Drew Dowdell

9 Volt C1? LOL!

A few points against this: 1. 50% of all fueling stations in the US offer diesel. 2. The typical 700 mile range means that I can drive from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and back, and still have another 100 mile of range to look for a fueling station. 3. It is a simple matter to default the NAV screen to show fueling stations that offer diesel nearby. The database exists already and is community maintained. 4. Diesel is less expensive than gasoline on a cost-per-mile basis. In my area, diesel is currently the same price as premium gas. 5. Finding diesel fuel doesn't appear to be a problem for the Powerstroke, Duramax, and Cummins drivers.

They will have more diesels here eventually I'm sure. It's the diesels that get the good mileage. And they have Smart and the A- and B- class models for mileage (A- and B- coming to the US soon). Now now... if we're not allowed to count "coming models" in the plus column for Cadillac, then one must treat Mercedes the same way.

At the current rate, they are going to be meeting capacity at Lordstown soon.

I love the feel of the CTS-V motor. More than enough refinement to be a fine performance machine but just enough "grit" to remind you of the bits of American muscle car DNA still there. In my mind it's exactly what a high performance Cadillac should be.

What was the Packard ad?

Fleet sales do not hurt Mercedes. They almost seem to enhance their reputation as 97% of all governments own an S-class, and over 100 own an armored S-class limo, and many leaders and dignitaries are driven around the fleeted out cars. You may not like how they operate, but they are in 1st place and have been the most successful luxury car brand worldwide over the past 30-40 years. The question is how does Cadillac (circa 2015) put a vehicle lineup, marketing strategy, etc together to compete with the top tier brands. Cadillac staying status quo and hoping for Mercedes to fall apart is not a good plan. You mean having a bunch of orange and beige Mercedes cabs running around Germany doesn't hurt image at all?

DOHC or not doesn't matter a hill of beans in that regard. For someone who simply wants to go fast with class, power is king, valvetrain configuration is not.

Well if sales numbers equal superiority, then the DTS was about twice as good as the Lexus LS last month... quite an amazing feat for a discontinued vehicle......

Pushrods in the CTS-V aren't a tough sell. All you have to do is say "Five Hundred and fifty six horsepower" It is the HP not the pushrods selling the V. But then again what percentage of the CTS sales are V's. There is a large group of people out there that believe correct or not that German engineering is superior to American no matter how often their BMW has a $1800 issue. Benz and BMW market themselves on techology from safety to performance. People buy into this. and what percentage of 3-series are Ms? The lower end CTS has DOHCs for someone who must have that over power. The M3 isn't sold on being DOHC, it's sold on being high horsepower with relatively low weight. The M5 isn't sold on being DOHC, it's sold on being a V10 with 500hp and great handling despite it's porky weight. DOHC is the least important part of the equation. It's right up there with the great Pushbutton start verse Key twist start debate of 2010. In the end, does it really matter how you start the car or how many cams the engine has if all you're going to end up seeing is a pair of vertical tail lights getting smaller in the distance in front of you? When enough BMW guys experience this phenomenon, they'll get the picture and tell their friends.

At the rate I am driving, 15,000 miles is enough for 4 years.

No one would dare insult the V10 Viper engine and in fact the Hemi probably increases Chryler's image.

Where in the world outside GM fans are they crying and demanding pushrod engines? It may be all you post and I don't disagree but people are buying otherwise. Do they need DOHC no but do most people world wide want and expect it yes. It is like the traction tale for FWD. People today want FWD for the most part because they get better traction. Not true but it is easier to use for the unskilled driver. Point and shoot. It all comes back to preception, ego and wants of the customer. There are many automotive snobs that will refuse a Chevy powered Cadillac no matter what you show them. Smart no but their money is green and you will not get it otherwise. If GM is to keep the LS based engine in their cars they really need a specific Cadillac tuned version that offers what Chevy does not offer. Mine is begger better and fancier, in this class Imsge is king not logic. Where in the world outside of a select few on C&G and a few editors at C&D are people crying out for DOHC? In this class, power is king and the only thing a BMW owner has left to point to is the badge.

Pushrods in the CTS-V aren't a tough sell. All you have to do is say "Five Hundred and fifty six horsepower"

Can I borrow him a couple days? I'm having a groundhog problem.

