Drew Dowdell

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...

Cruze easily for me - I value the smoothness and quietness that it has which both of the others lack (though the Civic is close in engine smoothness)

Can I ask why the 4-cylinder would remain iron block?

No more than $70. Roll of dimes is $5, and you're not getting more than 14 rolls of dimes in a mason jar.

I don't understand what really would need to even be changed for retail sale. I'm not saying that GM should advertise it and market it like the Malibu. But the people who want one should be able to walk in and buy one. If there is enough of a business case to import the thing here for the police fleets, there is enough of a business case to load a couple extra on the boat for civilian duty to be sold at full MSRP. The repair parts will have to be made available soon for the second hand market anyway.

check the robustness of the front inner fenders, they have a tendency to rot and wouldn't pass inspection that way.

The "uphill" part may have been what killed me...... btw, I didn't say it wast a fast race..,.

I was wondering where you disappeared to. I'm hearing rumor that Buffalo's Central Terminal is going to be added as part of a high speed train line from NYC to Chicago. You hear anything about that? I figure my next big trip will be out west... not sure how I'd manage doing that in a train. Maybe get the GF on board (no pun intended) with a hybrid train trip out there, and a road trip back in some newly-acquired rust-free California classic. I have been living in Marriots for most of the past 3 weeks. I've been in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, back home and Chicago again. If you go out west (or take any big Amtrak trip for that matter) talk to me first. I have all the tips and tricks on finding good deals on rooms. Right now the Empire Builder that runs from Chicago to Seattle is closed indefinitely due to flooding. There is no proposed high speed line between Chicago and NYC that is even passed the "dream" stage at this point. Almost all of the new high speed work is going to be radiating out of Chicago for now because Chicago and Illinois have the vision of increased commerce and travel into the state. The first line to be completed will run from St. Louis to Chicago in 2:45. You can't beat that with an airline. The other one will be a mid-highspeed rail (not true HSR, but still 110mph) between Detroit/surrounding area and Chicago.

I'm thinking it was gearing. It was my great grandfather's car. Despite being quite wealthy and president of a large company, he was also very frugal. It was a mildly optioned Caprice Classic, and I can see him in 1982 after the fuel crises ordering the V6 Caprice with the tallest gearing possible so as to get good highway mileage.

I"ve seen that too. There was an old B-Body website years ago that had that. The owner even swapped out the steering wheel and airbag covers with ones from an 88 I think.

*shrug* I dont think many people would. I see them in person around Detroit all time and they couldn't look more bland. Past that, the cost of importing them would really harm the business case. I think the point that I was trying to make was that GM is already importing them for Police use. If a few people are willing to pay $35k for a "detective" unit, GM should take the money and run. Why would they care where the money comes from as long as it's green? As for parts, the parts will already be here to support the police departments.

If people will buy it, why should GM say no?

GM's "DUH" meter is at redline.

Only 52mpg? He must be racing it. As an aside, it was when I was passed, up hill, by a similar vintage Rabbit diesel while I had my foot pinned to the floor in my '83 Caprice 3.8 litre that I resolved to be rid of that car ASAP....... but it did get 30mph highway.

problem solving, trouble shooting, inventiveness. I've been on the road for the most of the last 3 weeks. I came up with an invention during the trip that would be something GM in particular would be interested in that improves efficiency of an engine. I already know that it works, I just don't know how to go about developing the idea.

Here's the point. It has a better torque curve (peaks @ lower rpm, overall flatter) than a Northstar V8 at less than half the displacement.

For comparison's sake again: Subaru Impreza WRX STI*: 17/23, 305 hp Mitsubishi Lancer Evo*: 17/23, 291 hp Honda S2000: 18/24, 232 hp Dodge Caliber SRT4: 19/27, 285 hp MAZDASPEED3: 18/26, 263 hp Regal GS: ??/28, 270 hp ... and I'd venture that the Regal GS is more liveable day-to-day than any of these five cars... and not just because it's a size class or two bigger, either. * - yes, they have AWD. But yes, they're still lighter than the Regal. What Camino is saying there is that a 3.6L DI could have been very well used in the car to give the desired or better results of performance with equivalent fuel efficiency, contrary to what general perception is being filtered about turbo-charging smaller engines to have equivalent power numbers of a larger engine to see tremendous gain in fuel economy. and utterly destroyed the very good (for a FWD) weight balance that the Regal has.

No TSA for me whenever possible. I just did a round trip to Chicago for work on Amtrak. Got a great night sleep each way. The steak is great and the french toast even better..... both are included with the room charge. Most of the trip was done in my sleep.