Cadillac CTS/CTS-V

fjk57702

This discussion should move over to the news and views in the cadillac future forum. I have posted something there!

jemiller

Braking distance is not the only measure of performance, pedal feel and controllability matters at least as much.

wallywalla

I was at a Ford dealer to check on my pick up truck and parked the CTS in front of the showroom. (Yes, my other vehicle is a Ranger pickup truck.)

When I came out there were several people standing around the CTS. I asked if there were any questions. Most wanted to know how I liked it. Some were surprised to see a manual transmission . Several salespersons also came out to have a look-see. One customer was deciding on a LS until he and his wife spotted my CTS. He asked many questions and sat inside, looked in the trunk and engine compartment. His wife asked to sit in the back seat. He had seen and test drove a CTS some time back but found the ride in the Luxury Sport package too harsh for his taste. I said that he should try again with just the Luxury package. He just had a smile on his face as he looked and admired the CTS.

Finally, I asked the owner of the dealership if he wanted to test drive since I saw him checking it out and he said yes. Off we went! He liked the feel of the Getrag and felt it shifted smoothly. He was also surprised about the handling and ride. He also said that it looked very sharp and some of the Ford products would be using the styling cues for models in the future. We have a good relationship with the owner at this Ford dealership.

I don't really know if that man that I spoke with was going to drive a CTS again or was going to buy the LS but I know that I saw him leaving before I did and he didn't buy any car there that evening.

cadillac1

Today I went to ST. CLAIRE CADILLAC in San Jose with my mom for her oil change. What I saw almost seemed out of a movie. In the waiting area, their was a guy that could not have been older than 25 and he was waiting for his CTS, which was being serviced. Sitting directly next to him was an older couple. The woman was sitting on the couch asleep and the man was sitting awake, with his oxygen tank and walker next to him. Cadillac can not do anything about this, but hey, I guess it's not a bad thing if the same car company can attract both 25 and 85 year olds.

cadillac1

I really looked over a CTS, a deville, and a Lexus LX 470 that was in the lot. I have to say the CTS's fit and fininsh is leaps and bounds better than the deville and seemed on par with the Lexus. Gaps in the sheet metal were half the size for the CTS compared to the Deville. However, I could not find any misaligned parts on the deville so the deville still has a much better fit and finish when compared to other American cars.

automole

>Braking distance is not the only measure of
>performance, pedal feel and controllability
>matters at least as much.

-I'm not sure what you're saying here? I just thought it was amusing that MT said "looking at the 330i's stats, the CTS isn't far off at all."
In my opinion this gives the reader the impression that the CTS's braking is almost as good as the BMW's when according to their numbers it's actually better.

As for pedal feel and control, the CTS is one of (if not THE) best cars I've ever driven. The feel is very smooth and linear as opposed to other cars that have a spot in the pedals travel that puts you through the windshield or kicks in the ABS.

machiavelli: I hope you're right. I already feel like I'm 'back in the saddle' by driving a REAR WHEEL DRIVE car with true handling abillity.
A 5.7L V8 would complete the perfect picture!
My only fear is that the price of the V8 CTSi will be out of my range and that it will only be offered with a manual transmission. The interior 'freshening' just plain scares me! "more chrome, more jewelry and luxurious grains"...yuck! I like the clean futuristic look of the CTS's interior. I do think they could improve the lighting and have a better cup holder however. It's also a rip-off that they can't include a homelink transmitter with the base model.

wallywalla: I've been getting looks everyday! I've had at least 4 different cars drive by with either the driver or passenger turning their whole body around backwards in the seat to get a good look at the front of my car. One kid in his Honda nearly ran off the road and some BMW driving guy's significant other tugged on his shirt sleeve and pointed at my car as they drove by. At this point in time the CTS is NOT a car to drive if you don't want to be noticed. I've come out of stores twice to find people looking in the windows and phantom handprints have been showing up on my car...and I (or my wife) haven't put them there. The fact that at night the CTS looks like an aircraft/UFO coming in for a landing (due to the front being lit like a Christmas tree) doesn't help either. Almost all the feedback has been favorable with the exception of one couple that drove by laughing at my car...I guess you can't please everyone...they were driving a Toyota FWIW. The CTS definitely has a stiff ride although the normal suspension is slightly softer than the luxury sport; personally I like it.

