The O.C.

Thank you.....you beat me to the punch on the BMW reputation.....but I also agree with you on this....

Well, if that's the case, then I give BMW all the credit in the WORLD for building and maintaining such a powerful brand image......

Go read Road & Track's comparo a year or so ago with a (then new) CTS DI versus the Infiniti G. They had an interesting sidebar to that comparo where they brought along a new 535i.....but didn't include it in the actual comparo because of the drastic price difference between that BMW and the Caddy and Infiniti...... ......their conclusion was that the BMW was indeed worth the extra money. And car rag "journalism" or not....I feel their reasoning made a pretty solid case for their claim......

You wanna hear how out-of-touch with reality Cadillac's (GM's) sales and marketing organization is...? When I worked at the Caddy store in LV......we would get the "Sales Comparison Manuals" for all the Cadillac's models....for sales training, etc..... Caddy very openly stated the 7-Series, S-Class, and Lexus LS460 as "competitors" to the DTS. How laughably ignorant that was......(I think they also included the Town Car.) They would even go so far to indicate in the comparison tables that "Front-Wheel-Drive" was checkmarked as an "advantage" for the DTS.......and the option of a "bench seat" was an advantage because the others didn't offer it. These guys really are clueless......

I tend to really agree with you. Certainly they are fine cars.....having been in plenty of them......but none of the newer Benzes tend to have that rock-solid feel.....the chassis that made it feel like a complete tank, but that actually drove well.....the interior plastics and leather that felt tough as nails....but somehow luxurious because of the attention to detail.....(no one has been able to make vinyl feel as luxurious somehow as Benz with the old MB Tex...LOL) In regards to the two Germans.....I tend to be a fan of older Benzs....and newer Bimmers......

Yeah....you can bash the L's.....but you could do that to almost all of GM's entries during that time period. I had a Beretta once.....I forget what year, but it was when I was working at GM......it was one of the later years.....new interior, 2.8V6, 5-speed......base model but ordered up with the engine and things like the sunroof, etc......I even remember the Eagle GA tires (!) were like a $70 option...... I remember liking the car.....the base exterior, without all the GT model add-ons seemed pretty to me....and the redesigned interior was light-years ahead of the absolute $h!ty interior they first introduced the cars with.... BUT.....the car was an absolute piece of $h!. I don't ever remember having another car in my life that, in the year I owned the Beretta, had as many problems as mine did. One.....thing....after....another.....mechanical, flaking paint, you name it. My best friend in college also had a Beretta for awhile.....a GTZ....and he had just as bad of a time reliability-wise as I did.....

VERY good and true post re: Mercedes' heritage......and Cadillac's...... As much as I love my CTS......I simply was astounded that when I had my 1994 E320 Cabriolet with 100,000 miles STILL felt more solid, tight, rattle-free, and had a much smoother, quieter, and more energetic engine than my Caddy..... UGH.... And I'm a big fan, still, of my CTS at 50,000 miles......but it's nowere nearly as well engineered as that old Benz......truth be told.....

The problem with this car (like the SRX) is not so much the 3.0L DI engine.....but the excessive curb weight.

CTS for '10 also ditches the "base" 3.6L for the 3.0L DI.....with the 3.6L DI remaining optional....

I just think GM is finally wising up and putting higher-quality rubber on their high-performance machines. One more area where cost-cutting doesn't serve you well.....and I'm glad to see them stepping up. (Compared to the day when seemingly every "performance" GM car had "Eagle GTs." LOL)

Good to be back! Thanks bud...... I moved back to O.C.....don't remember if I told people......but in the job I have right now, it's really tough to surf C&G during the day.....and I'm usually too exhausted at home to spend much time on here. But it's been kinda slow today. How have you been? (Sorry guys not trying to sidetrack thread by saying hello to Mr. Croc)

Oh I know there are different versions of the Pilot Sports.....I just forgot which one ZR-1 got. The CTS-V (and FE3 CTS ironically) both come with Pilot Sports too......(again, I forget the version.)

Buick has the ES350 KILLED for style.....but lets wait and see how the fit-and-finish, switchgear quality, and material quality end up..... The ES350, after sitting in so many of them, is finished to an impeccable high standard.....it truly is hard to beat (regardless of what you think of the actual STYLE of the dash and interior.) Oh, and that "wood-stopping-in-the-middle-of-the-cupholder" thing is outrageously expensive to do. What merit it presents I guess is up to personal taste.

