[Tuberoller]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister Yeah, that CTS-V (is it a five or a V? I don't think I've seen it spelled out in the mags) looks pretty sweet. I think the CTS looks pretty badass in general. I saw the XLR at the detroit show last jan and was not impressed. It is WAY too big of a vehicle in my opinion. Did they make you provide proof of insurance for this little fiasco?

Yeah,I had to have proof of insurance but strangely my Dad did'nt.

The Engineers said it was a CTS V not five. There are "V" versions of the XLR coming with the 450 horse Supercharged Northstar and a "V" version of the SRX that we were not given much detail about. I guess the "V" versions are Cadillac's answer to the BMW "M" models and the Mecedes "AMG" cars. The CTS-V is a real winner and I'm very impressed.

There are a bunch of car guys working for Cadillac and this is always a good thing. I remember going on a plant tour at Janesville Wisconsin and meeting an engineer who admitted that she had never worked on a car in her life and was formerly employed by Westinghouse designing washing machines. GM was formerly populated by many of these types of people who were not auto enthusiasts. It's always good to have real gearheads designing cars, there are a bunch of them at GM now and the new cars reflect that.

The XLR was a about the same size as the S500,maybe a bit smaller in fact,(I really did'nt compare then side-to-side).I think most of the performance advantage the Cadillac has is due to being lighter and stiffer. They look funny in the mags but in person they look really tough. It looks like a man's car while the S500 looks kinda girly to me. the Lexus SC430 is a girl's car all the way and looks really feminine to my eyes.

I gotta add that the stereo in the XLR was killer and sounded great. The CTS-V stereo was OK but I was told that this was a pre-production car and that the stereo was kinda "jammed in at the last minute". The Escalade ESV had a killer system as well with two DVD players and real plasma screens. They looked great and the sound of the stereo was very good. I hate Escalades,they look stupid and I have yet to meet anybody who actually needed a truck that stinkin' big.

 

[Voodoochile]

Quote:

Out of the 130 people that attended only twelve knew how to drive a stick

What the hell is this world coming to.

Sounds like you had an excellent time, Tubey. Thanks in no small part to everyone else's inability to drive a car. That's a blast. I agree with you on the X5 being junk, too. WhHy does it get to be a BMW when most of their other offerings are pretty much excellent?

Last summer I went down to Boston to drive some BMWs on course for fun. Plus, they sent some money to the Susan Komen breast cancer research fund for every model you drove. Like that's a problem! I drove four models, including the 3-litre Z3. Coolness to do some laps in someone else's ride!

 

[Nisbeth]

A friend of mine had borrowed this a while ago:

Kleemann Kompressor E 55 K
Basis: Mercedes Benz E 55 AMG
404 KW / 550 BHP - at 5800 rpm
710 NM - from 2000 rpm
0-100 kph in 4,3 secs or so and 0-300 kph in 29,7 secs (!!!) Top speed 338 kph/210 mph (fastest sedan in the world...)
www.kleemann.dk

Now I didn't get to drive it or even see it in action, but I got to hear the sound. Wow! (Insert smiley with its hair blown back here)

/U.

 

[archosman]

1000 horsepower...

http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/...?model=sixteen

 

[andrzejpw]

That V-16 beast probably won't ever enter production though.

 

[chase]

this is going to be quite nice though

, also 1000hp

 

[andrzejpw]

quad turbo fun, eh?

 

[jefemeister]

Bugatti Veyron. Sound system by my old arch nemesis, Burmester

I've been dying to do Wadia Automotive for awhile now.

I love how on the Cadillac 16, you can shut down 8 of your cylinders to conserve fuel economy

 

[daycart1]

Thanks for the detailed writeup, TR. I'm surprised they could handle the liability issues at an event like that.

I have a hard time getting the idea of a fast sedan or SUV...I'd rather have the Corvette version! That E55 is insane! I enjoy smoking all the AMG's at stoplights in my little M Roadster...it'll be sad when I find myself next to that monster!!

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister I love how on the Cadillac 16, you can shut down 8 of your cylinders to conserve fuel economy

i believe all v12 mercedes models in the past few years have a similar option built in: 8 cyllinders are used for the majority of riding, the last four "kick in" if needed.

 

[brent_mr2]

Quote:

Originally posted by andrzejpw That V-16 beast probably won't ever enter production though.

According to Car and Driver TV, if it's produced, it will be a 12 cylinder. I checked it out on cadillac.com, it has hand woven silk carpetting if I remember correctly.

Speaking of GM, I got to drive a Hummer H2 last week. GROSSLY underpowered! For $50K, I expect a hell of a lot more power than that. It's really all about looks though, I doubt more than 10% of the owners of those things actually use them for their intended purpose.

 

[TimSchirmer]

Thats because hummers are only for guys who are trying to prove something.

 

[Voodoochile]

Quote:

Originally posted by TimSchirmer Thats because hummers are only for guys who are trying to prove something.

Or compensation for miniature genitalia?

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally posted by D-EJ915 well, wasn't the CTS the first caddy to come with a manual in like...30 YEARS!!

No, the Cimmarron came with a manual (standard equip, I believe).

Caddys haven't always been marketted to older people either. First generation Eldo is a good example. Also the Elvis era, and for a while the inner-city Super Fly niche.

[a proud SDV owner]