U kno what just occurred to me ??? That according to people like mgescuro.. Cadillac can only be considered top tier Luxo if it offers these things U posted in their BASE CAR... even if they charged the Platinum price... Meaning there would be NO PLATINUM editions... the Platinum edition would be the ONLY car.. with all of those options... with that particular price..
The STS culd have pulled that off IMO... if it were larger, had a more powerful engine, a better laid out interior (like the CTS), and a more "complicated and frustrating" user interface like IDRIVE.. OH.. and add some nice Fender Flares and curves... ala CTS as well
And I agree with that point of view... that Cadillac should not offer anything BARGAIN... Price them as high as they can but make sure they have amenities that can compete well with the competition...
==============The Meat and Potatoes of yet again... Another Cmicasa the Great XVX Rant===============
On that note... Most people don't realize and are too stupid to kno that U can get the complete driving experience of a BMW in a Pontiac... Most people will not wish to admit such a thing.. but U can. U can get almost all the options of a Benz.. in a Honda or Chevy now... The market is resting on false pretenses of the past...
But who cares.. throw moronic superficial realizations to the wind. In the end scenario it's all about the badge.
So How do U.. as an America Luxo company with a grand history, scores of potential, and a parent company that is a slave to it's own past successes and failures... proceed?
The Line-Up as it is makes for a Scary thought... We are currently being left... after the death of the XLR and the "lame duckness" of the STS and DTS.. with just the CTS, CTS wagon, SRX, and Escalade...
Has Cadillac become a 3 car company??? With GM completely betting this Mega-Icon's luck on essentially one mainstream luxo sedan and it's derivative wagon???
GM has always bewildered me. They must automatically have a success... right out the gate.. or that product is dead.. DEAD.. DEAD. In fact some times the product is a success.. and they still kill it due to some less than stellar perception that they themselves were responsible for (think Cobalt being renamed Cruze)
Oh Oh... so back to what I was thinking... CADILLAC... A viable line-up... in the absence of the fluff.
Why not take the XLR's demise as an opportunity? I love that car.. it beautiful.. unique, performs as well or better than it competition.. but it would be better suited to a company like VW/Audi... than one like GM/Cadillac. VW/Audi tends to be patient with it's offerings.. watching them grow... improving upon the weaknesses and following thru... GM missed a huge opportunity with the XLR... and the STS for that matter... When people complain.. LISTEN and IMPROVE... especially in this class, as price wasn't the primary concern, so budget is not really the issue.
The OPPORTUNITY (XLR meets CTC):
How about, since the CTC is supposedly on hold, taking the CTC upmarket.. and actually renaming IT the XLR? Or rather XLC and XLR? They could use the same basic formula that BMW does with the 6series and 5series... Basically a 2+2 Sport Coupe with optional Convertible.. Starting price of $75K.... V8 only.. sorry.. but power is necessary in this class.... and at least 385HP would fit the bill. I like a 4.4L S/C NorthStar detuned for the regular car... and a LSA with 580 HP for the "V".
U see this would address a serious issue with being able to market the XLR against cars like the XK and 911 Carrerra.. not to mention the 650i... having the room in the back for passengers... which very often is necessary in that demographic as older couples tend to ride together
Opportunity II (Epsilon meets BLS.. AGAIN:yup
I'm sorry.. I kno a lot of people will scold me for this... Calling it blasphemy and all.. But bottom line is that if what stands between Cadillac having a 3series fighter is the decision to not build Alpha and improving EpsilonII even more so.. exclusively for a smaller Cadillac.. Then I'm gonna have get scolded. Most of U are bitching about an UNKNOWN platform being better than a known stellar one... just because of where the power hits the wheels.
This would be even smaller than the Insignia.. smaller than the current 9-3... literally the minuscule difference between the 3series and the 9-3 in fact... (Think Infiniti G)... AWD all the time... STANDARD.. and engines ranging from 260HP-420HP... all V6 and Turbos
Opportunity III (The BIG ONE.. The RAPE of Pontiac.. or is it Holden)
ZETA... ZETA Premium... On top of it is a car with the current STS's front Fascia... and a longer version of the CTS's flared out body. The Guts are the result of 3 months of GM engineers and ergonomic techs living inside an S-Class, A8, and NEW.. 7series... essentially finding their flaws and improving them. ( Which is quite possibly what they did in the STS-PLATINUM... if U've had the pleasure)
Engine selection is limited to V8s only... 395HP base 4.4L S/C Northstar.. a 510 HP 4.4L S/C Northstar... and a 630HP LS9 V8 for the.. not V.. But "SUPER V"
The STS culd have pulled that off IMO... if it were larger, had a more powerful engine, a better laid out interior (like the CTS), and a more "complicated and frustrating" user interface like IDRIVE.. OH.. and add some nice Fender Flares and curves... ala CTS as well
And I agree with that point of view... that Cadillac should not offer anything BARGAIN... Price them as high as they can but make sure they have amenities that can compete well with the competition...
