I’m no Jen Friel, but it’s nice to know that I can influence the auto industry in some small degree. Case in point: Just two days after I suggest that Cadillac reclaim and reauthenticate its heritage by placing one of GM’s world-class V-8 engines in every ATS built, Cadillac has announced that they will be putting a V-8 in the new XTS flagship.
No, wait. I’m reading this wrong.
Turns out they are just throwing in a “free” iPad.
You know, like Hyundai did a couple years back.
Yup.
Standard of the World.
Autoblog uncritically “reports” that, although Hyundai may have had this idea first, Cadillac is, like, totes different with it.
Cadillac dealer [will be] required to have two “certified technology experts” on duty, plus a CUE call center for owners, an online media team looks for CUE questions to answer, and a mobile CUE specialist who makes house calls
This reminds me of that time I bought two Phaetons and was assured that my local VW dealer had a “Phaeton specialist” on site at all times. I think his name was Arthur, but it could have been Archaeopteryx for all I freakin’ knew because the guy was extinct before I actually took delivery. For the next four years at semi-monthly intervals, I listened to a remarkable variety of mouth-breathing morons in dirty coveralls express varying degrees of wonder at things like the “Infotainment” system, the auto-closing doors, and the fact that there are such things as “cars” on this planet that use “wheels” and “tires” to travel on “roads”.
Expect the “CUE Specialists” to be the two lowest-performing salespeople in the dealerships and/or the two least valuable people in the service department. They’ll be sent to “CUE school”, they will ignore everything they’re told, and they will be fired in the near future for using a stack of new tires for a potty when the service-department bathroom toilet breaks. Back to Autoblog:
The point seems to be that this isn’t about getting an iPad with your car,
Because Hyundai already did that, and provided a semi-proper, full-sized, RWD, V-8 powered sedan to go along with it.
it’s about understanding ever tech thing your car can do.
Because the average buyer of this car, who is too old and feeble to properly operate an Etch-A-Sketch, has been dying to play some Angry Birds on his owner’s manual.
If you still don’t know how to access the full power of your XTS, it will only be because you don’t want to.
Oh, I suspect XTS owners will be “accessing the full power” of this hopeless sled every time the road curves slightly upwards. No need to worry about that.
In the meantime, expect the XTS to become extremely popular with the demographic of customers whose hobbies include golf, televised sports, and breaking into Cadillacs to steal iPads.
Brand-new, latest-generation iPads or did GM scoop up a giant, steaming pile of the older ones at a discount? WiFi only?
You know damn well these iPads are WiFi only.
I blame Hyundai for starting this trend. They were willing to do ANYTHING to sell an Equus (including oral).
If you must have an iPad to use your car’s instruments, then it is TOO COMPLICATED.
a Better option would be an application for your smartphone like Mercedes’ EMBRACE which lets you control the windows, locks and other car functions.
‘They were willing to do ANYTHING to sell an Equus (including oral).’
What? The last Hyundai salesperson I encountered was a pretty asian woman. And you tell me this now?
Oh, Big Truck Series Review! Yoo Sew Beeeg. Equus love you long time.
You should have seen the saleswoman who was trying to sell me an Azera. It woulda taken me a whole 3 minutes :P
The last Hyundai salesperson I encountered was neither pretty nor Asian nor a woman…serves me right for going to Glendale, I guess.
Honestly that’s kinds stupid to think they would provide a 3g or 4g one you know you need an account for that, who would pay for that? YOU, GM? I mean really learn the technology before you sit and complain.
Generally speaking, do they really think if they act tech savvy and hip that it will turn around a thirty year legacy of mostly garbage products?
My understanding was they were still able to get a paper manual.
Is this not the case?
Way to appeal to the likely demographic for this gilded Impala, GM.
I wonder if the “JitterBug” will be an option?
Chez Louise, y’all.
When Caddy goes and tries to give a “personal service” and it’s dismissed as “Late; Fail; TL; DR.”
The Snark About Cars: “Snarked ya again!”™
Let them *deliver* a decent personal service experience and we will walk it back. I drove an STS Northstar as a company car for a year and never received any Nordies style love, yo.
Ooooh, my favorite auto writer, responding to my comment. I feel flattered.
My grandma also drove an STS Northstar. Then she up/down-graded to a first-gen CTS.
GG’s driving a Buick now.
Keep up the good snark, JB-23.
If you need to simulate your driver info-tainment center on an ipad because it’s too hard to use while driving down the road, then you’ve made a major design error.
Jack, way too harsh, is the XTS really the new Cadillac flagship? I thought it was a Buick Lacrosse upgrade or something.
It’s the flagship in that it’s the largest (and probably most luxurious) model in the lineup.
