Jim was on the way home to New Jersey and mentioned that he had not learned yet how to pair his phone via Bluetooth to his Cadillac. I researched this topic and sent him a video showing how, a text summary, and a pdf of the owner’s manual. He was able to get his phone setup at the next stop; the CTS-V uses voice recognition to walk the Driver through the process.
We both learned something from this — about how cool his new Cadillac was, and about features I also have in my Cadillac that I simply don’t use or appreciate.
Voice Recognition
“Navigation Chinese Food” — with this phrase my nav system shows a unique icon on my nav system where Chinese cuisine restaurants are. While here on vacation this is a handy way to find an upcoming lunch spot.
There are pages of commands in the nav manual that the system can recognize. A fun one is “windows down” which lowers all 4 windows simultaneously.
Hands free dialing can be as easy as ” phone call Jim”, which is also available while the car is in motion.
The voice recognition worked well with some challenges. I am certain the more I use it the easier it will get (as it trains me on enunciation!).
Intelli-beam headlights
The STS-V has auto-sensing and dimming bright HID headlights. I keep the system deactivated in the suburbs because there are no long empty highways; thus I forget my Cadillac even has this cool feature. On a roadtrip this system is invaluable for getting the most light forward to see Deer and other hazards ahead.
I was very glad to remember to activate it on the way through the deer fields of South Carolina.
Navigation Exit Info
To be honest, until this trip I have never understood the nav system upcoming exit info. I got that the nav system shows the next 3 upcoming exits.
i didn’t note that the exit info shows the exit number, icons for what is found at that exit, and is touch screen activated for more info. The icons are unique — in some gas choices they actually show by brand of station. This is handy as the V uses Premium and I prefer first tier gas stations.
In other cases the icons indicate a restaurant, store, etc.
The exits are touch sensitive — if I touch the exit info the icon display is for that exit, and I can opt to go to a map display of the exit area showing by icon where the various services are. One can click on the service icon to get location name which often gives the final detail needed.
This can make roadtrip quick stops much easier so you can get your party back into the Cadillac and on the road.
Fun Features
What fun features does your Cadillac have that you could be enjoying more?