CBS Calling the CTS-V a failure?

[ar0ck]

http://netscape5.marketwatch.com/new...2E12C28FE40%7D

A swing and a miss
2005 Cadillac CTS-V

By Ron Amadon, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:10 AM ET Sept. 4, 2004
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DARNESTOWN, Md. (CBS MW) -- General Motors is trying hard to remake Cadillac into something directly opposite of the finned gas guzzlers popular with the white-bucks-and-plaid-pants crowd.

The latest example is the CTS-V.

This is a very powerful, very fine-handling car. It makes all the right sounds that an American-made V8 packing 400 horsepower should make. And it handles flat and true.

While it carries a $1,300 gas-guzzler tax and gets 15-23 miles per gallon, the 5.7-liter V8 -- out of the Corvette ZO6 -- has huge amounts of get up and go from virtually any point on the tach. The throaty sounds are perfect from an engine that also presents a pretty picture when you open the hood. (See slide show.) It had a lumpy idle, which may delight some and offend others.

The braking and handling are like nothing Cadillac would have dreamed of a few years ago. Brembo brakes with 14-inch vented rotors are all you need to know. Cornering is just fine for the kind of car this one aspires to be -- flat and predictable -- and it clearly shows that GM (GM: news, chart) tested extensively on the challenging Nurburgring. Nearly 50-50 weight distribution helps keep this Caddy on track through the corners.

So to this point we have one sweet, sweet car. Flying in the face of other reviews, we think the CTS-V falls down when it comes to the interior.

The six-speed manual transmission was not in keeping with the performance standard set by the rest of the car. The throws are too far apart, the feeling is rubbery at best, and at times it felt like something out of a Chevy truck with dual wheels on the back. A good GM automatic would be preferable.

The interior of our test model was all black, with nothing to break it up. And there were design flaws that, while minor, do stick out at this price point. The glove box (which is letter-box small), was placed so it would only open fully when no passenger was present. The auxiliary power outlet was placed in such a way as to make the shift into fifth gear a challenge. The cup holders also interfered with shifting. For heavens sake, this is a big car -- put them somewhere else! There's no standard sunroof, and performance cars don't have a foot-activated emergency brake.

The bottom line is $51,295.

There is undoubtedly an audience for this kind of performance and handling. But we just could not get past the shifter and the somber "funeral hearse" interior that felt and looked like it belonged in a much less expensive model. And we often thought while driving the CTS-V that perhaps GM would have been better served by giving these cars their own name and lineup.

Comments? Write ramadon@marketwatch.com.

I dont think they see where the car is comming from IMO. Currently the CTS-V is one of the fastest cars ever made by cadillac, and is one hell of a CTS.

[skorpion317]

morons...i'm starting to notice that people who review cars, who aren't from car magazines, are total idiots. they wouldn't know a good car if it came up and bit them in the ass.

[NJSPEEDER]

actuall i agree completely with teh first few lines. cadillac was never a "perfoprmance" mark and never will be.
caddy is now and always has been the top luxary division of general motors, a place for teh latest breakthroughs to be showcased before they hit teh rest of the production line.
the recent lame ass attempt to create a champions image from a half hearted, poorly developed, and poorly funded cadillac is ridiculous.
pontiac and chevy have always been teh performance marks, ponitac always lead teh field in luxary performance. if gm would get the marketing bean counters off their asses adn showed them a little corporate hsitory they woudl have seen that at a price poitn 5k lower and wearing pontiac badges they would not be able to keep these cars in showrooms.
i have seen teh cts-v and i am not impressed. it is just a fancied up vette convertable with a really lame interior for the money.
gm was going after teh sport luxary bmw and merc benz market with these cars, and missed horribly.

later
tim

[V]

The CTS-V(catera touring sedan) is the new style catera 4dr if i'm not mistaken, the "vette convertible" cadillac is the XLR(extreme luxury roadster)and that is a piece of crap.

The original catera(not CTS) was based of a fwd saturn(basically a saturn with leather) Now, the modern Catera(know known as CTS) is based on the european Opel platform rwd and is quite remarkable.

I think the guy who reviewed it took the interior as the main downfall. I guess he figures thats where you spend all your time so it should be perfect. Car manufacturers do overlook little design flaws like that. And on the average, caddy does use GM's technology 4-5 years before the concepts hit the rest of GM's assembly lines. Next time you get a hold on a northstar car, take off the large silver engine cover... you'll find an intake manifold and throttle body almost exactly like an ls1, and the northstar came out in 94, three years before the ls1. If i had the money, I'd buy the cts-v in a heartbeat.

