mmarshall

Goss is especially good with electrical/computer repairs and troubleshooting....an area that can be very difficult. You have to give him credit on that. ...that is the area he impresses me the most.

But, IMO, he goes a little overboard, though, on the need to change AND flush ALL of the engine, transmission, cooling-system, brake, power-steering and final-drive fluids. His basic 3 month/3000 mile oil change recommendation is sensible, but if you flushed ALL of those components every 2 years/24,000 miles with a flush machine, as he recommends, you would literally spend a fortune on maintenance. Yes, he's right.......they would all stay in like-new condition, but is the hit to the wallet worth it? I change those fluids myself every 2-3 years, depanding on mileage, but not with a flush machine. With flush machines, you also have to have a skilled operator who knows what he's doing....and good machines. Otherwise there is the potential to use too much pressure and damage the seals or the components...or use too little pressure and not get all of the dirt and cleaning fluids out.

mmarshall

Perhaps so. Anyhow, like I said earlier, I'll avoid the CTS chassis subject in the future. Consider the matter closed....at your request.

(But my next review, if on schedule, WILL be a German chassis, GUARANTEED......the Volkswagen R32). Look for it probably next week.

rosskoss

Excellent car choice for next week!

One of my personal favorites.

Sal Collaziano

Great review! This is one of the most in depth CTS reviews on the internet!

mmarshall

Thanks.

I put a lot of care, time, and attention into reviews, the majority of which are done on request.......but they are not always error-free. Once in a while, I make a mistake or overlook something in the specs.....and I get spanked when I do.

Threxx

Don't worry about it - it's rare when I can read an issue of motor trend without coming across at least a couple of factual and amazingly enough even a couple of grammatical errors.

That's just terrible IMO considering how many editors and "car experts" see the finished product and sign off on it before it goes to print.

If you have a couple of mistakes in a review you did all by yourself for a much more limited audience and without pay or extensive man hours spent worked on it, then that's completely normal IMO.

xcntuatd77

Im a bit confused.

there is an FE1 FE2 and FE3 suspension layouts in the new CTS.

FE3 being the most sport/performance/ stiffest setup.


according to the cadillac website:


FE2 is offered in the all season tire performance package. This package required AWD.

FE3 is offered in the summer tire performance pkg. Only RWD


Im guessing FE1 is the base car as is withouth either packages.



1. Why is the FE3 offered with the summer tire when it would make more sense to offer it with the AWD all season tire performance pkg, handling wise?


can someone explain this. Thanks

mmarshall

Cadllac's reasoning (apparantly) is that the buyer who wants the high-performance FE-3 with summer tire option would probably also want the handling characteristics of RWD, hence AWD is not included as an option. Buyers who chose the FE-2 AWD option for bad weather would most likely want the all-season tires with it.

The FE-1, as you indicate, is the base suspension for those who not only want max ride comfort but to keep the price down as well. I myself am one of those people who generally prefer ride comfort over sharp handling.....within reason, of course......as long as it's not too sluggish.

If you want more detail than this, try PM'ing Threxx........he is more of an expert on this car's underpinnings than I am.

xcntuatd77

Cadillac.com lets you equip both performance packages on the car...at first i thought it would just let you add whatever packages you want to throw together..but then i saw a car on ebay that has BOTH packages on the car!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2008-...QQcmdZViewItem

look at the photos of the window sticker.


1. What is the point of having BOTH an all season tire performance pkg and summer tire performance package on the car?!?!

2. Would having BOTH packages make the car the most sportiest? or just having the RWD summer tire performance pkg THE BEST sportiest/performance handling CTS available?

3. Where is the adaptive front lighting option on the car? Which package is that under cuz i dont see it anywhere.

4. Can you get luxury level 2 by itself similarly to luxury level 1? cadilalc only gives you luxury level 2 if you get their $8100 premium luxury collection package which includes nav, upgraded audio, and the sunroof. But wut if you dont want that stuff and just the luxury level two by itself?

5. Specifically, in luxury level 2 package, a keyless start feature is mentioned. Is this a push button igniition setup or what? can you give details how this keyless access/start works.

thanks for all your help!

xcntuatd77

This really is a great car. Im considering doing a lease or smartbuy on this car if the bank money factor is right. The way im wanting it equipped - it's a $42,000 car 3.6L V6 DI.

Black raven with black leather

Performance Luxury Package $3300
- Luxury Level II pkg
- 18'' Summer Tire Performance Pkg

Luxury Collection Package $2600
- Luxury Level I pkg
- Seating pkg

Bose 5.1 Sound System $1000

No ultraview Sunroof
No navigation

$42,190 MSRP $38,760 invoice from kbb.com

GM supplier price $39,110 (39,000)
luxury ownership cash -$1000
GM CTS cash -$500

Selling Price $37,500
GM earning card would deduct maximum extra -$1000 (but i dont have one)


So if $37,500 is used as gross capital cost, what should payment be on this car on 24/36/39 month leases with no money down except required taxes, fees, and first months payment? 700-710 credit. And what the residuals would be respectively for those lease terms, with money factor.

Thanks

mmarshall

Sounds like you want a high-performance one with the works.

I don't want to sound evasive here, but the lease prices you ask about will be primarily based, as you note, on projected residual values. That is probably not something that we can answer for sure here on CL...it is something that I believe is still being worked out between Cadillac and its dealerships. And dealerships, like with asking prices for a purchase, in some cases can also very lease prices based on local projected demand for the car (it can be a complex buisness) but, of course, have to remain within Federal and state Truth-in-Leasing laws.

(If anyone else on CL has any hard leasing numbers here, I invite you to post them )

Threxx

These are the current base rates for the CTS with 15k miles a year.

Add 2% to the residual for 12k miles a year.

2008 Cadillac CTS (ALL variants)
24 Month – Residual 69% of MSRP – .00238 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00238 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 50% of MSRP – .00238 Base Rate

Use this calculator to figure out your payment:
http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm

mmarshall

Thanks, Threxx.........is that a local lease figure at a dealership in your area, or Cadillac's own numbers? Here in this area (D.C.), lease rates often vary by dealership.......that's why I worded my last answer the way I did.

Threxx

Those are the base rates that GM gives dealers. ANY dealer can lease to you for those rates. If they give you rates higher than that then they're trying to make some extra money on the finance side of the transaction which isn't abnormal, but I think they should be happy with the profit they make on the purchase price of the vehicle.

mmarshall

Yeah....this is a BIG money area here with a lot of high incomes (the Tyson's Corner auto dealer strip-mall, which is just a few miles from my house, is some of the most expensive real estate on the East Coast outside of Manhattan) and sometimes local dealerfs here act accordingly.