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Bruce Nunnally is an independent Blogger who writes Cadillac Conversations on all things Cadillac. Connect with Bruce on Google+

Re: The little Caddy that could

Wonderful driving report of this well preserved 1903 Cadillac 1-cylinder car:

1903 Cadillac owned by Hugo Vermeulen Bob English for The Globe amd Mail

A 1903 model exported to England won an award in a 1,000-mile trial and finished seventh in the tough Sunrising Hill Climb, beating bigger multi-cylinder cars. No doubt it exhibited the same slogging ability it did in my brief experience.

In 1908, Cadillac won the Dewar Trophy after three new cars were uncrated, dismantled, their parts jumbled, then reassembled. All ran, proving Leland’s production techniques and lending credibility to Cadillac’s “Standard of the World” slogan.

“I didn’t buy it and restore it to make money on, but to drive it and enjoy it. And I hope some day my kids will do the same,” Vermeulen says. “Cars like this will never end up in a scrap yard. They’ll be fixed and fixed again. They’ll be around for ever.

Full Article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/classic-cars/the-little-caddy-that-could/article1368642/

Cadillac started with this wonderful engine.  It was an improvement on the Oldsmobile engine, but Oldsmobile was not looking for an improved engine.  So when Leland was brought in to help value an automobile company that was going out of business, he recommended to the board that they stay in business, and produce cars with his engine.  Cadillac was born.

You’re the Apple of my Trip

Writer Jane Davin is spending the year driving across America in a variety of GM vehicles, blogging along the way on her FindingMyAmerica.com blog.  It is an interesting writing project, and I am enjoying her traveling journal as she meets and writes about different people along the way.

What could go wrong?  What if you are on the road on a writing project and your laptop stops being a laptop and becomes an object d’art (a brick)?  You um, hope for a miracle?

From her blog:

It wasn’t good news. It was fantastic, amazing, jaw dropping, life-altering news. The kind that made me scream into the phone with glee. A donor who wishes to remain anonymous was sending me a MacBook Pro. As readers from my previous site know, I have written about, lusted over, and dreamt of having an Apple computer for years. Good news? No, this goes way beyond good. Fed-Ex delivered the MacBook just a couple of hours ago, and I have not stopped smiling. I am ecstatic!

Jane with some apples

Jane with some apples

Join me and follow Jane’s adventures here:

Finding My America.

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Comparison Tests – Car and Driver

Car & Driver tested a Cadillac CTS-V vs a Jaguar XFR vs a Mercedes E63; they pick the Mercedes 1st, the Cadillac 2nd, and the Jaguar 3rd:

All other things being equal, if the CTS-V had been equipped with an [available] automatic transmission like the two other cars here it might have tied the Benz in overall points. How, you ask? A six-speed automatic V we tested in April for CARand DRIVER.com managed the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds, 0.4 second quicker than both the manual in this comparo and the one from our November 2008 road test. The difference would have tipped the quarter-mile-acceleration score in the Caddy’s favor.

Read more: 2009 Cadillac CTS-V Comparison Tests – Car and Driver.

This probably is the best summary:

Even with the muted soundtrack, our usually home-team-loyal German correspondent quickly deemed the Cadillac to be the sportiest-feeling car of our trio and one that, at $67,345, undercuts the test’s second-priciest Jaguar by more than $12,500. It will cost you about $8000 more than the Jag to start looking at the Mercedes…

Despite the disparate window stickers, everything else—horsepower, weight, terrible fuel economy, even tire width—is nearly identical in this group. Even the acceleration to 100 mph ended up in a three-way tie.

The three cars are very close in mission, performance, and luxury.  The Cadillac manages to achieve it all for $12K – 20K less cash.