Cts-v

[stevengerard]

I saw one parked on the street today, very interesting as I haven't seen one since I was comparing it to the MM before I made my final decision. As nice of a car as it is I realized today it has the GTO identity problem. It just didn't look different enough and mean enough. I also forgot how small it is. That's what I like about the MM and even the 1st generation SHO, based off a normal platform but boy all the muscle car queues one needs to set it a part. Only difference on the CTS is the V badge and the grill - maybe something else but it certainly didn't register!

[bigslim]

Bigger wheels, larger airdam, and tips on the dual exhaust differentiate the CTS-V from the lesser CTS not to mention 400 hp. I saw one and thought it was done right. Not too much and pretty low-key like if BMW or Mercedes had done it.

[Logan]

You're kidding right? A CTS-V looks nothing like the GTO, and it's LS6 & 6 Speed combo is lifted straight from a Z06 Vette. The interior is very nicely appointed and extremely comfortable. The gearing is very well spaced and the thing get's up and MOVES... Very well done car.

In short, the GTO and CTS-V shouldn't even be getting compared to one another...But then again, it shouldn't get compared to Marauder either, different price league. :) At least, I know my Marauder doesn't ship with Brembo's... Sigh...

If it wasn't for the $18k premium over marauder and the nasty axle hop problem it has, I'd be daily driving one by now...

[Sactown]

I saw one and thought it was done well for a Caddy. I just wish it had an auto trans option. It did have a Caddy pricce though.. :shake:

[TAF]

If it wasn't for the $18k premium over marauder and the nasty axle hop problem it has, I'd be daily driving one by now...
I think the CTS-V is an excellent car...for female real estate agents...I've seen a few of them here in the A-T-L....even a couple pink ones...;) :D

[rookie1]

If it wasn't for the $18k premium over marauder and the nasty axle hop problem it has, I'd be daily driving one by now...

ditto! except I'd live with the axle hop. I drove one of these and they flat out go. The interior is one the best designs in any GM vehicle also.

[Silver_04]

GM is already offering dealer installed performance upgrades on the CTS-V too. The CTS-V also has HID head lamps, dual playback navigation system, six lug wheels, suede inserts in the seats and substantial chassis stiffening over the regular CTS. I only got to sit in the one at work but I probably would've gotten in trouble if I got to take it out for a spin :)

[woaface]

I saw a black one at Romano's Macaroni Grill and one with it's hood up at s in the past month.

I think it looks great in person! I love the grill. It's got very definitive styling. The Marauder does one thing and the CTS-V does another...Besides, the
CTS-V has a manual:shot:

[Logan]

I think the CTS-V is an excellent car...for female real estate agents...I've seen a few of them here in the A-T-L....even a couple pink ones...;) :D

You sure that wasn't marty in drag? :lol:

[TAF]

You sure that wasn't marty in drag? :lol:
Alright! Who told the "Marty dressed in drag story from last Friday night" to Logan!:lol:

Pics to follow...

[RF Overlord]

I think the CTS-V is an excellent car...for female real estate agents...

ROFLMAO, Todd...!!!!!!!!!

I still agree with the poster who said it looks like a snowplow... *ugh*

[ADE 1000]

If I had $50K to burn, I would buy a CTS-V in a heartbeat. I would love nothing more than to have two LS6 powered vehicles in the garage.

I have seen a couple of CTS-Vs on the road and at the local dealership. I think they did an excellent job, the changes are subtle yet give the car an aggresive stance. I agree that it does not have the size of the Marauder, but at least it has the goods under the hood.

There are supposidly revisions coming to the rear suspension of the CTS-V to help cure the axle hop, along with an upgraded engine from the C6 Z06. I am also looking forward to the STS-V, which will be more of the size I am looking for along with a rumored 450hp. :coolman:

[stevengerard]

I tried the car as well, I think it is fantastic, espacially when you compare it to an $85k M5. I'm glad it is out there and I almost bought one, except I couldn't justify the extra $20k. I'm too practical at this point in my life -otherwise I would have spent $45k on a '98 Viper GTS. They are different cars, I'm just saying that I saw one on the street and as much as I like the styling of the CTS I guess this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe because it wasn't black.

As I said I kind of like the subtle clues, like the difference between an old Cutlass and 442, from 10-0 feet away they are the same car, same with the Taurus and the SHO, as well as the CTS and the CTS-V. But it just looked too much like the CTS - not sure why but I just said blah - glad I bought the MM.

