2014 Cadillac CTS

[Louis Smith]

I just met up with a buddy for breakfast and he mentioned to me that he just leased a brand new ATS for $299 / month for his daughter (she's not even 20 I don't think, still at college) because she had to have one of her own after she saw his (his is a more expensive loaded model with a turbo). He felt it was a steal at that price and wanted her to have a dependable car that she'd be proud to drive. So there you have it. If she likes it, Cadillac may have just earned itself a new customer for the next 60 or so years.

Yes. Cadillac might have earned a new customer for the next 60 or so years, or at least as long as daddy is alive to foot the bill for his little girl.  I will resist the temptation of waxing poetic to discuss seeing this as a problem that the nation has with their young people.  They are so used to having things handed to them, that when faced with the reality of going out on their own, they are clueless and many end up living in the basements of their parents.  In any event, this further solidifies my position that cars today are not as important to young people today as they were to us in years gone by.  I wonder how many parents acquired a Cadillac for their college bound child back in the 50's and 60's!  I think rather then this young girl becoming a fan of Cadillac, is going to be one of those that expects things to be handed to her.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Yes. Cadillac might have earned a new customer for the next 60 or so years, or at least as long as daddy is alive to foot the bill for his little girl.  I will resist the temptation of waxing poetic to discuss seeing this as a problem that the nation has with their young people.  They are so used to having things handed to them, that when faced with the reality of going out on their own, they are clueless and many end up living in the basements of their parents.  In any event, this further solidifies my position that cars today are not as important to young people today as they were to us in years gone by.  I wonder how many parents acquired a Cadillac for their college bound child back in the 50's and 60's!  I think rather then this young girl becoming a fan of Cadillac, is going to be one of those that expects things to be handed to her.

Wow.  Such an unfair assessment of today's typical youth but one that unfortunately seems to be repeatedly held by older people about younger people generation after generation after generation.  "Darn kids today...blah blah blah blah..."  Just because the current economy has not been kind to young people, including college graduates, doesn't mean they are all lazy bums or will still be expecting mommy and daddy to support them once things turn around.

My parents bought me a new car (no, not a Cadillac but Cadillac leases weren’t nearly as cheap back then) when I was in college in the 1980s but I didn’t seek handouts from them or expect things to be handed to me forever.

I don’t see how this one unique example of a father leasing an ATS for his daughter "solidifies" your position that cars aren't as important to young people.  She apparently loved the car when she saw her father's.  This sounds like a young person, a girl no less, that really likes cars.  As far as what may or may not have happened decades ago, at just $299/month you couldn't get into much more than a Chevrolet Chevette lease (inflation adjusted) for that amount back in the 1980s so the fact that it's a Cadillac doesn't really translate to past decades/situations payment-wise.

[Davidinhartford]

Beware that $299 lease on the ATS.   


  2013 CADILLAC ATS 2WD Preferred Equipment Group w/Engine, 2.0L Turbo, I4, DI, DOHC, VVT
Ultra Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees $299/month 36 month lease. $2,199 due at signing (after all offers). Includes security deposit.
Tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment extra. Mileage charge of $0.25 /mile over 30,000 miles.

  I don't know too many people who can stay under that 10,000 mile a year limit.  Otherwise those mileage charges rack up fast at 25 cents a mile over.

[Louis Smith]

Wow.  Such an unfair assessment of today's typical youth but one that unfortunately seems to be repeatedly held by older people about younger people generation after generation after generation.  "Darn kids today...blah blah blah blah..."  Just because the current economy has not been kind to young people, including college graduates, doesn't mean they are all lazy bums or will still be expecting mommy and daddy to support them once things turn around.

My parents bought me a new car (no, not a Cadillac but Cadillac leases weren’t nearly as cheap back then) when I was in college in the 1980s but I didn’t seek handouts from them or expect things to be handed to me forever.

I don’t see how this one unique example of a father leasing an ATS for his daughter "solidifies" your position that cars aren't as important to young people.  She apparently loved the car when she saw her father's.  This sounds like a young person, a girl no less, that really likes cars.  As far as what may or may not have happened decades ago, at just $299/month you couldn't get into much more than a Chevrolet Chevette lease (inflation adjusted) for that amount back in the 1980s so the fact that it's a Cadillac doesn't really translate to past decades/situations payment-wise.

I call 'em as I see 'em.  Yes I am an "older generation" guy, and one of the benefits is that I have been on this planet, long enough to make comparisons and see the changes that have gone on.  There is no way that I can rationalize a father obtaining for their teenage child a brand new Cadillac, or any other car for that matter.  A decent reliable used one, yes, but a new Cadillac?  Of course on the other hand, if he wants to, and can afford it, then why not, go ahead.  Hell, he might as well start looking for her brand new house when she graduates college.  I guess I should admit that I am somewhat jealous of her.  When I was a her age, my parents raised me, to know that if I wanted something I had to work for it.  I am eternally grateful to them for that lesson in life.

