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We had a black one picked out with DVD etc........
And the bling-bling goodies too!
But the BOSS aka the ENFORCER overruled us all and won out!
(TOO BIG!)
I lived in Fla. for 10 yrs. I know HOT!
I had a HECK of a time finding a new black Chevy truck! All my trucks have been black!
Day-1 starts with a hair raising ride around the road course with the instructor. Then we each get our own cars, driving the same one the remainder of the class. I drove #7. If you go, try to grab #3. It has the Borla kit. Like a dummy I didn't look first, thinking they were all stock. After a couple passes through a slalom course, the first day is mostly about control; proper vision, steering, braking, emergency maneuvers (including full-on ABS handling), and some skid pad work. We also had a couple of cracks at the autocross course. Second day starts getting race oriented; advanced skid control, heel-toe downshifting, trail braking, proper cornering out on the oval track, and more autocrossing. Third day is the best. Starts out with more of day-2 activity, then you're out on the full road course. At first it was hard, but then all the lessons started kicking in and I found myself reeling in any car in front of me. That's the Mustang story I alluded to in an earlier text. One of our classmates wanted to try a 'stang. I found I could catch him anytime. Maybe him, maybe me, maybe the cars. Regardless, they trained me to get to a zone where I was looking and thinking well ahead of where the car was, while my hands and feet were occupied with the immediate process. This has the effect of expanding time and things seem in slow-motion. This allows you drive the car right to the edge of it's handling envelope.
Guaranteed best $2850 I'll ever spend! Changed my life. And of course now I have to buy a CTS-V!
Keep us posted if you decided to go!
Very impressive. Lots of backseat room.
Great front and back end too.
spy pic of the STS?
I thought so!
http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/cars25_20030925.htm
(Off topic..but didja look at the Chrysler 300c. Kinda cool looking. Anyone else think that front end looks a lot like a Studebaker of old??? My dad was a stud fan. I grew up in them and learned to drive in one.)
I knew someone was gonna say something like that...lol. On top of that, I read the info on the 300c and they say...
"The program is very key to Chrysler's turnaround,' he said. "They must do a really good job of educating the customer about rear-drive cars. That's the biggest test for them."
Educating......about rear wheel drive..???? Jeez, I remember when the only domestic car with FWD was the Eldorado and everyone was going, "Oh, I just don't know about that!!"
Looks like someone provided the wrong picture.
I saw some reference to the "300N" somwhere. Maybe that's what that thing is. Whatever, I still think it looks like an old Studebaker...and I'll qualify that by adding...IMO!!
However, when they built the prototype, it became obvious that the 300N was completely unlike the 300M -- i.e. it is stately, heavy, un-sporty (and very German looking, IMHO) so they decided to backtrack to the 300C nameplate. The original 300C was powerful, but boat-like, and the new 300C is the same....
rsteph, the Oldsmobile Toronado was FWD ever since it's inception in 1966. I think the Eldo followed a couple of years later. As for educating customers about RWD, JUST LET THEM DRIVE THE CAR!!! After test driving several CTSs and now owning a Lincoln LS, I love RWD. Not that all FWD cars are bad, but it is nice to be able to nail the gas while turning and not worry about the steering wheel wanting to go in it's own direction. And if the customer REALLY doesn't care about FWD or RWD, well I'm sure there is a nice Camry waiting for them down at their local Toyota store:)
automole, sometimes MT hits the nail on the head with their COTY(i.e. 98 Corvette, 2000 Lincoln LS) and sometimes they miss the boat(i.e. 97 Malibu, 95 Chrysler Cirrus, etc). To their defense on the 99 300M, it was an impressive car at the time and offered alot of features and style for the price. I even considered one several times and they occasionally ran very attractive lease deals on them, but I just couldn't get past the fact that with a 250 hp V6 and only about 3500 lbs of curb weight, the car was no quicker than my Intrigue(with far fewer horses and about the same weight).
I went to the local Cadillac dealer's "Premiere Event" in which the XLR, SRX, CTS, and Escalade were showcased. I found it interesting that it didn't say anything about the STS or DTS in my 3 page fold-out color invitation...it seems that Cadillac is quickly sweeping both of those cars under the rug until the redesigned versions arrive. The event was to have a catered brunch, live music, wine tasting, and prize drawings.
