smk4565

I don't care for smallish SUVs, but that diesel engine is sweet. 8-speed transmission is nice also. The supercharged V6 is surprising, not sure why it doesn't make around 310 hp and lb-ft like it does in other Audi products. The gas V6 seems weak, better off with the diesel.

And yet, the CTS still has a plasticy interior, and Cadillac can't manage to get any sales in Europe. And Cadillac is still drifing around 5th place in sales in their home market. If Mercedes is so flawed, it should be easy for Cadillac pass them by and make a $100k car that sells 75,000 units globally per year, and get 500k sales out of the CTS and ATS. It would be easy but people are hung up on a name and GM still has to overcome 20+ years of Consumer reports and news bashing them even when they did not deserve it. No they still get no respectible press. Righ so how does one change that image? Better product, flagship sedan, halo sports car, longer warranty, expanded roadside assistance, better service/dealer experience, advertising, etc. But mainly better product, and not a Chevy Impala with extra wood trim and a touch screen.

We made fun of the Lexus Prius, here comes the Cadillac Volt. I suspect just like the CT200h sales will be low.

And yet, the CTS still has a plasticy interior, and Cadillac can't manage to get any sales in Europe. And Cadillac is still drifing around 5th place in sales in their home market. If Mercedes is so flawed, it should be easy for Cadillac pass them by and make a $100k car that sells 75,000 units globally per year, and get 500k sales out of the CTS and ATS.

I agree with that, there are many factors that lead buyer one way or the other. Some might not care at all about performance, others might make that their main priorty. But I do think on luxury cars brand image matters. This is where Cadillac falls short and what they need to repair.

SS Performance could just be a trim line on existing cars. But maybe it will be a Caprice cop car for retail customers.

CTS has a lot of plastic in the interior, it still feels cheaper and not as well built as the German cars to me. As a GM car owner that has spent a lot on maintenence, I still question if a current CTS 10 years from now will hold up, or will power windows/mirrors break, leather crack and wear out, interior trim pieces come loose, engine mounts break, engine sensors go bad, air conditioning compressor break, etc. Cadillac has to win people over time with rock solid build quality to keep people coming back. Cadillac for example offers 5 year roadside assistance, Mercedes is forever. Unlimited miles, years, and owners shows Mercedes has confidence in their product. Mercedes in Europe also offers a 30 year anti-corrosion warranty. I think you need a flagship too. Infiniti has two strong cars with the G37 and M37/M56 yet where are they? No flagship or halo car, no status, no image.

They won't be missed. Scion could be Toyota's Saturn. Loads of money invested for very little return and eventually just closing up shop.

Well the Accord has been pretty much benchmark for midsize cars for almost 30 years, and a really strong seller. In the past 25-30 years, I'd say only the Camry has been as successful. The Taurus had a run from 1986-1996 when it sold pretty well, but no single model in the mid-size segment has had the success of Accord or Camry, and the Accord was always much better reviewed than the Camry was. The 3-series is pretty much the Accord of the entry-lux segment. I'm sure GM in 2040 would like to look back over the previous 30 years and see the CTS in the top 3 in luxury sales every year, with 25 10 Best awards on the shelf to boot.

The V6 looks promising, that would give the XF a nice entry level engine here and broaden the range a bit, rather than just offering V8s. Perfect for a smaller sports car. A supercharged V6 would be nice in the XK also, it may get the weight down some, and almost makes the power the V8 makes. The Evoque engine I see used in a small sports car, not enough muscle for current Jag sedans and they have a turbo diesel four in europe for the frugal buyer. Now if (or when) Jaguar does a 3-series competitor, the turbo 4 would be a good base engine, then the super V6 as the optional.

Well the 3-series has been on the Car & Driver 10 Best award list for 21 consecutive years. That is a pretty good run. I generalized when I said 30 years, BMW has been a benchmark for over 20 though, and Mercedes much longer than that. Mercedes invented the car after all. And the CTS is no longer going to be an entry level car, if they push it to mid-lux against the E-class and 5-series Cadillac better not bring another knife to a gun fight like with the STS.

