Drew Dowdell

I think you missed my point. Why send the ATS or CTS? The Euros won't by those either. No, I got your point (even the unspoken part about diesels). My point is that the CTS and the ATS (I'm confident), are legitimate competitors. The XTS is not. Even with diesels, they won't sell. As I've said before, the cars could be powered by Jesus on a pogo stick and the Cadillacs will. not. sell. Everyone here needs to remember, the current CTS actually did go on sale in the EU prior to GM's bankruptcy. It went over like burnt schnitzel. The Euros are substantially more brand conscious and unthinkably more brand-country-of-origin conscious than we are in the US. It's why the Opel Antara would sell but the Chevy Captiva doesn't. Just a quick glance on some German used car websites and I'm finding undamaged 2008 CTS 3.6 liters with 20,000 miles for 10,000€ while 335is with more miles start around 17,500€ GM would actually probably be better off badging them as some sort of luxury Opel rather than Cadillac. There is an unusual amount of respect for the Omega over there. The ATS could be the new Omega.

I think you missed my point. Why send the ATS or CTS? The Euros won't by those either.

You've driven it already then? No need. Simply knowing what it is tells me that it is very wrong for Europe. I hope you'll have your review of the car finished in time to publish it before it's released. C'mon Drew, it's a big, FWD, American sedan - do you honestly think it has a market over there? I don't think ANY American car has a market over there... ATS, CTS, DTS, XTS, MKS......wait, got a little carried away there. Cadillac could fuel it with bratwurst and the Germans still won't buy it. Cadillac could fuel it with cheese and the French still won't buy it. Cadillac could fuel it with junk bonds and the Greeks still won't buy it. They DON'T buy the Camaro. They hardly bought the Chrysler 300 even with a diesel. If there is any American car you see over there more than others it's wretched Chrysler Minivans, Oldsmobile Silhouettes badged as Pontiacs/Opels, and the oddball B-body wagon probably imported by an American military person.

I see the new Chevies are in early this year.

You've driven it already then? No need. Simply knowing what it is tells me that it is very wrong for Europe. I hope you'll have your review of the car finished in time to publish it before it's released.

have fun

Unless you elaborate on your reasoning, I think your theory on needing a full generation of the two entry sedans is arbitrary and capricious. Also, I don't care what AUDI is doing. They aren't the goal. You gotta determine your competition and do one better. Cadillac has clearly set the crosshairs on MB and BMW, so that's what they need to focus on and then do one better: RWD high-end vehicles with plenty of performance. FWD doesn't do performance. It can perform well (relatively), but it still ain't performance. This too. Here is my elaborate reasoning: It's a waste of time and money to try and change the minds of the Europeans in the S-class range until the bread and butter C-Class and E-class range is doing better. The Germans and French are a stubborn lot.

You've driven it already then?

I think Cadillac will need at least a full generation of both the CTS and ATS selling well in the EU before they should bother with a top end sedan. The XTS can be a filler in the meantime and it will hold the place till the ZTS-whatever comes out. Remember, the Whitacre Caddy is supposed to bow in 2014. Edit: Remember, all of the Audis sell with FWD as standard.... this is the first year the A8 is not available in just front drive, even the A7 comes with front track standard.

I think they need to start at the bottom and work their way up. Offer a BMW busting diesel ATS and CTS first. Let them wet their whistle on those. Um, no. With all due respect, launching Cadillac from the low-end up will make it just that much harder for Europe to take it seriously on the same level of BMW and Mercedes. Cadillacs are jokes to Europeans, and quite frankly they need to put their best foot forward. No SAAB-based BTS. Joke. Stick to the premium. Hell, sell them the Chinese SLS. In fact, sell that $h! HERE. But Cadillac needs to re-launch in Europe with both fists swinging, not with their hands tied behind their figurative back. Cadillac needs to be seen by the most eyes possible in Europe. That means they need to get the butts of as many mid-level execs who get company cars (a very common occurrence in EU) into seats. Mid-level execs don't get S-classes. They get A3s, A4s, 320di, and C-classes... almost always in diesels. Cadillac selling 12 S-Class level cars in the EU isn't the way to gain visibility there..... though I suppose they could whore them out to the Taxi-cab fleet like Mercedes has.

