British don't seem to like CTS

[Drive571]

Every country assumes home-grown stuff is the best, because it's in their best interests; the burden of proof is on the "imports" to show they're up to snuff. Add a few nationalist stereotypes to the mix--and the Brits love their American stereotypes--and boom, there's your ho-hum CTS review.

In fairness to Euro markets, though, GM really should have put more effort into smoothing and tightening the feel of the CTS' manual transmission/clutch. In markets that actually consider such things important, it's a legitimate demerit.

[slowinthefastlane]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

why would it cost more? US $$$ is down.

Everything is more expensive in the UK. A Vauxhall VXR8 is about 30,000 pounds or about $60,000 USD – for essentially the same car as the Pontiac G8.

[RamJet502]

Since when were the British relevant to anything?

[F14CRAZY]

I thought a review said the CTS had a "nice, V6 sound"?

[BigThreeForever]

Originally Posted by RamJet502

Since when were the British relevant to anything?

Let's see . . .

It is a major automotive market . . . and avery influential one, particularly for upscale cars. That is why many manufacturers, particularly European ones, hone their cars' suspensions on the highly demanding UK roads. If the cars don't perform well on UK roads in terms of the ride and handling compromise the car will likely not perform well in the market - and will garner poor reviews by the finicky press. (The UK press, if it has a bias, has a highly marked one for BMW).

The UK created the template for the first truly modern small cars, the original 1959 Mini, with front drive, a transverse-mounted engine and superb space-efficiency, a template for cars that Americans likely will become intimately familiar with as time goes on.

The UK's universities and its many automotive engineering consultancies are a major source of engineers and designers for the global automotive industry, with its alumni working at influential Europe, Japan and North America. Trevor Creed at Chrysler, Richard Parry-Jones at Ford (just retired) and Peter Horbury, who will be in charge of upcoming North American Ford, Mercury and Lincoln products.

You might also find that GM has (or had, I am not sure if it is still open) a secret design skunkworks in the UK. A British designer named Cox was HIGHLY influential in coming up with the "Art and Science" design language for Cadillac, more so than any other person, in fact.

Just because government apathy and incompetence in the 1960s (the damage was terminal by the early 1970s) resulted in the drawn-out but inevitable destruction of the UK's indigenous automotive industry, don't write off the country as insignificant. Things aren't always as clear-cut as they seem.

After all, with the exception of Ford of Europe and GM's Opel (all created by Europeans, not Americans, by the way) one might legitimately ask the question: "Since when were the Americans relevant to anything?" The question is just as valid in Japan, etc, etc, etc.

[RamJet502]

Originally Posted by BigThreeForever

Things aren't always as clear-cut as they seem.

I know, I was just busting some chops.

[Stovebolt]

Originally Posted by Drive571

Every country assumes home-grown stuff is the best, because it's in their best interests;

Except here.

And in Persia, and perhaps Russia, China, a few other places.

I think it's a lot more complicated than how you put it.

[baloo]

Originally Posted by mikehamm45

i find it very funny how they call the ride of the cts rough over british roads, yet praise the BMW's suspension, which in my opinion i find it much firmer. Ever drive a BMW on Detroit roads? Bouncy isn't? Its just a fact of physics. The better a car handles, the firmer the suspension, thus the rough feel over bumps in the road.

It's not quite that simple. The more unsprung weight you have, the more aggressive you have to be with the damping to keep the wheels on the ground. The result is a worse ride without any handling gains.

[Drive571]

Originally Posted by Stovebolt

Except here.

And in Persia, and perhaps Russia, China, a few other places.

I think it's a lot more complicated than how you put it.

Let's put it this way, then: everyone would like the home-grown stuff to be better. And changing the perception that is is better generally takes decades of empirical evidence to the contrary. Remember that not 15 years ago, Cavaliers and Escorts were still sitting on top-10-sellers lists.

[mrbig]

America and everything in it is suppose to be inferior in the minds of the british. The sooner we all understand that the sooner we can cease to pay attention to anything they say.

[mbukukanyau]

they have to pay TV and Radio tax (permits) to fund Clarkson's BBC.
That sucks

[rrwWasHere]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

they have to pay TV and Radio tax (permits) to fund Clarkson's BBC.
That sucks

Speaking of Jeremy Clarkson, he tested the last-gen CTS-V on his show and said that he "wanted to like it" and generally gave it a positive review except for all the "bonging" sounds that it made and cheap materials. If you've seen his special, 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly', he blasts just about every American car, which is why i thought that his liking the old CTS-V was surprising.

He'd be an interesting one to review the current CTS...

[Hoosier Red]

I'm no expert on the driving dynamics of German cars and I haven't even driven the CTS, but it's the first Cadillac in my lifetime that has the looks to capture my interest. I honestly believe that BMW and MB have fallen over the edge in styling the last few years - it's almost painful for me to look at them. In the 90's, I really appreciated the lines of the German cars. I don't think one effort constitutes a trend for GM, but I'd like to believe they can figure out a way to build on the CTS and keep the brand going in the right direction. If the British don't like it, fine. I'm not sure Cadillac will ever be the standard of the world again if it has to be adored in Europe. That may be a losing cause.

[mpsrent]

It ha nothing to do with anti-American and everything to do with the fact that the CTS is a fish out of the sea in England. Brits love small cars and while the CTS is not huge by American standards, any 5 series car is a very large car in England...if not all of Europe. With high fuel costs and very narrow roads, a CTS is not a viable option. I've rented Vectras, Astras and others in England and Scotland and I found the Vectra (Malibu size) to be a very large car for many of the small streets. In fact the Vectra (Aura) was so large that I decided not to rent that class car anymore as I found it too wide for many streets.

Let's not read to much into the writers comments, he's only looking at the CTS from a local's perspective.

[baloo]

Not to mention, the review isn't all that negative. The HFV6 has been criticized plenty of times for its NVH characteristics, but when a Brit does the same it's Anti-Americanism?