[RCSignals]

substantial chassis stiffening over the regular CTS.
It has to. The CTS was engineered for the V6 powertrain. It'd break apart otherwise. To me the stiffening they had to do shows lack of forethought and looks rather patchwork.
See the bar tying the front end together that crosses over the engine?

[Silver_04]

It has to. The CTS was engineered for the V6 powertrain. It'd break apart otherwise. To me the stiffening they had to do shows lack of forethought and looks rather patchwork.
See the bar tying the front end together that crosses over the engine?

Ya' don't say. :shake: At least GM went ahead and beefed up the car for the increased power and performance, unlike Mercury did with the Marauder and its noodle of a driveshaft and flimsy control arms. So what if GM had to go back and stiffen the car. As long as it was done right who cares. You look at the chassis improvements as patch work, I look at them and am glad to see GM has given the Caddy a chassis/suspension that matches the driveline.

Yes, I've seen that bar across the engine most people know it as a strut/shock tower brace. And what's wrong it? That's quite a popular mod for performance cars to stiffen the front end and Mustangs used to come with them from the factory too. And given GM is already offering a carbon fiber strut/shock tower replacement for the original one is cool. If I could put a strut/shock tower brace and subframe connectors on the Marauder, I would.

[jerrym3]

The CTS V just makes the Lincoln LS look weaker, and weaker, and weaker...........

Like the GTO product or not, at least General Motors is putting some life into it's Pontiac and Caddy line of cars.

Except for the Mustang and the GT, can't say the same for Ford, and I'm a Ford man.

What do they have to offer for the buyer who wants some performance and is not in the GT price range?

A Crown Vic LX Sport with a less than ten HP increase over the taxicab version. (I think they may have even stopped offering the optional lower [3:27/1]axle ratio in the Towncar.)

The 500 and Montego don't look like any worldbeaters when it comes to performance, so Ford better get it's head out of the Explorer's exhaust pipe. Otherwise, any buyer looking for reasonable space and some performance will be shopping elsewhere.

[ADE 1000]

Ya' don't say. :shake: At least GM went ahead and beefed up the car for the increased power and performance, unlike Mercury did with the Marauder and its noodle of a driveshaft and flimsy control arms. So what if GM had to go back and stiffen the car. As long as it was done right who cares. You look at the chassis improvements as patch work, I look at them and am glad to see GM has given the Caddy a chassis/suspension that matches the driveline.

Yes, I've seen that bar across the engine most people know it as a strut/shock tower brace. And what's wrong it? That's quite a popular mod for performance cars to stiffen the front end and Mustangs used to come with them from the factory too. And given GM is already offering a carbon fiber strut/shock tower replacement for the original one is cool. If I could put a strut/shock tower brace and subframe connectors on the Marauder, I would.

My thoughts exactly. :rock:

Imagine if Ford did not take the easy way out and actually made a serious effort to shoehorn a blown 4.6 or the 5.4 into the Marauder? Strut tower brace be dammed, at least GM went for the gold and stuffed the best power train as possible into the CTS-V. And they did it pretty damn quickly too.

[RCSignals]

Ya' don't say. :shake: At least GM went ahead and beefed up the car for the increased power and performance, unlike Mercury did with the Marauder and its noodle of a driveshaft and flimsy control arms. So what if GM had to go back and stiffen the car. As long as it was done right who cares. You look at the chassis improvements as patch work, I look at them and am glad to see GM has given the Caddy a chassis/suspension that matches the driveline.

Yes, I've seen that bar across the engine most people know it as a strut/shock tower brace. And what's wrong it? That's quite a popular mod for performance cars to stiffen the front end and Mustangs used to come with them from the factory too. And given GM is already offering a carbon fiber strut/shock tower replacement for the original one is cool. If I could put a strut/shock tower brace and subframe connectors on the Marauder, I would.
:shake: you miss the point completely.

There is nothing wrong with the Marauder driveshaft, or control arms. No one has experienced any problem with them in a stock car. Few have even reported problems with them in a modified car. Can they be better for a modified car? sure. But modified cars aren't the issue in this discussion.

The CTS is under engineered for the "V" drivetrain. GM should have engineered for it, instead of making it an after thought, and later effort to make it work.

the strut tower brace is only necessary in a car that doesn't already have the required stiffness. It's to make up for lack of engineering.
A low dollar mustang requiring one is hardly justification for a high dollar and more modern Cadillac platform requiring one.

