Drew Dowdell

Unlikely since so few people have actually met one. I really liked the Kazashi when I checked it out on the NY Auto show floor, but I've yet to drive one. I should send a note to Suzuki to see if I can get a press car.

1.5 trillion to "Liberate Afghanistan Iraq Libya who's next?"

This is a thread where I'll be happy to be wrong, however, I still think Cadillac isn't going to make headway into Europe any time soon..... and I don't think the XTS will have anything to do with it. Neither the CTS nor ATS will sell either.

Think so? How well does Dodge, Chrysler or Chevrolet do there? The Opel Antara wasn't a huge smash it in the EU, but compared to the Chevrolet Captiva, it might as well be a Toyota Camry. The only thing Dodge managed to sell was Caravans. Fiat has the right idea to rebadge Chryslers as Lancias. Edit: As I mentioned before, Ford is the exception to that rule because they've had a strong R&D and production presence in the EU for many decades. Their Fords are (rightfully so IMO) considered European cars because they have been design by and for Europeans. Opel, despite GM ownership since WWII, has that same deference directed towards it.

headroom actually feels slightly better in the convertible

that too.

Folding operation is superb, I'm going to try and get a video of it. Material quality on both sides of the seems sturdy.

1. More in the straight line. I haven't clocked 0-60, but I wouldn't be surprised if other outlets refer to it as "leisurely" 2. The build quality, fit and finish is really tight on this one (as was the last), but at $36,000 no automatic climate control? no full color DIC? the speedometer is still hard to read, thank god for the HUD.

Happy Birthin day!

Because so many people include AUDI when cross-shopping such luxury sedan "driver's cars" as the BMW 3er, 5er or 7er or the M-B C-Class, E-Class or S-Class. I give up. Enjoy your XTS kool aid. My XTS kool aid is that I think it won't sell AND neither will the ATS nor CTS? What I'm saying is that even a Lacrosse can be at least 98% as athletic as a base A6. I'm thinking a Cadillac with Magnaride can do better. You don't seem to get that I don't think Cadillac should bother with the Europeans at all. It is a waste of money. Cadillac should concentrate on emerging markets where they don't think they invented the automobile and have never been surpassed since. No, I don't get that at all from your previous posts, since you've been doggedly responding to me throughout 5 pages of this thread although MY argument has always been that the time isn't right and it's a bad idea. So if we're in agreement, and I'm somehow missing something, why 5 pages of back-and-forth and trying to legitimize the XTS' existence by bringing up Citroen and AUDI comparisons? Citroen isn't for sale on these shores, so I cannot imagine what other point you'd be trying to make with your posts. You don't think me saying Cadillac could fuel it with bratwurst and the Germans still won't buy it wasn't clear enough? The drive wheels of the XTS ... or CTS... or ATS... matter little in how well those vehicles will do in the EU. The biggest hindrance to sales is the country of origin of the badge. That is born out by the fact that the FWD Citroen and A6 still sell over there for a lot more money than the RWD CTS.

Don't discount the new A6 just because it comes standard with FWD. It has an aluminum intensive body, longitudinally mounted engine, and 55/45% weight distribution -- a very different animal from Epsilon II. And if the XTS were theoretically to come with a small diesel, it'd share the unit from the 9-5, which just isn't as good as the "world-class" (sorry) A6's. It's less powerful, slower, emits more, and consumes more. Well that's more a function of the diesel engine than the rest of the car. That diesel in the Audi would produce the same results. I discount the base Audi A6 because I've driven it for a week around Germany. It was not something to write home about.... as you see, I didn't right a review. The 3-series is a substantially better car driving wise. Yet the A6 sells.

Because so many people include AUDI when cross-shopping such luxury sedan "driver's cars" as the BMW 3er, 5er or 7er or the M-B C-Class, E-Class or S-Class. I give up. Enjoy your XTS kool aid. My XTS kool aid is that I think it won't sell AND neither will the ATS nor CTS? What I'm saying is that even a Lacrosse can be at least 98% as athletic as a base A6. I'm thinking a Cadillac with Magnaride can do better. You don't seem to get that I don't think Cadillac should bother with the Europeans at all. It is a waste of money. Cadillac should concentrate on emerging markets where they don't think they invented the automobile and have never been surpassed since.

