2011 Cadillac STS Review

Cadillac's upcoming XTS sedan will not only replace the DTS, but the STS as well. What's an STS? Can't blame you...this is another strong sedan that's been neglected in the marketing department and overshadowed by its smaller (and brilliant) sibling, the CTS.

And that's a shame, too....because while the STS never really got to be the BMW 5-Series killer many had hoped it would be, it's a terrific sedan.

Consider the specs:  Available in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive...a 3.6-liter V6 engine making 302 horsepower and 272 pounds per foot of torque with a six-speed automatic transmission standard...and an EPA mileage rating of 18 city/27 highway.

But, unlike its big brother DTS, you have to dig a bit to find a big discount over the 5-Series. The entry level 5 (the 528i) starts at $45,050...the lowest-rung STS is $47,280. But the STS has 60 more horsepower. Move to erase that deficit, and you're looking at the 300-horsepower (2 less than the Cad) 535i,  and the price tag for that Bimmer is $50,100.

The other weak point for the STS is that Cadillac's been planning its demise for a while...meaning not much has gone into upgrades the past few years...especially in the interior. Nothing's seriously wrong, mind you...it's just that it looks and feels a full generation behind what a 2011 luxury car should look and feel like.  And that's at the $47,280 price point. Start clicking the option boxes and you can get an STS past $60,000 without a lot of strain.

The XTS promises to be quite a car, and, frankly, more of a replacement for the STS than the DTS. The time has come for change. But GM's neglect of upgrades and marketing for the STS deprived a lot of people from discovering this car in its prime...and its dealers of thousands of sales to what would have been satisfied customers.

(review vehicle courtesy Lund Cadillac)

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Mercury Dies So That Lincoln May Live

We pretty much did our post-mortem of Mercury five days early...running down the cause(s) of the impending death.

So what happens now? Well, Ford says they're going to devote their energies into revitalizing their Lincoln brand.

On paper, this makes a bunch of sense. The successful model for car sales is one mainstream brand, one luxury (think Toyota/Lexus)...with no definable space for a "middle" brand (GM is bucking that wisdom by keeping Buick).

But where exactly is Ford taking Lincoln? Part of the problem is that for all the talk of how Mercury was done in by being nothing more than some re-badged Fords, it's hard to say Lincoln's in much better shape (the MKZ is a Fusion, the MKX an Edge, the MKS a last-gen Taurus and the MKT a Flex...though those last two are pretty well disguised).

Unique products? Well, there's the Town Car...but that's a dinosaur headed to extinction with no plans for a replacement. Oh, yeah...and they still sell the Navigator. Just not many of them.

Ford says a small car (based on the next Focus) that was supposed to be a Mercury will now be a Lincoln.

Depends on how they do that...but it sounds a little down-market for where Lincoln needs to be.

The TireKicker take? Lincoln needs to take serious aim at Cadillac. They need one car at least as good as the CTS. A CTS-V competitor would have to follow. And, you may have noticed, the CTS is not a re-badged Chevrolet. They need a larger sedan to do battle with the DTS/STS replacement that's coming. They need a crossover to compete with the SRX.  And, if there's a market for a premium sedan below the CTS in the U.S., Lincoln needs to play there, too.

Until and unless the Ford Expedition becomes as good as or better than the Chevy Suburban, Lincoln doesn't need to go chasing the Escalade (especially not the pickup version).

All this means engines, materials, and enthusiasm well beyond what we've seen from Lincoln before...plus a promotion budget to get the message across to buyers (it's been 10 years since Cadillac claimed "Breakthrough" with Led Zeppelin and they're just starting to see the results). And that's going to be way more than combining the money devoted to Lincoln now with what they would have spent on Mercury.

The situation calls for a world-class luxury brand. And until and unless Ford gets that, Lincoln's in danger of being a more expensive Mercury.

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What's Better: "Leadership" or "Excellence"?

GM's ditched its logo from the flanks of its cars and from its advertising. And though you'd have to be of a certain age to recall,  it was once associated with a slogan: "GM. Mark of Excellence".




Well, now Cadillac has put distance between itself and GM in its advertising, yet somehow comes up with a tag line that's derivative of the "Mark of Excellence".



Which begs the question: When spending $40-50K for a midsize luxury sport sedan, do you want "leadership" or "excellence"?  My take: Excellence, thank you very much. And Cadillac's old positioner "Standard of the World" strikes me as promising more of what they need to build if they intend to actually play in BMW, Audi and Mercedes' ballgame.

