Flybrian

Tony Soprano's Chevy Suburban from The Sopranos Link to eBay Auction

'Tis why I bold.

BONUS ATOM SPLIT SUPER POWERCHARGED!!!!

Yes, a handful, not yet, so?, a handful, just began testing.And if you think the second looks good and the fifth is 'worth' owning, you've been partying with Lindsay too much. "Untested Volt." You're within the program now? Guess you missed where the Prius plug-in just began testing like days ago.

2000 Pontiac Bonneville - Lake Orion, MI. 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora - Lake Orion, MI. 1976 Buick LeSabre - Fairfax, KS.

There is a grand irony in this.

The rear van doors are really stupid on a vehicle this small. Goodbye, rear visibility.

Mini Offers First Specs on Five-Door 2008 Clubman Date posted: 07-26-2007 | Link to Original Article @ Edmunds OXFORD, England — The Mini Clubman has gone from Frankfurt concept car to production reality in less than two years. Formerly known as the Traveller, the Clubman is the second in what corporate parent BMW indicates could be a whole range of body styles. Riding on a longer wheelbase than its standard siblings, the five-door aims to give the Mini lineup a hint more versatility. It maintains the retro look that's made the regular Mini such a hit, but with the addition of three extra doors — a short one along the rear right-hand side and two side-opening doors at the rear to facilitate loading. Prices have not yet been announced. Mini plans to offer the Clubman with a choice of turbocharged or non-turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines. The naturally aspirated engine produces 120 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque, while the turbo in the Clubman S produces 175 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. In Europe, Mini is also offering a 1.6-liter common-rail diesel making 110 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque. The Clubman will be offered with a six-speed manual with an optional six-speed automatic. While Mini is remaining tight-lipped about the specific sales date, the Clubman will go on sale sometime in 2008.

Not really. GM's warranty stays with the car regardless of owner. Insurance for used buyers who pick up a car that will still be covered by the factory and even for third-owners who have the piece of mind that most major problems have likely been reapaired. Chrysler's is non-transferable. Non-transferability is how people get suckered by these long warranties. Hyundai, for example, isn't transferable and from all I've heard is a bitch to get them to cover even moderate repairs. Also, doesn't Chrysler still offer a 7/100 transferable powertrain warranty? If so, that pretty much superceedes whatever this 'lifetime' one offers 97% of owners who don't keep their cars for life.

I would also add the latest S-Class for the modern touch. You both win. The bad news is, you both won Elantras. Sorry.

Unfortunately, not yet.

