2008 Cadillac CTS Pricing Released

Yesterday afternoon, a member at Cadillacforums.com posted official 2008 CTS pricing. The base price for a 2008 CTS with the non-DI engine and manual transmission is $32,245, and the model with the 304-horsepower direct injection V6 comes with a standard automatic transmission and costs $34,545, or $2,300 more. The base car's price represents a $1,575 (5.1%) increase over the 2007 2.8 liter's $30,670 price. However, comparing the 255-horsepower 3.6 liter prices, it's actually a $1,285 price reduction.

Don't get your hopes up, however. If you're a buyer, the news only gets worse from here. Options seem to be extremely expensive. I haven't analyzed the details of what is included in each package, but it's readily apparent that if you want to get ALL the good stuff, you should be prepared to spend a lot of money. A DI model with the premium luxury collection, 18" wheels, UltraView sunroof, etc. will top out at almost $50,000.

According to Cheers and Gears, the package contents are:

Luxury Collection (PDP) - $2600
Luxury Level One Package (Y40)
Seating Package (Y44)

Premium Luxury Collection (PDQ) - $8165
Luxury Level One Package (Y40)
Luxury Level Two Package (Y41)
Seating Package (Y44)
Audio system with navigation (UAV)
UltraView sunroof (C3U)
Wood Trim Package (B19)
Wood Trim Package (B20)
Universal Home Remote (UG1)

Performance Collection (PDR) - $3300
18" All-Season Tire Performance Package (Y42)
Seating Package (Y44)

Luxury Level One (Y40) - $1000
Theft-deterrent alarm system
AM/FM stereo with 6-disc in-dash CD changer and MP3 playback with Radio Data System (RDS) and Bose 8-speaker system
Rainsense wipers
Accent lighting
17" x 8" machined-faced wheels

Luxury Level Two (Y41) - $2025
Heated/ventilated front seats
Split-folding rear seat
Power rake wheel and telescopic steering column
Universal Home Remote
EZ Key passive entry system
Ultrasonic Rear Parking Assist

While the base prices are similar, or even better, the availability of additional options will push the price of a CTS with all the option boxes checked to more than $10,000 over the price of a loaded 2007 model. Apparently GM really does take the idea of moving the CTS into BMW 5-series territory seriously, because top of the line CTSs will be within spitting distance of 535i sedans (which start at $49,400 without leather interiors).

I'm curious to see how the market reacts to this pricing. On one hand, the base price is attractive and the car is a clear improvement over the outgoing model. On the other hand, pricing a new model too high at launch can kill its chance for later success; just ask the Chrysler Pacifica.

Click the image below for a graphic with the full pricing details.