I arrived in Detroit Saturday night after three days behind the wheel of our long-term BMW X5. On Sunday and Monday I attended media days at the Detroit Auto Show. Then, on Tuesday morning, Inside Line's Lead Senior Editor Ed Hellwig and I fired up our long-term 2008 Cadillac CTS and headed back to Santa Monica. Here is Part 1 of that story.
There was so much snow in Michigan the morning we left, I-94 was closed for some stretches, forcing us to rethink our route. The Cadillac was handling the weather well enough, but if speeds were going to top 50 mph, we needed to head south. That meant we would cross through Kansas instead of Iowa and Nebraska. And what's in Kansas? That's right, Kansas City BBQ. We hit Arthur Bryant's for ribs and fries. It's a landmark. And it was good. Not as good as the Texas BBQ we hit in the R8 last year, but good.
The Cadillac was sorta comfortable. Unlike the BMW, the Cadillac's seat and driving position ended up causing leg cramps after just a couple hundred miles. This made gas stops a welcome break. I even resorted to sticking my wallet and other items under my right thigh, trying to improve the support.
This was disappointing. I was expecting more long-haul comfort from such an expensive sedan.
-- Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief
dougtheeng says:
06:06 AM, 01/23/09
I still hate the analog clock in the CTS...and the vertical vents. Those look like good fries though.
From that first pic outside the restaurant, the CTS looks like a Fusion - particularly with regards to the headlights. Thats not a bad thing, just an observation.
pontiac02 says:
08:15 AM, 01/23/09
In regards to the first comment - I always thought that the Fusion looked similar to the first generation CTS. Not so much with the second generation, but I can still see a resemblance.
I wonder if the Recaro seats available in the CTS-V would prove to be a better option. They seem to be what the "Sport" seats are to a BMW and I think would be a worthy addition to the entire CTS lineup.
compliance says:
08:50 AM, 01/23/09
Those ribs look amazing. It's not even 9am but I'm drooling all overmyself for some of those ribs right now.
roar02ram says:
09:24 AM, 01/23/09
Typical out of towners - going to Arthur Bryant's instead of Gates. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
On a separate note, I'm curious to see if you all dropped south through Oklahoma City/Amarillo/Albuquerque...that'd be my route in a rear-drive Caddy.
stingray454 says:
10:49 AM, 01/23/09
"I wonder if the Recaro seats available in the CTS-V would prove to be a better option. "
Everything I've read about the optional Recaros in the CTS-V says they are superb seats, and well worth the $3k price tag they command.
Unfortunately I don't think they are available on regular CTS'.
mlh says:
12:56 PM, 01/23/09
Wrong order. You go to Bryant's for beef brisket not ribs!
bimmerjay says:
01:48 PM, 01/23/09
Ok, now that I've had some seat time in a CTS-V, how could one not go blind from all of that damn chrome trim on the dash? I seriously think GM finally said, "You think our interiors are cheap?? We'll show you!!!" Practically everything that can be ringed in chrome is. And if it's not chrome it's high gloss piano black trim covered in fingerprints. At least the top stitching is really nice. But whatever happened to subtle elegance?
jederino says:
06:13 PM, 01/23/09
If you keep eating like that, maybe you can fill up those seats properly, man.
esoterica says:
06:53 PM, 01/23/09
bimmerjay, really? The CTS interior easily outclasses the 5-series interior, to say nothing of the Lexus GS or the E-class (though the new unreleased E-class interior may finally be a nice interior from MB).
estreka says:
07:47 PM, 01/23/09
Try driving any Ford product. The "chrome" is excessive and no matter which direction you're driving, you're gonna go blind (a product of the roundness of it all).
TX BBQ FTW!
dgcamero says:
01:56 AM, 01/24/09
bimmerjay...I'll agree with esoterica. You're thinking of the Fusion with its piano black trim. And yeah, it is a nicer interior than anything in its class - bar none. I still don't love the silver painted plastic metal, but it is definitely from the highest quality provider of silver painted plastic metal trim (shared with Audi and others), with a matte clearcoat to boot.
sxty8stang says:
09:45 AM, 01/24/09
Glad you stopped at Bryant's - its definitely one of my top three in KC. But you do realize that you were not eating in Kansas?
http://www.kansascityisinmissouri.com/
redgeminipa says:
04:11 AM, 01/26/09
dgcamero ... bimmerjay was referring to the CTS-V. It does have piano black dash trim.