Interior & Miscellaneous

Light Platinum

Thunder Gray Chromaflair

First Drive: 2008 Cadillac CTS Born and bred in Detroit; brought to life on the Nurburgring Nordschleife By Angus MacKenzie | Photography by Mark Bramley | Link to Original Article @ Motor Trend You don't want to get it wrong through the Fuchsrohre. This is just one of the places where the legendary Nurburging Nordschleife can bite you. Hard. You come out the Aremberg turn hard in third and plunge 250 feet downhill along a wriggling stretch of track, straight-lining one, two, three, four, five apexes almost as fast as you can count them. You reach the bottom of the hill on the sixth, the car's suspension on full compression as the track veers slightly left. That's not the tricky bit. Nope, the tricky bit is the next left, a deceptively sharp kink with an apex you can't see until it's too late. Get it right, and you carry a lot of speed up into the tight complex of corners at Adenauer-Forst. Get it wrong, and there's a good chance you'll eat the guardrail that's right on the edge of the track. Last time around, the car had hit the rev limiter in fourth-about 127 mph-just before the bottom of the hill, and I'd ridden it all the way into that tricky left. This time, I grabbed fifth early, looking for just a little more speed through the dip. I got it, and that damned kink was on me before I knew it. I mashed the brake pedal, and turned the steering wheel. I'd missed the turn-in point by a mile, but by now this wasn't about a nice racing line; this was about getting through that kink in one piece. The car dived left, understeering mildly. Another quick dab on the brakes brought the rear end around. Feathering the gas, we gently drifted through kink, maybe six feet further to the right than we should've been and in the wrong place to make good time into the Adenauer-Forst complex. But it was a nice recovery, thanks mainly to good brakes, nice steering, and an agile, sweet-handling chassis. I glanced at the wreath and crest on the steering wheel and smiled: Wow! Is this really a Cadillac? It sure is. The new Cadillac CTS might've been born and bred in Detroit, but you can tell it has spent time on the Nurburgring Nordschleife during its development. This is an American car with a German chassis: not exactly like a Mercedes or a BMW, but taut, tied down, nicely balanced, and stable at high speeds. It's not just the best-handling Caddy in history, but probably the best-handling American sedan ever. It starts with the fundamentals: sophisticated suspension and a rigid platform. The new CTS, codenamed GMX322, is an evolution of the Sigma-based original, via the STS. Basically the engineering team kept the old CTS's wheelbase, but used the wider track from the larger STS -- the floorpan structure, front of dash, lower A-pillar and rear chassis rails are all basically STS -- to fundamentally transform the car's proportions. Although there's a lot that looks familiar under the new car, there's a lot that's brand new, and, crucially, expensive. The short/long-arm front suspension features lots of lightweight aluminum and is bolted to an all-new aluminum front cradle. A large aluminum brace across the engine compartment ties the top mounts together. The steering gear is a premium ZF Servotronic II system, with the rack mounted forward of the front-axle centerline to improve precision. The multilink rear suspension looks similar to the existing Sigma layout, but features a 40-percent-stiffer cradle, plus larger body mounts, revised differential mountings, and shortened trailing links to improve NVH. "Overall, the rear end of the car is much more solid structurally," says CTS lead development engineer Rob Kotarak, "It's able to absorb much more of the coarse road stuff you see in Europe and China." Cadillac has left the fine tuning to you, however: The new CTS is available with three different suspension setups, two different size wheels and three different spec Michelin tires. And it doesn't matter whether you buy a CTS in Seattle, Stuttgart, or Shanghai, the specifications are the same. All-wheel drive is available, too, if you want or need it. Derived from the system currently used in the STS, it features an electronically controlled transfer case that allows nearly 100 percent of the torque to be sent to the front wheels. Two six-speed transmissions are available: GM's new 6L50 automatic and the Aisin Warner AY6 manual. The auto features a sport mode that adapts to your driving style and dynamic inputs such as brake and steering. The algorithms in the transmission computer needed fine tuning on the early production cars we drove-they tended to hang on too long in a lower gear-but Cadillac engineers say this'll be done before cars hit dealer showrooms. In manual shift mode, the transmission matches revs, race-car style, on downshifts. You have to reach for the shifter-back for down, forward for up-to change ratios, as there are no steering-wheel mounted shifter buttons-yet. Expect them on the 2009 models. Probably barely two percent of American CTS customers will opt for the six-speed manual. Even so, Caddy engineers have put considerable time and effort into optimizing it for the car. The second, third, and fourth gear ratios were changed late in the program as a direct result of testing on the Nordschleife, says Rob Kotarak. (Good news for manual Camaro buyers: Your cars will get this gear set, too.) Though there's no difference-according to Cadillac's figures-between the straight-line performance of manual or automatic cars equipped with the top of the range 3.6-liter DI engine, the manual car clearly feels quicker around the 'Ring, punching harder out of corners and with less of a gap between the second and third ratios. In fact, says Sigma products development manager Rick Kewley, the manual is five to eight seconds a lap faster. The CTS will initially be offered with three engines: a 210-horse, 2.8-liter V-6; a 258-horse, 3.6-liter V-6; and a 304-horse, 3.6-liter V-6 with direct injection. All three V-6s are versions of GM's all-aluminum, quad cam, 24-valve "high-feature" engine and come with state-of-the-art goodies such as a forged-steel crank and variable valve timing. The 2.8 is an export-only engine, destined for China, Europe, the Middle East, and any other markets where engines over 3.0 liters attract higher taxes. The 258-horse 3.6 is essentially a carryover from the current CTS. The big news is the new direct-injection-DI-version. This engine does exactly what the badge says-inject gas directly into the combustion chamber, just like in a diesel engine. This requires much higher fuel-rail pressures-up to 1750 psi-but the benefits include much more precise fuel metering, with a resultant improvement in power and torque, but with better gas mileage and lower emissions. GM global rear-drive chief engineer Dave Leone claims a 15-percent power increase (though you'll only get the full 304 horses if you run it on premium unleaded), and an eight-percent increase in torque to 272 pound-feet over the PFI version. The three-percent improvement in gas mileage sounds meager, but Leone points out the DI-engined automatics run a lower final-drive ratio (3.42 versus 3.23) to deliver best performance. It's a technically impressive engine, but in truth, it's the CTS's weakest link. Performance isn't the issue-proving ground tests in Germany suggest Cadillac's claimed 0-to-60-mph time of 5.9 seconds for both auto and manual DI cars is right on the money, and we saw 7000 rpm in fifth-an indicated 153 mph-in a manual on the autobahn south of Mainz. The problem is noise and vibration; there's a granular quality to the 3.6's soundtrack that can be heard and felt, especially in the upper rev band where the DI V-6 loves to play. You hear it in the gargling induction note and feel it back through the pedals and the shifter, especially in the manual cars. It's not overbearing, but you notice it because the rest of the car is so quiet. The new CTS deserves a creamy BMW six under the hood. Yes, it's that good. It has great road presence, thanks to designer John Manoogian's dramatically chiseled exterior, and the interior looks upscale without the cheesiness Detroit once specialized in. Fit and finish, inside and out, looked good on the early build cars we drove in Germany, though some hard plastics and visible parting lines (the thin strips of raised plastic you get where the pieces of the die join) were still evident. And though it rolls on the same wheelbase as the previous CTS, interior packaging is much improved: Thinner backrests on the front seats liberate about two inches of knee room for rear seat passengers. More important, the CTS drives like a proper BMW rival. It's light and agile on its feet, with quick steering response yet impressive straight-line stability at speed, and a StabiliTrak system that's beautifully tuned to be almost unobtrusive in its interventions. The sporty FE3 suspension with the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires is probably a bit too firm for most people-the ride can get jittery over broken pavement-but if you value handling above all else, that's the one to go for. The midlevel FE2 setup, which comes with the 18-inch-wheel package and all-season Michelin MXV4 tires, is probably the best compromise for most people, offering a good balance between ride and handling. The new CTS isn't quite the Standard of the World. But it's certainly world class. The best damn Cadillac sedan in 50 years? Easily.

