Cadillac CTS: An Aussie Review

[JoeT]

Bigger Than Hollywood

Joshua Dowling
26 January 2008
www.smh.com.au

Cadillac is poised to return to Australia after more than 60 years. Motoring editor Joshua Dowling previews the latest model on its home turf: the streets of Tinseltown.

Elvis Presley loved Cadillacs so much he used to stay up all night gazing at them from his bedroom window. He bought more than 200 of them during his career - and famously gave away about half of them to friends and even the odd stranger.

Cadillacs have appeared in more movies and music videos than any actor or musician and are as much a symbol of American culture as the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.

So where better to get acquainted with a Cadillac than Tinseltown? As with a lot of supposed icons in the United States, Cadillacs are all front - but do they finally have some substance?

To me, Cadillac is shorthand for "old barge", thanks largely to decades of oversized sedans built for cruising, not corners.

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First Drive: CTS Cuts The American Mustard!

Byron Mathioudakis
24 January 2008
www.goauto.com.au

Cadillac's intended successful return to Australia will rest squarely on the shoulders of this $70,000 to $80,000 rear-wheel drive sedan.

Dubbed the CTS, it is the second-generation version of the mid-sized luxury car that will straddle the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series in size as well as price when it arrives in the fourth quarter of this year.

General Motors Premium Channel personnel are not yet saying what the CTS is targeting, but the aforementioned BMWs, as well as the Mercedes-Benz C-class and E-class, Audi A4 and A6, Lexus IS and GS, Alfa Romeo 159, Volvo S80 and Volkswagen’s upcoming Passat CC are all likely prey.

Expect it – and the Cadillac marque – to debut at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney in October, with local sales slated to start soon after that.

The CTS’ BMW-rivalling credentials include rear-wheel drive, a 51/49 front/rear weight distribution, an extremely rigid body, a multi-link rear suspension set-up and advanced direct-injection engine technology.

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[jasaero]

Is this a well known reviewer down there? He says it's the same size as a 3, C, or IS, which is VERY ignorant.

[Hurricane]

Awesome photo! Looks stunning!

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally Posted by jasaero

Is this a well known reviewer down there? He says it's the same size as a 3, C, or IS, which is VERY ignorant.

Have you compared them? It's roughly the same size, a few centimetres longer sure but unless he parked them side by side...

[jasaero]

Originally Posted by Smaart Aas Saabr

Have you compared them? It's roughly the same size, a few centimetres longer sure but unless he parked them side by side...

It's actually about the EXACT same size as a BMW 5-series in EVERY dimension. So unless you can also claim a 3 is the same size as a 5, I am not understanding how you can say a CTS is the same size as a 3??

[Hoosier Red]

Originally Posted by jasaero

It's actually about the EXACT same size as a BMW 5-series in EVERY dimension. So unless you can also claim a 3 is the same size as a 5, I am not understanding how you can say a CTS is the same size as a 3??

I understand this, and I know people here get frustrated about the comparison to the 3, but I honestly believe there are more people who will cross shop the 3 and the CTS than the 5 and CTS. I may be wrong and that's not based on any research - just a hunch. I think that by the time someone is buying a 5, he (usually a he) has pretty much settled on something non-domestic. I look at the 3 as the first reward for some success hence the reason I think more people in this category would be open to the CTS. Personally, I think the CTS beats either Bimmer with the ugly stick and takes off laughing all the way. I just don't care for the new BMW's since they've been Bangled and subsequently softened. They remind me of an aging movie actress who has had one too many facelifts the way the headlights are stretching back. As for the CTS......I can hardly take my eyes off it. I'm a Corvette guy, but I saw a DI in Thunder Gray with the Ebony interior. Simply sex on wheels......I feel guilty admitting that I even briefly considered trading the Vette for it. Fortunately, the CTS's were flying off the lot so quickly here in SoCal I didn't have to think about it too long.

[jasaero]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

I understand this, and I know people here get frustrated about the comparison to the 3, but I honestly believe there are more people who will cross shop the 3 and the CTS than the 5 and CTS. I may be wrong and that's not based on any research - just a hunch. I think that by the time someone is buying a 5, he (usually a he) has pretty much settled on something non-domestic. I look at the 3 as the first reward for some success hence the reason I think more people in this category would be open to the CTS. Personally, I think the CTS beats either Bimmer with the ugly stick and takes off laughing all the way. I just don't care for the new BMW's since they've been Bangled and subsequently softened. They remind me of an aging movie actress who has had one too many facelifts the way the headlights are stretching back. As for the CTS......I can hardly take my eyes off it. I'm a Corvette guy, but I saw a DI in Thunder Gray with the Ebony interior. Simply sex on wheels......I feel guilty admitting that I even briefly considered trading the Vette for it. Fortunately, the CTS's were flying off the lot so quickly here in SoCal I didn't have to think about it too long.

