2008 CTS Preview Picture!

[ChrisV]

My point exactly.

Finding 60,000 GM-loyalists in a country of 300,000,000 people isn't terribly difficult.

Then what does it effiing matter? If it's not that hard to find ready buyers, then what's the complaint? If that's who they sell to, then that's who they sell to. Jesus, why does EVERY car company have to build a car to appeal to everyone before it's considered a viable car in the market? Hmm? In order for someone to buy ANY car on your list they have to say NO to the rest, be it a BMW, an Audi, a SAAB, an Infiniti, etc. Your logic works on ANY of them, making it meaningless to apply ONLY to a single example.

[ChrisV]

GM fans are weird. You slightly criticize one GM car, and then they already start to attack you.

So... you can say any old insulting thing you want, but you don't want anyone to say anything back? Hmm Hypocritical.

And I'm not even a GM fanboy.

[Madman]

Then what does it effiing matter? If it's not that hard to find ready buyers, then what's the complaint? If that's who they sell to, then that's who they sell to. Jesus, why does EVERY car company have to build a car to appeal to everyone before it's considered a viable car in the market? Hmm? In order for someone to buy ANY car on your list they have to say NO to the rest, be it a BMW, an Audi, a SAAB, an Infiniti, etc. Your logic works on ANY of them, making it meaningless to apply ONLY to a single example.

It's not just a matter of finding ready buyers among your established customer base.  If Cadillac (and indeed, the rest of GM) is to survive in the long-term, they need CONQUEST sales.  Cadillac desperately NEEDS this car to appeal to as many people as possible if they are to have any hope of a future.  They can't rely on their core market of pimps and pensioners forever.  The former group will, sooner or later, move on to the next "bling" fashion accessory that comes along and the later group are dying off in droves.  If they can get at least a few Lexus customers (for example) to consider a Caddy, then GM will have overcome a significant hurdle.

At least Cadillac is trying to expand into new market niches.  Lincoln seems to have given up.


Madman of the People

[SJ_GTI]

There are some pretty strange posts here.

American car buyers are loyal to domestics? Are you kidding? By any measure, American car buyers are the least loyal of any major market (Germany, France, Japan, Korea). In fact, in the US there is an anti-domestic bias, if anything.

And what's this about the CTS only being able to sell to loyalists? The CTS took this segment by storm, and handily outsold its predecessor (the Catera). The CTS has been and still is a viable alternative to anything in this segment. Is it my personal favorite? No...but that doesn't make it a bad car.

As for comparisons to the 5-series...having driven the CTS I would say it does compare favorably to the last gen 5-series, but yes its certainly not up to par with the current gen. But then...its way less expensive. For Cadillac the STS is there to compete with the 5-series. The CTS is a 3-series competitor, though it uses a slightly different formula. Its not unique in this regard...the G35 and TL use a similar strategy to Cadillac.

[ifcar]

There are some pretty strange posts here.

American car buyers are loyal to domestics? Are you kidding? By any measure, American car buyers are the least loyal of any major market (Germany, France, Japan, Korea). In fact, in the US there is an anti-domestic bias, if anything.

And what's this about the CTS only being able to sell to loyalists? The CTS took this segment by storm, and handily outsold its predecessor (the Catera). The CTS has been and still is a viable alternative to anything in this segment. Is it my personal favorite? No...but that doesn't make it a bad car.

As for comparisons to the 5-series...having driven the CTS I would say it does compare favorably to the last gen 5-series, but yes its certainly not up to par with the current gen. But then...its way less expensive. For Cadillac the STS is there to compete with the 5-series. The CTS is a 3-series competitor, though it uses a slightly different formula. Its not unique in this regard...the G35 and TL use a similar strategy to Cadillac.

I agree fully with your first point, but I'm a bit puzzled by the second. IMO, the previous 5-Series compares very favorably to the current one in terms of ride and handling (the redesign's improvements were slight in that area, but more significant in interior space), but I wouldn't say the current CTS, while very good for its price, is on the level of either. If the next one is, they won't have a problem attracting new buyers.

[SJ_GTI]

I agree fully with your first point, but I'm a bit puzzled by the second. IMO, the previous 5-Series compares very favorably to the current one in terms of ride and handling (the redesign's improvements were slight in that area, but more significant in interior space), but I wouldn't say the current CTS, while very good for its price, is on the level of either. If the next one is, they won't have a problem attracting new buyers.

When I drove the CTS the car it seemed the most like was the 5-series. It was very nimble and had good reactions, and had decent feedback, but it wasn't quite as agile and visceral as a  (previous gen in particular) 3-series.

The only odd thing about the CTS is its interior. Its looks strange and some of the materials aren't as good as BMW (but compared to the G35 it was nicer IMHO).

[ifcar]

The 5-Series had better ride, steering, and handling IMO, but the CTS was very capable in every one of those areas. I agree about the interior, but the G35's updates trump the CTS's.

[SJ_GTI]

The 5-Series had better ride, steering, and handling IMO, but the CTS was very capable in every one of those areas. I agree about the interior, but the G35's updates trump the CTS's.

Well I didn't have them on a track back to back or anything. Just general impressions. I am no expert, but I do consider myself an enthusiast. If the differences are small enough for me not to notice, I can't imagine most buyers would notice.

And for the G35, yes the newer one is nicer, but its just a year ahead of the CTS. Based on what we saw in the 60 minutes clip I expect the CTS will be passing the G35 in that department again this year, and match up nicely to cars like the IS and A4, at least in design. Materials are anyone's guess at this point.

[ifcar]

Well I didn't have them on a track back to back or anything. Just general impressions. I am no expert, but I do consider myself an enthusiast. If the differences are small enough for me not to notice, I can't imagine most buyers would notice.

And for the G35, yes the newer one is nicer, but its just a year ahead of the CTS. Based on what we saw in the 60 minutes clip I expect the CTS will be passing the G35 in that department again this year, and match up nicely to cars like the IS and A4, at least in design. Materials are anyone's guess at this point.

I didn't have them on a track either, but I noticed a clear difference. Maybe you're right that most wouldn't.

And what I meant about the interiors is that both the CTS and G35 recieved updates over the years short of full redesigns to compensate for their original mediocrity, and the G35 surpassed the CTS thanks to one of those. It looks as though the new CTS interior will be much more opulant than the new G35's.

[traumadog]

Just saw this on Autoblog too...

one quick 'chop later, and there's an idea what the whole nose looks like:



http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/27/introducing-the-2008-cadillac-cts-courtesy-of-photoshop/

[Catman]

Awesome.  That car looks so unique and aggressive.

[TheIntrepid]

I don't like the front end.

[Catman]

I don't like the front end.

[JYODER240]

^yet he likes the front of a Camry.

[nickdrinkwater]

When's the actual thing going to be unveiled?  Is it coming to Europe?