Drew Dowdell

Agressive pricing

Yes, I actually do. You still see lots of older Cadillacs out there. I often see 80s Sevilles and Eldorados specifically because I'm partial to those cars and they catch my eye. No, there aren't as many older BMWs and Benz's out there simply because not as many were sold back then, but also because no one wants to have to afford to keep them on the road. Simple things like brakes cost double or triple on the Germans. A friend of mine gave up on an old S-Class because he couldn't afford keep it on the road. And 80's German build quality was atrocious.

Would be interesting if they put a variable height suspension in it. Then it could drop the height as the speed increased.

That looks a lot better than the Cadillac XT5 spyshots we've seen already

Again irrelevant. In this case they are comparing the CTS 3.6 to the E350 and saying they like it but won't buy one because they're SMK brand snobs. All it takes is for Cadillac is for them to offer the 3.0TT in the CTS. But isn't the "average" luxury car buyer just a brand snob anyway, though? I say average not all. There are the wealthy enthusiasts who want some performance out of their 4 door sedans and going German was about the only way for a long time so they have a lot of reputation built into their name. Yes, the average consumer is a brand snob. But brand snobs like SMK by definition put the badge as the most important attribute over all others and then make up excuses to support their bias. Example: 2015 E350 v. CTS 3.6 - Cadillac has more horsepower, equal torque, one more gear in the gearbox (and a fantastic 8-speed that compares with DCTs out there) less weight, and feels more solid, but the brand snob goes with the Benz because of "cachet" 2015 E400 v CTS V-Sport - Cadillac has more horsepower, LOTS more torque, less weight, feels more solid, same transmission as above, and costs $5k less.... but the brand snob goes with the Benz because of a suede glove box liner or it has 29 speakers instead of just 27 in the Cadillac.

Again irrelevant. In this case they are comparing the CTS 3.6 to the E350 and saying they like it but won't buy one because they're SMK brand snobs. All it takes is for Cadillac is for them to offer the 3.0TT in the CTS.

Bentley will hold the title for a short minute.

I know, right?! It's almost like most crossover buyers don't care about how quickly they can carve through the 'Ring on their way to work.

Announcement: Conversate is not a word.

I fully expect the 3.0TT to make it into the CTS. But in this case the car being compared is the E350 to the CTS 3.6.

Why are you comparing apples to oranges? You're comparing a bunch of Turbo V6es to an NA V6. Cadillac has Turbo V6es also... and the minimum torque rating for them is 400 lb-ft. Why are the Germans 15lb-ft to 135 lb-ft behind Cadillac? I notice you leave out the E350 engine from your list because it doesn't fit your Cadillac bashing narrative as it has 273 lb-ft. While if one selects an E400 with 354 lb-ft for $63k, it gets absolutely destroyed by the CTS V-Sport with 420 lb-ft for $60k. To get close to Cadillac's 420 lb-ft you have to spend: $70k at Audi for an S6 and you'll still fall short in the torque department $65k at BMW for a 550i Even the XTS V-sport has more torque than those.

I'm sure Lexus thinks long and hard about that when it deposits checks for RX350 payments.

At least TWO. Welcome to C&G. I have an '81 Toronado with a mostly the same 307 as well. We have a user here named Ninety-Eight Regency as well. I'm the Ransom E. Olds of these parts. If you have any quesitons or issues with the site, don't hesitate to send me a PM.

I'm pretty sure haldex AWD is exclusive to FWD-based vehicles. The whole point of it is to simulate the performance advantages of RWD with torque vectoring.The CTS doesn't need it. Also, the CTS Vsport that shares the 3.6T engine doesn't currently offer AWD at all. I'm almost certain that you're right that Haldex is exclusive to FWD based vehicles. But Haldex is a company name brand, they could conceivably produce AWD systems for RWD cars as well.

The XTS uses a haldex system, I don't believe the CTS uses that.

An additional software update is to follow. Even though the next gen software wasn't ready yet, they wanted to get the hardware in place to today's buyers could upgrade later.

I look forward to seeing it. It's a solid car overall and after spending a long weekend in a 1 year old Lexus ES, I can safely say that it and the MKZ are more equal than most people would like to admit. However, the areas that I pointed out would help to push the MKZ into a "better overall" position over the ES. I have a complaints list for the ES as well, but I won't pollute the Continental thread with them.