Thanks, I was thinking CTS-V as the flagship, but if this is supposed to be it, then I retract my “too harsh” comment.
That’s exactly the problem, Cadillac doesn’t have a flagship. Not only don’t they have one, they don’t have the coherence in their lineup to even say what kind of car the flagship they don’t have ought to be.
Of course a luxury company ought to have a flagship, so every new model is judged on filling the shoes of the 70s D-body by older people, the Escalade by younger people, and fails miserably at both.
Nothing to see here. Just GM GMing their way into another bailout.
Wow, you’re really versed in Cadillac’s plans.
Then you obviously already know the XTS is expressly not a flagship.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/02/13/cadillac-says-no-to-xts-v-considers-larger-flagship/
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f15/cadillac-readying-flagship-above-xts-94576/
https://www.google.com/search?q=xts+not+flagship&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=&oe=
Just because it’s the largest car they make doesn’t make it a flagship. The Escalade is much closer to that definition for Cadillac.
Agreed, but the Escalade is a warmed over Chevrolet truck and as time goes on the Escalade could eventually go away just as the Navi will.
The next gen CTS which is undergoing testing and due out in little over a year will be larger and more luxurious and thus, a more proper competitor in the mid-size luxury sedan segment.
A fastback styled RWD sedan based on the Omega platform and likely the replacment for the XTS (but not necessarily the “flagship”) is planned to launch in about 2 1/2 years and in all likelihood there will be a “flagship” sedan as well as other models (coupe, roadster) built off the Omega platform.
So in due time, Cadillac should have a pretty extensive lineup and one that puts Lincoln’s to shame.
Yeah, the Escalade (which I never cared for) is essentially a lightly reskinned Chevy SUV, but the same thing applies to the Lexus, Infiniti and Lincoln SUVs.
I am having a hard time understanding why giving away an ipad is a bad thing. Just because its been done? I think this car serves a purpose, it is not intended to be a bahn stormer. Is it beneath Caddy to produce a FWD car to appeal to the country club set, retirement communities and livery services in this country. Mmmmm. I dont know. The car looks reasonably good. Should be fairly luxurious, is offered in AWD…..I think. I guess I just dont understand why everything that Cadillac makes that doesnt have a V8 and RWD has to automatically suck. Merc, BMW and Audi make small cars with smaller engines and still manage to escape the hate. Audi offers FWD models. Does Audi even offer a RWD model? I guess they have no lux cred. Especially since they use a VW 2.0 T in their most popular models. These arguements against Cadillac just dont make sense. Its almost as if you want Cadillac to implement your suggestion of a V8 and RWD in everything just so they can fail. The market wants options.
It’s because people just read a hater’s article. Bitch bitch. The interior is world class and unique, and someone said it better than me: “why does every luxury car need to be a sportscar”? Was the Sedan DeVille always a fast car? Hell no. The early 80s Cadillacs had nothing but unremarkable gas guzzling egines. If you’re referring to a Cadillac from 50 years ago, well people bitched about the new Charger having four doors too. Go read Autoextemist and be a shut-in like DeLorenzo.
World class and unique? Assuming they haven’t test-driven a Lacrosse in a year or three, then okay, I guess… Seriously, I don’t see anything here “world class” by a long shot, but I didn’t have that expectation to begin with.
You’re comparing this to the LaCrosse? Way off, but OK fine. Even the Lacrosse has a perfectly competitive interior and stylish too. Some everyone is pooping on the XTS styling, you can’t tell me the A6 isnt also a total blob with pinches, or that it’s interior isn’t self-serious and dour like a pair of fancy pants Swedish eyeglass frames.
The guy with the Midweat analogy is getting the point. At some point you don’t want to feel every expansion joint. At some point you want to be coddled by your car when you get home from three connecting flights and it’s 11pm on a freezing weekday. The MKS does the same thing. A helluva nice car, enough power, and boatloads of luxury. Go fast and straight for a long time. The whole Nurburgring thing annoys me. Have you sat in a CTS? Cramped. Should a Cadillac be cramped?
This whole blog is hooked on a very old concept of what Cadillac “should be”.
“Merc, BMW and Audi make small cars with smaller engines and still manage to escape the hate.”
Umm..
errr…
Hoo, this is awkward…
The XTS, well… it Isn’t a small car.
It is, a very large car.. the largest non-SUV Cadillac makes in fact… bigger than Cadillac’s V-8 powered RWD CTS-V.
Picture the engines from the BMW 1-series, in the 7-series.
Do you know I could actually do that with one if the engines from the 1 Series, picture it that is.. Or I could do one better and go down to my local BMW dealership and have them show me the engine bay of the 740i which uses the same engine from the 135i.