You give buyers too much credit. My mother just bought a new 535i, and I had to tell her all the mechanical specs on the car AFTER she bought it. Sure, there are buyers who know the specs and stuff. But what keeps being skirted here, and I know that this is a thread about engine offerings and such, is that people still buy mainly because of the BADGE. And with more exclusive equipment often comes more badges... After 3 Park Aves and a Custom Cruiser, my grandmother leased her first 750i not long after my Grandfather died (wealthy but very frugal man who was quite content in his 1983 Ford Fiesta which had replaced his mid-70's Opel Kadet Combi, up until early 2001 when he was forced to stop driving). Her only reason for getting it was "I've always wanted a BMW". First 750i was a lemon and BMW let her step into a lease of a new one for no money out of pocket to get out of her existing lease early. The second one wasn't lemoned, but was constantly at the dealer for warranty work. Burned twice by BMW, she now has a loaded Lacrosse.

The point is he knew this but he had to convince the people at GM to do this. They were focused on filling needs and not wants. He had to show them this is why they were not selling faceless Saturns. Yes GM though Saturn people wanted non discript with little badging and no grills as they just wanted a good friendly dealer to work with. Not it was not till he got involved that Saturn started to look good. But he points out like I have there was no money to market the cars and it was too late to save them. Now you can be snide at Bob but the fact is there was a whole cast of highly intelligent people at GM that had no clue. This is not an isolated thing in buisness. I see it in my own marketing department. Too often the people making and selling the product only think they know their customer. Just look around at the many messed up marketing things going on. You mean like this? Maybe this: Maybe it was this: Maybe this? or this the point is.... in the '90s, could you blame GM for thinking that people wanted faceless little cars?

A-Bodies of all years, lots B-bodies being resurrected (including a two tone Barney purple Roadmaster sedan), a surprising number of first gen Tauruses and Sables, later larger Chrysler K-car sedans, almost all in very clean shape. but you're right, the GM H-bodies, J-bodies, and W-Bodies from 92-99 seem to be fading fast. It's rare to see a functioning Sunfire anymore. Cutlass Supreme coupe is rare/sedan rarer, the Wedge Regal, and the squared off Lumina - all gone. The only older H-body I ever see regularly anymore are the LeSabres. First Gen Chrysler cloud cars are all but gone except for the Sebring Convertibles.

(and I think they will because the S-class is always 10 years ahead of its time) So they're going to introduce eAssist on a big sedan and be 10 years ahead of everyone else? Perish the thought! Was the S-class also 10 years ahead of its time in 1981 when it got airbags 7 years after Oldsmobile? Was the S-class 10 years ahead of its time when it got ABS in 1979, 8 years after Chrysler first offered it? Invalid point. GM briefly experimented w/ airbags around '74, but didn't commit. GM was still putting stupid seatbelts attached to the doors in some cars instead of airbags into the '90s. Same w/ Chrysler and ABS. Don't care if you think it is an invalid point. Lincoln had rear ABS in '69, Chrysler had 4 wheel ABS in '71 and both experimented with it and offered it on and off as they perfected it. Bosch gets all the credit for making it mainstream, but Detroit did it first and in the case of Lincoln, a full 10 years ahead of the Germans. Cadillac had the autotronic eye in '55. You can't say that GM didn't commit to it when it was offered in 4 brands from '73 to '76 (basically till the B-bodies got downsized for '77 and there was no point building it for just the Toronado, the only car with ACRS that hadn't been redesigned for '77 and '78) GM had the first commercially available mutli-displacement engine 25 years ahead of it's time. Sure it flopped, but Cadillac was still innovating ahead of Benz. You simply cannot say "Mercedes did it first" when there are still operational examples of the Cadillac 8-6-4 that are 25 years older than the Mercedes version. Cadillac had night vision first. Cadillac had magnetic ride control first. Cadillac had heads up display at least 15 years before Benz and BMW decided to jump in on the idea. Oldsmobile and Buick had touch screen HVAC/Radio/VIC a full 20 years before BMW could come up with the iDrive idea. Oldsmobile had the first navigation system available in a production car but Mercedes was relatively quick to catch up with Oldsmobile this time and introduced a NAV system on the S-class a mere 4 years later. Cadillac had the idea of slapping luxury car badges on underwhelming economy 4-cylinder FWD cars and selling them to gullible aspirational Americans a full 30 years before Benz caught on. You can't say that Cadillac and GM don't innovate and lead from time to time.

