smk4565

The XLR interior isn't twice as good as the CTS's and the XLR is twice the money. The CTS is just as nice as the XLR is, perhaps better. The STS-V has more power than the XLR-V because of air intake setup, the engine makes as much power as they could get out of it n the XLR-V. My mistake on AMG, only the SLR McLaren is supercharged now, I was thinking they still used the Supercharged V8 with 493 hp and forgot they switched to a 6.3 liter. The 6.3 liter is going to be replaced with a 5.5 liter twin turbo in 2011 though.

Rev higher, smoother, less vibration, sounds better, more hp for displacement, smaller displacement usually means better fuel economy, etc. There is a reason the base CTS doesn't have a 3800 series III supercharged, and has a DOHC engine. The CTS is a good product, but it doesn't match up with the 5-series and E-class which cost $20,000 more (and no other $34-50k car does either). And one product doesn't make Cadillac, I get the impression that Cadillac thinks the CTS is so great they don't need to do anything else. They need a legit 3-series (335i gets a 7 speed tranny in 09) fighter and a legit S-class fighter, no more fleets, no more DTS on a 13 year old platform for the seniors and mary kay cosmetic all stars.

XLR's are really poor sellers, and an 06 V-series can be had for $60,000, and 06 STS-V runs can be had low to mid $40s. The XLR-V isn't worth $100k, it has less performance than a Corvette Z51 package and the interior is only marginally better, yet it costs twice as much. Cadillac knows they can't $85,000 for a CTS-V, so clearly they had to cut costs somewhere, where the BMW and Mercedes didn't. I think what is interesting about the super performance sedans, is RS6 is turbo, CTS-V and the AMG cars are supercharged, Bentley Flying Spur is turbo (different class) but the M5 runs with any of them with a naturally aspirated engine. So what happens if they put 2 turbos on the M5?

But DOHC came is inherently superior to OHV. Lexus, Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Maserati, Infiniti, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce aren't using DOHC by accident. Chevy, Buick, Pontiac, Chrysler, Dodge use pushrods, which group makes more desirable cars

M5 buyers only care about MSRP and operating cost? That sounds like a Hyundai or Camry buyer. People that buy an M5 or similar car are going to care about the engine, the small details and the badge. They dropped the pushrod from the Malibu because it wasn't refined enough to compete with the Camry and Accord, yet they kept for Cadillac to go against Mercedes and BMW, hmm. I agree, they built a lot of performance per dollar, in the way Chrysler has a lot of performance per dollar in the 300 SRT-8. 425 hp and same cost as a 304 hp CTS, The SRT-8 can crush a CTS DI in performance, but the Chrysler isn't a better car, somewhere they cheaped out on materials, the badge is less prestigious, reliability isn't as good, etc. If the CTS-V were truely better than the M5 or E63 or RS6, Cadillac would charge $90,000 for it.

That grille looks pretty much the same as the Lucerne's. Why bother with the teaser, it will look bland like the current Buick sedans.

Well Bob Lutz said the CTS-V would "suck the doors off an M5" the CTS-V posted marginally better times than an M5 that has been out a while M5 without a limiter can do 204 mph, that is impressive. I'd prefer Bob Lutz stop making claims, because often he just over states or the bean counters step in, and what he claimed doesn't get delivered. Bottom line is American car fans of big growly engines will like this car. Those that had a 300C, Corvette, older V-series, Charger SRT-8, etc will probably want one. People that spend $90,000 on Euro-exotics won't be interested, they buy BMW or Mercedes for prestige, and often don't consider American cars.

20 ways, and the side bolsters move in turns to prevent the driver from sliding.

Well it is a good thing they did, the M3 does the slalom at 72.9 mph and 0-60 in 4.2 seconds (C63 AMG does it in 3.9), it would have beaten the CTS-V. M3 and CTS-V will likely cost the same, so do people that want performance buy the faster BMW or Mercedes (which have badge/snob appeal too) or the Cadillac. Good numbers for the CTS-V especially in the handling department for how heavy it is. 0-60 in the 4.3 to 4.6 range is good, but the STS-V can do it in 4.6 seconds also, and that car has been a non-factor in the performance car arena. Cadillac is taking a risky by calling out the Germans, because in 2 years there will be a 570 hp E63, and the new M5 is going to be lighter, and who knows how much power if they twin turbo the V10. In 2011 will Cadillac still want to compare a 2 year old CTS-V to an all new M5?

The materials in the CTS are not better than what is in the 5-series, the CTS also lacks night vision, power rear sun shade, 20 way seats, 14 speaker 7.1 stereo, radar cruise control and I don't remember if the CTS has a heated steering wheel. The 5-series and E-class have way more equipment than a CTS, which is why they are $50-70k sedans and the CTS is $35-50k, they are not competitors. The interior of the new car has to be at least as good as the CTS, because the new 3-series will be out 1 year after the new Caddy, if they put a Saab level interior in there, the car will get killed. A 4 year old engine from a Saturn is not good enough to go against BMW, it is good enough to go against Volvo or Acura. Even the Lincoln MKZ will have 340 hp by then, a 260 hp engine that gets 19/27 mpg will lag from the competition.

