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Sedans Cadillac CTS/CTS-V 2008 Cadillac CTS
2757 messages, Last post on Oct 09, 2009 at 8:13 PM
You are in the Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: pucks (Sep 18, 2007 4:52 am) |
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Replying to: pucks (Sep 18, 2007 4:52 am) Its like I love my navigation system. Even though I only use it 10 times a year, I want it to perform optimally when I do use it and have control over it. It just doesn't make any sense. Every car manufacturer in the world offers a shade that allows the car owner to decide whether he prefers a sunroof to be "open or closed". I do not think this is a small issue, and I am not that picky of a car owner. As I said, I could live with the appearance of it, but not this silly oversight. Don't you ever want your sunshade to be totally closed? |
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"Panoramic moonroof Cadillac says the optional panoramic moonroof covers more than 70 percent of the roof. The sunshade is thin, which Cadillac says enables it to roll into a smaller space and preserve rear headroom. All the same, it does a poor job blocking out the sun and mitigating wind noise. A smaller, conventional moonroof is not available." http://research.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?revid=52131&makeid=8&modelid=6128&y- ear=2008&revlogtype=20§ion=reviews Just click on "moonroof photo" |
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Replying to: pucks (Sep 18, 2007 4:52 am) The sunroof, the glass part, is fine -- probably bigger than most people want, but even if it is the "focus group" ideal size, the fact that it cannot be fully blocked is an issue and the cheap gauze or cheesecloth like covering is another. To add, for some, insult to injury, you cannot delete the sunroof without spending MORE money. The bundling of option groups sees to your ability to get a very nice car with a cheap looking sunroof and to avoid this, PAY MORE! What were they thinking? But, the bigger issue, in my mind, is the lack of bluetooth, especially when cars FAR LESS EXPENSIVE offer bluetooth that integrates with the audio system and incorporates on*star dialing capabilities but allows the access of voice mail. If on*star's price were cut 50%, it would still be unusable for anyone who buys or sells stuff, manages people and stuff and needs to access voice mail jail. A smaller issue is the lack of the OMG handles for the front seat occupants. The pedal operated brake is "OK" but a lever or electronic brake might have been keeping with the times. Finally, the adaptatation of the "sort of" keyless ignition is also "OK" but the "other guys" keep upping the ante for electronics and gizmos and the CTS is not even "state of the art" 2004, let alone 2008. OK, I got that (again) off my chest. The car is apparently very well screwed together and the interior is nearly "audi-like." The exterior styling, although hardly daring (not that it needs to be), is a beautiful evolution of the first CTS. The wheelbase, power, fit and finish and overall content are fine (circa 2003 or 2004 technology and capability) -- and, as such, make for "the best Cadillac ever." But, is it enough? Folks will say, "it is (perhaps) well priced and a value compared to the 5 series BMW." That may be true. I just keep finding it difficult to imagine that the 5 series customer will say "for $12,000 less I can get a CTS." With the "fixes" noted above, I still say, sign me up. But, quicker than I can type this, Audi announces a new A4 that adds 6+ inches to the wheelbase, RWD biased AWD, better f/r weight distribution, torque vectoring quattro, a wider track (and interior, too), an interior right out of the A6/A5 mold and that German feel, not quite yet mastered by Cadillac (the new CTS with the FE2 suspension is "floaty" and somewhat vague compared with any thing from German -- uh, er, the AWD Passat, by comparison is PLANTED to the tarmac.) But, the Cadillac is sooooo pretty, the stitching on the dash looks sooooo expensive, the stereo system is "dandy." The voice response system is, gulp, great, up to Motorola's best, circa 1987. The OMG handles, a cheap fix. The gauze sunroof interior cover, probably not as cheap as I think it "ought to be." The keyless ignition should be changed or just plain not offered since it must cost a lot or they would not have done it that way. The foot pedal parking brake -- again, probably must be a lot more expensive than I could ever imagine, for this is just so totally out of place. And, last but most certainly not least, bluetooth is easy to do and inexpensive. These days would you buy a new laptop without WiFi? Why buy a car without bluetooth? OK, OK, OK, quit complaining, yes? Yep, fix these things or take about 15% off the MSRP and I would probably overlook most of them. Prediction: the price will not be cut, even if the deals do reflect aggressive discounting BUT these "problem areas" will be, mostly, corrected before the 2009's come out. Prediction: if not, the new CTS will over-promise and under-deliver and (regardless) do well but not anywhere near its potential. More's the pity. Oh yea -- despite my comments, I really do like this car much more than I dislike it, by far. 
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| I just bought a 2008 CTS cadillac and absolutely love it. I took it to the touchless carwash today and guidebar for the tires seem to drag underneath the car. Has anybody else taken their car to the carwash yet? If so, was it a touchless or regular carwash? Did you notice any clearance issues? | |
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They have updated CTS site on caddy.com. I dont see the big deal with bluetooth and would not base a car buying decision on that at all. It is offered with many other cars but typically only if you get navigation which means that many luxury cars do have bluetooth. I dont talk on the phone enough while driving to make it worthwhile. Besides, with BT headsets around I dont see why you need handsfree calling in your car too. It sounds like many of you are not going to get the car for a few reasons that I consider minor. Perhaps the CTS isnt for you. As for the keyless start, the CTS has the same type of system that Infinti and Acura use. I wouldnt say its outdated by any means. Just because it doesnt have a pushbutton doesnt mean its not advanced. Last time I checked the competition does not offer remote start with keyless go.
