bzcat

Chrysler will add a compact to replace the Dart for sure. And we know there is a large CUV coming. The only thing missing under the Chrysler brand are compact and midsize CUV... but that may cannibalize Jeep too much.

I'm sure whatever form the next Explorer takes, there will be a Lincoln version. Whether it keeps the MKT name or not is up for debate but I don't think you need to worry that Ford is going walk away from the money that can be made from a "Continental SUV".

BTW... I mentioned the possibility that VW was cheating on 3.0TDI and gasoline engines way back when this thing first broke.

VW just send a memo to its dealer that says immediate stop sale order on 2015 and 2016 1.8T and 2.0T gasoline models. So VW dealers are not allowed to sell anything with 2.0TDI, 1.8T, the new 3rd gen EA888 2.0T (GTI, Jetta), and 3.0TDI. Basically, the only cars VW dealers are allowed to sell are: Left over 2015 Jetta base model with 2.slow 2016 Jetta with 1.4T CC and Tiguan that used 2nd gen EA888 2.0T Passat and Touareg with 3.6 VR6. The November sales report will be a fun read...

They've pretty much given up on the CTS. Johan said there will not be direct replacement for this car... meaning there will be a CT4 that is between ATS and CTS in size to fill that role. CT6 is the 5 series competitor with 7 series size. But more to the point, CT6 is only a little bit bigger than the LWB version of 5 series/A6/E-class. If you must, think of CTS as competitor to the SWB 5 series/A6/E-class and CT6 as the competitor to the LWB 5 series/A6/E-class as well as SWB 7 series/A8/S-class. CT8 will be the LWB 7 series/S-class competitor. Johan has said that there will be a true "flagship" sedan coming... hence several previous threads in this forum debating whether Cadillac can command that kind of price - and looks like this thread is becoming that one, again.

Ranger fanatics wanted a cheap compact truck. GM didn't do what they want. They delivered a full featured expensive midsize truck. Give GM credit for noticing a demographic shift in the truck market. People buying Canyorado are white collar professionals with high household income. Not the same as the old compact truck buyers.

It's actually CAFE but not the way you are thinking Daimler and BMW have made the calculation and they know they are not going to meet CAFE so they are prepared to pay fines and pass that cost to the customers. Car companies have to meet individualized CAFE targets so each company has different priorities. BMW has no trucks so its CAFE target is sky high... almost impossible to meet unless they go all-electric. So in the short term, they are just going to buy ZEV credits from Tesla and pay fines. Which means they can keep on selling V8s. GM has a large exposure in trucks so they target is lower (more achievable). There is political calculation here too... GM cannot be seen as not being able to meet CAFE and pay fines like BMW. So Cadillac has incentive to sell fewer V8s while BMW perversely, do not. At least in the short term.

Cadillac is positioning CT6 as a competitor to 5 series (just look at the MSRP) so the engine choices at launch reflects that. 5 series are overwhelmingly 2.0T I4 (528i) and 3.0T I6 (535i). The V8 (550i) accounts for only 4~5% of the sales. GM did say V8 CT6 is coming, as well as the V performance version so don't worry.

CT6 prices have a large overlap with CTS, which means I think Cadillac is returning to the "tweener" strategy of offering 1/2 size larger car in each class. I can see this working out in the long run: CT2, 4, 6, 8: sedan CT3, 5, 7, 9: coupe (both 2 door and 4 door kind) So CT6 starts off first - an Audi A8/BMW 7 Series size car priced in the A6/5 Series price range. The next gen ATS sedan will probably become CT4 and sized similar to the original CTS - somewhere between Audi A4/BMW 3 Series and A6/5 Series. Then you can spin off a CT5 and CT7 coupe based on CT4 and CT6. Plus the long rumored CT8 flagship. And this still leaves room below for compact C-segment size model CT2/CT3.