cadillac1: -Sadder but true...when I bought my CTS I was BS'ing with the saleperson and he told me about how one of his co-workers reads the obituaries every day. Every once-in-awhile he proclaims "we lost another one!" meaning they have one less Cadillac customer at their dealership. -Cadillac seriously needs to look at the younger market if they want to stay in business since their customer base is dying off and the current generation wouldn't be caught dead (no pun intended) driving their current models with the exception of the CTS and Escalade.

merc1

I agree totally.

M

cadillac1

Do you live in San Jose?? If so, that kid with the Honda who almost wrecked to look at your car could have been me. But seriously, its amazing. I saw a CTS about 2 months ago, then not a one. I have seen two G35 since then. Then yesterday, I saw two different CTS's and a third one today. Looking at the drivers, one was a woman maybe in her upper thirties who was asian(I WAS SHOCKED). She had a black CTS. I saw a silver CTS driven by a hispanic woman in her twenties. Lastly, the orange CTS was driven by a white woman in her fifties. The CTS I saw two months ago was also driven by a woman. Is this all coincidence, or does the CTS appeal to women?

bingoman

I've had a couple of thumbs up from guys in SUV's and my wife and I are beyond middle age so it must have been for the car.

As for other CTS's on the road, I just came back from a 7,000 mile trip around the mid west. I've seen about 4, all parked. I stayed in a hotel north of Dallas one night and came out to find a White Sport model that looked identical to mine parked five spaces away. The owner came out while I was packing the trunk and said he had gotten a great bargain from a dealer in, I think, Oklahoma who he said could not sell it. Considering how long they have been out I don't think he tried very hard. My dealer in L.A. is selling them at $2,000 off the sticker with no haggling.

dindak

Every CTS I have seen has been driven by men in the 35-50 range. No women at all. Could be a regional thing, who knows.

sonjaab

Oswego NY dealer still has the Black CTS !
Stopped in today ....salesman sez SORRY geo
no GMS/GMO deal ! I have only seen 1 copper
one on rt. 81 with 2 blonds driving....
Woman sez what you looking at ? ME.....duh
that sharp CTS of course....LOL.......

bingoman

I am having a strange problem with my CTS. Periodically I start the car and there is no sound from the audio system. No chimes for the seat belt, key in ignition with door open, no radio no audio instructions from the navigation system. The next time I park the car and then restart the sound may or may not return. This has happened five or six times in the last month.

Has anyone else had a similar problem? I would appreciate it if you would let me know. I have an appointment to take the car in to my dealer Monday to look into the problem.

Thanks
Bingoman

automole

bingoman, I've had the problem happen once where I got back in the car and the CD player/radio had mysteriously turned itself off and I couldn't seem to get it to turn on again without 'rebooting' the car (turning the key off, opening the door, closing the door, and trying again). So far the problem hasn't come back and I'm hoping it will not! -Good luck at the dealer...I go in for a new steering rack next week...more details to follow.

sonjaab

This am newpaper Syracuse NY Caddy dealer ad;
New CTS from 29,xxx lease...379 mth, 36 mths,
3326 down, plus inception chg, (no say how
much), DMV,tax,doc fee....1 in stock, 5 on the
way, 10 aval. to order. Will call and see
if GMO/GMS deal a yes or no !