Crossover buyers are mostly sheep. They'll buy what they perceive to be good, that is why the Lexus RX wins the sales crown every year. I'd rather Cadillac make the SRX rear drive, but I would never consider buying any crossover, and I know the market doesn't care. so I have less problem with the SRX being FWD than I do the XTS. I mainly don't like the SRX being front wheel, because it will no doubt lead to more front wheel drive Cadillacs. XTS won't sell 5,000 cars a month, the DTS sells about 1,000 the Lincoln MKS about 1,200. Town Car and STS are dead, S80 and Acura RL don't sell. This is the type of car it is. How is the XTS going to sell at E-class levels, where will the buyers come from? Aside from funeral homes. The ATS might be good, I am glad we know not much about it. I am eagerly awaiting it, because it is probably the only Cadillac in the next 4-5 years that I'd consider. DTS sells 1,000 a month lately, but at their peak, the numbers for the DTS, Lucerne, and STS were all much higher, well over 5,000 in fact. I know the STS is RWD, but have you seen the average STS driver lately? If the XTS looks good to them and has a really nice interior, that will be all it takes to get them in the door RWD or not. The MKS sells poorly because it really is a gussied up Ford. It shares switchgear with the F-150. It's a solid platform, but the interior is a mixed bag at best (recycled parts from lesser models and poor parts fitment/assembly) In my view, you cannot judge what a FWD (most likely AWD) Cadillac would sell like based on the MKS, RL (Accord De Lux LS Brougham), or S80 (just too..... Swedish and not different enough from an S60 visually)

(and I think they will because the S-class is always 10 years ahead of its time) So they're going to introduce eAssist on a big sedan and be 10 years ahead of everyone else? Perish the thought! Was the S-class also 10 years ahead of its time in 1981 when it got airbags 7 years after Oldsmobile? Was the S-class 10 years ahead of its time when it got ABS in 1979, 8 years after Chrysler first offered it?

I just want to send out a Thank You to those members who are helping to keep C&G running right now, a big shoutout to MudMonster and also to all of those who posted the sales numbers for June. I am well on the road to burnout at work. I am away from home for 50% of every month, except this month, when I will have house guests from Germany staying with us for 13 days....... I will be on the road again for the first 14 days of August and most likely away for another 23 days and 14 days in each of September and October respectively. (though two weeks in September are my yearly trip to Germany) But, I have a couple of surprises coming for you guys. We'll be teaming up with a famous old media automotive publication for coverage of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, where my own car is entered (for good parking purposes only), we have press access, and Cadillac lounge VIP access, and there will be coverage of three other large automotive events this year as well. So just because you don't see me post as much doesn't mean I'm not here. Cheers And Gears, Oldsmoboi

Much more of what Chevy has provided with the Cruze. Give the people more than they expect and want as a fair price. People in this class want dramatic but elegant styling, nothing too crazy or odd. Cadillac has that going now and they don't try to copy BMW or Benz as many other try to do. They look like a Cadillac. Along with styling performance is key. They need to get performance suspensions and engines that are special to Cadillac. Even if they share an engine with the Camaro they need to tune it and make it special in some way. Technology sells Audis and other German makes. Brag power has been key in this class for years. In the future it will have to be done in many cases with smaller engines and this is where TT V6 engines play well. It will be interesting to see what other technologies they will apply. They keep building cars like the CTS coupe and sedan and build on what they started they will do well. The ATS I expect will be a leap forward as will the next CTS. They will address things that they could not afford to address in the past. The future ATS and CTS need to be no excuse cars. If Chevy can make the Cruze work they can do well here too. Money and proper funding can make a difference in the final product. We are now just seeing this. Also after reading the Lutz book I can see the product will be more and better focused on the real customers and not the imagined customer by GM think groups. THis is where their misses have come into play. Lutz pointed out great styling sells cars. It may add more of a blind spot like the rear window in the CTS coupe. But if the styling is done right people will let the blind spots fade away and not effect them. It is much harder to sell a car with good sight lines that look crappy. Ever really hear owners of a Ferrari complain about blind spots? +1111 When you are driving a CTS-V coupe, stuff behind you doesn't matter.

Uh..you may not like the SRX, but the public at large disagrees with you and it's second in sales only to another FWD based crossover continuing to beat your beloved X3 (brand new BTW) by 75% in sales while maintaining similar transaction prices. The ATS with it's 3 body styles is about 10 months from showrooms. The CTS continues to do well. The XTS has a very low bar to hit in sales, they can keep a 5,000 car a month pace on that (roughly 1,000 less than the DTS + Lucerne + STS sustained sales rate) and still beat out (deep breath) Chrysler 300 twice over, Hyundai Genesis sedan + Equus twice over, Lexus IS + GS + HS + LS + CT, or Lexus ES about twice over, 5-series, Audi A4 + A5 + A6 + A7 + A8, The entire Acura car lineup, The entire Lincoln car lineup, The entire Infiniti car lineup.....in sales. Even the Escalade that you like to rage on is selling double the Q7, double the Lexus GX+LX, double the BMW X6, about the same as the entire Infiniti SUV/CUV lineup. So while you may think they are flat lining, their sales certainly haven't.

and S-class over 70mpg?..... uh..... right...