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Note - price aside, the dimensions of the CTS are within 1-2% of a 5 series, so it's a 5 series/midsize luxury sedan. GM makes a smaller Cadillac, but doesn't sell it in the U.S. yet, because it's in need of some major work to even compete with the 3 or even an IS250 from the sound of it.
The G35, otoh, is a big problem as it is squarely in the same sweet spot that the CTS is trying to conquer.
And, yes, AWD that's not on all the time is essentially a useless yuppie bling feature. Subaru and others have videos on YouTube about this. AWD systems that aren't on full-time/typical transfer types react too slow to be useful.
We're talking monstrous fishtailing and spinning out of control, plus 0% ability to climb dirt hills. Total and absolute failure at highway speeds due to the reaction being magnitudes too slow or the computers being brain-dead. It's not 4x4 and it's not traction control, either. Um... rear wheel ABS in pickup trucks comes to mind. Sounded good, works not at all.
Currently, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Subaru make AWD system that work. Everyone else is junk that flat out doesn't work properly. Subaru doesn't make luxury sedans, so they're out.(shame, too since their system is the best) Basically what these four do is full-time 4X4. This is completely different than "all-wheel-drive" and should be noted as such, IMO.
In my personal opinion they are building the best damn mix of performance and luxury, and I expect I will soon be trading in my fully loaded 'o3 CTS for an si auto tran equiped FE2 level '08 in Brilliant Bronze. But then I am an old geezer of 74.
By that logic, maybe you should consider getting another phone and use three cell phones!
In any case, you are an atypical cell phone user. For the typical person who wants to use their (one) cell phone in the car -- especially for the people who don't want to put a thing on their ear -- a built-in system makes a lot of sense.
Equipment
CTS w/ 3.6 DI Engine
Performance Collection
Luxury Level One Package
Luxury Level Two Package
All Wheel Drive
Bose 10 Speaker Surround Sound w/ 40GB Hard Drive
Crystal Red Premium Paint
18" Polished Wheels
Sapele Wood Trim
Performance Disc Brakes
Total MSRP was exactly $47,000
GM Supplier Price $43,388 less $500 Dealer Incentive
Purchase Price $42,888 plus TTL
39 Month GMAC Smart Buy at 7.3 %
According to the invoice the car was built in mid August and was scheduled to be delivered to the dealer in early September. It did not actually arrive until late September. I was told by the dealer that the car had been "selected" for additional quality control checks and was delayed while they were completed. This was a pretty early AWD car so that may have had something to do with it.
I picked the car up in San Antonio on Saturday at noon and by noon Sunday was in Kansas City. Nearly 1,000 miles later, the car is everything I had hoped for. I had very nearly bought a G35x and am very happy I changed my mind at the last minute.
The ride and handling are right on for my taste. I have owned a number of "muscle cars" over the years and this one performs right up there with some of the quicker ones. At one brief point on the Kansas Tollway I had the car at an indicated 120 MPH (with more throttle to go) and the car was very stable with no scary movements at all
For the trip I averaged 27.3 MPG and around town so far it is averaging 17.5 MPG. This is the first new car I have owned where real world economy exceeds the manufacturers rating of 17 city and 26 highway.
Overall, I am thrilled with the car and am truly enjoying driving it
I hope you'll take a few minutes to rate your dealer. Start here: http://www.edmunds.com/dealerships/drr/jump.html
Was this $500. a GM incentive to all buyers? My dealer did not offer this to me.
I noted in other messages that the dealers were charging up to $500. over MSRP.
I ordered my CTS June 11th. What does your dealer say about AWD and 304 DI combination?
I also find this post a bit odd. If you had a car with bluetooth, you could synch 1 phone with your earpiece and the other with your car. Then you're totally hands free.
I also don't quite get your commetn about the two phones fighting for connectivity - that must happen with your earpiece too. You can generally select which phone connects.
I've been lurking here reading all the various posts as I've been considering my new car choices, and I'd like to thank all of you for your comments and insights, which have been a great help in my decision making. I have finally decided to go with the CTS. (It was neck and neck between a G35 and CTS
In my quest for the best deal, I have had several dealers offer to build one to meet my desires, which leads to my question. Does it typically cost more if the dealer build one for you? And, (not that I expect this to happen)if it is not exactly as I want it, I can still walk away from it, can't I?
Thanks again!
The dealer has it sold before it even gets on the lot -- no flooring charges.
One option which I know is officially disallowed, but which I do not understand, is the combination of the performance brake option with the IS engine, automatic transmission and all season tires. It is allowed with the above and the all wheel drive transmission. It is also included with the summer performance tire option, which is not available with the IS engine. Why would Cadillac want to deny superior braking on the car?
I wonder if the customized CTS has that awkward sunroof shade.
http://blogs.automotive.com/6218684/miscellaneous/2008-cadillac-cts-gets-wi-fica- rscom-treatment-for-sema/index.html
Interesting.
http://www.cadillac.com/vehiclelocator/locateVehicle.do?dealer=166727.0%24ST.+CL- AIRE+CADILLAC%243737+STEVENS+CREEK+BLVD%24SANTA+CLARA%24CA%2495051-7395%24408%24- 244-1000%24408%24244-9135%24Doug+Tyler%24408%24244-1000%24408%24244-8397%24true&- redir=false&maximumCount=200&includeDuplicateVendors=true&make=ca&searchType=4&y- ear=2008&vendorId=166727.0&bac=166727.0&model=cts&modelDesignator=6DM69&modelDes- ignatorPvc=null
Anyone have their 2008 pin striped?
