hyperv6

I hope the styling helps sell this car as I think it may be a challange. I hope I am wrong but I worry this one may not be a big sales hit. I think GM should have done a small Minivan like the Chevy they showed in China. THat would have appealed to the eviro people much more.

JUst have them read how the ZL1 ran the same lap times as the new Shelby even with more weight and 75 less HP. Just think what that will do to the ATS and the rest of the line. Car and Drvier pointed out how it has made a good riding car but none of the wallowing traits in the XTS.

The XTS is a last in a dying breed of American Luxury car. Today nearly everything is going to a global aspect. It is a given the next CTS will be lighter or near the same weight but larger. It should handle and brake better with less weight and if they put a better interior XTS out you know the CTS will be as good or better. Lets face it the new ZL1 beat a much more powerful Shelby in Car and Driver due to the Gen III Magnetic suspension the very same type that is on the XTS and will be offered on the CTS. For once we see a clear path for the CTS to be better than the Germans in nearly every area. The real issue is to sell it to everyone as being better. Cadillac at this time should have little issue building a better car the hard part is changing ingrained preceptions of of the past.

Bingo, and the XTS embraces the old image of Cadillac, it doesn't help to change it. That is my #1 problem with the car. The people that don't give Cadillac a chance now, aren't going to have their mind changed by the XTS. WRONG! It does not embrace it. What Cadillac has done is made a car that will appeal to the aging base while not delivering a wallowing beached whale. The XTS delivers the ride and comfort the want but with tuning that drives with confidence vs numb on center. Like I have been saying this is the bridge to the future and this car will be seen as the missing link where it will move the base to the future. Also you can't make money on empty space in the show room. Right now am I the only one who thinks it is wrong that Cadillac has only one car with no way to get the CTS or LTS here sooner? I saw these points made about another brand. "clarity, commitment, authenticity and relevance." These are marketing points GM needs to sell and win at. I can see Cadillac making a play with each with all their new models. The XTS plays to the Autenticity for holding the Cadillac image for Luxury based on the interior and ride while Commited to still serve the base. I see no issue with Cadillac offering this car as it is. It is not the flagship and it will serve those who love traditional American cars. I would like to think that Cadillac is like a Swiss Army knife and there will be a tool for several uses here. Lets face it too that Cadillac can not turn away their True American Luxury Car base yet as they still have not owned any other segment yet.

Sorry To see this. Dogs become a real solid part of out lives. They love us unconditionally and it is hard to lose something or someone lthat close. Having gone through this several times you have my deep My condolences.

I think the Car and drive review puts the XTS into perspective. Cue is great. The XTS is not a performance car but the suspension and brakes offers control and confidence. The interior is the best Cadillac has ever offered. Styling is clean and elegant. The XTS is not directed at the German and Japanese cars. But the XTS hads redefined the American luxury sedan. In a nut shell this is not a performance car but it was still enough to impress Car and Driver. Now think of the improvments the Alpha and LTS will bring to a RWD and Performance cars and I think you will find that they will be cars that are in play. The only real challange is to change the image to get buyer to give Cadillac a chance. You can build the best in class but if no one buys.... I am convinced Cadillac can build the cars but can they build trust and change people minds. The public is not as GM blind as we are here.

That is one title here that sounds a little personal.

The problem is people abuse and or take for granted their rights and then those who want power and want to take them away from them take advantage of it. Still look at how many people don't vote and how many that do know nothing or hold accountable those they do vote for. They look for a D or an R and pull the lever.

Ok 2011 + 5-6 years is 2016 and 2017. That should help pay for the work on the LTS and a maybe a new Regal or what ever else is due then. 8 Billion is not what is used to be. Being a millionaire ain't what it used to be just as a Billion dollars just does not go as far as it used to in a multi national company. GM needs to continue profits and continue to bring in cash not only to pay off what they need to but to also keep investing in new product. Add to the the time it takes to make a new platform and model for that platform. The ATS is only the first step on a path to rebirth. The path is neither short nor cheap. What will fix Cadillac is only time and money. As for that 8 billion most of it went to Chevy as they are the key to this deal. Chevy is going global and they needed the most work. Not only is Chevy going global but the money there is also revamping Holden. They can change the emblems and grills but they are still Chevys.

