hyperv6

The tires will come down as there is a limit on weight cuts you can make. Wheels can only go so light and tires size is the only way you will cut weight. But cutting size cuts mass and has too many other advantaged to it. As for width. I would not bank on too skinny of a tire as the only way you put more tire to the ground is to go wider. But they now have construction of tires that do cut much in rolling resistance and the grip is still good with the new silica based tread compounds the use. Goodyear did a demonstration that was simple but effective. They took two soap box derby cars and ran them done the track. Both were equipped with car tires. On had a standard radial and the other had the Assurance Fuel Max as used on the Volt. The Fuel Max had a local racer and she may have only weighed 110 pounds. The other car had Greg Biffle the NASCAR driver at 175 pounds. We race my son in the Derby so knowing what I know his added weight alone should have pushed him down the hill faster than the other lighter car. Well the race was run several times and she would easily beat him by several car lengths. Doing that in a derby car is not easy as we often will win a race by a faction of an inch. I knew the guys who set up the cars and it was a even up deal with no tricks. Even they were shocked at the difference. This technology will find its way into most new tires in the next 10 years. The low rolling resistance tires of old that were hard as rocks are no longer an issue. Modern Compounding today has put the grip back in.

bobo that is just it this is no longer the underfunded GM. This time I expect they will follow through as they now have the money to do it right and this time they had the time to get the new platform they needed. In the past GM was just buying time and trying to make due with what they had. I have had several program managers tell me that this is what we wanted to do but ran out of money before we got there. This is why the Camaro always had a solid driveline and always sucked once you got inside the car. Scott said by the time they got inside the money was gone. This no longer applies. As for the packaging yes that has long been an issue. Often the platforms were carried over so long that the hard points would get in the way and they could only do what the could to make a new or better car. Lutz was limited on the W body as the hard points were in place. The Camaro was limited as the Zeta hard points were in place. The Nox has a lot of wasted space for its size but the older Theta hard points limited what they could do with packaging. In the case of the Malibu I feel they were trying to cut mass and the only way they could with that car was to shorten it up. They wanted a few more MPG and tried to get it with the rear leg room. It was a risk that did not pay off. It really hurt because the previous car had so much room. Also I feel they had room to give because the Impala was coming and they wanted to move the Malibu down in size. Either way the new platform will be lighter and will have much better packaging because of the expandability of the new platform.

This is what I see GM doing with the new commitment. If you want Cadillac to be the standard of the world in more than slogan you must then set the standard and be the standard all others are compared too. Right now they are being compared to the Germans. If you want to win in this segment you need the Germans be compared to use.

You have that right driver! This is why I preach Tort Reform as the lawyers are pretty much holding industry hostage in corporate blackmail. Lawyers take these class action cases in knowing it is not a strong case yet they know companies will pay out to settle vs. fight to win as it is just too damned expensive. This was true in many of the cases in the initial 12 Ignition cases. I did the research and wondered why s many died with an issue that generally is a inconvenience and not instant death. Well I found 7 of the 12 did not have belts on. 3 were drunk, One was on drugs, one had a medical emergency. Several were speeding at very high rates of speed. To be honest even if the air bags had worked most of them would have died anyways. The one boy hit a tree so hard drunk that they had to remove his legs as he went through the floor. The one girl Amber was drunk and was doing 62 into a dead end street before going off the road and hitting a tree. Yet her birth mother who had just came back into her life a year before the crash is making a lot of noise. She wants a settlement even after her adoptive family settled. The one crash in Wisconsin the one girl killed was in the back seat and killed when she was tossed into the windshield. Had she had a belt in she would be alive. Sorry for the vent but the media does not like to tell the whole story. I ponder now of the cases GM accepted how many are fully legit of are much like the first 12 where in most cases it was shared responsibility or in some cased the driver was even more at fault for the accident. We will not see tort reform as many of the people in DC are lawyers taking lobby money not to change the laws. In the end we all pay for all this crap in higher prices and in not being able to buy what we want like in the case here white walls.

Sorry I own the last gen and a refresh would not have worked well either. This class is just too competitive and fast changing. The goal here was to increase the MPG and lose a little weight and that is what they did. The car really needed a new platform and that is what we will get in the new car. The weight will drop and we will get more rear leg room. Marketing is not good and I do agree with that. But even marketing can not fix all that was wrong. GM's marketing sucks on nearly all their products but yet it the product is class leading it still sells in great numbers in spite of there failures. This was just a tough time in a tough segment. They needed a new car and a new platform and only had one of the two. They made due the best they could till the platform was ready. In business you just can't always get what you want and this was one of those times.