Im simply looking at several dealers in the immediate area....I started at $950 over invoice and working down from there....
I bet the difference is advertising costs.
I just took delivery of my brand new 08 CTS!
It is black raven, with ebony interior, with the premium luxury package, and 18" all season tire performance package, and the upgraded polished aluminum wheels. I think the only thing it doesn't have is AWD, which I didn't want.
My purchase method was done mostly via the Internet, and pretty much matched the one recommended in the Car Buyer Guide I bought on CarSqueeze.com. After informing the dealers that I was aware of their invoice price, knew the amount of the dealer holdback, and manufacture to dealer marketing support, I asked multiple dealers for their best price. (I never said anything about my trade-in.)
Some refused to budge from MSRP. but most responded with a price somewhere between invoice and MSRP. I finally went with a Jennings Cadillac in Chambersburg, PA,who offered me 2k under MSRP, and the standard $500 Active Duty military discount.
While not a GREAT deal, it was the best offer I had received, and they had the exact car I wanted on the lot, which in itself was a rarity. After accepting the offer over the phone, I drove to the dealership for the paperwork, and negotiate a price for my trade-in, a 1999 BMW 528i with 180k miles on it. Much to my surprise, my salesman informed me that GM was running another incentive, called "Luxury Conquest", where if you were trading in a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc, on your new CTS, you got an additional $1000 off the price!
So- Bottom Line: $42,295, 5k for my trade, to $37,295 and out the door for $39,649. My salesman was a no B.S., very knowledgeable and helpful guy who had been with the dealership about 8 years. At no time did I feel like I was being rushed or bullied, or anything. Of course, I really attribute a lot of that to the fact that I had REALLY done my homework on the car, and conducted the hard negotiating via e-mail, which renders most tricky sales tactics ineffective. Plus, I had arranged a GREAT financing package (5.29%, Pentagon Fed Credit Union) beforehand, which left the dealer with no way to make more profit on me that way.
I am taking my new wheels on a long business trip next week, (2-500 mile legs) and will let you all know how it works out.
I hope this information was helpful!
Mote - to others who are interested in trading in your cars - take that price the dealer offered you and at least sell it to someone locally for the same money as a service. I guarantee that it will sell in 48 hours and you'll have helped someone out.
There had 5 cars on display although none of them were the fully optioned up cars...all of them are either not staying on the lot or were ordered cars for customers. An interesting indicator of early adopter tastes, all of the 3.6 DI cars were gone.
I couldn't find out specific ordering information since no one was really setup to do that. Someone did tell me that FE3 orders are being held up for a short bit to deal with a tire wear issue.
One thing I had never done at the dealership was test iPod connectivity so I brought along a 2nd-gen iPod Nano in order to try it. One thing I didn't expect (but should of) was that you standard iPod USB cable won't work with the system. The iPod just goes into disk mode and the system doesn't know what to do with it. Once you use the GM supplied cable, a GM logo appears on your iPod and the system recognized my device. One surprise was that the supplied cable had both a USB connection and a mini-plug connection. Basically the USB connection is only to control the iPod but music still plays through the mini-jack. This may be a problem for the recessed jack for iPhone users (although I have no idea if the iPhone or iPod Touch is even recognized by the system). If the system recognizes an iPhone, then you'll need a mini-jack adapter from your Apple store.
One more note about the radio...I had forgotten that the mid-option radio also comes with the hard drive so you don't need to pay for the Nav system to get that feature (or the Tivo-like features as well).
My dealer was nice enough to share some CTS-V, wagon and coupe details with me, but I'll respect him and keep it under embargo unless I see it printed elsewhere. But what little I learned will make people happy.
Overall, it was a nice and classy event, something that Caddy should do more often.
You ARE a tease...
OK, SevenfeetO, if I tell you what I heard will you give in? My dealer told me that the coupe will be available in Spring 08 as an 09.
So come on, is this accurate info or just salesman's smoke.
Having said that, I had not heard about delivery dates (I didn't ask either). But given how car companies normally handle these things, I wouldn't be surprised. Cadillac has some momentum with this product and would probably like to see it increase. To that end, if you have several variants of a model in the pipeline, you generally don't introduce them all at once but incrementally. That keeps people like us talking about them and gives the factory time to get the kinks out of every new product one at a time.
So I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a CTS coupe debut in the spring. That would mean that we would see a "prototype" as early as the Detroit Auto Show although I think everybody knows that Cadillac will debut a crossover concept at the same show. You could in theory wait until the New York auto show but that would compress the time between unveiling and debut severely if you wanted a spring delivery date.
I'll also go out on a limb and say I don't expect the wagon to debut in the US at all. Considering the real market for that product is likely Europe, I wouldn't be surprised if it was introduced in Geneva in March '08 with a delivery in the usually late summer model turnover time period. That would leave the CTS-V to debut last late in '08. That combined with an early '08 launch for the 'Slade hybrid will make the next calendar year a busy one for Cadillac marketers.
I have usually removed the sticker with a razor and saved it with my other car papers.
That's the way I placed my order. I would have liked to have the navi system,(because it looks good) but I don't do sunroofs so I had to compromise. Anyway, my car should be here the first week of Novenber. Can't wait.
thebug...