Drew Dowdell

I will admit that the ergonomics of getting in and out of the car are awkward at first, but after just a week with it, I've become and expert at it even in tight spaces. Not even an issue now. When I have the driver seat configured for my 5'10" self, I cannot sit in the back without my knees hitting the back of the front seat. I also have to crouch a little or my head touches the roof. The balance of the chassis is sublime. You sit so far aft relative to other vehicles that it feels the two ends of the car are rotating around you when you make a turn. Assembly wise Chevy gets an A. Fit and finish is perfect. Ergonomically, the only challenges are getting into and out of the Camaro. Once you're in, everything is easy to reach and use. I'll say this, I have never been a Camaro or F-body kinda guy. I gravitate to the CTSes, Lacrosses, and XTSes. This Camaro is so much fun it has me re-thinking those preferences. I don't have a kid (yet) so there is no logistical reason I couldn't have one of these as a daily driver. Those of you who know my vehicular preferences will realize what kind of high praise that is. Think.... 68 giving serious consideration to adding a 4-door FWD 4-cylinder to his fleet.

If the CTS was on EPII and AWD standard with the ability to direct the torque to the rear like the Regal GS does, I wouldn't have a problem with it as long as it continued to run with the Germans on handling performance. The CTS is also designed to be a sportier car than the XTS is intended. If the ATS were to end up on Delta II with AWD standard and they have it out handle the Cobalt SS, as long as it looks like a Caddy like the XTS does, I don't have a problem with it happily smacking around A4s all day. All of that because I don't care which way the engine is oriented... or even what fuel, if any, it burns, as long as it gives me the results I desire. Cadillac could produce a 10,000 rpm, 5 liter, diesel, 1 cylinder and I wouldn't care as long as it had the refinement and power I expected from the car.

I still fail to see how if the car is AWD, the orientation of the engine makes any difference to the percieved value of the car. Engine can be on the roof for all I care, I just want the power and the handling, the comfort and the refinement. We've already extrapolated that the XTS will be balanced roughly the same as the A8, so what difference does the direction of the engine make?

Isn't RWD just as "generic"? Here in Pittsburgh you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a 3-series and we're soundly a GM town. I can't imagine what it's like in the "import" towns. You don't get much more generic and ubiquitous than a Crown Vic.

The value in defending the car is that the attacks are unjustified. Cadillac produced a handsome car with all of the technogadgets people like SMK demand and people are in here harping on aspects of it that no one in the target market will care about.

You mean like all of those "fleet special" cabs that underpin the E-class and S-class? Or the loss leader, VW Jetta competitor 3-series that underpin the M3. Doesn't it bother you how the M3 is based on a car used in german rental fleets that only has a 2 liter engine, cloth seats and crank windows? Doesn't that change your perception of how good a car the M3 really is? Doesn't it bother SMK that his beloved Jaguar XF is on a platform used by a lowly Ford thunderbird that belly flopped hard in the U.S.? When you land in Frankfurt airport, does the value of the E-class in the U.S. dramatically diminish when you see all of those orange and cream colored E-class cabs sitting out in front?

Really? In just the RDV or everything? I had a first year 3.6 and had no issues with it.

What defines "failure"? Will it pry people out of V12 Benzes and BMWs? Doubtful, but then again it wasn't intended to do that ... ever. Will it pry people out of lower end S-Classes and 7-series? Possible... even more so if gas creeps back up to $5 a gallon. Could it grab someone like my grandmother who currently drives a 7-series but for years bought Park Aves? Certainly. Could it pull in people who's jaw hurts from yawning so hard while driving their LS? Highly likely. Will it ensure owner loyalty of any current STS or DTS driver? Most certainly, keeping current customers is as important as pulling new ones in. If Cadillac can do both with the same car, then great! Do many people outside of car enthusiasts care about "FWD proportions"? As long as they aren't in the extreme, no not really. Could anyone outside of car enthusiasts tell you from looking at the car that it was FWD, RWD, or AWD? highly unlikely Would they care either way? Unless they are in the snowbelt or a car enthusiast, probably not. Cars are mostly subjective purchases. If someone finds the car attractive, in their price range, and has the features they want/need, they'll buy it. Most don't care if it's FWD or RWD.

The XTS is AWD.

it sounds like you need a stove pipe cleaning and a new door seal.

"Domestic" in this case refers to all of Europe much like we in the U.S. would consider the Impala a domestic even though it's built in Canada. To people in the EU, where it's built is more important than the nationality of the brand. People in the EU will buy from the EU before buying import. Hence your Spanish made Fiesta and Focus. If the XTS were sold in the EU badged as an Opel but built in Oshawa it wouldn't do as well as if it were badged as a Cadillac but built in Frankfurt. The day they start importing Insignias from Canada into the EU, the Insignia will lose it's status there. edit: and I don't disagree about the STS's handling, but that wasn't because it was FWD... as the Audi proves.

They didn't even have one at the show that I recall.

The '97-'04 Seville also didn't have: 1. hybrid V6 2. didn't have AWD and the Europeans are scared $h!less of FWD like some of you folks here, so that wasn't the issue. Audi sells nearly all of its models in Europe with just FWD. 3. didn't have the interior the XTS has I think it had more to do with the fact that Europeans are much more attune to what buying imported products does to their economy. There was a huge stink a few years ago about former West German manufacturing jobs moving to former East Germany in search of cheaper labor. If they kicked up that much fuss about jobs moving elsewhere inside the same country do you really think they are going to be lining up for a car build in Oshawa, Ontario or Hamtramak Michigan?

Let me say, without reservations, that the backup system is standard because it's necessary.

Awesome vid!

There are still two more shows this season, don't count GM out yet.

The RDV could also have the 3.6HF

Truth!

My plans are already set in stone. Realistically, the earliest I could be there is probably 10:30 to 11. I'll be coming from North NJ

because no one will be taking the XTS... or LS... or A8... or 7-Series...or S-Class... out for a spin on the Nurburgring after church.

Makes a big difference how?

I'm guessing a B-body.

I know of a barn in south eastern PA that recently had a few spaces open up.

closest without going over. [img]http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Technology/images/the-price-is-right-bob-barker.jpg[/img]

Most people in the target market for the LS... or even the 7-series... will never be in an opportunity to test the end of the XTS's abilities. My 80 year old grandmother drives a 7-series... she's on her second one after 3 Buick Park Aves, an Oldsmobile 88 and the car that got me into cars in the first place, a 1978 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser diesel. Think she cares about driving dynamics? Her big objection is having to get the tires changed over twice a year, something she never needed on her Park Ave. edit: It didn't occur to me until just now how bad it was that she went to the 7-series after the Park Ave. She did that after my grandfather died. My grandfather owned an OEM supplier the supplied Ford and GM.