Robert Hall

Speaking of people cross-shopping BMWs w/ Caddys,et al..I know one anecdotal story of a friend's father--not a car enthusiast, but a civilian--that had an '02 Merc S-class--had massive electrical problems, traded it after a couple years on an '04 BMW 7 series--had problems w/ the I-drive, brakes, etc--traded on an '06 DTS. Still has the DTS last time I talked w/ my friend, been happy w/ it.

Today at lunch it was Pontiac Thursday. At one busy intersection, on the same side as I, I saw near each other a black Solstice GXP, white G8 GT, and a blue '70-73 Firebird in nice shape, mildly modified, lifted in the back, wide Cragars on wide tires, kind of a '70s street machine look. A few min later, I saw a white late 4th gen T/A w/ red headlight covers.

I didn't realize the Carribean was prone to earthquakes...sounds horrific from what I've heard on NPR and BBC news.

I'm sure there are regional variations in the US. I know some areas where I suspect it's well over 50%. And if you add the Europeans, import brand market share is 75% or more in some areas, I suspect.

RWD, V8 and the larger size make it above V6 FWD models Malibu and Impala.

$50k is the price point of a nicely equipped CTS. S-Class, 7-series, LS are all well north of $85k, well over $100k for some versions. I can't see an Epsilon II-based car in that league.

I've experienced #2 in my sister's old Mercedes..don't know what causes it, but at idle the engine often races up to 4000rpm or more and the car shakes violently..settles down after a couple minutes. With 180k+ miles, who knows what it is...

Odd that they chose that styling cue, so long ago, I doubt if very many prospective buyers are aware of it.

You are thinking of very recent Olds history... The resembalance isn't to the most recent Oldses... I'm thinking '70s-80s Oldses...they had the big 2 piece grilles, often w/ vertical bars. Think 1970 Cutlass. Various Delta 88s. The Lincoln nose reminds me of a modernized version of a '70s-80s Olds front treatment. I know the official Lincoln line is that it's meant to evoke the early '40s Continentals and Zephyrs, but I think more people would connect it w/ the Olds style of 40-20 years ago rather than a Lincoln from 70 years ago...

Well, whether you 'buy it' or not, things certainly seem to be moving that way....

I don't know, I like Lincoln's Oldmobile tribute grill treatment more than the Acura shield. I assume since it's on it's way out the Town Car won't get this nose, but what about the Navigator? I wonder if it and Expedition will carry on?

The RX was redesigned for the 3rd gen in '09 for MY '10, can't imagine it's had any updates yet. Don't forget the MKX's main competitor--the new Cadillac SRX.

In those pic, the interior looks pretty decent. But in the convertible rental I drove, the plastics were awful...just felt very cheap and poorly put together.

Cool...looks like a solid, clean car. Good luck w/ it.

'flagship' luxury sedans don't have V6s as their top engines. V12 is a premium prestige engine the big dogs have--7-series, S-class...

Epsilon II is just an ordinary, mass market FWD platform. Even w/ AWD, it's still not remotely premium. You can't compare this kind of generic platform to the kind of fundamentally superior RWD platforms used by other flagships like the S-class, 7-series, LS460, XJ, etc.. This will be fine to compete w/ the ES and MKS, but not big league models. (I know I'm a RWD snob--FWD is fine for subcompacts, compacts, and midsize mass market models. It's not the stuff, though, of flagships or premium models, IMHO).

The large intrusion in the footwell is a side affect of weak FWD design, I think. For some reason, automakers don't add proper wheel house to door length on their FWD platforms.

Ya, something like that would be great..or black w/ baseball glove color leather on the seats and door panels..or black and light buttery tan two tone. Something other than gray.

Looks like www.gm.com has javascript, css, and Flash on the main page.

Yes, but the A8 has north-south engine placement, not a generic transverse engine FWD platform shared w/ cheaper models.

How is the traction on the sloppy stuff? How is the visibility in traffic---I sat in several at the auto show, outward visibility seemed pretty compromised.

Fine...it will be competitive w/ the MKS and RL. Not competitive w/ BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus.

It's obvious from the photos it's based on a FWD platform, probably Epsilon II. The extremely short front door to front wheelwell distance screams FWD. It's a cab forward design, not something previously seen at Cadillac and not something seen in this segment.

Is that realistic, though? How many people are that tall and haul around other people that tall? Basketball teams, maybe, but not the general public..

At least it adds a bit of color to an otherwise depressing gray interior. One thing I've not liked about the V-series models so far are the grim interiors. They need some color..Cadillac should offer the regular CTS interior color and trim choices (tan leather, wood, etc) as options in the CTS-v.