GAS MILEAGE

[daniel812]

I have a 98 SLS and am averaging 16 MPG in the city and about 27 MPG Highway. I dont see how people can complain about gas mileage like this in a cadillac. You bought the car for its power, luxury, and size. you get the northstar and a ton of toys. So gas costs a few bucks more when you refill, its not a big deal. You want fuel economy then buy a Hybrid.

[Texas Jim]

I have a 98 SLS and am averaging 16 MPG in the city and about 27 MPG Highway. I dont see how people can complain about gas mileage like this in a cadillac. You bought the car for its power, luxury, and size. you get the northstar and a ton of toys. So gas costs a few bucks more when you refill, its not a big deal. You want fuel economy then buy a Hybrid.

I pretty much agree with you.

My 2006 Performance Sedan doesn't get the mileage you do, but I am not complaining. I bought it "STRICTLY" for the comfort, size and luxury. Mileage was not really in the equation. Do I want great mileage? 30 or 40 MPG? Of course. Everyone does, but it is a BIG HEAVY car, with a lot of power and it ain't gonna do it. I accept that.

Of course YMMV.

[Texas Jim]

I have a top of the line 2002 Taurus that I bought new. It has every option that Ford makes for it, including Leather bucket seats, sunroof, Premium stereo etc... but it ain't a Cadillac. At the time I THOUGHT I couldn't afford a Cadillac. It gets a little bit better mileage than the Cadillac, but when I went on a 3500 mile vacation last week ..... I took the Cadillac. I knew it was gonna cost me more in gas. Probably a good 100 bucks more. So what? I am in a Cadillac not a ford.

The ergonomics are wrong for my old hips and knees in the Taurus. Like some of us, I am not quite as young as I used to be. It hurts me severely to drive it on a long trip and I am too stupid to stop and get out every hour or two and walk around and limber up. In the Cadillac I don't HAVE to do that. I only have to stop when Darling Wife needs a pit stop or we need fuel. Or both.

The Cadillac FITS me better. I don't hurt and ache after driving it all day. On one day in the Cadillac we covered well over 600 miles. IN COMFORT and without my knees and hips hurting.

Oh I almost forgot. I like all the toys and gadgets on a Cadillac too. The Air Conditioned seats, NAV system, Bose Stereo, OnStar .... the list goes on. AND it can make you smile when you do a WOT to pass someone. The Ford can't do THAT.

Another small example (benefit ?) of driving a Cadillac over something else..... We stopped in a small town in Arkansas to get fuel and both of us went in to use the restroom. Came back out, and the attendent had went out to the car, finished filling it up AND cleaned the windshield. Even used paper towels to remove the streaks the squeegee left. I thanked him and tried to tip him. He refused the tip and just commented on how pretty the car was. (White Lighting, Shale interior with 18 inch 9 spoke chrome wheels) I don't think I would have got that extra service if I was driving a Ford Taurus.

Of course YMMV.

[95SevilleSLS]

I did by my cadillacs just to put miles on them and not my 3/4 ton suburban. I knew cadillacs were very good for reliablity and power and got decent mileage along with it if you stay out of the pedal. SLS's will get about 3 mpgs more than the 300HP STSs,DTSs, or ETCs. I'm only getting about 13 MPG city driving and 23 highway, but that's a heck a lot better than my suburban.

Texas Jim, I took a 800 mile road trip with the 97 I just bought and I stopped once because I just about burst a bladder! I never got sore the whole time. I used to ride in my dad's ford and had to get out every so often and stretch or I would be sore for the next 3 days. Fords also wore my out when I drove them. I never get tired driving my cadillacs or any of my GMs.

[95SevilleSLS]

How do you edit your siginature now with this new site? I had fixed it about 2 weeks ago and now it's back to the huge picture. Sorry for that!!

[ted tcb]

02WhiteSTS: Perhaps I missed the post, but weren't you going to provide us with pics of the 97 STS?

It would be nice to hear your comments on the two different generations of STS's.

[95SevilleSLS]

Sorry, I was going to, but it rained the next day and then I went camping. I'll get her washed up today and try to take some pictures. They are really two different cars. I'll talk about them more later after I get the pictures. Thanks for reminding me, I totally forgot.

[WarrenJ]

Texas Jim,

You speak for many of us!

Regards,

Warren

[BodybyFisher]

I have a top of the line 2002 Taurus that I bought new. It has every option that Ford makes for it, including Leather bucket seats, sunroof, Premium stereo etc... but it ain't a Cadillac. At the time I THOUGHT I couldn't afford a Cadillac. It gets a little bit better mileage than the Cadillac, but when I went on a 3500 mile vacation last week ..... I took the Cadillac. I knew it was gonna cost me more in gas. Probably a good 100 bucks more. So what? I am in a Cadillac not a ford.