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Replying to: 1487 (Sep 18, 2007 4:55 pm) Bluetooth and the sunroof will be, for many, deal breakers and that is my concern.
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Replying to: 1487 (Sep 18, 2007 4:55 pm) That unforgivable sunroof design is not a minor problem if it can’t block out 70% of the heat and the sun light when I don’t need them. It’s a major SHOW STOPPER in my opinion and many others on this board. Anybody cares to state his/her opinion has the right to speak up; if a person has to praise or criticize the car I’m thinking of buying, I would like to hear it loud and clear without getting offended, even if that criticism was exaggerated or wrong, because that critic is a real Cadillac fan, saying his/her honest opinion, not a paid Auto Writer.
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My SRX had to go back to the dealership this past monday...apparently somebody on my normal maintenance visit forgot to check the brakes. Oops. Well that got me more time in the CTS and I'm starting to notice a few things that I hadn't before on first blush. Handling. The car I test drove was a FE2 eqipped car, not the FE3. The FE3 only comes with the summer tires (not unlike my original 2003 CTS LuxSport). I'm reading some of the complaints of the FE2 car around here and I'm scratching my head in disbelief. Nobody I've seen in any of the automotove publications dislikes the FE2; in fact, it's seen as the "daily driver" suspension for most. "Floaty" is not an adjective I'd use to describe it. I think that's a misconception since the CTS's steering rack is lighter than the outgoing one by far. It's not floaty, just different...a bit on the light side. It was commented on in the very same automotive press, but it wasn't considered a problem. I heard more howls when BMW went to their active steering scheme, frankly. The Sunroof. OK, nobody else seems to be complaining about this in the auto press either except the people here. Look, if the sunroof isn't for you, then don't order it! If you feel it's enough of a deal killer, shop for something else. I wouldn't call it cheap at all. As I said before, the roll up screen has been used in the SRX for four years now. The bigger issue frankly is the perforated sunscreen which I think is a debatable issue. It's also not the only time an automaker has used such a screen (Land Rover comes to mind). Bluetooth. I agree completely here...it's a problem. I don't think it'll be a long lasting problem...most likely fixed through a mid-cycle upgrade knowing Cadillac. One thing I learned is that only in the last two years did GM move away from the computer language they had been using to program vehicles since the '80s (Modula-2) to using something more recent (C++). Since Bluetooth connectivity affects both the radio and Onstar (two seperate systems that have to communicate together), I could see a problem getting this right from a software standpoint. There's still no excuse for not making the product launch deadline, but I can understand why it might happen. Lack of front seat grab handles. Another inexplicable decision, but personally I think it was cost cutting. The grabhandles above the rear seats are the same, just in mirror. A front seat grabhandle would have to likely have a different shape since a sculptered resting place for it would have to integrate with the contours of the ceiling (there are lines that frame where the sunroof would be if you don't order the sunroof). This costs money and I think it got nixed for something else. I don't miss a driver's side handle so much since you often use the steering column for the same purpose.
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The interior styling. I'm getting a whole new level of respect for the interior design. I started looking at the details more closely and I discovered something that hasn't been discussed here. There is a central theme to the interior that it only referenced tangentely. On the seatbacks are a chrome chevron...the "V" used under Cadillac crests from 1946 until 1984. The version they are using is the superexaggerated late 1950's version. What you don't immediately notice is that the Caddy chevron is used as a central design theme everywhere through the dash. The central section of the dash is a big extruded chevron, right down to the central spline line. The chevron is used on the seat stitching, the cover for the cup holders and the center console and a few other places. Now I don't claim to know much about designing. But I do know that quality design often starts with a central design element that gets reused if possible. One major secondary theme is the shape of the Cadillac crest which is a variation of the extruded chevron. The steering wheel center uses the same basic shape as the Caddy crest inside it, but I notice that extruded chevron reappears below the center section on the steering wheel's "C" pillar. Bottom line is that I really respect how the CTS interior design team came to its final product. Nice work guys. If you compare this car to a STS (which my dealership had on the same floor), the STS seems like a proverbial "old maid" versus the CTS. Everything in the STS is boxy, upright and dreadfully boring in comparison. One major difference in the two cars...the top of the dashboard. The CTS uses a leatherette stitched down...the STS uses a hard piece of plastic like just about all other Caddys. The difference in refinement is obvious. Other observations. The battery is in the trunk behind a velcro attached panel on the right hand side. If you open the trunk, you'll notice the right side doesn't have as much room as the left side rearward from the tire. But you won't need to back the car up to the nose of another car to use jumper cables...there is a battery terminal labeled underneath the hood for that purpose. There is a passthru port from the trunk to the rear seat just like on the previous car. The spare tire is not standard but the space under the trunk floor is there is you order it. There is a canvas panel underneath the front seats that keeps crap from falling underneath the seats...a nice touch. Finally, the much maligned old CTS glovebox is a reasonable size. |
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