BTW; They have 10 base? Devilles ex rentals
2002 models 12-17k miles....$28,995....WOW !

oldsman01

I've seen several CTSs on the road and honestly havne't really paid attention to the driver as I was more interested in looking at the car itself. Driver age doesn't really concern me as after all I'm 27 and would happily drive a Deville.

sonjaab, those Deville prices sound very tempting. Speaking of rentals, I will be taking a business trip in a couple of weeks and while I'm flying to the destination, the company is going to provide me with a rental since I will be there a week. They can't do direct billing on rental cars so I have to book the car myself and then get reimbursed. So it looks like I'll use the old AMEX card and earn some sky miles and then get reimbursed by the company. I'm hoping to rent a Deville, but thus far I've only found one company that rents them and that is Avis. Alamo and Enterprise both now use Park Avenues as their luxury offering and Budget and Hertz use Ford products. I did find that Thrifty rents Chrysler 300Ms so that might be an option.

hammen2

I rented a DeVille DTS (w/18 miles on it!) in San Francisco. Thank god I was renting it to drive out of the city, because that car was a little large on the hills with the cable cars, etc. :-)

hydra2

I have also rented DeVilles from National. Be sure to press them for the DeVille or they will give you something else, like a 300m or maybe a Park Avenue. You might want to have a plan B backup rental with another company. National recently declared bankruptcy or was bought out by another company, can't remember which (maybe both). Don't know how/if this effects their operations.

Good luck.

cybersax

I think overall the CTS has an excellent interior. Lots of space. Great driver controls. Top notch fit and finish. The form follows the function quite nicely.

There is, however, one aspect that I dislike: the vents. They're a bit too spartan. They blend in too much with the rest of the dashboard, and create very little visual interest. Everything else, though, is allright.

I think it would be cool if they replaced the outer part of the vent (the part that the knob is attatched to) with a metal version of the same thing. The interior part of the vent (that which guides the air) and even the knob they could leave alone.

Extra points, though, if they replace the obstrusive knob, with something more conventional (like the little rubber grips on the center of the vent) - or just a smaller version of the same thing. GM did mention they would add some metallic trim next year (to add to the high tech cachet of the car), and I wouldn't be surprised if this is where they put it.

bingoman

Anyone notice that there is NO engine temperature gauge? Not even a display in the DIC. You can get the outside temperature, and the battery voltage, but no engine temperature. There are DIC messages to tell you that the air conditioning has been shut off because of an overheat condition, and to tell you to shut off the engine because it has overheated, but no way to check for an incipient problem before it becomes a real problem.

Imagine driving across the Southern California deserts with the temperature at 115 f, you suddenly get a message that the coolant is low (a previously undetected leak) and wondering when the engine is going to overheat with no further warning.

I have been told that there will be an production update at some time in the future, but it will not be applied retroactively. Ain't this a great way to keep customers happy???

Bingoman

robh3

For what it's worth, this issue of no engine temp guage was probably one of the first "demerits" ever mentioned by the press about the CTS, a relatively LONG time ago. Hard to believe you were not aware of this until now.

I don't personally believe that the absence of an engine temp guage was a design "oversight". Rather, I think it was a conscious decision. Some others have said here that there is a warning light that comes on if the engine is running "hot", or something to that effect.

Regardless, I would imagine that Cadillac has "gotten the word" from the critics, and an engine temp guage will be put on the car probably soon. As to how they can retrofit one on cars that are already made, I don't know. I suppose they could install a system and new software that could display the temp on the DIC, as you suggested. However, I think the real long term production fix will be an actual guage with a dial on the dashboard.

robh3

Regarding 25 year old CTS owners having to sit next to oxygen-tank wielding geriatrics in the customer service waiting lounge, I can assure you that the customer demographics over at Lexus are virtually the same.

I've seen more AARP type folks driving LS-430s than any other age group. Along side them would be the 20 to 30-something drivers of the IS-300. Sounds alot like this scenario with the base DeVille/CTS customers to me.

Toyota is having a hell of a problem with their customer age demographic going up and up and up each year. So, if you are driving that Camry of yours, just know that you are driving an old fogey car. No kidding! This is why Toyota is starting a new brand called Scion to try and attract younger customers.

