hyperv6

Nah... the Northstar has too much negative baggage associated with it -- a spotty reliability record with earlier renditions and a mediocre performance throughout its life. I am not sure anyone ever revered Northstar or was impressed by its performance. Although it was a decent enough engine it was never truly impressive in any way. If they want to name their V8s and stick to the same theme, try Polaris. It means North Star and it is the US's first submarine launched nuclear ballistic missile. Polaris is also a snowmobile/snow machine. Not sure they would want to use that one. Just as the Camaro and ATS having the same identical engines be all good with you. Most people who are buyers in this call like to feel they are getting something special and more even if they are just fooling themselves. While the Camaro engine is fine it does not fool most of them. Engines are more than just a bunch of assumed numbers in this class people want to look and feel special with the car and what it offers. You want to prevent the detractors from pointing out it's just a Chevy with more chome. Here is a good example of marketing that GM did get right. The Alpha was designed and built for Cadillac first. It will next be shared with Chevy. On the other hand it would have hurt them to build it as a Chevy and then share it as a Cadillac. While it is still the same damn thing people precieve this as Chevy being based on a better platform vs the Cadillac just being a fancy Chevy. People are idiots and if you play the platform or engine shell game you have to keep the ball moving. It is not a sin to pass things down from Cadillac but it is a sin to pass Chevy things up to Cadillac. It makes a difference in how it is precieved by the general buyers. In this day and age it is easier to built a car vs market as marketing today has become even more important since there are so many models so close together.

There are seveal factors involved here. First there is too little info on the TT V6 and V8 to as you say assume much. They each in theory have pluses and minuses. The way I see it is the ATSv will get a TTV6 that will be available on the new CTS. The new CTSv will have the new V8 that will lead to the LTS. I see this as a step up as you go. To offer the V8 in the cheapest car would detract from the more expensive cars. Cadillac has few engines to work with and they need to spread them out over the lines carefully and build on their image. Besides to put the V8 in the ATS would make it no more than a Camaro 4 door once it is on the Alpha. I hope someday Cadillac may get their own engines but that may be remote or something if it ever could happen would be long down the road. You and I know the new V8 is advanced but to most it is just another update of an old Chevy engine. I feel GM has done an injustice to this engine buy letting people think it is a small block Chevy all these years when the real small block died long ago. I have a cut away of an LS near my desk and everytime I look at it I think about how different that engine is and how sad so many think it just a update of the old engine. This engine is more advanced and much better than the original engine and deserves to have it's own image. If anything it would help build a new image Cadillac could really use. The bottom line is Cadillac needs to sell the hardware under the hood here as precieved technology means more than real technology with this class of owner. If he thinks it is just the same engine that is in his $30,000 truck why pay $70,000 it in his Cadillac.. This is why I plead for special tuned and dressed V8 engines for the Cadillac line. I understand they need to use what they have but that does not mean they can make it look better than just a plastic cover and give it a special tune with more power.

The new Malibu will be fine once the LTZ and other models hit. The Eco is just not a top line car and is not even close to a sports sedan. I hate to say it but GM came with the weakest model first and it hurts. Now on the old one sell so well what do you expect. THe old model was a damn good car and a damn good value even before the sale. I got a LT2 V6 with everything but the sunroof for $19,000 in 08. Not many cars offer that kind of value for that price. Only things is the V6 MPG but overall it is a very good car and the best Chevy small FWD sedan till the Cruze. Once the old car is gone soon and the LT and LTZ hit the market we will see a greater take rate on the Bu. The Malibu is not a car for folks like us here but it is a car the general public will love and buy in great numbers. After being in the Kia it is crap. Just slam the rear door shut vs my 08 Bu and you can hear the tinny quality difference. The Kia will be a great lease car as once they start to get older no one will want to pay what it cost to fix where the Bu will just keep plugging away. We have seen this same story at Hyundai. We have no old Hyundai's here in Ohio.

I agree with you HyperV6 about the balance, but just as we have seen BMW move batteries to the rear of the car and other components, I suspect if the ATS goes with a V8 or the TTV6 they will find things they do not need up front and move it to the back under the rear seat or somewhere in the trunk area to keep the 50/50 balance. This way they can truly build a M3 Crusher! BMW has gone as far as a carbon roof to lower the center of gravity while Benz just puts a big engine in and a large sunroof and weight be damned. I expect Cadlllac to use lighter more expensive parts in the front end of the ATS V. The price point will let this happen easier vs the lower cost models.

