Tag Archives: Gm

Road Test: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe "A Piece of Americana"

October 17, 2010 3:29 PM1 Comment

The picture above is obviously not of the new Cadillac CTS Coupe. It is a picture of a 1959 Cadillac Fleetwood. At the time, this man represented someone who had “made it” in the modern world. He comes from a time when the phrase “Someday, I’m going to be able to buy me a Cadillac” was commonplace; from a time when you simply wouldn’t shop for a Mercedes or BMW. This man has never heard of brands such as Infiniti or Audi and is the envy of his neighbors as they see those signature tail fins peaking out from the garage and instantly recognize a man with taste. Elvis drove a Cadillac… Sinatra drove a Cadillac…

…now let’s move forward to modern times. The Cadillac that exists now has lived through the ’80s and ’90s. The elderly drive Cadillacs, cocaine dealers drive Cadillacs, Snoop Dogg drives  a Cadillac. A high schooler no longer longs to take dad’s Cadillac to prom or to the “lookout point.” A modern teenager would rather hide in the back seat, to avoid being seen, than use the back seat for… well,we won’t get into it. One of the company’s only high points in recent history is a “tarted-up” Suburban known as the Escalade, which was the company’s way of swindling money out of people who cared more about status than quality. There is, however, one other modern success story: the Cadillac CTS.

The first Cadillac CTS was seen as a huge breakthrough for the company and launched it into a new area of  design based on “Art and Science.” This design was supposed to have crisp-edges and show new advanced technology, but as Jeremy Clarkson famously put it; the CTS looked to be designed by “a man who was given only a ruler.” The new model of this CTS coupe, however,  looks fantastic from nearly every angle. It’s no Fleetwood, but the CTS coupe prompted many heads to turn and even caused one man to shout out “Nice Car!” as we drove by. While I personally don’t prefer the view from behind, I find the side profile of this vehicle to be nearly perfect.

The driving feel of the Cadillac is fantastic around town. The direct injection 3.6L V-6 with 304hp, combined with sport suspension, exhaust, and a shiftable automatic 6 spd transmission make for a surprisingly fun drive through the streets. The buttons on the steering wheel allow for selecting your own gears, which are then displayed in large red numbers on the gauge cluster. The transmission performed wonderfully even in the sportiest of situations where I asked for it to glide into 2nd gear well north of 40mph. The acceleration is adequate for most drivers and will leave few, if any, drivers wanting in most situations. The handling of this behemoth is another story.

In order to explain the handling of this car, you must first look at the sheer size of the thing. The closest natural competitor to this car, the Infiniti G37 coupe, weighs in at a hefty 3,636 lbs. To match the weight of the CTS coupe you would need your 273lb uncle Larry to sit shotgun in the G37 coupe. Yes, nearly 2 tons of Cadillac is what we have in the CTS coupe, which is 50 lbs shy of a late ’80s Lincoln Town Car. What this equates to is a car that will have you sitting with a silly grin as you zip about town, until you hit a twisty mountain road, where you’ll want to pull your hair out. In no way does this mean the car is terrible; it’s quite the opposite in most driving conditions. It’s simply not designed to be a true sporting coupe, which is why the CTS-V Coupe exists. The other downside to the weight is the poor gas mileage I witnessed with the vehicle. Unless you drive like a nun or suffer from Morton’s neuroma, plan on seeing close to 17-20mpg in mixed driving.

Overall, the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe is one of the better American vehicles I have driven. The interior is fantastic when compared to the bland, boring offerings from BMW and Mercedes. The styling and presence give the driver an air of importance. Driving through downtown Los Angeles with sunroof open, windows down, and music blaring through the Bose sound system, is one of the single best moments in my driving history. Cadillac has survived the wretched ’80s and ’90s to bring the spirit and pride back into its vehicles. They are once more becoming a part of modern Americana. When it was over and the keys were given up; I watched as the car drove off into the distance and I thought to myself  ”Some day you’ll be mine, some day I’ll buy me a Cadillac.”

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Photography courtesy of Jim Donnelly

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Road Test: 2010 Buick LaCrosse CX

July 19, 2010 10:29 AM1 Comment


Roadmaster, GNX, Regal. These are just some of the handful of great cars in the Buick brand’s shaky history in the automotive world, the LaCrosse however… has never been one of them. The LaCrosse was born in 2005, after the Buick brand peaked in sales around 1984, a time where GM seemed to have designers pull together for an afternoon and spew something ungodly out on one of their cheapest platforms to fill that niche market of customers who just wanted a car they could purchase before they were put into a casket several years later.

Cut to 2010 – We find Buick somehow surviving the GM brand killing and looking for new ways to stay relevant among younger buyers and compete with the likes of Lexus and Acura. Buick went through a styling change and aimed to show a new, fresh, look. This styling began with the Enclave in 2008 and has now been translated into the new 2010 LaCrosse sedan.