The Marauder does not require a shock tower brace strut, and it cetainly does not require "subframe connectors" You do know the difference between unibody and full frame?

[RCSignals]

The CTS V just makes the Lincoln LS look weaker, and weaker, and weaker...........

Like the GTO product or not, at least General Motors is putting some life into it's Pontiac and Caddy line of cars.

Except for the Mustang and the GT, can't say the same for Ford, and I'm a Ford man.

What do they have to offer for the buyer who wants some performance and is not in the GT price range?

A Crown Vic LX Sport with a less than ten HP increase over the taxicab version. (I think they may have even stopped offering the optional lower [3:27/1]axle ratio in the Towncar.)

The 500 and Montego don't look like any worldbeaters when it comes to performance, so Ford better get it's head out of the Explorer's exhaust pipe. Otherwise, any buyer looking for reasonable space and some performance will be shopping elsewhere.
I agree, and it's too bad, because the Lincoln LS is a much better platform than the CTS.

Ford has done a great job in the SUV/truck market, but at the expense of their passenger car line. They need to make cars more than just a side line.

The 500 and Montego are great next generation "Taurus/Sable's" but hardly fill the requirment for the passenger car line.

[ADE 1000]

I agree, and it's too bad, because the Lincoln LS is a much better platform than the CTS.



How on earth do you come to that conclusion???? I have always liked the LS, it is a nice handler but another half baked effort by Ford. I do not think it is a better vehicle than the CTS in any way. The DEW98 is not the winner that Ford thought it would be, especially in terms of packaging efficiency and cost. It will probably die whenever Ford kills the LS. Which based on the latest sales trends, might be sooner than later.

And to say that there is nothing wrong with the Marauders driveshaft is another ridiculous statement. A four door "sports sedan" rolling on Z-rated rubber has no excuse for topping out at 117mph. The CTS-V is on another level than the Marauder in stock form. And granted it should be for the price. The Marauder is not a pure sports sedan by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't think anyone should be comparing the execution of both cars either. Aside from the axle hop, I would say GM nailed it on the CTS-V. On the other hand, Ford missed the boat on too many things to mention on the Marauder.

[TripleTransAm]

I agree, and it's too bad, because the Lincoln LS is a much better platform than the CTS.


I liked the Lincoln LS and thoroughly enjoyed every minute behind the wheel, but I gotta admit I didn't see any future in trying to extract any extra ounce of performance out of that platform. Probably why I shifted the focus to the Marauder, even considering all its shortcomings in stock form, but that's a different story.

Arguing for arguing's sake aside, I don't really understand where the above quote came from. From all published data and road test accounts from folks on this site, it would seem the CTS platform migrated to 'V' status rather nicely.

Honestly, I think it IS possible to like other cars besides the Marauder AND remain a proud Marauder owner, so I'm not sure what the insecurity is all about. :help:

[RCSignals]

Honestly, I think it IS possible to like other cars besides the Marauder AND remain a proud Marauder owner, so I'm not sure what the insecurity is all about. :help:
There is no insecurity on my part. I didn't make a comaparison with the Marauder.
I like the fact that RWD cars like the CTS-V and GTO are appearing, rather than further disappearing in favour of more FWD boxes, and wish for their success. It's only good for the entire genre.

I like that the CTS/CTS-V is aimed squarely at the German competition, it's about time.

[stevengerard]

Wow all I meant was after seeing the CTS-V again I was still happy with my MM purchase. Yeah I like that we are getting more to choose from as well. I've tried every American "muscle" car that has came out in the last decade hoping for a cross between the MM and the CTS-V. I'm happy with the MM and appreciate the V but its too small and too expensive (yet a super value compared to the European competition). Early on I really wanted the LS-6 or LS-8 to be the car of choice but they just didn't do enough for me - nice cars just not enough oomph. Maybe in 4 or 5 years we will be seeing the late 60s all over again.

[stevengerard]

the new auto week has some cool luxury tuners in it. The Mallett CTS-V is in there - Awesome. Though when you look at what a S/Ced MM cost you compared to these cars it looks like a steal. Though so does the CTS-V compared to an M5

[RCSignals]

the new auto week has some cool luxury tuners in it. The Mallett CTS-V is in there - Awesome. Though when you look at what a S/Ced MM cost you compared to these cars it looks like a steal. Though so does the CTS-V compared to an M5Yes, it's a good issue.

A real big dollar game though

There is a Crossfire that DCX should have built.....but $115.000 to $165,000....?