The fact is the comment by the writer is bassed on comments from Cadillac. He is far from the only one who has hinted at this. The issue at hand is if you put a Supercharged V8 in the ATS then what would the point of a Supercharged CTSV be? They will not make two different Supercharged engines and they can't let the lighter and smaller ATS be faster. We will just have to wait and see but most clues Cadillac has given were that the V8 will be for the CTS and they had other plans for the ATS. The TTV6 will arrive around the same time as the new V8. It also will be around or just over 400 HP when the SC V8 will remain or gain HP from the mid 500 HP range with a flatter torque curve. In other words stay tuned as there is a lot more to come and GM has only hinted not talked. While I would not completely rule out the V8 the odds are long. We will just have to wait and see. The new larger CTS is already testing the TT V6 now and has been photo'd. The Key with the ATS is balance and it will be interesting to see how they will keep balance with either engine it used. They already are using the cast iron rear diff to keep balance 50/50 in the standard car in a V I do not see them changing the balance. The inline engine is no better or worst older technology sin than OHV. It is just a way to be different and set themselves appart.

A small 2 seater has limited appeal. They will sell out of the gate but to keep them alive they will have to limit sales per year of less than 20,000 units. Even the Miata the most popular in class struggles to make 12,000 units some years. Chevy needs a small light 2+2 that is RWD that can use the 2.0 Turbo and get great MPG and still cost under $30K. It needs styling that would appeal to the younger market too as while the Camaro appeals to a older market with money they need to do something that appeals to the kids that can only afford 20K-30K and have no cylinder count hang ups. Not sure if they could do anything that cheap on the Alpha but it is worth a thought. A modern Monza would be nice. I would not get all too retro with it but a modern day version of what it was would be something the market could use. This would compete with the new Subaru and Scion. If you could load it up with all the options and keep it under 30K I think many would love the combo. You also would have to load it with lot of electronic options or dealer installed options the kids want today. As for reset you have to get people to reset their expectations. Years ago people just wanted to own a house and a car. Today it is a McMansion and 3 cars but they still want to shop at WalMart. The MTV cribs mentality has killed the youth of this country as they all want but they do not want to work for it.

Being in charge of advertising is like being the coach of the Cleveland Browns. I see this as a case where the board and Joe were just not on the same page. Though I was ok with killing the Super Bowl ads. Too little for the amount of money paid unless you have one of the most remembered ads.

Not buying this one. I would say there is a better chance Opel may have a version of the Cadillac Omega platform if anything and I don't even expect that.

The key to the 2.0 and MPG is the low end torque and how fast it gets the mass moving to where you can take your foot out of it. The mass of the XTS may be an issue but the 6 speed will help keep the MPG up. It is going to be a balancing act. On the other hand the ATS mass is so low it is not much of an issue. The 2.0 is a engine that needs to get to speed fast and is easy on gas with off throttle and will keep speed with just a crack of throttle. This last month I have so far been keeping at 25.5 MPG in the HHR. The key is to be smooth and not a lot of WOT. Now I did not say I drive slow. On the short 3 miles of freeway I drive I normally will see 80 MPH to where I get off. The rest are side roads and stop and go for th balance of the 15 miles. The XTS may have the same issue the Nox has with the 2.4. If you drive it with a lot of WOT on the on ramp and other places the MPG will drop but during normal driving the vehicle will meet its markes. The Nox mass at 4000 pounds taxes the engine some. The 2.0 turbo with the low end torque should help on the XTS. BUt the key will still be get to speed and get off the gas. The MPG is there but you need to drive smart. But that goes for many engines.

It is not the money but the need and want to win. Even in my sons Soap Box Derby the rules are tight but the lenghts some go to win are crazy. But I agree to a degree how How fast do you want to go is also related to how much do you want to spend. It has always been that way no matter the amounts. Those who were able to invest the most tend to come out on top. The fact is life is a compitition and always had a place in society and is what drives us all to become better than our station in life. Few people settle for just what they have. In any racing there is little status quo and if there is that is the team or driver that is always in last place. Lifes in general is a race and there are winners and loser. Often hard work and investment are rewarded and those who don't fade away. That is why I don't buy the crap about we don't keep score in kids soccer etc. We all have to learn how to compete. The sad part is the purity of it all is lost but that is the way it is. This was the one thing I do enjoy much about Autocrosse. It is you vs the clock and it is where your driving matters and you see how you can improve on each run. I have done it in cars from Z06 to my old GMC ZQ8. It was cheap and easy to have fun and enjoy a form of motorsports.

