balthazar

^ ABA numbers are all over the place. I just saw one for MB from 2007, and it was 63.4. Fact is, the ABA overall is 51, so IF Cadillac is at 57, that's not "old" at all. It's not an entry-level brand. I would agree Cadillac had an 'old person's image IF we were in 1998, but not now. The floaters are all long gone.

10,000 in year 1 would be an incredible success.

Old buyers looking for the floaty ride of old Lincoln's are NOT going to be happy in a CTS, so they're non-factors. CTS is a better driving/ riding/ handling/ braking car than the G37- but they are certainly close enough to be actively cross-shopped. G37 is also down on lux features, has a relatively cramped interior & requires premium. A6 "doesn't compete" because it's FWD.

Size is irrelevant (they're close enough not to matter- not every car in each segment needs to be within 2" of the mean dimension). People don't shop with a tape measure. e-class Is in a different price bracket, c-class is much closer. ES, MKZ, and TL are FWD- isn't that your 'go-to' argument precluding being 'competitive'??? [insert giant red 'X' & erroneous buzzing sound] 'no one buys audis' , so they "don't compete" either ['go-to' weapon #2 : another giant red 'X' & erroneous buzzing sound]. Base A6 comes with the same 4-banger the A3 and everything in between comes with, CTS is still either a 6 or an 8. Audi had better step it up the next gen, if they want to be taken seriously.

I like the basic shape/design, and agree I too get a Kappa vibe from it. I'm not so in love with it I could agree to your level of allocates for it, tho. Those headlights are pure fantasy, and legal units would severely change the character of the design IMO.

I sold a set of '66 Catalina buckets, white, that I bought out of a junkyard for $75 for $325, tho this was the early '90s.

2-D design is even easier to make dreamy (vs. productionized) than a million dollar concept. ESP in a bird's eye view.

Yep, tho it may have been tough to accumulate 'a batch'. I've read the estimated '59 Eldo Biarritz's with buckets was around 100 units, and that is likely the most frequent installation.

It's merely photoshop, no?

Also saw a pair of buckets from a B-60 Invicta Custom, well torn up, sell for $1800. The early buckets are worth huge coin.

Cadillac is taking the XTS off the retail market?? XTS would be particularly unsuited for such unless completely discontented. I do not remotely see that happening.

Whether you like it or not, the CTS is a solid contender in it's segment, and the V has put the german twins on notice. Cadillac wasn't even in this segment before the CTS (OK; and the Catera)- since then its' taken marketshare from the german twins in this market. Sales are fine to chase.... if you're VW or Ford or toyoyo, but it shouldn't be the direction a lux brand focuses on. Building garbage trucks, cargo vans, minivans and tens of thousands of fleet vehicles doesn't make nor improve your image. mercedees didn't make it in this country by doing that before (tho they did spend decades 'Americanizing' their tinny, plain sedans), but some of that they do here now, and they've massively ramped that up overseas. Now image-crumbling FWD econoboxes are on the way, and more than 1. All to chase volume. 'Mercedes-Benz' only has 85-some years under their belt- the 2 were independent & competing companies before 1926. It'd be the same thing if Chevy & Ford merged and said they dated to 1902. I don't see how that can be ignored. And they didn't "invent" the car; numerous self-propelled vehicles were designed / built far earlier. But thanks for the quotes from mercedees.com.

And that should be free, why again? Camino is Job #1.

^ Make a little side cash, perhaps?

^ That's the sentiment spoken 5 years ago when anyone suggested BMW build ANYTHING that was FWD. BMW internal data shows their buyers WANT FWD; it'll spread. Image comes with time - BMW had ZERO image when they started importing here, and mercedes had next to nothing. Things change.

what's the market like on these Camino, or haven't you researched it yet?

^ interesting that BMW / MB are followers on that business model...

It's got one major thing going for it; it ain't white. Seems 75% of the '58-60s were. Ford didn't even show a non-white T-bird in print ads all thru '58 & '59, and a bunch of the '60 ads featured white, too.

^ Agreed - the whole flagship mantra is overblown. The 7-series doesn't sell a single 3-series.

'58 Biscayne 2-dr sedan, turquoise over black, chrome mags, very sharp, rolling.

Interesting take on sales numbers : http://tsort.info/music/faq_album_sales.htm

^ See above for the AMG window air conditioner look... This is more what I'm thinking about :

Yet mercedees, Bentley, Audi.... A lot of lux brands have a 'supercar' somehow.... RE V-10s & V-12s.... IMO it's not so much a trend as a correction to sustainable levels. We have multi-cylinder (more than 8 ) engines from so many brands, including 'entry level ones' like VW, Ford & Dodge. The business case isn't there for so many, esp when their power advantages are being eroded from below (V8s). I believe there's still a business case for a 'work of art' V-12, making it more than just a call-out on the rear deck, or looking like a window A/C unit underhood :

RE the O/P : I'd much prefer this ferrari kicking come from Cadillac than Chevy. Helluva lot more buzz factor...

everything is too narrow these days, so; probably.