2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe — Get Ready Dealers!

Cadillac held a regional Sales Meeting this morning for Metroplex Cadillac Dealer Sales Staff at the Four Seasons Dallas in Las Colinas, where the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament is underway.  Although it appeared overcast, the weather held off during the meeting.  Hopefully they will have good weather for the tournament.

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

Due to sensitivity at the Tournament, cameras and cell phones were limited on the grounds.

The meeting started with a plentiful breakfast buffet.  Four Seasons makes a wonderful venue for meetings not just due to the Golf.  The Traffic control heading in to the event, Security Staff, and Service were all spot on.  Attendees received Cadillac wreath & crest lapel pins, Cadillac baseball hats, and CTS Coupe wall posters.  The Event appeared to be well attended by DFW Cadillac Sales personnel.

The focus of the presentation was the soon to be released 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe and V-Series Coupe.  Production will begin in June, and we should see these in Showrooms in August.  Please contact your local Cadillac Dealer for exact details and possibly an invitation to the CTS Coupe premiere event at your local Dealer.   Cadillac focused on the anticipated competition for the CTS Coupe, relative sales, and indirectly targets for Texas Cadillac CTS Coupe Sales.  The latest CTS and CTS-V commercials were also shown.

The discussion also included attitude.  The intended Cadillac Sales attitude might be summed up as: “We are passionate stewards for Cadillac, helping Customers celebrate their success“.  Often times it is the small but thoughtful things, going the extra 10 yards, that makes the difference in how we all perceive Customer Service.  I am glad that Cadillac recognizes and is focused on achieving great Customer Service at ALL of their Dealers.

Cadillac will be ‘bringing the heat’ this summer with 60 month 0% interest and favorable lease terms on the CTS Family.

After a nice stroll to the Cadillac display area, a Cadillac Trainer detailed the features of a production CTS Coupe, the example shown a CTS Coupe Performance Model, with 3.6L engine.  Cadillac has all the current models on display for the tournament, but brought in the CTS Coupe for the Sales Discussion.  The Trainer also mentioned that the CTS Coupe online training is now available for Cadillac Sales Staff.

The Sales Event was well planned, the Venue was excellent, and everything went well.  I have been consistently impressed with Cadillac Events.  The CTS Coupe is a very exciting model for Cadillac, and their new advertising and marketing is active and on target.  This continues to be a great time to be a Cadillac Enthusiast.

Crest Cadillac of Plano was my host this morning, along with Cadillac and the Four Seasons Dallas.
I received a Callaway Cadillac golf ball set and golf accessories as a door prize in a raffle, as well
as a Cadillac lapel pin, Cadillac hat, and wall poster.

Okay, You want the Cadillac CTS Coupe; now which one do you want?

The new 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe will be arriving in Cadillac showrooms this summer.  So, let’s look at which one of these luxury performance sedans you want.

First, there is a choice between the V-Coupe and the V6 Coupe.  The V-Coupe is the CTS-V Coupe, with the Supercharged 6.2L 556 hp V8, Brembo Brakes, Magnetic (MR) Suspension, and other supercar goodies.  The V6 Coupe has the LLT Direct Injected 3.6L 304 hp V6 engine.   Cadillac has not announced pricing yet for the CTS Coupe.   The V-Coupe is likely to start at $65K, while the V6 Coupes might run from $45-55K.

CTS-V Coupe: If you decide on the CTS-V Coupe you are almost done.  The main options to decide on then are colors, and whether to get the Recaro Seats, and the Sapele wood trim options.  Again, I recommend both of these options as relatively worth the money after testing a CTS-V Sedan with both.  If you can’t afford them, then the “base” CTS-V Coupe is excellent out of the box, no worries.

RWD or AWD: For the V6 CTS Coupe, the next choices are between rear-wheel drive (RWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD).  If you live in an area that has snow, I would want the AWD.  The AWD does add some weight and so the RWD tends to be faster off the line and at the track.  But if you need AWD, it is a great feature to have. For other options on either the RWD or AWD, the rest of the discussion applies to either.

V6 Base: The Base CTS Coupe is the least expensive way to buy and enjoy a CTS Coupe.  It has the great looks, the great V6 engine, limited slip differential, and the FE2 Sport Suspension.  What it does not offer is the luxury packages, wood trim, or performance package with maximum rubber / wheels / paddle shifters etc.  This CTS Coupe still has all the core goodness included.

V6 CTS Performance Coupe : The CTS Performance Coupe adds electric, heated memory seats, bluetooth, garage door opener, an improved audio system, and high intensity discharge (HID) headlights.  This is also the “I want it my way” option, because it opens up a lot of available option packages.  If you don’t want everything that comes on the Premium Package, the Performance package lets you pick and choose the options that are important to you.