I don;t know the laws over there but if MFG can own their dealers or not. IF they could GM should do so to keep control. Or they should get someone involved like a Roger Penske or the like who has some of the worlds largest dealer networks and know how to do buisness anywhere in the world. Roger already has ties to GM so lets work together.. He also owns the largest Cadillac dealer in the world. It is also a name that people in Europe know and respect. It would make puttng out the money for a car much easier if you are dealing with a respected name. In this case they repsect him more than GM.

Don't underestimate Bubba as he has learned how to get over 100,000 people to a race when you all city folk can only get 30,000 to a road race. He also is on national TV live when the road race is one ESPN Ocho at odd times. Like it or not the technology compitition in racing has prevented stock racing and will keep it away. While stock bodied cars might be a grand Idea it's time was over by 1970. The MFG and Bubba advanced aerodynamics to the point of no return just to win on Sunday. I loved the old Escort Showroom stock challange races but so few people cared and the companies abused the rules too. The Nelson Ledges race was notorious for having a year newer car get into the race from GM or Porsche. In the end they all were cheating and it killed a series no one really watched. I have road raced and driven stock cars and I love them both. If I had to choose which one to drive in full time it would be road racing. but It is to me like golf. great to do but boring to watch on TV. If anyone wants the Trans AM series you already have it in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series. They have been running the Camaro and Mustang there for several years. The cars are based on production cars and stock engines. They do have to restrict the intakes to keep the races close on the Camaros and Mustangs but they put on a great race. In many ways these are one of the few stock type series left. THey are much more stock than the Austrailian touring cars. True racing fans would love it but the general public finds it a bore on TV which is a shame. I have hung out with the teams at Mid Ohio and they are great. It is a shame it takes a lot of money to run one of these teams and so little is paid out since so few come to the races. By the way they have a lot of Bubbas working on the Continental cars since most are based in NC. Seems Bubba knows a thing or two about making cars go fast even left or right.Bubba is damn good at makeing all kinds of cars fast. Who did much of the GT40 work in the 60's? Holman and Moody a bunch of Bubba's did. . I found that the Mustang and Challanger names and stickers to be a non factor last year. The only good thing here is the nose on the Camaro is nicer than the out going Impala sticker and the Camaro name will get more air time. . It is what it is and there is little way to go back and keep the crowds paying to ome in nation wide.

No V8 for the ATS. Just not going to happen. It would hurt the CTSV too much as it could be faster and cheaper. Not good marketing. Cadillac is not going all out. Cadillac has a 10 year plan and are doing what they need to do in the order they need to do it. Starting out at the low end and work their way up with world class cars. I know some have some crazy ideas of what the flagship will be and they should be tempered some what. It will be a car able to take on the likes of the 7 and Benz but it will not be some exotic car. I expect from what has been said we may see a mix of styling of the Ciel and Sixteen but not a full on show car take off. This has to be a car that is good for everyday use with no comprimises. I expect the nose to be along the lines of the ATS and Ciel with a Sixteen roof. The engine is the wild card as it would be hard to do a DOHC just for this car unless they work with someone else. I could see GM having someone make the block and heads and then use the Wixcom plant to assemble them. But it would not be cheap. I expect a OHV v8 [sorry it is not a small block to me any more] and I hope and pray they trune it to Cadillac specs and only their spec. Where the Chevy is using a Supercharger I would love to see them use a Turbo set up to be different. Also They need to dress the engine up in something better than plastic covers. Real aluminum covers polished or powder coated with stainless fasteners. If they could do it for my Fiero they can do it for the LTS. The Tubo, DI and VVT would make for a flat torque curve unsee by any GM V8.

Here is the bottom line. NASCAR is entertainment for the average American. No matter what the die hard race fan thinks it is a form of racing that keeps the average person interested from the Red Neck drunk , house wife and Wall Street broker. It appeals to most and many. Road racing is for the true enthusiast but even it is tainted anymore as they too need to tinker with it to keep things close or it becomes another F! race where technology is the race. Like NASCAR or not it is good for racing in general as with out it racing would not be seen as a accepted sport. We don't need tracks like Germany as we have many natural race tracks here that are world class. The key is to get off the damn street tracks that are boring. But there again it is a necessary evil as that is where the money is for the rich fat old drunks in the hospitality areas. The difference is the Good old boy at least knows who is in the race where the corperate invite is there for the drinks and has no clue who is even in the race but he keeps his shirt on.

