Drew Dowdell
Editor-in-Chief
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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell
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Scion is going to lose another brand loyalist real soon if my friend gets the job he is up for. He'll be trading his tC in for a BR-Z.
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No reason Cadillac couldn't do a really bomb Eldorado off the Omega platform instead of doing a Roller competitor. I support this notion.
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Scion will stick around... if only because Toyota is persistent.
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Mercedes took 12,000 orders for the S-class in the past month, we'll see how the Pullman does. Mercedes isn't really going directly at Rolls and Bentley, but they will continue to offer cars in the $200,00 range because they have a loyal following and people that can and will pay that price for a special Mercedes. I don't think we can say the 3rd gen CTS has eclipsed the E-class and 5-series when it isn't on sale yet. The CTS is also prices $4,000 below the 528i and E350. The 5-series and E-class sell about 5,000 a month here, I don't think the new CTS can get that level. The 3-series outsold the ATS, CTS and XTS combined in June, 3-series sales were up 49% in May, up 62% in June, the ATS isn't hurting it, that car is hotter than ever. BMW inadvertently made it easier for the ATS to catch up to the 3-series in sales by splitting out the coupe into its own model line. Once the initial fanfare for the S-Class passes, the rest will go straight to the creame/beige paint line to be sprayed up as Taxis.
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No total?
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The S-Class is a fleet car in the rest of the world outside of North America. It's main advantage is that it can be used a taxi or limousine simply by changing the paint. At least Ford bothered to put a different grill and tail lights on their limos. Yet it is still the #1 selling large luxury car in the world, and has a higher price point than the 7-series, A8, XJ, or LS460. And Cadillac, Acura, and Infiniti don't even try to compete with it. Mercedes got 12,000 orders in the first month since the reveal of the 2014 model, looks like another generation of dominance. It maintains that title by having heavily subsidized leases, $15k off sticker, and fleeting to limo/rental/taxi companies. Look, you can even pick up an E-Class for $69 a day.
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From my own obervations when traveling... Toyota and Nissan are BOTH fleeting like hell to the rental companies. Last time I was in Chicago, it was like a Nissan-Toyota dealer exploded all over the National Car Rental lot. A Gazillion Rogues, Rav4s, Camries, Corollas, Altimas, and Prii with just one 300C for me to drive.
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Train your customers to be loyal via incentives.... nothing bad will happen....
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Why buy this one when I can build my own out of the J.C. Whitney catalog?
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From the looks of the SpyShots, this is an updated Captiva....
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Well not Peugot, but I'd love to see Citroen survive and even return to the states. They'd sell the $h! out of their DS line, especially the DS4 and DS5, but the DS3 could do well here too. Add the C4 Aircross and you'd have a good starting lineup that American would just eat up. Reference pics: Citroen DS3 Citroen DS4: Citroen DS5: Citroen C4 Aircross
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Always. There will always be people who want to flaunt their (apparent) wealth with a large luxury car. The Genesis sedan and the Equus are simply ballin' on a budget. Cadillac should aim for S-Class/7 series territory, if only to show the automotive world they are truly serious. Besides, have you been near or inside a 7 series or an S-Class? Both cars are flagships for a reason. Cadillac needs a true flagship. Caddy does NOT need to beat RR/Bently because they have not been anywhere near that since the 1930s. A 21st century Duesenberg could handle that role, not Cadillac. well.. 1950s... but otherwise I agree.
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Magnetic ride control and Hi-Per strut mitigate that.
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Rear drive cars ride and handle better than front wheel drive. CTS has a better chassis, Alpha vs Epsilon 2, CTS will have the same magnetic shocks. If Cadillac can't make the CTS have better ride and handling than a dressed up Impala, how are they going to go against Mercedes. Ride (firmness or softness) is not the same as handling (ability to maintain control at 9/10ths). Ride has nothing to do with which wheels drive the car. The old DTS "rides" way better than the new (any) CTS.. regardless of how well each one does in the corners. The XTS in AWD handles extremely well for the car that it is with far less body roll than an E or S class. It is also substantially firmer than either.
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I'm curious how you know the ride of the CTS is better... and more to the fact... how the ride has anything to do with which wheels drive the car?
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While I'd love one of those and that one is really nice, I'm heading more SUVish now (and Albert is pushing me back towards a truck)
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and then there is this.. the thing is, while I started at $25k, I'm finding cheaper and cheaper vehicles that would be acceptable. Since I'm only planning on keeping the next one for about 2 - 3 year, perhaps I'm heading in the right direction. As cheap as I can go without buying a project.
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Actually, if it is the platform mate to anything, the 9-5 goes with the Impala/XTS. However the body panels and interiors are totally different. On the 9-7x, it's pretty much a Bravada/Rainier shell with a Saab face and the interior is the same as the Rainier except for the shape of the dash. The 9-5 is platform engineering at its best and the 9-7x is badge engineering at nearly its worst.... however, I'm not going to let the fact that the 9-7x is a badge engineered Buick Rainier stop me from getting an amazing deal on a luxury SUV. Edit: The body panels are so interchangeable between the GMT360s, I saw someone who put a TB front clip on a Rainier and it came out looking ok.