Oh...and there's this: A big hat tip to Peter DeLorenzo at Autoextremist, who points out that the new Cadillac ads are from the same agency that did this Jaguar spot. See if you can spot the similarities.

On second thought, try to find some differences. It'll take less time.

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2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon Unveiled At New York Auto Show

An oxymoron died today.

The one that pairs "station wagon" with "lust".

Behold the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon.

556 horsepower from a 6.2-liter V8.

Six speed transmission. Manual or automatic, you pick.

Magnetic ride control, Brembo brakes, dual 3-inch exhausts.

                          

And that's where you get to sit. Perforated sueded 14-way adjustable microfiber seats, a Bose 5.1 surround system with a 40 gig hard drive....

Full details in the official GM Media release here.

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Cadillac Recalling 2003-2007 CTS In 20 States And D.C.

The problem? Front brake hose assemblies that can corrode and rupture.

The recall notice? Here.

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Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon Review

For a country that invented the station wagon and pretty much couldn't live without it for 30 years after World War II, America has shunned the concept...while Europe has bought in big, producing some wonderfully useful, sporty wagons.

Now, Cadillac, never a station wagon builder in the glory days (unless you count ambulances and hearses),  has decided to get in the game by taking its most European vehicle, the CTS sedan, and making a wagon version.

Competition? BMW sells wagons in their 3 and 5 series in the U.S. and.....well, that's about it.

                         

There's no denying it's a slick looking piece. And it drives almost as well as the CTS sedan, with the usual 304 horsepower V6 mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

                       

Prices start just south of $40,000, but the one I drove for a week was the "Premium Collection" model. It takes almost everything on the option list, converts it to standard and jacks the price of admission up to $51,720.

Even then, Cadillac found one way to add to the bottom line: The 19" Summer Tire Performance Package. You get 19 inch wheels instead of the standard 18s, summer-only tires instead of the all-season radials, a sport suspension system, steering wheel mounted shift controls, a performance cooling system and performance disc brakes. $2,000. Bringing the total, with destination charges, to $54,635.

You couldn't quite get to that price by loading a 3-series wagon with everything available, and 5-series wagons start at $55,950...so it's possible that Cadillac has found the sweet spot here...at least in the target market.

But just how big a market is that? Not very. To be a success, Cadillac will have to win converts...get people to step out of SUVs and crossovers into a smaller package...always a tough sell in America, even in tough times.  But grading purely on the product, Cadillac has scored yet again.

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Cadillac CTS Review

Welcome to exhibit A in the argument that Americans can still (or maybe "again") build world-class, exciting, involving cars.

Two true stories: The first from about six or seven years ago, when my boyhood race driver hero, Bob Bondurant, swapped his fleet of Mustangs at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving near Phoenix, Arizona for the first-gen Cadillac CTS. Was he kidding, I asked?

Bob himself tossed me the keys to a leftover Mustang and told me to take the slalom course (my favorite) for as long as I wanted and get my best time...and then take a CTS.

It took about four tries to get it with the Mustang.

In the CTS, I blew the best Mustang time away on the first shot...and it got better from there. The thing handled like it was on rails.

Yeah, it was a bit underpowered and the interior was kinda plasticky, but the car was a ball to drive...and it has gotten better not with every generational change, but with every model year.

Second, I have a friend who has owned a string of Mercedes-Benzes. He's now on his third CTS. Everytime the lease comes up, he orders another...and calls me, marveling at how they've made a great car better.

The '09 CTS simply rocks. $36,265 gets you a 263 horsepower V6 that's smooth as silk, mated to a six-speed manual, anti-lock brakes, 17-inch wheels, dual-zone climate control, terrifically comfortable seats, an 8-speaker Bose audio system with AM/FM/CD/mp3 and XM and more. Stop there and you've got a great car and an amazing bargain.

But toss $9,300 or so in options on it, like GM did with our test car and you'll be blown away. This one had the luxury level one package, a hugely upgraded audio system including a 40 gig hard drive music device and a very, very good navigation system that hides inside the dash when not in use, a six-speed automatic and...wonder of wonders, real wood on the center console, instrument panel and door trim.

There's only one cooler Cad on earth...and it's spoken for until at least 2012.

UPDATE: Another week in another CTS...this one with only $5,000 worth of options (kissing the upgraded audio and nav systems goodbye) just reinforces my earlier opinions. Though I'd probably pop for the audio.

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