Probably just as well to wait for the Omega flagship and will allow them time to fix the terrible dealer network over there. I agree get the Euro network of dealers updated and fixed, before shipping in more product choices. It should be a crime for a dealership to be allowed to call themselves a Cadillac dealership when they are a hole in the wall dump like a 2nd hand thrift store. But that is all the Rolls dealer is in Russia. LOL! They do need to get this network sorted out and organized right before they make the leap again. If they fail this time even with good product it will be a long time before they could even consider going back again. We are at Strike Two now.

I watch too but then again you and I love road racing when the average race fan has little taste for it. With NASCAR it is the show where you see the car for ever second on the track and never miss a thing. It also is about the chance of anyone of 20 cars and a few long shots winning any week. To be honest I was able to hang with the Camaro teams in the Continental Grand Am series. To me it was just like the old days of Trans Am. But even in this and the Pirelli Series the cars are far from stock in many respects too. The Pirelli cars have many changes and the Grand Am cars have restrictors on them and are not even as fast as the street cars. THe truth is the day of head to head racing is over as the MFG just got too crazy in their attempts of win at any cost. They complain now about not looking stock in stock cars but they were the ones who screwed it up. It comes down to the point that is the same team wins week after week people would stop watching. [unless his name was Earnhardt]. Also if the same make were to win week after week many MFG would pull out. It is sad but the old days of wide open racing are over and it is now just for entertainment. To me there is nothing better than SCCA or the old IMSA series at Mid Ohio but that is just me and I am in the minority.

A car of the weight of the XTS will need the Turbo engine. The flat torque curve will help move the mass well vs the 2.5. Also the engine is not that complex etc under a hood that large. To be honest my 2.0 Turbo has more HP than my 68 and 72 BBC in stock from figured at Net HP. Second witht he global market we need to remember cylinder count is no longer in play. Most countries the V8 is rare and to be honest if it were not for trucks here it would be very rare. this was like back when F1 went to Turbo engines and some companies were getting over 1000 HP plus out of Turbo 4 and 6 engines and made for some of the most powerful F1 cars ever. I do agree from a preception standpoint the XTS should not have it here till later once it is more of an accepted idea.

I really don't care for the Camaro, Challanger and Mustang as it is as they really do not trasfer to NASCAR well. Lets face it the Mustang and Challanger only look like what they are if they are coming at you. The Camaro looks good in the nose but the rest of the car does not transfer well. The reallity is that NASCAR is about the show and controling cost and the days of the body in white are long gone. Hell they are long gone from most racing accept for some road race series. The Carmaro will be a better marketing tool vs the old Impala but I really do not see alot of value in increased sales here. It is still more a Chevy vs Ford vs what ever Chrysler has left. As for Toyota their fans tend to be more driver related than brand. As for sedans vs coupes does it really matter? I do hope we see the Super Sport on the touring cars in Texas when they run next year. All they need to do is change some badges and some stickers.

It is funny but I even saw 2 different Citations in the last week. Barretta's are very common and they may not be pretty but they keep on running. I saw even saw a beat up Pace car one Saturday. Most old GM cars are the choice for winter beaters or first cars for high school kids. They are easy to find, cheap and easy to repair and keep on running and running. The guy I work with has a Grand Am that is on the original engine and tranny and will hit 300,000 this fall. Now keep in mind that we also live in the snow belt of ohio where they even salt the road when the sun is out and they are clear. On the other hand it is rare to see any Asian cars older than 12 years old. Most have rotted away or were more expensive to fix than they were worth. An very old Honda here is rare. Quite different here in the dry Southwest...I see a lot more '90s Asian and European cars than domestics of that era in the daily commute. I can't recall the last time I saw a Beretta, Lumina, or any FWD GM that old. You have to keep in mind we also have more domestic and you have more Asian cars to start with and that factors in.

Maybe in some areas, but I never see those around... I see very few GM models in day-to-day traffic that are older than 10-15 years old.. It is funny but I even saw 2 different Citations in the last week. Barretta's are very common and they may not be pretty but they keep on running. I saw even saw a beat up Pace car one Saturday. Most old GM cars are the choice for winter beaters or first cars for high school kids. They are easy to find, cheap and easy to repair and keep on running and running. The guy I work with has a Grand Am that is on the original engine and tranny and will hit 300,000 this fall. Now keep in mind that we also live in the snow belt of ohio where they even salt the road when the sun is out and they are clear. On the other hand it is rare to see any Asian cars older than 12 years old. Most have rotted away or were more expensive to fix than they were worth. An very old Honda here is rare. Exactly.... And while I like Miatas and such... There are older Asian cars that seem to hold up around here though. Older Celicas were built like tanks. But then again, Toyota cheapened the product. We were pretty much given a 92 Celica for my son to drive (actually, one of his friends died and we kind of "inherited the car, sadly...). Amazing how much better built that thing is than the xB my wife bought is... And other than the Miata and a few Subies, most of the Asian stuff I agree is rather lightly built. I'm not even seeing very many first gen Mazda threes around here, and they are way newer than Beretta's... What does a older Celica look like? It has been a while. With few around and even then they blend in too that does not help I seldom see them here. It will be interesting to see how long the Hyundai's and Kia's last. They are already having rust issues here. I have seen more than one Santa Fe with rust stains from the rear wiper hole. The Sonata has already had TSB's here for sub frame rust.