2008 Cadillac CTS Second Wind: Cadillac improves its entry-level car and proves in the process that the front office has undergone a redesign, too BY DAVE VANDERWERP | Link to Original Article @ Car & Driver Road Tests Amazingly, each new product coming down the GM pipeline these days seems to signal that the once-defining beancounter bureaucracy has finally been replaced by a genuine desire to create top-notch products. And this latest CTS is the most comprehensively integrated vehicle we’ve seen yet. GM’s confidence is so high that it flew a passel of 2008 CTSs from Detroit to Germany—at a cost between $20,000 and $30,000 each—to be test-driven by the motoring press on the highly challenging Nürburg­ring racetrack, just as it did six years ago with the original CTS, the first model to bear the knife-edged art-and-science design language of 21st-century Cadillac Since the CTS spent extensive development time on the tortuous 12.9 miles of Nürburgring pavement, we asked lead development engineer Rob Kotarak how many laps he’d turned there. Quite a few, he said, but all of them from the passenger seat. That’s because he hasn’t acquired GM’s top driving certification and therefore is not allowed to drive at the German track. Meanwhile, a first-timer from Car and Driver gets to lap freely—what was that about a bureaucracy? Just so you know, Mr. Kotarak, your car is quite adept. Despite our inexperience with the Nürburg­ring (read “driving like a hack”), the CTS was planted and predictable and never did anything unexpected. The ’08 CTS retains a 113.4-inch wheelbase but adds 1.5 inches in overall length and swells almost two inches in width as do its front and rear track. That extra width means not only more handling prowess but much improved proportions as well. There were times when the first-gen CTS could look a bit awkward; it seemed tall and narrow from behind and not that desirable in profile. But there’s no bad view of the new car, from its attention-grabbing front end and better-integrated vertical headlights and taillights to its muscular fender flares. The redesigned CTS still might not stand a chance to be as responsive as the smaller and much lighter—by about 400 pounds—BMW 335i, but our favorite sports sedan has nothing on the Caddy’s aggressive looks. Performance Tops on the CTS’s mechanical upgrade list is a 304-hp, 3.6-liter direct-injection DOHC V-6 that also resides in the ’08 STS. This new engine is, for now, the top choice and will likely cost $1000 more than the base non-direct-injected 258-hp version of this 3.6-liter mill that is carried over from the outgoing model. The old base engine, a 210-hp, 2.8-liter V-6, is dropped for the U.S. All-wheel drive is offered for the first time, but only with an automatic transmission. In relaxed driving, the new V-6 is smooth and quite muted, as Cadillac has attacked the noise problem in just about every way—triple door seals, sound-deadening covers on the engine and high-pressure fuel pump, and numerous other acoustical treatments. But push a little harder, and the engine starts to sing at about 4000 rpm, pulling enthusiastically to the 7000-rpm redline. Our 304-hp manual ran 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds and blew through the quarter-mile in 14.6 at 97 mph, more than a second quicker in the sprint and 0.6 second fleeter through the quarter than the last non-V CTS we tested. That’s quick enough to run with a Mercedes C350 or BMW 328i, but a twin-turbo 335i reaches 60 mph a full second quicker. Initially, it was surprising that the new Caddy is just a 10th quicker through the quarter than its big-brother STS with the same engine (but with the six-speed automatic tranny) until we plopped our CTS onto the scales: 4032 pounds, no thanks to the nearly 100-pound penalty of the optional sunroof. That’s 252 more than the outgoing model and just 68 shy of the five-inch-longer STS. The suspension retains the same basic aluminum-intensive control-arm-front and multilink-rear suspension, with slightly modified geometry, but it only took the three characters “PS2”—as in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires—to clue us in to how serious Cadillac is about the sporting nature of the new CTS. This is GM’s first time using these summer-only, super-performance street tires—arguably better tires than the Goodyears the Corvette wears—which are generally used on all-out sports cars like the Porsche 911 and Cayman. These tires, although in an almost too modest 235/50R-18 size (Cadillac promises larger wheels are coming), are a part of the most aggressive suspension package, called FE3. All three suspension choices use the same spring rates, but the FE3 option includes larger brakes and anti-roll bars as