V6 CTS Premium Coupe: The CTS Premium Coupe is the maxed-out, fully equipped CTS Coupe.  If you don’t need the max performance features of the CTS-V Coupe, but want everything AND the economy of the V6 Coupe, this is your Cadillac.   The Premium Coupe adds to the Performance Coupe: theft deterrent, rear view camera, accent lighting, heated/vented front seats, power telescoping steering wheel, cabin air filtration, premium audio with navigation, sunroof with power sunshade, and Sapele wood trim.

The main decision available on the Premium Coupe is whether to get the Y43 Performance Package (Summer tire) option:

Y43 Performance Package: 19″ (48.3 cm) Summer Tire, includes (KB7) steering wheel mounted paddle shift controls, (P87) 19″ x 8.5″ polished wheels, (QIV) P245/45ZR Y-rated performance summer tires, (V03) performance cooling system, (FE3) performance suspension and (J55) performance brake system

This is an interesting option because it pushes the suspension to FE3, as well as adds performance brakes and additional engine cooling.  Cadillac has also said that the Recaro sport seats will be available as an option.

Summary

I like the way Cadillac has packaged the CTS Coupe.  From the Base to the Design-your-own Performance model to the Fully Optioned Premium Model, I don’t see any bad choices here, and the options are laid out in a thoughtful manner to suit a variety of buyers.

Cadillac has said the CTS Coupes will arrive in showrooms this summer.  Please contact your local Cadillac Dealer for exact timing, or to pre-order.

Updates as Cadillac CTS Coupe & V-Coupe come to market

I like to see these Vehicle Order Guide updates for the CTS Coupe and CTS Coupe-V because they give me some re-assurance that the Coupe and V-Coupe are approaching  production on schedule.  Also it is interesting to get more insight into the details of the various option combinations.  Some changes perhaps are just final edits of the Order Guide:

Week of 4/5/2010

Effective 4/5/2010, the following changes will be made to the Vehicle Order Guide:
• Interior section-(Y41) Luxury Level Two Package, added “and new steering wheel” to Package content.
• Color and Trim section-Interior color (AFE), changed interior column header from “Cashmere seats with Cocoa interior
accents” to “Cashmere seats with Ebony interior accents”. This change only applies to CTS Coupe.
• Color and Trim section-Deleted exterior color (GAR) Black Ice Metallic. This change only applies to CTS Coupe.

Week of 3/29/2010

Effective 3/29/2010, the following changes will be made to the Vehicle Order Guide:
• Interior section-(U2K) XM Radio, changed description to read “is standard on nearly all 2011 GM models and includes 3 months of trial service. Get over 170 channels, including: commercial-free music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, comedy, family and kids’ channels, and much more. With XM’s incredible range of programming, everything worth listening to is on XM”. Also added a new footnote that reads “Requires a subscription sold separately by XM after the first 90 days. Available only in the 48 contiguous United States and District of Columbia. Visit gm.xmradio.com for details.”.

Week of 3/8/2010

Effective 3/8/2010, the following changes will be made to the Vehicle Order Guide:
• Interior section-(KB7) Steering wheel mounted Paddle Shift Controls, changed availability for Model 6DP47 1SH PEG from “–” to “A” with footnote #1.

Week of 3/1/2010

Effective 3/1/2010, the following changes will be made to the Vehicle Order Guide:
• Interior section-(A45) Memory Package, changed availability for both 1SF PEGs from “A” with a footnote #1 to a black box with no footnote.
• Interior section-(AL2) Seat adjusters, 2-way power driver and front passenger lumbar control, changed availability for both 1SH PEGs from “A” with a footnote #1 to a black box with no footnote.
• Interior section-(KA1) Seats, heated driver and front passenger, changed availability for both 1SF PEGs from “A” with a footnote #1 to a black box with no footnote.
• Interior section-(KB6) Seats, heated/ventilated driver and front passenger, changed availability for both 1SH PEGs from “A” with a footnote #1 to a black box with no footnote.
• Interior section-(W2E) Recaro performance seats, added the following at the end of footnote #1 “Deletes (AM9) rear split folding seat when (W2E) Recaro performance seats are ordered.”
• Interior section-(KB7) Steering wheel mounted Paddle Shift Controls, changed availability for Model 6DP47, 1SH PEG from “A” with a footnote #1 to “–“.
• Interior section-(UG1) Universal Home Remote, changed availability for both 1SF PEGs from “A” with a footnote #1 to a black box with no footnote.