Anyway, what matters is not so much the customers in the waiting lounge, but the dealer's attitude and ability to cater to the needs and wants across the customer spectrum.

bingoman

It would appear that the marketing types in the various automotive companies would like to categorize their customers for their own ease. Personally I think people choose cars based on their own driving abilities, needs and knowledge of science and mechanics than on age. I for one do not want a large and clumsy car, no matter how old I get. The amount of luxury I buy is dependent on my wallet, not my age. Detroit seems to equate luxury with large size. Many of the features I would like on my CTS are only available on the larger models, even though I would pay extra for them on my car. I am fornced to add an after market tire monitor and back up sensor because Cadillac chose not to make them available on the 'smaller' CTS. That is also true for the tilt and telescope steering wheel which is not even availble in the after market. Oh well, I guess we cant have everything.

cybersax

"Detroit seems to equate luxury with large size."

How so? That seems more true for German makers like BMW and Audi than anyone. They have a very plain heirarchy based on size.

Cadillac's flagship car is the Seville, which is not the biggest. In fact it's the second smallest Cadillac available after the CTS. The biggest ones are the Deville, Escalade, etc.

There will be an even more pronounced reverse heirarchy when the 175" XLR debuts at $70,000 next year.

bingoman

Cybersax, I don't disagree with you regarding foreign cars. The foreign manufacturers follow the same rules as Detroit, the larger the car the more equipment, standard and optional, which is available. That is my point, except for special two seat coupes and convertibles the manufactures seem to believe that anyone who wants luxury wants a large car.

The Seville is somewhat of an aberration. It was originally intended to be a low priced Cadillac, somewhat like the Cimmaron, although a Cadillac from the design up. When it was shown to focus groups it got such high marks (the groups thought it was worth much more than Cadillac had originally intended to price it) that it was upgraded in the lineup and give much better equipment than originally planned.

oldsman01

The Seville has been a "high end" Cadillac ever since the 1980 model. Although those may not have been very high end mechanically, the Seville has been one of Cadillac's most expensive models for two decades. I agree somewhat with you on size, although I do prefer a larger car. Not a Lincoln Town Car size barge, but the current STS is just about perfect for me. The Deville while bigger isn't bad either. Anything larger though is too big for me. The CTS is about as small as I want. As for the lack of a temp gauge, I agree this is an oversight and hope it is corrected. Some here may argue a temp gauge is useless or inaccurate, but I beg to differ. Take my current car(Olds Intrigue). It has a temp gauge and in a year of owning the car, I have NEVER seen it go above the 1/2 mark. The gauge will usually hover just under that mark once the engine has warmed up. So if I'm driving and I see it getting up near the 3/4 mark, I know that something must be going wrong and I need to start looking for a stop off point and also shed some engine load like A/C. If all I had were a temp light, I wouldn't know the engine was overheating until it was too late. And as for the gauges being inaccurate, unless the PCM is inaccurate the gauge should be correct. Or at least it is on the Intrigue as they gauge gets it's reading from the PCM. This is per the GM service manual. I can see an oil pressure gauge and even a volt gauge(although I do like the look of a full cluster) being a bit unnecessary, but I do think a temp gauge is a must.

nosho

The engine block temperature is usually monitored by a digital thermometer. This is necessary so the ECU can determine when a cold engine has warmed enough to switch from rich to normal fuel mix. As such, the DIC with a software upgrade should be able to display engine temp.

cartesio

Thirty minutes ago I was returning from the grocery. There it was, right in front of me, a 2003 CTS, platinum, WITH A BLACK CANVAS FAKE TOP!!

To make matters worse, it was from the dealer with whom I usually do business, and also it was being driven by a roughly twenty-to-thirty year old...

It looks dreadful with the fakery.

cartesio

I don't know the circuitry involved, but my guess is that the temperature indicator on the dash relies on the same sensor as the "outside temperature" display. From really cold days to really hot ones, they appear to be linearly related.

beach15

Oh, yuck! The horror! I haven't many CTS's yet (only 2 silver lux-sports), so I haven't seen one with the fake canvas roof either. However, I have seen quite a few Chrysler 300M's with fake canvas roofs and they look terrible! Ooh, if you want a roof like that, why don't you go wheel yourself over to the Buick dealer and get yourself a new float boat!