HAHAHA.......I was thinking the same thing Reg.......Susan's little disclaimer to the press.....in case this new Buick flops. I hope it does really well. It's a nice car. Don't you know that if this car takes off.....they will find any kind of production capacity to meet demand. If people are screaming for it, don't you know they won't be "limiting production to boost image."

Speaking of Asian designs......in a weird way.....I'm getting turned on more and more by some of the Korean products I'm seeing.....versus the Japanese products.... I'm not saying I'm in love and ready to go out and by a Kia or Hyundai......but..... ......there is NO question for the same amount of money....I'd take a Genesis 4.6, style-wise, anyday versus the hit-with-an-ugly-stick Acura TL......Genesis sedan may be somewhat derivative, but I find it a tasteful, attractive, and expensive-looking sedan. ......and while I wouldn't take one over a Camaro or Mustang, I really like the aggressive looks of the Genesis Coupe. I would take a 2.0T model over a very-similarly-priced Honda Civic Si Coupe..... Finally, I'm really liking the new Kia Forte and upcoming Koup. Just a solidly-attractive little sedan and coupe....

"Setting a new Pontiac standard" doesn't really say much......LOL I have no serious issues with the G8 interior. And I really like the seats. But I do think in many ways it verges on the bland side. Not crazy about the materials.....the pimple-effect dash and door pads remind me of the often-maligned materials in my '07 CTS.... The new LaCrosse interior seems to far surpass the G8's (at least from pictures.)

I agree....I post on here not just because I like only GM......I like cars in GENERAL......and if there happens to be a Toyota or Honda product I like, i'm not embarrased to say so....

Don't forget the impact that tire brand and choice has on handling performance. The ZR-1 has been lauded for it's use of, was it, Michelin Pilot Sports, or something? The Z51 and Z06 on Eagle F1s has never seemed to be quite as effective. From what I hear, as top-high-performance tires go.....the Eagle F1s are not that impressive.

Okay....I've read a rumor, and maybe you guys have heard it.....that Car & Driver might be leaving Ann Arbor to combine many operations with it's sister mag, Road & Track, in Newport Beach, CA.? At first, I thought "no" because....didn't they just move into new editorial offices in Ann Arbor? Then I read that one of the reasons Csaba Csere (who I've always liked) left C&D at the end of last year was because he didn't like the direction the magazine was taking....and admist rumors that they were leaving Michigan to move to CA to combine many operations with R&T (which would make some economic sense considering they are both owned by the same publisher...?) What have you guys heard? Also heard anything else about what Csaba Csere will be doing?

What's amazing is that Chevy starting putting a $h!load of SS Impalas in the rental fleets. Seemed there for a good while, all the "fleet" Impalas (with the barcode in the glass) were SS models....I was shocked....

San Jose had its tough times for a few-year period a few years back with the dot.com bust. I remember driving around San Jose and seeing office park-after-office park with beautiful, new, gleaming office towers....with empty parking lots....during the weekday. But I think it has (relatively-speaking in today's tough economy) rebounded a bit. Probably expanded some back-office operations, etc. I really worry about what SE MI will do to recover. Cities like Pittsburgh, that used to be so reliant on the steel industry, have done a postcard job of it....but I worry that areas like Flint and Detroit simply do not have the infrastructure in so many ways to rebound, build new industries, or most importantly, attract young, educated workers.

See to me, (and I used to live there) even the suburbs of Detroit have a decaying, worn-out feel.....even the nicest ones. Rural Michigan is a different matter. Towns can be quaint and pretty, and the countryside can be pretty.

What's amazing is that a city like San Jose, CA., has now out-grown Detroit (and is the largest city in the Bay Area, surpassing San Francisco's ~ 750K.)

Yeah....that always shocked me.....when flying into LAX from places easterly, you begin your initial descent somewhere over Palm Springs and the entire 30mins of descent is over ever-increasing urban development....it really is shocking. Most places I fly into, even larger cities, you really don't come in over develpment until more towards the final descent.....

Yeah but too many times it's the kinda fake "yes, we love you in God's eyes".....but they always have to add that "everyone sins, and you will be forgiven in heaven." To me, it's not true acceptance from the heart......it's more like "pity" because you are "gay and a sinner".....