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2008 Cadillac CTS

pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
edited March 2014 in Cadillac
since the "sneak peak" of the 08 CTS on the "60 Minutes" TV show, there has been quite a bit of discussion suggesting that Cadillac needs to get this car out as soon as possible. I have heard that they may try to get it out early (late Spring 07). The idea of this thread is to give people a place to post what they have heard about the upcoming CTS model change.
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Comments

  • fenwahfenwah Member Posts: 58
    I've seen the spy photos...not completely sold on it just yet. I've sat in a 2005/6/7 CTS and believe Cadillac is on the right track as they seem to get a little better and better. My biggie is how the interior will look. So far, the CTS, in my opinion, is way behind their competitors (G35, I250/350, TL, 3 Series). I've seen one spy picture of the 08 CTS and really can't judge it yet. I've been told that the 08 CTS interior may mimic the new Escalade and/or the SRX. But I have yet to sit in one of those.
  • jpennjpenn Member Posts: 68
    Not to beat a dead horse but, can anyone give some definitive information on the new CTS's. I've read several reports stating the new CTS will have awd also saw an article which stated that Caddy will be building new CTS's to compete head to head with BMW 3's and MB C's with awd, coupe, convert and crossover. The BMW 3 coupe comes in several variations, turbo, awd, luxury and convert. Will Caddy offer this much variety? (hope so).

    My situation is, I'll be in the market for a new car in 07, I've convinced myself that the CTS sedan is my next car, then came the news that the coupe was a viable product for 09 coming in 08. My first love has always been coupes. Does anyone have information on these concepts?
  • allargonallargon Member Posts: 75
    From the spy shots I saw, I thought I saw paddle shifters on the steering wheel. However, everything's mum. I guess we will have to wait until the Detroit Auto Show for more. :cry:
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    I agree that Caddy, so far, is behind their competitors. As just one example, the current CTS does not even have a tilt/telescoping steering column. When I sat in it, I could not get the seat adjusted so that I was comfortable and at the same time have my arms in a comfortable position. This may sound like a minor issue, but the others have it and Caddy doesn't. It would have been enough of a reason for me not to buy the car. Hopefully, Cadillac will lock the bean counters in the back room and FIX the 08 CTS in every possible way. If people like the car they will buy it, even if it costs a little more (see BMW, Lexus, etc).
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    I keep hearing that the new CTS will offer AWD is this true? That would be great since RWD is useless when it snows or the road is slippery or icy. Also will it offer a 300+ HP engine and the new 6 speed auto they keep talking about?

    Personally I always thought the CTS was a great car what I would like it to offer is Voice Activated Systems (I.E. Climate Controls, Audio, Nav System, etc). Now a days you can get those features on a $30k car so this car should offer it with the Nav system.

    What I would also really like is a HUD. I think that it's a great feature and it allows you to keep your eyes on the road.

    I know some people might say the bean counters won't allow these features so if that is the case make them OPTIONAL.
  • sls002sls002 Member Posts: 2,788
    The 3.6 liter V6 will have direct injection and will have 15% more power as per a PowerTrain news release.The six speed auto will be offered. There are rumors that AWD will be optional. I would not agree that RWD is helpless in snow, as I have driven RWD cars for many years in snowy weather. There may be a wagon model too - rumors.
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    Direct Injection like in the Red Line version of the Saturn Sky? That would suck because then you need to put premium gas into it. I hope AWD is optional since for me that is a desirable feature for me. The last RWD car I drove skid like I was in a ice rink. I had to put hundreds of pounds of weight to make sure the car had traction. Never again will I own a RWD car. I think a wagon is a great idea for some people but for me I just want the sedan.
  • pjchespjches Member Posts: 1
    Lets hope that the rear of the new CTS in no way resembles the BORING rear end of the STS. Lets hope the new CTS retains some of the "cuts and folds" that are present in the trunk hood of the current CTS. The STS rear lid is as bland as a truck lid can be and would be a killer to the pizzazz of the CTS. I also hope that the new rear bumper is less suseptible to dings from the licence plate screws of other cars that give it a minor bump. A $40K car should not get "bumper acne". Also as everyone seems to concure, the interior has to improve significantly and live up to the uniqueness of cadillac interiors going way back in time, which were always the best appointed and most luxurious. The current CTS interior, though unique, is not at all luxurious. It is very underwhelmingly appointed, and has almost no storage (not even for sunglasses). The seat stitching and door panels have as much "awe-factor" as some cheap compact car and does not not make the Cadillac name-plate proud. THINK LUXURY (as well as sporty) live up to the Cadillac name.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    I hope it competes with the BMW 3. It will need over 300 hp. to do that though. ;)

