On the commute to and from work I found one aspect of the hard-drive Bose audio system in our 2008 Cadillac CTS to be invaluable: I can pause, rewind and resume playing any radio program. I can skip commercials. It's radio Tivo, folks (well, not actually Tivo brand, but you get the idea.)
My 50-mile commute through the heart of LA can be terrible. I have two or three routes I can use, so AM traffic reports are a key part of my exit strategy. But I frequently find that the concentration required in traffic--staring at the bitchin' Camaro in the next lane, evading the idiot on the phone cutting me off, moving aside for lane-splitting motorcycles--often distract me from hearing the actual traffic report just when I need it most.
"Did he just say that big crash was on the I-5 south?" I wish I could rewind to hear it again. In our 2008 Cadillac CTS I can do exactly that. Su-wheet. In a single commute using it in context, the CTS's radio Tivo went from being an interesting idea to a must-have.
But I also experienced what might be the dark side of hard-drive, computer-based audio--a new way to "crash" a car, if you will. About halfway home, four of the five front speakers went out (the center channel still worked.) No amount of fader adjustment could bring them back. Once in my driveway, I tried shutting-off the engine, waiting 10 seconds or so and then restarting--essentailly rebooting the car.
It worked, and the CTS's stereo has been behaving normally ever since. We'll watch for this to see if it recurs. Perhaps it was a fluke.
But I have to say that I've begun to see scattered instances of odd problems that were cured by rebooting on other brands of cars with high-tech on-board systems. I'm going to have to start keeping a log because I can't remember specific examples. People may have been been conditioned to accept rebooting as a way to solve problems on a PC, but I don't think this is acceptable behavior in a car, ever. After all, I keep hearing that full-blown steer and brake-by-wire systems are coming.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 6,265 miles
hondacura4 says:
02:01 PM, 06/ 2/08
Cadillac seems to have the best infotainment system available in this price range. How does the stereo sound? Is it better than the SPECTACULAR ELS system in the 09 TSX Tech?
mjolnir says:
02:30 PM, 06/ 2/08
It's an old joke, and it's no longer funny: "Imagine if Microsoft made cars...."
m_thrizzle says:
03:17 PM, 06/ 2/08
The 'radio-tivo' a good idea and I'm glad cars are starting to have this feature now.
Did Bose come up with it? For the first time I'm actually impressed by a Bose product.
bimmerjay says:
03:37 PM, 06/ 2/08
You have a state of the art infotainment system and you're relying on *AM* traffic reports??
Doesn't this system offer RTTI? In my iDrive's RTTI (completely free, thank you BMW), I just click on the incidents icon and I get my entire traffic report, by freeway, sorted by the distance from me. It even warned me of high winds and debris in the roadway one day!
actualsize says:
04:00 PM, 06/ 2/08
Even when I have RTTI, I still listen to the traffic reports. I consider all sources. I've been burned more than once by XM traffic--sitting still on a road that shows green on the screen, and vice versa.
That and our 3 month trial traffic report subscription lapsed. We still get XM, but the traffic is a seperate payment.
roar02ram says:
05:23 PM, 06/ 2/08
Gotta love Traffic on the 1s!
toyzm says:
05:27 PM, 06/ 2/08
Don't even bring BMW into this blog. BMW is significantly behind other premium brands when it comes down to entertainment or interior feature. BMW can show off only when we discuss mechanics.
SubyTrojan says:
05:48 PM, 06/ 2/08
LOL, roar02ram! KFWB - NEWS98!
bimmerjay says:
06:26 PM, 06/ 2/08
@ toyzm - I'm guessing you haven't experienced BMW's entertainment options. BMW was one of the first to market with HD radio, offers fantastic iPod and USB integration with iDrive (one of the very first as well)... not to mention the usual mp3/DVD/Aux abilities and the excellent Lexicon Logic7 surround-sound audio systems.
chavis10 says:
02:47 AM, 06/ 3/08
m_thrizzle- Bose, so far, only design the acoustic portions of an automotive sound system- speakers, AMPs, DSP, etc. I believe Delphi is responsible for the interface and head unit hardware. I often hear people complain about Bose products but they've had some really good systems in a myriad of cars- Cadillac STS and Infiniti M both have excellent 5.1 digital systems with 15 (14 for the M) speakers and great sound quality. The system on the Infiniti G is the best 2 channel system on the market IMO
chavis10 says:
06:13 AM, 06/ 3/08
AUTHOR: chavis10
DATE: 06/03/2008 06:13:10 AM
EMAIL: jlove16@aol.com
m_thrizzle says:
09:49 AM, 06/ 3/08
chavis, you must be talking about the new G37, because the Bose system in my 2004 G35 coupe was terrible. It had no midrange and sounded like I was in a cave.
I have read that some of the newer Bose auto-audio systems are very good, but there is no hope for their home acoustimass systems.
chavis10 says:
10:53 AM, 06/ 3/08
m_thrizzle
I'm talking about the current generation G sedan. The system is called Studio on Wheels