Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V - Jalopnik Comments

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

paps63 — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 17:03:30 EST

The CTS is this years motor trend car of the year, an is universally praised. Cadillac has re-emerged as a design/technology/styling leader. Now the V versions promise to be performance leaders also. Check the spec sheets, take a test drive, and read your mags. Go caddy Go.

paps63

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

pmoore — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 15:11:29 EST

Everyone's nuttin' over the HP. What about build quality? After 3 years, will I start hearing rattles. IMO German cars are built better than anything out there.

pmoore

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

miken5678 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:29:24 EST

will this sucker still have the same wheel hop issues as the last model did? a real bummer

miken5678

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

om nom de plume — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:26:04 EST

are the rims just chrome versions of the proto G8's??

I like this a lot... but kinda "Eh?!" after the coupe!!!

om nom de plume

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Maymar the technophobe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:55:05 EST

@FreeMan: Not enough man, not enough.

Maymar the technophobe

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

doctorv8 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:23:01 EST

@billstewartx,

Do the math, dude....your 4 cam Northstar had 32 valves, not 48....and 6.2L is 376 cubic inches, not 350. There is so much more to differentiate the LSA from a SBC than just the aluminum block. The only thing it shares with the old 350 small block is the bore spacing and cam in block design. And if you think it gets the same mileage as your 3/4 ton 4x4, well, um, no.

You'd be well advised to take Maymar's advice and do a little research before posting.

The CTS-V is going to go down in history as the latest in a long line of executive hot rods, and with the magnetic ride suspension, it will have a refined ride/handling compromise to compliment it's world beating horsepower and torque.

doctorv8

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

b33g33 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:41:34 EST

I'm no fan of GM and the soon-to-be late chief Lutz. But god! What a machine!! Why the hell can't this technology percolate down to the lesser models? Also, to the guy who keeps harping on the 20 mpg factor of this 550HP SUPERCAR, I bet your real name starts with a 'P' and rhymes with 'Lutz'! How many 550HP cars do you know that get even 10 mpg??

b33g33

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

FЯeeMan is slowly cЯawling out of the new commenting system — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:51:55 EST

@Maymar: Ah, but how many Trans Am/Z28/Firebird/Cam[a|e]ro owners are mulletted?

FЯeeMan is slowly cЯawling out of the new commenting system

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Maymar the technophobe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:52:54 EST

@billstewartx: It showcases what GM can do to make a fast car. Besides, we're hovering around a point where a car with too much technology is singled out for being dull or needlessly complex (see the M5 or the Skyline).

As for the Corvette, I work at a Chev dealership, and I've yet to see a single Corvette owner with a mullet. I know a couple are doctors or accountants.

Maymar the technophobe

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

esky1600 — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 08:17:34 EST

@billstewartx:
Last week I was driving behind a really mean-looking HX Kingswood, a classic example of the Australian muscle car. The drunken bogans in the car were hanging flags out the windows and shouting nationalist bullshit to white males and abuse at everyone else.
I understand where you're coming from, but all I can think to do in that situation is hate the rednecks but not the car. Else where do you stop? Hate all Supras and Skylines because of the Fast and the Furious and Need 4 Speed? Hate the Bugatti Sexarossa just because Mr. Burns drove one?

esky1600

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

piththeelder — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:58:18 EST

Hmmm. It looks much better in these pics than others I have seen or its just growing on me or the thought of 550 hp and 550 torques is clouding my mind. I am flip flopping!

piththeelder

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

jasaero — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 07:43:30 EST

@billstewartx: WOW! You have some hate goin' on for the Vette! Calm down! You know people like Jay Leno, Colin Powell, and many upstanding people also brag about Corvette's right? It's not just Kid Rock. Great cars like the Vette are loved by all! From the scum of the earth all the way upto the most outstanding people of our time!

As far as technicalogical statements go, this CTS-V will have the goods. It should get better fuel mileage than any of it's competition while being heavier. And it will also be FASTER and QUICKER! And it will do all of this with an OHV engine!! That's a technological statement if I ever saw one!! And you are totally ignoring the fact GM WILL have MANY hybrid options in the not too distant future. Pretty sure it is in the plans to make most all Cadillac models available in Hybrid trim versions.