Putting out a diesel is not difficult. Putting out a class leading diesel is. But... just dropping in the Opel 2.0 CDTI Bi-turbo engine is a start. 190hp @ 4000 rpm, 300 lb-ft @ 2000 rpm is "good enough", especially for the ATS. They do need a Diesel V6 though... something that has been missing since the Opel Signum got axed a few years back. They really needed that 2.9 liter they developed for the '08 CTS but never deployed.

So lets give the aging baby boomers a car that can blow away the Avalon and Lexus. Fixed.... and I don't mean in acceleration specifically.

I think they need to start at the bottom and work their way up. Offer a BMW busting diesel ATS and CTS first. Let them wet their whistle on those.

Don't bother until there is a diesel available.

Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition. It's a gasoline engine that works like a diesel (not using spark) under certain conditions. Direct injection is required for it to operate correctly. Provides very high fuel economy numbers, but so far has issues with NHV when "shifting" modes.

soo... about that LT-1?

To be fair. Ricky Martin has a fairly busy touring schedule.

No, the problems start when ideas morph into agendas. Agendas are the reality context into which ideas fit..kind of hard to have ideas without context. I disagree. Agendas (at least in the way I'm using the word) are when people attempt to morph facts to suit the agenda holder's desired outcome. Some of the agendas I've encountered have little to no basis in reality.

Exactly my point. Politics is nothing but philosophy's stupid brother. The parties dumb things down even further than that. I'd rather know what someone thinks about a given topic than hear whatever the party line happens to be. Toss the labels and the hot button words, hidden agendas, and agreement becomes easier. fixed.... though some of them aren't really all that hidden.

and technically able to fit (because it was available in the Riviera) is any North-South Buick 3.8 liter V6 including the turbo. Wait a minute... wasn't the 3800 S/C mounted North-South in the Commodore?

As far as fitment goes, of course: diesel WAS the Olds 350, and the V8-6-4 WAS the 368, so those 4 engines are only 2. Also on this list was the 4.1L V6. Retro-fitting an STS Northstar system into a E Touring Coupe would be a hoot n a half. Still sharp designs, esp the TCs. http://www.oldcarbro...adillac-09.html Wondering if a 472/THM425 would fit- still a pretty long hood there.... THM425 has no torque steer issues. use electric pusher fans instead of a belt driven fan, remove the corresponding shrouding, and you'll get over a foot of additional space to play with between the engine and radiator.

I like... The old Saab 9000 had a tach with an orange range labeled "Efficiency" or something like that. The premise being that if you kept the tach in that range while accelerating, you were getting the best fuel economy you were going to get.

Radiator swap should be fairly easy. I did it on the Toronado in about 2 hours and I have transmission cooler lines that hook up to mine. That the coolant reservoir fooled you is an indicator that your radiator cap could be bad... or it could be that due to the leak the radiator couldn't build up enough negative pressure to draw excess coolant back into the system and instead just sucked air through whatever hole you have in the unit. Radiator caps are cheap. Get a new one when you replace the radiator itself. While you have everything apart, if the lower radiator hose is easy to access, just replace it while you're under there. You have no idea how long it's been there.

It would have to be a northstar from an STS, but I'm not sure the transmission would handle the torque. Ah, yeah..the Eldo of that generation was a north-south FWD, not transverse..that generation had a lot of available engines..diesel, Olds 350, 368, V8-6-4, 4100.. The 368 would be my first instinct if looking to stay vintage. Otherwise, I'd want an LT-1, but you still run into the torque issue.

It would have to be a northstar from an STS, but I'm not sure the transmission would handle the torque.