The last sedan at GM that really changed things was the 08 Malibu. Compared to the previous cars it was a major step forward and is still seen as a solid good car. It looked good and more expensive than it was. It offered good engines and the ride and room was great. What hurt this gen Malibu was it never saw a real update and got old in a fast moving segment. GM had the present Malibu set around 2008 and was going to put it into play much sooner than they did but ran out of money. By the time they got it out they had to rush things to beat the Fusion. GM knew the car needed help and that is why the fixes they did offer cam the following year. They were planned before the car came out but it was too late to wait for them. The new model was well on the way and will not suffer the issues of the present car. They have had the time and money to do this one right as the have done with the C7. This is the car they would have liked to had in 2012 but it was just not ready. the present car was just a gap filler for an aging 08 BU and the new 2016 model. The fact Is GM knew they had hand that was lacking aces but sometimes you just have to bluff to buy time till the next hand and that is what is going on. The 2012-13 model was old before it even appeared and they knew it. But when it is all you have you just have to buy time. The previous model was a good car but it would have never held up till 2016 in this segment. I own one and I know first hand. Good car but far from state of the art today. I wish GM could relate many of these back stories publically that leak out. It make a lot of sense of many senseless acts.

There are no absolutes here as there are a few models that squeak through but in the end Legal departments are squeezing out the white walls as well as engineers. Tire engineers and auto engineers both think in practical terms not esthetics and would have done away with whitewalls years ago. I had a tire engineer who explained his to me tell me that point blank. To him it just hinders the tire from being a better tire. In the end he is winning his case because companies are tired of getting sued. As a Ford engineer told me we do not fool proof our cars we have to idiot proof them. Who knows someday they may make a Whitewall decal that is molded in like the NASCAR letters are today. I would love to see a modern redline but the same deal.

The fact is Cadillac's image is very damaged and will take time to repair one model at a time. As of now they are making progress but we are early in a game they just recently ramped up to higher expectations. The bottom line on the XTS is this. Cadillac had little new product inline other than the Alpha platform at the time of the bail out. Prior to the bail out GM plowed a lot of the money they did have left into products they could finish once out of the bail out. These cars are the XTS, Impala, SS, ZL1, Malibu and a few others. Most of them where as the GM rep told me put on the shelf is their term. This was done to give them product in the short term when they were short in showrooms. GM could have gone much like Chrysler Fiat and had little new product for 5 years or have at least something. In the case of the XTS they got the business case approved with the car being used in fleets and Livery to help protect the CTS and ATS resale values and these cars from being fleeted. There was no real long term plans for this car other than this simple short term deal. It put product in the showroom and took a bullet for the other models in resale. Keep in mind back in 08 when GM showed a bunch of new product they had plans for to the media but they could not tell about. This was one of the cars as well as the Malibu. Note the ZL1 originally was the Z/28 but that was changed later in the game by Mark Ruess. Just as the CT6 was going to be the top model but now that they have advanced plans for a much better line up it now is no longer the panicle for the future. It will be a upgrade over the CTS and a great car but not the end all be all flag ship for the future.

It is not how fast you go but how fast you could go and then file suit on a car company for not providing the proper speed rated tires for the abilities of the car. This is why my HHR SS had V rated tires as it will top 150 MPH. Not that I would do that myself with a little tin box but I know others that have. Thank a lawyer for the lack of white letter and walls. These are big picture issues. You have to take in all the issues involved and while it is still foolish it is how the system works.

What happens is the white rubber is not high strength and is just added to the side wall. Its biggest flaw is that it makes the side wall thicker in one spot and leads to more heat at higher speeds. Once it gets so hot the tire will fail at the hottest spot and that generally is where the band of white rubber is applies. I can remember them sneaking me in to the tire factory where my grandfather worked and it is amazing what all goes into making tires. Even today it is very hands on process and not too far removed from what my grandfather did. . . But the long and short of it is the White rubber band does nothing to hold the tire together and the extra band is where the heat grows the most. You could build a tire out of nothing but white rubber but like pointed out the tire will degrade. But also the strength of the tire is increases substantially. Just a 50% increase can result in a 100% increase in tinsel strength. This means more strength but better tread life and better heat transfer. Heat is what really kills a tire. Also mixing in the Carbon Black was one of the worst jobs you could have. These guys would mix Rubber, Sulfur, Carbon Black and other chemicals in a Ban Bury Mixer. They would come out looking like they were in a coal mine. I often wondered how many dies of lung disease. In the old days you did see white tires but they did not last long and there were a lot of rubber durability issues on top of the crude designs. But note your white wall or letters ply is only a few inches wide on todays tires but that small bit is still not good and will prevent any real speed ratings. We are in a day where even most 4 cylinder cars will do 120 MPH anymore and are speed limited in many cases. This is why many trucks with white lettered tires are limited to 112 MPH. I think that is what the S rating is today unless they changed it.

