Author Archives: Bruce Nunnally

The Old Car Dilemma the Siren Song of the Weekend Cadillac

Posted on by
Reply

I am often attracted to the idea of picking up an older Cadillac as a weekend car.  There are some really interesting models that are in the $5K-10K range now — the Allante convertibles from 1989-1993, or the classic Eldorado convertibles from 1970-1975.

The goal would be to have a fun car as a weekend car.  Not to restore the vehicle to a show car standard, but to keep it operational as a Saturday out to the store type of vehicle.  We have a 2-car garage, so that means the weekend car would have to go into the garage (on my side), and my prized current daily driver out into the weather, if it stayed here.  Another idea would be to rent a storage area and park the weekend car ‘away’, but that makes it very likely that I would not spend any time working on it, or driving it.  It would just be an expense.

The ‘entry’ cost of buying an older Cadillac is of course just the start.  Then there are replacement parts to be tracked down, and additional cost.   The car itself becomes a hobby even if it is running well enough — planning ahead for the next repair or restoration step.  The 70s Cadillacs were not fuel efficient, so a lot of the fun drives would be near gas stations lol.

There are ‘new’ old skills to learn, and there are things to deal with such as metal fatigue that just don’t come up a lot on newer cars.

There are safety issues — the older cars don’t have air bags, or traction control, or stability control — they are strictly cruisers.

But there is the joy of driving a Cadillac convertible the way God intended, and enjoying one of the finest motorcars available for its time.

Generally the newer the model, the better the performance, handling, comfort, luxury, and safety.  My 2005 CTS out-performs even the 93 Allante’s with the Northstar V8, and far outperforms the 70s Eldorado’s with the massive 500 cubic inch V8s.  Any money spent on a hobby or weekend Cadillac would come right out of my budget for the next Cadillac to replace my current car. So not the sensible thing to do.

But one can dream of  cruising down the street in a classic Cadillac convertible with wall to wall leather and enough torque to move the planet.

[Please see this Ad for the source of my Eldo picture.  Hope it sells soon so it moves out of temptation!]

ChromaFlair: the art of misdirection

Posted on by
Reply

One of my favorite current Cadillac colors is Thunder Gray ChromaFlair.  Cadillac has a summary ChromaFlair site here.

ChromaFlair is a paint process in which metallic flakes in the paint act as tiny prisms, and reflect light differently in different lighting conditions.   In other words, the car color changes somewhat when seen in different lighting, or sometimes at different angles.  The ChromaFlair colors are premium paints for Cadillac, and tend to bring an additional $995 charge for new vehicles.

Unfortunately there is not a great way to show the color online.

Thunder Gray Chromaflair CTS-V

Here is what JDSU, the manufacturer of this process, says about it:

ChromaFlair pigments are unique, multi-layer pigment flakes that give paints, coatings, plastics, textiles and packaging the ability to change color when viewed from different angles. Created using a revolutionary thin-film technology, each flake exhibits a wide range of hues depending on the angle at which it is viewed and the angle of incidence of light – a dramatic color shift that is even achievable in low-light environments. Highly chromatic, durable and easy to incorporate, ChromaFlair pigments can add value and appeal to virtually any product where color is a key differentiating factor.

Thunder Gray ChromaFlair is a medium gray metallic that can appear to have a blue or green tint in different lighting conditions.  In any case it is a conservative, elegant color.   But deeper and more complex than a simple gray.  It is a subtle, refined mix of colors that suit the Cadillac line well.  The shift is subtle, but Cadillac Owners do report having difficulty finding their car on occasion, or not recognizing their car as they approach it due to the color shift.

ChromaFlair is a registered trademark of JDS Uniphase Corporation.

After the drive, thoughts on the 2010 Cadillac CTS-V

Posted on by
3

The story so far: I picked up a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V from Crest Cadillac in Plano to test drive last weekend.  Saturday with TexasJim, then Sunday Drive are the other articles in the series.

I dropped the Cadillac CTS-V off at Crest Cadillac Monday morning and picked up my 2005 Cadillac CTS.    I would like to say another big Thank you! to Crest Cadillac for hosting the test drive.

Cadillac CTS-V

Overall the Cadillac CTS-V is almost perfect, and an amazing car for the price.  I wanted to wrap up by adding a few notes on the experience.

The Recaro Sport Seats are a desirable option even if you don’t plan to track the car.  They are comfortable and offer additional features such as seat cooling vents and additional adjustments compared to the standard seats.

The Bluetooth interface and Ipod integration both worked seamlessly.  My cell phone would re-pair each time I got in the CTS-V with no fuss.

In terms of seating and gadgetry the CTS-V is Wife-Approved, which is the highest award given in this category.

The uber-panzer CTS-V averaged about 16 mpg while I had it in a mix of city and highway driving, with no attempt whatsoever to conserve fuel at any point.  As I have mentioned, the Cadillac CTS-V is on my list of great places to invest gas money.  I appreciate a test drive is different from living with repeated refills of premium fuel, but the fun per gallon of this car is so high I think it is well worth it.

Overall the LSA supercharged V8 engine is delightful.  It revs freely, it pulls from idle to redline, it is well behaved in every situation.  At idle it does remind you that it is there, but not in an objectionable way.    I am very excited to see this powertrain in more Cadillac vehicles.  This makes me continue to think we should have the 3.6L as the base engine in the CTS, with the LS3 V8 as the premium engine and the LSA as the V Series power.

The MR Suspension — my son commented that the CTS-V did not feel any different from my ‘soft’ ride FE1 CTS.  After reflecting for a second, I think that is the point.  I have seen these cars screaming around the race track, and now I have seen them comfortably easing around town, to church, etc.  This car is perfectly tuned for almost anything you want to throw at it, and it all happens behind the scenes automatically.

I love the sculpting of the dome on the hood, required to clear the supercharger.  It gives just the right hint of “attitude” from the driver’s seat.

Conclusion: Having weighed the features, advantages, and disadvantages of the Cadillac CTS-V, I find it a very desirable package.  A lightly used CTS-V is on my watch list as a future vehicle.

My Host for this test drive is Crest Cadillac of Plano, Texas.  They are located at 2701 North Central Expressway, Plano, Texas.  You can contact them by phone Toll-free at 1-866-697-9144 or locally at (972)578-7511, or on Twitter or Facebook