Drew Dowdell

The Fusion Titanium is no Regal and is the same distance behind the LaCrosse as it is from Lexus ES. It's a laughable suggestion based on the current products. No, the platinum / titanium trims on the fiesta, escape, focus, Taurus, and flex are not premium to the level of buick or Denali. So you're left with F-series, Explorer, Expedition, and if you want me to toss you a bone, the Edge. The take rate in premium trims is **NOT** outselling Buick and GMC combined... not even just Buick and Denali combined. You may not believe they are direct competitors, but they absolutely are, and in many cases, even outrank with more luxury features and power, AWD, etc. For example, you absolutely can't begin to try and sell me on the Explorer Platinum being outclassed by any Buick. In every instance when I posted, I specifically set aside the Explorer Platinum trim, along with the F-series and Expedition, as being worthy of consideration as a premium trimmed trimmed vehicle. EVERY SINGLE POST I have stated that Explorer, F-series, and Expedition with premium trims are on Par. I've also SPECIFICALLY pointed out that the Fusion, Focus, Escape, Fiesta, Flex, and Taurus are NOT worthy, thus should not be counted a premium trims even if they wear Platinum/Titanium badge. On the Fusion - The only stuff Titanium gets you over an SE is Leather (Optional on SE), Sony, Fog Lamps (Comes on SE Leather package), and Dual-Zone (Optional on SE)....that's it. So if you don't care about having the Sony sound system, you can build your own Titanium out of an SE very easily. Nothing else on the interior gets changed.... so in reality a Titanium is just an SE with Sony. On the Escape - The only stuff standard on a Titanium that you can't get on an SEL is the Sony and the Foot activated rear hatch. On the Taurus Limited - the only improvements you cannot get on an SE are memory , 10 way heated/cooled seats. (SHO sells in too small of a volume to bother with) On the Edge Titanium - you get Sony, Leather, and power passenger seat. On the Edge, for some reason the Sport is more expensive than the premium trimmed Titanium... I know it's a powertrain thing, but shouldn't the lux model be the most expensive? So why do I set aside the Explorer, F-series, and Expedition? Explorer - The Explorer Platinum's leather seats are a nice upgrade over lesser Explorer's leather seats, they are quilted and perforated in places, there are matching door liners that really add an air of luxury to the cabin. There is sharp looking contrast stitching in places, wood is added to the rim of the steering wheel (a favorite lux treatment of mine), the Sony system is further upgraded from the Sony available in the Limited.... the end result is that you cannot build an Explorer Limited to nearly the same level as an Explorer Platinum and fool anyone. This story repeats itself on the F-series (though there the Limited is higher than the Platinum and both have substantial upgrades over a Lariat). The Expedition Platinum is less of a clear upgrade over a Limited, but there is the King Ranch for about the same price with its unique interior trim that gives an air of luxury. This is why I say F-Series, Explorer, Expedition Premium trims = worthy of being compared to premium brands.... and Fusion/Edge/Flex premium trims are not. Furthermore, Explorer Platinum trim would have to have a 41% take rate just to exceed sales of Enclave + Acadia Denali..... and that simply isn't happening. And THAT is why, the premium trimmed Fords are not outselling GMC and Buick combined.... not even Buick and Denali combined.... possibly not even Denali alone.

I'll say that Volvo is shifting upward rapidly. The XC90 is the first of this, but if the new sedan matches it like I expect they will, they won't be second tier luxury much longer.

If I had of ommited Buick, I would have had to omit Acura, Lincoln, and Volvo. While those 3 are sort of the bottom feeders of the luxury range, they are well above Buick. If you compare base price of similar sized vehicles: Verano $21,065 ILX $27,900 S60 $34,150 (no small Lincoln) Regal $27,065 TLX $31,695 S80 $43,450 MKZ $35,190 LaCrosse $31,065 RLX $54,450 (no large Volvo) MKS $38,850 Encore $24,065 Envision $ ??? RDX $35,370 XC60 $36,600 MKC $33,260/MKX $38,260 Enclave $39,065 MDX $43,015 XC90 $49,800 MKT $43,210 The Enclave is the only place Buick is close, and the MKS is dead, I am guessing the Continental will be over $40k. If Buick was a luxury brand they would be competing with Cadillac. As I said.. if I omitted Buick I would have to omit those other brands. If U consider a $6K price difference, still residing in the $20-30K range for both is the epitome of what determines superiority then U are much further gone than I feared. If the ILX is priced above the Verano and people pay it then those people are fools, cause there ain't jack about the ILX that justifies it be priced higher than the Verano.. except the idiot feature. Over 60% of buick sold are sold with at least the leather group, often that is the second most expensive option group on a buick below premium group. In Verano, that puts the price at.... $27k.. The transaction prices on Enclave are well over $50k.... so who cares what the enclave base price is if no one is buying them that way?

