Category Archives: Trip Report

Cadillacs on the Road

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Yesterday we drove around 900 miles from Plano, Texas to Indianapolis, Indiana.    The weather was a sunny 104F when we started, and fell to 83F in the rain by the end of the trip.  We are here in Indy for the Gen Con Indy gaming convention.

Our 2005 Cadillac CTS has plenty of trunk room for luggage and accessories for four adults.   With a combination of luxury and performance features, Cadillacs make excellent touring cars, which for me is to say that they are perfect for touring.  This trip took around 14 hours, and the CTS was a great companion.

Usually I enjoy XM radio for trips — jazz, or perhaps book radio, or sports events.  This trip included 12+ hours of my passengers singing Irish drinking songs and practicing Irish accents.  Now THAT’s entertainment for traveling.

Just over 26 mpg with luggage and A/C on, with speeds running near the marked speed limits along the way.   We ended up stopping more often for convenience than the CTS needed to stop for gas, which is a good pattern.  I did discover that granola bars have a lower melting point than the temperature in the trunk on a hot day.

I have definitely decided I need to get a dedicated navigation unit.  Counting on the cell phone nav units also requires that the person who owns the cell phone is not using same for some other entertainment.

Friday Test Drive: 2007 Cadillac STS 1SE

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I popped over to a local Cadillac Dealer to look at a low mileage 2007 Cadillac CTS-V that they had:

2007 Cadillac CTS-V

Unfortunately, another couple was just taking it out for a test drive, then heading to negotiations as I arrived, so I missed meeting that Cadillac.

2007 Cadillac STS 1SE

Meanwhile, I spotted a 2007 Cadillac STS 1SE on the lot with 42k miles.  The 2007 STS has the 320 hp Northstar 4.6L V8 with variable valve timing.  The 1SE designation means that this is a V8 Luxury model, and not the 1SG Performance Model.  These have to be taken as you find them however, because they can be optioned up quite closely to the 1SG.  The feature that the 1SG has that these don’t get is the MR magnetic suspension.  This one has the Navigation with Premium sound system, and Sunroof so it is a reasonably well equipped example.

I have been shopping around between the 2007 CTS-V, the 2008 STS-V, and the 2009 STS Platinum or STS 1SG models.  I wanted to test drive this Cadillac because it models very closely how one might expect the 2009 STS Platinum or 1SG to drive.  Same engine, same transmission, same vehicle except for some option differences and year differences.  This example was Light Platinum exterior, ebony interior.  The dealer has it on the net for $25K.

2007 Cadillac STS 1SE interior with Nav

We took the 2007 STS 1SE out for a test drive, and up on the Tollway for a bit.  In general it felt strong, but not really better performance than my 2005 CTS 3.6L with CAI & Corsa Catback.  Now since my CTS and this STS have similar 0-60 mph performance that was not surprising, but it does confirm the armchair prediction.  The interior features are good on this car, and the car looked good.  The STS received a redesign that improved the exterior styling in 2008, so I would definitely shop for a 2008+ model however.

After driving this STS my feeling is that I will now exclude the STS V8 1SG from my shopping list, and focus on the 08/09 STS-V, or hold out another year for the prices of the 2009 CTS-V sedans to fall closer to my budget.  I suppose a 2009 STS Platinum might be interesting, but is unlikely to fall to my price range.  The STS 4.6L V8 became interesting because I see that they are in my price range.   They are great cars, and offer very good performance.  I really want my next Cadillac to have break-away performance however, so I’ll have to look for the rare 2008 STS-V at a bargain or wait for the 2009 CTS-V to come into range.

@Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum at Scarborough Faire @crestcars @gmtexas

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The story so far: I picked up a 2010 Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum from Crest Cadillac in Plano to test drive this weekend.  Saturday was Tennis a Escalade, and Night Life.

Sunday Morning the Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum and I headed to church.  One of the things I really enjoy about Cadillacs is that they are more formal cars, and feel perfectly suited for more formal occasions.  No problem navigating in close quarters in the parking lot, and the ESV continues to quietly, competently deliver huge interior space without a compromise in maneuverability.

After church I cruised down to Waxahachie, Texas for a visit to Scarborough Faire with my family.  This is a ~50 mile drive and gave me a good chance to get a feel for the Escalade ESV Platinum on the highway.  The navigation system is extremely simple to use, and I just put in “Waxahachie, Texas” for this purpose and off we went.  No problems in traffic, and out on the highway the Escalade cruises easily and smoothly at speed.  The navigation uses split screen views very effectively, showing on a portion of the navigation screen a diagram of the traffic flow in intersections, for example where the highway splits and showing the path we need to continue on.

I really enjoyed the blind spot alert system.  This system uses a small icon on the outside rear view mirror to alert you if a vehicle is currently in your ‘blind spot’, or in those spaces just over your left shoulder or right shoulder that are difficult to see from the Driver’s seat.  The Escalade has excellent outside rear-view mirrors, and I keep the outside mirrors adjusted to a fairly wide setting to minimize these ‘blind spots’, but nonetheless found this system helpful and useful.  My Wife declared it an obvious and mandatory safety feature after seeing it in action.

A special feature of the Escalade ESV Platinum are heated and cooled cup holders, which I enjoyed with a canned soft drink.  Obviously insulated drink cups will work less well with this type of cooler, but a canned drink or bottled drink are a good match.

No problems with all terrain in the Escalade

I always forget that the lanes inside the event grounds are all gravel, and the parking is all grass.  This makes me grimace a bit in the CTS, but of course is no issue with the rugged Escalade.

Scarborough Faire is a renaissance festival that is held in Waxahachie, Texas (south of Dallas) annually since 1981. From their website info:

Once inside the park, guests find themselves in the midst of a renaissance country faire replete with strolling characters, 22 stages of entertainment, 200 charming shoppes filled with handmade crafts, food purveyors, renaissance games and rides and the Tournament Field where bold knights joust thrice daily. Performers from around the country provide continuous entertainment on the stages and often invite audience participation.

We met up with some friends, and had a good time.  We try to go every year, and Scarborough Faire offers a fun mix of entertainment and period costume and other unique shopping opportunities.  My Wife selected, purchased, and donned a period costume, and fit in at the event much better than I.

Because I arrived later in the morning, the Escalade ESV was parked in the far, far parking area from the Gate.  I fetched it while my Wife waited at the Gate, but she returned the favor by grabbing a photo of the Escalade ESV with the Scarborough Faire main gate as a backdrop.

Escalade at Scarborough Faire main gate

We enjoyed a lovely drive back to Plano.  The Escalade ESV makes for a nice road trip vehicle, since it is quiet for conversation on the highway.   It is very comfortable on the road.  This one is White Diamond, which is not my Wife’s favorite color (Red), but after I assured her that it was in fact available in other shades she gave it a cautious approval.

 

Other Shades of Escalade:

Celestial Blue

Black Raven

Stealth Gray

Gold Mist

Black Ice

Infrared Tintcoat

Galaxy Gray

Silver Lining

I will be adding a number of articles about the Cadillac Escalade ESV Platinum over the weekend, so stay tuned!

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