Ummm
errr….
Thanks for the update captian outofcontext…..I guess.
Note to self, XTS…is ….not…compact…car. (<-Sarcasm) I guess those guys that make political ads out of quotations of partial sentences and 5 second soundbytes in lengthy speaches have to come from somewhere.
HEY KIDS YOU CAN GO STEAL GRANDPA’S NEW IPAD! HE’LL NEVER MISS IT!
Gosh I’m so glad GM has changed. Perhaps I’ll be able to pick up an XTS for pennies on the dollar a few years from now when the supply of 2000-2005 Park Avenues has exhausted itself.
Now that the Northstar is gone, a used Caddy may be right on the money.
Don’t do it! Go for the Lucerne!
I can’t disagree, Buick has a proven reliability track record over Cadillac.
Where the heck’s that Lambda-based Cadillac…er…XRX?
Engineers meeting with the marketing department, in an unnamed corporation. Some names and detail has been changed to protect the hapless.
-This truly sucks.
-Make it cool, hip, something that wild child Dinozzo on NCIS would want.
-But our product does not serve it’s intended purpose. NCIS, Dinozzo?
-Ad iWhatever and stop being such a Gibbs.
-But come on, this thing is awful, that fact will not change with added apple products, and what is a Gibbs?
-Make an app.
-Eeeh, is that going to make the slightest difference to our product’s performance? What the hell does our product even need an app for?
-Facebook integration.
-But we manufacture cheese graters. Sure people writes stuff ’bout nothing all the time, but why the hell do you need facebook when we’re grinding cheese?
-Status update
-You’re actually saying that somebody will post “grating cheese” then “done grating cheese, Robinson’s cheese graters sure are swell!”, it takes like 30 seconds to grate enough cheese to clog every artery from here to San Diego. It makes no sense at all. SO why the HELL does a cheese grater need the iThingi and app to post status updates on Facebook?!
-Added value.
-What added value, if you want a god damn maxipad you buy a god damn maxipad not a cheese grater.
-Twitter!
-Jeeeeeesus, Your just spouting tecno-lingo, aren’t you?! So why the-mother-intercourse-iGizmo?
-Fine, Fine, we’ll put the owners manual on the iWillruletheworld
-You haven’t thought about the fact that a cheese graters lasts like FOREVER!? I’m on my fourth iPhone this week, that means that we’ll have to include a printed owners manual, negating the only possible point of the iPutz, while the underlying problem with our non grating cheese grater still remains.
-It worked for Samsung cheese graters, and they didn’t even have an App.
-Well there cheese grater actually worked.
-But our focus groups shows that our buyers thinks iWuzlaWoo’s are what the young people are all about, that and that there’s no shame in erectile dysfunction.
-But.
-No buts. iPlod it is.
iLoL’d :)
“I’m no Jen Friel…”
Pity.
Shagging everything in sight and then writing about it… hmm. Perhaps they have more in common than we know.
I suspect that when the annoying Jen Friel over-shares, she’s telling the truth in excruciating detail. Jack, though, seems to spin a lot of tall tales to his fanboy base here at TTAC. I’m not saying JB never gets any, I’m sure he does, but some of his legend is in his own mind. It’s OK by me, Jack’s a much better writer than Friel and pretty much every auto hack. He’s entitled to exaggeration now and then, IMHO…
@Bomberpete
So, basically what you’re saying is sorta like…
When Jen Friel does…
“So I met this guy, he was cute enough so I showed him my trick with the hot-dog. He was good to go so we went and [REDACTED] in this wicked abandoned church, though he had some trouble getting it up since I’d [REDACTED] him until he [REDACTED] twice on the ride over… I think I still have some in my hair.”
She writes… **Warning** (I have never actually read Jen Friel so the following may not accurately reflect her writing style.)
“So I met this guy, he was cute enough so I showed him my trick with the hot-dog. He was good to go so we went and [REDACTED] in this wicked abandoned church, though he had some trouble getting it up since I’d [REDACTED] him until he [REDACTED] twice on the ride over… I think I still have some in my hair.”
But when Jack Baruth does..
“I met this lovely lady of pleasing proportions and asked if she would mind my companionship for the evening. She assented in a positive light and we had a delicious repast at a fine but not ostentatious restaurant before repairing to a tasteful hotel, that one down the road from that picturesque church, where she intimated that she was indeed quite keen and thus we spent much of the night most ardently entwined.”
