Commuting technques in your Cadillac ATS

rahock · January 01, 2014, 06:12:42 AM

I come from a die hard GM family , but I kind of broke the chain many years ago. I have been on Fords Z plan for 20 some years and have had very good luck with Ford. I did look real hard at the Caddy STX two years ago , but the Lincoln MKX won in the end. The engine had a little more juice and it was considerably more roomy in the back seat . I had an issue with driving a Caddy and having cramped passengers in the back

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Rick

Barklessdog · January 01, 2014, 07:46:59 AM

The caddy seats were rock hard as well. I don't think it would be comfortable on a long trip. Why can't Volvo make seats for all cars?

rahock · January 01, 2014, 09:40:39 AM

Quote from: Barklessdog on January 01, 2014, 07:46:59 AM
The caddy seats were rock hard as well. I don't think it would be comfortable on a long trip. Why can't Volvo make seats for all cars?

I had a couple of Volvo P1800s with the most comfortable seats ever. When Ford owned Volvo, they used the same basic seat with cheaper leather in my 2001 Escape. They were still great with the cheap leather

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Rick

Lightyear · January 01, 2014, 09:42:33 AM

Quote from: Dave W on December 31, 2013, 09:00:35 PM
Now it's a matter of principle with me, I couldn't care less about how good their current lineup may be. The stockholders' and bondholders' legal rights were wiped out and given to the unions. It was a deliberate subversion of the legal process.

I couldn't agree more.

While GM has made much progress they still can't get their electrical right to this day. Start looking at anything GM, even new stuff, and notice just how many brake lights, turn signal and running lights you see not working - they just can't get it right. I've been in company vehicles for 30 + years and have been through three lifetimes worth of vehicles for an average driver - GM anything was always a PIA and the common issue was electrical. Of course not being able to keep the lamps dy might have been an issue

Maybe they'll have better luck with LEDs.

gweimer · January 01, 2014, 10:27:06 AM

I must have been lucky. My dad was also a die-hard GM customer. I've been through 50 cars in my lifetime. The cars that have been the best were the Saturns. My '95 SL-1 led me to get a 2002 Vue 6 cyl AWD. It has been an outstanding car. At 218K, it doesn't burn oil, and gets better gas mileage than when I first bought it. It has its quirks - door frames that pull away from the car in high winds/speeds, and a rear windshield wiper that is packed with too much grease - but I expect to hit 300K easily. I do the regular maintenance, so I expect my next big repair to be about $600 for new tires in a little over a year.

gearHed289 · January 01, 2014, 01:04:15 PM

Caddy is still an old man car, it's just that these days, us old men don't think we're old men.

GM styling - Their trucks went to hell years ago. And I saw a rendering of the re-revamped Camaro that had the nose of a Malibu. I'm gonna laugh my ass of if that goes to production! I will say, I had a '89 S10 pickup that I bought new, and aside from the delaminating paint, it was great. Got me and my gear all over the Midwest for ten years. 4.3 V6 is a great motor. I'm from a Ford family (my dad was a mechanic at Ford dealerships), and it's been nothing but Fords for me since like 2000. They've been treating me well. Mustang is six years old now, and all I've "had" to do is a new battery and alternator.

Barklessdog · January 02, 2014, 03:49:44 PM

I would also add corvettes and Harley's been old man vehicles. "Real" young people go elsewhere.

Dave W · January 02, 2014, 05:01:04 PM

Quote from: Barklessdog on January 02, 2014, 03:49:44 PM
I would also add corvettes and Harley's been old man vehicles. "Real" young people go elsewhere.

That's true but not to the same degree as Cadillac. It's got an image that is probably impossible to shake after all these years.

gearHed289 · January 04, 2014, 08:43:05 AM

Quote from: Barklessdog on January 02, 2014, 03:49:44 PM
I would also add corvettes and Harley's been old man vehicles. "Real" young people go elsewhere.

Definitely some truth to that. I get a kick out of how much Harleys have become a yuppie toy. Right down to all the spiffy Harley themed merch and accessories you can buy.

Pilgrim · January 04, 2014, 09:32:29 AM

With apologies to fans, Harleys have become a real cliche.

Last time I drove to Jackson WY in the middle of summer, I saw a number of high-dollar Harleys, ridden no doubt by dentists and attorneys, all sporting much leather and usually with grey pony tails. Following their $15,000-$20,000 motorcycle was a $50,000 Chevy Yukon or Suburban chase car, often pulling a trailer which had tools to repair the bike or carry it home.

All I can do is shake my head. I can't personally imagine having any use for a vehicle that requires a chase car for an everyday trip...nor the $70,000 investment made in order to play Peter Fonda in Easy Rider.

Once I got to Jackson, there was a row of 20 or so Harleys parked carefully outside the famous Cowboy Bar (with the silver dollar bar surface) on the square.

Every one of them was spotless, like right off a showroom. I walked down the line and finally spotted a dark red one which actually had some mud splashed on the rear fenders. I pointed it out to my daughters and said "Look girls, here's a REAL motorcycle. Someone has actually used it to ride on!"

I have nothing against car and motorcycle shows, but I'm not impressed by poseurs...which was how I regarded the guys riding those Harleys.

Lightyear · January 04, 2014, 11:04:10 AM

Quote from: Pilgrim on January 04, 2014, 09:32:29 AM
With apologies to fans, Harleys have become a real cliche.

Last time I drove to Jackson WY in the middle of summer, I saw a number of high-dollar Harleys, ridden no doubt by dentists and attorneys, all sporting much leather and usually with grey pony tails. Following their $15,000-$20,000 motorcycle was a $50,000 Chevy Yukon or Suburban chase car, often pulling a trailer which had tools to repair the bike or carry it home.

All I can do is shake my head. I can't personally imagine having any use for a vehicle that requires a chase car for an everyday trip...nor the $70,000 investment made in order to play Peter Fonda in Easy Rider.

Once I got to Jackson, there was a row of 20 or so Harleys parked carefully outside the famous Cowboy Bar (with the silver dollar bar surface) on the square.

Every one of them was spotless, like right off a showroom. I walked down the line and finally spotted a dark red one which actually had some mud splashed on the rear fenders. I pointed it out to my daughters and said "Look girls, here's a REAL motorcycle. Someone has actually used it to ride on!"

I have nothing against car and motorcycle shows, but I'm not impressed by poseurs...which was how I regarded the guys riding those Harleys.

Galveston hosts a motorcycle rally every November called the Lonestar Rally. This year they estimated 200,000 plus flooded the island. I live 25 miles north of Galveston and right off of I-45 which dead ends at Galveston. For two days I watched people come in for the damn thing and Pilgrim is correct - shiny new bikes that rarely look like they leave the garage. Mostly with a fat bankers or other weekend fat cats riding them. Lets not forget all of the lazy sacks that trailer their bike in to crawl around the island at 3 miles an hour. I had the misfortune this year to have business in Galveston that Saturday and like mentioned before a verifiable poseur convention to be sure. I sure didn't see any of the local Bandito guys there.

rahock · January 04, 2014, 11:30:51 AM

Yeah, there was a time when a half a dozen Harelys pulled up, you could rest assured that there was at least some degree of bad ass going on in that group and if you weren't careful an opportunity to get your ass kicked could present itself. Nowdays, it's more likely to present an opportunity to ask for free legal or financial advice from an off duty pro

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Rick