Ok th How do we know that things are any better now. Opel is losing nearly $1 billion a year, GM turns out less net profit now than they did in the 1990s when they couldn't afford to do things right. I still don't think GM has the money to fund Cadillac. First off they have cut their cost to a great degree. They employee less people. They have cut the number of models and not really hurt market share. They are now doing more global platforms that share more parts than ever. I think you get the idea. Even with the loss at Opel they have made many more gains in how the money is spent. They have only started on the road to recovery it is not a 5 year deal.

You had better keep your day job as I don't see that gig at the comedy club working out for you.

Well you look to have no clue again. Everything up to the Chapter 11 has been a compromise of costs. They never could do fully what they wanted or intended. Even the present CTS is better but compromised. The indication this have changed with the Alpha is it had the proper funding to get what it needed to have from the start. This platform is the first to be done post Chapter 11 and will show the merits of the extra funding. The weight loss alone is a sign that they took the time and money to do what they needed to do and could not afford to do in the past. The rest I expect will unfold with the first road test. It clear Cadillac has to put the right no compromised product out now. They have to move lower volume higher price to make it. The whole GM plan for Buick hinges on the fact Cadillac has to move up. If Cadillac stays where they are at they will die along with Buick. The DTS was not a stop gap it was just what they could put together with the platform and parts they had in hand. The car was out of touch with where the majority of the buyer and just made the old school buyers happy. GM needed money so they did what they could do, The Fact is GM compromised nearly everything they built. Why did the 4th gen Camaro's have crappy interiors and bad window motors. They did not have enough money to finish the cars. This was the case for nearly every model GM made. Why did the Vette have crappy interiors same thing etc. When you are told this from a GM brand manager it should tell you much of why there were issues. Nearly all of GM's line up pre ATS took short custs some where. While Lutz made improments he still did not have the money to do all he wanted to do. He fixed much of the styling and tried to improve the interiors but he could not afford to cut weight and other things needed to be done as they could not afford a new platform. GM was so short money the first year GTO did not get the hood scoops and split exhaust. The director of Pontiac motor sports told me that in 2004. He said if they had the money they would have not put it off a year. Many people really do not understand how bad things were and for how long.

The XTC is in no relation to the CTS. The XTS is just different and is in it's own class. If fills that void between the older dying [figuratively and literally] Cadillac customer and younger expanding youth market. The DTS is the past of Cadillac other than a handfull of diehards like my mother inlaw there is little market for this kind of car anylonger. Cadillac just took what they had already had done and tweeked it with new technology and some other bits to buy time till the ATS, new CTS and LTS hit the market. It also will be kept around in the Captiva mode to protect the resale value of the other Cadillacs. There is little mystey to this. There is no bankruptcy excuse here with the XTS as it just fill an empty show room with what they had on the shelf that could be here before 2016 or so. The Excuses stop with the LTS and that is why it will take time to get this one right. Yes they could have rushed the program underfunded to get it on the market sooner but then it would be like many of the past attempts at being good but not good enough. I think we all know here that it will take time to fix Cadillac and to do it right will take even more money. Where is that money coming from? Truck sales and do we have a new truck and SUV coming to help generate more cash coming in .....yes. I also expect people to see a much different Cadillac in the ATS and new CTS as they will be more than they need to be when they hit the market. We already know that GM has attacked the ATS with the cronic weight issue they have always had and that will carry over to reductions in weight with the new CTS. I also expect many of the nit pick things will be addressed too. The coming road test will be telling on the progress at Cadillas. Even the road test of the XTS by Autoweek was telling. While the XTS is not their kind of car they were impressed with it and really found little fault. If they could do that on the Lacross platform they can do wonders with the Alpha that was developed with them in mind from the starts. I feel the good review on the XTS should tell us that the new Impala should be well recieved too.