I wouldn't call it on par with the coupe, but it's better than other convertibles. See for yourself... I don't have the tonneau cover hiding the folding top in any of the pictures. It actually looks very clean.

So an XTS with an efficient and clean diesel sold in EU would be right up your alley then? Audi is already selling a ton of FWD sedans in the EU now. The XTS diesel with oh, I dunno X-Wheel Drive available would fit right in to what Europeans expect.

I think that it's a stunning vehicle for the price... and a few price brackets above it as well.

Final assembly will always be limited in it's geo-diversity, but component production doesn't need to be. And there is a difference between a strike and a natural disaster. GM could build a whole shipload of Regals in China if the UAW strikes, but they couldn't get them to market because the Teamsters would likely refuse to carry them. (I believe a similar scenario has happened before)

You realize what you're advocating is a decontenting of the Cadillac vehicles?

Yes, rearward visibility is worse than the coupe. GM would do well to offer lane change warning/blind spot warning in this version of the car. I actually had difficulty pulling out into traffic at one intersection today because it's at an odd angle. I experienced no such problems with the CTS-V Coupe. Trunk space is minimal either way..... but it's microscopic with the top down. Noise... well it's no Buick Lacrosse inside. It's mostly muted, but there were two occasions where a train came by and I thought one of the rear windows was down.

I can imagine it being able to lock if the power is removed while it is engaged, but not having a parking brake that will engage without a power source would seem to me to run afoul of some state laws. And how would it be disengaged if power is not present? A parking brake should be a purely mechanical device, functional whether the engine is running or not. Making it electronic seems pointless..are other automakers doing such nonsense also? What's wrong w/ a foot- or hand- operated parking/emergency brake? Those have worked well for decades... AFAIK, Ford started the trend with the Lincoln LS in 2001, but recently, GM has put it into more widespread use.

I'm arguing that Geo-Diverse Production is the only way to mitigate against natural disaster and has nothing to do with globalism. I'm not even sure what you're arguing with me about. They are two different concepts that are completely independent of each other. If anything, I'm defending globalism in this case by not allowing it to be blamed for production outages when it is in fact the lack of geo-diverse that is at fault.

I assume it still has a normal parking brake pedal, then. All the electric is doing is automating a manual device. I ask, as I'm wondering how a completely electric parking brake would work... the fail-safe, essentially... you don't want the car rolling down a hill if the battery is disconnected. Nope. No pedal.

If the Volt transmission was manufactured in New Orleans in 2005, there would be a problem as well. What's your point? My point is that the system is highly distributed so a disaster in one locale only slightly affects global supply, not a catastrophic loss. Which is actually proving to be false. Mazda just halted new vehicle orders from dealers. Lines all over the world are shutting down. Last I checked there are plenty of other manufacturers you can choose from. Which has NOTHING to do with globalism and everything to do with geo-diverse production. As you apparently missed in my post, it is entirely possible to be geographically diverse WITHOUT globalism.

The Shadow wouldn't pass inspection here in PA

03/25/2011 - TORRANCE, Calif. Honda will voluntarily recall 2,800 model-year 2011 Odyssey vehicles in the U.S. to replace the side window glass in one or both of the front doors. Honda is taking this step because there is a potential for one or both windows to become detached from the window regulator, causing the window to become inoperative and preventing it from being rolled up or down. In the worst case, the window may bind and shatter onto the occupants. No crashes or injuries have been reported related to this defect. Honda is announcing this recall to encourage all owners of affected vehicles to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer as soon as they receive notification of this recall from Honda. Notification to customers will begin in mid-April 2011. When Honda identifies concerns of this nature, nothing is more important to the company than fulfilling our obligation and responsibility to alert our customers. To this end, in addition to contacting customers by mail, in mid-April, owners of these vehicles will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line to www.recalls.honda.com or by calling (800) 999-1009, and selecting option 4.

Word on the street is the CTS Coupe has made it for at least another generation. I believe the big uptick in CTS sales recently is coming mostly from the addition of the coupe.