Upon entering the dealership with my Dad and Brother I was surprised to see the service department floor lined with round tables covered by white tablecloths and flower arrangements. My Brother and I were even more amused to see grey hair as far as the eye could see as we listened to a 'stunning' live rendition of a Frank Sinatra tune. All the 'old-timers' were dressed up in their Sunday best (suits and dresses) in order to attend the event. It was quite a 'display' and showcased the fact that although great progress has been made Cadillac still has a LONG way to go in order to improve their image and attract younger buyers. My Dad is in his 60's and my Brother and I both in our 30's...we were the youngest people there (including my Dad!).
I got to look at the XLR and my first impression was that the new red is a poor color for Cadillac. I prefer last year's red...the new color isn't bright enough to be sporty or flashy and isn't dark (maroon) enough to be classy or expensive looking. I was also underwhelmed at the cars overall appearance; the basic lines and design looked impressive but there were little details that detracted from the "wow" impression that I would expect to get from an $80K car. The wheels looked somewhat cheap and ordinary for a car in its price range, the headlamp washers protruding from the front bumper were extremely cheesey looking (why they didn't include them in the headlamp assembly like the CTS w/HID is beyond me...as for why anyone would actually need this feature) and the seats had the Cadillac signature of a stretched out butt print that I've become so accustomed to looking at during my last year of CTS ownership. I also think that the round sensors in the rear bumper look really terrible even though they are standard on many of today's cars and found it strange that the yellow daytime running lights weren't included on the lower front bumper with the driving lights like on the CTS (I think that 'feature' makes the CTS look really cool while daytime driving). The folding hardtop was impressive, as was the cars overall 'stance'.
In the next room they had the new CTS and SRX along with a Cadillac commercial on infinite loop displayed on a Pioneer plasma screen. It was quite a contrast to go from Frank Sinatra to Led Zeppelin in the next room. The SRX looked great (it was the main reason we attended since my Dad is considering getting one) but we were unable to testdrive the demo model since it was in constant use by others.
I did get to finally drive a 2004 CTS with the larger V6. I'd been considering trading mine for the improved engine but after my testdrive I've decided that it just isn't worth it to take the 'hit' on depreciation. My impression of the new V6 vs. last year's is that the new engine has much more torque at lower RPM's, pulled harder, and was much smoother. What I was surprised to see was that my (2003) engine actually seemed to rev faster and had much better freeway onramp acceleration than the 2004 (and a subjectively better engine 'note'). If I didn't know better I'd think that in addition to the new engine Cadillac 'tweaked' the rear-end ratio for 2004...but I haven't confirmed this theory. I also wonder how much the dual exhaust contributes to the HP increase for 2004 (15?). All things considered I'd probably still prefer the new engine since it seems more robust and future-proof...it isn't a big enough improvement to warrant trading mine in at this time however.
I was hoping for a new V6 that felt like a small V8 which it didn't. To me it just seemed like a different 'shade' of V6 which was still underpowered for the CTS. I guess I will have to wait and save up for the V-series!
Other things I didn't like on the 2004 was the stitching seam in the base model steering wheel (where the wood insert would go on the lux model) which I'm sure was done to standardize parts and save money, the chrome strip on the ashtray door (that looked out of place), and the white lettering on the dials (I actually prefer the yellow display). One thing I liked is that the cassette player is now gone from the base model's stereo...unfortunately I have the cassette feature on mine and it exists as an ugly wart on my dash reminding me of a bygone time.
v8lincolnguy: I'm probably biased against the 300M since I owned one for 2 years. It isn't a bad car but doesn't even compare with the CTS...it's also the only car I've ever owned in which I didn't feel a little sad about getting rid of. I drove off the lot in my CTS with a big smile on my face.
cjs2002: What cars don't have door panels with lots of plastic>?
I found the base 'o4 to have slower, lighter steering
and was softer riding, with slower suspension reflexes than the '03..
The '04 I drive was noticeably quicker than the '03. It came off the line really strongly.
One thing I don't like about the CTS is the engine braking. Every time I took my foot off the gas it slowed down.