    Rocky
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    Yea it really needs that. I just hope they can do that without premium fuel.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Does the current 3.6 "HF" V-6 require premium ?

    If it does is it really that big of a deal ? All the competition I have read about uses premium. I personally can't wait to read more about the new CTS, since I'm considering it as my next vehicle of choice if I don't go 2007' GMC Sierra Denali first. :shades:

    Rocky
  • sls002sls002 Member Posts: 2,788
    I don't think direct injection has to require premium fuel, the compression ratio and tuning also determine octane needs. But if you want to keep the engine small, and want more power, higher octane fuel may be required.
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    One of the big strengths I always thought the CTS had is that it can give you all the luxury without paying for it at the pump. I would never buy a car that needs premium unless its gets 50 MPG City/Highway. The current CTS can run on 87.
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    Well the Sky Redline and Mazda CX-7 uses direct injection and they both require premium fuel. From that I drew a conclusion that all cars with direct injection required premium.
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    sls002 is correct - direct injection by itself has nothing to do with needing premium fuel - it is simply a very efficient means to get the gas into the combustion chamber. However, so far, manufacturers have mostly used it on their pricier performance models where they also tend to jack up the compression ratio - which DOES often require premium depending upon cam timing, etc. I don't know what Caddy will do here. Clearly there is a marketing advantage to having the engine use regular fuel; however, this means that they will probably also have to "detune" other aspects of the engine (timing, compression, etc) to make it run on regular thereby giving up some horsepower/performance. Since virtually all of the CTS's main competitors demand premium fuel, Caddy may just decide to go for performance and require it too. We will have to see.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Well 300+ hp. can be done without using premium. I however agree with others that direct injection could require premium to get the performance and if so it's not all that more expensive. It does save you a mile or 2 in fuel economy on GM cars.

    Rocky
  • thebugthebug Member Posts: 294
    The difference between premium and regular fuel is usually about twenty cents. If you had a 20 gallon tank, it would cost 4 more bucks to fill the tank. If four bucks is an issue, then one sould probably assess other areas of their financial profile. I know that I waste at least four bucks a day on someting without a doubt. That's not really a enough to worry about. Do the math, and you too will find a considerable waste as well.

    thebug...
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    yes, I agree that unless one drives an incredible number of miles per year, the difference in premium vs. regular is probably no more than around $200/year or so for most people - and if the car is a better performer (power and fuel mileage) as a result - no big deal? However, I think the thing that kicked off this discussion was whether or not using direct injection would require premium fuel - answer: no, by itself - but Caddy may decide to require premium if they also do some other engine performance tuning like upping the compression ratio or specifying hotter cam timing, etc, to get more power.
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    I just feel that premium gas is a waste of money. I can afford it but think that it shouldn't be necessary. Just like I can afford to fuel a Suburban but it doesn't mean I will since I feel I am wasting my money.

    Where I live also we need to drive every day so overall we would lose allot of money on the deal. They made the CTS in the past run fine on regular I just don't see why they can't do it again?
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    pearl, good post. That might be what they do to squeeze more horses from the 3.6 "high feature" ;)

    I also think we will see a hybrid version of the CTS. The CTS-V will be between 500-600 horsepower the rumor mill says.

