bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i'm sure steve meant swap the possibly larger rims/tires that come on a high spec model with the smaller factory ones you like which should not have any complications. in fact many dealers will do this for you as part of a sale.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

i must state again, there is no 'great war against nice-driving sedans'. there was no war on a pontiac aztek when it was dropped, or an amc pacer, a ford edsel, ford ltd's, ford thunderbirds, all oldsmobiles, all pontiacs including the hugely successful in its prime trans am, corvair, or any of hundreds of other models. there is no there there.

manufacturers stop making certain vehicles when they're no longer viable... they're not in the business of making cars in small volumes at a loss to keep a dwindling number of customers happy. and nothing stays the same, you can't just keep a model the same, you have to make changes, which on a vehicle with dwindling sales, is suicidal if there seems no prospect of increased sales.

even a vehicle that enjoys a long production run goes through complete redesigns... was there a 'war' on version 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. of accord, camry, lexus es, etc.? no. the manufacturers concluded they had to be replaced (not just enhanced) to remain competitive.

since i'm in the IT field, i have many clients who complain that the computer they have has become obsolete and slow. a computer model's availability is typically a year to 18 months and it's replaced! there is no war on computers, or phones, etc. either.

back to the thread topic specifically, it sucks for you and other fans of the lacrosse and other non-luxury large sedans. but it's life, and not a 'war'.

look at car sales numbers, i'm sensing that the great wealth divide is exacerbating things in this area too... that popular large luxury sedans are still doing pretty well still despite tons of luxury suvs being sold as well. as i've said, i think most of those not able or willing to spend as much, have moved to suvs instead because the only reason they previously wanted a large non-luxury sedan was the room and that's far surpassed by suvs.

SW17LS

They will have no problem doing that. The better wheels off the higher spec model will make your trade in easier to sell, they'll be happy to make that swap for you.

When I got my 17 LS they were more than happy to swap the 18" wheels off my 2015 for the 19" wheels off the 2017. I wound up not doing that but it would have been no problem.

Where they balk is when you want BETTER wheels.

Sulu

You are correct. I completely forgot about the ELR and I had argued at the time that GM should have introduced the new extended-range EV technology on the higher profit margin Cadillac brand instead of the mass-market Chevrolet brand.

It cannot be as simple as cost. If it was that simple, the less-expensive, lower profit margin Malibu would have the simpler, less-costly mild hybrid system, and the higher profit margin LaCrosse would use the Volt's more expensive Voltec hybrid system.

signdetres

Really interesting discussion on this topic. "They're making so many disposable products and when you make disposable products, the people behind them begin to become disposable as well."

mmarshall

I wouldn't consider most of what GM produces today to be disposable products....especially the smaller Opel-sourced Buicks. Of course, I can (all too well) remember a time when GM and Chrysler did make disposable products.

You may (?) have a point, however, about disposable customers.

Toys4RJill

mmarshall

Come on, bit. The Aztec didn't need a war fought against it...it killed itself with its looks. The AMC Pacer also died because of quirkiness....though, personally, I liked it. But that is not the case with many discontinued vehicles. They are discontinued, not because of customer rejection, but because, even with adequate demand, the manufacturer isn't satisfied with the profits (i.e...greed). How else do you explain Ford dropping the two-seat Thunderbird when customers were lined up to buy what few were available, often paying well over list for them? The Ford dealers, not the manufacturers, were the ones getting the profits, because they were the one gouging the prices.

mmarshall

plex

iTrader: (11)

Funny that they mention the Cadillac mechanic owning Honda's. That doesn't speak well for quality. Not sure what time frame they were referring to though.

Toys4RJill

mmarshall

I don't blame you, though, for forgetting. It's easy to forget about the ELR. It was a sales flop from Day One, and never even approximated the Volt's sales. Most potential customers considered it a waste of money, and I agreed, considering that even the much less-expensive Chevy Volt was also overpriced.

Cost, though (from a less-complex hybrid system) appears to be the reason that the big Lacrosse Hybrid can undercut even the much smaller Chevy Volt in price, which uses a much more complex plug-in hybrid system, If the Lacrosse Hybrid had the Volt's sophistication and range-capability on electronics alone, it almost certainly not start at only 29K.

Now, having said that, when the Volt first came out, it was significantly overpriced...perhaps because it had no competition. It started at 41K, and loaded models on the lot went for near 50K, with mark-ups. Note that when the Toyota Prius Plug-In debuted, the Volt had some serious competition....and GM dropped the price several thousand dollars (I don't remember exactly how much) almost overnight.

crepr12

LMMFAO...Talk about drinking the cool aid.

lol

mmarshall

Better to drink Kool-Aid than laughing-gas.....especially when you are laughing about something you apparently have little knowledge of.

mmarshall

Exactly my point. The proof is indeed in the pudding.....bad leadership on the part of GM and Ford. It's gotten them into trouble before, and will very likely do so again. And the stock market will not necessarily be able to help them.