The Nicest Dealership You'll Ever See

Are you actually surprised that it's a Lexus? Lexus Bellevue to be exact. I'm officially a little bit depressed that their customer waiting lounge(s) have far nicer furniture than anything in my home. Not to mention multiple flat screen televisions. Oh, and a garage that I didn't even have the capacity to dream about until today. Did I mention the escalators? Or the hotel lobby thing? Just amazing.

Original link from The Car Lounge, with pictures from Car Domain (lots more pictures at the Car Domain link):

The Hype Around The 2008 Cadillac CTS Is Premature

The automotive equivalent of Jesus Christ is coming to Cadillac next year. Or that's what assorted fanboys of the GM persuasion would have you believe. A better interior, a sleeker exterior package, and upgraded engines are all cited as being reasons for this optimism. But dig deeper and what do we find?

1. Excessive Mass
The CTS will weigh 3861 pounds in manual transmission form, 3872 pounds in automatic transmission form, and a whopping 4101 pounds in all wheel drive configurations, according to THIS GM press release. That's hefty. For the sake of comparison, a BMW 335xi tops out at 3825 pounds, an Infiniti G35x tops out at 3703 pounds, an Audi A4 3.2 Quattro tops out at 3780 pounds, and a Lexus IS350 tops out at 3527 pounds. All of the competition noted, except for the Lexus have AWD in those weights listed. Note that ALL of the AWD competition actually weighs LESS than a regular old 2WD 2008 CTS. Ladies and gentlemen, the next gen CTS is a porker. How this will translate into a 'sports sedan' is yet to be seen, but for the sake of argument, the A4 is often derided as being too heavy. So what are we to expect of a 4100 pound CTS?

2.Barely Enough Power
If the 2008 CTS was released as a 2006 model, I would have no complaints. It features two engines- the much loved regular 3.6 HF V6 from the GM family, and a brand new 3.6 HF DI V6 making a confirmed 304 horsepower. Yes, the torque curve is very flat. Yes, it's competitive. But note my point- if it came out in 2006, it would be more than enough. As it stands, a yet to be released 2008 CTS already trails the Lexus IS350, the Infiniti G35, and the BMW 335i (300/300) in power stats. Incredible. If you want a perfect example of GM failing to take into account the competition and benchmarking moving targets, this is it. Yes, the base engine is more powerful than most others in the class. No, that doesn't mean shit, since most advertising centers around the top end engine outputs. Not to mention that in a few months, Infiniti will be dropping a 3.7 VQ into their G coupe (which will no doubt make its way to the sedan). Combine barely competitive power with excessive weight, and the prognosis doesn't look good.

3. Dull Styling
Yeah yeah, styling is subjective. But honestly, apart from the front fascia, how much major change has been made to this vehicle? A similar argument can be made for the redesign of the G35- it looks a lot like its predecessor, but then again, the G35 isn't the next stage of a 'design revolution' for Infiniti, like the CTS is for Cadillac. Yes, it's a bold grille. Yes, the side vents are cute, if a bit played out. But beyond that, I could be looking at a current generation STS. Just a big let down in a field where Cadillac could have really made a splash.

4. Missing Features
I'm not like some others that will bemoan the lack of push button start and the lack of Bluetooth as reasons why someone wouldn't buy a CTS- but the question remains- why the hell is GM so against upgrading their products to at least the minimum of the market standards? If even one sale is lost because someone wants Bluetooth and/or push button start in their vehicle, that's one sale too many, and a sale that GM could have easily kept. Instead, their reliance on OnStar has become a boon and a burden to the company- they're afraid to poach OnStar customers with Bluetooth capability, but will never move forward technologically unless they do so.

At the end of the day, the biggest issue that the new CTS will encounter is how to overcome its weight and power issues. The new interior will no doubt boost lagging sales, but if the goal of Cadillac is to once again become the standard of the world, they'll have to do much better than this- because 'this' is competitive with vehicles of today, never mind vehicles that will be released and available in 2008.

The $104,000 Question- Is Lexus There Yet?

Lexus has unveiled the LS600h L — a performance hybrid version of its new flagship sedan — at the 2006 New York International Auto Show. Scheduled to arrive in Spring 2007, it will be the world's first vehicle of any class or category to feature a full hybrid V8 powertrain. The LS 600h will combine an all-new five-litre V8 gas engine with combined massive, high-output electric motors and a newly designed large-capacity battery pack. It will deliver a peak, combined output of more than 430 horsepower. As a SULEV-rated (Super Low Emissions) vehicle, LS600h is estimated to produce just 20 per cent of the smog-forming emissions of a conventional five-litre V8. Power is delivered to the wheels via a 2-stange ECVT transmission. It also has the first LED front headlights of any production vehicle.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/lexus-debuts-20072007-lexus-ls-600h-l.html

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And just like that, poof, the last bunker of the Euro marques is penetrated.

What's been amusing is all of the chatter following the announcement of the pricing of the LS600.

• The domestic fans, clutching their hearts in unison because Cadillac/Lincoln don't have a vehicle to compete with the GS, nevermind the LS, have been throwing out the 'I'd take a Corvette Z06 and an Aura for that kind of money OMG LOL!!!'
• The European fans (MB, BMW and Audi fans I'm looking straight at you) have begrudgingly given kudos to the vehicle while still being snarky and saying 'well it doesn't have the cachet of a Euro brand, and plus it's just a Toyota OMG LOL!!!'

Do either of these generic comebacks make any sense? Seriously?

Lexus is officially in the big boy club now. Alongside Mercedes, BMW and Audi- they've finally made the leap.

A breakdown if you will-

Exotic Luxury
Bentley
Rolls-Royce
Maybach

Pretty much well the 'we have so much money that we can spend it on $10,000 paint upgrades to match our favorite polo shirt' club.

A-List Luxury
Mercedes-Benz
BMW
Audi
Lexus

I'm still not entirely convinced that Audi belongs in this group, but the interior design and craftsmanship puts them in here in the end. This group is basically the 'you've arrived' segment of the luxury market. The Alpha Dogs of the industry if you will. They've got sales, full lineups, and a brand cachet rivaled only by the exotics. They also have a very forgiving audience- BMW, and moreso MB, have been coasting on their quality reputations in recent years, but the strength of their brand perception has been strong enough to let them overcome any possible bad stigma overall.

B-List Luxury
Infiniti
Cadillac
Jaguar (and sliding)

Infiniti made the jump very recently by coming out with some world class sedans- prior years saw them down there with Acura...and even more prior years, in the D-League. Cadillac is on a downward slide (they'll need more than the CTS), and Jaguar is one failed product cycle away from oblivion and fond reminiscence at the next Barrett-Jackson auction show. They're all very competent luxury cars, but they're missing the cachet- pretend to own one of these for a day, just tell people you drive an Infiniti, Caddy or Jag... and most won't even bat an eye.

C-List Luxury
Acura

Acura gets their very own luxury segment to themselves. Not quite at the level of the B's, but not an also-ran. At the end of the day, the perception of Acura vehicles as very very well engineered Honda vehicles has been a hard perception for Acura to shake. The vehicles in the segments which they compete in are all competitive, and sometimes class leading- it's the brand that needs work now. The worst move they ever made was dropping model names- the Acura Legend, Vigor, Integra et al were great brand builders, and they were all dismissed without any long term planning.

D-List Luxury
Volvo
Saab
Lincoln

The end. Lincoln is almost done at this point. Saab and Volvo have never really been 'prestige' luxury makers- just solid performing vehicles with a good safety record. Not a true luxury car in my opinion, but more of a 'premium' set of brands.

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