He writes…
“So let me tell you about the first time I met Whiskey O’Mammaries. There I was, and there she was, and there They were about to leap out of her sweater at me. I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I refused such a gracious invitation, but suggested we have dinner first as I am after all an old-fashioned kinda guy. She knew just the place, and we were off to this quaint little hole-in-the-something called the Donkey’s Bollocks, just off the Red-Light district. She suggested the steak and while I told her that feeding me red meat was ill-advised she insisted, so while she dined on the finest sauteed baby-seal hearts and roast suckling polar-bear cub I tucked-in to a fantastic 666oz. steroid and hormone braised porterhouse.”
“With my furnace so stoked I was already a bit apprehensive for the safety of my partner, but then she suggested adding some ‘spice’ to the evening’s festivities. So, we broke into Saint Angalina-Consuala-Juanita-Isabella’s Lady of Immaculate Chastity Cathedral during the midnight mass and proceeded to un-consecrate the alter most vigorously.”
“It was all a blur, but by the third day I was finally slaked. There was no sign of O’Mammaries, and the figure hiding under the stained shroud I found I’d been using as a blanket made a most disheartening bleating-noise. I understand they founded a satanic commune on the spot after I left.”
I don’t think I write about getting laid *that* often. I mean, I write about it more than Dutch Mandel does, but that’s only because nobody wants to read about ordering a steak from room service, charging it to Bentley, stuffing it into a shoe, and banging it while you cry over declining circulation numbers.
@Jack: That Dutch Mandel imagery is the single most disgusting thing I’ve read this year, and I read a lot. THANK YOU!
Man that hurts Jack.
“… but wait, there’s more!”
Oh, I suspect XTS owners will be “accessing the full power” of this hopeless sled every time the road curves slightly upwards.
Best guesses I can find for the XTS are 4000 pounds and 300 horsepower.
That’s not exactly “lumbering, underpowered dinosaur” territory.
(The 2012 Avalon weighs a bit less, and has a bit less power, but gets to 60 in udner 7 seconds. I don’t expect the XTS to do any worse.
So for the love of God, spare me the “it can barely go up a hill” line; like a lot of people here, I’ve driven [every day currently drive] a car that’s genuinely underpowered.
I’m not remotely a Cadillac fanboy, but… seriously?)
It’s the same old wails and the same old argument. Anyone who complains about any modern car being underpowered was not driving from about 1976 to about 1994.
’84 Celica GT-S — 0 to 60 in 11.8 seconds, and we were HAPPY
Acura Integra RS – held aloft on a pedestal – 0 to 60 in about 9.3 seconds and that was eye ball popping, DAYUM at the time.
In the late 1970’s you could count on one hand the number of cars with more than 200 HP – and I don’t think any of them affordable to the masses.
Today people complain that 0 to 60 in 9 seconds is “unsafe” while a VW Microbus or original Bug could measure 0 to 60 in minutes, not seconds. ;-)
So bah to the wails of “too slow.”
“So bah to the wails of ‘too slow.\'”
How about wails of “you need to rev it too much”? I like my big Cadillacs to stay under 4000, not to be just getting started at 4500.
I don’t think a 300hp Cadillac is too slow, heck I didn’t think the 275hp Northstar powered cars were too slow. In fact I have sampled the direct injected VVT 3.6V6 in a current Impala (fleet model). I thought the engine and new 6 speed transmission worked as well together as nearly any I have sampled.
V6 is just two few of a number of cylinders for a Cadillac. If Lexus sudenly came out with a V6 powered LS I’d be bashing them too. Hell I think the Hyundai Genisis should be V8 only.
The problem with a high reving engine in a Caddy is the demographic that will likely buy these cars will NEVER get the engine reved up to that sweet spot.
An Explorer with the 3.5 V6 lacks torque for the all-important stoplight drags… But for people who are not knuckle dragging gear heads, it has more than enough torque to chug up a 30 degree incline in second gear. nothing with 300 hp and 4000 lbs (some 500 less than that huge chunk o’ truck) will ever need to rev past 3000 rpm.
And given the target demographic, I’d be surprised if they ever rev it past 2000…
@Ajila
Here Here! Who in America (F*-Yeah!) is really interested in a car with an engine that revs to OVER NINE-THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!rpm?
Revving OVER NINE-THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!rpm is totally not necessary in any proper car in America (F*-Yeah!) that’s set-up in a proper American (F*-Yeah!) way with enough low-end grunt to impregnate an entire village in French Indo-China and a power-band as wide as Vodka McBigbra’s bust.
Engines that rev OVER NINE-THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!rpm are for effete eurotrash who like to pretend they’re Formula 1 drivers when they’re in the car, which is all well and good since they’re usually in the car alone.
*Warning*
*The above is just a joke… mostly.* ;)
I would be cool if the service manual was on there. And if the iPad was wrapped in cellophane.
My mother in law bought a LS460L AWD to drive her 98 year old mom and 104 year old Aunt (I kid you not) around.