well as revised dampers. The others, FE1 and FE2, ride on all-season tires. Driving Impressions We spent most of our three days in Germany with the sportiest FE3 package, and the most impressive thing about the ’08 CTS is its ride-and-handling balance. Tightly controlled body movements keep it buttoned down, and the rear-drive CTS’s ride never feels harsh, either. Even in full-blown Nürburgring mode, the car is balanced, and not once did it respond with excessive understeer, although oversteer is hard to come by as well. The upsize brakes could use more of an initial bite, but they’re strong, with predictable, linear response, and in our exploits they never yielded even once to fade. The huge brake-cooling ducts up front certainly deserve some of the credit. On the street, our initial impression is that the CTS is more comfortable than a Sport-package-equipped BMW 3-series or Infiniti G35 without giving up much ultimate performance, although rain during our testing day kept us from verifying Cadillac’s skidpad claim of 0.86 g. The FE2 car we briefly drove didn’t feel much softer, but over an undulating stretch of unlimited autobahn, it moved around enough to make us want the stiffer setup. The upgraded rack-and-pinion steering is linear and now offers more feedback, although its weighting is on the light side of perfection. We appreciated the friendly on-center behavior at triple-digit speeds, but the off-center response could be quicker. A revised version of the Aisin six-speed manual carries on with modified ratios to alleviate a previously large gap between second and third gears. But even with a new shift linkage for shorter throws, the manual isn’t nearly as fluid as those from BMW. The CTS’s ho-hum shift action teams with an abruptly engaging clutch and a slightly too high center console to make the row-your-own option less than satisfying. Add a drink in the cup holder (directly behind the shifter) to that combo, and you’re constantly whacking it with your elbow. Suddenly, BMW’s dash-mounted cup holders make a lot of sense. The new well-behaved six-speed automatic—it’s no wonder BMW buys this GM gearbox—will likely be the more popular choice anyway. It offers smooth shifts when you want them, but thump the throttle, and it gives a prompt multigear kickdown. Slide the shifter into the sport setting, and it quickly gets bold, dutifully holding gears—even when the engine is just 500 rpm shy of redline—and aggressively downshifting under braking. Interior Comfortable seats with surprising thigh and upper-back support—especially considering the limited 10-way adjustability—will likely please the masses, but during exuberant driving, we wished for more lateral support. How about an optional sport seat, Cadillac? Possibly the most dramatic improvement to the CTS is the upscale and coherently flowing interior, complete with classy materials and top-notch fit and finish. Cadillac’s least-expensive car certainly doesn’t feel that way, and it upstages the ’08 Mercedes C-class. It also doesn’t hurt that even with a steeply raked rear window, the CTS offers a much larger and usable back seat (the smallest Caddy is similar in size to a 5-series BMW) than those in the smaller luxury sedans it competes with price-wise. The infotainment system is also new and includes a trick feature: a TiVo-like function that allows you to skip forward and backward through AM, FM, or XM radio. Don’t want to miss a song? Just hit the record button before exiting the car, and it will be waiting when you return (the system stores up to 60 minutes’ worth). The CTS has all the other up-to-date electronic goodies: an optional 10-speaker Bose 5.1 stereo with a 40-gig hard drive that stores music, an impressive-looking eight-inch touch-screen navigation system that rises from the dash when in use, and an auxiliary plug and a USB port to handle any music-storage device. Cadillac says it will soon add Bluetooth hands-free calling as well, shying away from having OnStar as the only option. The Verdict The first-gen CTS exceeded sales expectations, moving 60,000 units in its best year, although BMW sold twice as many 3-series in 2006. Prices will be up a few thousand to account for the more powerful base engine, so expect a starting price of about $34,000 that rises to maybe $42,000 for our loaded test car. But with more style, power, and features, we think the new CTS—and the new GM, for that matter—is destined to be even more of a winner. Highs: Well-sorted chassis, bold exterior design, lots of passenger space, the best interior yet from GM. Lows: Still-unsatisfying manual transmission, two-ton weight, could use a more supportive seat option. Final Verdict: Cadillacs continue to get better-looking and more impressive.

