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Automotive News & Views Can GM make Cadillac the standard of the world Again?
6098 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: plekto (Aug 11, 2009 11:49 pm) |
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Replying to: slimtire (Aug 11, 2009 6:45 pm) They have. The original Seville was based on the same platform in 1976 as the Chevy Nova. Any time a car moves to a new platform, performance can be significantly altered. It just is incumbent on the engineers to put the proper suspension and brake parts in place, and tell the accountants to "F" off when they start to meddle. I'd be willing to bet that a Cobalt would stop on a dime if it had Brembo's all around.
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Replying to: slimtire (Aug 11, 2009 2:48 pm) As for GM not attracting younger buyers, I was only 24 when I bought my 1989 Cadillac Brougham. I bought my DTS two years ago when I was 42. My girlfriend was 37 when she bought a new 2005 Buick LaCrosse.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Aug 12, 2009 2:30 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Aug 11, 2009 11:22 am)
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Aug 12, 2009 5:56 am) Padded (car) bras are so 1985 
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Replying to: rayainsw (Aug 11, 2009 4:39 pm) For example??? Well, the brilliant car manufacturers have not developed it yet. Too greedy, afaic. The technology is there. No reason a 3-series should weigh 3,600 lbs and a G-8 GT almost 4K lbs. You can throw regulations at me and every excuse. The holy grail is withing reach to make an exceptional car that delivers everything you would need without the excesses that add weight. They really need to use the develpment of the Corvette as an example. Imagine a C-6 with a blown 4-banger and weighing 2,900 lbs without changing anything but the engine. Not as much HP/torque but a bleedingly beautiful ride that gets well into the 30 MPG. range combined FE. Regards, OW
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Replying to: circlew (Aug 12, 2009 6:40 am) “No reason”? Well, clearly you can reject regulations [ etc ] as excuses. [ I’d bet every car manufacturer would also like to reject \ ignore all regulatory requirements, as well. ] I believe that in addition to regulatory issues, customers have come to expect a significantly higher level of content [ amenities = more weight ] and chassis \ body strength & stiffness [ = more weight, again ] . . . for 2 examples. One ** COULD ** add these things without adding weight, I’m sure – but there would be non-trivial increases in development & materials costs to accomplish this. RE: Corvette: I had a current model \ C6 Corvette Coupe for 2+ years. In addition to extensive research & monitoring 2 Corvette Forums for over a year prior to my purchase, I studied most every detail of it very thoroughly – inside & out. 2 conclusions that I think apply here are: First - A blown 4-banger in a Corvette would be an absolute sales disaster. Second - The Corvette ‘pays a price’ for being as light as it is. A price that makes sense to me, in a [ relatively ] low volume Sports Car – selling at a [ relatively ] high price. The chassis & suspension of the Corvette, in particular, are intricately & beautifully designed & executed – as well as using lighter weight materials. Duplicating a chassis like this for a 4DR sedan in your desired price range seems highly unlikely, to me. Even with [ low ] weight as a very high priority, adding even +2 seating – and also producing a car that most would consider ‘rather quick’, with EPA combined 30 MPG, seems to result in something like the upcoming Lotus Evore. Looks like it will weigh just over 3000 LBS, but it is expected to cost something like $75,000. And those back seats still don’t really sound very appealing for full sized adults. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=10&article_id=8092&page_numbe- - - - r=2 Your statements sound to me much like The Way To Lose Weight. Eat less & exercise more. Since one can state The Answer in one short & simple sentence, that means that The Doing must surely be simple & easy to accomplish. And simply reject any reasons or excuses. The statement is true. But, for many, many people the Doing is clearly difficult indeed. If it really was simple & easy to lose weight, we would not have nearly as many overweight people in the U.S. of A. And if it was simple & easy as you describe to produce the cars your describe, I think they’d be on the market & selling well. “too greedy”? Seems to me that greed would result in driving the development of cars that would sell, at good margin. I’d expect that a car as you describe WOULD sell – so wouldn’t greed dictate that they’d be building & selling ‘em??? - Ray Confused . . .
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Replying to: rayainsw (Aug 12, 2009 9:54 am) I understand the complexity of designing and building a "perfect sedan". (The 3-series is real close, imho.) I know it's not simple but with the current tech., it's well within achievable...if an auto company REALLY wanted to...or they can use every excuse in the book to justify status-quo thinking. It's not only about loosing weight simplistically but rather creatively by effective design and use of new materials that achieve the desired results. I would take a SC 4-cylinder Corvette with 4 doors in a heartbeat! (No pun intended, Heartbeat of America  ). The marketing would be perfect...Z06 for Macho Man and C-6-4 for the Thinking Man...or a Lotus! Regards, OW
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Replying to: lemko (Aug 12, 2009 4:57 am) You really need to marry that girl! |
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