DTS Review

[parrothead]

I found this review of the new DTS. All the Deville owners out there can apperciate it. everytime I visit the dealer I pimp them about the fact that the clock in the current model is so obscure.

I can't wait to see the new DTS commercial "The new DTS it's got a great clock, BREAKTHROUGH"

Here's what the reviewer wrote

"Then there's the clock.

Cadillac has gotten a lot of mileage from the fact that Italian jewelry maker Nicola Bulgari is a big Cadillac fan. The DTS's clock flowed from the pen of a GM designer, though, and it may be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen inside a car.

It is as simple, elegant and unforgettable as Audrey Hepburn's little black dress in "Breakfast at Tiffany's." By day, chrome hands move across a black face bedecked with chrome slashes for the hours and "Cadillac" in script.

By night, the hour marks glow, but hands are blacked out, backlit by the face, which radiates the diffuse light of the Milky Way on a clear evening.

It is stunning"

[Scotty]

I think its a beautiful looking car also, I have stopped to look at a few, very nice

[ptomasi]

After driving the new 2006 DeVille(I mean DTS) for 2 weeks, I have to add my 2¢ worth on some of the features, or lack of features.

1. The new clock - Personally it doesn’t fit, Digital instrument cluster, digital climate control, digital display on the radio. Then smack dab in the middle is the goofiest analog clock I have seen in decades. It not only doesn’t fit, it plain old doesn’t belong in the car.

2. Lighting - There choice of LED's for the interior lighting is horrible, they don’t throw enough light and the color cast that they throw is an icky blue grey color. The map lights and reading lights in the back don’t throw enough light to actually read anything let alone a Map or a book.

3. Cadillac Heritage Medallion - What were they thinking, this latest incarnation must have been designed by an engineer on crack, its ugly ugly ugly.

3. New Front End - Though I like the front end of the car, why is that we are continually striving to be like Mercedes? The front end is no longer distinctive, its swooping and headlights on the outer edge.

4. Car Labeling - What the heck happened to actually naming the cars, what the (*@$ do we need to follow everyone else for, no more DeVille name now its just going to be the DTS, who gives a crap. Cadillac is supposed to stand for something, now its just like everyone else’s crap. Bring back names, you don’t have to follow the rest of the world. After all your freaking GM.

5. Trunk Pulldown - I know this is not a new issue, but why does the car have to be so cheap in its construction; small amenities are what made the Caddy stand out in the past. The trunk pull down was a nice feature, bring it back.

Well that’s all I have to say, personally I think the new car is not anything to write home about, I certainly could better spend my 50-60k elsewhere and feel like I was getting what I paid for. After 8 Cadillac’s in our family(Spanning 3 generations) we are all considering moving on, sad to say but the folks over at Cadillac have taken to much away in there quest to be like everyone else. Perhaps if they didn’t hire so many young punk engineers right out of school they would be making a higher luxury automobile.

Of course this is just my opinion.

Peter

[Scotty]

That is quite a post for your first post. So what you are saying is that you didn't like a thing about the car at all? I was quite impressed with its looks and its features, but then again I didn't drive it.. Your critique of the clock contradicts the review the original poster posted. Seems that someone liked the clock..for them to say, "It is stunning"!

http://www.cadillac.com/cadillacjsp/model/...y.jsp?model=dts

[rgnoon]

Although I do agree with Pete here on a couple of points, I can't say that I'm just ready to "give up on Cadillacs". The new naming, I can get used to. The clock, I can handle. The lighting...well crap happens. The heritage of ownership medallion looks like the head of a nine iron...but that's been around for a while and people just kept using the old ones anyway. Now the trunk pulldown and various other features...I agree with you. It is definitely the "smaller" touches that have always made caddies so unique, and special.

Recently a good friend of mine and I (also a common poster/reader on caddyinfo) were talking about how certain foreign "luxury" car companies are now advertising features like "auto-dimming headlights", which Cadillacs had in the 1950s with their brilliant autronic eye...as well as "headlights that see around corners", what we Caddy owners have been used to for years now (since the '60s in fact) in our "illuminators."

Anyhow...although I've only been able sit in one of the more basic of the new DTSs, I was frankly quite disappointed. The seats managed to be even less comfortable that I had expected (my expectations were pretty low). The car feels to be getting much narrower. And certainly looks it from the front. The front end, having been rounded off and somewhat tapered, looks like it's trying to deny it's American luxury sedan roots. I understand that the large sedan isn't nearly as popular as it has been in the past, and Detroit designers are trying to compete with the Germans in order to sell vehicles, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it.