2008 Cadillac CTS Broad stripes for a bright star By NATALIE NEFF | Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek | Published 07/19/07, 2:30 pm et AT A GLANCE: ON SALE: August BASE PRICE: $32,990 DRIVETRAIN: 3.6-liter, 263-hp, 253-lb-ft V6; rwd, six-speed manual 0-60 MPH: 6.8 sec (est) FUEL ECONOMY: N/A In 2002, Cadillac rallied its troops for another march into the heart of German-occupied territory. The CTS represented a second-straight assault on a market segment in which Cadillac had bombed with its previous attempt, the Catera, which was countered by a seemingly insurmountable defense thrown up by BMW, Mercedes and Audi. With the CTS, however, the General’s luxury marque flanked the Germans with an all-American design, a line of attack that called for chiseled edges and sharp corners and lots and lots of ego. And with a goal of moving just 30,000 to 40,000 units a year, Cadillac wasn’t looking so much to win the war as to establish a toehold with the CTS and hang on. The tactic more than worked. The CTS eclipsed its sales goal by the second year on the market and, at its peak in 2005, found its way into more than 60,000 garages, falling just a few hundred short of beating Cadillac’s perennially best-selling DeVille/DTS. More significantly, that same year, the CTS outsold every German midsize luxury sedan save the BMW 3 Series, including the BMW 5 Series, the Mercedes C-Class and E-Class and the Audi A4 and A6. Given the success of the original CTS campaign, Cadillac smartly stuck with the same tactic for the 2008 model—only more so. The new model should be trickling into showrooms as you read this, familiar in design but easily told apart from the outgoing car by its more distinctive body and face. The car is almost two inches wider overall, with flaring fenders over wheel wells now filled with rubber; the current car, by comparison, looks like a Baja truck, there’s so much space between tire and fender. In fact, everywhere you look on the CTS’ body, the gaps have shrunk. Even on the preproduction models we tested, the fits looked as tight as anything hailing from Europe or Asia. Cadillac says to expect to find no more than three millimeters of space around any door, fender, decklid or light. Up front, the car does a take on the popular Cadillac Sixteen concept’s grille, giving the face an element of depth, of three-dimensionality, not seen in the current car, with horizontal bars that sink into the egg-crate background as the eye moves toward the oversized crest in the center. An additional air scoop sits below, echoing the grille’s detail, even extending it below the bumper as together they form a virtual V shape. On each side of the lower intake sits a fog lamp and a brake cooling duct within an elongated bright bezel, which does well to temper all the vertical, characteristically Cadillac cues with a measure of visual width. Cadillac improved the rear view of the CTS even more than the front—even though little has substantially changed from a styling standpoint. Where the old car looks too tall, narrow, even pinched from behind, the ’08 car resolves all that with a properly proportioned rear end. The added width certainly helps; the track grew two inches right along with the width. Minor changes can be seen in the tailpipe and license-plate surrounds. The most significant styling missteps Cadillac made with the first-generation CTS have been wholly rectified for 2008. The press pilloried the car for its expensive-to-build but ungainly interior, focusing most of its ill opinion on the giant center stack, a bungle of automotive styling that leaned more toward a utilitarian, antidesign ethic favored by the likes of Compaq than the traditional elegance we’ve long associated with the wreath and crest. Cadillac salvaged almost nothing from the current car’s stoic interior in building the new one, and we’re thankful. The interior of the ’08 CTS feels completely fresh yet entirely like a Cadillac, and it looks as elegant as anything on the road. Cadillac reshaped the entire environment inside the car. To list every individual difference would miss the bigger point: In stark contrast to the cold, utilitarian, faux-Teutonic nature of the current car, the interior now feels inviting and warm, particularly if equipped with the ambient-lighting feature that casts a subtle glow around the cabin from below the wood-trim line. The most notable changes were made to the center stack, which now blends almost seamlessly with the dashboard and delineates the occupant area while maintaining a sense of airiness. The wood and brushed-metal touches mix nicely, while the interior overall strikes a perfect balance between traditional elements, such as the analog clock, and modern technologies, such as the optional navigation screen rising from the top of the stack. That nav system (as well as the optional audio system) comes with a host of features aimed at technophiles, including a 40-GB hard drive