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Called OnStar and had the roadside assistance guys from my dealership out in 40 minutes. The tire was changed to the compact spare in less than 10 minutes and I was on my way again.
One thing for sure...the Goodyear Eagle RS-A's are not a cheap tire, and figured this would happen one day. I guess this is what I get for going with the LuxSport car with the H-rated tires. :-) Hopefully, I should have a new tire mounted and balanced by tomorrow.
One thing...has anyone taken a look at the compact spare that comes with the CTS? It has to be the prettiest compact spare I've ever seen. it's a curvy styled 5 spoke design that could have easily been the real wheel design for the car. I like the fact that someone in the design department actually thought this was a significant enough a detail to make it look good.
Of course, on the way back to the dealership I scraped the compact spare on a curb while I was trying to avoid an Infinity FX45 in a tight parking lot. Oh well, at least it wasn't the real wheel (or the car) I damaged.
Yes, the spare does look nice! Good idea for everyone to check theirs out to make sure it's even there! Before an emergency strikes, it's always nice to know where the jack & spare tire is and how it all works. And of course read the least read book in the World: the Owner's Manual. -Jer:>)
Thanks.
The cars around here have Dunlop SP8000s ($150 approx for 235/45-17, 30K mile life, good grip, good ride), Bridgestone S-03s ($150 approx for a 235/45-17, $250 for M5 sizes, 22-25K mile life, GREAT grip, good ride), and Pirelli PZeros ($100 for a 205/50-16, 22-25K mile life, GREAT grip, good ride.) Nothing all-season (not needed here.)
Tire Rack shows only a few 225/50-17s and only a couple I'd buy. The Eagle RS-A (the OEM tire?) is $134, and they're a decent everyday tire, by far the cheapest-of-the-good in this list.
The Bridgestone RE040 is stickier and decently civilized but somewhat pricier (and out of stock right now.)
And if you want to see just how good the CTS chassis might be, they've got a few Michelin MXX3s left at $232 a tire. These things are expensive, but they're a wonderful tire. These were the OEM E36 M3 tire and you could hear the wails of anguish when Michelin stopped making them.
My window sticker lists our tires as P225/50R17 "V-Rated". Did Cadillac change to "W-Rated" later in their production run? I checked our tires and they are "V-Rated".
My wife is working at the US Open this week, which is about a 100 mile roundtrip from our house. Her days are long (12 to 16 hours)and miserable, working in a hot construction trailer, managing the installation and maintenance of some of the communications equipment and people. The best part of the day is when she gets into the CTS for her drive home. Last night she made it home by 10:30 pm in record time. All she would say is that she was doing 65 mph. Yeah right!
Her usual comment is "It really holds the road".
The other day, I told her we'd upgrade to an '04 CTS if we ever won the lottery. She told me to trade my car, not hers. She loves her CTS.
Rich
My report was in response to someone else's previous report of a cut on the inside sidewall, making yours the third. I am beginning to wonder if this is something that Cadillac should be looking into. I wonder how often this kind of damage appears on other makes and models.
I wasn't sure to what you and fjk57702 were referring, so I went to KBB and see now what the deal is with that.
N/A in that case means not applicable (not "not available") because those columns are referring to the cost of that option. Since the transmission is required/included when you select the engine, there is "no charge" (figuratively) for the tranny. (Not sure if that came across correctly).
One thing about the damn packages though. It takes some kind of industrial engineering degree to figure out the best way to go. For example, if you want heated seats, Stabiltrak, and Bose (but not navigation) then you are better off taking the 10000 option package than buying them separately.
Of course, some options aren't available unless you buy another option or unless you buy a package. God, I hate that!
It's the same basic Getrag box used in a bunch of BMWs, Opels, etc.
