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Comments
Maybe I am the one snookered by advertising, but it just seems to me that Cadillac has tried for years to compete with the supposed quality and reputation of Mercedes, but has always fallen so far short that it is laughable...
Maybe now, as manufacturing methods seem to be coming together, Caddy makes a better car and MB has had quality problems, possibly due to their (supposed) arrogance...
But if/when MB gets its act together again, will Caddy even stand a chance, meaning can Caddy sell a $100K auto while S-Class autos now routinely surpass $100K sticker, and folks still buy it...
Caddy may make a great car, but will never command the proces of MB, as most folks simply do not place them as real competitors...maybe CTS competes with C-Class, but does a DTS REALLY compare to an S-600???...I would doubt it...
However, beginning with the G-bodies (the 1995 Oldsmobile Aurora/Buick Riviera), GM has bodies that are comparable with the Mercedes E-class. The RWD sigma platform Cadillacs (CTS, STS and SRX) are probably even better than the FWD G-bodies. However, Mercedes has a long history of building high end vehicles, and Cadillac's history is one of building medium priced luxury cars, so Cadillac will not be able to demand the same price as a similar Mercedes.
The DTS is as big as an S-class, but the S-class has an even stronger, stiffer, more vault like body than the E-class, while the DTS body is probably not quite an E-class for structure. The sigma bodies are probably closer to the E-class.
While I am NOT a metallurgist, I simply will not believe that Caddy or any carmaker does not know that its chassis flexes too much or the suspension needs to be stiffened...
Why can't every Chevy, Ford and caddy have the suspension of a BMW???...unless BMW makes it cars out of gold, their suspensions could be duplicated by GM for pennies...their shocks are no different, they either use control arms or struts, and we could reverse engineer anything BMW (or Honda or Toy) does, and make our cars much better on the road...
Why don't we do it???...I am quite sure that BMW does not know any more about auto suspensions than we do, but they sure seem to implement it much better...we could do the same, and for less money, given our economies of scale...
Why???
The DTS owners in this forum like the big FWD G-body and seem unwilling to consider any RWD de Ville replacement that might be smaller or more like a sports sedan. They are probably not interested in paying something like $100,000 for a DTS that really compares with an S-class Mercedes much less a Maybach.
Exactly--at least for me. Having become re-aquainted with RWD via my 300C, I wouldn't mind a RWD deVille as long as it's priced similar to today's DTS. But if it were to jump even to the XLR's price range I'd start looking at Buicks or another Chrysler.
And I am totally in agreement with idea that Cadillac should chart its own course. Trying to create an American MB or BMW will not likely convince any current MB or BMW owners to switch. They're really not buying the mechanical or handling nature of their cars. They're buying the cache.
http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_19040.html
Test drive both and decide which one you like better. Also consider the dollars in the lease terms they offer on both cars. I believe the Town Car is a nicer looking car and if I need to make a good appearance for a business appointment I like the Town car better. The DTS has been much more trouble prone, the Lincoln so far only a loose bolt on a door handle. Even if you have a lease you don't want to spend time on adjustments and repairs.
I like both my cars and if I had to part with one it would be a very hard choice in that the Towncar is older with 26,000 miles and the DTS has 5000 miles and was bought new.
If I can help with any other issues or questions please ask here, best wishes.
The stats show the two cars to be almost identical in interior room with one or the other leading by an inch or less in almost all categories. I doubt that anyone would choose one or the other based on interior room. Check for you self and share your reactions with us. I was a bit surprised in that the Town Car feels much larger inside than the DTS. The Town Car has a nocicibly larger exterior and the stats bear this out at the Cadillac web site.
But, as I get older, my memory does fail me at times... :P
I suggest the following new guidelines:
1. that on an honor system that only DTS owners or GM personnel or other car mechanics with a knowledge of DTS post here. I have found some of the posts from non DTS owners unhelpful and even after discouraging them from posting replies to me they do so anyway.
2. That Edmunds update its forum to allow unwanted replies to owners to be block able so one needn't even have to see them. I have found much of the information and advice of non owners here (one in particular) to be unhelpful and unsolicited.
3.Given the number of these cars on the road and the fact that so few people post here including a few non owners with unsolicited advice I think it is time for Edmunds to consider new guidelines and rules in connection with these forums. If carefully considered and evaluated I believe the number of owners that used this forum would at least triple.
In any event I hope the hosts and Edmunds will evaluate what can be done to make these forums more relevant to the individual owner.
Respectfully submitted,
bremertong
FWIW, sometimes non-owners have friends who have had useful experiences with the car or dealer service, and why should they not post what they may know or not know???
Further, even when someone posts something that did not work or was ineffective at solving a problem, that info is just as valuable as telling you what might work, since what might work for one might not work for you, and what did not work for one might be the answer for you...
Besides, unless they email you personally, responding to this topic is NOT responding to you directly, since their responses are available for all to read, which may not help you with a problem but may help someone else...I have been helped by responses I read to other's questions and then other's answers, saving me the time to post myself and hope for a response...
You could start a blog of your own...
One thing I wouldn't mind seeing, though, is an identifier for salesmen/dealers.
I felt your post put good balance to the issues and for that I thank you. I do hope the hosts will try to keep track of these pages and improve them over time.
Best wishes!
check back with your dealer to see if there is an after market seat that would adapt to your DTS. You could probably get just the drivers seat if this is a workable solution and perhaps that would solve. You might also
have the dealer check to see if there is another GM
car either Cadillac or other that would have a seat that would adapt to your DTS. Please come back and post the resolution to your question as it is an unusual
one and other owners might benefit by knowing how you resolved this issue. Best wishes!
So I ask - "am I the only one with this pain of experience?"
check back with your dealer to see if there is an after market seat that would adapt to your DTS. You could probably get just the drivers seat if this is a workable solution and perhaps that would solve. You might also
have the dealer check to see if there is another GM
car either Cadillac or other that would have a seat that would adapt to your DTS. Please come back and post the resolution to your question as it is an unusual
one and other owners might benefit by knowing how you resolved this issue. Best wishes!
Oh, and that whole deal about the DTS being an "old person's car?" I'm a very youthful 42!
..........:):):):):):):):):).................I just slay me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love the acceleration of this car, at all speeds. The regular DTS, by contrast, seems very sluggish to me, like a grandfatherly car.
When I was looking at cars, I did not get really interested until I did a test drive in a Performance Model DTS. On ride and I was ready to sign up.
And I still have fun driving the car. It's like, not more miles per gallon, but more smiles per gallon, to paraphrase a line that I saw in a recent movie.
performance package
base engine
The RWD northstar adds variable valve timing and has more torque than either FWD engine:
RWD northstar
However, this engine is not rated with the current SAE standard.
If true, I could probably replace the perf tires with luxury size tires for 70K miles, but I could not change the rear ratio...
For those who have the perf model, what kind of highway mpg do you get???