You all can bash Mercedes or other imports of the 80s, but that is when Cadillac started to lose, and it got worse in the 1990s. If Mercedes wasn't any good, why isn't Cadillac dominating them? And since this was about the CTS, can Cadillac add $10,000 or even $15,000 in price to that car and see a sales increase on it? That is a tall order.

BMW and Audi got a later start, Mercedes was the standard in the 1960s even, the other 2 came a bit later. But Cadillac did the Cimarron in the early 80s because they were worried about the sales BMW and other European imports were taking sales away. Lexus in the 80s built the LS400 to compete with Mercedes (albeit at a discount) even the CTS-V was done to compete with the M5, a car that came out in 1985. The Germans have been at this game a long time is all I'm saying. And in the 1970s when the top Cadillacs were $16,000, a Merecedes 450SEL 6.9 was nearly $40,000. The S-class has always been the standard, and that is the difference between Mercedes and the rest. Lexus, Infiniti, Cadillac, etc can compete on $35-50,000 cars, but they can't play in the big leauges. Even the Lexus LS is about $30,000 cheaper than an S-class.

That's terrible.

150 hp and cloth seats for $25,900, what a rip off. I don't get why people still buy Acuras, they are barely any nicer inside than a Honda and Honda's aren't even that nice.

Moving in the rigth direction is good, and ATS and CTS seem to be doing that. But 10 years ago the first CTS came out, and we heard of a rear drive STS and rear drive convertible to follow shortly after. 10 years ago Cadillac was supposed to be moving toward being a global player and challenging the Germans. So we've heard this story before. We are also about 1 year away from a new S-class and a reminder of what Mercedes is capable of and why they are Mercedes and Cadillac, Infiniti, and the others are second teir.

Could just be to protect the name since they have had many SS models over the years, and a Camaro SS right now.

300 hp in a front driver is already pushing it. So I would say in Impala SS doesn't make sense. if you want power and performance that is why rear drive cars exists. I just read in USA today that large cars are 3% of car sales and the average buyer of a large car is 65. So I can't see much volume on a high power Impala. It would be like a V8 Toyota Avalon, pointless.

Not sure how the SRX helps them become a world standard, when it competes with the RX350 and MKX, and the Germans have rear drive, more expensive SUVs. Plus the MKX is sold in North America only, and even 56% of Lexus brand sales are in the USA. Also not sure dfelt how the XTS is already a winner when it isn't on sale yet, and many are already saying it is here to handle fleet sales. ATS might be world class, and the next-gen CTS might be world class, but those are still 2 "might be's" and BMW and Mercedes have been world class for 30+ years. So while I see the ATS and CTS being steps in the right direction, they may not get Cadillac across the goal line.

Not sure you can be the "world standard" when you pretty much only sell in North America and even in the USA Cadillac is mid-pack in sales.

Too much power for a front wheel drive car, even with all wheel drive, I wonder how bad it will understeer. But I suppose people will by it because it will be low on weight and high on power and they will forget about the drive wheels.

Let's hope, the STS was a dud.

Looks promising so far, and agrees about the Benz look, I think they used those wheels to make it look more like a Benz. I just hope it doesn't get too big, the CTS is already bigger than an E-class. This car could make the XTS irrelevant (which I would love). This car will have a longer wheelbase, and possibly more interior room than an XTS, they could fit it with magnetic ride control, a better interior, and 8-speed transmission (if they ever get one). Then you have RWD ride and handling that beats the XTS, better fuel economy because of the turbo 4 and even the V6 with a better transmission and less mass to move around should do better on the CTS than XTS. I assume this CTS will be priced the same as the XTS in order to line up to the 5-series.

Ouch, what is up with the paint color?

Diesel is awesome! It has probably only done 12,000 miles though because the engine blew after that.