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Still enjoying my 2005 Cadillac CTS at roughly 60K miles, but also musing about what type of Cadillac will be the right replacement next year or year after. The CTS has met all my requirements, in that it gets good mpg and meets my performance goals of around 6sec ...

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Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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I keep thinking a new CTS or STS would work better for fuel economy, and in some cases fully optioned STS's have more features than the V, but I would ENJOY the V more.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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I would go the used STS-V, more or less because I'm a performance enthusiast. Handling comes first, and the STS-V does have that as much as any car that is comfortable on the street. Yes, there are better handling cars; I noticed a low front tire on a new BMW 5-series and told the lady in the store; she cussed about those ultra-low-profile tires going flat, getting cut by the rims when low, needing two air pressures for the RWD car, etc. etc. I told her to go 3-5 psi over the recommendations on the door jamb and check them weekly, and if that was all that was required I would consider it on my ETC or a new car. But, in reality, I would be happier with the STS-V that is designed and built to Cadillac standards, which include not driving you crazy when used as a family car and daily driver. That's a GM standard, now that I think about it.

Yes, the STS and CTS are also excellent choices. I don't have reports on the crossover but since handling is #1 on my list I doubt that any crossover would make the cut for me. I have had two station wagons that did make the cut, with mods, and CTS now has one for 2010.

The key is that you can trade model years and miles for dollars, and there are enough STS-V's out there to be able to find one. The HUD is a nice touch but it wouldn't get me to an STS if I wanted an STS-V. My choice, if my budget forced me to, would be either to wait another year or let the HUD go.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Not shopping this week, but for around $30K at the moment my practical side is attracted to a fully loaded 09 STS over an 06 STS-V just due to the age difference. The 320hp STS has all the power I 'need' in my daily commute. However, I think I would like to get a car that is a little more 'compromised' toward performance this time and so I'm conflicted.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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When I have a set of acceptable or good alternatives to a major decision, such as a job change, house purchase, or for that matter any purchase over $10,000, I reach back into the impartial business world for decision making techniques. I found two articles in Wikipedia that make a good start if you don't have recent program management experience or the equivalent.

A very short overview of the Kepner-Tregoe Analysis method, with excellent references and links:

A longer article on decision making in general, with a comprehensive set of links at the end:

One slant that is often used in build-buy decisions and such in system engineering is, in a thumbnail,

  • Decide what the requirements are. Requirements include, but are not limited to, performance, passenger load, cost, and how soon to buy the car.
  • Decide what the resources are. Will you have more or less money to spend on a car next year? Be sure and include the trade-in.
  • Write down a plan and analyze it. Revisit requirements and resources as necessary until you have a plan.
  • If you have a plan for two or more cars and can't decide, do a decision analysis.
This alone may be enough if you are looking at just two cars, but if it is too close to call when you are done, you need to look at decision theory a little more.

I didn't include Risk Analysis because buying a car probably doesn't warrant this effort. If you are concerned about the STS-V's maintenance, research that and decide whether that needs to be included. You can buy extended warranties to trade risk for cost (cost is the insurance company's average expected profit).

In the decision theory article, one of the first things that you do is to acknowledge that how you view alternatives and making a decision depends to a large extent on what kind of personality type you are. Getting this analyzed as part of the process and incorporating a knowledge of this into your decision making process can increase the likelihood that you will be pleased with what you have done next year and the year after. If nothing has made one car stand out as the clear choice, you might look into this. You will likely need to buy a book or some materials on a Meyer-Briggs Indicator to perform your self-evaluation and use that information as part of revisiting the decision-making process.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Lol that is more or less how I think now. My problem is then I iterate the process testing different requirements to see why they are requirements and if they can be traded and to what effect. Wanting a sedan that goes 0-60mph a second faster seems a soft requirement if you never really need to do that a second faster.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Wanting a sedan that goes 0-60mph a second faster seems a soft requirement if you never really need to do that a second faster.

