pow

My bad... mods, please move.

Oh, speaking of leather, you can get no-cost leatherette on a $90K S550, thanks to PETA.

Actually, leather seating surfaces are standard. It's the "full" leather interior (dash, doors) that costs extra. And what will it take for you to stop posting Like None Other jokes on every Merc thread?

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...icleId=115503#8 Vehicle Tested: 2006 Cadillac CTS Sport 4dr Sedan (3.6L 6cyl 6M) MSRP of Test Vehicle: $41,625 Price It!! What Works: More powerful 3.6-liter engine, upgraded interior, XM traffic avoider integrated with navigation system. What Needs Work: Handling falls short of top competitors, option packages drive price up quickly. Bottom Line: The 2006 Cadillac CTS earns a reputable name for itself among an elite group of sport sedans. Cadillac's bread and butter deserves jam By Kelly Toepke Email | Blog Date posted: 05-24-2006 If sports cars are from Mars and minivans are from Venus, the 2006 Cadillac CTS comes straight from the manly red planet. With all that hyper-aggressive styling and sharp edges, there's little doubt that this sport sedan was designed to appeal to the Y chromosome. Although initial sales exceeded Cadillac's goal of 40,000 vehicles per year, the original 2003 CTS lacked the muscle to match its chiseled, masculine design. Its 3.2-liter V6 had the punch of an elderly woman. Caddy was already planning to add the Corvette-powered 400-hp CTS-V to the lineup, but it still had to make an engine change on the standard CTS if it was really going to challenge the BMW 3 Series and Infiniti G35 sedans. So in 2005, Cadillac offered the CTS with a torquey 2.8-liter V6 and an all-aluminum 255 hp 3.6-liter V6 and essentially gave it a new lease on life. Smooth V6 power The larger V6 is a dual-overhead-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder design. It has variable valve timing and a dual-stage variable intake manifold, and cranks out 255 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 252 pound-feet of torque at 3,100 rpm, a 35-hp and 34-lb-ft increase over the old 3.2-liter. Although the CTS received a new standard six-speed manual transmission in 2005, our 2006 test car came equipped with the optional (and more popular) five-speed automatic. This transmission was in the original CTS and remains basically unchanged, except for the manual-shift mode that was also added last year. This crisp combination is the setup the rear-wheel-drive CTS should have come with from Day One. It's powerful off the line and offers a smooth resonance at full throttle. With a 15.1-second, 92.3-mph quarter-mile, the CTS is slower than the G35's 14.7 seconds, but not embarrassingly so. That half-second difference keeps the CTS in the same sport-sedan ballpark. Comfortable, if not sporty Underneath, the CTS's architecture was good enough to be stretched for the Cadillac STS, and it does an admirable job of keeping the entry-level Caddy stable through everyday twists and turns. Our test car was equipped with the $1,640 17-inch Wheel Sport Package, which includes sportier suspension tuning, stability control, special aluminum wheels, a limited-slip differential and high-intensity headlamps. It's a step up from the standard suspension and 16-inch wheels, but falls short of the "V-Series light" stiffness that comes with the 18-inch Wheel Package. Overall, the chassis feels good and tight, but the variable power-assisted rack and pinion steering, which is generally fine, would feel sharper without the CTS's big ol' steering wheel. In our slalom test at the track, however, the CTS didn't perform as well as we had hoped. When pushed, its suspension was slow to react between the 100-foot cone gates, and its P225/50R17 Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires overheated after the fifth run. In the end, the CTS threaded the course at 61 mph, which is substantially slower than both the G35's 66.4-mph run and the 330i's 68.6-mph speed. It was closer to its competitors when it came to braking performance, turning in a stop from 60-0 mph in 122 feet. That's nearly 7 feet shorter than the G35, but still not as good as BMW's very impressive stop of 111 feet. It might have made a smaller gap if we had the 18-inch Wheel Package that also includes high-performance brake pads. The standard four-wheel vented disc brakes felt pretty good to us, even with a slightly mushy pedal, but if you want more than average performance, you'll need the upgrade. Interior upgrade, better materials and controls Interior elements also received some criticism in the original Cadillac CTS, but the current interior is more Euro and less Camaro than the first model. Soft-touch plastics aren't as yielding as the Pillsbury Doughboy's belly, but you won't injure