    Rocky
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    They said the same thing about the Corvette. I hope if they include a hybrid its one that is a high performance model.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    me 2

    Rocky
  • white6white6 Member Posts: 588
    Sky Redline and Mazda CX-7 direct injected engines also use a turbocharger to increase power; that is their primary reason for premium fuel requirement. Direct injection significantly improves mileage, power, and exhaust emissions (all else being equal) by more precise fuel injection timing and location application within the combustion chamber. It will be an industry-wide standard within a decade. New CTS 3.6 DI should come in around 290 hp on regular fuel and use the new 6-speed auto to improve both performance (at least a half-second and as much as a full second off current 0-60) and fuel economy (5-7% improvement).
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    Well 290 HP is probably more than enough for me to keep me happy. If it can go on 87 then great. I like the fact that direct injection can get 240 and 260 HP out of these engines but I feel with a V6 you can get the same power and fuel economy while using 87.

    It's just that 93-94 cost 20-30 more cents per gallon and if you drive allot it will cost you. By "industry wide standard" does that mean all V4 engines will offer this option? If so I think its great for people willing to pay more for 93-94 while giving more power. I just wonder how much more power they can milk out of a V4?
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    It needs atleast 307 hp and 301 lbs of torque to become class leading. GM, needs to "best" the best in this segment to earn some respect. The 335i sedan's performance figures should be Cadillacs goal to overcome IMHO. ;)

    Rocky
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    Do you think it will be done with a 6 or 8?
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    It will have to be done with the 3.6 "high feature" V-6. They can easily make the horsepower and torque if they want chris. Good example is the Twin-Turbo 3.6 V-6 from the Velite which had 400 hp and 400 lbs of tq. The Grand National GNX concept with the same engine had 450 hp and 450 lbs. of tq using the Holden Monaro as the frame. The Buick Velite idea would be better idea since it's a modern looking Buick on the Zeta. However my point is the 3.6 is a good application and can easily exceed the competition if GM, chooses to do so. ;)

    If I was GM, I use the TT 3.6 V-6 for the CTS to take on the 335i and the 7.0 600 hp. engine for the BMW M ;)
    We then could claim the benchmark from BMW :shades:

    Rocky

    Rocky
  • merc1merc1 Member Posts: 6,081
    I guess no one was able to get any pics from the recent dealer meeting/preview of the 08' CTS? Not even Autospies has anything.

    M
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    merc,

    Yeah I agree it's pretty crazy that even autospies wasn't able to get any pics. That doesn't happen very often. :surprise:

    Rocky
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    Stopped in at my local Caddy dealer over the weekend and the sales rep said that they are expecting to see the 08 CTS out early, probably late Spring. I think this would be great. Anyone else hearing anything more definitive on this?
  • sevenfeet0sevenfeet0 Member Posts: 486
    An early launch wouldn't be surprising. The CTS's original 2003 year launched in January, and ever since the next model year has appeared in Early June at the dealers.
  • chrisl0chrisl0 Member Posts: 114
    If thats true why are pictures and information so hard to find? I can't even build one.
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    does anyone have experience with the Caddy Nav vs. others from Japanese or German makes? Comments? My next car will have a nav for sure, but while there are tons of comments on German vs. Japanese Navs (e.g. I-drive vs. Lexus Gen 5, etc), I rarely ever hear anyone talk about American Navs, in particular, Cadillac's.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    The Caddy navigations are about as user friendly as Acura's. The STS, Escalade, have voice recognition technology which speeds up certain functions. I'd assume the 08' CTS will finally feature this technology, along with alot more competitive advances. If the 08' CTS, gets enough technology, I will more than likely park one in my driveway/garage. ;)

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    We are finally starting to see news trickel out about this car. So far I see nothing but a winner and a much bigger sales success than the last CTS and CTS-V. :shades:

    Rocky
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    Cadillac clearly has a chance to hit a homerun here. They absolutely MUST not screw this up by letting the bean counters run the show and forcing the engineers to give up things which are already standard on the competition (e.g. tilt/telescopic steering columns; high quality "feel" on internal switches, knobs, etc; fit/finish). If this costs a few hundreds bucks more - DO IT. More people will buy a true luxo car than one that pretends to be one, but skimps on the basics.
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Pearl, I 100% agree even a few thousand more they could get away with it.