[ar0ck]

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

i have seen teh cts-v and i am not impressed. it is just a fancied up vette convertable with a really lame interior for the money.
gm was going after teh sport luxary bmw and merc benz market with these cars, and missed horribly.

later
tim

Tim I think you have the cars confused.

CTS-V:


XLR:

[skorpion317]

i'd take both of 'em. to hell with a crappy interior, you should be paying attention to the road, not your faux-wood-grain dashboard.

[j0n]

gmhtp said it best...if u want a dash wrapped in cow's ass then go to europe and triple the price

[ar0ck]

[skorpion317]

the cupholders aren't in the best place....but where else are you gonna put them?

[ar0ck]

Originally Posted by skorpion317

the cupholders aren't in the best place....but where else are you gonna put them?

Honestly who cares where they are? I dont even have cup-holders!

[skorpion317]

Originally Posted by TransAm4Life

Honestly who cares where they are? I dont even have cup-holders!

i have two...the driver's holder is right where my hand usually rests, if there's a cup in there it always gets in the way. i usually use the pull-out hideaway passenger's holder. keeps my soda or water or whatever out of the way, but still in reach.

[BigAls87Z28]

Whoa!! Wrong info every which way in this thread.

#1. The Catera is RWD, not FWD or made off any Saturn of any sort. Its based on a Opel chassis, which is called Omega. Omega was morphed into VX/VY/VZ by Holden and now sits under all the Monaro, Commodore, Ute, Statesman and our very own GTO's.

The CTS rides on a brand new, GM North American made Sigma platform. Not designed by Opel. Its all American, and its only for Caddy. GM's new Zeta platform, designed by Holden, is based of the Sigma platform.

#2- Caddy has changed its image, so get used to it. It will do performance and luxury. The days of luxo-barges is over. Thats for Linc and Buick to do.

#3- Poorly funded? 4 billion dollars is poorly funded? Sorry, errr wrong. They have TONS of cash, and they are spending it in all the right places. The CTS is a HUGE hit, the Lade is every rappers fantisy car, and the XLR is uber-sexy and will outdo the SL500 in a performance match up. The STS is now ready for dealers, and rags are already calling for the end of teh 5 series domination of the market. Caddy is ready to play, and they got all the support from GM they need. Expect to see a lot more from Caddy in the future.

#4 Caddy missed? The CTS-V offers performance of the M5 for 30k less. Yeah...they missed..right on the head.
The XLR is a fantastic vert, and really offers something that Caddy hasnt had in a long time...something sexy. And sharing a chassis, and most of the cost, with the C6 has made both cars that much better.

This review of the CTS-V is beyond wrong. CBS should review mini vans, not sport sedans. Everyone else loved the CTS from its 6spd manaul, (that is one of the finest made, and is always tops on everyones list), from its powerful LS6, to its suspension and brake tuning. The CTS's interior might be off the mark from the likes of Audi, BMW, but it still packs all the goodies that the M5 and AS6 do, and has the ability to turn off the TC program, where in the M5, M3, AS6 etc...only have the abilty to lessen its grip. And its one of the only cars left with a true 6spd manual, and not a 6spd auto. With a sunroof, its still 30k less then a M5, and offers teh same performance. Yeah...GM and Caddy failed.

CBS, get back to Reality TV.

[Vanilla_Gorilla]

listen folks bottom line is, if it dont have good cupholder placement, it just isnt a good car
















i hate idiots

[1RawTA]

i 100% agree with bigal, my mom has a 2003 cts and i think the car is downright amazing even with its only 221 hp, the thing handles amazing, its very luxourious and comfortable and still gets up and goes.. cadillac is doing what bmw has been doing for the last couple years except getting the job done for alot less money.. i mean its deifnatly safe to say the cts-v is definatly the american m5 for 30k less.

[BigAls87Z28]

I think your mom should trade in her 03 for an 05 with the 3.6 and 6spd manual this year . Or wait till 06/07 when it gets a updated.

[1RawTA]

yea i tried to tlak her into a ctsv but she doesnt dig the whole 6spd thing

[LS1LT1]

I LOVE the CTS-V and I really like the CTS 3.6 V6 as well...awesome cars, period. 8)