your funny bone with accidental contact. Simple, large gauges span the instrument cluster, with white letters and numbers that are easy to read. The dual climate control buttons make short work of adjusting the cabin's temperature, and well-padded front seats and the most rear legroom among the G35, 330i and Acura TL sedans help all passengers get comfortable. A Bose in-dash six-disc CD stereo unit is part of our car's California Luxury Package, and although we appreciate its posh sound, the coolest stereo gadget is the steering-wheel-mounted volume control wheel that is not limited to the Bose package, but comes with the standard stereo. A flick of your thumb mutes the volume in an instant, or brings Toto's "Rosanna" to life on XM's '80s channel. Traffic avoidance Another nice feature is XM NavTraffic, which provides continuously updated traffic information in selected cities. The CTS is the first GM vehicle with this system and it comes standard in cars equipped with the DVD navigation package. Offered exclusively by XM Satellite Radio, NavTraffic is fully integrated with the CTS's GPS navigation system to display current information about traffic incidents and average traffic speed. Enter a destination into the navigation system and a color-coded display will provide instant traffic data along a preferred route. The driver can see how fast traffic is moving and see symbols that identify crashes, construction and road congestion, ultimately choosing a faster route if necessary. It costs how much?! Four feature packages and the optional automatic transmission tacked $9,715 on to the CTS's base price of $31,190, bringing the cost of our 2006 Cadillac CTS test car up to a whopping $41,625 with destination. That's just a grand short of our long-term 330i, which, although less roomy, is a more compelling sport sedan. However, if you want more space than sport, and are a manly man who can live without heated seats, the CTS, sans a package or two, now deserves your attention. Model Year: 2006 Make: Cadillac Model: CTS Style: Sedan Base Price: $31,970 Price as Tested: $41,625 Drive Type: Rear-wheel drive Transmission Type: Five-speed automatic Displacement (liters): 3.6 Engine Type: V6 Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 255 @ 6,200 Torque (ft-lbs @ rpm): 252 @ 3,100 Braking System: Power-assisted vented disc Steering System: Power-assisted rack and pinion Suspension Type (front): Independent, short/long arm, coil-over shock, antiroll bar Suspension Type (rear): Independent, modified multilink, coil springs, antiroll bar Tire Size (front): P225/50R17 Tire Size (rear): P225/50R17 Tire Brand: Goodyear Tire Model: Eagle RS-A Curb Weight (lbs): 3,509 Recommended Fuel: Regular unleaded Fuel Tank Capacity (gal): 17 EPA Fuel Economy (mpg): 18 City 27 Highway Edmunds Observed (mpg): 17.4 Conditions for Testing Temperature (Fahrenheit): 61 Humidity: 83% Elevation (ft): 75 Wind: 1 Performance 0 - 30 (sec): 2.3 0 - 45 (sec): 4.2 0 - 60 (sec): 6.6 0 - 75 (sec): 9.8 1/4 Mile (sec @ mph): 15.1 @ 92.3 30 - 0 (ft): 30.73 60 - 0 (ft): 122.01 Braking Rating (Excellent, Good, Average, Poor or Very Poor): Good Slalom (mph): 61.10 Skid Pad (g-force): N/A Handling Rating (Excellent, Good, Average, Poor or Very Poor): Average Db @ Idle: 46.1 Db @ Full Throttle: 82.4 Db @ 70 mph Cruise: 68.6 Acceleration Comments: Traction/Stability Control off: Although wheelspin is possible, that wasn't the quickest launch. Basically, it's a "slap-n-go" launch: off the brakes and wide-open throttle simultaneously. Engine noise is very evident through the firewall and there's a panel gap on the center console that buzzes at a certain engine frequency. Annoying! Gearshifts are quick but 4th is a giant hole in the otherwise energetic run. Braking Comments: Mushy pedal that goes almost to the floor isn't particularly confidence-inspiring. Handling Comments: Traction/Stability Control off: There just might be a better run in this car; however, there are two things that limit the slalom speeds: tires and a slow-to-react suspension. It takes (in relative terms) forever for the CTS to settle after each cone. In other words, the car is still pitched over when the next cone arrives. Also, the tires began to give up by the fifth run once I figured out the best "less-is-more" technique. Specifications Length: 190.1 inches Width: 70.6 inches Height: 56.7 inches Wheelbase: 113.4 inches Legroom (front): 42.4 inches Legroom (rear): 37 inches Headroom (front): 38.9 inches Headroom (rear): 36.9 inches Maximum Seating Capacity: 5 Cargo Volume: 12.8 cubic feet Maximum Cargo Volume (rear seats down): N/A

I'd get the Cayman, because Corvettes really don't float my boat, no matter how fast they are, or the SLK55, which is surprisingly affordable for an AMG Merc.

