Inside Line 2008 Cadillac CTS First Drive, Full Test and Long Term

55 messages, Last post on Jul 17, 2009 at 6:09 PM

You are in the Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens

What is this discussion about? Cadillac CTS, Sedan

First Drive: 2008 Cadillac CTS - This substantial 2.0-inch track increase improves handling, as it's easier to manage body roll and weight transfer. The new ZF Servotronic steering forward of the axle (a packaging measure largely related to the availability of all-wheel drive) improves steering precision. (more)

Full Test: 2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI - Cadillac has stopped trying to be German, something it is not. Instead it has rediscovered itself and produced a uniquely American sport sedan without peer. That's a bold statement for sure, but name another American car like the 2008 Cadillac CTS. (more)

Long-Term Test: 2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI - What We Bought: It all starts with the engine. With the 550-horsepower supercharged LS9 not being available for the CTS until next year, we were left with only two engine choices: a 3.6-liter V6 or a 3.6-liter V6. One has the benefit of direct fuel injection and makes 39 more horses. (more)

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#6 of 55 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Cadillac CTS First Drive [bingoman] by harrison310 Jul 29, 2007 (8:31 am)
Replying to: bingoman (Jul 28, 2007 3:55 pm) I am also an 03 CTS owner. Love the car. Iffy about the dealership. I'm in a town where there's only 1 Cadillac dealership and they're only beginning to change their monopoly attitude when they realize that their real competition is Lexus, Benz and Infiniti. I waited for a later run of the 03 model year to get the 1st run bugs/fixes out of the way. I'm also wondering about the availability of the 6-speed manual transmission. Finding mine was very difficult - again, the dealership wasn't helpful.
#7 of 55 2008 CTS Question by jkross22 Jul 29, 2007 (11:23 pm)
Um, GM is in dire straits, so they need to make not just good cars or great cars... they need to make class leading cars to rebound and survive. Sounds like the new CTS is between good and great, but definitely not class leading. Where is the diesel offering? How about a hybrid? Where is the engineering prowess? Gas isn't going to EVER be cheap again, so how does this car address that? Good enough ain't good enough anymore. Replies to this message: sevenfeet0 (Jul 30, 2007 9:36 am) 2006300c (Jul 30, 2007 1:41 pm) 2006300c (Jul 30, 2007 1:37 pm) bonddog (Oct 07, 2007 3:27 pm) sevenfeet0 (Oct 07, 2007 4:10 pm) bonddog (Oct 07, 2007 4:55 pm)
#8 of 55 Re: 2008 CTS Question [jkross22] by sevenfeet0 Jul 30, 2007 (9:36 am)
Replying to: jkross22 (Jul 29, 2007 11:23 pm) Diesel is coming, but probably not until 2010 according to the rumors. Same for hybrid technology. Remember, GM (and Bob Lutz particularly) got caught flatfooted on the hybrid tech thing. They now had to make up YEARS of experience that Toyota has gained. Toyota's first hybrid Prius was marketing in 1997, which means that they were working on it years previous. GM only made a committment to hybrids recently and you just can't retrofit the technology into just anything overnight. Going too fast risks another Caddy V8-6-4 debacle. Yes they are losing sales over it (my wife will not replace our SRX with anything that isn't a hybrid). But going too quickly into this tech could be expensively disastrous. Replies to this message: 2006300c (Jul 30, 2007 1:41 pm)
#9 of 55 Hybrid by arby1 Jul 30, 2007 (9:37 am)
I don't want a diesel. The hybrid would take 5 years to recover the extra cost. I lease for 3 years. I will save 10% on fuel by buying regular instead of premium, which the other world leading cars require.
#10 of 55 Re: 2008 CTS Question [jkross22] by 2006300c Jul 30, 2007 (1:37 pm)
Replying to: jkross22 (Jul 29, 2007 11:23 pm) Your average Cadillac owner or Luxury car owner in general is not concerned about fuel prices. When you're dishing out $675 a month for a 300C like i am the $80-100 a month I spend on gas doesn’t really affect me, so the $1000 a month a top spec CTS requires is definitely no concern. BTW, when C&D tested the GS400h they averaged 20 MPG. When they tested this caddy on the autobahn and Nurburgring they averaged 18 MPG.
#11 of 55 Re: 2008 CTS Question [sevenfeet0] by 2006300c Jul 30, 2007 (1:41 pm)
Replying to: sevenfeet0 (Jul 30, 2007 9:36 am) Cyclinder deactivation and stop/start technology works very well with todays engine management technology. It will take years to get back the money for the Hybrid system. Tell your wife to buy a E350 wagon or Volvo V70.
#12 of 55 ONE THING IS FOR SURE by golfnut5 Jul 31, 2007 (3:03 pm)
The competition is not going to sit back and wait for GM to play catch up.
#13 of 55 Re: Article Comments - 2008 Cadillac CTS First Drive [sevenfeet0] by allargon Aug 09, 2007 (2:22 pm)
Replying to: sevenfeet0 (Jul 28, 2007 6:52 am) The treatment of that player had more to do with good old boy Southern hospitality than anything else. Back to the topic... The article was a nice first drive about the initial impressions. I look forward to the full and short-term (Sorry, Edmunds. Six months is not a long term test.) test results.
#14 of 55 ??? by markcincinnati Aug 09, 2007 (4:01 pm)
You mean you can't get the AWD AND the 300+HP engine at the same time? Say it ain't so! Replies to this message: len00 (Aug 10, 2007 8:56 am) avatards (Aug 24, 2007 12:26 pm)
#15 of 55 Re: ??? [markcincinnati] by len00 Aug 10, 2007 (8:56 am)
Replying to: markcincinnati (Aug 09, 2007 4:01 pm) One of the magazine articles did indicate that the AWD will only be available on the "lesser" engine but I have not found anything on the Edmunds site or GM site that validates this. Also, according to Edmunds, the premium luxury is not compatible with AWD. I was advised on the other forum "08 CTS" that Edmunds has this wrong. I hope so. Len