They all ride in the car with a multitude of pillows and blankets because they can not: a)properly adjust the seats and b)control the temperature.
Good luck to GM….
Wow.
My grandmother used to do the same thing with a 1977 Malibu Classic sedan. White, red interior, red vinyl top. My 5’2″ grandmother needed pillows behind her back to see over the hood.
So, this is where Dilbert works.
Are we supposed to hate Cadillac now? I didn’t get the memo.
Yes. You’ll have to wait until next month’s sales data to see if we’re hating the Volt again.
Shiny objects distracted me, I bought a new XTS coupe. Oh, crap ! It looks like a Pontiac G6.
You raised my hopes there for a second with the untrue V8 XTS rumors…..
Now we’ll have to just wait five years to be able to put a proper motor in this thing, when the warranties and depreciation mean that it makes sense to do so. Although honestly, I’d be real surprised if GM doesn’t put in the new smallblock when it’s ready in about two years. It just makes too much sense for them not to do so. Here’s hoping Cadillac comes to their senses and puts in a good engine eventually, like they did with the SRX this past year.
….’cause honestly people, a big Caddy just can’t be called such without a real 8 cylinder engine. This company invented the V8 for crissakes, it would be like Porche ditching the straight six or the same with BMW (oh wait……)
On the bright side, I’m sure that we’ll be able to swap a V8 in this thing in due course, and the ATS is already compatible with the smallblock even if it’s not installed at the factory.
As it is, the 300hp motor should be more than enough engine for this car to please its customers, my only worry is that older V8 purists will be turned off. It should be fast enough as is however, at least this car ain’t getting a dog engine like the Olds Diesel or the 4.1!!!
Now for some good news: a rumor’s afoot at the Cadillac forum that the ATS-V could be getting the new smallblock after all…..
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-ats-v-series-forum/250225-ats-v-wishlist-10.html
Heh, My fugging Golf nearly came with a free ipad. I had them cut 500 of the price instead.
“Because the average buyer of this car, who is too old and feeble to properly operate an Etch-A-Sketch, has been dying to play some Angry Birds on his owner’s manual.”
^This^
My 84 year old neighbor bought a 2011 SRX. When he bought it, he said to me, “You know, I think Cadillac is going backward. My old Cadillac (2009 CTS) had the standard radio that included a multi-disc CD changer in the dash. This new car has the standard radio, but only a single disc CD player.” At that, I pointed to the USB port in the SRX. Geezer was like, “What?” “That”, said I. “Whats that?”, asked the geezer. “It’s a USB port”, says I. “A US-what port?”, asks the geezer. I proceeded to help him rip over 30 CD’s to .mp3, and loaded them onto a USB stick. I plugged the stick into the USB port and turned on the radio. The old dude sat there with his mouth hanging open like a member of some lost Amazonian tribe that had just seen a cigarette lighter for the first time in his life.
BTW, gramps is a retired mechanical engineer.
Find out if he’s gone back to CDs. If so, he’s a geezer. If he’s since bought a few more USB sticks, he’s fine.
He hasn’t gone back to CD’s. When he wants to add new music, he calls me for help.
“Cadillac dealer [will be] required to have two “certified technology experts” on duty, plus a CUE call center for owners, an online media team looks for CUE questions to answer, and a mobile CUE specialist who makes house calls”
And an iPad which users will most likely have to learn how to use in order to learn how to use any of this stuff.
Maybe it’s the old usability nerd in me talking, but Jesus Hotwheels Christ. Are you kidding me?
Instead of a key, do people log in using their Facebook account? Is the onscreen UI responsive so the layout looks good even if the car is tipped on its side or crushed to 1/2 its original width? Does the nav system use Baratunde Thurston’s voice? Does it employ the concepts of GAMIFICATION?
“When marketing people win, kittens die.” – Jared Spool
Jack, you need to lay off Cadillac. They’ve been roaming in the dark for so long even the Execs don’t know what a Caddy is supposed to be.
I don’t like this ATS, CTS, DTS, STD, XTS, crap as much as you but Caddy salesmen do. I’m pretty confident in saying that they need the ATS as a “loss” leader. Re-badged Suburbans, Tahoes or the old DTS can only get you so far.
I had a 66 CDV that would cruise steady at 120+ in the rain. I loved that car. “Dorifto-ing” that 429 powered beast on I55 ramps at speeds that may have caused the O2 masks to drop in a 707 was so much fun. Those days are gone though.
As much as I’d love to see a 20+ foot long Cadillac on the showroom floor. There’s no way it’ll ever happen again.
Yeah! except ’69 CDV
I’ll include a 69 CDV. As far as Cadillac goes, she died in 1970..
