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Comments
I never used to like the SRX at first, but I do like it now. It is a pretty cool SUV. The HID is lovely, Nissan makes some pretty good HID as well I have seen the HID on the new CTS though and it does not look like the HID on other Cadillacs it is almost yellowish
Three different lights:
1. Halogen (white/yellow)
2. Xenon (white/blue)
3. LED (white/blue).
Most cars come equipped with halogen lamps. Some higher-end cars come with Xenon (same kind of gas in strobe light bulbs), and the highest-end, most advanced cars come with LED all-around (Most Cadillac and Lexus models).
Since Honda is still in the stone age making cars with old, antiquidated 5-speed automatics and clunky, old SOHC powerplants that don't even have VVT phasing on the exhaust cam, we can expect Honda to add xenon headlamps to their lineup of cars around the 2050 model year. LED headlamps in Honda's have a year 2100 target date.
"Just talking to these guys in here helped me to realize, that GM wont' change. I refuse to pay full price for outdated technology."
That means I have to scratch any Honda product off my shopping list. It's like the only engine they offer is a cheap, old SOHC V6 that has seen service since like the early nineties. This engine doesn't even offer VVT on the exhaust cam, for crying out loud! I think even Daewoo is now making engines more sophisticated than Honda.
And what about Honda's ONLY automatic transmission? Yep! It's a clunky old five-speed unit that hasn't had a major upgrade in over 15 years! You know Honda is still offering ancient transmissions that even the Koreans were offering last century when the only transmission the car company has is a clunky, wheezy 5-speed auto.
HONDA DRIVETRAINS DON'T BELONG IN CARS THEY BELONG IN THE SMITHSONIAN!
I refuse to pay full price for outdated technology. I refuse to buy Honda.
So indeed the Cadillac drivetrain was competitive for its time.
What the America-haters ("General Motors made nothing but junk during the 80's while BMW and Honda marched on with excellent vehicles...") fail to tell us are these depressing facts. And these facts are that BMW was hardly the "Ultimate Driving Machine", with putt-putt's that barely coughed and sputtered out 120 horsepower, and the Honda Legend -- priced $2,000 more than the 1986 Seville redesign -- had 40 ft/lbs less torque than the HT4100, meaning it was even slower than the 1986 Seville or eldorado.
I am not kidding and this is not a Photoshop. This jalopy is a BMW 5-Series sedan from the 80's. Utterly embarrasing in its cheapness:
Downright pathetic. The vinyl seats just scream cheap! So much for the mid-80's GM cars being cheap and the imports being the ultimate drivin machine...
In contrast, the next photo is the interior of the 1986 Cadillac ElDorado, the car the America-haters claim is no good. Notice the advanced digital plasma displays, power everything and Driver Info Console. Even though this specimen is sure to have over 200K miles on the odometer, it still looks good:
Car and Driver's 10-Best in 1986-1989. Costs over $2,000 more than the ElDorado, but still manages to look cheaper and less luxurious. Still prettier than the BMW by a long shot, though, and also less expensive by a long shot, as well....
Since the Caddy wasn't any slower than these other cars, and certainly more substantial than either (especially that eastern Europe-looking BMW), why wasn't the Caddy placed on the 10-Best list instead of the Acura?
OK:
PANASONIC Back-Up Camera -- fits GMC 2000-2006 GMCYukon
List Price: $89.99
OUR PRICE: $79.99
WHAT A PATHETIC PIECE OF CRAP! And to think people actually shelled out like over $20 grand for this turd!!!
Below is a true class act: Far more car for about the same amount of money:
Lexus looks OK, but still no match for the Cadillac despite the slightly higher MSRP. Notice the cheap assembly quality at the base of the glovebox where it meets the dashboard kickplate. The inconsistent padding between driver and passenger seating surfaces isn't looking too good, either. A higher resolution photo reveals even more cheapness and crappy quality:
As we can see, once again we're being told lies from the establishment.
LEXUS/TOYOTA, FIX YOUR QUALITY ISSUES OR SUFFER THE SAME FATE AS THE YUGO!!!
