STS, up close and personal

[AMcA]

Cadillac thoughtfully had an STS open for inspection today in front of an office building in Chicago's Loop. My assessment:

First, the positives: it's much nicer looking up close and personal than the pictures have suggested. I like the shape much more than I thought. The bodywork is beautifully executed, says "quality" loud and clear. The little grills in the airdam at the front are one of those small touches that really accomplish a lot. Paintwork -- black, which shows all flaws vividly -- was good, but not great (but hey, no one's production paint looks very good these days).

The big negative is the interior. It breaks my heart to say it, because I've been waiting for this car for a long time. But it just isn't up to the standards of the class. My brother-in-law's Passat is way nicer. The particulars:

Finishes - the grained stuff on the dash, door panels, and other bits looks, well, kinda 80's. Almost shiny, but not quite. I don't even think it's that high-grade skinned material that other makes are using. It's not that it's bad. It maybe OK even, but it's not anywhere near being up to current standards. The wood's pretty - quality stuff, though nowhere near as nice as the Zebrano (lacks the depth of grain) they started using about 10 years back.

Where the interior really falls down is on fit. Not that anything was out place. No real build issues there. But what it lacks is the sorts of details where pieces come together with great precision, and the eye is pleased by how well the bits fit. Audi's the master of this kind of detail. Mercedes does it well. Acura (hey, even Honda) do it beautifully. Lexus does it well. But Cadillac didn't even try. There's not one nice, tight detail in the interior. In fact, everything seems to be designed to avoid any kind of fit issue. The wood and the soft door pads appear tacked on, not fitted in. Big plastic sections are given ample room to meet. The shifter trim plate just sits there atop the console, not fitted to anything. And the upholstery work has two very visible places -- the headrests and at the front corner of the lower cushion - where the seams aren't smooth, but rumple up giving an otherwise nicely finished seat the appearance of very casual workmanship.

There was some good in the interior. The instruments look nice - the big metal rings are nice. All the switches felt nice, and the leather was a very nice grade. No really glaring flaws. Just nothing noticably nice.

All in all, a real let down.

I'm so bummed.

[R.E Sanchez]

Originally posted by AMcA@Sep 29 2004, 11:51 PM
In fact, everything seems to be designed to avoid any kind of fit issue.

I've notice this sort of dance around interior design execution too (so you're not the only one to notice this). But I'll reserve judgment until I have the chance to see the car in person.

[atomicshark]

I also agree, but based only on photos. I would need to sit in one for my final opinion. Audi is definitely the master. Too bad we can't meld Cadillac reliability with Audi interior quality.

[giagastormer]

I've always thought the same thing about the STS interior, seems Cadillac made it so simple there is really no room to screw it up. That is one of the reasons I like the LaCrosse, it doesn't look like every little area that could be a problem was overlooked and made simpler (boring!). You can make an interior high quality and have some flavor too it, look at Audi and BMW.

[jro4566]

I too think Cadillac could've put more inspiration into the design of the interior. On the other hand, I'm sure it's of high-quality and well-built. I'll reserve my final judgment for when I actually spend some time in one.

[LGRpup]

Constructive criticism is always welcome and needed. As for the dash though, it is the new skin process, and maybe they put some armor-all on it but i have never seen a shiney plastic part in this cars dash. I kinda like the graining inside, though it may look a little bit like an elephant. As for fit and finish go I cant comment on that because the worker at the plant have nothing to do ith it, the interior pretty much comes in already assembled.

[AMcA]

Originally posted by LGRpup@Sep 30 2004, 06:34 PM
Constructive criticism is always welcome and needed.  As for the dash though, it is the new skin process, and maybe they put some armor all on it but i have never seen a shiney plastice part in this cars dash.  I kinda like the graining inside, though it may look a little bit like an elephant.  As for fit and finish go I cant comment on that because the worker at the plant have nothing to do ith it, the interior pretty much comes in already assembled.

Exactly! It's not the workers' fault. It's the fault of management that doesn't want to challenge the workers.

I find this odd, because they've got the workers cranking out first rate bodywork. Excellent level of fit. So why not extend thisi nto the interior?

Make it easy for 'em, they can't screw up seems to be the strategy. But they're missing the downside of it, too: make it too easy for'em and they won't feel like trying very hard, either.

[Dumb_Ass_2003]

Hey it could be worse!

It could look like this and have iDrive to boot! :lol:

I've always thought BMW makes nasty interiors.

[atomicshark]

Originally posted by Dumb_Ass_2003@Sep 30 2004, 11:46 PM
Hey it could be worse!

It could look like this and have iDrive to boot! :lol:

I've always thought BMW makes nasty interiors.

I agree about iDrive. This has got to be one of the most ill-conceived gadgets available today in a modern automobile. The fact that it comes from a manufacturer that prides itself on building "drivers" cars just makes me wonder, why did they do this? Car's should be straightforward to use without having to fiddle too much with special controls and dials! That is what leads to accidents. BMW and even Audi should know better. I guess their engineers were trying to design the better mouse trap.

[acurafan]

OK i have a question, what difference does it make as far as cost for the sts to have audi-like interior materials and assembly? I dont think the costs would be p henominal and in the big picture it would be great for their prestige. I think that 99% of buyers will never notic the imperfections. I've been in the E-class which i found to be tiny inside and uninspiring except for the beautiful dash. I've also been in a 545i and thought that although it was beautifully designed the interior materials weren't very great and neither was the fit. I think lexus makes high quality interior also but that the boring designs just dont do anything for me. Acura has good fit and interior materials and an overall nice design. Personally i'd have to say that the STS and Acura RL would be at the top of my list if i was after a luxury car. Acura has really turned itself around quickly and i think they've proved it with the RL, TL, and TSX. To stay on topic i think that the STS will be a good seller.

One question though, does anyone know whether or not the SRX is considered a success. I know the sales have been ok but have they piled on the incentives and lost all profitability on it?

[jro4566]

iDrive - don't even get me started... :lol: But I do like BMW's interiors, but the pictures definitely do it no justice. Why couldn't BMW just copy MMi from Audi!?! <_<

[AMcA]

Acurafan raises an excellent question: just how much more does an Audi interior cost to produce?

Can anybody here from the industry shed any light on this?

[Sal Collaziano]

Could the interior of the Buick Lacross really be better than the Cadillac STS?

[Squachy]

Originally posted by Sal Collaziano@Oct 5 2004, 04:27 AM
Could the interior of the Buick Lacross really be better than the Cadillac STS?

the interior of the lacrosse looks very similar to the Cadillac Deville interior.

[OzoneGTX]

One thing I love about my moms 2001 STS is the SMELL. The car is barely used and is in a garage most of the time cause its back in Jersey, but when the car get hot inside, the leather just smells so great.

One thing i hate about BMW's is that almost all of the ones I've been have this smell. They smell like a box of pastel crayons. Not pleasing at all.

"Oo0o0H that smell! Cant you smell that smell?!"

Any, just though I'd let that out. Anyone else notice this?