I agree with the era of the big 20ft Caddys being gone, but at the same time Jack has a point they are just embarrassing themselves at this point. There is a way to bring back key Cadillac design cues while still staying in the 21st century. They consciously chose to ignore the Cadillac heritage and build ugly -er polarizing- Opel clones. Buick/Cadillac is so desperate to attract a younger crowd I think they are going to alienate their base and *still* fail to get Gen X/Y. Chevrolet is large enough you can have a few duds over the years (HHR, SSR, Aveo) and still move volume from successful models (Camaro, Malibu, Cruze). Buick/Cadillac cannot afford to do this, Cadillac’s unique models now consist of the XTS, the Catera family, and Chevy SUV/CUVs, Buick has the LaCrosse, Regal, and an upscale Cruze and Traverse. Sooo what’s totally unique to those brands, Regal and the Cateras? What happens if sales start to drag on one of those? Wake up RenCen, were not bailing you out again!
GM has a Very bad habit of this.. it’s starting to become a pattern.
1. Marketing identifies that the core customer-base for a given brand is largely made-up of an undesirable demographic (Oldsmobile = Old-Fogeys, Pontiac = Redneck, etc… etc…)
2. Corporate OK’s a new campaign to totally alienate their most loyal customers.
3. Marketing approaches a much more desirable demographic with, “Hey, look at us! We’ve kicked to the curb all those un-cool and un-hip people that used to buy our stuff, Love Us!”
4. Desirable demographic goes, “Hmmmm, no.”
5. Left without a customer-base the brand goes through a round of downsizing, cost-cutting, badge-engineering to keep itself profitable enough to pay it’s executive bonuses.
6. Repeat.
While the older crowd may (will always?) struggle with new tech, why use new tech to serve old purposes? If you want to provide an electronic owner’s manual, use a Kobo or any other generic e-reader. If you want to demonstrate your techno prowess, employ an iPad, or the favorite tablet du jour, for instrumentation and/or HVAC and/or infotainment controls. Replacing (almost) all instrumentation and controls with a customizable app for the popular tablets of the day should save on design and engineering overhead. The tablet would simply serve as one more interface in the vehicle’s information network. It’s services could extend to advanced diagnostics and service support, which may also reduce the cost of field servicing and technical support.
Of course, it’s probably much easier to preload a few PDFs designed to help customers understand the complicated controls that were specifically designed and engineered to deliver the unique experience intended by the brand.
“Older crowd” is a nice way to put things. I’m 2 years from 40. I’m in Cadillac’s target market too. For a CTS.
I’m not about to buy a Ring Meister. I live in the damned Midwest. I want to know how much fuel I’m going to burn between Chicago and Davenport or Davenport and St. Louis. And how comfortable am I going to be..
It’s a straight run. And flat always flat..
Kids..
I can’t disagree – the XTS is a really bad 4,000lbs re-badged idea with an engine that is not in keeping with Cadillac brand values. Its a great engine in a V6 Camaro but it needs way too many revs before it gets going.
I bet the bean counters take the iPad away next model year.
This would work much better with the Chevy Sonic.
OMG…God forbid a company try and makes it’s age demographic younger. Who does Cadillac think they are?
Just be happy they are not in the same shape that the tarted up Ford brand is….
When somebody has an accident while using his Caddy-iPad, will GM get sued?
I don’t care if they throw a Commodore 64 on the XTS’s hood (won’t fit in the glovebox, don’t you know?), the styling has me at a loss, much in the same way as the Buick upon which it’s based. The thing is a blob. There is a distinctive nose molded into a non-descript beltline that sits far too high, like an old man with his trousers pulled past his belly button, just below his sagging nipples (as mine will be, far too soon).
There are excellent write-ups, elsewhere on this blog, from Sajeev, Vellum Venom. Fearless Prediction of the week: 20 years from now, you will NOT see one of Sajeeve’s proginy doing a write-up on this turd, and not because Sajeev’s youngins won’t have the wherewithal or outlet. Quite, simply, none of us will care. This Caddy is as forgettable as they come.
They could wedge a V-16 under the hood, heck, load it up with a cold fusion reactor driven turbine…NO ONE WILL GIVE A CRAP.
Auto sales, at this price point, are driven by passion. Passion takes inspired design, real investment that extends beyond the fiduciary, and the willingness to take a risk. This XTS, and the recent SRX I drove are devoid of all of the above.
That being said, I still don’t know what would drive someone to buy one Phaeton, let alone both.
I expect higher praise for the Hyundai Azera from my VV “proginy”, as you put it. But then again, I haven’t seen this badge engineered not-Caddy in the flesh yet.
Well put.