that allows you to upload and store music from CDs and even rewind a live radio feed. There’s also a direct USB jack built into the center console—great news for all the iPod addicts out there. It feels roomier inside, too, though it’s not really. While everyone benefits from a bit more wiggle room widthwise, rear passengers get 0.3 inch more headroom in exchange for less legroom by more than an inch—and that’s even with Cadillac’s highly touted “Thin Seat” technology. Perhaps credit goes to the available double-sized sunroof, which lets all passengers enjoy a view of the sky. The CTS gets one of two 3.6-liter engines of identical block but sporting different fuel-delivery systems. The base engine, familiar from the outgoing car, uses a sequential port fuel-injection (PFI) setup and a four-cam variable valve timing system to turn out a slightly higher 263 hp at 6200 rpm (up 8 hp) and 253 lb-ft of torque at 3100 rpm (up 1 lb-ft) in this application. The big story underhood comes from Cadillac’s new direct-injection V6. Injecting gasoline straight into the combustion chamber results in a more thorough combustion process, cleaner emissions, better economy and an increase in output—in this case, to the tune of 304 hp at 6300 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque at 5200 rpm, and on regular fuel to boot. Either engine can be had with one of two gearboxes: a carryover six-speed manual or a new six-speed automatic that replaces today’s five-speed box. In place of the two chassis setups on the ’07 model, buyers now have their choice of three, called FE1, FE2 and FE3. And for the first time on the CTS, Cadillac has made all-wheel drive available. A short run in a car equipped with the PFI engine, all-wheel drive and the FE2 setup revealed a decent ride and pickup and lively handling. Not surprisingly, however, our favorite combination matched the DI engine with the FE3 chassis setup (available only in rear-drive). Even though the FE2 is tuned to provide a bit more compliant, less enthusiast-oriented ride than the top-trim FE3 setup, we found the sportier chassis did a better job of minimizing the harshness at impact over broken surfaces even while delivering a slightly stiffer all-around ride characteristic. The main differences between the chassis choices come down to tires and the individual suspension tuning each requires. Base FE1 cars get 17-inch 235/55 all-season rubber (the outgoing CTS makes do with 16-inchers), FE2s get V-rated 235/50R-18s, and the FE3 comes with high-performance 235/50ZR-18s. The base car also lacks the limited-slip differential found on the other two trims and has smaller-diameter antiroll bars fore and aft. All cars get StabiliTrak stability control with brake assist standard. When seriously pushed, the FE3-equipped car eagerly responded. We found body motions well controlled. The added width results directly in a wider track, with 1.8 inches more space between the wheels in front and 2.0 inches in back, and the wider overall stance definitely translates into improved road manners, with the standard underhood strut-tower brace adding body rigidity. But the steering proved to be the most-improved aspect of the car’s handling. The lower steering ratio is immediately noticeable. Turn-in is crisp and quick, and the steering is communicative throughout. The wide-ratio six-speed automatic makes for easy cruising at just about any speed, but it hampers efforts at quickly finding the fat part of the torque curve, often requiring at least one or more downshifts to get the revs back up to where the car pulls with any authority. The manual tranny works well, even if it, too, requires frequent downshifting to get back on the cams. It also tends to shift somewhat stiffly, lacking the smooth-if-rubbery action of a BMW box. Even so, the CTS displays plenty of straight-line speed. Cadillac says the car should run from 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, which pushes the new CTS closer to the last CTS-V’s territory. The V car, which we last tested in 2004 (“Flying V,” AW, May 10, 2004), turned in a 5.35-second run to 60 mph. Of course, Cadillac left plenty of room at the top for a new V-series model, expected to join the standard lineup this fall and rumored to include a supercharged small-block turning out upward of 500 hp (This Week, AW, June 25). Meanwhile, pricing on the standard 2008 CTS is what’s making the news. It will start at $32,990 for the PFI and manual-equipped car. That’s actually $540 less than the outgoing model, not even accounting for all the additional standard content such as the tire-pressure monitoring system. Moving up to the DI engine will cost less for the automatic ($35,290) than with the manual ($36,970), but only because of the additional content you must opt for to get the shift-it-yourself version. That’s the kind of pricing news we think many Americans will appreciate—perhaps more of them than the CTS has even known.

