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Detroit, 6:41 PM
Tue Dec 1
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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Give me near this performance in a Chevy or (shudders) a Buick pricetag and I'd bite.
I just don't think Caddy should be selling wagons or trucks.
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But I disagree with saying all brands should sell wagons.(i'm an owner of a V40 FWIW - and the car I really wanted was a Camry wagon /ducks head to avoid the backlash/)
08/11/09
SUVs must die, but fat assed wagons are not the answer.
08/11/09
Anybody who has driven a Toyota Highlander can agree with me here.
08/11/09
Wagons are no more useful than sedans to most people, they have the same entry point and the same seating. Crossovers with their higher ride hide and entry points actually offer benefits to people who need easier access.
These blogs are full of hatch fetishists.
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Additionally higher cars are easier to load, especially with kids and carseats.
I've yet to hear how a Wagon improves dramatically over a Sedan. It's the exact same seating and ride as a sedan with an extra 8 cubic feet of storage.
A CUV offers that same storage plus some, higher ride height, easier entry and a better look. Plus....it's what people are buying!
08/11/09
This site is populated by folks who, wait for it... like to drive. My experience has been that the SUV and CUV provide a less fun driving experience than does a wagon or hatch.
My daily driver is a Saab 9000 Aero, it provides a much more involving driving experience than would a ponderous SUV or CUV. Further, my people don't do automatics. You'll have to pry the clutch pedal from my cold, dead toes.
So, to summarize: I have an "active lifestyle", like to drive, require a manual transmission, and require a vehicle capable of hustling quickly through windy roads. Sounds to me like a CTS-V SportWagon is a contender on my Saab's replacement list.
08/11/09
@Bacchus1976: What's so wrong with a good hatchback, wagon or sport-back? It it so bad to be able to carry a ton of stuff while still being sporty? For instance, I was able to put a 42" TV in my hatch, close it and not even have it interfere with my roll cage. Now you tell me, why wouldn't I want or like a hatchback?
08/11/09
Sports cars are meant to be driven around twisty roads. Driving around twisty roads is not a primary goal of 95% of the auto market.
08/11/09
Being somewhat eco-conscious, my wife and I carpool in a loud, stiffly sprung Miata (it's our economy car - the Saab gets 19mpg). A week's worth of groceries fit, even if we have to stack the mondo-pack of TP on the rollbar backstays.
My point really is that while 95% of the driving market isn't concerned about having fun on twisty roads, I'm sure that 95% of the Jalopnik commentariate is concerned with that. This is why I hang out here.
Stick around (I'll promote your comments so they're visible), we're a fun group. Not all of us are as weird as me I commute in a light weight track/autocross car with no power amenities and race a Peugeot with a bunch of surrender monkeys. While I can see the utility offered by a CUV, I don't see myself buying one over a wagon that I can take to a track day, or use to tow race cars.
08/11/09
I love sport driving as much as the next guy. My only cars have been 2-door coupes and my next car will be a RWD 2-door lux-coupe. However I think it's silly to ask all cars to be competent sport driving machines. If you're buying a car to haul lots of stuff with, get a car that hauls stuff really well....not hauls stuff OK and corners good.
08/11/09
I'm afraid I don't agree with your sentiment about hauling stuff necessitating I buy a vehicle that hauls stuff really well. Should I buy a Yukon XL just because I have to haul my kid and her stuff to college and back? But wait, a Sprinter van hauls stuff even better than the Yukon. See where I'm going with this? I don't want to have to buy a Freightliner just in case.
No, I'll take my hatchback and pack a little lighter. I actually just picked up a Thule rack off Craigslist for an extra bit of roof mounted carrying capacity.
It is possible for me to have my cake of sporty car safety, maneuverability and efficiency (I've hyper-miled the Saab to 32mpg freeway) as well as "my-sized" carrying capacity; all without needing to drive a boring CUV that dangerously can't stop as quick as my car, but might hold an extra suitcase or two, all while getting comparatively crap fuel mileage.
I'm selling myself more and more on the CTS... Beats the old days of the Miata and a trailer, though that was really fun...
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Do you really have to rant about every single thing you don't understand?
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And with the V, it's not lacking power either, now I'm just hoping Americans warm to the wagon, and eventually, an El CTS-Vmino comes out.
08/11/09
I like your El CTS-Vmino idea!
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Frankly, while I find the idea of a CTS-V wagon intriguing and would like to subscribe to its newsletter, I'd be more interested in the 300 hp version with a manual transmission (and a decent lease deal). My current family car has more power than I know what to do with and I'm getting weary of the 11-15 mpg that I get in real-world driving--I am certain a CTS-V would be no better and probably would be worse.
08/11/09
oh, and the seats, the upgraded seats need to be standard :)
08/11/09
Have you considered donating the extra hp to a poor person like me? Will get you some extra karma points.
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The R63 I've actually seen...once. It was beige and parked at a TJ Maxx. Go figure.
08/11/09
But I've still never seen an E63 or an RS4 Avant (sedans only).
08/11/09
I've seen a couple of RS4 Avants, but only in Germany.
08/11/09
A possible CTS-V wagon and an RS6 Avant on US soil? Jalopnik, you have made my day.
08/11/09
Back in the day, when I lived in Detroit, I saw a Sierra Cosworth with M plates drive by my house, and saw a Lotus Omega driving around near the Milford proving ground, too. Unfortunately, neither of those ever made it stateside.
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@FormerlyPreferredCustomer: +1. I regularly see all kinds of stuff around Dearborn. Euro Focuses, Aussie Utes, Falcons...you name it.
The crappy pic attached is from my phone when I ran across some FPV twins and an Aussie Escapey thingy doing some testing.
08/11/09
^^ I just copy pasted my comment from yesterday.
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06/22/09
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Writ by Ben on 3-20-09:
Paul Eisenstein at The Detroit Bureau is reporting GM is shelving plans for a 570 HP Camaro Z28. The reason? It would be prohibitively expensive for GM at this time. With a program price around $50 million, the Z28 got the axe in favor of other efforts.
GM doesn't have $50 mill to blow on this thing, and if they did, they need to spend that money on other shizz, like the Volt and Cruze. Once those start selling and generating revenue, GM can revisit the Z28 concept.