[Louis Smith]

Beware that $299 lease on the ATS.   


  2013 CADILLAC ATS 2WD Preferred Equipment Group w/Engine, 2.0L Turbo, I4, DI, DOHC, VVT
Ultra Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees $299/month 36 month lease. $2,199 due at signing (after all offers). Includes security deposit.
Tax, title, license, dealer fees and optional equipment extra. Mileage charge of $0.25 /mile over 30,000 miles.

  I don't know too many people who can stay under that 10,000 mile a year limit.  Otherwise those mileage charges rack up fast at 25 cents a mile over.

Shouldn't be that much of a problem for her.  I am sure that Daddy will help keep the miles down low, but sending her to Mexico for Spring Break, 1st class of course.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Beware that $299 lease on the ATS.   

  2013 CADILLAC ATS 2WD Preferred Equipment Group w/Engine, 2.0L Turbo, I4, DI, DOHC, VVT
Ultra Low-Mileage Lease for Qualified Lessees $299/month 36 month lease. $2,199 due at signing (after all offers). Includes security deposit.

That's the standard Cadillac "promotional" lease but you can usually do better at the dealership e.g. less, if anything, due at signing, lower payment, higher mileage limits, etc.  It is also for the 2.0 turbo model and not the base 2.5 model.

[Big Apple Caddy]

I call 'em as I see 'em.  Yes I am an "older generation" guy, and one of the benefits is that I have been on this planet, long enough to make comparisons and see the changes that have gone on.  There is no way that I can rationalize a father obtaining for their teenage child a brand new Cadillac, or any other car for that matter.  A decent reliable used one, yes, but a new Cadillac?  Of course on the other hand, if he wants to, and can afford it, then why not, go ahead.  Hell, he might as well start looking for her brand new house when she graduates college.  I guess I should admit that I am somewhat jealous of her.  When I was a her age, my parents raised me, to know that if I wanted something I had to work for it.  I am eternally grateful to them for that lesson in life.

Few college kids have parents lease them a new Cadillac, even though the payments can be quite low vs. times past.  It is unreasonable and out of touch to use this one example as if it represents the norm today or try to compare it against what happened decades ago given how cheap payments can be today and the fact that Cadillac isn't the prestige brand it once was.

Sadly, more the norm today is families struggling to even send their kids to college.

[Louis Smith]

Few college kids have parents lease them a new Cadillac, even though the payments can be quite low vs. times past.  It is unreasonable and out of touch to use this one example as if it represents the norm today or try to compare it against what happened decades ago given how cheap payments can be today and the fact that Cadillac isn't the prestige brand it once was.

Sadly, more the norm today is families struggling to even send their kids to college.

One of the many lessons I have learned in my life, is that the spending of money is all relative.  While you might consider the payment "quite low", I think the millions of people on food stamps, and not having healthcare, might disagree with you.  I might also throw in the vast amount of college students that have to drop out because they just can't continue to pay the bills.  How about the thousands of our brave young men and women that literally place their lives on the line, by joining the military, with the hopes of getting a GI college loan?

Obviously the purpose of going to college it to further one's education.  What kind of lesson is this girl learning, by thinking that all she has to do is simply want something and "Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo Put 'em together and what have you got bibbidi-bobbidi-boo"  a brand new Cadillac!  Much better then a Pumpkin coach!

Then and Now

[Big Apple Caddy]

Obviously the purpose of going to college it to further one's education.  What kind of lesson is this girl learning, by thinking that all she has to do is simply want something and "Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo Put 'em together and what have you got bibbidi-bobbidi-boo"  a brand new Cadillac!  Much better then a Pumpkin coach!

Again, the Cadillac ATS lease for daughter situation is just one pretty rare example and far from the norm you seem to think or want to think it is.  Most kids don't get even used cars from the parents when they go to college but It does happen and has been happening since cars were invented and people have been whining about "spoiled" children even longer.

[Louis Smith]

Again, the Cadillac ATS lease for daughter situation is just one pretty rare example and far from the norm you seem to think or want to think it is.  Most kids don't get even used cars from the parents when they go to college but It does happen and has been happening since cars were invented and people have been whining about "spoiled" children even longer.

So am I wrong to "whine" about an overly spoiled child?  You don't see this rare example being a microcosm of a far greater problem we have today with, not so much our young people, but with a great amount of our parents today?  You don't think respect, and consideration isn't on the downswing with the "Me" generation?

[Big Apple Caddy]

So am I wrong to "whine" about an overly spoiled child?  You don't see this rare example being a microcosm of a far greater problem we have today with, not so much our young people, but with a great amount of our parents today?  You don't think respect, and consideration isn't on the downswing with the "Me" generation?

You are wrong to think that today's typical youths are worse than those of past generations.  People of older generations have been complaining that kids lack respect, are spoiled, etc. for decades and even centuries.  So much so that it's essentially a "grumpy old man (or woman)" cliche.  "Darn Kids Today!!!"  Your views are really no different than those held by older people about young people when YOU were a kid and some of today's youth will no doubt have similar views about kids decades from now when they're the older generation.