If I had of ommited Buick, I would have had to omit Acura, Lincoln, and Volvo. While those 3 are sort of the bottom feeders of the luxury range, they are well above Buick. If you compare base price of similar sized vehicles:Verano $21,065 ILX $27,900 S60 $34,150 (no small Lincoln) Regal $27,065 TLX $31,695 S80 $43,450 MKZ $35,190 LaCrosse $31,065 RLX $54,450 (no large Volvo) MKS $38,850 Encore $24,065 Envision $ ??? RDX $35,370 XC60 $36,600 MKC $33,260/MKX $38,260 Enclave $39,065 MDX $43,015 XC90 $49,800 MKT $43,210 The Enclave is the only place Buick is close, and the MKS is dead, I am guessing the Continental will be over $40k. If Buick was a luxury brand they would be competing with Cadillac. Your sizing match ups are mostly wrong unless you're comparing some irrelevant spec like glove box room or overall length.Measure the interiors. Also, you're looking at 1SV models at Buick it seems. Don't ask me to explain why they do it, but buick will offer option packages on the website that are impossible to buy because they never get built. There are zero Regal 1SV cars in either 2015 or 2016 available even though the package is on the site. The base Regal is really the base turbo at $29k.

And premium trimmed Ford cars, trucks and SUV's outsell Buick and GMC combined. Easily.Congrats to BMW. Well deserved. Titanium/Platinum as a trim does not necessarily a premium trim make. On the F150s and Explorer, yes. On the Fusion, Focus, Escape, and Edge etc, the distinction is far far less clear. Expedition Platinum is the equal to GMC. Same for Explorer Platinum. Same for Fusion Titantium with Regal. Certainly for F-150. Certainly for SD. Certainly for Edge, although GM does not have exact competition. And yes, even Escape and Fusion, and soon, that much more with new Fusion. The Fusion Titanium is no Regal and is the same distance behind the LaCrosse as it is from Lexus ES. It's a laughable suggestion based on the current products. No, the platinum / titanium trims on the fiesta, escape, focus, Taurus, and flex are not premium to the level of buick or Denali. So you're left with F-series, Explorer, Expedition, and if you want me to toss you a bone, the Edge. The take rate in premium trims is **NOT** outselling Buick and GMC combined... not even just Buick and Denali combined.

If anyone is wondering about the Chinese stock market, in one report today it was mentioned that it is 80% retail buyers...that is.. individual investors not banks and institutions. Think about that for a moment while thinking about the wild fluctuations there this week.

And premium trimmed Ford cars, trucks and SUV's outsell Buick and GMC combined. Easily.Congrats to BMW. Well deserved. Titanium/Platinum as a trim does not necessarily a premium trim make. On the F150s and Explorer, yes. On the Fusion, Focus, Escape, and Edge etc, the distinction is far far less clear.

I've been told by the GMC people that the Denali trim alone outsells Lincoln and Acura individually and the entire Land Rover / Jaguar lineup combined.

If you're a lover of the Verano 2.0T, I may have some bad news for you for 2017..... waiting on verification.

Flex. It's a shame you missed out on this though.

If Cadillac can sell an EXT at 90k, then they should sell an EXT at 90k. Why should they leave any money on the table just to satisfy people who still won't buy ANY Cadillac and only buy Euro cars anyway?

LOL.. gotta wonder if one would see the same gains as they did in the Cruze with the same engine. +44whp in the Encore.. damn nice. Wonder when is the 1.6L supposed to show up in the Buick? 153HP/177lbs moves it along very nice.... but 197HP would be even better I've already been told "don't hold your breath" on the 1.6T in the Encore. The new 1.4T is it for now. I don't need huge gains, but every little bit would help. Edit: Unless you got the Encore ST (which you didn't), you have 138hp, not 153.

Thanks, I'm looking for a mild tune for the Encore now that I bought it out. I just need one that won't get fried if my partner puts 87 in instead of 91.