Now, on the topic of the Vette engine in the CTS-V. It IS NOT at ZR1 engine!! The ZR1 has the LS9 and the CTS-V has the LSA. They are similar, but the LSA in the CTS-V has several changes whose primary purpose is to make the CTS-V's engine more smooth and refined. This car WILL get praised as being every bit as refined as M5's and E63 AMGs while at the same time screampast them on drag strips and over takeing them on the insides of corners. Just wait and see!

jasaero

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

wheels OF satan! — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:53:31 EST

@Maymar:
actually, you make many good points, in a offhand way

a top end luxury brand is supposed to be a --
showcase of technology...
and the northstar was in 1993-- and still a good engine a decade and half later...
and the audi diesel supercar kills the slow and stinky diesel image for all the cars below it
and the lexus hybrid barge proves hybrid and power can go together ... not just in wimpy-berkeley-hippie hybrid-prius
and the tesla proves electric can kick ass... so anybody with an electric car can say "kiss my ass, tesla will stomp anything you got"

what does this caddy prove? we can stick a 350 in our car... that showcases nothing.. nada... zip...

and toyota is the largest car maker in the world ... thats what i mean by rule the world...

and you are absolutely right-- i got something against corvettes... just watch the video with Kid Rock!
they were redneck jarhead cars 30 years ago when i was a kid, and the video shows they are still redneck white-trash cars...
dude, in the video he says "i;m gonna drink a dozen beers" and go driving! what kind of moron car advert exec would run that up the flagpole!! 12 beers and 600 hp! WTF!!!
chevy knows EXACTLY who buys Vettes
dum-ass rednecks who are just like Kid Rock!

wheels OF satan!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

slowinthefastlane — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:54:23 EST

Holy crap. That is the best looking Caddy I've ever seen. Any word on the pricing - or how much the insurance companies are going to nail folks for having that much power under the hood?

slowinthefastlane

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Maymar the technophobe — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:04:19 EST

@billstewartx: No, just, no, if I were less lazy, I'd look up the word "wrong" in several different languages to empasize my point. You've just got something against the Corvette. You can still buy an M5, an E63 AMG, or an S6 (which as I said, all get worse fuel economy).

And Toyota ruling the world? Gimme a break, no number of feel-good Priuses negate the fact that ToMoCo is happy to seel you a giant inefficient truck for all the profits they can squeeze out of you (checked the milage on a Land Cruiser or Tundra lately? Not exactly ruling anything). More to the point, Cadillac's got a hybrid - the Escalade. And really, it's no better or worse than Audi's diesel supercar, or Lexus's own rolling hybrid luxobarge. If you really give a rat's ass about the asses of endangered rodents, and other environmental concerns, you're probably not buying a luxury car of any kind.

Maymar the technophobe

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

bmoredlj — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:01:55 EST

The Germans (Audi excepted) are handily losing (read: not "loosing") the styling game, despite their sincerest efforts to compete in it.

As BMW and Merc designs grow busier, more immature, more derivative, unfinished, and just plain odd-looking, Cadillac is refining and polishing Art+Science Mk.2, and doing a damn fine job of it, IMO.

bmoredlj

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

JHJVJR — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:53:07 EST

@billstewartx: But the point is that this "350 small block" gets better mileage than similarly priced, similarly performing cars from other manufacturers that use DOHC.

Toyota got popular because back in the old days Chevrolet didn't have the fuel efficient car covered, not because Cadillac didn't have the fuel efficient car covered.

JHJVJR

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

wheels OF satan! — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:23:27 EST

@Maymar:

the point is
gas is doubled in the last few years
everybody else is going "green" --" hybrid"--" electric" -- "diesel" etc
and caddy is over shoehorning a 350 small block chevy engine in their new car...
yes i know, it has improved since 1956-- its not an iron block, its aluminum block now-

but are they fiddling (doing stoopid regressive 70's shit) while rome burns ( gas prices go thru the roof --- and NOBODY wants cars to drive 120 miles a day that get 15 MPG in rush hour traffic)...

i am old enough to have sat through this once before in the late 70's...
detroit did this stuff, and toyota rules the world now...
and toyota leads just gets bigger as gas prices go up...

how about a tesla fighter from caddy?

and I owned a 93 allante with a 300HP northstar engine....
and that was a gas pig too...

and i like cadillac...

wheels OF satan!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

smokyburnout — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:53:25 EST

@Fly I-80: hell, 20 MPG is an improvement over my 3100 pound Jeep!
of course, the trade-in on my Cherokee will probably only cover less than a tenth of the cost of this vehicle. that could be an issue...

smokyburnout

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Fly I-80 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 22:54:06 EST

Hey GM, two words: FLAT BLACK

And if it really gets 20mpg that's an improvement over my current 3700 lb sedan, so I'm getting this for the earth and whatnot.

Still can't believe that I'm seriously considering a freakin' Cadillac.

Fly I-80

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

NovaloadMissesPolar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:58:09 EST

I can't tell from the pix--they look like they were taken in one of those big fish eye around-the-corner mirrors thare are so distracting and distorted you run into things anyway.

Ironic, but I think it was Caddy back in the, what, 1920s? that introduced wheel covers because people got so damn tired of cleaning spokes. The wheel, you'll pardon the expression, has turned full circle. Put some damn hubcaps on those things!! Ya crazy kids. I'm sick of Caddy-Whack.