Obviously, as with Peter's post, this is just my opinion, and there happens to be quite a bit of division among my group of friends (and caddy enthusiasts) regarding the new deville...erh I mean DTS. As I stated that I haven't yet been able to get in, and drive, one of the new DTS's with a higher luxury package, I obviously won't dismiss Cadillac's efforts until I do. I just hope that my mind is changed, and only the car itself can do that.

-Ryan

[ptomasi]

Scotty said -

"That is quite a post for your first post. So what you are saying is that you didn't like a thing about the car at all? I was quite impressed with its looks and its features, but then again I didn't drive it.. Your critique of the clock contradicts the review the original poster posted. Seems that someone liked the clock..for them to say, "It is stunning"! :

My response is simple:

There are a few things I liked about the car,

Its Fast, the new headlights are a vast improvement and the rear tailights are super bright. The backup lights are also very bright and actually allow you to see well behid the car. The interior is more omfortable than the 2004 DeVille that we have.

However,

The clock still is out of place amidst all the digital gadgets.

[Regis]

The clock is certainly an attention getter. I really don't have an opinion one way or the other on it other than the obvious which is that it was designed to be an Attention Getter.

Some of you know my position on some of the neat amenities that some people think should be brought back:

Trunk pull down- in my opinion one of the lamest features. What is the big deal with having it close your trunk that last inch? Considering how much cost goes into having a feature that really does so little I can definitely do without it. Give me a trunk that I can just close the last inch by myself, even slam it if I choose, and give it that muffled quality sound. If it's going to be motorized then have it be motorized from start to finish (full open to full close). I think I have enough strength for that last inch. Seems GM thinks the general public does too.

Power Antenna- Was a good idea at one time simply because in the old days a higher antenna meant better reception. Today that rule doesn't apply.

Reading lights- ahhh a touchy subject. Ever have someone turn on a really bright light inside the car on a dark rainy night. Distracting to say the least. Just because it says map or reading lights doesn't necessarily mean you can do all those things like you were at home with all the lights on. I hope you're pulled off to the side of the road when you're trying to read the map. I've always been under the impression that the convenience lights were more for finding loose change rolling around on the floor anyways .

As I get older I find my acceptance to change gets more difficult. I realize that things must change if we are to go forward. We all change a little everyday but most of us probably don't see or realize it. If I look back to last year then I don't really notice the changes. But if I look back 10 years.... then definitely. GM and Cadillacs have to change as well. If you don't think so or you are resistent to change then perhaps you're are becoming that age group that you probably laughed at and mused over when you were younger.

[CaddyChris]

I don't think it looks that bad at all

[CaddyChris]

ehhh...

[CaddyChris]

I think it wouldve been better if it was the cadillac emblem in the background instead of the script

BTW, I saw a new dts yesterday and it looks soooooooo much better in person. The *smurf* end is pretty nice looking as well as the front. I have not seen the interior in person but am curious to do so soon.

[Scotty]

I think it wouldve been better if it was the cadillac emblem in the background instead of the script

BTW, I saw a new dts yesterday and it looks soooooooo much better in person. The *smurf* end is pretty nice looking as well as the front. I have not seen the interior in person but am curious to do so soon.

Diddo, its got nice clean looking lines

[Poobah]

Judging by the cpetro45's photos (I haven't seen the dash in the flesh), I think the clock is very nice but it doesn't fit in with the rest of the dashboard design. The clock's numerals, hands, and chrome bezel do not relate to anything else on the dash. I would prefer to see the space between the vents filled in with black plastic or an analog clock that harmonizes with the design of the instrument cluster.

I think they improved the rear end of the car and I'm glad to see the return of the tall, thin vertical tail lights. In the front, the grille looks a little too big for my taste and too pronounced in proportion to the other front end elements. I expected the car to be more faceted in keeping with the look of the CTS and STS, but I guess tooling costs were too high.

These are minor criticisms and over all it looks like a very nice car. I certainly would like to own one.

P.S. I much prefer names, especially time honored names like De Ville and Seville to the current alphabet soup designations.

P.P.S. I would sure like to see them bring back the Eldorado!

[Bob D]

I like 99.9% of it...That .1% (clock) is lame. It looks like something somebody stuck on the dashboard with a magnet.

[rgnoon]

I think everyone can agree that It would be great to have the Eldo back. Maybe one day....we can only hope. Well...hope, or write highly suggestive letters to detroit. :-) One or the other!

And IMHO it's been the small touches that add up to the overall Cadillac experience and have set the brand apart throughout automotive history. Even the trunk pull down.

[KevinW]

Trunk pull down- in my opinion one of the lamest features. What is the big deal with having it close your trunk that last inch?

The sudden pressure wave from slamming the trunk lid is quite disconcerting to the car's occupants... unless they are comatose or dead.