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Comments
1) A light in the glovebox
2) Grab handles above the driver and passenger doors
3) A strap on the trunk so that I don't keep getting my hands dirty shutting it.
I have been driving an '05 CTS for the past 4 days while my Catera is in service and I am really impressed with the handling and acceleration of the 3.6. The interior is way better than most anything that comes out of Detroit but it pales compared to most any import and the omission of something like a light in the glove box on a $30,000+ car is almost unforgivable. I am picky and wouldn't buy one just because of those things.
Jeff
I had grab handles above the driver and front passenger doors on my Saab. Hardly ever used. By the way, Jeff, you have looked inside a CTS I suppose and saw the grab handles for the rear seat passengers? And if you want a strap for the trunk I bet you could get one put in for you. As far as I am concerned, I loved my 95 Saab and the 04 CTS is a big step up.
Some people are just picky about the little things. I wouldn't be caught dead in a Cavalier but others think it's a great little car and wonder why people bash it. I think that's the mentality of some people here that are so used to American car quality standards.
Everything comes down to money. I hear labor costs (health insurance and retirement benefits especially) are the biggest thorns to American car companies and they have to cut costs somehow and the result usually makes them cut corners in important, but not essential areas such as grab handles and glovebox lights. Oh, and what about those vinyl/plastic vanity mirrors? The ones in my Hyundai Elantra were better!
I'll be going from 225/55/16 tires, to 225/40/17 tires.
The rims and wheels won't be much different in size compared to the Luxury package rims which are 17x7.5 - 225/50/17.
Just want to make sure I won't have any problems.
You could go to the aftermarket and accessories forums and Ask Connor at the Tire Rack, but he isn't the fastest at responding. I guess he has a job to do too.
However, a 245/40 18 inch will be nearly the same as a 225/55 16. I don't know if that would work. I have checked on the actual sizes of some tires and a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S size 235/45 17 is nearly the same size as the originals. I noted that the same size tire varies in diameter depending on the design. So, you have to look at the actual tires that you want to see what size they really are.
LUND CTS IS LAND SPEED RECORD HOLDER AT 217.38 MPH
http://www.lundcadillac.com/accessories3.cfm
Watch the video by clicking the link. Pretty sweet. I think it is really cool that a dealership commits this much of its own resources.
Randy
The dealership cheerfully replaced my battery for no charge and paid for my rental vehicle for the day (first CTS I'd ever gotten as a loaner car from the dealership). The 2005 CTS I was driving wasn't as well appointed as my car, but the 3.6L engine certainly puts a extra step into its stride...it felt like a lighter car.
She got a jump start from the car wash and drove right to our Caddy dealer. They checked the battery and said that nothing was wrong, it tested out OK. We've never had any major problem with the CTS before, so it upset me. Althought the CTS has not failed to start since that incident, one morning the wife left to go to work and said thet the clock (analog) was spinning, first in one direction, then back to the correct time. It hasn't happened again.
I hate car washes and try not to have our cars washed at one unless the salt, from snow plows, gets really bad. Unfortunately, the wife is obsessive/compulsive on being clean and that includes cars. I'll just have to watch the CTS closer for electrical glitches whenever she has the car washed.
Is that owned by the company that has the Turtle Wax copyright? What a great name for a car wash.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
I have a Lincoln LS (& follow this board because the CTS hasn't kicked the manual transmission to the curb. . .yet), which keeps the battery in the trunk.
This is an excellent situation for me, since I live in the hellhole that is Phoenix, and engine compartment heat added to the ambient situation here half of the year fries batteries in very short order. Point being, my original battery will be five years old in May, and that's two lifetimes in Phoenix battery (dog) years.
Plus which, of course, putting the battery in the trunk is worth ~2% in front-to-rear weight distribution.
thebug...
Even though I have "issues" with Lincoln (mis) management, I still enjoy the car itself. The fact that they were willing to do the battery in the trunk thing (like BMW) adds to the concept that the LS is one of the more under-advertised/marketed performance sedans ever.
Those long fat copper cables cost money, but return better handling. Front-to-rear weight distribution is the RWD's claim to fame. I'm surprised GM didn't go the extra bit to do it for the CTS.
My wife did try the OnStar when the battery went dead, but it didn't work.
By the way did you leave the headlights on on automatic. I did that once while trying to program the navigation system for a trip the next day. I put my charger on overnight and the battery was fine the next day. That was a long time before the battery died for good.
He didn't mention that there was a recall, but said that they (the dealers) were replacing batteries for the 03's as they died, no questions asked. My guess would be that all the 03 CTS' in that build date range didn't receive one of the faulty batteries. If that's the case, a recall would probably be too costly. I haven't had any problems since the new battery was installed.
thebug...
The only problem we've had with the CTS was coming up the street (hill) to our driveway after a 6 inch wet, heavy snow. She had to stop for another driver and couldn't get started up the hill again. It took 3 of us to get her started and into our garage. That was the only snow driving problem we've had in almost 3 years.
I could have solved the "winter" problem with a set of "Blizzak" snow tires, but until that time I never needed them.
RWD is great, with (as Bingoman has said) superior handling. The car feels so much better on the road than the FWD STS I once had. I'd get another CTS in a heartbeat.
Your prob. driving the truck plowing snow huh?
My 03 Deville just trucks thru this nasty winter weather with little effort.
Any more buzz on you finding a CTS-V?
I've got 32,000 miles on my '03 CTS and the front end is fine in spite of an ocassional pothole out here in Sunny (and rainy) Southern California.
Thanks for the advice though.
We have one, 11,000 miles. no real issues, but I THINK it MIGHT be sterting to get the "rear end whine"
Since it's my wife's car, I don't drive it much. I'll let folks know if anything substantial turns up.
1) A light in the glovebox
2) Grab handles above the driver and passenger doors
3) A strap on the trunk so that I don't keep getting my hands dirty shutting it.
I have been driving an '05 CTS for the past 4 days while my Catera is in service and I am really impressed with the handling and acceleration of the 3.6. The interior is way better than most anything that comes out of Detroit but it pales compared to most any import and the omission of something like a light in the glove box on a $30,000+ car is almost unforgivable. I am picky and wouldn't buy one just because of those things. "
Why do you need a light in the glove box when you can't fit anything except the manuals in there ;-)
Grab handles - maybe, but cornering lights and a brake auto pullof would have been nicer in my opinion, esp since Cadillac has had these for years!
Strap on the trunk? What planet are your from?
Comes up short inside???????
perhaps i should dig up all the interior trim pieces that fell off or broke off from my mom's last volvo (before she traded it for an Eldorado and later for an SRX!)
Just to make certain I was not seeing something with "milage limitations" or some other gotcha's I called the number of the rental agency that was closest and my friendly neighborhood Cadillac dealership answered the phone!
Got into a new (2005) CTS (base model, I am certain) and made my trip (the car had 5 or 6,000 miles on it). We loved the car, thought it was "almost European."
We will not have a 2WD car -- only AWD will do for us. We like the SRX, have had many Audis and my wife is semi-seriously considering an SRX but says she would consider a CTS "if only" it could be had with the AWD system like the SRX and STS can be configured with.
I cannot find any "hard" evidence that the CTS will be AWD, but it only seems natural that it will.
Does anyone here on this erudite board know if and when such a CTS is (or isn't) planned for the market?
Thanks.
-Paul