I think the XTS is probably no more competitive than the MKS, a car that’s perceived by the cognoscenti as out of touch and a failure as a flagship.
The sales stats say otherwise though.
The MKS was barely outsold by the leader S-Class last year in the US (12,217 vs 12,258 units according to Good Car Bad Car). These are high profit models, and I’m sure XTS will do well if they can match those volumes. Let’s hope Lincoln and Cadillac get their branding fixed along the way.
Sorry, but the fact that the Lincoln MKS can barely match the sales of a car that costs anywhere from two to three times as much hardly makes it a “success.” And I say this as someone who is rooting for Lincoln’s revival.
How the MKS fare versus the E-class? That’s the “stat” that matters.
Agreed, Ford doesn’t have an S-Class competitor as of this point.
Do ANY of the big three have an S-class competitor at this point?
The MKS..V6 with the power of a V8 and the fuel econ of well…a V8
Didn’t Cadillac want to get rid of the rural dealerships and then discover that those 400-600 little rural dealers, selling a few cars a month, were important when you don’t build/sell a car that most people would drive a few hundred miles to buy from a “city dealer”? I’m not sure how these little dealerships will provide the level of service that Cadillac wants on this.
I’d love to join in on all this condescension for seniors, but I won’t,because I once was told by a person holding a meeting that,”Generational constructs are paramount to producing the synergy needed for marketing to proceed on a go forward basis.” Gibberish? No.He had the latest laptop,and he was,like,younger than everyone else. Of course later,when we were setting up desks for a new office,he displayed the spatial intelligence capabilities of a retarded kitten.Just remember,it ain’t all about the IT,and old people still have most of the money,so insulting them won’t loosen the purse strings for the myriad internet start-ups they often fund merely for write-offs.As for Cadillac,they need to make their trannys last longer than 70k miles,as my 81 yr old father’s ’03 Deville has been unceremoniously dumped,and my inheritance depleted,for a slightly used ’07 Infiniti M45 sport.He works that MMI screen as if he’d owned a computer.
I’m hopeful that the XTS and ATS will make Cadillac relevant as a brand again. While not targeted at my demographic (late twenties professional), the XTS has more presence than the other full size luxury marques, and just *feels* like a Cadillac to me. I think the symbol naming is silly, but it’s what all the other brands are doing.
I’m excited to hear a full review of the ATS and XTS when those models are available – iPad sillyness and all!
If the iPad could connect to the car’s OBDII system and read / translate trouble codes then that might be an interesting idea. How difficult would it be to have a Bluetooth transmitter connected to the car’s main bus?
Unfortunately, I predict that a lot of people will find that their iPad / Instruction Manual will have a flat battery at the same as their shiny Cadillac breaks down at the side of the road.
I’m surprised at how strong the hate is. The XTS looks like a solid car inside and out. The interior is actually quite lovely (perhaps better looking than anything Cadillac has ever created), I think, and I see nothing wrong with offering an iPad as a small incentive.
I’ll bet the 300 plus HP V6 is not only faster but smoother, quieter and better on fuel than any Northstar Deville or DTS before it. Also most people looking at this car will not know if it has FWD or RWD or AWD. The striking XTS at the annual car show sure had a presence that was lacking in most of the other foreign luxury cars sitting nearby and judging by the horde of people standing around it at all times, I think this car will be a good seller for Cadillac like the SRX is. A V8 would be nice but Cafe is quickly killing the V8 and now V6 engines in future car offerings so the 300 plus HP 3.6 suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. In fact this very same engine is outputting 321 horses in the entry ATS. I have driven two cars with the 3.6, a 2012 Impala and a 2012 LaCrosse with the Chevy using 2.44:1 gears and the Buick 2.77:1 and it was a sweet motor in both rides capable of 6 second 0-60 times. The XTS may have better gears for more off the line power so time will tell.
Having seen the XTS in real life, all I can say is that I did not find it attractive at all. It has awkward proportions and the Cadillac styling cues cannot hide this fact. If anything, this particular application of the Art & Science look aggravates this problem.
The bottom line is that this car is simply not as attractive as its platform mates, the (new) Chevrolet Impala and Buick LaCrosse. Out of the three, the XTS is by far the LEAST attractive.
‘Art & Science’ is neither.
I can remember the first ad I saw trumpeting this new design philosophy at Cadillac. Granted the old way of making rectangular bargemobiles that were visually indistinguishable from platform-mates among the other marks in GM’s stable was definately not working, they needed some new hotness to sweep away the old and busted.
But, the New Hotness was just a pile of trapazoids, and the old-and-busted? The commercial didn’t hold up for ridicule the tired styling of the 80’s barges, but the strikingly handsome styling of the late 50’s dream-boats.