The 2010 LaCrosse models come in several different trim levels, including a 4 cylinder CX; 6 cylinder CXL and CXS. The model we tested was the CX trim equipped with a 2.4l Ecotec 4cyl engine producing a 182hp, 6 speed automatic transmission, and claimed fuel economy of 19 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. The car was priced just above $28,000 with cloth seats and no navigation. At this price, it is about the same as a well equipped Camry or Accord. I can only assume this is the buyer Buick is aiming for by adding the 4cyl base model to the lineup. The V6 models are higher priced and compete with the likes of the Lexus ES and Acura TL.

Any initial worries about the underpowered 4 cylinder in this nearly 4,000lb car were quickly subdued when I drove the vehicle and fell in love with the 6 speed automatic transmission. So many cars fail simply on the transmission alone; the Buick is only relevant because of this transmission. The car is in no way quick but is surely adequate under normal driving conditions. The engine was neither quiet, nor loud enough to cause many complaints. Steering feel and handling was good and is light years ahead of the last generation of Buick products. The seating was very comfortable and the cabin design was pleasing to the eye, with plenty of soft materials that have become the standard in newer GM vehicles. The only notable problem with the interior is the awkward placement of the gear shifter. It seems too close when in drive, and is awkward to shift when you are resting your elbow on the center console.

I expected this car to be greeted on the streets with much more attention than I got while driving it. Yes, I did get the occasional look when stopped at a traffic light, but nothing more than a passing glance. This car needs to be a design that turns heads and stands out against the bland Lexus and other vanilla luxury sedans. I will admit that some people, with whom I spoke, actually stopped to see it. They were amazed it was a Buick and loved the look of the car. This car, then, is essentially a stepping stone for the brand. It moves them forward out of the old stereotype and customer base,  gaining attention, while staying true to what their current customers want; a comfortable car that doesn’t stand out. As sales numbers are already up 40% since last May, it seems Buick is taking steps in the right direction.

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Word On The Tweets : The Buick Brand

December 8, 2009 8:11 AM5 Comments

This category in the blog will feature searches for keywords on Twitter.com to get the general opinion of various people online. I will post the comments I find and comment on them. The first one out is a search on the Buick brand and its new vehicles including the 2010 Buick Lacrosse and the new 2011 Buick Regal shown below.

2010 Buick Lacrosse

2011 Buick Regal

@DorianFracois writes “umm iono wats going on in the world but this new buick lacrosse is the#business!”

This is what Buick is looking for… a younger audience that actually thinks its vehicles are interesting, or even “the business.” The average age of the new Enclave owner was 15 years younger than the company average… the new Lacrosse sems to be heading in a similar direction

@RelleRealRelle writes “That new Buick looks nice. I hope it doesn’t share the same qualities as it’s predecessors”

A good and a bad one here for the brand. The good thing is that this person also thinks the new Buick… we can assume a Lacrosse.. looks great, but he is also worried about the quality. This is a hurdle the company needs to still get over unfortunately, anyone who drove a Buick in the 90′s is going to wonder whether the doors may fall off their brand new Lacrosse.

@danielchou writes “Cars I’m now considering: Mazda6, Chevy Volt, and Buick Regal. Leaning heavily toward that last one!”

An interesting choice of cars here, Lately I have been trying to think of what vehicles someone might compare to the new Regal and I was not expecting the Mazda6 to be one of them. Nor the Chevy Volt… which should be a bit more expensive than the $27,500 est base price of the Regal…unless it gets the $14,000 tax credit or whatever craziness GM cooks up.

@REALGMI writes “members aren’t liking the lack of exterior colors available on the new @Buick Regal..no cocoa, no brights!”

So this one is the actual GM inside news blog, but it is saying that its members, the people that care the most about this car most likely, dislike the color choices. I don’t think this will hurt them too bad…especially if they are asking for “brights?” If you want a bright green car… thats your problem.

@Hoeppner writes “I just watched a video about the Buick Regal and I have to say I am very impressed. I have never been a Buick fan until now”

This shows a couple of things… first this guy actually watched a video featuring a Buick…which most people remotely interested in cars would not do years prior to this…This shows that he may have heard good things about it or been really bored. And secondly he even liked the new Regal enough to announce it on Twitter, both good signs.

@philipbarrett writes “#GM #Buick comparing yourself to imports is not working for you, ads look like Toyota/Lexus commercials!”

The new ads for the Buick Lacrosse seem almost identical to that of Lexus and thats not a good thing according to philipbarrett. I believe this to be true as well, if they are going to move in a new direction they need to quit following in the footsteps of its competitors and step out on their own.

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