The ergonomics are wrong for my old hips and knees in the Taurus. Like some of us, I am not quite as young as I used to be. It hurts me severely to drive it on a long trip and I am too stupid to stop and get out every hour or two and walk around and limber up. In the Cadillac I don't HAVE to do that. I only have to stop when Darling Wife needs a pit stop or we need fuel. Or both.

The Cadillac FITS me better. I don't hurt and ache after driving it all day. On one day in the Cadillac we covered well over 600 miles. IN COMFORT and without my knees and hips hurting.

Oh I almost forgot. I like all the toys and gadgets on a Cadillac too. The Air Conditioned seats, NAV system, Bose Stereo, OnStar .... the list goes on. AND it can make you smile when you do a WOT to pass someone. The Ford can't do THAT.

Another small example (benefit ?) of driving a Cadillac over something else..... We stopped in a small town in Arkansas to get fuel and both of us went in to use the restroom. Came back out, and the attendent had went out to the car, finished filling it up AND cleaned the windshield. Even used paper towels to remove the streaks the squeegee left. I thanked him and tried to tip him. He refused the tip and just commented on how pretty the car was. (White Lighting, Shale interior with 18 inch 9 spoke chrome wheels) I don't think I would have got that extra service if I was driving a Ford Taurus.

Of course YMMV.

Everyone in my family owns a Taurus. We have a family member that works for HP and they buy his one year old company car with low mileage. They push me to buy a Taurus and I am sure that my wife will follow suit one day and buy one. I tell them they are a POS, and they always highlight how often I work on my Caddy. But they only own them for one or two years, and they do no maintenance, so there is no comparison.

I feel that the Taurus has no balls, and the transmission searches and the suspension is soft... I do recall them being very uncomfortable, I had one as a company car.

[Texas Jim]

Texas Jim, I took a 800 mile road trip with the 97 I just bought and I stopped once because I just about burst a bladder! I never got sore the whole time. I used to ride in my dad's ford and had to get out every so often and stretch or I would be sore for the next 3 days. Fords also wore my out when I drove them. I never get tired driving my cadillacs or any of my GMs.

Funny that you should mention other GM cars. We rented a new Impala LT for a 3 day weekend, before we bought the Cadillac last year. We spent a LOT of time in it driving. Covered about 1200 miles in 3 days. I was testing other GM cars to see if they hurt me like my Taurus does.

It didn't hurt me. Looked ALL OVER for a fully loaded Super Sport. I was trying to save a little money over what a new Cadillac cost. Couldn't find one. Got tired of looking and went ahead and bought the Cat.

Now I am very glad I did. We have really enjoyed it. It runs very well, corners well... in fact it does EVERYTHING well that I can think of.

[95SevilleSLS]

I look at it this way: If you want a 300HP engine, 4 door sedan, and with a lot of goodies, why not get a cadillac? I looked at a Impala too for a bit and just knew that the suspension would be very stiff and it wouldn't be a cadillac.

[Texas Jim]

Everyone in my family owns a Taurus. We have a family member that works for HP and they buy his one year old company car with low mileage. They push me to buy a Taurus and I am sure that my wife will follow suit one day and buy one. I tell them they are a POS, and they always highlight how often I work on my Caddy. But they only own them for one or two years, and they do no maintenance, so there is no comparison.

I feel that the Taurus has no balls, and the transmission searches and the suspension is soft... I do recall them being very uncomfortable, I had one as a company car.

I am not defending the Taurus, well at least not TOO much. Mine has the DOHC 24 valve engine. I put a dual exhaust system on it. Had the computer tweaked to allow for the freer breathing. That helped the way it runs quite a bit. Had the transmission valve body springs changed at a performance tranny shop. It will chirp the tires (sometimes) on the 1st to 2nd shift. It has 215x60x16 Michelin Aqua Tread tires. I have always thought it handled pretty good. It actually rides a little rough compared to others I have ridden in. I have put 90,000 trouble free miles on it.

It is now for sale.

I will stick to Cadillacs.

[daniel812]

totally off topic here, but how would I be able to add a picture of my car to the page when I post? BTW - 02STS did you fix the idle shake problem?

[Ranger]

On one day in the Cadillac we covered well over 600 miles. IN COMFORT and without my knees and hips hurting.

I bought mine last summer down in Texas. Made the 1000 mile/14 hr. trip home nonstop and in comfort.

[Caddynut]

I know what everyone is saying. I owned my 85 cimarron...and...funny thing...I loved it...so I bought my 92 Seville and loved it more. As far as gas goes, I owned my 2000 honda accord and got 33 mpg and ended up trading it in on my 01 Seville because I like the luxury and power. I have always been a motor head and the Honda was a good dependable car, but it WASN'T A CADILLAC!!! To hell with the gas mileage difference...I wanted another Caddy!!! As I always say...ANYONE can afford a Cadillac, just buy smart.

[BodybyFisher]

Everyone in my family owns a Taurus. We have a family member that works for HP and they buy his one year old company car with low mileage. They push me to buy a Taurus and I am sure that my wife will follow suit one day and buy one. I tell them they are a POS, and they always highlight how often I work on my Caddy. But they only own them for one or two years, and they do no maintenance, so there is no comparison.