Why, oh why, would they do that to a beautiful CTS??!

oldsman01

The engine temp sensor is more than likely the engine coolant temp sensor. A temp gauge actually displays the coolant temp not the actual engine temp as the engine should remain cool as long as the coolant isn't overheating.

cartesio, I just don't get it. Why would someone even want a top like that on a CTS. I can see on a more formal looking sedan like a Deville, Buick Park Avenue, or Lincoln Town Car but I just don't see what someone would even want one on a car like a CTS. What a waste of a perfectly good CTS.

robh3

It's a sad day, having heard that! And being driven by a 20-30 year old?! Awful.

g1994sts

The reason is simple. They are dumping their Buicks and Cadillacs for peace of mind and the reliability of Japanese cars, only to further erode the older loyal GM customer base.

My friend's elderly parents sold their 2000 $30k 4 door sedan ACURA to him. The reason: The Buick kept breaking down. Just repeating what my friend said. Because the mother must use a wheel chair they bought a Chevrolet Mini van.

My friend and I went for a spin in the ACURA today. For $30k the ACURA is an exceptional value: fully loaded, outstanding handling and the quality of materials that no Buick or Cadillac can match at that price. And no, GELLO handling is not standard equipment.

automole

bingoman: It says in the owners manual that there is an indicator light on the dash for 'high temp' or coolant temp out of normal range.
I know I'm in the minority here but I couldn't care less about the temp indicator although I don't see why it would be difficult for them to add a temp readout to the DIC since it appears to have 'blank' slots (to be used for future updates??).

It's too bad that the user can't customize MORE of the computer features. One of my gripes is the gas gauge. It will give you a projected DTE but when it gets near 40 miles left all you get is a "Low Range" indication. I understand they don't want you to run out of gas by trying to squeeze that last mile out of the car but they ought to be able to get it reasonably accurate down to the last 10 miles or so!

cartesio: -Thanks for making me sick! I can't begin to imagine how crappy a fake convertible top must look on the CTS...wouldn't mind a REAL one though! If GM had a brain they'd crack down on dealers installing fake tops and make them stop...IMO it drives away potential new customers.

g1994sts: -Not sure what you're saying here...the parents sold an Acura because the Buick kept breaking down?? -Seems like they should have kept the Acura and sold the Buick.
As for your comment about the Acura; I testdrove both the Acura and the CTS before making my decision. I can tell you that the CTS easily matches the handling of the Acura and exceeds the quality of materials...it's obvious you haven't driven the CTS. Don't get me wrong, the Acura is a very nice car...I just wouldn't give them high marks for quality of materials or their lackluster design.

cybersax: I like the vents blending in. I don't think I'd want them to be a visual point of interest. -Just my opinion.

b4z

Reread g1994Sts's post.

akirby

regarding the DTE reading and low fuel - is there a reset button? On the LS all you have to do is hit the reset button and the DTE display returns after the low fuel warning message is displayed.

fjk57702

If you run the fuel level below about 3 gallons regularly, damage to the electric fuel pump is likely. Some say that it overheats, but I suspect that if it sucks air (very likely with low fuel), damage will occur.

bingoman

Regarding fake convertible tops, faux RR grills on older Cads and other after market additions. Most add nothing to the original design. Many look grotesque, but all say 'I can spend more money on my car than you can".

Regarding the coolant temperature gauge, it is probably not needed during the original owners period of ownership, but eventually the car grows old, deteriorates, and that is when engine cooling problems begin to show up. The little red thermometer on the dashboard only lights up after the engine has reached an overheat condition and should be shut down. I prefer something that gives me advance warning of a developing problem.