And remember, BF Goodrich (the tire company, not the aero/defense end) has been owned by Michelin for about ten years now.
sevenfeet0 - I checked the Tire Rack web page and it really confused me. My tires are 225/50R17 93V (V-Rated). The Tire Rack page shows the CTS original equipment tires as 225/50WR17 93W (W-Rated). There must have been some changes along the way.
bingoman - Where did you get the tire monitoring system and where is the inside gauge located? My Vette had the tire monitor and it helped me to identify a bad puncture repair in one of my tires. The Chevy dealer had run over a screw and did a bad repair job on the "run-flats". The monitor kept telling me that one of the tires was low, but the local Goodyear dealer told me that there was nothing wrong with the tire. Finally I told them to take the tire off the wheel and check it out. They found a poor repair, with a piece of screw still in the tire. The tire monitor was right and is a good investment in my opinion.
Rich
Just checked the Goodyear web site and found that they say:
H-rated tires are OEM on the standard (base) CTS
V-rated are OEM on the Lux model
W-rated are OEM on the LUX Sport.
I think at one point the LuxSport OEM tires carried a "V" rating. But there was a change to "W" rated tires at some point down the line. The service techs says the car's replacement tires can be "H", "V" or "W" rated. They got me a "W" rated tire, just like my other three.
The car is very impressive. Everything you guys have said it is.
It feels very BMW like in it's body structure, handling and steering, which is fairly heavy.
The Car is not slow. I did notice that it shifts into 2nd at very low speeds which may make it feel sluggish.
Pushing the "Sport" button completely got rid of the sluggish feeling because it holds gears much longer.
You can tell this is a quality vehicle. The transmission shifts and solidity of the body structure are very impressive.
It is also quieter than my Intrigue and Impala.
I just have to get my finances in order before I make the plunge.
I urge anybody who is contemplating the car to at least do a test drive.
I mounted the display between the instrument pod and the center console just under a small intake grill. The one problem with this location is that it is under the right hand spoke of the steering wheel as seen from the drivers seat, but it beeps if there is a problem, and has a red light bar at the top which blinks. If you want further information email me at msumner@worldnet.att.net
http://www.autonews.com/news.cms?newsId=5568
The Town Hall hosts and the Edmunds editors are relatively separate entities, so the hosts don't usually know what articles are in the works.
You can always use the "Contact Us" form on the "Help" page (the Help link is at the top and the bottom of each page) to ask, or alternatively you can email editor@edmunds.com with such a question.
Hope this helps.
GM to sell, may manufacture, Cadillacs in China
Reuters, 06.11.03, 4:28 PM EST
By Michael Ellis
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. will export its Cadillac CTS to China within a year, and if sales are favorable the automaker could begin manufacturing the luxury sedan there, a senior GM executive said Wednesday.
"We're going to launch the car and see how volume progresses," Fritz Henderson, president of GM Asia-Pacific, told Reuters before a presentation to reporters.
Henderson noted that German luxury automaker BMW AG will begin manufacturing cars in China later this year, and he said there has been speculation that DaimlerChrysler AG could also assemble Mercedes vehicles there.
"I wouldn't rule it out," he added when asked about local production of Cadillacs.
He said he expected initial sales for the CTS to run at an annual rate of around 1,000.
China is one of the few overseas markets where GM plans to sell a number of different brands. GM already builds Buicks and Chevrolets in China, and also plans to export Saabs there. He said there are no plans to assemble Saab vehicles in China.
GM expects sales of cars and light trucks in China to grow by more than 3 million units by 2012, the largest growth of any country in the world.
Henderson said GM will not hesitate to add capacity to keep pace with growth in China. "We will put the capacity in, hopefully well in advance of today's market," he said.
GM's market share in China slipped to 6.8 percent in the first quarter from 7.8 percent last year, due to some quality problems with the Buick Regal, Henderson said. But GM has fixed the problems with a supplier, and expects to grow its market share, he added.
The growth of China's automotive market allows the country to become a source of automotive parts for vehicles assembled back in North America, Henderson said. Some vehicles that are planned for launch in 2005 and 2006 will use some parts from China, he added.
Copyright 2003, Reuters News Service
"Z" means "somewhere above 149mph as defined by the manufacturer". That means some Z rated tires may be good only to a continuous 149mph, others may be good to one of the later (W/Y) specs, Michelin and Pirelli make some reinforced Z-rated tires certified for > 200mph.