1985 Caprice Diesel 11,000 miles!

Are YOU Eligible to drive the Fuel Cell Equinox? Click here to see if you're eligible If you live or work in metropolitan New York City; Washington, D.C.; or southern California, you may be eligible to test-drive an Equinox Fuel Cell vehicle in the fall of 2007. You must be at least 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen and have a valid driver’s license.

GM gets Hydrogen on the Go Quantum to Supply Transportable Hydrogen Refueling Stations to General Motors IRVINE, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc., today announced that it is supplying three transportable hydrogen refueling stations to General Motors. These units will be used to refuel GM's fuel cell vehicles, which are equipped with Quantum hydrogen fuel systems, at various locations, from vehicle proving grounds and public ride-and-drive events to fleet demonstrations. "Our transportable hydrogen refueling stations are designed to support our customers as they advance their hydrogen fuel cell vehicle initiatives and are helping to establish the foundation of a hydrogen refueling network," stated Alan P. Niedzwiecki, President and CEO. "The high pressure storage systems developed by Quantum, which these new refueling stations support, translate directly into a greater vehicle driving range for hydrogen fueled vehicles, a critical factor for the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles." "Quantum's hydrogen refueling stations, integral elements of our alternative energy product portfolio, are cost-effective, just-in-time modular solutions to deliver hydrogen to hydrogen powered vehicles as their demand continues to grow around the world," added Mr. Niedzwiecki. Related News Recently, GM announced that their Chevrolet Sequel fuel cell vehicle successfully drove a distance of 300 miles on one fill of hydrogen, from General Motors' Fuel Cell Activity Center in Honeoye Falls to Tarrytown, New York, becoming the world's first fuel cell vehicle to achieve that milestone. The Sequel is equipped with Quantum's integrated hydrogen storage system, comprised of Quantum's ultra-lightweight 10,000 psi (70 MPa) hydrogen tanks and related hydrogen regulation, metering, and safety systems. About Quantum Quantum, a fully integrated alternative energy company, is a leader in powertrain engineering, system integration and manufacturing of packaged fuel systems and accessories for specialty vehicles and applications including fuel cells, hybrids, alternative fuels, hydrogen refueling, new body styles, mid-cycle vehicle product enhancements and high performance engines and drive trains for OEMs and consumers of aftermarket parts and accessories. Quantum also designs and manufactures hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. Quantum also develops and manufacturers advanced lithium-ion batteries through its partner, Advanced Lithium Power. Quantum has product commercialization alliances with General Motors, AM General and Sumitomo. Quantum's customer base includes General Motors, Toyota, Opel, Hyundai, Suzuki, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, SunLine, Yamaha, AeroVironment, and the U.S. Army. More information can be found about Quantum's products and services at http://www.qtww.com/ .

LOL where are you getting those repair costs?

Woo! Congratulations and keep us updated!

Yeah. And its a shame its just like a special bodykit because I honestly do like how it looks. <---take a screenshot of me saying that.

A single or ext-cab version with a 6-ft bed would be awesome.

Sure will!