That misses the point though. The document fee or electronic records fee to your state DMV is dealer cost of doing business. No state law that I know off says dealers HAS to pass document fee to customers. By specifically calling it out as fee to pass on to the customer, the dealer is in fact increasing the profit margin on the transaction. Car dealers are not the only ones that do this of course... Airlines and phone companies are notorious for doing the same. I'm waiting for McDonald's to start charging a USDA fee on every burger it sells (I'm assuming McDonald's meat is USDA grade... big assumption I know... )

Let me simplify for everyone... E2LB is Lacross not Enclave. Enclave will be a C1xx like Traverse. Chi (C1xx) is just SUV version of Epsilon III (E2xx), which is for cars. Both C1xx and E2xx will have SWB and LWB versions. The difference between C1xx and E2xx is ride height. C1xx/E2xx SWB: Malibu, Regal/Insignia, TBD Chevy SUV, XT5, Acadia [these are Fusion/Edge size vehicles] C1xx/E2xx LWB: Impala (this may not happen), Lacross, Traverse, Enclave, TBD Caddy SUV (XT7?) [these are Taurus/Explorer size vehicles] GM is trying to decide if XT7 will be FWD (C1xx) or RWD (Omega platform from the new CT6). XT7 is not replacement for Escalade. Think of Escalade as XT9. ~~~~~~~ GM SUV size/class A-segment: Cheap platform for low cost countries TBD Chevy, Wuling, and Baojun current under development B-segment: Gamma II platform - Chevy Trax, Buick Encore/Opel Mokka, TBD Caddy (potentially XT1), TBD Baojun C-segment SWB: Currently Theta II platform but will switch to Delta III (D2xx) platform - Chevy Captiva, Opel Antara, Baojun 560 (use old Daewoo platform instead of D2xx) C-segment LWB: Curently Theta II platform but will switch to Delta II (D2xx) - Chevy Equinox, GMC Terrain, Buick Envision (already D2xx), TBD Caddy (potentially XT3) D-segment: Chi (C1xx) platform - TBD Chevy, GMC Acadia, XT5 E-segment: Chi (C1xx) platform - Traverse, Enclave, TBD Caddy (potentially XT7) Truck based midsize: Trailblazer Truck based fullsize: Tahoe/Suburban, Yukon, Escalade

I wouldn't put it pass Sergio that is exactly what he is planning to do with this Ram SUV.

I think GM hasn't made up its mind about a FWD large CUV (C1xx - Lambda replacement) or RWD large CUV (Omega) that will be smaller than Escalade but bigger than XT5. So until they figure that out, they are not going to tip their hand about Escalade. But I'm sure Escalade will stay on K#.

No one fucking knows anymore. Sergio changes his mind every other day. I would say that with 3-row Grand Wagoneer coming, and a 3-row large FWD-based Chrysler CUV following in another year (return of Pacifica!), there is no room for a me-too Durango. It's kind of pointless, especially since it will be a North America only model. Jeep GW and Chrysler Pacifica are both destined for worldwide sales.

Expy has to share platform with Navigator so IRS, ride and handling, and NVH level are important. Ford wants Navigator to be a Range Rover competitor and they can't go the cheap route. But you make a valid point too... Escalade buyers are not too bothered by the lack of IRS - although GMT2000 have vastly improved ride and handling over earlier versions... likely because additional investments were made to make sure Escalade doesn't buck like a GMT400 Suburban. I don't see Sergio making that kind of investment that both Ford and GM have made to "civilize" their respective big SUV.

Back on topic... sort of... Sergio said today next gen Ram pickup will spawn a fullsize SUV. He has to find enough work for all those UAW workers now expecting big bonus checks... Joking aside, I assume the Ram SUV will be a simple different tophat on the Ram chassis rather than something more sophisticated like Expedition/Expedition. Sergio specifically said this is a Ram-only product and will not become a Jeep. His exact words: "I don't think anybody who buys a large SUV [referring to Ram] is confusing it with a Range Rover" Read more: http://www.leftlanenews.com/ram-mulling-fullsize-suv-90089.html#ixzz3pyoknBYY

Exactly. They are just trying to prevent Honda owners from defecting. There are enough of them that want a Honda truck to keep the Ridgeline in business.