This is a car that is a bridge from the past to the future for some Cadillac owners. It mixes some of the old from the DTS with the new features Cadillac will supply to new models. Also the fact that when this car was concieved before they got the bail out. Once bailed out GM could move their eyes to the goal they really wanted not just what they could afford. SInce it was pretty much done and an LTS is far off they will use it for extra income vs dead showroom space till other models are ready. In time the XTS will play the Captiva card and take the resale fleet bullet that will be spared from the ATS and CTS. Lincoln is doing mostly XTS like cars because they can not afford to invest much with as much money as they are pumping into the Ford line. They chose to fix Ford first and then Lincoln. Even now the LIncoln people are fighting for the new Mustang platform for their own use as they are even tired of waiting for the funding to come to them. They know they may not make it if they are left to hang out to dry too long. The XTS is not a peformance car, it is not a Euro car and it is pretty much in a class of it's own for now. It could be transformed later or replaced as time will tell.

Plus one to ya!

It is hard to seperate cars and goverment anymore so you did nothing wrong. In fact it is getting hard to no get into politices on nearly anything anymore from what you eat, drive, wear your doctor etc.

If the Republicans get in they will keep CAFE but they will back off some to help the MFG. If the same admin stays it may even get stepped up as in a second term they have nothing to lose. A quick study of the chief adviser Vallerty Jarrett and those principals she sides with will show the direction of a second term. She was enough of a problem two tough cheif's of staff left Washington. All this stimulas money that much of it was wasted could have gone into programs to help develope the new technologies with established companies like the automakers needed to improve batteries and other things that would improve the use of electric and hydrogen cell power systems. If you are going to make a silly law then help the companies you put on the spot to meet the law. Our stimulas money here sent 10 million dollars to put a glass wall up on the 200 foot high bridge in downtown that people jump from. The mayor patted himself on the back and they all made a big deal of it. Well some guy two days ago pulled up and stood on the roof of his car and jumped. I guess they did not see that one coming? So much for the $10 mill. Hmmm some say jumper was an independent voter? I think we are screwed no matter what.

CAFE is ok when both sides work together but as in most goverment issues it is doomed because one make demands with no care to see how the otherside could accomplish it. The key will be around2017-18 the automakers want to sit down with the goverment and see where they stand. All they are asking for is a review and adjustments to the future goal.

I expect some models to go away or be restricted in production numbers. This will drive their cost up. You can go to lighter alloys but that only works to a point. I am affraid we will be seeing more and more smaller vehicles coming and less and less larger ones being built and even then not at very affordible prices. It is sad to day but Vehicles like the new Buick Encore are just a peek at the future of the average type vehicle. The only thing that could save the day is some kind of breakthrough in batteries or hybrid technology that we do not have as of yet. But the MFG still have time and a few tricks to play. Either way it will not be cheap or easy to meet the present standards. It may come down to a election issue at this rate in a few years. A canidate could run on a statment he will give us back larger cars if people get sick of the small boxes.

The lack of HVAC is a common one with Terrain and Nox owners. I really don't notice as I always am driving and the climate control works great where I sit. I think they do need to put something in for the rear but it may not be addressed till the move to the Delta. The 3.6 will get the same MPG as the 3.0 not great but not bad. The engine does well for toting 2 tons around. I fine it funny how some complain about MPG and they have no clue how heavy this thing is. It does the same as out GTP did on MPG so it was a wash for us.

