Mazda 6 new 2.5L turbo

[kevm14]

GM hasn't made anything as bad as the Cimarron since the Cimarron. Though at a very high level, a car like the Continental is the same thing, just executed better. The devil is in the details, not the generalities. So I will stick to my comment that

I don't think that offering lower priced models OR engines is necessarily damaging.

At a lower level, the Continental is not the same thing as it would be more like if Ford took the Fiesta and made a Lincoln out of it. Which they are not doing.

But the CT6 (Omega) is inherently a more premium platform than the Continental with its cutting edge mixed materials bonding and stuff like that. Apparently we are back to the driving dynamics being "good enough" and what matters now is how many ways you can move the seat. Like I have said before, Cadillac made comfortable cars for decades, some available with some very fancy features. Yet all anyone could talk about was how the ride/handling/performance was not that great. But now somehow that doesn't matter. It is frustrating.

[kevm14]

I have been thinking lately that if I was an automotive column writer, I would write something about how the proliferation of 2.0Ts across premium platforms is the first foot in the grave for powertrains as a point of differentiation between brands with the second being the transition to electric drive. This represents the reality of the market, which is that many buyers just don't seem to care about the character of an engine anymore. I have rented many premium models with 2.0Ts and none of them inspire me at all. The only car I have driven recently with a 2.0T that I found engaging is the Evo, but that isn't one of those engines that makes peak torque at 1600 but it's all finished by 5000.

I agree with your 2.0T -> EV analogy as far as losing that point of differentiation.

I suspect most 2.0Ts just drive like a more powerful hybrid, which is to say...pretty boring.

I mean people talk about GM's 3.6L like it's a boring engine. Hell no, at least not compared to most 2.0Ts. I own 100% V8s so I think I get to check the character box. With the Ram, it's more the sound than the actual power. It sounds unmistakably like a V8.

But I'm also not going to insist that all cars should have V8s. Certain cars should have V8s as an option (like the ATS-V), though. I think V12s are cool, too. Inline 6s can be cool.

[bill25]

Cadillac made comfortable cars for decades, some available with some very fancy features. Yet all anyone could talk about was how the ride/handling/performance was not that great. But now somehow that doesn't matter. It is frustrating.

I agree. Their timing has just been bad. When people cared about driving and the smaller Asian cars were dominating the market over the gen 4 Camaro, and BMW was selling as a the ultimate enthusiast car brand, Cadillac was not even close to this type of car. Now they are but we are in the most anti driving climate ever...

[kevm14]

Anti-driving climate. Well put. Sadly.