I feel that the Taurus has no balls, and the transmission searches and the suspension is soft... I do recall them being very uncomfortable, I had one as a company car.

I am not defending the Taurus, well at least not TOO much. Mine has the DOHC 24 valve engine. I put a dual exhaust system on it. Had the computer tweaked to allow for the freer breathing. That helped the way it runs quite a bit. Had the transmission valve body springs changed at a performance tranny shop. It will chirp the tires (sometimes) on the 1st to 2nd shift. It has 215x60x16 Michelin Aqua Tread tires. I have always thought it handled pretty good. It actually rides a little rough compared to others I have ridden in. I have put 90,000 trouble free miles on it.

It is now for sale.

I will stick to Cadillacs.

That is cool that you can modify the drive train so much. My feeling about the tranny must be accurate given that you changed the valve body springs, I always felt that Ford trannys were too soft and not positive in shifting and not 'there' or where it needed to be when you wanted to accelerate.. if you know what i mean.. But look at all you did to that car, including the Michelins to make it acceptable...

[Texas Jim]

But look at all you did to that car, including the Michelins to make it acceptable... /quote]

Point well made and taken. Hadn't really thought of it quite THAT way. But you are right. Even when brand new, totally loaded, it still needed something done to it to make it halfway what I wanted.

And it STILL wasn't a Cadillac.

[BodybyFisher]

I wasn't really trying to make a point, I was just making an observation. It kind of makes you wonder why with that 24 valve engine Ford does not offer the types of tweaks you did, as standard, to provide the consumer with a better performing car.

[Texas Jim]

I wasn't really trying to make a point, I was just making an observation. It kind of makes you wonder why with that 24 valve engine Ford does not offer the types of tweaks you did, as standard, to provide the consumer with a better performing car.

Very good question. It would not cost much at all for the factory to do what I did. Probably less than a hundred bucks. It cost me "WAY" more than that. But for a Taurus, it runs very well.

Sometimes catch some of the kids in their little cars with the loud mufflers starting up on the freeway. They are really standing on it going up the entrance ramp. As we pull onto the freeway, I lay my right arm over on the back of the passengers seat, kinda drape my left hand over the top of the steering wheel, and pass them like I haven't even noticed them. Just Grandpa out for a Sunday drive

It is real funny to see the look on their faces as gray haired Grandpa passes them in a old Taurus.

P.S. Have done the same thing in the DTS also. Still funny.

[95SevilleSLS]

totally off topic here, but how would I be able to add a picture of my car to the page when I post? BTW - 02STS did you fix the idle shake problem?

If you click on "My Controls" towards the top of the page and scroll down and click "Edit Signature" on the left side, you can put whatever you want in there to show up on every post.

I haven't gotten around to doing anything with those O2 sensors yet. It still shakes a little, but it doens't bother me as much because I might be able to fix it with the sensors.

BBF, that's what I like about GM. Most of their vehicles do all that I want already so I don't have to tweak them at all.

[ted tcb]

I wasn't really trying to make a point, I was just making an observation. It kind of makes you wonder why with that 24 valve engine Ford does not offer the types of tweaks you did, as standard, to provide the consumer with a better performing car.

For years, Ford offered a performance version of the Taurus, the SHO.

A multi valve engine made in collaboration with Yamaha marine, and a tweaked suspension,

sport seats, even a 5 speed automatic.

Unfortunately, the marketplace didn't respond to the sporty SHO Taurus.

Maybe this is why Ford didn't tune the standard Taurus for a sportier feel.

Its nice to see the Taurus name brought back for the 2008 model year.

[95SevilleSLS]

I didn't even know that they brought it back. Hopefully it's not as ugly as their last ones.

[TDK]

Since this topic has morphed to the Ford "Tortise"...

I had a '86 MT-5 company for a year or so around '91. Maybe I'm just lucky with cars, but this ol'e Tortise had about 140,000-miles and it ran like there was no tomorrow. It even started and ran with no problems at -39 (either F or C). I gave it no quarter - winding it as tight as possible and maintaining minimal earth contact at times on the gravel roads. But honestly, I can not recall any repairs ever. Sure it was a bit frumpy, being a maroon 4-door and with that dent from a cow walking into the front fender. I finally repainted it in my garage, (orange peel texture finish maybe, but technically - it remained painted).

I later bought it for my favorite daughter (the only one also...) who loved it and learned to drive the stout 5-speed, 4-cylinder like a pro. She drove it all through high school and we sold it only when she bought herself a Ford Focus (5-speed). She just replaced the Focus with an Audi TT (manual tranny again). Yep, she's one of those career-driven, dressed to kill, dark-haired, sunglassed, assertive gals buzzing around in a gun-metal-blue sports cars. Be warned, she can drive it hard, in particular when she's mad at her dad.