Motor trend car of the year...
- Thread starter Egreen99
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Sidebar about model years... Considering it's not even 2014 yet and they've already given out the award.
First things first, I'm not completely retarded. I can see why OEM's do it. I assume launching new vehicle models around the holidays and the "broke ass" post-holiday period known as January would be idiotic.
But vehicle model years are used for gov't, law enforcement, financial, insurance, and I'm sure many other official purposes. Is there a limit on how early a 2015 M/Y can hit showrooms? Will there ever be an issue with the overlap regarding emissions or antique vehicle declarations?
Maybe this has gone on since the 50's and I am unaware, and I know it's gone on for as long as I can remember, but it just seems like they're getting earlier and earlier every year.
First things first, I'm not completely retarded. I can see why OEM's do it. I assume launching new vehicle models around the holidays and the "broke ass" post-holiday period known as January would be idiotic.
But vehicle model years are used for gov't, law enforcement, financial, insurance, and I'm sure many other official purposes. Is there a limit on how early a 2015 M/Y can hit showrooms? Will there ever be an issue with the overlap regarding emissions or antique vehicle declarations?
Maybe this has gone on since the 50's and I am unaware, and I know it's gone on for as long as I can remember, but it just seems like they're getting earlier and earlier every year.
I think the new CTS design is probably the best looking Cadillac in....decades? IDK I'm having a hard time remembering a Cadillac that actually looked down right good. The previous CTS' were blah, ungainly and bulgy. They had big slabs of uninterrupted body panels.
The new CTS is long, low, and muscular. Isn't this just the fucking business??
The new CTS is long, low, and muscular. Isn't this just the fucking business??
I believe the mustang was the first car that did this, which is why they are 1964.5 because of when they released it.
I think it's a good looking car. It just looks boring. But I think there's a bigger problem... It's entirely too close in price to cars that are perceived as being significantly better and have significantly more brand power.
For instance: for $67,875 I could build a very well equipped 550i M-Sport with a 445hp twin turbo V8 engine and the only options it wouldn't have would be stuff you couldn't get on the caddy anyhow (night vision for example). If I want to go base model for base model they're nearly equal.
Then there's the 4.0T 420hp twin turbo V8 Audi S6 with a 0-60 time of just 3.7 seconds that starts at just $73,400 very well equipped. That's just $3,400 more than the top of the line CTS-V-Sport.
Or there's the bargain Mercedes E550 with a twin turbo 402hp V8 that's just 62 large. Arguably the handling characteristics of the Benz aren't going to be performance oriented but the other two cars certainly are and when you're already spending more than double the average sale price of a new car the extra few thousand is peanuts.
So you take this and combine in with the relatively mundane styling and I still only see olds buying this car because of loyalty to the brand. This car is aimed squarely at me and I wouldn't bat an eye at it. I have tremendous respect for it and I'm sure it's a competent car but it's got too much of the VW/ Audi situation going on. Why would I buy a Phaeton for $75,000 when I can buy an A8 for $80,000? I wouldn't and nobody did and I suspect people still won't.
Which leaves the olds as potential buyers. The ones that have brand loyalty and want something sporty. The ones that wouldn't have looked at an Audi or BMW to start with. But there aren't many of them.
For instance: for $67,875 I could build a very well equipped 550i M-Sport with a 445hp twin turbo V8 engine and the only options it wouldn't have would be stuff you couldn't get on the caddy anyhow (night vision for example). If I want to go base model for base model they're nearly equal.
Then there's the 4.0T 420hp twin turbo V8 Audi S6 with a 0-60 time of just 3.7 seconds that starts at just $73,400 very well equipped. That's just $3,400 more than the top of the line CTS-V-Sport.
Or there's the bargain Mercedes E550 with a twin turbo 402hp V8 that's just 62 large. Arguably the handling characteristics of the Benz aren't going to be performance oriented but the other two cars certainly are and when you're already spending more than double the average sale price of a new car the extra few thousand is peanuts.
So you take this and combine in with the relatively mundane styling and I still only see olds buying this car because of loyalty to the brand. This car is aimed squarely at me and I wouldn't bat an eye at it. I have tremendous respect for it and I'm sure it's a competent car but it's got too much of the VW/ Audi situation going on. Why would I buy a Phaeton for $75,000 when I can buy an A8 for $80,000? I wouldn't and nobody did and I suspect people still won't.
Which leaves the olds as potential buyers. The ones that have brand loyalty and want something sporty. The ones that wouldn't have looked at an Audi or BMW to start with. But there aren't many of them.
I might be under-estimating how many people are looking for performance bang for the buck in the luxury segment and how well this car actually performs. 60-0 in under 100ft. Wow. The E60 5 series is one of the most balanced, neutral chassis' in existence. Every day I drive the car in awe of it's capabilities and driver engagement. When my car ADD kicks in and I start window shopping I think to myself "I can get something different but I'm not going to get anything better". Motor Trend put the last year of the E60 5 series (535) up against 7 other luxury sedans and it still came out on top despite being a 6 year old design at the time and despite it's less than luxurious interior and you don't need to limit comparisons to other sedans for it to be considered great. It holds it's own against dedicated sports cars too... It is just that good. And I say that not to brag about how great my car is (it is) but to say that even with all that considered...
...the CTS V-Sport just blows it away on paper. That is incredible. I'm excited to drive one these.
...the CTS V-Sport just blows it away on paper. That is incredible. I'm excited to drive one these.
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