ccap41

OMG. There are soooooooooooo many ignorant people when it comes to ANYTHING tire related. It's actually surprising..and scary.

Is it my eyes or is the 5.3 making more torque at 2000rpm than the 6.2?

Huh? How do you know what is perfect for me? i'll bite. i think the OP's objective here was to have an exercise in creativity with a "lego bucket" of sorts from the major manufacturers... as much blind brand loyalty we choose to exhibit, if we are honest with ourselves, theres always going to be some shoulda coulda woulda thoughts on how it would be better. he may not mean he knows whats perfect for you specifically, just that if you had the option to change something you probably would. Spot. On, Brother! For instance, I guarantee Wings would prefer to have either the 8spd or 9spd from GM or Ram in his F150, at the very least. Nice Air Suspension call, I totally left that out and with how my truck would be utilized..I would definitely want that kind of ride. ..too bad that isn't available right now.. This is actually one thing that I wanted to keep in check because future vehicles is kind of endless "modifications". If we could ONLY utilize parts and things from vehicles currently for sale, that'd be great..lol Otherwise I'd probably go with a Raptor with the 6.2 and still most likely the Ram interior but I don't know what the '17 Raptor's interior will be like.

I'm also really curious about how aggressive they will get with the aero bits; Front facia, side skirts, hood.

First, to the admins, I wasn't sure were to put this as it is a comparison so it isn't just Ram or Toyota.. so move it as necessary. Also, I assume you do not want entire articles copied and pasted so I'll start it and then post a link to the rest of it. To the article. "Ah, the off-road pickup. The niche's profile has really been elevated over the past half-decade even if sub-brands such as Pro-4X, FX4, and Z71 have propped the field up longer. Ford's F-150 SVT Raptor went on sale in 2009, and suddenly it seemed everyone wanted to be an off-road enthusiast. The Raptor was a flared-fender sight to behold, more accessible and generally easier to justify to a spouse than a heavy-duty Ram Power Wagon. Naturally, every owner survey and OEM market research slideshow we've seen concedes a different reality. By and large, truck buyers don't care about off-roading. Or the off-roading occurs so infrequently it'd make you question the whole business of selling off-road trucks … but think of how cool you'd look behind the wheel! ..." "The Rebel and TRD Pro are very close in everyday livability, comfort, and fuel economy (14.4-14.5 combined Real MPG). Ram puts out great, consumer-focused features, and the superbly appointed interior still heads the class. Off-roading isn't everything, but the fact is we'll happily take more (tiebreaking) off-road capability in the Tundra TRD Pro any day of the week. Rad Tires Sure, all-terrain street tire treads are engineered to optimize grip in all conditions, but they also must be pleasing to the eye. Ram was so excited about the Toyo Open Country A/T II that it embossed the tread pattern into the seat inserts. The Tundra's optional BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO is a well-known quantity in the truck community. Owners have self-reported more than 100 million miles of use through tirerack.com surveys, nearly 8 million more than the second- and third-place tires combined (within the on-/off-road all-terrain category)." http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/trucks/2015_ram_1500_rebel_4x4_hemi_vs_toyota_tundra_trd_pro_comparison/

Could it be.. in some weird and crazy act of fate that the fact that it is their sole CUV for sale have anything to do with it? Dood. That's HEAVY I don't understand how some folks can be so down on a brand for no rational reason. The irony in your last sentence, is mind bottling. (Is "mind bottling" a thing?) I clearly said "rational." You clearly missed it. Quelle surprise. Anyways... It is a spiffy SUV Cadillac has here. "Chazz: Mind-bottling, isn't it? Jimmy: Did you just say mind-bottling?" Chazz: Yeah, mind-bottling. You know, when things are so crazy it gets your thoughts all trapped, like in a bottle?" -Blades of Glory

That's what I was hoping to avoid... because it isn't true.

