Robert Hall

Who is that in your avatar, Balthy? Looks like Ed Gein..

It's already years late. Even a turd car will get people back int the Cadillac showrooms. Not that this is a turd. Just bring it out already!!!! Yeah, with 20/20 hindsight this is a car Cadillac should have had 15-20 years ago when the compact premium market really started heating up. Better late than never, though. Actually, they did have a turd in this niche once long ago, but it's best forgotten.

I live in an area powered by tourism. People drive from all around to vacation here. Even Quebec and Ontario... We normally get a pretty standard cross-section of cars. Unless the 3 series, C-class and A4 are not suitable for vacationing... but we get lots of other quasi-impractical cars... Kappas, Vettes, Lotuses, Lambos... Good for you, but I live in an area fueled by tourism, too, and tourists don't rent or drive in those kinds of vehicles--they go for Mustangs or Sebrings. Everywhere I go, whether it's Orange County, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Malibu, San Luis Obispo, San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Chicago, DC, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, St. Petersburg, Boca Raton, even Cleveland...the wannabe-rich and the kids of the rich sure seem to love their 3er/A4/C...hell the 3er coupe or convertible is THE CAR to have at USC on The Row...followed very closely by the last-gen Jetta. Where I'm used to seeing lots of compact premium models are places where professional people work...think suburban office parks, downtown parking garages, etc. And at upscale malls on weekends. At Starbucks anytime. Lots of 'em in the Denver and Phoenix metros....remember seeing a lot of Audis around Denver because of the AWD.

I never seem to see many of them, aside from 3 series. Perhaps they just aren't that popular in South Jersey towards the shore. I guess when I drive, I must filter them out as speedbumps. See lots of larger Audis and Mercs. There are regional differences....the market isn't the same worldwide as it is in your area.

but that's the market that Cadillac is lacking in and needs to be in to compete well. What is the sedan/coupe split on the 3 series? I seem to see more coupes than sedans. This ATS is not a coupe, yet. Edit: Also, I am not convinced that there is huge marketplace for a sub-CTS car. The 3-series, C-Class, and A4 don't convince you of that? The ATS is already known to be coming in 4 bodystyles - Sedan, Coupe, Convertible, Wagon. although I have my doubts on the wagon. The C-segment is the highest volume premium segment, isn't it? Certainly in NA I see a lot more 3-series than 5-series...

Looks like those Listerine breath strips.

As far as MB, the proportions, front fender and downward angled side crease remind me of the C-class....it has good, strong RWD proportions that won't be mistaken for some lowly FWD appliance. Hard to tell, but do the headlights go waaaay up the fender along the hood and fender line? If the CTS wasn't named CTS, this car would make sense to be named CTS since it's the C-seg entry.

i had one guy who showed up at the dlrship with a plastic binder full of CR printed data sheets........ or people who have absolutely crossed off vehicles ONLY because they did not make the CR recommended..... and people criticize for following religion.....isn't CR a religion to some...? Yes, it attracts the same kind of sheeple mentality. Rear drums seems very old fashioned..I haven't had a vehicle newer than MY 1988 w/ rear drums.

Interesting development. Well, for the non-car enthusiast masses (which are probably 99% of the new car market), CR is the buyer's guide. What they write does influence purchases of transportation appliances.

Saw a black 5th gen Camaro this morning w/ orange and yellow flames. Blech.

The A7 is a pretty slick car..first saw one (in black) back around January..testing in the desert I guess..it's better looking than the A6 or A8, IMO.

Needs height-adjustable suspension or the jump-thingys like on the Mach 5..

Sweet...I've managed to drive a few friends' Porsches over the years, mostly around town brief drives, though I did get to drive a '75 911 for about 25 miles on Colorado twisty mountain roads. I've driven a '73 914, the '75 911, and a '78 930 Turbo all owned by the same friend...the 930 was particularly impressive. I've also driven a '00 Boxster and an '10 Boxster..really enjoyed them. I'd like to own a Porsche, maybe a mid '90s last of the air-cooled 993 or a modern Boxster or 911.

This morning I saw a light gray '55-56 Chevy pickup in traffic. Stepside bed, spare on the left rear fender, white bumpers and grille. Very plain, looked very clean--new-like condition. Those old trucks have a lot of charm.

Hmmm...pointy. Add some fins, paint it black w/ orange pinstriping. Pseudo-Batmobile.

Saw a very clean '82-83 blue Celebrity 4dr. Been years since I've seen one. Saw a sharp black '68 El Camino..

Getting started on another 15 hr day today...will hit the 80 hr mark for work this week today...still rolling in the sh*t.. by the 1st things should return closer to 'normal'. R

Could probably build a nice replica for much less. Find a clean used '70 Elco, get a Year One catalog, and a GM crate motor.. I assume a '71 GMC Sprint SP could go for as much money..saw a goregous silver one of those at a car show in Colorado back in summer of '00. Beautiful machine.

Haven't seen one in person, but looking at the photos in a recent issue of Car magazine the rear and rear side windows look awfully tiny...have to have to a rear view camera to see anything..

I suspect this will be the base engine in the F150 eventually.

It's even harder at 41.. I did a lot of all nighters in college and grad schools and my first startup (when I was 29-30), but at later startups (at age 32 and 38) I didn't have the stamina..what is such a frustration point is this is a Fortune 12 company w/ established major international clients and supposedly good processes (the dev team is great, a really sharp, fun bunch)...

Not driving rage, but I've had a few near-incidents of work rage the last few weeks...saw a chair get thrown across a conference room and red faces of rage a few times... I'm in my 3rd week of a death march due to poor project planning by the clueless client management tools at my client...a couple weeks of almost 80hrs/7days and this week will go be probably 90..but my team of 8 developers have built a hell of a web site and server-side application since starting July 5th...will be in user acceptance test next week. Been listening to NIN's 'The Downward Spiral' a lot, it's our team theme album...been guzzling Red Bull and Rockstar, and the company has been good enough to cater breakfast/lunch/dinner to the office. Had some very tired drives home (dangerous to drive when exhausted) in the evening.. at least I get paid for every hour, makes it worthwhile I keep telling myself. Some days I feel like I'm way too old for this $h!, don't have the stamina I had at 25. now back to your regularly scheduled programming...

Not you too, Moltie... I've always had a soft spot for the AMC Eagles.. I'd love to see a RWD/AWD CTS fastback CUV...in V-series version also! No, I feel you. But one company already built an X6 competitor when it really wasn't asked for by many... and the ZDX was born. No comparison... I'm thinking something serious to compete w/ the X6M...(I'd love to see Cadillac have a V-series SUV as badass as the Jeep GC SRT8, but they can't do that with a weak FWD-based CUV and the Esky is too big..)

Not you too, Moltie... I've always had a soft spot for the AMC Eagles.. I'd love to see a RWD/AWD CTS fastback CUV...in V-series version also! (wish I had mad phat photoshop skillz and the time...CTS-XV... ) (Maybe I'm just loopy from overwork..I'm half way through week 3 of a deathmarch...last 2 were 75 hr weeks, this will be at least 85...but at least every hour is billable and all meals are provided in-office...)

As an companion to the SRX and Escalade, I'd like to see a Cadillac X6 competitor---the previous SRX dirty bits and ride height married to a CTS 4dr 'coupe' bodystyle (i.e. the CTS 4dr w/ the 2dr's rear end)...that would be totally badazz...