Seems like that would affect fuel economy.
Thanks to everybody on this forum, I got a lot of good info here.
I'm also not surprised that the DTS and STS aren't featured stars in the promotion...they weren't in the event I went to. In that event, the CTS and Escalade were the primary focus with the XLR as a future Cadillac product being discussed. The STS's current form is on life support and hopefully its replacement will come early in the 2005 model year. The older non-Arts & Science cars only serve to detract from Cadillac's new message these days. The Deville gets marketing dollars since it's still Cadillac's best seller, but it's clear that Cadillac wants big things out of SRX sales for this year to make up for an expected slide in Deville sales until a replacement bows.
One of the other times in history where Oldsmobile would precede Cadillac with a significant innovation (in the GM days) was the fully automatic transmission (1940 for Oldsmobile, 1941 for Cadillac).
I do believe, however, that Cadillac is willing/anxious to sell cars to ALL age groups and to this end is careful not to insult potential buyers.
I think the first FWD car was the Cord L29.
The one that everyone is familiar with, the coffin bodied 810 & 812, came later.
Does anybody remember the way ahead of it's time GMC motorhome of the '70s, with the Toronado 455 engine and FWD transaxle?
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
My local Caddy dealer is pushing hard to get me into one, especially since I have Supplier Discount.
I've seen BMW, Ford, Honda, etc. dealer service labor rates all in similar territory, what do Cadillac dealers in major metro areas typically get? I can't imagine they're charging much less, their overhead and labor costs aren't any lower, and IMO only in very rare cases should one be going to the dealer for non-warranty service anyway.
Thanks to v8lincolnguy for pointing that out.
The 300M was never meant to be a drag racer, and at 7.7 seconds, it's 0-60 mph proved that.
It was meant to be a entry level luxury sports sedan and offers excellent value for the price. As an added bonus it handles like a sports car (fwd not withstanding) and has impressive acceleration from 50-80 mph (where you really need it).
The 300M was not a 1 year wonder, although in the past 5 years it has been caught and passed by new entries in the market.
But, for the combination of a certain level of luxury and performance, it remains one of the best values on the market. It is not the most luxurious and is not the best performer, but it offers a good balance of both, IMHO.
However, I guess this is a moot point now tha DC has discontinued the LH (cab-forward) cars...
I would like to up the tire size on my CTS, but after speaking to a guy at the local tire join i'm wary of doing so. Something about ABS sensors, speedometer, etc.... Ideas?
I'm running 245/40/18's with no problems (I did end up ditching my Continental Extreme tires in favor of Bridgestone RE750's however, but that's another story).
intrepidspirit: There are several things that I didn't like about the 300M...none of which included acceleration or handling. Overall it is a decent car and an OK value. My main gripe with the car is the overall quality. Sure, it might be an "entry level" luxury sports sedan but the fact is that it's the BEST car that Chrysler makes. I couldn't get away from the feeling that I was driving a big Neon with leather during my 300M tour of duty. The rattles and poor paint quality would have been acceptable to me for a lower priced car but were intolerable for the 300M. On the other side of the coin, the CTS is the cheapest car Cadillac makes yet the quality is very good...to me that says something about the difference between Chrysler and Cadillac as car companies. Cadillac is in an entirely different league. Another example would be the mailings my wife (PT Cruiser owner) and I (CTS) recieved after one year of car ownership from the manufacturers. Her letter was a piece of junk mail urging her to buy an extended warranty...mine was a nice card from Cadillac reflecting on a happy 1st year of ownership. I get mailings inviting me to "premiere events" and she gets junk mail trying to sell her unnecessary maintenance and/or another new car. Don't even get me started on comparing Chrysler vs Cadillac service as there is NO comparison.......
As far as tires are concerned, you shouldn't change sizes on a whim, but if there's a characteristic of the car you'd like to change it's an option. For example, assuming there's room to clear the suspension bits one could change from 225/50-17 rubber to 245/45-17 without affecting ABS or speedometer (not any amount worth mentioning anyway). You should see better straight ahead traction in braking and accelerating but your at the limit handling numbers would likely decrease and you'd have a softer ride with slower reacting steering.
Brian