Robert Hall

The Jeep and Merc have been repaired, so the Caddy goes back to Enterprise tommorow..back to normal. I hate overtime, esp. when it's due to management incompetence and poor project planning...don't remember much of July. At least I got paid for every hour and I'm back to normal 40 hr work weeks this coming week..

This kind of situation happened to me once in my life when I was in grad school, but it resolved itself w/ no thought on my part. If it were to happen today, I'd have to go test drive several different cars. The easiest choice for me would be another Grand Cherokee, but there are many cars in the same price range that I find appealing.

Thinking about it.. I want to drive the CTS and Chrysler 300C also. And I'm still fond of the Town Car.

Wonder if they will sell it here. Ford should sell the 3dr Fiesta here.

Happy Birthday.

For the last week because of not having a single drivable car in the driveway, I've had a white diamond '11 STS as a rental. Taking it back to Enterprise tommorow. First impressions: Smooth. Quiet. Comfortable. Good exhaust roar when I put my foot down. Like the color combination--white diamond w/ two-tone tan interior. I've always liked the exterior design of the STS, crisp and clean..not as aggro as the CTS, but definitely a Cadillac. This is the first current Caddy I've driven, have driven an '00-02 vintage DTS and a few mid-late '90s era deVilles. Seats are adjustable and comfortable, not sport seats, but wide enough for fat American behinds (my size 40 fit fine). Like the ventilation fans. Easy to adjust seat, wheel, mirrors for comfort and visibility. Thick pillars, but still easy enough to see out of. Multifunction stalks worked well--like how they have the lights on the left, wipeys on teh right, just like my Jeep. Like the struts for trunk hinges instead of the cheap c-hinges so many sedans have. Seemingly small opening, big trunk. A few minor nits to pick: No inside trunk release--odd (Edit: found it, hidden in the map pocket, same color as teh door trim..hard to see) Foot pedal pb took some getting used to, I guess i'm too used to center console pbs..I grabbed the hood release a couple times thinking it was the pb release Some interior plastics are hard...door panels and center console I noticed. Tolerable, though. noticed the emergency flasher button was on console. Odd Stereo seems from 2005...6 disk changer is slow to change between disks. Eject and load is very slow. Sound is great, though. No ipod jack, but white/red/yellow A/V jacks in the armrest..odd..never seen one of those in a car. Some quirks w/ the locks. Example: parked, unlocked all the doors, got out, took my dry cleaning drop-off out of the back, came back 5 min later, front doors were still unlocked, but the rear doors had locked themselves. Maybe it's a setting or something. Positives: Soaks up the miles very well on road trips..very comfortable for hours on the road--freeways, twisties. More than enough power to move around, whether passing slow trucks going uphill at 7000ft elevation, or 90-100mph on the freeway passing a line of trucks. Spent time on freeways, in towns, big cities, suburbia, rural back roads, twisty mountain roads, all over Phoenix/Scottsdale and northern AZ. In rain, sunshine, triple digit heat (great cold A/C), day, night... Did notice a fair amount of tire noise and harshness on rough roads. Sad to see the STS go out of production...the Seville and STS names have a long history with Cadillac. All in all, it's been a thoroughly enjoyable experience...after a week of living w/ it day in day out, this is definitely a car I could use as a daily driver for 5 years or more.

Horrific. I could see driving it on my Mom's driveway in Ohio (3/4 of mile long) but not on public roads or streets.

You liked your Fiesta, why not another of the same?

Bummer...sorry to hear that. When I first started reading the thread, I thought that bikey from before had come back and run into you.

V6...no N* for 2011 in the STS, IIRC. I didn't make to So Cal this weekend...family stuff to do in AZ, but managed to rack up over 500 miles the last two days up in Northern AZ....got to take it back tommorow.

I suspect that the GMT truck platform is just one platform, except for maybe the huge trucks, such as construction equipment. The winnowing of platforms can only be a good thing. They will have at least 2 for trucks--the compact platform for the next international Colorado (don't know if it's coming to the US), and a full size one for NA large trucks and SUVs.

Interesting.. Well, it looks like globally GM will have 3 platforms for FWD cars and 2 for CUVs.. Gamma II Delta II Epsilon II Theta/Theta-Epsilon Lambda And 4 for RWD cars: (will Zeta and Sigma merge eventually or remain separate?) Alpha Zeta Sigma II Y And perhaps 5 distinct architectures for trucks, SUVs and vans (maybe the larger vans will share a platform worldwide eventually) compact truck (next Colorado, will it come here?) full size pickup and SUV (NA) full size RWD van (NA) compact and large FWD vans (outside NA)

Cool truck...lots of interesting cars in the background..is this a vintage car dealer of some sort?

You know what though... I think people want to like Cadillac and they want Cadillac to be the most aspirational car out there. Everybody and their grandmother has a BMW. Right now, it's the product line that is holding them back. They need their 2011 version of the Eldorado Brougham. what was the price delta for cadi back then and today compared to other makes? lowest and highest. i'm guessing cadi's lowest model was much closer to chevy's lowest model compared to today....even if you take inflation into account. Good question...but remember that back then there were 3 middle brands between Chevy and Cadillac unlike today where there is only 1. The brands were also smaller. Each brand typically had a junior car and a senior car with multiple body styles and engine choices of each. Yes, and the most mind-blowing aspects to me is that other than the Corvette, all the models across all the brands were full size, each brand had their own engines and wheelbases. Such a different time..

You know what though... I think people want to like Cadillac and they want Cadillac to be the most aspirational car out there. Everybody and their grandmother has a BMW. Right now, it's the product line that is holding them back. They need their 2011 version of the Eldorado Brougham. what was the price delta for cadi back then and today compared to other makes? lowest and highest. i'm guessing cadi's lowest model was much closer to chevy's lowest model compared to today....even if you take inflation into account. Good question...but remember that back then there were 3 middle brands between Chevy and Cadillac unlike today where there is only 1.

I'm going to have to read the manual to figure out the memory feature setup. Everytime I get in, I have to readjust the seat, mirror, and steering wheel position.

Words fail me.

It's mine for the next week...(rental). Today made 33 days I'd worked straight. A deathmarch at work where I was putting in 80 hr weeks...at least I got paid well for each hour. Today was looking to be an awful Monday---my Jeep wouldn't start so I drove my sister's '91 Merc 300CE...only to discover the A/C doesn't work. Not so good in AZ. At work I was afraid I was going to get sacked (as contractors come and go all the time, and this website and application has gone live a week late at great expense to the client-$1m/per day), but no, my manager and sr. manager were worried we were all burnt out at the end of the project--my part was done--so I get a new project to lead with much less work and much better timelines for the next 2 months. Woo hoo. While driving home (at 3 instead of my usual 8 or midnight), the exhaust fell off the Mercedes. Stranded in a mall parking lot in 108 degree temps for 45 min waiting for the tow truck to come to haul me to the Benz shop. Called Enterprise and rented a car. Got to Enterprise at 5, decided to see what I could upgrade from an Impala to...they had this sweet STS on the lot...enjoying it so far. I'm taking the rest of the week off...maybe drive over to San Diego or LA for the weekend.

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. A turd? No. Two turds... Caterra, followed by BLS I was thinking of their earlier attempt at a compact premium model, in the '80s. The Catera and BLS were more mid-sized.

This is sitting in my driveway tonight. Long story, but it's been a very eventful Monday to say the least. I think I have to take a road trip this weekend.

I think he's long dead and buried. One of the worst CEOs in GM history, just a bean counter corporatist with no automotive passion in his soul.

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.