2008 Cadillac CTS V6 DI: The horror, the horror

I had a lot of trouble in that same storm system. It absolutely obliterated southern ontario (snowmageddon!). My MINI got stuck in two parking lots on my drive home, and I just opted not to stop for most stop signs (the road was empty) so as not to get stuck again.

should have taken the mitsu. or subi.

Makes me wonder how Phil is doing in the Infiniti.

Does THIS CTS have a rear LSD? If so, you should probably throw a few hundred pounds in the back. I've done fairly well with crappy all-seasons, a limited slip rear, and some good weight in the trunk.

"The saving grace was that the CTS carries California plates. I was therefore a Californian in the minds of those I'd inconvenienced. And Californians are a breed of cat, expected by Michiganders to be situationally inept and lacking in fortitude. So as I drove away, I waved to my savior and said, 'Thanks, um, dude.'"

A fellow midwesterner hiding behind Cali plates. Tsk tsk. Although I should say that fwd would have been of limited value too, in that weather. I got my Focus stuck once on the way to work (about half tread life remaining on the tires) and had to be pushed out too. No shame in that. My favorite bonehead stunt from that day was some guy making a turn in a Charger through a red light. It had just turned red and I guess he didn't want to stop. Unfortunately for him, he took the turn way too fast and slid into a snowbank on the opposite corner. He couldn't back out, and he certainly couldn't go forward. No, I didn't stop to help. If he's dumb enough to race through a snowy intersection in a rwd car, he deserves whatever bad luck comes his way. I'm just happy he didn't hit another car, because then 'd be obligated to stop.

Ditto for the wieght in the trunk. My mother bought a full set of winter tires for her merc, so I threw a couple of her summers (they have nice sleeves, very clean) in the trunk of my G8GT, when I got worried about the snow.

Sure the ride was compromised, but I did get all the grip I could ever have wanted :)

Two years ago, a guy in a Charger did the same thing here in Maryland. It had been snowing for a good little while, and the accumulation was getting slushy. Anyhow, he decided he didn't want to wait on the red, nailed it, broke the arse-end loose to the right, and recovered just in time to slam both left-side wheels (though the rear really took the brunt of it) into the curbing that divided traffic.

Even better, it was rolling on those idiotic 'Dubs' that he probably spent $1500 each on.

Nearly p!ssed myself I was laughing so hard.

It's not just the snow that's bad here, it's the horrible freezing temperatures (they're here in Chicago anyway). Yesterday the high was below 0 and today was only about 5-7 degrees warmer. The tires have the grip of marble at that temperature (unless that is they are dedicated snow shoes). I spun my tires shifting from 1-2 and 2-3 almost every time today just trying to get a move on. I thought it would be ok because there was no snow but boy was I wrong. On a side note, on the way home I saw a GMC Envoy that had rolled over on its side on the opposide side of the road in the snow facing the wrong way. That kind of gave me some shivers as I was rolling along at 20 MPH as people were stopping to look and taking pictures. People should drive more carefully in these conditions.

We're celebrating our 10th day of sub negative teens and 20's here. It has been snowing off and on (I think we're up to 15"). I cannot drive faster than 20mph on most roads.

All you Californians that keep moving here in Montana, stop! Think what you're doing!

We in Portland OR share your pain. Lots of spinouts and accidents today as the roads are now basically 4" rutted ice. Even with AWD and chains, cars are slipping and sliding everywhere.

I'm just south of Seattle and we have about 4" of snow on top of 3 1/2" to 4" of ice so driving has sure been fun for every one. The only guy I know who has been able to get around is one of my buddy's in his lifted Yota with swampers.

Is there a CTS Brougham, Biarritz, or D'Elegance edition out yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Charger owners rarely spend 1,500 a wheel, more like 1,500 for 22" wheels and tires.

what's the deal with tires these days? I had to drop $1,100 on snow tires to relace the "all season" Bridgestone tires on my 08 CX-9 GT. I call a conspiracy. Whoever started this "performance tire" and "summer tire" trend BS needs a good beating.

Joe- this CTS does in fact have the optional LSD. Do BMWs even come with LSDs anymore?

DON'T USE those all-season tires, they are just miserable in any condition. They don't offer good dry-summer performance and they are still crap on the snow. This is the fact, period.

If you drive your car in heavily variable conditions then you should be changing your tires seasonally, I mean you should be keeping your "real" winter-snow tires in your basement during high-temp. summer-spring-fall season then replace them with your "real" summer-performance tires when it starts to be cold out there (below 44F). That's how it should be done. Those all-seasons are just crap.

bimmerjay, I know you're joking, but to give you an idea just how wildly revolutionary this car is for Cadillac, you can't even get it with factory chrome rims (the shiniest ones are high-polished aluminum)

cyclone- I've never got stuck with high performance all season tires. I'll never pay for snow tires- it's not worth it in a major city where streets get plowed. If I lived in East Geblit, then perhaps your recommendation would be more appropriate.

That's OK for your situation, similarly I also don't use snow-tires, here a heavy snowfall happens maybe once or twice a year, that's not enough for justifying the snow-rubber. But some other people mount them in November-December and use until March-April and I also understand their decision because they certainly feel safer when it's becomes lower than 40-45F even if it's not precipitating.

What I oppose is to be deceived by those crappy all-seasons. They are claimed to be the compromise but in fact they are just bad performers in any situation you'd think of. I am all for summer-performance tires in summer and if you get heavy snow in winter where you must be driving on coated roads then you should be just changing to winter tires. That's how I see it.

cyclone- if you buy a car with summer only performance tires, then you will obviously need winter tires if your area gets cold in the winter with the obligatory sleet/ice/snow to go with it. However, I wouldn't lambast all season tires because for the most part, the work for 90% of drivers. I doubt half the people will summer only performance tires realize more than a fraction of their potential anyway. The cost associated with summer only performance tires pretty much outweighs any advantage you get from them in dry warm weather- unless you are really that much an enthusiast who afford frequent tire replacement.