Category Archives: CTS-V

In pursuit of the perfect $30K Cadillac

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The total cost of owning a car includes a variety of factors.  The actual price of the car is not directly a factor, unless you keep the car forever.

The difference in price of a car between when you buy it and when you sell it form the simple depreciation of the car while you owned it.   For example, if you were to purchase a car (we’ll call it car1),  for $45K, drive it for a year, then sell it for $40K, you might say that car1 cost you $5K to drive for a year.  On the other hand, if you purchase car2 for $25K, drive it for a year, then sell it for $18K, it cost you $7K to drive car2 for a year.  So although car1 had a higher price, car2 had a higher depreciation, and so cost more to drive for the year.

For my next Cadillac I plan to target an expense range of $400/month for the car.  I plan to drive it for 60 months.  At the end of the 60 months I anticipate that the residual value of the car will be no greater than $5K.  This means I will be looking for a vehicle that has a purchase price of $24K (60 mo x $400) plus $5K, or $29K.

Since the new CTS starts at $35K, that seems difficult as a budget for a Cadillac.  But I will not be shopping for a new car this time out, but rather for a 2 year old model with under 25K miles.  I also know that I drive an average of 15K miles per year.  Keeping in mind my 5 year horizon, if I purchase a car with 25K miles, after 5 years it would have 5×15=75K + 25K = 100K miles, and should still be in relatively good shape, and not require excessive maintenance or repairs.

My favorite target that is just coming into the 30Ks is the 2008 Cadillac STS-V.  As I have previously noted, the STS-V with every option known to man and a 469 hp supercharged DOHC Northstar V8 seems an amazing value, and it a high-weather mark in STS development.  I am hopeful that by this summer I will be able to find an excellent example within my price range.  Alternates would be to shop a fully loaded 2008/2009 CTS Sedan, or STS V8 Sedan, but the power and suspension tuning of the STS-V fit my idea of fun better.

2006 Cadillac STS-V

STS-V Interior Tango Red option shown

Now it is just the matter of finding the right STS-V. Total sales in 2008 of this model was under 500, but as the V-Coupe arrives this summer hopefully more of the STS-Vs will be coming out of the woodwork.

I have not lost my love for the new 2nd Generation CTS-V of course, and once prices for the Super Car CTS-V are in the mid to low $30Ks I will be looking very hard at them for the next Cadillac V.

ChromaFlair: the art of misdirection

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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

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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