Car Chat

[Submariner]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a26811260/cadillac-engine-names-2020/

So wait.  They use the metric not used in the only market that Cadillac has a shot in?

Cadillac deserves to die.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

So wait.  They use the metric not used in the only market that Cadillac has a shot in?

Cadillac deserves to die.

[Submariner]

As the auto journo everyone loves to hate said, they might as well skip the niceties and make the model some permutation of the car's MSRP.

For shits and giggles, apply the transaction prices after each owner. The last one would be "$237.46/mo BHPH"

Or to save on the cost of badging, the going over under on how many years Cadillac has left before they call it quits.

[Submariner]

Cadillac really sealed the deal with the entirely forgettable CT5, which is sure to be just as (if not more so) uninteresting as the XTS and as unappealing as the ATS and CTS.  If the XT5 is any indication, this car will be a dud straight out of the gate.  The new naming scheme is just icing on the cake.

It's like if Cadillac started offering cars with a numerical-only fuel readout that displayed solely in liters, or measured displacement in metric ounces.  Why not just measure engine size with shot glasses.  "Hey Bob, what car did you get?  I got the two handle!"  Maybe Cadillac can go with another one of their bargain basement marketing campaigns and call the performance variant the "College Special".

Sporty is right.  Cadillac seems to have just given up.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Yes I think it was the 3.7 Duratec

More importantly though... V6 Miata is only 2nd to the V6 MR2 on my "oh my god I'm in over my head" project dream car list

Well, I want a V8 914.

[CaminoRacer]

Cadillac really sealed the deal with the entirely forgettable CT5, which is sure to be just as (if not more so) uninteresting as the XTS and as unappealing as the ATS and CTS.  If the XT5 is any indication, this car will be a dud straight out of the gate.  The new naming scheme is just icing on the cake.

It's like if Cadillac started offering cars with a numerical-only fuel readout that displayed solely in liters, or measured displacement in metric ounces.  Why not just measure engine size with shot glasses.  "Hey Bob, what car did you get?  I got the two handle!"  Maybe Cadillac can go with another one of their bargain basement marketing campaigns and call the performance variant the "College Special".

Sporty is right.  Cadillac seems to have just given up.

I think you're being a bit dramatic.

[12,000 RPM]

GM frustrates. They need a mid engined Corvette like they need a hole in the head. It feels like they have stopped spending any money whatsoever on design or market research.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

GM frustrates. They need a mid engined Corvette like they need a hole in the head. It feels like they have stopped spending any money whatsoever on design or market research.

The front engine platform is maxed out. The move is worth the money spent. Maybe the Caddy guys need a drastic change in their lineup to stir up interest also.......

[CaminoRacer]

The front engine platform is maxed out. The move is worth the money spent. Maybe the Caddy guys need a drastic change in their lineup to stir up interest also.......

Also the team doing the Corvette is entirely different than the teams doing sedans. And the mid-engine project should also pay dividends with trickle-down tech and design on other performance cars.

They do something for enthusiasts and someone still bitches about it.

[12,000 RPM]

Only GM performance cars are the Vette and Camaro... what's a Camaro gonna get from an MR Vette?

And canceling your mainstream car lineup while investing in taking your sports car up market just seems tone deaf and short sighted. Plus what's the rush? C5 was around for 8 years. C6 for 9. C7 is the best Vette yet and will be replaced after 6.

Maybe I am just getting old but for me performance cars have to make business sense. Cool cars that bankrupt the company are not very cool

[93JC]

Cadillac really sealed the deal with the entirely forgettable CT5, which is sure to be just as (if not more so) uninteresting as the XTS and as unappealing as the ATS and CTS.  If the XT5 is any indication, this car will be a dud straight out of the gate.  The new naming scheme is just icing on the cake.

It's like if Cadillac started offering cars with a numerical-only fuel readout that displayed solely in liters, or measured displacement in metric ounces.  Why not just measure engine size with shot glasses.  "Hey Bob, what car did you get?  I got the two handle!"  Maybe Cadillac can go with another one of their bargain basement marketing campaigns and call the performance variant the "College Special".

Sporty is right.  Cadillac seems to have just given up.

Calm down there, drama queen.

Riddle me this: why is the Mercedes-Benz C300 called "C300"?

[r0tor]

The front engine platform is maxed out. The move is worth the money spent. Maybe the Caddy guys need a drastic change in their lineup to stir up interest also.......

Instead of dum dum power, they should have focused on make the car lighter and more responsive... Of which there was tons of room for improvement and no where near maxed out

[MrH]

Only GM performance cars are the Vette and Camaro... what's a Camaro gonna get from an MR Vette?

And canceling your mainstream car lineup while investing in taking your sports car up market just seems tone deaf and short sighted. Plus what's the rush? C5 was around for 8 years. C6 for 9. C7 is the best Vette yet and will be replaced after 6.

Maybe I am just getting old but for me performance cars have to make business sense. Cool cars that bankrupt the company are not very cool

Easy Chicken Little.  How do you know a mid engine corvette will bankrupt the company?

