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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
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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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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Replying to: bumpy (Mar 01, 2008 3:20 pm) |
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Replying to: pmc4 (Mar 01, 2008 7:23 pm) Chrome and bordello interiors are American definitions of luxury. Americans do not own the concept. And about your performance talk, I have no doubt it could school one of those baby Eldos on a track... |
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Replying to: pmc4 (Mar 01, 2008 7:23 pm) "It" started life as a 300CE, then AMG turned it into a 6L V8 monster with an equally fearsome price tag: $160,000 or thereabouts. The somnabulent set was not invited to participate. |
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Replying to: claires (Mar 01, 2008 9:32 pm) |
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Replying to: claires (Mar 01, 2008 9:32 pm) Regards, OW |
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Replying to: claires (Mar 01, 2008 9:32 pm) Caddy is for all intents and purposes a North American brand. It has gone over like a lead balloon in Europe, and I don't see this changing. It really isn't anything "of the world", and it doesn't have to be. |
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Replying to: claires (Mar 01, 2008 9:32 pm) And, does it matter? Will every car built by every mfg. conform to the needs, wants and desires of every buyer? My guess is that as long as there are three people on earth, there will be at least two different opinions on almost any given subject. Especially cars! I personally don't care about brands and labels (much...  ). I use the auto rags and internet to help me narrow a list of cars down to those most likely to fit my bill. But, since Edmunds, CR, C & D, R & T et. al. aren't paying for my car, I make the decision on what is my "standard." Right now the single best car in the world resides in my side of the garage. The Evil Wife has her "standard of the world" on her side of the garage... For many, many years GM built cars that appealed less and less to their former, and future, constituency. In fact, for years Caddy's weren't Caddy's. Just rebadged all other GM brands, e.g. Cimarron. But the past is just that. Including Dewar Trophies, Cimarron's, Allantes, Humped back Sevilles and V8/6/4 engines. It appears that years and years of wait 'till next year are now becoming next year. The CTS is good, the SRX isn't horrible, the STS isn't horrible, even the XLR isn't bad. WHere Caddy has stumbled a bit imho is with pricing. Without the discounts/rebates, Caddy's are competitive cars at non-competitive prices. Saw a black '08 CTS the other day with full faux tan convertible top and much gold special edition badges. Those that don't learn from the past are destined to repeat it... 
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