According to the link above, a Malibu with BAS system will get 27 MPG city. It better be a lot, lot cheaper than the Camry Hybrid (40 MPG).

This is getting the Insight powertrain and will probably beat the Prius for fuel efficiency.

My bad... $1300 it is. Now the premium is only $1180.

Nice... it reminds me of the Airflite.

Does it have to be a GM car? And do I have to be an East Coaster? If no, I be interested. :-D

There are no tax breaks for the VUE.

Here's how the Ford's hybrid compares... Escape Hybrid FWD $26,215 (ABS/TC, automatic, and alloys standard) - $2,600 tax credit = $23,615 133 (gas) + 94 (electric) horsepower (36/31 MPG) The Escape Hybrid costs $620 more than the VUE Green Line. At 12K mi/year, 50/50 city/highway, and regular at $3.30/gallon, it'll take the Escape 3 years and 10 months to regain the $620 premium over the VUE and start saving money. A similarly equipped Escape V6 (the Escape Hybrid has performance similar to V6) costs $23,245 after $500 rebate. The Escape Hybrid has 0% 60-mo financing, however. If you're buying an Escape, definitely go for the Hybrid, which will start saving money in fewer than six months (Escape V6 gets just 20/24). EDIT: But, yeah, what's more relevant are the gallons of fuel you save from burning into the atmosphere... A VUE Green Line will consume 83 fewer gallons of fuel and emit 0.8 tons fewer CO2 emissions anually than a VUE 4, while an Escape Hybrid will consume 187 fewer gallons of fuel anually and emit 1.8 fewer tons of CO2 than an Escape V6.

Here's how the Green Line fits relative to other VUEs... VUE FWD 4 $17,990 + ABS/TC ($600) + automatic ($1355) + alloys ($400) + skid plates ($170) = $20,515 VUE FWD V6 $21,990 (ABS/TC, automatic, and alloys standard) + skid plates ($170) = $22,160 VUE Green Line $22,995 (ABS/TC, automatic, alloys, and skid plates standard) = $22,995 Performance and economy... FWD 4 - 143 horsepower (22/27 MPG) FWD V6 - 250 horsepower (20/28 MPG) Greenline - 170 horsepower (27/32 MPG) The GL commands a $2,480 premium over a comparably equipped non-hybrid VUE. Assuming 12,000 miles per year, 50/50 mix of city/highway, and regular unleaded at $3.30/gallon, it'll take 9 years of driving (108,000 miles) to regain the initial premium. Of course the Green Line has more power than the non-hybrid VUE, but less than the 250-horsepower V6.

Surprisingly, we have a good number of petrolheads on our street... Blue Mini Cooper S, White 530i, Red 330i ZHP - this guy is a detail fanatic; his Mini is parked outside, but it's always flawless Silver M5, Blue Magnum R/T - you have to love cars to own two RWD V8s; the wife drives and washes the M5, and there's just something cool about a middle-aged woman driving a manual 400-hp car. Red Mini Cooper convertible, grey Golf, yellow M3 sedan - they're all automatics, sadly, but at least they have an enthusiast's taste of cars, not Camrys Blue Audi S4, grey A4 wagon - this guy works for an Audi tuning company

I agree. Many SS cars (Malibu, for instance) are no more powerful than their mainstream rivals. This Equinox "SS" should be just an Equinox "V6" or "3.6", and I wonder if it'll be any more powerful or better handling than a base 269-hp RAV4 V6.

GM shouldn't limit it to just SUVs, IMO, because it only highlights how gas-guzzling they are.

I actually think it'll look pretty cool, in an old-school-art-deco-Crossfire-convertible sort of way.

Smart fortwo?

Oh, and it better have a HF V6 available, preferably with a six-speed manual. Not every wants a big V8!

Nothing a yank of the handbrake won't solve...

Most potential 9-3 Cabrio buyers will probably be swayed over by the Eos.

Anyway, back to the original question. Cadillac products are still second-tier in the marketplace, but the brand has made huge leaps to become as respected as BMW and Merc, even without a proper high-end sedan.

Size is less of a concern on US highways, but since Cadillac wants to be a global brand, it won't hurt to shrink a few inches and improve packaging efficiency.

Man, I'm more excited about this than the Camaro. I hope they send one over as a Pontiac.

How about something diesel powered? You could fill it up with waste cooking oil and save $$$ on fuel.