BTW, I was being faceitious. I agree- there is nothing wrong with an OHV engine. I find it hillarious, and quite hypocritical of people who say OHV is outdated, yet it's OK for a pickup or the Corvette. I know that Caddy never used it, and this new 3.6 liter V-6 is drawing rave reviews, but the old 3800 Buick V-6 is a tried and true engine, and I'll be sad to see it go. I wish they could've done more with it.
Funny thing is the cheapo 4cyl W201 is probably worth more than that old Deville on the used car market, and certainly worth more than a 1986 Seville. A bustleback is worth more too.
And of course, the W201 was never meant to be anything more than the lowest level of entry lux - in Europe it was usually too small to even be a taxi. Not a competitor to Caddy, nobody cross-shopped a Deville and a 190E. The period E-class and S-class are the cars that schooled the competition.
I'd be interested to know the TRUE story behind that old BMW too.
Pic #3 appears to be a Legend coupe from the early 90s. The seats are infinitely better looking, and I suspect it is a better drive.
http://www.autolamps-online.com/hidonline/information/whatiscolourtemp.htm
First-gen ('86-'90) Acura Legend. In his zeal to whitewash Cadillac's shame, he forgot that the first Legend had as much horsepower as a full-sized Caddy and weighed about a thousand pounds less.
A V-12 Bimmer would actually be a nightmare and a man has well documented the problems with his BMW 750: http://my750.com/mystory.htm
That list is also from a UK site and the British typically hate American cars though they really have no longer have any automotive industry of their own.
I feel free again because I am letting it go! No use crying over junk again.
Let's look at 2008, shall we? Which manufacturer closely emulates Standard of the World today? I would venture only a few would think Cadillac in the present moment.
Regards,
OW
Declining STS and SRX production, perhaps? I suppose that killing those two off will make room for the CTS Coupe.
Even I can't defend the 1986 Seville. It was this car and the shrunken 1985 FWD C-body DeVille/Fleetwood and Eldorado that really made me fear for Cadillac's future. Thank God, GM was smart enough to keep building the Cadillac Brougham. I don't know what I'd be driving today if Cadillac back then was stupid enough to ditch the Brougham. I guess I'd have settled for a Lincoln Town Car or a Chrysler Fifth Avenue in lieu of a Caddy.
Here is a list of World Class companies who have won Best Engine categories.
Guess which country's auto manufacturers are not on the list?
link title
Perhaps the new CTS V-6 will show in 2008. Perhaps not.
Regards,
OW
Well that's a relief! Doesn't help the other issues over the years that helped drive down sales loss to the competition, though.
Things may change but for now, we are where we are. The Escalade is the benchmark for a Suburban tank, IMHO. The CTS is a great start.
Ya gotta start somewhere! Now, if they can refine the CTS further (STS/SRX goes bye-bye as I have read) drop the pick-up, add a CUV, fortify the DTS, enliven the XLR and add a 1-series-class entry candidate with real world class (read youth here) appeal and performance for all of them, we will see a very different organization.
In the meantime, look to the competition to continually change the playing field. Cadillac either continues to make massive change or goes the way of Oldsmobubble. Remember them??
Regards,
OW
The 190E was kind of a yuppie leasemobile of the time - it wasn't meant to be a real luxury competitor. The 35 year old professional of 1986 was never going to touch a Seville anyway. The 190 wasn't a horrible car, but not as overdone as some others. The old E-class is a very solid car. Every day out here I see at least a couple early E-class and W126. These are cars that can look very decent even at 300K+ miles.
What was production of the Brougham after 1987 or so?
How has CTS production changed since we spoke at the Detroit auto show?
We were able to find a way to squeeze out 7,500 more. We're up in the capacity, and we're able to address the number-one dealer issue. They're very frustrated because they know they can sell way more than they have. We weren't sure where the ceiling was on this. I'm not in a big hurry to run this thing up and then find out we're sitting on too many cars.
What's the CTS mix like?
