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Automotive News & Views Can GM make Cadillac the standard of the world Again?
6098 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM
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Replying to: bumpy (Feb 28, 2008 12:00 pm) Bumpy. Can you please show me a car from any manufacturer anywhere in the world that built a car as great and as great-looking as the 1976 Seville at anywhere remotely near Cadillac's $13,000 MSRP? Didn't think so. |
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 28, 2008 6:33 pm) The step toward the smaller Cadillacs (Car and Driver called the 1986 ElDorado the "ElDoradoette") was needed, and the cars came out still looking like the luxury cars they were!  Smaller, yet still luxurious. Like I asked the other person, can you think of any non-Cadillac, non-domestic car that looked and drove remotely this luxuriously at remotely the same price? I just can't!
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Replying to: pmc4 (Feb 29, 2008 9:10 pm) You're absolutely right. I think the problem is, when you look at cars in this category, "prestige" and sportiness were in. You hadn't "arrived" yet unless you had imported things. Back then Perrier water was all the rage (Poland Spring will do me fine). That picture shows a fine looking, AMERICAN (personality-wise) personal luxury coupe. I remember seeing a 1986 Electra Park Av. coupe at a dealer. Beautiful car. Too bad they just weren't the "IN" thing.
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Mar 01, 2008 6:26 am) |
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Hey, he said NON-DOMESTIC!!! But even w/ the LSC, I say the same thing. It screams "American Luxury", and to you, me and, PMC, that means something. Just not the same thing that German Luxury means. |
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Replying to: pmc4 (Feb 29, 2008 9:10 pm)  And, as for finding another $13,000 "luxury" car in the '70s, there isn't another because there should have never been one in the first place. |
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Replying to: bumpy (Mar 01, 2008 3:20 pm) What does it mean for a car to "drive luxuriously?" Obviously during the 80's, that meant that the car had to have very low interior noise levels. It also meant NVH had to be attenuated as much as possible. It also meant that the car had to run over rough road surfaces with the least amount of the road's texture coming in. Unlike cars from the 80's, today's luxury cars in addition to the qualities just listed now have well-weighted steering (electronic sensors/steering racks). Brakes that grab and act in a linear fashion (electronic sensors for traction control). Enough of the road surface has to be transmitted thru the steering rack to provide the driver with feedback so as to inspire driving confidence. The seats have to be extremely comfortable to prevent driver fatigue (applied materials; biometrics research). A well-tuned chassis (careful tuning on road courses/Nurburgring). In addition, there will be all kinds of standard features that were not available back in the 80's. Since the Mercedes Benz you posted fits none of the criteria I set fourth above (for example, the car has high levels of interior noise. The ride is Bumpy (sorry...). The engine in the car vibrates all the fizz out of your Coke while you're driving it. The transmission in the car gives you a swift kick in the pants each time you accelerate it. The soundproofing (or lack thereof) makes the interior sound like you're standing in a wind tunnel at speeds over like 30 MPH. A prerequisite to using the steering wheel is that you can hammer curl at least 40 lbs. The interior has first-class luxury appointments like a huge, red hazard lamp sticking out of the center console. The speedometer and tachometer have a documented 4,980,352 digits printed on them. The leather surfaces has all the softness and suppleness of an NFL football. The plastic surfaces have all the elegance and class of an NFL football helmet. Chrome is used as if it were a precious metal. ets, etc, etc.), it is not a luxury car. Since it goes from 0 to 60 in around 9 seconds, it is not a sports car. Since it's noisy as well as slow, it is not a luxury sport sedan. It has a tight turning radius, so it could technically be called an econo-box. But it cost like $50,000... Which begs the question, "What on God's Green Earth is it?!"
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