Tesla's business model is based on the assumption (a rather good one in my opinion) that they will be able to sell ZEV credits in the short term, and carbon credit in the long term to other car company and CO2 emitters. So the assumptions about margin at Tesla is different. The mega factory will indeed lower the cost of batteries (NV state subsidy sure helps) but it won't lower the cost of other components. They'll make up the per unit loss with the ZEV and CO2 credits. If Elon can get Tesla's automotive operation close to breakeven point, the company will be quite profitable. Buying the NUMMI production site from Toyota for $1 was really strategically important too. Lots of car companies run an accounting loss on automotive operation and "make it up" in captive financing or other financing accounting tricks (e.g. hiding costs in unconsolidated subsidiaries). Try to look at Tesla through similar lens.

All new cars and light trucks sold in California have an "emission performance warranty" that covers the vehicle for the first three years or 50,000 miles (whichever comes first). This warranty covers any parts or service required to maintain compliance with California new vehicle standards. After this period, coverage varies depending on the vehicle model. Some vehicles such as PZEV's have extended coverage to 150,000 miles. Here is a handy PDF that contains all the details: http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/warranty.pdf

Not likely. Police units accounts for 3~4000 Tahoe at the most annually. Both GM and Ford were active in fleet sales (basically airport livery) with Yuhoe and Expedition for a while. But Ford did withdraw from fleet market midway through Expy III run because it was prepared to pull the plug on Expy during the recession.

GMT400 4 door Tahoe and shorty Yukon came to market in 1996 model year. Expedition came out in 1997 model year and immediately outsold the Yuhoe. GMT800 Yuhoe came out in 2001 model year and outsold Ford in 2002. Expedition II came out in 2003 model year and never quite matched the Yuhoe in volume despite IRS and better ride/handling. GMT900 Yuhoe came out in 2007 model year the same year as Expedition III. But everyone can see the Expy III was a lukewarm facelift (despite new and improved frame... the body was largely identical to Expy II). The main news for Ford was the new EL model to challenge Suburban. GM twins sales outpaced Expy by quite some margin. GMT2000 Yuhoe came out in 2015 model year. Meanwhile, Expy has been using the same body since 2003 model year (Expy II and III), but it did gain the 3.5 EB powertrain upgrade in 2015.

I think it will be interesting to see if the new Ridgeline can be a viable competitor rather than side show in the midsize truck market. Unibody is not a big problem in my opinion in this size class and Honda seems to have clued in to what buyers are looking for - something that looks like a pickup truck, rather than the first generation Ridgeline that tried very hard to not look like a pickup truck.

Interesting data table in that article... I thought Fusion ATP is a lot higher than segment ATP due to Energi (largest volume selling PHEV midsize sedan). But I guess that's not the case anymore. Here's how Ford's average transaction prices stack up against segment averages. Segment Segment atp Ford vehicle atp Compact car $20,213 $20,607 (Focus) Compact SUV/crossover $27,066 $28,167 (Escape) Full-size pickup $44,738 $45,478 (F series) Midsize car $25,327 $25,568 (Fusion) Midsize SUV/crossover $33,760 $36,499 (Edge) Full-size SUV/crossover $46,023 $40,026 (Explorer) Source: Kelley Blue Book Also this: Alan's bet on SYNC, MFT, and Ecoboost are clearly paying dividends, despite sacrificing Ford's reliability survey data. I think it is a trade Ford will gladly take.

I doubt we will see any engine changes in PIS since Taurus is deadman walking (as far as we can tell). 2.0 EB is not pursuit rated so it is a general service vehicle for departments that need cars for community service liaison or DARE program - things of that nature. If a PD is looking for patrol vehicle, it is either 3.5 V6 FWD PIS or 3.5 EB AWD PIS.

It's hard to conquest buyers in any market segments, and the fullsize SUV one is like pickup trucks... very brand loyal. It's much easier to snag new buyers entering the segment, that's why getting the Navigator right is much more important for Ford - the large luxury SUV is still a growth segment whereas the Mormon family bus segment is pretty much flat. It's the same story with GM... sales of Escalade is growing but SubYuhoe is has been flat and consistent for a long time.