For starters I would go with the Ram's middle cab configuration with the 4 doors. Not the massive 4 door SUV version but the middle sized one. I don't like that Ford doesn't have a "small" 4 door version and both GM and Ram do. Also I think the Ram offers the most luxurious interior(as I'm not really going to use the truck as a full on truck very often..at all.) So give me that interior, cab and I also want the Ram Box bed from Ram as well. I love that idea. Oh, I also like the hood that is on the "express" or even the Rebel with the two "nostrils". I think that looks really sharp as well. But the body in general will be F150. I love the new F150 headlights with the LEDs. I think the biggest question for me is wat driveline would I want. If I'm being realistic keeping costs down I would go with either the 2.7 from Ford or the 5.3 from GM. It would be hard to pass up a V8 if I am making the perfect truck(and attempting to be semi-realistic about it - otherwise I would just go with the 6.0 from GM). I would probably mate that to the Ram's 9spd.because of more gears..I guess..Actually I'd just keep the GM engine/trans together and rock the 8spd. Color.. I would say it would be super easy and I'd get the FX4 package with Guard Green(so I'd get the black grill and trim and wheels) but I do'nt see Guard on their website anymore so I would probably go with "Magnetic" with the FX4 style packaging with the black grill, trim, and wheels. (I think they are actually a dark grey not black but I dig the look either way.) Well, I think that's about my perfect half ton D3 truck. The only thing I would change would be to add the new 5.0 Cummins when that comes out..but it isn't out yet so I'll stick to the GM 5.3. Oh yeah, I'd also like the bed steps from the GM trucks in the bumper as well.

Hellllllllo ladies and gents(actually not sure if I have run into any ladies here..lol) Well I've done this one other time somewhere else and I thought it was a fun idea because everybody seems to like to tout their favorite truck as "the best" but that isn't true at all. They all have highs and lows but if put together you could make the perfect truck. What pieces off of what trucks would you put together to make your perfect half ton truck. Which engine, cab, transmission, bed, color, infotainment, interior configuration, etc. would you put together to make your perfect truck? Everybody's situation is different so some may want the GM 6.2 and others may want the Ford 2.7 or Ram 3.0. Some pay prefer a single cab others may want a Suburban with a bed. What would YOU make?

Kind of like the JGC's? That would not only be a great idea for numbers sake but for safety's sake as well. @'Bong I think that article you linked did say they will be lowering it. For all I know it could be a 1/4 inch or 2 inches though so just saying it will be lowered is very vague.

Again irrelevant. In this case they are comparing the CTS 3.6 to the E350 and saying they like it but won't buy one because they're SMK brand snobs. All it takes is for Cadillac is for them to offer the 3.0TT in the CTS. But isn't the "average" luxury car buyer just a brand snob anyway, though? I say average not all. There are the wealthy enthusiasts who want some performance out of their 4 door sedans and going German was about the only way for a long time so they have a lot of reputation built into their name. Yes, the average consumer is a brand snob. But brand snobs like SMK by definition put the badge as the most important attribute over all others and then make up excuses to support their bias. Example: 2015 E350 v. CTS 3.6 - Cadillac has more horsepower, equal torque, one more gear in the gearbox (and a fantastic 8-speed that compares with DCTs out there) less weight, and feels more solid, but the brand snob goes with the Benz because of "cachet" 2015 E400 v CTS V-Sport - Cadillac has more horsepower, LOTS more torque, less weight, feels more solid, same transmission as above, and costs $5k less.... but the brand snob goes with the Benz because of a suede glove box liner or it has 29 speakers instead of just 27 in the Cadillac. Yeah that is exactly what I was getting at really. And said average consumer buying these aren't enthusiasts and don't care about the extra power and torque as long as it rides nice and when they put their foot down it just goes. A LOT of these purchases will come down to "cachet" until Cadillac does the dirty work and continues to make great cars over a long period of time. They just have to keep doing what they are doing and eventually they will gain that cachet for themselves. I mean a lot of that probably comes from the past few generations, human generations. There just weren't 70's-90's generations of Cadillacs that lasted forever with a great reputation for build quality like the Germans have. There are people looking at MB and BMW who's probably had parents with old ones and say they are great and last forever(whether the modern ones do or not is another story) so they will give them the chance and when on equal grounds they will take the one their dad or grandparent had that lasted forever for them. I don't know if I worded that very well but that's how I feel about it. It will take generations of greatness to truly build up the reputation that MB and BMW currently have. I think everybody has known or knows somebody with a 20+ year old BMW or MB that is still chugging along(driven regularly) but do you know anybody with a similarly aged Cadillac? I don't.. I know that isn't a legit sample size