While a Cadillac pickup wouldn't sell outside of North America, a new Escalade EXT would do very well for profits. The only reason it went away is because the Avalanche went away. The reason the Avalanche went away is because they didn't think they'd have the capacity in Arlington TX when the SUV production moved there (and they appear to have been right). Arlington is being expanded, but if that means a return of the Avalanche and EXT is anyone's guess. If I remember correctly..part of the reason why U saw a dip in K2XX sales was because they had to pull back on fleet sales due to capacity issues at the Arlington plant. Makes sense for an expansion.. if and only if the price of gas remains low for a while. Yup. Apparently the goal with the expansion is to double the capacity.

Point is there are other markets.. and essentially how Toyota.. who was in turmoil in China.. has made their nut. GM should exercise the Monroe Doctrine.. put so much product down South, Central America that they want nothing else. OZ??? Pretty much Holden only.. why no Cadillacs??? They Want them. Why no Corvettes or Camaros?? They want them. Costs a lot to re-engineer a car to right-hand drive. Not economically feasible to do that for cars with such low volumes. They'd have to be able to sell the cars in all markets with RHD, and those other markets aren't really all that friendly to big American cars in the first place (Japan, UK, Bahamas)

While a Cadillac pickup wouldn't sell outside of North America, a new Escalade EXT would do very well for profits. The only reason it went away is because the Avalanche went away. The reason the Avalanche went away is because they didn't think they'd have the capacity in Arlington TX when the SUV production moved there (and they appear to have been right). Arlington is being expanded, but if that means a return of the Avalanche and EXT is anyone's guess.

No it does not yet have aftermarket goodies, but it's inevitable. Every other GM turbo has brand name tunes available and an unlocked ECU for private tuners. I bet the performance goodies will blow up once it's in the Cruze and other vehicles. Just one regular family sedan won't have too many aftermarket complained with knocks on their door asking for exhaust or intakes.. But it's inevitable that they will use the 1.5 in a handful of vehicles. If people get lucky it could be the performance SS option in the Sonic. That's help the aftermarket option! A tuner called Trifecta has tunes for every engine of the Malibu from 2008 through 2015 (except for the hybrids). I'm sure they're already trying to get their hands on a new Malibu to be first on the market. They also tune the Sonic and Cruze. Do you have a link to that? The ones I'm finding in google only support the Cadillacs.

I look forward to the 2016 Cheers and Jeers. Should be a big year for us.

I"m glad the tree is down. It was taking up too much space in my living room.

The next step for GM is called Skip-Fire. The V8 will be able to run on as few as two cylinders. The computer decides instantaneously if the next cylinder needs to fire or not depending on power and smoothness needs.

Indeed.... the key is that an HCCI engine cannot run in that mode all the time. It only runs in HCCI mode under light loads... put too much fuel/air mixture into the cylinder and then things don't work right. The big issue GM was having when it was working on it back in the Saturn days was the transition from HCCI to normal spark ignition. The engine worked fine in either mode, but it was the switching of modes that was less than graceful. Even then, I think that Aura would only run in HCCI at stead speed from 35 - 55 mph, but don't quote me on that. Latest computer technology I believe will change the switch over problem. Just like the days of the V8-6-4 engine which was a disaster, it was before it's time of having the electronics, computer smarts to make it work best. Today, I would not be surprised if a V8-6-4 engine would work very well and smooth. Sadly emissions is a viable issue that needs to be addressed and I think HCCI engines with alternative fuels will be a stepping stone much like CNG towards the eventual day of pure EV auto's. I can see a day when a standardized electric cell will work on any auto and you just stop as an EV station and swap cells and continue on your way. GM and Chrysler and Mercedes have been running 8-6-4 V8s since 2004..... they just skip the 6 part because there is very little benefit for a large jump in complexity. Also, in 6 mode, a V8 isn't very well balanced, so they feel harsh. It is with this technology that GM is able to build a 6.3 V8 that equals the fuel economy of Ford's 3.5 Ecoboost.

The very latest generation of Mazdas have fantastic FANTASTIC interiors. The CX-3 far far exceeds it's class and would put an Audi Q3 to shame. Easily best in class. I sat in the new CX-9 in LA and it is every bit as good as these press photos suggest. Drew, is that nav screen move up and down into the dash? Looks like it could. Reply back from Mazda - The NAV screen does not retract into the dash.

They used to... and they should never have stopped.

Armchair CEO drives GM back into bankruptcy. Every model GMC sells that has a Denali trim sells at minimum 25% in Denali trim. Denali is pure profit for GM. Customers clearly like the product. Cadillac is getting product... vehicle designs are not an app you can just download in 30 seconds.

Good that they're using the better 1.4T. It should be a good engine for that car and good fuel economy.