I think it will be cross shopped with the 3 more also, but that is mostly due to nearly identical price stack up and lack of a V8 option in the standard versions. I think some 535i cross shopping will happen for sure also though. Really the pricing and size make it a real odd cross shop in general. Think anyone looking for a 535i, but not interested in highly optioned versions or features that just can't be had on the CTS will definately give the CTS a look if they aren't already BMW loyalists. From what I read in BMW forums though, even loyalists are noticing this car.

PS-Also agree it's better than either the 3 or 5.

[Robert Ryan]

Joshua Dowling is a fairly politically correct Journo. The problem as he states is where is this car going to be positioned. He has already suggested well below the HSV Grange...who knows where Holden will place it?

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

I'm a Corvette guy, but I saw a DI in Thunder Gray with the Ebony interior. Simply sex on wheels......I feel guilty admitting that I even briefly considered trading the Vette for it.

LOL, I know the feeling! The sedan isn't quite enough to make me want to trade in the Vette yet (the CTS-V may be a different story though, hahaha!)...but the CTS Coupe....holy cow am I digging that car...especially if they have a version with a V-8...

(Have kids now and wouldn't mind having a cool car I could drive and have the family with me, too, LOL...)

GM is on a roll!

[JoeT]

Originally Posted by Robert Ryan

The problem as he states is where is this car going to be positioned. He has already suggested well below the HSV Grange...who knows where Holden will place it?

I think it will be interesting to see where it fits in with the HSV Senator, as the HSV Grange is way above it's head in just about every way.

No doubt Wheels or Motor magazines will do a Cadillac CTS vs Holden Calais-V or HSV Senator review. It could make or break the brand Down Under.

[tgagneguam]

...Engineers who have been pummelled by beancounters for years finally have been able to demonstrate their abilities rather than simply cutting corners as well as costs.

You would think that one beancounter among the lot of beancounters who oddly seem to justify cutting costs in just about every way except their own compensation would be able to appreciate that investing in product in the short-term means long-term gains.

Maybe they're just thinking about next quarter in an effort to boost their more immediate bonuses? I'm not quite sure what they're teaching at B schools these days, but I gather it's not ethics and it's not solid, long-term performance of the corporation.

Thankfully, some sense seems to be settling in at GM. Designers and engineers are being allowed to unleash their talent. And in a few years, I gather the beancounters will see how profitable a long-term perspective can be!

[tgagneguam]

The one car that has the potential to put the squeeze on the Cadillac CTS in terms of price, equipment and overt style is the Chrysler 300C.

I'll preface the following by saying that I pretty much always have been a fan of the 300C for a variety of reasons. But the CTS I imagine trumps the 300C in several ways (e.g., interior design/fit/finish; handling) that would make it a compelling buy, despite the 300C's presumably lesser price and, depending on the powertrain, superior horsepower figures.

I'll admit that I also say the above as someone who thinks Cadillac nailed this second generation CTS. Oh, and the coupe will, of course, improve on the sedan!

[RedVee8]

Originally Posted by tgagneguam

I'll preface the following by saying that I pretty much always have been a fan of the 300C for a variety of reasons. But the CTS I imagine trumps the 300C in several ways (e.g., interior design/fit/finish; handling) that would make it a compelling buy, despite the 300C's presumably lesser price and, depending on the powertrain, superior horsepower figures.

I'll admit that I also say the above as someone who thinks Cadillac nailed this second generation CTS. Oh, and the coupe will, of course, improve on the sedan!

I think the point he is trying to make is on the flash / $ and size / $ scales. It depends a lot on where Holden / GM position the CTS on price, remembering that Cadillac hasn't been available as a factory backed new car since WW2 in Oz so has little brand equity.
If they line a 3.6 V6 CTS against the V8 300C, which is bigger and just as flash looking, just as 'in yer face' ...... well, the nicities of the CTS may be devalued against the unknown brand, unknown resale and unknown reliability factors.

[Robert Ryan]

My feeling is $50,000 would be a ceiling. It is really going to compete here with Alfa Romeo, Volvo, not BMW or Mercedes, The 3.6 Alloytec is the Achilles Heel. It is a base grade Holden V6 with Direct Injection..same "buzzy"quality.

[GM lover]

When was Cadillac not sold in Europe, from my understanding GM has never stopped selling Cadillacs in Europe.