I like that. That picture well represents what Cadillac is trying to over come in more ways than one.

White walls and white letter tires are going to be a thing of the past soon. White rubber is a weak non structured rubber and tire companies was to do away with it as do automakers because it is a liability. tires that use white rubber get hotter in these areas and this is where they can fail at higher speeds that todays cars do. This is why race tires for years had painted on letters or as today a decal. Some performance tires are now going to decals but it is rare. Most tires that use white rubber are limited to S speed ratings and few cars are limited to that today. The repo market will address much of the more popular sizes but many others will be left out if they are uncommon. If you have a Camaro or Corvette no problem but if you want to restore a STE Pontiac for some reason you may have issues on odd sizes. Many people think this is just a styling thing when it really is liability.

Guys with 80's cars like the Fiero that need 215-60-14 are damn near impossible to find and if you do find them they are often not a quality tire. The guys with base cars can not find 13's in the type they need. I did notice some folks are reproducing the Eagle GT's for the 80's cars but only in F body sizes. I remember when put 16" on the Fiero there were no 17" at the time. It was leading edge now I own nothing with less than 18" on 5 vehicles other than the same Fiero. The thing is with more models of the larger tires they are getting to be more affordable than just the high end models being that size. I never thought I would find 19" under $200 when I bought it. Now I have a good tire for less. I do believe we will see more cars move back down in size in the next ten years as cars loose weight they can use smaller brakes. Smaller tires, wheels and brakes cut weight too. We will still have some large tires but not as many. Many will follow Cadillac's lead and restrict the tire size more for performance needs vs. styling needs. 20-22 look good but when companies are looking to cut weight and to improve performance that much un sprung weight often has to go.

The fact is Fleet sales here are easy money, Ford made billions off the Town Car when no one outside the livery companies cared. The key is to do it right and protect the company image and protect the buyers of the CTS and other models. Benz does not fleet sale here but they do in Europe with police cars and taxis. But they have been in that segment for years. They do not do it here as they only want the luxury image here. In Europe they are not seen just as luxury only. As for Buick here stop with the old names and images. This is what you want people to forget as they are not positive for growing the segment. You want to hit the people not buying Buick not the few that are. As for Europe Americans will likely never be the dominate car in the market. But with that said they need to chunk out a solid segment where they can survive and hold a profitable presents. They can gain ground but you can not do it on the outside looking in. You have to get in and build your reputation and keep it profitable. That is the win.

I have said for a long time that Buick was suited tyo be the lower end Audi Challenger. Their key is AWD and price it to where it is still a great car but under cuts the Germans. The Regal GS points this out. But the trick is they need to show in all their new models they are worth the price. They too have to earn their place just as Cadillac to undo the damage of the last 30 years less a few models.

We did display work for BFG and had a few left over that were going to get tossed out. I also live in the snow belt and can see up to 8-10 of snow easily from the time I go to work to getting home. Where I used to live the city never plowed the street but 4 times a years. The end also got plowed in often. A good set of tires and limited slip never let me down in my S10 or Sonoma. Note the street was up hill going in and off camber. That was the real issue as on ice it always slid to the east side. Even in my HHR I used a good set of all season tires and would push the snow with the intercooler and air dam. I did have to change the tires on the Terrain as it is FWD and the Handkooks were crap but the new Triple Treads have transformed the vehicle into not having any issues. The only snow I have had issues with is really wet heavy snow and even my neighbors in their 4x4 have issues with that. I understand you on the driveway as I have seen some bad ones. But I am not one of these folks who feel I have to have it just to get out. My drive is not that bad and the roads for the most part are pretty well cleared. Just securing the issue with limited slip and good tires can make things much easier. I am not anti 4x4 as I see it more as an advantage than a must have. There are some folks out there that just see it as a must and they only get 20" of snow a year. We can get that in a day or so alone. It is mare a matter of needs and perspectives.