As to Cadillac providing an upgrade to the DIC for coolant temperature, I was told by a senior PR person that they intend to upgrade the DIC as a running change to the 2003 model but they will not provided it to current owners. I personally think this is poor public relations. It says once we have your money we don't care about you. Hardly an attitude to foster owner loyalty.

fjk57702

changing the DIC programming on an older car probably means replacing a computer board that costs a significant amount of money. One does have to wonder about the people who finalized the design of the CTS with the clock where it is and not temperature readout anywhere.

What could be done is a digital readout in the current dash (actually a couple of digital displays could be made - one in the tach and one in the speedometer) that could show a number of things: engine temp, oil pressure, oil temp.

machiavelli

I don't think it's unreasonable at all for them NOT to provide an existing owner with a running change. Are you expecting this at no charge, bingoman? When the '04 comes out with the new engine, do you think Cadillac should retrofit a new engine in your '03, too? In other words, where do you draw the line? I don't think it's bad customer service for them not to retrofit your car.

akirby

I doubt the DIC upgrade would require any new hardware - it's all done with software now. But there may be a future problem that requires a new PCM version that you can get that will probably include the DIC upgrades. If GM is smart, they'll offer the upgrade to all owners free. But that's a big IF.

I always want a temp gauge. However, they are not as necessary as they used to be. I assume the CTS has a 'limp home' mode similar to the Northstar. If so, the engine will shut down before it overheats, and allow the vehicle to be driven to safety after overheating without damaging the engine. Therefore it should be theoretically impossible to overheat the engine.

Where a temp gauge is required is for a thermostat that sticks open, especially during the summer when the heat's not on. Now maybe the computer will pick up on the fact that the engine isn't heating up and set a code and warning light. If not the only way to tell would be the temp gauge.

akirby

It's (most likely) a software update, not a hardware change. Reprogramming probably takes 20 minutes. The new software usually fixes other problems as well possibly preempting a future service call. Offering it to early buyers would be A) relatively cheap and a great customer satisfier. It's not that they HAVE to do it. It's more a question of why not? All they'll do by not offering it is p**s off the folks who bought early. Not good for return business. They don't have to do a recall. Just offer it if requested.

Lincoln did this on early LS models. The wood steering wheels were not available from the supplier so the first 4-5 months of production vehicles (non-sport package) got leather wheel and shifter. Lincoln offered to swap them out for wood wheels and shifters once they were available at no charge. That's customer service.

oldsman01

I really could care less about a brand's demographics. Toyota thinks a new brand will bring younger buyers, how about simply building some exciting product under the current brand. The new Camry is certainly alot better looking than the old and alot more stylish than the Accord, but it has ho hum engines. Make the V6 standard and offer a factory built and warranted supercharged version and I might give one a second look. Drop the Avalon's imatation Buick grille and put a motor under it's hood as well. And lastly, drop the God awful looking Echo and let low end Corallas fill it's void. Oh and a RWD Celica would be neat. My point here is that I get tired of companies(automakers aren't the only ones) who think they have to make a "special" or catchy new brand to attract younger buyers. Simply offer a product with good looks, good performance, and lots of features at a reasonable price and your younger buyers(and older ones) will come. Cadillac seems to have finally learned that with the CTS.

robh3

I hear your point with the Lincoln LS and the wood wheel/shift knob issue. I think the difference there was that Lincoln intended all along to have the wood parts in the car from the get-go, and had priced the car accordingly. Therefore, since they had realistically already charged their customers for that feature, they offered the retro-fit once the parts became available from the supplier.

Also, wood steering wheels and shifters are a noticeable feature in an interior. These days, the lack of them is noticeable -- just by looking in the window of a car with the doors closed. I don't know that this is a good analogy to the temp reading on the DIC. Something like that (DIC temp reading) does not alter the performance or "feel" and ambience of the car like the wood option does, IMO.

All that said, and while Cadillac may not "officially" announce that a retrofit is available, you may discover by talking with your dealer service dept. that your car can have the software upgrade downloaded. I'd check it out once the feature starts to show up on newer CTSs.

hydra2

for granted.