The XTS was never a flagship or 7 foe. The XTS was product nearly complete before the Chapter 11 and is used to fill an almost empty show room till more product is ready. Then the roll for the car will be to transition the older DTS drivers to the new Cadillac and also serve service fleets and not harm the resale of rhe ATS, CTS and LTS. The only thing I worry about after reading post from a couple days ago else where is the unrealistic expectations some are dreaming up. I fully expect this car to be a world class car that can and will do serious battle with the Germans. I expect nothing less than a class leader. But some on other web sites are expecting a exact copies of the Sixteen or Ciel show cars. While I do expect some of their styling to flow into this car like a Ciel nose with a Sixteen roof line or something like that. I worry many will piss and moan that they did not build a road going show car. I also feel this car should get the ZR1 like engine treatment where it will more than likely have a Chevy V8 but I hope they tune and dress it in Cadillac only trim. Just as the ZR1 engine is only used in the ZR1 the LTS should have it's own engine and they should not hide the engine with a plastic cover. It is time to dress the engine with some quality trim. I fully expected this car as it has moved along pretty well. Timing with the ATS and Cadillac anouncing it has a 10 year plan all dove tails this into a good media blitz. With it expected by 2015 we should see something in the next year in camo. The real question is if this is on the Omega platform what else will we might see?

The Lexus issue is they dropped the ball. They become just a large expensive Toytoa since all the decisions were made at Toyota. Mr Toyoda stated so in the press and has made the changes where Lexus make the choices for Lexus. It is kind of like what Lutz did with the engineers and designers. Toyota micro managed Lexus into the ground. That will change in the future as they are just now rebuilding their line. No perception issues here they just dropped the ball on product.

Which is why I am going to probably wait for it to come out before I ink a deal...I think stunning is a damned fine word for what it will be. As long as the styling is a winner the car will come in at a weight that will let it do things that more power would never fix. It should turn and stop on a scale few have seen in a car it's price. I just hope the styling is killer. So far I have yet been able to get anyone to even hint. I think the styling is more closely guarded than the Vette.

We have just seen the start of the real improved GM cars with the ATS. This is the first complete new car post Chapter 11. The rest of the better cars were just improved old cars or platforms. I was encouraged by what they did with the old stuff and have held great expectations for all the new stuff. On paper the new Camaro should be stunning. The only question I hold on it is how much power will the new V8 will have and what will it look like.

20 years ago I would have agreed that making 7% of production Manual in a non V would have been a good Idea. But in this day and age where a Ferrari is rare with a gated shifter and Porsche has forgone the Air Cooled Boxer to make SUV's and become more profitable than ever I can not so easily agree. The few Air Cooled purist have adapted to the water cooled car and only a very few cling to the past. Porsche and most others have learned that catering to the low volume purist is nice but in this say and age profits are what keep the company open and new product coming vs the 7%. Now on a V series where the voulme may be closer to 15%-20% by all means have at the Manual. But for the 2.5 and non turbo V6 the volume is much too low. Anyone wanting performance would buy the Turbo 4 or coming 6 anyways and they both will have it. The bottom line this car will do just as well with no manual 2.5 or non turbo V6 in the big picture. Save the money to certify the 2.5 to add more goods to the TT V series where the manual will matter. I reread the January review of the M3 and AMG. The ATS V should have a good shot as they liked a lot on both cars and hated a lot on both. One had power the other had handlng. If GM can give both they should had a trump card. The only thing I hope is that the new CTS gets a boost with the new V as the ATS should prove to be a very good car in V trim and I hope they don't steal sales from the CTSV. Todays MFG's can no longer just cater to the fringe as there is little profit. They all are doing it and it just evens the game up for all. The fringe may lose out on some fun combo's but that is life. Too often the performance fans micro manage things at times that is good but when you split hairs on a non performance sedan for less than 10% of sales that is a little too focused. Save it for the V.