NovaloadMissesPolar

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

volksdragon — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:19:10 EST

yeah, what Maymar said, I'd love for my tuned wrx to get a good 20mpg.

volksdragon

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Maymar the technophobe — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 21:04:59 EST

@billstewartx: You know, before you go off spouting the e-mouth, do us all a favour and spend just a minute comparing the CTS-V to any of its competitors - it's the only one that breaks 20mpg.

Maymar the technophobe

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

htrodblder — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:47:11 EST

Damn thats pretty I like the cheese grater grill, I looks like it should be dripping blood somewhere...

htrodblder

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

wheels OF satan! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:04:08 EST

yea
and gets the same mileage as my 5000lb dodge 2500 4x4...
which i drive about once a month ...
yea, i wanna commute with this one!
15MPG!!
[autos.yahoo.com]
uh,
fiddling while rome burns?

wheels OF satan!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

theeastbaykid — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:37:29 EST

I've got no particular love for GM, but I must say that the LS engines are wonderful. Who cares how the valves are actuated if the motor delivers the goods? That said, there are still some challenges for the CTS now that the (USA! USA!) horsepower requirement has been met. It has to compete against the Audi S6's super-sweet interior, the AMG Merc's bling factor, and the M5's uncanny ability to feel like a sports car despite its 4000+ pounds. And the Corvette ZR1's see-through hood.

theeastbaykid

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:29:39 EST

@CARBONFIBER: Ah, well, the Autobloggers have sophisticated tastes...

Pfftschhh ha ha ha ha ha!!!

OMFG Rofl pwn n00b etc. etc.

Rust-MyEnemy is stll out there!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

CARBONFIBER — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:23:38 EST

@Mad_Science:

* Dude! Don't pee in my swimming pool & I wont swim in your toilet! We Luv Chrome Wheels! Keep it comin' please & Thank You Very Much! We are migrating from a rap star bling, to a more upscale, hi-tech, somewhat sophisticated e-bling if you will. AND these wheels will be easy to clean!

Over on Autoblog they really bash the styling. I don't understand why? I mean, its not offensive, although the lower boddy cladding does look like a bit of an afterthought kind of 'tacked on'. Its missing that integrated, cohesive look of AMG.

*** BRING ON THE 16 CONCEPT CADI!!! ***

CARBONFIBER

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

danio3834 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:17:48 EST

@billstewartx: lol PWNT

danio3834

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

wheels OF satan! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:03:03 EST

oops
i was wroing
it is the corvette engine
bummer

wheels OF satan!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

wheels OF satan! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:02:11 EST

@my favorite car is a motorcycle:
dude,
there is NO corvette hardware in there
its as 4 cam 48 valve northstar engine
way more high tech than that Kid Rock redneckmobile

wheels OF satan!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Maymar the technophobe — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:56:24 EST

@my favorite car is a motorcycle: C'mon, ludicrous engine in a reasonably normal car? That's the formula the Big 3 use to build their great cars (the mediocre ones tend to be much less engined). I'm not even American and it makes me want to start a rousing chant of USA!

Maymar the technophobe

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Mad_Science — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:51:23 EST

I love this car, and I've said it repeatedly.

But now some constructive criticism: What's up with the super-bright polished chrome rims on GM's performance machines?

CTS-V, CTS Coupe (shouldn't it be CTC?) and the ZR-1 all have what look to me like cheesy Discount Tire specials. Those should all be grey, black, or at least a non-polished finish.

Mad_Science

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

my favorite car is a motorcycle — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:25:17 EST

Bento - I like the ZR-1 way better than you like the Caddy.

Nice effort, Cadillac, but putting Corvette hardware into a bigger box isn't exactly groundbreaking. Hire Fisker to do your bodywork, then you'd have something.

my favorite car is a motorcycle

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

m3_of_doom — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:08:25 EST

is it just me, or does this look 10x better now that i know there will be a hot coupe version running around?

m3_of_doom

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

txturbo930 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:07:38 EST

Auto with paddle shifters please. I can't wait. I'd prefer the standard but I spend a ton of time in traffic.
Hurry Cadillac Hurry!

txturbo930

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Mysterious Utility Bento — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:04:25 EST

I like this WAY better than the ZR1. Good Looking, Fast, seats 4 and no window in the hood FTW!

Mysterious Utility Bento

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

Dr.Danger, Hasta la victoria siempre! — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:59:10 EST

Its nice they refreshed the front end a little.

6.2l is also nice.

Dr.Danger, Hasta la victoria siempre!

Detroit Auto Show: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

TexanIdiot25: A/C is for for wusses. Real men have T-Tops — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:53:06 EST

Bruce, here is your Cadillac.

It looks even better in person, hood budge looks right on now as well.

TexanIdiot25: A/C is for for wusses. Real men have T-Tops