==============The Meat and Potatoes of yet again... Another Cmicasa the Great XVX Rant===============
On that note... Most people don't realize and are too stupid to kno that U can get the complete driving experience of a BMW in a Pontiac... Most people will not wish to admit such a thing.. but U can. U can get almost all the options of a Benz.. in a Honda or Chevy now... The market is resting on false pretenses of the past...
But who cares.. throw moronic superficial realizations to the wind. In the end scenario it's all about the badge.
So How do U.. as an America Luxo company with a grand history, scores of potential, and a parent company that is a slave to it's own past successes and failures... proceed?
The Line-Up as it is makes for a Scary thought... We are currently being left... after the death of the XLR and the "lame duckness" of the STS and DTS.. with just the CTS, CTS wagon, SRX, and Escalade...
Has Cadillac become a 3 car company??? With GM completely betting this Mega-Icon's luck on essentially one mainstream luxo sedan and it's derivative wagon???
GM has always bewildered me. They must automatically have a success... right out the gate.. or that product is dead.. DEAD.. DEAD. In fact some times the product is a success.. and they still kill it due to some less than stellar perception that they themselves were responsible for (think Cobalt being renamed Cruze)
Oh Oh... so back to what I was thinking... CADILLAC... A viable line-up... in the absence of the fluff.
Why not take the XLR's demise as an opportunity? I love that car.. it beautiful.. unique, performs as well or better than it competition.. but it would be better suited to a company like VW/Audi... than one like GM/Cadillac. VW/Audi tends to be patient with it's offerings.. watching them grow... improving upon the weaknesses and following thru... GM missed a huge opportunity with the XLR... and the STS for that matter... When people complain.. LISTEN and IMPROVE... especially in this class, as price wasn't the primary concern, so budget is not really the issue.
The OPPORTUNITY (XLR meets CTC):
How about, since the CTC is supposedly on hold, taking the CTC upmarket.. and actually renaming IT the XLR? Or rather XLC and XLR? They could use the same basic formula that BMW does with the 6series and 5series... Basically a 2+2 Sport Coupe with optional Convertible.. Starting price of $75K.... V8 only.. sorry.. but power is necessary in this class.... and at least 385HP would fit the bill. I like a 4.4L S/C NorthStar detuned for the regular car... and a LSA with 580 HP for the "V".
U see this would address a serious issue with being able to market the XLR against cars like the XK and 911 Carrerra.. not to mention the 650i... having the room in the back for passengers... which very often is necessary in that demographic as older couples tend to ride together
Opportunity II (Epsilon meets BLS.. AGAIN:yup
I'm sorry.. I kno a lot of people will scold me for this... Calling it blasphemy and all.. But bottom line is that if what stands between Cadillac having a 3series fighter is the decision to not build Alpha and improving EpsilonII even more so.. exclusively for a smaller Cadillac.. Then I'm gonna have get scolded. Most of U are bitching about an UNKNOWN platform being better than a known stellar one... just because of where the power hits the wheels.
This would be even smaller than the Insignia.. smaller than the current 9-3... literally the minuscule difference between the 3series and the 9-3 in fact... (Think Infiniti G)... AWD all the time... STANDARD.. and engines ranging from 260HP-420HP... all V6 and Turbos
Opportunity III (The BIG ONE.. The RAPE of Pontiac.. or is it Holden)
ZETA... ZETA Premium... On top of it is a car with the current STS's front Fascia... and a longer version of the CTS's flared out body. The Guts are the result of 3 months of GM engineers and ergonomic techs living inside an S-Class, A8, and NEW.. 7series... essentially finding their flaws and improving them. ( Which is quite possibly what they did in the STS-PLATINUM... if U've had the pleasure)
Engine selection is limited to V8s only... 395HP base 4.4L S/C Northstar.. a 510 HP 4.4L S/C Northstar... and a 630HP LS9 V8 for the.. not V.. But "SUPER V"