But, sometimes we "DO" "NEED" that faster speed.

Just for the sheer "FUN" of it.

Remember...being happy and smiling is good for the heart.

None of us want to die any earlier than we have to.

I am not kidding. (Well...At least not much) :D:D

We are not called "ENTHUSIASTS" for nothing.

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What I see here is that your emphasis on performance is not quite extreme as mine, but let me try to sell you my extreme viewpoint. I think that when the 0-60 mph times get under 6 seconds, then 1 second is a big deal. A 5.2 seond 0-60 mph car is a C4 Corvette with the high-performance drivetrain; a 0-60 mph of 6.3 seconds is my 1997 ETC in top trim, which it isn't right now. A 4.2 second 0-60 mph car is a Z06 or last year's CTS-V. A 3.2 second 0-60 mph car is a $200K++ supercar. A 2.7 second 0-60 mph car is my Suzuki Bandit 1200S motorcycle. To me, a 1 second difference in 0-60 mph time is a really big deal. In particular, I think about what is happening at the 60 mph point. My motorcycle is near the end of low gear at 60 mph but a supercar like the STS-V is at the bottom end of 2nd gear. My 1969 Chevrolet station wagon with the 400 hp 427 cid would blow away superbikes of its era in the 80-100 mph realm, which was the power band for 2nd gear for that car.

But, back to the real world of today. In a Toyota Camry, every road situation is a matter of compromises. On the road in moderate traffic, a full-stop, short acceleration distance freeway ramp to 80 mph traffic looks very different to the driver of an STS than to the driver of an STS-V. In an STS, compromises are necessary in only the most difficult of situations, while in an STS-V, a situation that brings compromises to mind at all are stories to put in your Christmas letter. Thus a drive in an STS-V is a stress-free ride to enjoy anytime, anywhere, even a commute.

All this speed and power invokes safety, but in-depth safety engineering including ABS, RSS, and Stabilitrak specifically designed for the STS-V make it one of the safest cars on the road, driven with reasonable prudence and as near legality as traffic flow allows. I would have my wife driving an STS-V before any SUV because of any SUV's truck-like difficulties in stopping and turning. At least I would know that she would come home with the shiny side up and unscathed, and without having run over anything (anybody???) vulnerable. I have a very heartfelt belief in protection of others on the road, too, so I don't think of providing my wife with the biggest vehicle possible is the best solution.

I summarize my case for an STS-V or other V-series for a daily driver:

  • Enjoyable stress-free driving for commuting, errands, and road trips.
  • The safest possible ride for the wife, including for others on the road, including kids, drunks, cell-phone-junkies and texters, and idiots.
  • Why the h*ll not? It's a great ride. Your wive may love it too, even though you may never hear that from her.
Disadvantages include

  • Badging or other recognizable signs of what the car truly is will likely cause a few jealous fools to engage in provocative or even vandalous behavior.
  • Your Allstate agent will quite likely try to screw you blind.
  • You can't give your 14-year-old son the keys because you love him.
  • Your brother-in-law will try to borrow the car to abuse it.
  • Some immature law enforcement agents may exhibit inappropriate zealous behavior.
  • Some immature women will hit on you, which may be awkward if you love your wife.
Solutions to the above are

  • Ignore idiotic or vandalous behavior.
  • Switch to State Farm or an independent agent at the first sign of cryptic or devious communications with your existing insurance agent.
  • Don't give anyone under 35 the keys, and even then without a good reason. Avoid valet parking.
  • Advise your brother-in-law to call Enterprise. They're great, deliver to your location, and provide their own insurance.
  • Drive legal. If you get a ticket driving legally, hire a lawyer experienced in traffic cases in the venue of the alleged violation and fight it; you can nearly always beat it. The judges know how those cops are, and it's hard to fool a decent judge. Don't be shy about appealing if you and your lawyer agree that you are in the right; the appeal court judges know who those traffic court judges are, too.
  • If you are married. you know how to handle that one.
So, what's not to like?

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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