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Comments
I think the new engine in the CTS will be best in class along with the 3.5L in the G35.
I understandthat the car shifts well short of its redline and that it's 0-60 time is not commensurate with 400 hp.
GM is also one of the biggest manufacturers of automatics transmissions in the world, if not THE biggest. Their transmissions are frequently outsourced to other manufacturers. They have shown up in Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Jaguars, Land Rovers and others. They may not be state of the art, but they are generally known to be durable and reliable. I can't imagine that autotransmissions at GM cost significantly more than manuals when you factor in the sheer volume that GM manufacturers.
The 5 series is a wonderful car, but it is getting a bit long in the tooth. The CTS has nothing to compete with the 540i yet, but the 525i/530i are worthy competitors. They also cost $10K more. If Cadillac has taken this marketing tack, they could have had a situation that Infiniti now enjoys by selling a credible car for a lot less. Instead, they went after the 3 series in comparisons which is a smaller car that weighs 300 lbs less. Despite the price premium, Cadillac will lose that fight. The G35 is holding its own primarily because of the over-the-top engine.
Actually I preferred the old system in the Catera where you dialed it in at the dashboard.
I dont think Cadillac has targeted any specific BMW model with the CTS and that is a good thing. They basically said here is our car, take it or leave it. They werent bending over backwards trying to show its a great value compared to BMW. None of BMWs other competitors do that and cadillac shouldnt either.
The EPA numbers for the I6 in the trailblazer seem somewhat better than for some other SUV's and I think the VVT is part of the reason.
it is a 4.2L engine vs. a 4.6L or 5.0L V8.
Top gears have been optimized for the available torque.
You won't see a .50 overdrive in a trailbalzer because there is not enough low end torque to pull it.
A Corvette can run a .50 all day and at low speeds
because the engine has a lot of low end torque. The car is relatively light and it won't be towing anything.
The lowest you will see on a passenger car with an auto is somewhere around a .70-.65 overdrive.
regarless of the axle ratio.
We will see our biggest mileage gains with the upcoming Displacement on Demand and lighter weight materials.
You are partly correct. There are two separate power cut-offs on the CTS, the "Retained Accessory Power" (Manual p. 2-27) and the "Exterior Lighting Battery Saver" (2-58). But both do the same thing 10 minutes after the ignition switch is turned off, that is, the RAP turns off accessories, in the case I described, the radio, and the ELBS turns of the exterior lights, except that it won't turn of the headlights if you turn them on after the ignition switch has been turned off. Which is what I theorize caused my dead battery (#863, #996). The only scenario I can think of that would have caused a dead battery, considering the battery cells tested OK, the Battery Saver is operative, and the problem hasn't recurred, is that I turned on the headlights after turning off the ignition, mistakenly thinking that the Auto Twilight Sentinel would turn them off. That's a good lesson to be aware of, BTW, that if you turn the headlights on when the ignition switch is off, you must turn them off manually.
To confuse matters further, there is another feature Caddy calls the "Battery Saver Active" (2-107) that is a warning message that battery voltage is too low.
Thanks,
Dave
Heart #1 -
The CTS is a great car to drive. The more I drive it, the more I like it. The engine does have a buzz to it. I like it. If you enjoy driving for the pleasure of it, the CTS is the car to buy. My wife likes her CTS more than any other car she's ever driven and she's driven a lot of different cars. $3000 and zero percent financing is money in your pocket!
Heart #2 -
Your wife wants an Avalon. The Avalon is a big Camry, which is not a bad car. Is it that much better than the CTS that you can afford to pass up the cash? Get your wife to test drive a CTS. The GM earnings and zero percent financing can free up some money to buy something else she may have wanted.
Toyota sales people will tell you whatever it takes to sell a car (so will Cadillac sales people). CTS's are moving off the lot as soon as they are delivered. Ask yourself, do you want a car that floats down the road?
Finally, don't listen to me or anyone else. Test drive a CTS and an Avalon on the same day or a day apart. Who is going to be the primary driver? Discuss the financing with your wife and decide which car to buy together.
Follow your heart.
Rich
Toyotas historically do have good resale. But as far as driving with a big grin on your face, it's no better than a nice Buick in my opinion. The CTS is faster, and handles a lot better. But that may not mean anything to your wife. The Toyota guy is wrong on one aspect: GM isn't doing 0%/2.9%/3.9% financing on the CTS because they aren't selling. The car is a best seller right now. Have her ask the dealership how long CTS's are staying on the lot. GM is going for market share on this car by offering incentives. They are having no trouble selling it right now.
If you still wanted to spend your GM dollars at Cadillac ($3000 is no small potatoes), a compromise vehicle might be a Seville (SLS or STS). The only problem is that its more expensive than the CTS (by a good $10-15K). But it's larger, quieter, very powerful and more luxurious. You can also get certified pre-owned ones for very good deals. But the Avalon will always beat the CTS on price. A very well equipped one won't cost you more than $35K. My CTS cost $39K and that was without the Nav system.