    There is no reason why this car shouldn't have a powerful DVD-Audio surround sound system, heated+ ventilated(AC) seats, pwr tilt/telescoping wheel, multi adjustment seats w/ pwr lumbar, voice recognition that controls the audio, climate, bluetooth, navigation system, adaptive cruise control, and IMHO they need to use the swivel headlamps. A pre-collison system along with the latest advances in braking technology that pre-charge the brakes for emergency stops. A rear view camera along with sensors would also be nice. TYou are right the bean counters need to stay away from this one. However, if Cadillac even just had the same technology found in the Lincoln MKZ along with voice recognition I'd be plenty happy. I guess the CTS, is the most important model but I'd expect 310 or better hp. Personally I'd like to see GM use the Buick Velite & GNX concept's 3.6 Twin Turbo that achieved 450 hp. However the 7.0 V-8 will do plenty fine in a CTS-V. I'm just saying a V-8 isn't neccessary when you add a couple of turbos to a V-6 which yields better mpg and saves weight. If GM, was very smart like I'd be with this model I'd add the 2-stage hybrid package to this car which would help further balance the car out and keep weight as close as possible to 50/50.

    Okay pearl I'm done rambling pal. I think we can agree most of the time on this topic. I'm getting excited to see the final piece since the all-new 2008-2009 CTS-V is at the top of my short-list of 11-ars. :shades:

    Rocky
  • bhill2bhill2 Member Posts: 2,466
    I agree that GM has to put all the features into the car, but further they have to improve the materials. The first bean-counter who says "this switch has been used in millions of Chevys and Pontiacs, and is plenty good enough for this car" or "this is the material that we have used for the consoles in millions of Chevys and Pontiacs, and is plenty good enough for this car" should be shot, and their head put on a fencepost where it can be seen by all of the other bean-counters. I drove a new STS last weekend. It is a very good-driving car, but I could look around the interior and see every such compromise made in the name of cost cutting. It was an ugly sight.

    2009 BMW 335i, 2003 Corvette cnv. (RIP 2001 Jaguar XK8 cnv and 1985 MB 380SE [the best of the lot])

  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    I like the interior design and lay-out but agree the bean-counters did cheapen the car. All I can do is hope they do a upgrade on the refresh. For as much as the STS cost's it should have a 07' Volvo S80 type of a interior. One that impresses and sets a standard for all others to meet. ;)

    I really can't wait to get some good interior shots of the new CTS. It will probably be January, at the Detroit autoshow before we get our chance. :(

    Rocky
  • jd14jd14 Member Posts: 128
    Isn't the interior of the CTS identical to that of the old SRX? Even if they just transfer the look of the new SRX cabin into the new CTS and add all the expected luxury features they will have a huge hit! Come on, with a front end this mean
    image
    how can you lose?
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    I gotta agree... :D The next CTS, IMHO will be a big winner. ;) :shades:

    Rocky
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    ?????

    Rocky
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    PDR is the performance collection package with all season 18inch tires......3300 MSRP option package.......but includes several other items such as forward looking HID lighting
  • pearlpearl Member Posts: 336
    New V6http://www.worldcarfans.com/rsslink.cfm/article/2060518.001/generalmotors/2008-g- -
    Good article about the GM direct injection V6 - could be used on the 08 CTS
  • rockyleerockylee Member Posts: 14,014
    Looks good :)

    Rocky
  • albookalbook Member Posts: 1,282
    I'm just saying a V-8 isn't neccessary when you add a couple of turbos to a V-6 which yields better mpg and saves weight.
    Rocky, if you can afford the car, you don't care about gas. All you care about is whipping your X girlfriend in her BMW M3! We all know the lincoln MKZ doesn't stand a chance against this!!! It could not even touch the old one!
  • jblaze13jblaze13 Member Posts: 152
    I agree that the front end looks great. What I saw of the back end was a real concern. The tail lamps were not appealing. I hope they change them.
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