I've long thought the current Yukon would have looked better w/ the Sierra front end. But I do prefer the Tahoe/Suburban front end over the Silverado. I totally agree and I think most people also, the Chevy Suburban/Tahoe should have shared it's front end with the Chevy Truck. GMC should have ditched the but ugly Yukon nose for the GMC truck nose. This way both truck and suv have family design language that is best and looks freakin awesome! I am excited about the new Full Size SUV Family. I just hope they realize that their is a market for having a diesel in the Suburban/Yukon XL line. Due to Gov Regs, the Whole auto industry has been on a bloat diet over the last 20 years. Time to go on a Diet and loose that mid section! Oh hell you have not see weight loss yet. By 2025 they will be cutting things we wished we would have never wanted to see. Some model lines will vanish because of the regs. This is not my opinion but something stated by a GM engineer.

Look em up on a map any you will know.

I expect the interior to be close to the same size but I think the outside will shrink a little. They will lose weight, it may not be much but they will lose some.

Funny you said that as they came on the car with a old original set of Keystone. Thank God they kep the original rally wheel. They went back on as soon as I got ihe car. The Car came from Nashville do I need to say more? I can say I never bought a Keystone or Crager GT in my life unless it came on the car. I just wish I still had the original set of Ansen black spoked wheels I had on my 63 Galaxie as they were in good shape and they are worth a lot today. I find it funny that after al these wheels I still get warraty issues on the Cragers where the chrome still falls off after 2 years at the base of the spokes.

With traction and stability control my SS is like a tank and damn near boring to drive. Seldom is there a momnet of panic even if you try. I have gotten it to 4 wheel drive over the computer but it take a lot of trying. I do miss my Sonoma 2WD. For years I was a drifter before it was popular. Often I looked like Kinser coming off turn 4 at Eldora. I has a Cobalt with no aids and got my son in it. We hit a parking lot and I did a couple spins with the e brake. It is sad he never really knew a car could do that as he was too young to remember the Sonoma. We live in a world where kids will fail to learn car control buy doing donuts in a parking lot like many of us did. I do agree most drivers today have no snow driving skills and sadly kids do not think to take a car, truck or suv to a parking lot and see just what it will do. I do agree with you on the quality of tires and that does make a huge difference in being able to get around in snow. Sadly, to many idiots with no driving skills live in Seattle and with having been hit twice by Idiots, I now use AWD to make sure during Fall, Winter and early spring I can get around without anyone hitting me. It was the same way in Colorado..too many drivers that had no clue how to drive on snow, slush, etc... I like to think that spending my formative driving years (6 winters) slogging around NE Ohio in the winter w/ RWD and 4 snow tires helped me build mad phat winter driving skillz.. I have to agree as if you can learn how to deal with out winters here in NE Ohio you can drive anywhere. Even after all these years I can leave home here south of Akron and find near two feet of snow 12 miles away at work. It just depends on what way the wind blows over the open lake. But for the first couple snows people here adapt back fast but that first snow is always a pain to get around the white knucked drivers doing 5 MPH. I learned to drive in the snow when I got my temp drivers permit. It was an old Malibu with Posi and Bias snow tires. I would take it to snow covered parking lots to learn how to do donuts but ended up learning car control. That was the best training grounds anyone could ask for. The only car I put in the ditch was my GMC Sprint SP. It has no weight in the back a BBC under the hood and just a set of Dunlop GT Qualifiers. I was driving too fast in too deep snow and tried to jump the ruts. It was the wet slippery snow too. I was out on a back road tying to get home for school to go to work. The rear went left and right a few times. I almost had it back under control and I over corrected. I went off the left side of the road and i jumped the ditch. The Hitch caught and left the rear tires in the air. My buddy got his dads tow truck and pulled me out. It did not harm to the car just my ego. Now the worst car I drove was the Fiero. It would ride up on deep snow. It was light in the front so it did not want to turn, Also the short wheel base and the engine in the rear wanted to make it over steer if you lifted up on the throttle mid turn. I never got stuck in three years but I can say Pontiac built excitment. Oh I did all three winters on Eagle GT tires too. Oh those were the days. You should see how the snow melts off the rear deck lid. You can see where the air vents back on the sides.