I'm lucky that my wife likes smaller faster cars and has fallen in love with this car as I have. She would have ordered a 5-speed if it weren't for the fact that my long limbs wouldn't allow it. What might better appeal to your wife are the safety features (safety cage, side curtain air bags, rigidity of the Sigma platform, Stabilitrak on the LuxSport and the all important OnStar.
Car buying is often a very emotional decision. Good luck on your powerss of persuasion. You're going to need it.
I managed to keep up (after giving away a car length lead) just to give the CTS a chance to see what it could do. I also had a weight penalty with my wife in the passenger seat, and I weigh 300 lbs myself. But my new black car held its own. And the experience got a big laugh from my wife.
That's why I enjoyed all of the challenges at traffic lights from Acuras , Lexus, and one Mercedes. After one day at the drag strip , I'm now on the prowl at traffic lights for any challengers. Quite a interesting experience to get a challenge in a Cadillac isn't it!
I'm trading in my '97 BMW 328 convertible. The Beamer has been great, but I need more interior room (6'-6'') and the convertible experience is getting a bit old...
I tried out a lot of cars - most without enough head room. The CTS (without a sunroof) fits well and I love the look and drivability of the car.
You didn't say who the primary driver of this car is. That's a big consideration.
You also have $3K in GM rebates... does your wife like jewelry? You can do a lot of bribin' with 3 grand.
Man, I'm glad I don't have this dilemma. My wife wanted a Seville (and got it) and likes the CTS, so I got no problem. Just waiting for the finances to work themselves out, which will take a few years.
The CTS is about the size of a 5 series BMW with more legroom. And it does have a real rear seat if you need to bring friends along, unlike the 325i. I doubt it will be any faster than your current ride, but it's well put together and the car begs to be tossed around. You will also kiss cowl shake goodbye since you are chucking a convertible. The BMW I-6 makes a nicer sound, but the 3.2L V6 in the CTS always likes to run.
My CTS took six weeks to deliver so you probably have another 3 weeks. What package (std, Lux or LuxSport) and colors did you get? And did you order from the old options list of the new one (Bose noise-cancelling radios, new colors)?
There are faster choices, but so many look so plain... the Infinity G35 has great acceleration, but looks like 90% of the cars in the class.
Acura and Lincoln LS have no headroom, BMW is too pricy, but the CTS is 'just right'! I'm happy to switch to an American (mostly) car too.
It's true the CTS looks like nothing on the road, save the Escalade. I see it getting head snaps regularly when I drive. You can't get that with most BMWs anymore. They are also truly expensive.
I can't blame BMW for getting whatever the market will bear, but it doesn't mean I have to pay for it. Most car magazine know that BMW is stretching it for cost justification, but they make such capable machines that most people just sigh and fork over more money.
Robotic "carts" drive all the CTS parts around L/GR to the exact place they need to be at the exact time...there is no "line" per say...just assembly locations where stuff comes together. Everything is very fluid and extremely efficient. I was literally amazed...cars go through a "perfect" paint process...two minute full water submergance...squeak and rattle tests...every part is checked for tightness and fit with a gap-fitter...every part is checked for quality as the car is assembled. It's really an amazing facility, all the people who work there seem really in to what they do.
The assembly process is described as a "ballet in perfect synchronization". It really is . . . wow, kudos to General Motors for building an assembly plant like that!! Wow...really cool.
http://www.greatimes.ru/cars/cadv.html
There was a Cadillac rep there but he was busy talking to some 15 year old kid who was sitting in the driver's seat so I gave the car a walkaround and decided to sit in the passenger's seat. I put my hand in the opening for the door handle and held in the button and the door popped open. I thought, wow this is cool. I sat in the car and gave the interior a pretty good inspection. I can say first hand that this is a QUALITY interior!! The fit and finish was fantastic and the quality of materials is awesome. The Mercedes SL interior has nothing on this in terms of quality or ergonomics. The only thing that I can say about the Benz interior is that it is more traditional looking, which many may prefer.
So I decided to get in the drivers seat and try it on for size. I'm 6'4" (mostly legs) and I must say that this is a roomy interior and the seats are very comfortable. About this time the Cadillac rep came up to talk to me, so I thought this was my chance to grill him and see if he actually knows the product. He was able to answer every question I asked him correctly (from what I've read) so I was very impressed with him at this point.