[12,000 RPM]

It's not just the C8. It's the C8, plus the litany of Cadillac fails, plus the complete capitulation in the passenger car space, plus the less than great reception to their money maker pickups, plus the consequences of their overdependence on China coming home to roost....

... all over the back drop of them having been bailed out just a decade ago.

[giant_mtb]

Y'all talk like you don't see a hundred Silverados/Equinoxes/Traverses a day. 

[Submariner]

Calm down there, drama queen.

Riddle me this: why is the Mercedes-Benz C300 called "C300"?

Was the hyperbole really lost on everyone?

[FoMoJo]

Was the hyperbole really lost on everyone?

Apparently .

[93JC]

Was the hyperbole really lost on everyone?

No, it was definitely hyperbolic. Maybe you were trying to be sarcastic, but you were seemingly genuine.

[Submariner]

No, it was definitely hyperbolic. Maybe you were trying to be sarcastic, but you were seemingly genuine.

Oh yes, my thoughts about the CT5 were/are sincere.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Only GM performance cars are the Vette and Camaro... what's a Camaro gonna get from an MR Vette?

And canceling your mainstream car lineup while investing in taking your sports car up market just seems tone deaf and short sighted. Plus what's the rush? C5 was around for 8 years. C6 for 9. C7 is the best Vette yet and will be replaced after 6.

Maybe I am just getting old but for me performance cars have to make business sense. Cool cars that bankrupt the company are not very cool

The C7 WAS suppose be mid engine. The project was put on hold during the Bail Out. That's why the C7 is being replaced sooner than previous generations. The C8 platform will be built upon for years to come so I'm not mad at GM for investing some bucks into it's Halo sports car.

Instead of dum dum power, they should have focused on make the car lighter and more responsive... Of which there was tons of room for improvement and no where near maxed out

No way Jose'. Thats not what Vette (or Camaro or Mustang) guys want! Would you tell Porsche to stop adding power to the 911 or Boxster and concentrate of making it lighter? That'll work for Miata guys but not the Vette crowd!

Also the team doing the Corvette is entirely different than the teams doing sedans. And the mid-engine project should also pay dividends with trickle-down tech and design on other performance cars.

They do something for enthusiasts and someone still bitches about it.

[r0tor]

Would you tell Porsche to stop adding power to the 911 or Boxster and concentrate of making it lighter?

Yes... and they do with the RS models and special editions and sell them all out before they are even built

[12,000 RPM]

VW group is in decent financial position, GM isn't.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Yes... and they do with the RS models and special editions and sell them all out before they are even built

And those are Special Editions! Every 911/Boxter/Cayman redesign has added more power just like the Corvette.

[r0tor]

And those are Special Editions! Every 911/Boxter/Cayman redesign has added more power just like the Corvette.

Power is a function of technology and development...

They make these models and spend time increasing driver involvement, weight, ect.  In that sense there is no barrier to improvement.

GMs approach is take a chassis already overwhelmed by the power and add a supercharger and a bunch of weight and wonder why it's not really quicker and then claim they have reached the peak of front engine rear wheel drive

[12,000 RPM]

Porsche's added power is still very manageable with chassis' designed to handle it

I feel like GM is gearing up for a 1000HP Corvette. Who wants that? Where is anyone gonna use that? Corvettes haven't been slow in 20+ years.

[Submariner]

Porsche's added power is still very manageable with chassis' designed to handle it

I feel like GM is gearing up for a 1000HP Corvette. Who wants that? Where is anyone gonna use that? Corvettes haven't been slow in 20+ years.

I'm sure there are plenty of customers who want to be able to say "my car has 1000 horsepower!"

[CaminoRacer]

I'm sure there are plenty of customers who want to be able to say "my car has 1000 horsepower!"

And GM is not the only manufacturer continually adding power...

[FoMoJo]

I'm sure there are plenty of customers who want to be able to say "my car has 1000 horsepower!"

Of which the said vehicle will only allow them to use a small portion of that power.

[Soup DeVille]

Of which the said vehicle will only allow them to use a small portion of that power.

The new "it'll light 'em up in fourth" is "the traction light stays on until 120."

[Submariner]

Of which the said vehicle will only allow them to use a small portion of that power.

Doesn't matter.  Now the blue collar guys have a taste of the Veyron in their lives.  That's good enough for some.

My dad has a fast car: A bi-turbo Mercedes SL550, and even with a modest 429 HP (and 516 ft. lbs of torque!), using all of that power on the street is very difficult to safely do.

But there has been for some time the availability of 700, 800, 900 Corvettes and Vipers.  Assuming Hennesey doesn't take your money and run, you can get a twin turbo Viper and cut maybe half a second off of your 0-60 times.  You might get a bigger improvement in 1/4 mile speeds, but again, how many times are you going to get your car up to 125MPH on public roads?  And if the argument is that it improves track times, sure, you could make that case, but you'd be much better off taking a stock corvette or viper and sticking it on semi slicks, and investing 1/3rd of the money spent on a turbo on better breaks, suspension, etc.