An I-6 is a really smooth engine Cadillac's supercharged northstar gets terrible mileage. The Tau V8 gets 17/25 mpg and they are targeting the same figures for the 5 liter version with 400-420 hp. Plus a super or turbo charged version with over 500 hp may follow. If they can make a new V8 from scratch, Cadillac should be able to also. They shouldn't have to take an engine from Chevy for their cars.

This is proves GM has too many models/brands. There isn't enough money to develop vehicles for each brand. So it is either keep 8 mediocre brands or kill half of them and make 4 strong ones.

Agreed! And the fact is, most of their lineup is front drive and rebadged for rental fleets.

Not surprising, G3/Wave, G5, G6, Vibe are all front drive. That is the bulk of what Pontiac is.

4 cylinder turbo is fine for the base model, but they have to offer a V6 also. I hope it isn't the 2.0 turbo either, that engine will be 4 years old by then, and gets only marginally better mileage than the V6. They need 30 mpg highway out of the turbo 4, and the interior has to be better than the CTS. Assuming it will be 3-series size, people will compare it directly to the 3-series, and the next 3-series is out 1 year after this Cadillac. Unless Cadillac goes Cimarron 2 and prices it around $27k and gives it the corporate radio and HVAC and makes it a TSX/Jetta fighter.

The back is too high giving it a hatch look, I agree with Moltar on that. The door looks like it doesn't fit the car, perhaps a test mule problem. The grille is what I have the most problem with, it is all gray plastic, it already looks faded and old, they can't come up with a painted or metal grille like every other luxury car has?

A V16 is dumb, too big, too long under the hood. V12 has a place in Ferrari/Lambo or Rolls Royce type cars, but Cadillac won't ever be in that range of cars. The engine they need as an all new DOHC V8, with twin turbo option and in a couple sizes, perhaps a 4.0 liter, and a 5.0 liter. Even Hyundai has a new V8, and they have a 5.0 liter version of the Tau V8 with 420 hp coming soon. (Cadillac can't keep up with Hyundai?) The LS motors will never make it in the luxury market (they are from pickups and Camaros of 10 years ago), they don't have the refinement, or 100 hp per liter ability (without a massive supercharger like the ZR-1) like the Euro engines do.

BMW and Mercedes are both heavy on engineering and they both sell over 1 million cars a year globally, Cadillac is lucky to push 250k. Cadillac is 4th place in their home market and sales are down this year. The current plan isn't working.

The 09 7-series has no V12, but the 2010 model getting it back makes sense, it is supposed to be a twin turbo V12 I think as well. I've driven plenty of pushrods that I didn't like, even most SOHC engines I find unrefined. BMW's inline 6 has better refinement than any GM engine, pushrods and the Northstar don't cut it, they need a new engine if they really want to compete, but I believe GM is happy with Cadillac being a $35-55k brand that shares parts with lower end models.

Pushrods aren't as refined as DOHC, I have a DOHC V8, I wouldn't trade that on a pushrod ever. "Distinctly American" might be a turn off to many luxury buyers. The current perception is that German and Japanese cars are better than ours. To beat the Germans, they need to out-engineer them, recycling a pushrod from a Chevy pickup or Camaro isn't going to do anything, but further tarnish the image of Cadillac as just another struggling GM brand.

Or people that rented it from Avis.

The 2.3 turbo used in the 9-5 now vibrates a bit while stopped, but once you are going it isn't bad, and the turbo boost makes it quite quick. It is a louder than most V6s, but that engine doesn't whine much, it sounds like it has higher displacement than it is. The Mini Cooper S has a 1.6 liter turbo and it makes 162 hp, not bad for a 2700 pound car, but in a 3600 lb 9-5 that could be a struggle.

Wow, this is sooo different than the 05 model. Pontiac clearly is a viable brand and could never be killed with such up to date vehicles as this. For the same money, why would anyone want an 08 Malibu (or Accord or Sonata or 09 Fusion) over the G6?

BMW dropped the V12, but they could always update it and bring it back. The M5 might go to a twin turbo V8, and Jaguar is V8 only as well. The V12 Mercedes are $125,000 or more. The DTS and STS base under $45k right now, the replacement (if they ever make it) will probably be $50k, a V6 and V8 are fine for that price class. GM puts pushrods in Cadillacs so clearly they don't care that much about engines, doing to a DOHC V12 would be quite a jump.

They don't need a V12 since they aren't going after Bentley any time soon, but they do need a new DOHC V8. A turbo or supercharged V8 is enough for under $125k cars. I thought the STS/DTS replacement was scrapped, I hope it isn't on Zeta, a Chevy/Pontiac/Holden platform that is heavy has no place at Cadillac. They need to develop one from scratch, I know it is costly, but they find money to rebadge lame SUVs, they can take it from there to make Cadillac legit. As for names, I don't care if they stick with STS/CTS style or go to Fleetwood/Eldorado, they sell cars mostly in English speaking countries anyway. I just read about Mercedes' new engine lineup yesterday, they have a, 300+ hp diesel V6, 435 hp twin turbo V8 (replaces the 5.5 liter) and a twin turbo 5.5 liter V8 with 570 hp for AMG cars. Direct injection on gas engines, plus a hybrid S-class with lithium ion batteries. All this is coming in the next 2-3 years. BMW and Mercedes keep pushing the envelop, Lexus and Audi have a hard time keeping up, Cadillac seems too underfunded to get in a battle with those brands.