We're running a richer mix on the engine than we originally forecasted. Transaction prices are better than we expected. Dealer margins in real dollars are higher, so the customers are really looking at this vehicle positioning with the imports.
One fun fact is the red paint. We typically run 5 to 8 percent red. But we did all ads in red, and so we are running 18 to 20 percent red now.
What about a car sized and priced under the CTS, a baby Cadillac?
I was first kind of consistent that we didn't need one — it would need to be $25,000 to $30,000, which is a pretty cheap Cadillac. But as the CTS moves up to be $30,000 to $40,000, you are creating space for a smaller Cadillac. So it is starting to be emerging on the list as more viable to me.
And Lutz thumped him upside the head!!
No, I'm just suggesting Caddy is not the World Standard, that's all. Don't feed me that line "because it's made in the U.S. it's the Gold Standard". Not anymore.
They are still building Lexus dealers, don't you know?
Regards,
OW
What does this have to do with the "title" of this message board?
Yes, and the new G-8 is a thoroughbred GM. In the memorable words of Crocodile Dundee: "Now, that's a car".
Regards,
OW
link title
Regards,
OW
Would a 420SEL have less needy maintenance, or do you have to drop down to the 6-cylinder for that?
http://www.carcomplaints.com/worst_vehicles.shtml
Not a Caddy on it. Go figure.
I'd love to find a mint late 560SEL in diamond blue with creme interior and stock chrome wheels. I'd really be tempted.
FINS! exhibition at the AACA Museum (Straightline)
Well, even if you missed the blog about it, you probably knew about it anyway.
More on topic, there's a nod to Harley Earl and the 1948 Cadillac there.
Of course, there's only one car inside the Edmunds offices, and that's a 49 Caddy Fleetwood. (that link opens up a video tour of the office, so mind your speakers).
I think Olds is the LAST place you'll find Caddy heading
I'd be interested to know the TRUE story behind that old BMW too.
Pic #3 appears to be a Legend coupe from the early 90s. The seats are infinitely better looking, and I suspect it is a better drive."
Why not just say, "OK, PMC , your pictures do indicate that maybe we're wrong. Maybe we are being too easily fooled into the establishment when the establishment tells us that GM cars of the 80's were crap. Maybe we should start thinking for ourselves and stop listening to automotive journalists when they incorrectly critisize 1980's GM.
"After all, you proved that the very car the automotive journalists espoused (80's BMW; 80's Mercedes Benz) really was crap with manual roll-up windows, cheap seating surfaces, a ride as comfortable as a metropolitan transit bus and the smell of fuel eminating from an obnoxiously loud OHC engie that got like 120 horsepower.
"In fact, what were we thinking? In retrospect, I can't figure out for the life of me what made us actually like those annoying, primitive, nasty little cars with their manual transmissions sticking out of the floorboards..."
Here's a mid-80's Mercedes Benz E-Class, showing WWII-era switchgear, wood inserts that look like plywood, and no air conditioning, stereo (the stereo shown is aftermarket) and optional swithches (probably for options like lights, turn signals, fuel gauge, etc). This was the car the automotive community said was better than 1980's Cadillacs:
Here's the interior that the automobile journalists said was less luxurious and lower in quality than the Mercedes Benz shown above. Please note that Crack Cocaine was an epidemic in this country at about the time these journalists were making these claims:
The 1944 Er, 1988 Mercedes Benz ES 300 shown above cost $45,000.
The 1988 Cadillac shown above cost $32,000.
...Only now are we beginning to see that the automobile journalist of the time had a hidden agenda...
.
Bear in mind that the crack cocaine epidemic in this country was still plaguing our people. Not only that, but crystal methamphetamine was now on the rise:
Cadillac ElDorado interior, circa 1990:
I wasn't going to show this because it's an embarrasmant to the import fanboys, but I have to because I did show the Caddy interior:
Acura Legend, 1991. Notice the puffy, Michelin man-inspired seatig surfaces. Not nearly as clean as the Cadillac, either.
Of course, a scant two years later some tarted-up Toyota would come along and obliterate them both.