ccap41

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?

Crazy seeing the Z/28 run a faster lap than the AMG GT.

You've seen mixed results with their n/a v6's and v8's?

I see what you mean but in the CL days they were still the only manufacturer with a vehicle in that class.

And the S Class still has more variety than the competition.. And the "previous gen" S Class coupe was the CL Class. They actually do have a convertible too. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2017-mercedes-benz-s550-mercedes-amg-s63-cabriolet-photos-and-info-news None of them make wagons in this class of car..rightfully so, imo. The competition "only" has sedans. There isn't a coupe or 'vert 7 Series, XJ, A8, or CT#.

Whatever you have to tell yourself. You have made more assumptions about me the past few weeks that I can shake a stick at so I am just merely returning the favor. Tell me again how I only go after certain Ford fans again, while ignoring the fact that I have also gone after Casa (GM), Tonavi (Toyota), XFists (Toyota), Apex_Alex (Toyota and general lunatic) in the past. I have been on those threads for years so when you only try to reference the recent past (like you have), you just make yourself look foolish. That is the 100% truth because that is what you have done. Hypocritcal posts.. "returning the favor" is the same thing as admiting to being hypocritical. I don't recall saying you only go after one Ford fan. I recall saying you love to argue, start arguments, continue arguments, argue just to argue.. all of the above.. Oh I'm sorry that I only look at what I've been around for.. How foolish of me to not dig into the archives to check our posting history against other people. Oh how foolish of me.. My apologies..Sincere Sincere apologies. Oh god father who's the most right about everyone please forgive me.. You pointed out me going after Wings, Bill, and Stang, all of them Ford fans. Just stop already with the condescending bull$h! ccap. You know full well what I am talking about when you go around and try to make assumptions about me. Is it just in your nature to NOT accept responsibility for what you have done? The point is that you don't know $h! about me so stop trying to assume what you know about me. Seriously, I am done discussing this with you or Wings. Now, we can all either agree to disagree and try to act like actual adults around here, or you can continue on with this BS. The choice is yours but I am effectively done explaining a damn thing to you. This quote from you on the previous page is why I call you on things. " Harassing PMs are your "MO" and will not be tolerated in the future. And please stop acting like you have some honor around here with that "So post it. That was my original intention, but I chose not to degrade threads." non sense. You didn't post it here because you knew it would get you in trouble, not because of what you "chose". That is the biggest joke of all and I'll tell you why. Who in their right mind would send a condescending PM to someone who has clearly expressed no interest in hearing from you whatsoever? Only a narcissist like yourself apparently." The underlined pieces are 100% exactly what you've done to me. Couldn't have been described any better. You've sent me 6 aggressive/harassing/threatening/however one would like to describe them, PMs.

Wow, Thank You Wings! Much appreciated.

Whatever you have to tell yourself. You have made more assumptions about me the past few weeks that I can shake a stick at so I am just merely returning the favor. Tell me again how I only go after certain Ford fans again, while ignoring the fact that I have also gone after Casa (GM), Tonavi (Toyota), XFists (Toyota), Apex_Alex (Toyota and general lunatic) in the past. I have been on those threads for years so when you only try to reference the recent past (like you have), you just make yourself look foolish. That is the 100% truth because that is what you have done. Hypocritcal posts.. "returning the favor" is the same thing as admiting to being hypocritical. I don't recall saying you only go after one Ford fan. I recall saying you love to argue, start arguments, continue arguments, argue just to argue.. all of the above.. Oh I'm sorry that I only look at what I've been around for.. How foolish of me to not dig into the archives to check our posting history against other people. Oh how foolish of me.. My apologies..Sincere Sincere apologies. Oh god father who's the most right about everyone please forgive me..

Agreed, and that is the ONE ANNOYANCE of it. People take things personally real quick. Reasons Casa rocks: Straight up honesty.