the money there than on an all new RWD platform.
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Cadillac is in the business of making money. With the XT5, they are probably printing it since it's just an Acadia with different styling. So I ask again, do you see a switch to RWD as something that would push the XT5 to sell better than the RX? Would moving to RWD increase sales enough to make up for the lost profits of a more expensive (due to lower volume) platform? Does a move to RWD satisfy anyone other than enthusiasts who aren't buying in the segment anyway? Explain the business case, in dollars, as to why Cadillac should make such a move. Up until very recently, the XTS was routinely outselling the CTS and still outsells the CT6. The enthusiasts keep pushing Cadillac to do go RWD, but the business case for that isn't clear. Now, while I personally like the XTS, I can certainly see that it isn't the right product for Cadillac these days, but the XTS is probably the most profitable car line for the entire brand.
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The question you have to ask yourself is this: "What advantage does a RWD platform bring to the XT5?" Will it sell better? Probably not, it already sells better than RWD entries from other manufacturers. 99% of People don't by crossovers, RWD or otherwise, for performance. The Explorer outsells the Grand Cherokee. The RX outsells the GLC. The Highlander outsells the 4Runner. The Atlas will vastly outsell the Toureg. The QX60 vastly outsells the QX70. If we were talking about coupe or sedans with a performance interest, the RWD may matter... but most people who buy crossovers just check the AWD box on the order form and go about their day without a second thought. People certainly aren't choosing a GLC over an RX because of RWD.
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Which car models do you think should sell better than they do? Why do you think they don't sell better? Limit of three models and must be in production (not just leftovers still on sale but not currently being built).
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Cool! I didn't know the back panel dropped.
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There's no access to that space from the trunk is there?
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My physical health is fine.
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Sorry I haven't been around much guys. I haven't been well for more than a month. I don't know when I'll be back here again full time. I am still going to NYC for the auto show because I booked it a while ago, but I'll be keeping a low profile.
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They're thinking of canceling it without replacement. The updates are certainly not going to be enough to topple the Accord or Camry..... but maybe that's the point. Ford knows they will never topple the two kings of the segment, so they only invest minimally in the car and stay satisfied with 3rd place.
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No, in 2013 it was really good. Probably the best handling of the segment aside from the Mazda 6 which it shared a platform with and the Regal which was priced way higher. But that really isn't the point. You point out that if Ford can't make money on it building it in Mexico they should fail... but it's worse than that. They can't make money on it while also being the 3rd best selling vehicle in the segment. So they're using cheap labor and selling enough of them to beat GM, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and VW.... but they can't make a profit on them. That indicates a deeper issue in Ford's accounting department.
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The only way to buy a Continental is in full zoot Black Label edition, but there is a lot of stiff competition at that price. The Continental can certainly hold its own for what it delivers at that price but Lincoln has done nothing to convince buyers of vehicles in that price range why they should consider the car. The Navigator is in a different boat, it has name brand recognition with those who may have bought one in the past and gives them a new reason to come back. The people who bought Continentals new in the past have a good chance of being 6 feet under.
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This is no big deal. None of the Germans put names on the back. Personally, I think it makes the vehicle look a lot cleaner.
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The number of leases v. buys is going to fluctuate with the overall economy.
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