I think it would be a nice face push if GM could "rush"(mostly meaning I hope GM has already been working on this for awhile and just finish it up) this to market so the Bentley never even gets the crown. ..The Bentey isn't for sale yet, right..? I am also really curious on the output of this. I know the Z06 is 650/650 and the CTS is 640/630 . Will this be just in like with those two or a slight detune because it isn't the halo car like the Z06 and CTS-V are? It seems like that would be the case but with this being the actual LARGEST of the 3 and the one that will be able to hadle the most cooling for all of the components I could see it actually going up. If for nothing else than to upstage the Bentley.

Are we talking top speed or a 1/4 mile pass..?

Again irrelevant. In this case they are comparing the CTS 3.6 to the E350 and saying they like it but won't buy one because they're SMK brand snobs. All it takes is for Cadillac is for them to offer the 3.0TT in the CTS. But isn't the "average" luxury car buyer just a brand snob anyway, though? I say average not all. There are the wealthy enthusiasts who want some performance out of their 4 door sedans and going German was about the only way for a long time so they have a lot of reputation built into their name.

I'm mixed on it.. I think the interior looks amazing(as it should being a Bentley) but the outside just looks.. kind of bland. The front 3/4 looks about right, nothing special, but nothing offensive either(that's how Bentley does it) but the rear 1/4 looks terrible to me. It looks kind of MKT-like(which I find attrocious),Toyota Venza, or more likely Q7. I say the first two because it looks like there is an unproportionate amount of rear overhang. The tail lights look as out of place as anything on any car, ever. I'm actually not sure how I feel about Bentley's new "LED ring" next to the actual head light. They seem to look out of place w/o an actual light within it. But, in the end, I think the interior looks gorgeous and in a vehicle like this that matters..a lot. Oh, that and 600hp/644q.

So everybody but GM has high ground in the PR department..? Oh and the HEMI Ram's as well. Just 'cmon man. You're trying to jab at Ford for a design we aren't even talking about here(EcoBoost - GTDI). This is about non-boosted engines, I thought. And if we are talking about turbo DOHC and OHV then we all know(even if you don't like it) that these new turbo motors make gobs of low end torque(per displacement - from all brands). Which does bring me to the DOHC/OHV.. Still my question with tuning remains with the two setups but I'm curious/guessing that the DOHC when accompanied with a turbo has more tuning capabilities than an OHV setup. That would be another reason so many have moved to the DOHC setup. But that is just a guess/question to be answered.

I just figured between weight and physical size(cutting through air) would have yielded 1mpg towards the ATS. At least at cruising highway mpg.

I was just pointing out and summarizing.. That was all. I expect every review to have highs and lows. I didn't say that the heavier feel was a bad thing, nor did they - that was why I quoted it. The heft makes it feel substantial, but not "more substantial-feeling than the Benz E-Class". They never said it felt more substantial than the E Class, just that it felt substantial in its own.

