Cadillac STS: Lexus smooth, BMW powerful, Mercedes Class … and All Alone on Saturday night

Posted on by
Reply

The current Cadillac STS is the single most over-looked Cadillac model.  While the CTS has captured the lime light and popular focus as a Sales Star, the current generation STS has been the older, perhaps more elegant Sister who is still a bride’s maid, never a bride.

2009 Cadillac STS

2009 Cadillac STS

What are the differences between the 2009 Cadillac CTS and the 2009 Cadillac STS?

Powertrain: CTS offers the great 263hp 3.6L VVT V6 engine standard, with a 304hp 3.6L direct-injection variant of the same engine optional.  The STS offers the direct injection 3.6L engine as standard, with a 320hp 4.6L Northstar V8 engine as optional.  Both cars are front engine, RWD, and both cars are available in all wheel drive for northern climates.  Nod: STS.

2009 Cadillac CTS

2009 Cadillac CTS

Suspension: The CTS was redesigned in 2008, and rides on the Sigma II suspension.  The STS rides on the similar Sigma I suspension.  The STS is a bit larger than the CTS, riding on a 116.4″ wheel base vs the CTS’ 113.4 inch wheelbase, so the STS provides  2.5″ more rear leg room.   If you want a bit more room in your executive sedan, you want the STS.  Nod: CTS.

2008 STS interior

2008 STS interior

Interior Options: The STS has a higher level of standard features.  Not to jump ahead, but it also has a higer price.  There are however some features ONLY available on the STS, such as heads-up display and lane change warning.  Nod: STS

2009 CTS interior

2009 CTS interior

Price: The CTS starts at US$34K and quickly options up to over US$45K.  The STS starts at US$44.5K and quickly options up to over US$60K.  Nod: CTS

V-Series Choices: The V Series is Cadillac’s no holds-barred performance editions.   The CTS from 2004-2007 offered the CTS-V with a Corvette Z06 engine at over 400 hp.   Starting in 2006, the Cadillac STS-V bowed, sporting a 4.4L supercharged Northstar V8 making a rousing 469 hp.  Upping the ante, the 2009 Cadillac CTS-V is arriving at showrooms now for around US$60K (price not set yet) making 556hp.  Will the STS-V be able to answer?  Stay tuned.

So why has the Cadillac CTS sold better than the in some ways superior Cadillac STS?

Looks: although the last refresh has given the STS a bit more style, the STS body does not have the curvaceous appeal of the CTS.  If you want everyone’s all-American beauty, you’d select the CTS.  Price: even though with options the CTS quickly climbs into the same stratosphere as the STS, buyers may be more comfortable inching up to it with individual option packages.

Conclusion: The Cadillac STS is probably one of the most overlooked elegant, excellent, performance and luxury executive sedans of our time.  Everyone will understand and agree with your choice if you bring home the new Cadillac CTS.  It is great looking and performs well.  Bring home a new Cadillac STS and the neighbors may not understand exactly what it is.  But you’ll know that you married the older but wiser sister whose beauty, if understated, may be more lasting.

Cadillac CTS and Meguiar’s NXT Tech Wax, week 2

Posted on by
Reply

More rain today as Hurricane Ike comes ashore south of us.  Hopefully everyone stays safe from the storm.

 

Grabbed this shot of my Cadillac CTS with my Kodak C875 on a tripod.  Looks like the Meguiar’s Tech Wax is still beading up very well after week 2 of real-world use.  The paint feels waxy, silky good to the touch.  Click the image for a close-up link to the larger file.

After another week or so I want to use Meguiar’s Cleaner Wax, then top it with a coat of NXT Tech wax and see how that looks.

The grill medallion to the left is a Heritage Of Ownership medallion.  These are originally ordered by the Sales department at a Cadillac Dealer and presented as a ‘gift’ to the vehicle purchaser.  The number on the medallion indicates the number of Cadillacs you have owned.  In my case the list includes a 1992 Cadillac STS, a 1989 Cadillac Fleetwood (briefly), a 1996 Cadillac STS, and a 2004 Cadillac CTS.  Between my 04 and 05 models I have 75K+ miles in CTS’s now; they have been great cars.

Next time I think I definitely want a sunroof.  I had avoided the sunroof when I got my CTS’s due to the loss of head room and to the extra weight (racer Bruce lol) an (cough) cost.   I think a sunroof can add a lot to the enjoyment of the Cadillac though, so if my next Cadillac is not an XLR (hardtop convertible) then it will definitely have a sunroof.

EPA Joins GM Market Test Of Hydrogen Powered Fuel Cell

Posted on by
Reply

 

[GM delivered a hydrogen powered Chevy Equinox to the EPA.  GM’s project driveway is an effort to get fuel cell and other innovative vehicles out of the laboratory and in the hands of real people and real situations so that GM can continue to develop and evolve the technology.  Hopefully the EPA will use them not only to further develop test methods for fuel cell MPG testing, but also encourage employees to use the vehicle in real-world driving situations as well. — Bruce]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), responsible for promoting a cleaner and healthier environment for Americans, today joined forces with General Motors as part of a long-standing commitment to hydrogen fuel cell commercialization.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson (left) and General Motors Vice President Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson (left) and General Motors Vice President Environment, Energy and Safety Policy Beth Lowery

With the delivery of a Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell Electric vehicle, the EPA will be the newest participant in Chevrolet’s Project Driveway – – an innovative market test that is helping to bring fuel cell electric vehicle technology to market.

Over the next six months, the EPA Headquarters motor pool will use the vehicle to conduct business in Washington, D.C. – -emissions free – while allowing the on-board electronic recording devices to track the real-world performance data.

“The EPA’s history of research and testing of fuel cells and other advanced technologies make them an important partner for Project Driveway,” said Elizabeth Lowery, vice president, Environment, Energy and Safety Policy at GM. “Together, our organizations have learned a great deal about hydrogen fuel cells and we look forward to furthering the commercialization of this important technology.”

The EPA’s participation in Project Driveway is the latest partnership with GM in which the agency has helped the automaker test advanced propulsion systems. Beginning in 2005, the agency provided performance feedback for more than a year on GM’s HydroGen3 fuel cell vehicle. That data helped the development of the Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell electric vehicle on roads today. It uses no petroleum and zero greenhouse gases are released. The only emission is clean water vapor.

Project Driveway is an important facet of Chevrolet’s “Gas Friendly to Gas Free” strategy to offer advanced technologies that enable a variety of fuel solutions and remove the automobile from the environment and energy equation. More than 100 Equinox fuel cell vehicles are in the hands of real customers to help Chevy and GM understand what it will take to bring larger numbers of fuel cell vehicles to customers around the world. Currently, the program has launched in Los Angeles, metropolitan New York and Washington, D.C., with further deployments in Europe and Asia later this year.