Tag Archives: cts

Design Police wave Cadillac CTS on through

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The Car Design Police blog has a thoughtful blog post on the Cadillac CTS redesign in 2008.  I am mainly a function over form person, but I do appreciate a detailed analysis of design elements with explanations, rationale, and examples.  Very well done opinion piece.

I also love seeing the Allante advertisement that they use to start the article.   This reference because the Allante, designed by Pininfarina, was arguably a clean design.  It was definitely the 1990s-Cadillac-chic look and not the current approach.

Overall positive review:

But after seeing them on the road for a while, the latest CTS is actually a very nice design. It maintains the Art and Science aesthetic but is fuller and more dynamic than the previous CTS or the XLR.

but I would still like this type of analysis even if it were not positive. I know what I like, but not always why. This type of discussion can help educate all of us on what works and why we like it.

2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe – Evolution of a Modern Eldorado

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The Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept is unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show Monday, January 14, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. (

The Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept is unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show Monday, January 14, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. (

Since 2003, the Cadillac CTS coupe has been consistently successful, becoming a game changer for Cadillac and a franchise player. For 2010 Cadillac plans to bring out a coupe version of the CTS. The current CTS is a sedan, or 4-door sports/luxury car. The new CTS Coupe will be a 2-door version. Cadillac also makes the luxury roadster XLR, but it is also a 2-seat vehicle. The CTS Coupe will be a 2-door 4-seat model, perfect for those of us who need the convenience of having 4 seats available for occasional need. The last full size coupe Cadillac offered was the 2003 Cadillac Eldorado.

Cadillac CTS Coupe Interior

Cadillac CTS Coupe Interior

Here was the first sketches of what was planned for the 2010 CTS Coupe:

 

Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept Sketch

Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept Sketch

2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept sketch

2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept sketch

The low roofline got moved up a bit, and some of the angles got smoothed out.  But the purpose of design sketches is to be TOO much, so that they leave the impression of the innovations in the sketch.

 

Where did we come from?

In 1953 the Series 62 was the mainstay of the Cadillac line.  Cadillac introduced a new, limited edition luxury convertible at the top of the line — the Eldorado Special.  532 examples were sold in 1953 at a cost of $7,750 at a time when the starting price for a 2-door Series 62 Coupe was $3,571.  The Eldorado was the Cadillac of the Cadillac line.

1953 Cadillac Eldorado

1953 Cadillac Eldorado

By 1973 the now Fleetwood ElDorado was still a convertible, and still top of the line. The price was almost the same as 20 years earlier, at $7,681 but the Eldorado was very much a production Cadillac and not the largely hand built custom limited Eldorado of 1953.

1973 Cadillac Eldorado

1973 Cadillac Eldorado

In 2003 Cadillac made the last Cadillac Eldorado, and retired all the meaningful names for more euro-centric letter designations. The Seville became the STS, the Deville the DTS, and the new C-class Touring Sedan became the CTS.

2002 Cadillac Eldorado

2002 Cadillac Eldorado

Which brings us back to the new 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe. Many former Eldorado owners who enjoy 2-door full size Cadillacs are looking forward eagerly to this new car. It has also been well received in the press.

Cadillac Exterior Design Director John Manoogian (left) and Cadillac Interior Design Director Eric Clough display the Eyes On Design Best Concept Car award for the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show Tuesday, January 15, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by John F. Martin for General Motors)

Cadillac Exterior Design Director John Manoogian (left) and Cadillac Interior Design Director Eric Clough display the Eyes On Design Best Concept Car award for the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept at the 2008 North American International Auto Show Tuesday, January 15, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by John F. Martin for General Motors)

Cadillac has also rumored that it would be a natural and easy edition to release a V-Series variant of the new CTS Coupe. The means that it may be available with a 556 hp Supercharged 6.2L LSA engine, enhanced performance suspension, and performance brake package as well.

2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

2008 Cadillac CTS Coupe Concept

2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe drive-by

2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe drive-by

For up to date spy photos on the new CTS couple please check Left Lane News.

Cadillac is defined by Performance and Luxury, not by Cylinder Count

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The Press has been agonizing over the idea that a new future Cadillac might have a 4-cylinder engine.  I addressed this a while back.  However, Autonews.com had an editorial on the subject today, (subscription required), bemoaning the idea that a REAL Cadillac cannot have a 4-cylinder engine and that it would be the Cimarron all over again.  All the bad things I mentioned in the previous article.

Let’s look at the facts.  Here are the performance output graphs for two powerplants:

Engine Dyno Saturn Sky Redline 2L Turbo 4

Engine Dyno Saturn Sky 2L Turbo 4

Engine dyno Cadillac DTS Northstar V8

Engine dyno Cadillac DTS Northstar V8

What do these show? That for a Driver, the GM Powertrain’s I4 Turbo will perform identically to the Northstar V8.

As one of my GM Engineer friends said, horsepower sells but you drive torque. Why do we WANT V8 or V12 or V16 engines? Because they give terrific torque at very low RPM very smoothly. So, especially in a large Luxury Cadillac, high torque at a low RPM means that the vehicle moves out smartly as soon as you engage the accelerator. So what is the problem with small displacement 4-cylinders? They tend not to make as much torque, and they make power higher in their RPM band. They use gearing to take advantage of the higher RPM power. But that means the power is not RIGHT THERE when I put my foot down.

How can we mitigate that? By using direct injection, high compression, and turbocharging as done with the I4 turbo. Now it puts out torque and horsepower similar to our current V8, for identical performance with better fuel economy at idle and off-power. We already have it available, in production. A new powertrain control module tune available now raises output to 280-290 hp for this engine, so it actually will be somewhat stronger than the Northstar V8 in the current DTS.

But what we WANT is that performance. It does not matter if it comes from an engine with 8 cylinders, or 6 (like my CTS) or 4 like a 1915 Cadillac or even 1 like the first Cadillacs. It matters that the engine is a precision built powerplant that provides smooth power delivery RIGHT NOW when I want to go. THAT is the definition of Cadillac. It is a premium high-precision vehicle that focuses on performance and luxury.

Bring me the new latest technology and stop worrying about change. Make a terrific Cadillac with luxury and performance and people won’t care how many cylinders it has.