The later two ratings came later, as standard-issue production cars started consistently topping 150mph:
"W" means "up to 168mph/270kph"
"Y" means "up to 186mph/300kph"
So, you'll see tires labeled 225/50ZR-17 86Y or some such, the real speed rating is Y even though it's theoretically a "Z" tire.
It's already in progress.
The Chinese generally discourage imports, forcing 'joint ventures' (51% locally owned, usually with the brother, son or nephew of some official in nominal control - it is, after all, China) and local production.
The potential market is large enough that a fair chunk of the world's automakers have been willing to overlook the deficiencies of this arrangement: VW/Audi got in first and is still pretty dominant (the number of Audi A6s on the road in Shanghai as a percentage of the total fleet is pretty astounding), GM also has a strong presence under the Buick label, the Japanese were slower to get on board but are making inroads.
People buying cars tend to be fairly affluent, so the market leans toward fairly large cars - Passats, Audi A6s and A8s, Buick Regals, Camrys - the CTS would fit in pretty well. Gas prices are comparable to US levels, not taxed at 4-5x the value of the commodity like Europe. VW's making a push to get younger/less rich people into smaller vehicles (the Polo) and there's some low-end models (with Japanese/Korean ancestry) wearing local brand names now too.
As for the driving environment - take ten million people off bicycles and immediately put them in cars and trucks with the same basic road rules. It's like pretty much nothing I'd ever seen before. Lane stripes are pedestrian islands, no one EVER stops for a pedestrian. Speeds are low so fatalities are modest. I don't particularly want to drive there...
The car I drove yesterday was a lux and was about pefect.
I wouldn't want it any softer, but wonder if the Sport would be too firm, specially with the 17" tires.
My salesman said the suspension settings were the same, but i don't think this is correct.
You may need a certian sponsor # to access site and get actual pricing tho.
Or go to dealer...If your serious they should whip out invoice and show it to you.
It will show REAL Gm employee/family price AND GM supplier price also.
BTW: Just got a mailing from GM card for a addl. $250 worth of bonus points. Remember if your gonna use GM card points AND employee or supplier discount ya better hurry. Gm is cutting the points from 5% to 1% as of July 31 or Aug 1. (I think...but its for sure tho)
But remember as I found out....MR. Dealer does NOT have to honor those programs if they don't want too. As I found out last year.........geo
Also, I thought I saw that the '04s with the 3.6 would have a dual exhaust but will the 3.2's in the manuals get the dual? I'm getting closer to making a decision and every little bit of info helps.
Thanks
Of course, all this changes for 2004 as Cadillac is tweaking the overall suspension, and supposidly the car gains some tweaks from the SRX as well. If you just test drove a 2003 CTS, you'll probably want to directly compare it to a 2004 when they arrive any day now.
I test drove base, Lux, and Lux Sport models. I wasn't sure whether the difference I felt was real or imagined, but I thought I actually liked the feel of the base model ride and steering a little better. However, I wanted some of the options that were only available on the Lux or Lux Sport. I found a Lux Sport that had everything I wanted and the GM Family price was great, so that is what I bought. I couldn't be more satisfied(after 3 months and 3,000 miles).
I think I would be completely satisfied with the ride and handling of any of the models. I personally wouldn't base my decision entirely on the difference in ride/handling, but I understand why everyone wants to consider all the factors.
I looked for a Pewter interior with Sable Black exterior in March and was told by several dealers that Ebony had replaced Pewter. (However, Cadillac still sells Pewter floor mats, but doesn't have Ebony. Go figure.) I saw cars with both Pewter and Ebony before I bought and it appeared that all the cars with Pewter were built before mine (Feb03). I did internet searches and the dealers also searched for a Sable/Pewter combination. but we found none.
My advice to anyone considering a CTS is to find one you like and buy it! I haven't heard anyone who owns one make a serious complaint about the car. If I found a 2003 that I really liked, I wouldn't wait on a 2004 that might not be exactly what I want and might also be considerably more expensive.
What happened to all the nay sayers who called it a "2003 Cimmarron"?