smk4565

The S-class suspension virtually eliminates body roll, pitch or dive with hydraulics and air springs, which goes beyond what the Vette's magnetic shocks can do. The S-class can vary it's ride height also, it is a suspension beyond what GM has at the moment. To go for the S-class, the chassis, engine, transmission, and suspension would have to be done from scratch almost. That costs a billion dollars easy, that is why they are going to make a $45,000 front diver instead and have the Lexus IS and ES type overlap in price, but going for 2 kinds of buyers.

Agreed, the MKS is $38-47k, Cadillac may have to price the DT7 overlapping the CTS. So the SRX and DTS are basically moving down market. They don't have the motor or the 7-8 speed tranny to go after the high end sedans. So the question becomes will Cadillac be able to fend off Hyundai who has a rear drive platform, modern V8 and has a more powerful V8 and 8-speed on the way, and the Equus sedan may come here also.

Zeta was developed with the Commordore and other large rear drive cars, it was never intended to be specifically for Cadillac. An aluminum suspension isn't enough most luxury cars have that. To go after the S-class would cost GM as much as the 08 Malibu and Volt combined, so it isn't going to happen. 2012 is still a long way too, the STS and DTS will be really dated by then, Cadillac won't have much customer base except for the CTS, and a big front driver isn't the way to win new customers.

Killing Pontiac saves GM because every dollar they would have spent on Pontiac can be spent on the Cruze, Malibu, and Impala, basically doubling the budget behind each car, then the Cruze, Malibu and Impala will have actual retail sales that turn profit, not fleet dumps.

Zeta wasn't the answer for the DT7 (bad name) anyway. It isn't a premium platform, it is a Holden/Chevy/Pontiac platform. If they want to go after the S-class and 7-series they need a platform solely for that, otherwise there is no sense in trying. The solution for Cadillac then becomes Sigma needs upgraded, and CTS pushed to a $47-60,000 price class, and Alpha platform (unique to Cadillac) for a small sedan/coupe/convertible in the $35-50k range. If they can get a rear drive version of the volt, that would work also, and Cadillac doesn't do full size anymore. Building more land barges with mush suspension like the DTS will just continue to kill the brand.

If they gave congress a big FU then they would be in bankruptcy already. The only thing keeping them afloat right now is the $13.4 billion that Congress gave them. The decline of GM is part legacy cost and part uncompetitive product. The legacy costs have become unsustainable at almost any level of sales. They lost market share over the years because the product wasn't good enough. If they had by far and away the best midsize sedan they could sell 500,000 a year and get sticker price. But in 03-2007 they had the Malibu, G6, Regal, LaCrosse, Grand Prix, etc and those are just average cars that needed $3500 cash back deals to sell. If they cut brands, and make the remaining brands twice as good they can gain market share. Now if they cut brands and leave the remaining 4 as they are, they are in trouble.

I wonder if they had filed Chapter 11 a year ago before burning through most of that $19 billion in cash, if they could have reorganized. Now they are so deep in the hole, it may be too late.

Ecoboost Mustang would be good, because the current engines are dated. The Camaro has to haul an extra 400 or so pounds over the Genesis and Mustang, which could hurt the V6 Camaro in acceleration and handling. But I thought the V8 Camaro was going to be around $30k, so that will offer a lot of straight line performance for not a lot of money.

This also shows that Cadillac has zero focus. Are they a performance brand like BMW, or are they going for geriatrics like Lexus? Are they a truck brand or a car brand, going for Tier 1 $50-100k or 2nd to 3rd tier like Lincoln and Acura. They don't know what direction they are going in, they are just doing what is cheapest and easy. Unfortunately, cheap and easy won't beat Mercedes.

It is Quattro awd only, but the engine is still longitudinally mounted. And the A8 is probably the worst of the top end luxury cars, the 7-series and S-class are far superior.

I applaud Hyundai for having the guts to make rear drivers, and they are getting it right on the first try, which is more impressive. They may have been a joke 10 years ago, but they aren't now, if they improve over the next 10 years, like they did over the last 10, they are going to be force to be reckoned with.

The Genesis Coupe seems to have great performance specs for its price. I sat in it at the auto show, the seats are good, and it is good interior for a $23-30k sports car, obviously it isn't as nice as the Infiniti. The real competition is with the Mustang, RX-8, 370Z, Camaro, etc, and I think the Genesis Coupe interior, looks, performance, price etc stacks up very well with them.

AWD adds weight and doesn't necessarily help performance. Jaguars are rear drive, the 7-series was always rear drive only (awd will be offered) Lexus LS460 is rear wheel, Genesis is rear wheel, S-class is has optional awd. Rear wheel will always be the superior drivetrain, that is why the Corvette isn't front wheel or all wheel drive.

114.5 inch wheelbase and 195 inch length aren't front drive proportions. The G8 has a 114.8 inch wheelbase and 196 inches long, it is the same proportions.

I love this car, and it did 225.675 mph on the salt flats with some modifications, but still using all stock parts. The interior is really good because they use high end materials, the dash is all real leather, not leatherette, or that textured soft plastic stuff Audi uses. The flipping air vents and shifter are innovative, and they also offer a lot of leather color and wood choices. The XF is a great car, the new 385 hp V8 for the base model is only going to make it better, and hopefully they bring the diesel here, because it has a 0-60 time of 6 seconds and gets around 35 mpg. Solid lineup top to bottom. The X-type was a mistake but the Ford era is over, and the focus is back to making good cars. The XJ concept is due this year, it will leap right up there with the S-class, perhaps more so for people looking for some performance, and not just a giant luxo cruiser.

