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VW might be in real trouble.....


Fgts

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2014/08/16/volkswagen-focuses-on-costs-bottom-line-as-europe-weakens-china-threatens/

 

 

"plans to make money in the U.S. are still on hold. And VWs big investment in technology know by its acronym in German, MQB, which will allow it in theory, to build a huge range of vehicles on one standard basic engineering module, is hiccupping, and VW production chief Michael Macht has left the company."

 

I thought fwd is the 2nd Coming in automotive profits....

 

"So far theres little sign of the growing earnings emerging markets get most of the blame, but in our view MQB is a big issue too. We disputed VWs claimed scale-driven cost savings for MQB from the start. But we didnt expect it to be a negative for profits. Now were increasingly concerned that every MQB-based car makes less money than its predecessor,"

 

In VWs defense, not many MQB vehicles are in production yet, Europe is generally in trouble due to overall conditions in trade (especially from Russia) and inflation. Plus the infamous VW reliability don't help either.

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I thought fwd is the 2nd Coming in automotive profits....

 

"So far theres little sign of the growing earnings emerging markets get most of the blame, but in our view MQB is a big issue too. We disputed VWs claimed scale-driven cost savings for MQB from the start. But we didnt expect it to be a negative for profits. Now were increasingly concerned that every MQB-based car makes less money than its predecessor,"

 

In VWs defense, not many MQB vehicles are in production yet, Europe is generally in trouble due to overall conditions in trade (especially from Russia) and inflation. Plus the infamous VW reliability don't help either.

 

 

I think the problem is that the MQB might be trying to stretch things too far...making a single platform that covers something from Focus sized to an Explorer sized product might be taking platform sharing a bit too far.

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I thought fwd is the 2nd Coming in automotive profits....

 

Know what the problem with Cadillac is, Fgts?

 

There's little to no reason for a BMW buyer to buy a Cadillac, and GM has bet the farm that they can pry BMW buyers away from the brand.

 

It's not working. And it would not be working if their plan was to pry Camry buyers away from Toyota with a car that was just like the Camry, or Accord buyers away from Honda with a car just like the Accord.

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Know what the problem with Cadillac is, Fgts?

 

There's little to no reason for a BMW buyer to buy a Cadillac, and GM has bet the farm that they can pry BMW buyers away from the brand.

 

It's not working. And it would not be working if their plan was to pry Camry buyers away from Toyota with a car that was just like the Camry, or Accord buyers away from Honda with a car just like the Accord.

No Cadillac didn't bet the farm and this isn't about Caddy nor VW primarily the US. Read it It's about VWs trouble about China, Europe, trade barriers and of course cost overruns.

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I thought fwd is the 2nd Coming in automotive profits....

 

redherring.jpg

 

For the record, most of VW Group's vehicles are FWD and have been for decades, even Audi. I think the midsize/large SUVs and the ultra-niche brands are the exceptions.

 

silvrsvt is right... the issue is that you can only stretch a platform so far before it becomes unfeasible, no matter which wheels do the work. I'm curious about this though.

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No Cadillac didn't bet the farm and this isn't about Caddy nor VW primarily the US. Read it It's about VWs trouble about China, Europe, trade barriers and of course cost overruns.

 

GM has bet billions of dollars that they can lure BMW buyers into Cadillacs. You making this about FWD vs. RWD is like arguing that the poop should go between the lettuce and the burger instead of on the hamburger bun--it misses the point entirely.

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How far off is C1 and CD4 from MQB? C1 and CD4 are related, no?

There are distinct differences between the two architectures but there's also a lot of shared componentry in both power

train and electrical systems. The real advantages are at the supplier level and also a standardized build process/order.

 

I don't know for sure but perhaps VW is having a conflict between scales of economy and changes necessary for derivatives to have

key features maximized. Sometimes saving money costs in other areas like the distinctiveness of derivatives, too much same/same.

Edited by jpd80
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GM has bet billions of dollars that they can lure BMW buyers into Cadillacs. You making this about FWD vs. RWD is like arguing that the poop should go between the lettuce and the burger instead of on the hamburger bun--it misses the point entirely.

The more Cadillac tries to become like BMW, the more it distances itself from people who buy Cadillacs.

 

It's as though GM has forgot who buys Cadillac and why....or maybe GM wants a completely different buyer base..

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The more Cadillac tries to become like BMW, the more it distances itself from people who buy Cadillacs.

 

It's as though GM has forgot who buys Cadillac and why....or maybe GM wants a completely different buyer base..