If you are not planning to do any major off roading than no you don't need it. Now if you can find one priced right it is a plus. If anything look for the locking rear diff that comes with tow package and you will be fine. I would never buy a truck without the locking rear diff. If you live in any snow it make a world of difference. I have always had locking or limited slip diffs and never really needed 4x4 in the snow unless I was plowing. A little weight in the bed good tire and it would go anywhere. Note I have used space age technology for winter driving. I use a 190 pound tire from the Space Shuttle for weight in the bed. Not only is it the right weight but I have won a lot of bets with it. People do not want to believe what you have till you show them the side wall and it says good for 6 landings. {Note they never used them more than one though}

You hit the nail on the head, This is where Cadillac was going to go and now they are now going for not good enough but the best. . I still do not think we will lose the heart and soul of the XTS. I have considered some of it could move to a new Impala model or even the new class leading Buick as the TT turbo would better fit them as would the AWD. There is a lot more going on at GM right now than they are letting on about. Watch the peripheral moves and it may tell a lot of what may happen. The New Rule Of GM. For ever action there is a equal or greater reaction that will result from it.

I just put 19" Goodyears on the Terrain and found them around $175 apiece after discounts etc. When I first bought the Terrain they were around $235 with few options. The more 18" tires are around the more options we will see available in all price ranges. Also you will see that many 14" are already gone and we may see a greater decrease in offerings of size in 15".

It will. The XTS is only going to be around for fleet or livery once it arrives. How long that last I am not sure with the rumors of Oshawa closing. It may be up to the CAW on if it lives or dies. The XTS will essentially be the Captiva of Cadillac.

I love the Impala and think it is one of the best really unknown cars in the GM line up. I really wish they would do a little more marketing with it. It is not my kind of car and not on my short list but one I would highly recommend. My pondering has where this model will go in the near future. With a new Buick coming, the XTS in question, possible Alpha SS gone and Oshawa could be closing what are their plans here on this model? The only limitation on this car as to what it may get is limited only to price as you can not add some things to price it out of the segment.

We just got rid of a 2009 Silverado LT2 2WD with tow package. The new truck rides much better empty right from the start even with the Z71. The interior is light years better. Drivetrain about the same. Too new to say much on MPG. GM is doing much more with shocks and struts than they often indicate. The FE5 suspension on my HHR goes with redone aluminum control arms with urethane bushings, lower springs but not so stiff that it makes it difficult to control on an uneven surface. The Shocks and struts are higher level Sachs struts and shocks that are used to dampen but not provide a jarring effect. GM has learned the fine art of less is sometimes more. We also see this on the restraint of 20 inch tires on many Cadillac's as the bigger wheels are great for styling but the unsprung weight is a headache for engineers. Also for MPG. Also they fixed the stake pockets so they no longer feed into the bed and leak in water unless you use covers to plug the holes. The new cover is water tight and no need for added stake covers.

I am so sick of the over and misused term flagship. I have been around for years and you never hear this term and each car was targeted to be best in it's segment. In days of old did you need to choose if the Eldorado as a flag ship of the Fleetwood? No. This for now is going to be the largest and most advance Cadillac in a lineup that is being rebuilt. There is no need to tag each and every new large Cadillac as a Flagship until it really is the pinnacle car of where you are going. Be it Cadillac, the media or even forums lets just hold the term till we get to where this is going as of now it is misleading and for many making the remake of Cadillac more confusing than it really needs to be.

I just spent the weekend with a brand new Z71 truck. I can report the 2015 version is a well tamed model and not as harsh as past models. The suspension is firmer but they also are now using things like Rancho Mono tube shocks to better control the suspension and not try to rely only on the springs. GM has learned a lot in suspension work in the last 10 years as they no longer take the easy way out with just beefed up springs on a Handling or Off road package. Now are doing it with the better combination of bushing, springs and much better shocks.

Aluminum is not an issue in this class and price range. No matter how Ford tried to spin it now but there is added cost to buy and expense to repair but in a higher price range it is much easier to accept. Most others in this segment are already there and the rest will have to follow soon as the reduction on mass is key to keeping a larger car alive into the future. The thing is with the increase of the use of aluminum in this segment more shows will be better trained and they will have the proper tools to deal with the repairs by the time it gets to the more common cars. The CTS already if I recall is using aluminum doors now. As for Flagship this is only the temporary flagship as it too will be superseded in the future by a even higher grade car. So when you use the term flagship keep in mind the context it is being used and when you compare. Cadillac is climbing the ladder of the segment and they are not yet to the top rung and are just working their way up. As for Aluminum it will be a learning experience for all. also I expect it will affect insurance in some ways as many areas of the car will have to be replaced not repaired as the lack of memory in Aluminum is key for the lack of some things not being able to be repairs as we do not. I expect new technologies will come and strategies for dealing with it too as it increases in use. The bottom line is it is here and it is only going to become more common with time.