Just for the record this is what the one gent actually said about it's weight and "substantial feeling". He didn't say it felt "more substantial-feeling than the Benz E-Class" "all with an inch or three of the E. It is more than 350 pounds lighter than the Benz, which is interesting, because the CTS feels decidedly heavier (and yes, I thought this before I compared the specs, honest). So the CTS feels big and solid, but in a good way. Substantial is the word, which made it a real pleasure on the highway..." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- However, there were many positive things said about the car. I'll highlight some of them. "I could not fine one fault with this car in terms of performance. Not one. Aggressively tuned - and impressively so, I might add - everything about the CTS rings true, especially for people who know and understand the difference. The steering and braking feel, the tautly-tuned suspension, the overall accuracy of the dynamic execution, everything about the actual driving of the CTS is first rate, second to none, in fact." "Gone are the bad "beige-on-beiger" combos that GM seemed to crank out in their sleep. Instead, our CTS tester featured a black and red interior treatment that was truly first rate. Very elegant, very tasteful, very refined. " "As for the rest of it, I concur with WordGirl because the interior of the CTS is simply stunning, with a quality of materials and level of workmanship that again, are second to none in the segment." Couple "lows" as well.. " Is it awesome? No, but then the E-Class isn't really "awesome" either. It just a well-engineered, well-equipped luxury car that still manages to embody more than a modicum of the prestige and exclusivity that the Mercedes-Benz brand used to be all about. And the CTS? It's a well-engineered, well-equipped luxury car that's trying to convince us that it has prestige and exclusivity equal to its rivals." " But there's the rub: If the CTS and E-Class are essentially cost equals, would I choose the Cadillac? No. Intellectually, I understand that the Cadillac is every bit as good as the Mercedes (and all of its luxury rivals, for that matter). But emotionally, I can't make the leap to the brand yet. -WG" Odd to me that both ATS AWD and CTS AWD get the same mileage with the 3.6.

In their defense, a lot of that gap is due to tire technology and outright power. I too thought about the tire tech. I mean from 9 years ago with the GT tires were "junk" compared to what is available on super cars now. But beating the R8 V10..whew..impressive. It is still crazy because even with the old tech tires it is/was still an incredible super car. Just looked it up and the rear tires are 315's, GoodYear Eagle F1 Supercar. I'm not trying to justify or say it is a great tire to today's standards, just showing you what it is, http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Eagle+F1+Supercar&frontTire=345YR8F1SUPERCAR&rearTire=14YR9F1SUPERCAR&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=2006&autoModel=GT&autoModClar=

Looking strictly at lap times and cars(I know different years and different conditions...) there are some crazy observations as well: With the CTS-V running a blistering 2.56.8 the cars that it beat are pretty incredible.. I'll start with the least impressive and get to the ost impressive. IMO 2013 GT500: 3.00.6 2013 ZL1: 2.57.5 2013 C63 Black Series: 2.58.0 2007 Z06: 2.58.2 2006 Ford GT: 3.00.7 2014 R8 V10: 2.57.5 Those are super cars. We already know how nuts the Z06 is and knocking down $X00,000 cars but a sedan beating super cars..even older is damn impressive to me.

The corvette is a 55k car. The z06 isn't. Same with a Camaro SS and z/28. That's like the c250 and a c63. Base vs top of the line performance model. It would be like saying C Classes should be 40-60k then they throw out a 100k version. Yup... I wonder why the AMG C Class is that much higher in price over the mainstream C Class? The Z06 is exotic level engineering... Welllllll in al fairness the C63 AMG S does start at 72k. But, that is nearly double what a C Class starts at. Whereas the Z06 is a 30% increase in price over the base Stingray the C63 is about 47% price increase over the base C Class. Just throwin out some numbers..to go with what we both said, really. I think 'today' they are both pretty exotic level of engineering as the C63 isn't really a German muscle car like it used to be. Where it was just a big engine, lots of low end torque, and didn't turn all that well(compared it its priced competition - guarantee it still drove freakin good).

The corvette is a 55k car. The z06 isn't. Same with a Camaro SS and z/28. That's like the c250 and a c63. Base vs top of the line performance model. It would be like saying C Classes should be 40-60k then they throw out a 100k version.

That's that super deep purple, right??? I love that color!

Completely leaving out the EcoBoost engines as I know your feelings on them(and their mixed reviews are very obvious - very hit or miss it seems) where have there been mixed reviews of their n/a engines?