This.. was Unforgivable, and from that moment forward Cadillac was dead to me.
I fail to see who would by this car over a Buick Lacrosse or Chevy Impala..
Hopefully legroom will be superior in the XTS, that will cause a certain demographic to consider it. (I am in that demographic at only 35 years old because I like roomy backseats without buying a freaking SUV or CUV or minivan.
And that’s exactly what it is, a failure on your part. There is a market for this car and I predict that it will be a success within that market. Just because you are not part of that market doesn’t change that fact.
This being TTAC, I expect an anti-GM/Cadillac position, but this is really stretching it when it comes to attacking GM.
So Cadillac is offering an iPad with the XTS which Hyundai had previously done with the Equus – WHO CARES!!
Yeah, maybe GM should have made the FWD the flagship Buick instead of a Cadillac, but at this juncture, the XTS is a “one-off” stop-gap measure – serving as a transition model until the other Cadillac products make their way thru the pipeline (right now, there are no plans for a 2nd generation XTS).
And even if TTAC wants to harp on the FWD XTS, I don’t see TTAC giving the same sort of treatment to the BEST-selling Lexus sedan, a “warmed-over” CAMRY-based model known as the ES, much less the entire Lincoln lineup.
Unlike Lincoln, Cadillac in a few years will have a pretty complete lineup of RWD sedans – the entry ATS, the larger and more luxurious CTS and (just recently confirmed by Car & Driver) a RWD fastback-styled sedan that will likely pave the way for the XTS being discontinued (as a Cadillac anyway).
http://blog.caranddriver.com/cadillacs-omega-platform-comes-into-focus-rwd-xts-successor-on-the-way-long-rumored-flagship-and-more-derivatives-still-being-discussed/
With the likelihood of another Omega-based vehicle slated to be the “flagship” of the Cadillac fleet.
Compare this to what Ford is doing with Lincoln or Honda with Acura – but this being TTAC, we’ll see more diatribes on GM than on the “warmed over” Fords and Hondas masquerading as luxury models.
But nah, we’re not going to hear about these developments for Cadillac on TTAC.
Normally, I don’t contradict the readers. It’s important for everyone who contributes via comment to have their voice heard and respected.
In this case, however, I cannot remain silent.
You think TTAC doesn’t REGULARLY call out the ES for being a Camry? Use the search function. The word “Camry” appears in Lexus reviews with a hammering regularity that verges on the Bonham-esque.
Now for these pipe dreams and other crap regarding Cadillac. FOR THIRTY F**KING YEARS we’ve been hearing that “the real Cadillacs are just around the corner.” I’m over it and you should be too. The Cadillac buyer has been asked to buy TODAY’s product on the putative strength of TOMORROW’s product since time immemorial. It’s lame, it’s ridiculous, and nobody else does it.
I’m not a Cadillac basher or “hater”. I’m a Cadillac CUSTOMER and current owner of a Lincoln Town Car who wants the company to succeed.
To lead, not to follow.
To excel, not to excuse.
To kick ass, not take a back seat to the competition.
That’s the TRUTH about TTAC.
BOOOOOOM!
“In this case, however, I cannot remain silent.” ~JB-23
Snarked ya again!™ ~The Snark About Cars.com
Awesome, Jack!
While I can’t speak for the older reviews, the most recent review of the Lexus ES, while referencing the ES-Camry connection, is much LESS snarkier in tone than the recent articles about Cadillac and the XTS.
In his review of the outgoing ES, Alex Dykes actually points out something against the Lexus ES detractors.
— People that dislike the ES or the Lexus brand usually resort to one phrase: “It’s just a fancy Toyota.” The ES350 shares essentially NO touch-points or sheetmetal with the Camry (unlike the Lincoln MKZ and Ford Fusion), but they do share a drivetrain. —
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/03/review-2012-lexus-es350/
And this doesn’t sound like “snark” to me; in fact, it sounds like quite the opposite).
— “As the ES’s sales record has proved, I’m NOT ALONE in LIKING what many UNFAIRLY call a gilded Camry.” —
And the “snark” directed at Cadillac is not just about the XTS, but in general.
Cadillac will have the RWD ATS and in about 16 months, a larger and more luxurious CTS to be followed with an Omega-based RWD sedan (with plans for an even higher-end Omega based sedan or other body-type likely being greenlit).
I don’t care for the XTS either, but I don’t think it’s that difficult to give Cadillac some sort of pass for it being a stop-gap measure until the rest of its RWD lineup makes its way thru the pipeline.
Fine, “snark” at the XTS, but in this and in other posts, you have been snarking at Cadillac as a whole; at the very least while snarking at the XTS, you could have mentioned the more exciting products that Cadillac is about to launch or has in the pipeline.