Wife wanted a top of the line camry until she saw the low hanging exhaust pipe. An aesthetic and high maintenance fear turn-off. Was interested in the Avalon, until she learned that it lacked certain features available in the Camry (like head air bags). She was indignant when told that Avalon is typically a stretched last-gen Camry. She felt that the Camry ironically seemed roomer than the ES300 with its richer, but much pricier interior.

Looked at the I35 (too big) and G35 (rear too ugly and rwd). She loves the CTS, but not the fact that it is rwd, but at least its still in the running. Says that she and many of her friends would buy it in a heartbeat, if it was fwd.

akirby

I agree it's slightly different situation, but if the dealers will offer software upgrades they will have much happier owners and will build a lot of loyalty.

akirby

Why in the world would your wife prefer FWD?

If it's based on the myth that FWD cars handle better in snow then she's misinformed. A balanced, RWD vehicle with traction control and proper tires will do just as well as FWD. We have many Lincoln LS owners who drive their cars in snow every year and nobody has reported having any problems. I would have to assume the CTS would perform similarly.

If there is another reason, please share it.

automole

b4z: I did reread the post and still don't get it...they sold the Buick because it kept breaking down, then bought a terrific import Acura, only to sell it and get another American made GM vehicle???

akirby: I wish it worked like the LS! Once you have about 30-40 miles left until empty the display goes to "LOW RANGE" and stays that way until you put more gas in the tank. When the gauge gets even lower you get a "LOW FUEL" warning on the display that can be reset by pressing any key...resetting it STILL doesn't give you an estimated mileage until empty however.

fjk57702: Where did you read that damage was likely if you ran the tank below 3 gallons? I know that in older GM cars if you ran the tank empty you had a costly repair due to the injectors needing to be primed...I think that's only apllicable to cars made before '84 though. When you have a 17 gallon tank, 3 gallons is still quite a bit of gas...I'm almost certain I ALWAYS run all of my cars below 3 gallons before getting the tank filled and have never had any problems whatsoever.

bingoman: I agree with you totally that Cadillac should supply a firmware upgrade to current CTS owners. I'm sure that AT MOST the update would require replacing a PROM chip and possibly could be done by just plugging in a laptop and updating the software. -We're not talking about replacement of the entire computer or costly hardware updates. Companies that make hardware for professional music production or hi-fi audio frequently update their products and usually offer the updates to their customers for a nominal fee ($20.00-$60.00). I don't think it's out of line to expect a luxury car manufacturer to provide this service for free.

hydra2: One of the big 'selling points' of the CTS for me was the RWD. Has your wife ever driven a RWD car? I'f not, once used to RWD she might prefer it as mine now does.

hydra2

Agreed that there is not much difference between fwd and rwd, but she insists that she feels more comfortable with fwd. Yes, she's driven the CTS and owned both rwd and fwd cars in the past. Since she drives alone in the snow a lot, she feels safer with fwd and all season tires than with rwd where the hassle of winter snow tires might be necessary to create the same feeling of safety, short of awd options.

bingoman

I never suggested that Cadillac had to supply the upgrade free, I only said it should be made available, although as AKIRBY suggested it would be good PR. As a matter of fact, in by communications with GM Public Relations I said I would be willing to pay for the upgrade.

AUTOMOLE I doubt that there is any automotive gas gauge that could give you an accurate reading of the amount of gas when the tank is down to the last few gallons. The level of the float is subject to all kinds of errors caused by the sloshing of gas, the angle of inclination of the road, the slope due to road crown and forces such as acceleration and deceleration. I for one rarely let the gauge go below one quarter so that I always have a margin for error or an emergency. There may not be a gas station were you think there is or you may be forced to take an unexpected detour or get caught in heavy stop and go traffic.

akirby

If she thinks FWD is better then you'll probably never convince her otherwise, regardless of the facts. But I guess you already figured that out, huh? :-)