So, how about that 2014 CTS?

[Louis Smith]

You are wrong to think that today's typical youths are worse than those of past generations.  People of older generations have been complaining that kids lack respect, are spoiled, etc. for decades and even centuries.  So much so that it's essentially a "grumpy old man (or woman)" cliche.  "Darn Kids Today!!!"  Your views are really no different than those held by older people about young people when YOU were a kid and some of today's youth will no doubt have similar views about kids decades from now when they're the older generation.

So, how about that 2014 CTS?

Wrong am I?  I guess you aren't old enough to remember when the vast majority of our young people, had respect for themselves and their families.  Sure you had your group of JD's (google it),  but I grew up in a era when children would never think of doing anything that parents would be ashamed of.  Again, I guess its just my generation that sees this, as most of us say and feel the same way.  Yea, maybe I am a grumpy old man.  What do suppose makes grumpy old men grumpy?

[Andrew Armitage]

Thanks for sticking up for the kids of today Big Apple Caddy! Having wealthy parents doesn't make you spoiled and being poor doesn't make you a hard worker. Vice versa is not necessarily true either. How you are raised is the largest determining factor of how you will behave as an adult. I didn't mean to turn this into a discussion of socio-economic disparity.

My only point was that Cadillac is appealing to more than just retirees again.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Wrong am I?  I guess you aren't old enough to remember when the vast majority of our young people, had respect for themselves and their families.  Sure you had your group of JD's (google it),  but I grew up in a era when children would never think of doing anything that parents would be ashamed of.  Again, I guess its just my generation that sees this, as most of us say and feel the same way.  Yea, maybe I am a grumpy old man.  What do suppose makes grumpy old men grumpy?

You are as wrong as "grumpy old men", and there were plenty of them, who had the same closed-minded views of kids as you do today when you were a kid.  You are as wrong as "grumpy old men", and there were plenty of them, who had the same closed-minded views of kids as you do today when your parents were kids.  Etc!  Of course mostly people your age are going to share similar views as the generation gap and disconnect between older and younger generations are what tends to bring out "grumpy old men" sentiments generation after generation after generation.  "Darn kids today" are pretty similar overall to "darn kids yesterday."

So, where do you think pricing on the 2014 CTS will start...above or below the XTS?

[Big Apple Caddy]

Having wealthy parents doesn't make you spoiled and being poor doesn't make you a hard worker. Vice versa is not necessarily true either. How you are raised is the largest determining factor of how you will behave as an adult. I didn't mean to turn this into a discussion of socio-economic disparity.

My only point was that Cadillac is appealing to more than just retirees again.

Yes, very true.

[cadillacmike68]

I think we have diverged from the original topic a bit.....

[waterzap]

Going back to the original topic. Rightly or wrongly, I think Cadillac is moving away from the “big comfy” into the “luxury sport” segment
The best Cadillacs out there at the moment might be Buicks. Having had both FWD and RWD cars. For just puttering around I actually prefer FWD.
I drove the Verano the other day. Very nice little car. Good interior, quiet. Engine was a bit noisy though, you had to keep the revs high to get anywhere.
After my 97, in a few years I might look at Buick in all honesty.

[Big Apple Caddy]

Going back to the original topic. Rightly or wrongly, I think Cadillac is moving away from the “big comfy” into the “luxury sport” segment
The best Cadillacs out there at the moment might be Buicks. Having had both FWD and RWD cars. For just puttering around I actually prefer FWD.
I drove the Verano the other day. Very nice little car. Good interior, quiet. Engine was a bit noisy though, you had to keep the revs high to get anywhere.
After my 97, in a few years I might look at Buick in all honesty.

Cadillac appears to be targeting BMW and Mercedes, even though the XTS is FWD, while Buick is targeting Lexus and Acura.  Buick is lucky to still be around in the U.S. thanks to its popularity in China.  Hopefully GM can continue to rebuild the Buick brand with even more and stronger products here in the U.S.  Won't likely ever be as strong as it was as far as sales in the 1980s, though.

[Louis Smith]

Cadillac appears to be targeting BMW and Mercedes, even though the XTS is FWD, while Buick is targeting Lexus and Acura.  Buick is lucky to still be around in the U.S. thanks to its popularity in China.  Hopefully GM can continue to rebuild the Buick brand with even more and stronger products here in the U.S.  Won't likely ever be as strong as it was as far as sales in the 1980s, though.

So with Cadillac and Buick targeting the luxury car brands, that leaves Chevy to stand alone facing the "affordable" car market.  No wonder Ford is so successful and profitable.

[Makandriaco]

So with Cadillac and Buick targeting the luxury car brands, that leaves Chevy to stand alone facing the "affordable" car market.  No wonder Ford is so successful and profitable.

So what about Pontiac? ... oh wait ... that is dead ...   And Oldsmobile?...  Dead too? OMG!