What happened next really wowed me. I asked how the dash looks while illuminated and he said, "oh, just press the start button and you can see how everything works"!! So I held the start button in for about 2 seconds and the car started up!! The Northstar really sounds good in an enclosed place!!! The dash illumination is very impressive and the NAV screen is very bright. The HUD is also very bright... my best friend has a Pontiac GP with the HUD so I know from experience. I thought that the controlls for the radio and NAV were intuitive as I've never used a NAV system in a car before.
Then I asked the rep how the car looks with the top up. He said, oh just get out the car and take a look... I want you to see this process. So he sat in the car and press the button and the trunk opened and the top folded out and went into place. I'm not a big fan of the looks of "convertibles" with the top up, but to me this car looks equally impressive with the top up as it does down. He then lowered the top again. The process takes about 30 seconds.
A large crowd of of people had gathered around but the rep continued talking to me. I think he really enjoyed talking to someone who actually knew something about the car! He then opened the hood to let me see inside. I new the Northstar would be a fairly large engine but it looks very large in the XLR!
To top things off, I asked him if I was allowed to take pictures of the car, and he said by all means and he even said he would take a picture of me in the car!!
Now we were in a foyer or rotunda if you might and the lighting was very bad, but I was able to get some half decent pictures. I have them but I don't know how to post them. So if you'd like to see them you can email me at dexstrow@bellsouth.net and I will send them to you... or better yet, if someone know how to post them I'll email them to you.
Sorry for the long post!
Dex
PS The fit and finish of the exterior was very good also from what I could tell. The panel gaps were very consistant and very tight! I asked the rep if this car was hand built and he said yes... it's one of three out there now
The Paint process takes 9 hours, parts of it are done robotically, parts of it are done by humans. The area is totally clean...great filtration, and the humans wear the equivalent of a GM space suit while in the clean facility.
Final assembly is the place where there actually is a larger human presence. Although most of it is done by these "roaming" robots that essentially drive around a huge open floor plan, again there is no "line" per say at L/GR, humans check to make sure each step is completed to perfection, and "assist" the robots in tasks like putting in a windshield, etc. It's amazing, like for examle, the lug nuts for the wheels are put in and screwed down by a little robot, that looks like its from Star Wars, that drives up pops the lugs in all at once and then screws each of them down.
Overall, very few humans actually work at L/GR, and most of what humans do is supervisory of the robotics. There is no one final quality control check on the vehicles, as they are checked for precision to the STANDARD at every step of the process. It really harkens back to Leland's time, where he employed extremeley stringent manufacturing tolerances...thus the STANDARD OF THE WORLD...and now once again, each team member of L/GR always carries around a tool to check the fit of everything, to make sure it falls within the STANDARD.
But to be honest, I really have no idea how a fuel-filler hose would get kinked. I do not know...absolutely everything is tested before the vehicle leaves L/GR: StabiliTrak, Traction Control, weatherstripping, structural integrity, engine performance, transmission performance, etc., etc...I do not know.
I think there are instructions on this site on how to do it.
Other considerations.... how long until the "next time"? If it's only a few years, then you might consider letting her have the Avalon so that you can get the upgraded CTS when it's your turn.
Also, make sure you state that if she gets the Avalon now, the next car you get to pick... what's good for the goose is good for the gander!! Good Luck!!
CTS
38915 MSRP
save 5000
you Pay 33915
"just Arrived"
stock # 210553A
*sigh*
Well, I guess I'll still keep her (my wife, that is) :-)
Also, stock numbers beginning with a "P" indicate it was a purchased car, usually from an auction or wholesaler.
Thanks b4z for finding my post and getting the answer.
I'm a Kenny Berstein fan myself and my real mentor was Big Daddy. LOL
It's usually more helpful to know about the "P" designation for purchased vehicles. After the salesman has given you the whole story about the little old lady who traded it in, had it serviced weekly, etc., etc., you can then casually slip in that it was amazing that he found all that information from the auction. A great ice-breaker to cut through the negotiating games. ; )
Good luck. Hope you enjoy your new (or pre-owned) CTS!
28.5 Avg MPG
59.1 Avg MPH
Ran most of the way in criuse-control mode set @ ~68 mph. Had set my expectations for lots of shifting once we hit the Sierras. Pleasantly surprised otherwise. Also had pre-set expectations the ponies would start gasping once we hit altitude (Donner Pass is ~7,300 FASL). Again, pleasantly surprised to the contrary. The V6 and five speed auto seemed to perform better than my 95 STS with the 4-speed auto. The STS definitely got gaspy at altitude and when you punched it, it took what seemed minutes to gain RPM. On the trip back I wanted more proof. At the summit I noted ~2300 RPM and about 50 MPH. Stabbed the gas up to 5500 RPM and got to 80 MPH in something like 4 or 5 seconds. Also impressive, the oil level didn't change. This trip would have burned a quart in STS easy. No rattles or sqweeks in spite of pavement chewed by snow chains. All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable ride. I predict more road trips in my future.