No Cadillac should be front wheel drive, any credibility built with the CTS and original SRX is going to be flushed down the drain by the front drive SRX, dated DTS and the DT7. The DT7 will just be like what the Lincoln MKS is now, but it is 3 years away still. Cadillac is going to be no better than Lincoln or Acura. If Cadillac is going to use Chevy front drive platforms for cars, then Buick isn't needed, and GM should just go to 2 brands. Chevy for mainstream, Cadillac for $30-55,000.

I'd rather Cadillac have Hyundai's 4.6 V8 or the coming 5 liter V8 than the antiquated Northstar. The Equus will have 420 hp and the DTS has 290, Cadillac can't keep up with Hyundai, that is a sad day. I want to see Cadillac build the best cars in the world, but anyone that thinks the current lineup is world class is fooling themselves. If the pushrod is the superior engine, why not put the 3900 pushrod V6 as the base CTS motor?

The fastest V8 sedan claim is based on the 191 mph top speed of a manual equipped CTS-V. That is what Cadillac stated. I know the Nurburgring time, and it is a great time, but that has nothing to do with the "fastest V8 sedan" claims in their ads. The Arnage engine I think is retired this year, it's a dinosaur, it makes a lot of power, but even they are moving on. What Bentley does, doesn't really matter, people that buy Bentleys just buy it. They aren't cross shopping, or looking at the Rolls Royce V12 and comparing driving experiences or quietness. Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Infiniti and Jaguar use DOHC (some SOHC in Mercedes), if Cadillac wants to be like them, they should be all DOHC also.

Toyota was smart in that they put their products in the dead middle of the market segments and dominate the segment with one vehicle. The Camry for example is positioned at the center of the family sedan market, while GM always positioned several cars around the center, Pontiac off toward the sport side, Buick to the soft side, Chevy a little on the cheap side, Olds on the higher price side, Saturn with an import look, but near Chevy/Pontiac in price/performance. GM goes after 5-6 smaller demographics, Toyota goes after 1 big one. Either can be good business strategies, especially in the 1950s when there weren't as many car brands. But the market is saturated now, and there is too much competition for GM to keep doing that. The Camaro will outsell the 370Z and Genesis Coupe, but not outsell the Mustang. I don't know what those cars sell per year, but the Camaro will be in between. If Zeta were smaller and lighter, GM could have had a hit on their hands with a rear (awd option) drive sedan that was about Ford Fusion size (and weight) with 4 and 6 cylinder engines. It would drive better than any of the front drive family sedans and still be fuel efficient, and no one else does a rear drive midsize that isn't a luxury car.

CAFE calculates weird, and that was 07. I know I read something that rated Honda as number 1 in fuel economy, maybe it was 08 CAFE or else it was based on EPA figures. Either way, notice Honda and Toyota are both 4 mpg higher than any of the domestics, so that isn't helping Detroit any.

Cadillac is a luxury car, it should be able to be a rocket and quiet. That is the what makes the great cars what they are, they can do multiple things well in an effortless manner. Chrysler can put a 425 h V8 into the 300 and Charger, doesn't mean it is a better car than a V6 CTS for the same money. The Cadillac is still a better car, it just isn't as fast in a straight line. I will always believe that all Cadillacs should have DOHC engines only. And the CTS-V is really the fastest V8 sedan because most of the other V8 cars have limiters on them, and there are sedans like the Bentley Flying Spur that do 198 mph, but that is 12 cylinder. The Jaguar XFR with an aero kit and slight engine mods at 225.675 mph on the Bonneville Salt flats. So if they offer an XFR-S, which they may do, they will be king of top speed, an nobody else is touching 226 mph in 4-door.

Cadillac's General Manage about a year ago said luxury buyers want a V6, so that is what Cadillac is going to focus on. Yet BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Infiniti, Audi, Lexus and even Hyundai have V8s. The Genesis is getting an engine upgrade that could be 420 to 500 hp if they put a supercharge on it. And the CTS-V is a pushrod, that isn't a refined, luxury engine and it registered 71 dBa at 70 mph, they should be closer to 67-68 decibels. CTS should have a DOHC V8, it isn't like it is a small car, it is 4,000 pounds, that is a lot of car. The Equus is around 202 inches long, so it is a rather large car, they are going to near S-class size here, which is too big for me, but it looks like Hyundai could have a great car here. It may fall flat like the VW Pheaton, but I at least they are trying.

Camaro will crush the G8 sales numbers, it looks 100 times better, it is a 2 doors which make it a better sports car and it costs less, plus has a 300 hp V6, not a 250 hp V6. Transformers 2 comes out this summer, that could help also. The Camaro has a cool factor to it, the G8 doesn't. Although I think the Camaro's semi-retro look could have it looking dated after a few years, where the Nissan Z ages well and the Genesis Coupe I think will age well.

No GM car comes out fast. Hopefully they get these to dealerships soon since the 370Z just came out, the 2010 Mustang and 2010 Genesis coupe arrive soon also. There are a lot of new arrivals to that segment, and GM can't lose sales because they don't have cars on the lot.

The G8 may post similar track numbers, but you can't measure the feel or driver input and road feedback a BMW gives. And the 550i isn't one of the better handling BMWs, the 535i and all the 3-series handle better because of weight and weight distribution, but I get that they are comparing V8 to V8 and similar curb weights. Although the comparison is dumb anyway, BMW is a luxury car, Pontiac is not. Comparing the G8 to the CTS makes more sense, at least they are semi-close in price. I know everyone here loves the G8, but it doesn't sell and used V8 models are going for $20k or less already, the car is a flop. GM needs money makers, criticize the Camry all you want, but that car has printed a lot of money over the years. I'd never buy one and I hate the car, but it makes them money, which is something GM's cars aren't doing right now.