Thanks FAP. I typically post news that I believe, key word here, will be of interest to at least a select few. But after being slapped on the wrist from admin here, who appear to have made the decision themselves that the topic(s) I recently posted was primarily PR and not of interest in an automotive site.....I am now a little reluctant to post what I feel is news, unless I can scrutinize if a bit more, so as to be of more interest to a larger crowd. I kind of view that as a shame, because I like to think of sites like these as accumulations of automotive news, that nobody should determine is worthy or unworthy. Am I wrong in this thinking? Does not matter. It is not my sandbox, I only stop in to play on occasion. But, as I said, I am now reluctant to post news, for good, bad or indifferent. I said nothing of the sort.... and in fact I defended your posting of it even if some of the text of the Press Release was silly, and I did so because the overall subject matter was worthy of discussion. You didn't even take me out of context... you completely changed what I said. What you got slapped on the wrist for was completely unrelated to any PR posting.

No because almost all PR from all companies is nonsense. If we did that, we'd cut off 2/3s of what we talk about around here. Poke holes in the message all you like. Don't shoot the messenger even if you find the messenger annoying.

is there any possible way you guys can just be the bigger man and move on? No reply is needed... just let it go.

I watched it a few times and I think it's a missed shift

Trucks and cars are in different CAFE buckets. Some of the larger trucks don't even count for CAFE standards.

Materials are top notch, and typical in it's segment. When you go top shelf BL, that much more so. And the 2.0L in my Fusion is very smooth and quiet and gutsy. It is even smoother and quieter in my bro's new MKZ. I would hardly say it drooooones. In fact, he raves about how smooth it is......for an I4. But that's what turbos do, they drastically reduce NVH due to routing through cast stainless turbos and fewer rpms as well. Anyway, there are many entry level luxury cars with worst entry level engines. Disagree. In the Black-Line, the materials that are changed over are top notch, however, the materials that carry over from the lesser trims are not. I have 5 primary objections in the interior which aren't addressed even in the BL trim because they aren't changed. 1. The huge flat black plastic center stack. 2. The switchgear - primarily the stalks on the column 3. The dash cover - I know it is supposed to look like stitched leather, but it come off looking like a giant rubber pad instead. 4. The buttons on either side of the center stack for transmission control etc. This may seem a bit picky, but they don't have a high end tactile quality when pressed. Transmission controls done this way are unique to the Lincoln brand and Lincoln must make it a more memorable experience somehow. 5. The Nintendo gameboy chime when starting up that plagues all Fords products. I don't mind it so much in a Fiesta or Focus, but for god sake, it is the single easiest thing to change in a car... give the Lincoln a classier sound. I don't know, I have heard these same complaints in the past, and here is my view: 1. The large center matte black stack is same plastics used by the competition, albeit not glossy black. There is more of it where the shifter used to be, but that's about it. 2. The switchgear has excellent tactile feel. Some of the best out there. 3. Everyone offers the same stitched look. I don't see one looking any better than the other. 4. The shift buttons are still a bit odd to me. I asked my bro how he liked them after about 6 months of use, and he replied with.....meh, their OK. 5. I like the chime. Here is the similar priced Lincoln and Cadillac for comparison. They have an almost identical base MSRP. I really don't see one outshining the other, in any way. http://jeremysaysyes.com/dealer/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2013_cadillac_ats_int_lt_102113_600.jpg Regardless, new MKZ interior should improve the niggles we have heard till now. 1. I wouldn't have used black plastic at all, that's my point. That it is flat black plastic makes it look cheap regardless of the actual cost. 2. The switchgear (again, I am primarily looking at the column stalks in this case) are identical to those in the Focus and Fusion. It is par for their class, but not for the luxury class. 3. It isn't the stitching that I take issue with, it is the material used for the dash cover. It's supposed to look like stitched leather, but instead it looks like stitched rubber. 4. The idea of the shift buttons is sound, I like them. Their operation needs to be more refined. This is a spot where drivers want a good solid feel. Make the buttons metal or give them haptic feedback or something. Just make them feel more substantial. 5. Lincoln needs its own. They should be doing everything possible to distance themselves from Ford and keeping Ford's rather unique (and to me, irritating) chime isn't cutting it.

We're up and in our new digs. Please report any issues you have. I have not yet performance tuned the new server, so it may not feel as fast as the old one at the moment.

You should check back at 9:01pm eastern and find out.