[Cmicasa the GreatXvX]

Quote:And rounding out the new offerings from Cadillac spy shot week are these new spy shots of the front-drive Cadillac XTS full-size flagship luxury sedan. Yesterday, of course, we had spy shots of the new rear-drive ATS small sedan.

For those of you keeping track, we're using some basic knowledge of steering rack positioning to differentiate between the FWD and RWD offerings we've been seeing as the camo does a fair job of hiding size and scale and the drivers do a good job of not parking next to measuring sticks. We know one is going to be rear drive, and one front drive.

Zoom in on the brakes here and on the ATS. On this test mule we've got front-mounted four (could be six, hard to tell) piston fixed Brembos (!) and the rear caliper is on the back side of the rotor.

Now check the ATS from yesterday.

The front fixies are on the trailing side of the wheel allowing for a front-mounted steering rack (for better feel -- if you're fighting a 3-series, this is critical) while the rear brakes are leading. And excluding a few oddities, a rear-mounted steering rack (as we surely have here) means front or all wheel drive means XTS.

Other differences between this and the mule from yesterday include a larger, more prominent front clip, side-view mirrors with turn signals, and various different body lines (note the cut-line for the rear door).

On the whole, this flagship Cadillac looks fairly awesome with sharp lines and a helluva presence even under all that camo.

And then there's the interior where we see an evolution of the style originally developed for the CTS.

Other differences between this and the mule from yesterday include a larger, more prominent front clip, side-view mirrors with turn signals, and various different body lines (note the cut-line for the rear door).

On the whole, this flagship Cadillac looks fairly awesome with sharp lines and a helluva presence even under all that camo.



Additional shots at link.

EDMUNDS

[nell_z]

:OHYEAH!:

I guess it just killed them to extend that dash-to-axle

That interior is to fucking die for!!!!

[jspookss]

[Cmicasa the GreatXvX]

An issue that I see with people doubting Cadillac's full return is that they seem to rest those laurels on the possibility of them having a front wheel drive based platform for their soon to arrive flagship. The SRX is a great example. Many detractors biggest issue with the vehicle before it was tested was the fact that it was not RWD like the previous one. Keep in mind the previous one with all of it great features failed so miserably, in terms of sales, that rumors had it that the idea would be abandoned altogether. Subsequently, we find that the new SRX equals or beats the two benchmarks on each end of the spectrum in the handling dept. not to mention interior and exterior design.

Might I remind people within that train of thought that if this flagship is, from what I've read, Awd, larger, wider, more luxurious than the German competitors such as the A8, 750i and S550, with similar sport aspirations, quality and reliability in check, and their current detail in attractive styling, Cadillac will be quite capable of competing with a those aforementioned Germans.

From sightings of magazine reviews of the new SRX, and my own test drive of the vehicle after comparing it to both the Audi Q5 and BMW X5 I see no viable reason why, in terms of handling and feel, should the AWD inclusion be overlooked if it is used in lieu of the RWD standard. Truth is the only think I noticed different in driving the SRX vs the X5 was the difference in obtainable power in lower bands. Both having almost identical power enabled me to see not much of a determinable difference in overall performance. Could Cadillac be on to something using a similar config. for the XTS, hopefully with more powerful engines of course?

(OK) 95% of the car buyers don't know a thing about platforms. I'm a "car guy" and with the exception of GM and some BMWs I have almost no clue what the other makers are using under which vehicle. What matters to me is ultimately performance, prestige, and comfort in a vehicle such as this.

(A) suggestion of AWD only only endears me to the possibility of this vehicle, possibly more so than a RWD other. I wouldn't think that I, for instance, would consider an S8 if it were not for the fact that it is AWD, but it would seem as though "what is ok for the Europeans, is not ok for Cadillac."

And that perplexes me on so many levels as to why VW gets a way with providing Audi and Lamborghini with FWDAWD-Only cars but GM gets roasted over the coals, so to speak.

I once got into a heated debate, in fact, about the fact that Bentley was using a OHV design in their $300K Arnage, but the very notion of the superior LS2 or LS3 in the STS was ludicrous.

What is wrong with the Epsilon II platform that it can not be good enough for Cadillac, BMW, or Benz. All that I have read about it in both of the aforementioned, GM vehicles says that the platform is world class, and above other vehicles in their respective classes. I theorize that if the Epsilon II platform were a Benz platform, for instance, no one would question it's ability to compete as a top tier luxury vehicle underpinning

If the XTS improves upon the Lacrosse at by at least 30%, then Cadillac will have a non-flagship that equals the 7series.
I would also like to defend my position on the "XTS rivaling the 7series" thing. I believe that it is completely doable even at that price point. Keep in mind that the CTS currently rivals the more expensive 5series, A6, and XF despite often being at least $5-7K less expensive. The CTS-V does it to the M5 while being $25K less expensive. And while I will agree that in some instances the Europeans certainly have a better grade of leather in their cars, they absolutely should be when one considers the hike in cost. I speak not of interior layout/design though. The Cadillacs win on that notion hands down.

Point is that I don't see a reason why this could not be the case with the XTS versus the 7series. The Lacrosse, for instance, has 90% of the technology in the STS. The STS has about 90% of the technology in the new 7series. I see no reason why GM couldn't improve upon the Lacrosse/STS offerings and rival the 7series

[ausrutherford]

Very nice carry over for the interior design from the concept.

[DougDrivesDodge]

[bojangles beast]

:2thumbsup: The standard of the world for 2 centuries.

[docCarter]

That looks beautiful But I agree with Nell on the dash-axle ratio looking too short.

[jspookss]

The interior looks even better than the concept!

[getchoo]

The interior is killer.

[iDream Theater]

Interior looking slick as ice!

Never really carried for the exterior at all though, thought it was nowhere as good as the CTS'. Hopefully it will look better to me once the production version is out.

[wings4life]

XTS
CTS
ATS

How the heck can anyone keep it straight.

Give us names.

[iDream Theater]

X as in X-Tra large (It's their fullsize after all.)

C is in between A and X. Not directly in the middle, but it is mid A-X, so its their midsize.

And A as in... Acute. So it's smaller. Like as in an acute angle.

Who cares wings, putting random letters and numbers is cool now thanks to stupid companies like BMW. They were too uncreative to come up with actual names, so just numbers and letters from now on.

[docCarter]

A lot easier to remember than Lincoln's name system.

[jspookss]

Ignore the troll