 

They'd like to get a completely different buyer base, but that isn't going to be an easy thing to do.

 

The ATS and CTS seem like good vehicles, just that the whole execution and business case for them leaves lots to be desired.

 

The funny thing is that the SRX is their best selling product (IIRC) and its shared with rest of GM. But is their mid-sized FWD platform up to snuff to become a Caddy?

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The SRX platform is exclusive to Caddy (Well, it was shared with SAAB, but I'm not sure they ever made any).

 

The irony is the SRX should share it's platform with the Nox and Terrain, but doesn't.

 

GMs Mid-Sized FWD platform is a Caddy, just in Full-Sized form as the XTS.

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The SRX platform is exclusive to Caddy (Well, it was shared with SAAB, but I'm not sure they ever made any).

 

The irony is the SRX should share it's platform with the Nox and Terrain, but doesn't.

 

GMs Mid-Sized FWD platform is a Caddy, just in Full-Sized form as the XTS.

They did make a few Saab 9-4X's. There's one or two around here that I see occasionally (along with one or two of the newest 9-5 too, which I actually thought looked quite nice).

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The SRX platform is exclusive to Caddy (Well, it was shared with SAAB, but I'm not sure they ever made any).

 

The irony is the SRX should share it's platform with the Nox and Terrain, but doesn't.

 

GMs Mid-Sized FWD platform is a Caddy, just in Full-Sized form as the XTS.

 

I thought the SRX did share its platform with the Terrain and Equinox? Its just a premium model varient of it...

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They'd like to get a completely different buyer base, but that isn't going to be an easy thing to do.

 

The ATS and CTS seem like good vehicles, just that the whole execution and business case for them leaves lots to be desired.

 

The funny thing is that the SRX is their best selling product (IIRC) and its shared with rest of GM. But is their mid-sized FWD platform up to snuff to become a Caddy?

Man though this was about VW.

 

As said before Caddy can make EP2 cars all day long and have half-assed luxury cars that's no better then a Buick (like they did in the 90s), what would be the point of Cadillac or anything American luxury car if you can get a better luxury flagship sedan from Kia?. The XTS is ok for fwd Caddy buyers but not serious flagship.

 

The SRX some how gets away with it with it's platform is a hybrid of Equinox and Saab.

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You know, you keep saying that, but what are the two best selling Cadillacs?

That is the SRX and CTS ( yea you was hoping that other fwd boat was the bestseller ). With that the Lexus RX and ES are thier best-selling, do the LS, GS,IS/RC need to go out-of-production because of this? .

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That is the SRX and CTS ( yea you was hoping that other fwd boat was the bestseller ). With that the Lexus RX and ES are thier best-selling, do the LS, GS,IS/RC need to go out-of-production because of this? .

Of course not, but which would you build first if you were starting over? Which group makes the most profit with the least investment?

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Of course not, but which would you build first if you were starting over?

If you went back in time, were tasked with starting up Lexus, and could only launch with the ES250 or LS400, you'd go with the ES?

 

Note, I think GM is completely bass ackwards, but that would be an, well, interesting, decision.

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If you went back in time, were tasked with starting up Lexus, and could only launch with the ES250 or LS400, you'd go with the ES?

 

Note, I think GM is completely bass ackwards, but that would be an, well, interesting, decision.

 

 

Slight different circumstances....Lexus was basically dumping the LS on American soil at a super cheap price to bring in customers and win them over with excellent dealer service.

 

Caddy is an already established player in the market and they might be better served by focusing on the entry level market where the consumers are new to the luxury market and win them over that way...but not at the expense of ignoring their higher end cars. But they keep trying to shooting to be the American BMW, when there is already a BMW out there that people buy because it has that name and reputation.

 

You can't re/establish your brand by copying someone else's IMO.

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Slight different circumstances....Lexus was basically dumping the LS on American soil at a super cheap price to bring in customers and win them over with excellent dealer service.

 

Caddy is an already established player in the market and they might be better served by focusing on the entry level market where the consumers are new to the luxury market and win them over that way...but not at the expense of ignoring their higher end cars. But they keep trying to shooting to be the American BMW, when there is already a BMW out there that people buy because it has that name and reputation.

 

You can't re/establish your brand by copying someone else's IMO.

The problem with that is you still making "entry level" Cadillacs those buyers will go to BMW anyways after a few years if GM offers a theoretical Malibu with a Caddy badge for an upgrade. Also what high end cars they ignoring?.

 

BTW GM already offer entry level luxury: www.buick.com

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