Was leasing a Lt. Platinum '08 CTS4.. just purchased an '09 CTS in Radiant Silver

RAB · #1 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 03:03 PM

Hey all. Until recently I was leasing a Lt. Platinum on Ebony 2008 DI FE2 CTS4 (AWD). It was a 3-year lease that began on Oct. 1/07. I loved the car, and was going to keep it for 17 more months (i.e. there were 17 more months of lease payments as of April/09). I found out in mid-April that GM Canada was offering a big price reduction on the '09 CTS ($6000 off the MSRP). When combining that with the GM employee vehicle discount that I still qualify for.. it made a strong case for getting out of the '08 leased vehicle I had and purchase a brand new 2009 car. The dealer did a cross-country search in GM Canada's system for a fully-optioned '09 DI FE2 CTS (including NAV, but no AWD) finished in Radiant Silver on Lt. Titanium. Nothing turned up. I decided to place an order for the exact car I wanted, and that happened on April 16th. Some 10 days later GM shut down the Lansing Grand River plant for 3 weeks. Not good!! (When were they going to build my car?!!). Anyway.. what was good is that when the plant re-opened after those 3 weeks, they moved my (sold) order right up and built the car right away - the week of May 18th. The car arrived at the dealer on May 29th, and I eventually took delivery of it on June 11th. Another great thing was that the dealer found an interested individual to take over the lease of my '08 CTS4. The lease was transferred over to him the next day, on June 12th.
Via photobucket I've linked-in below several photos of my new '09 CTS. I'm REALLY ENJOYING the new car - really loving it. I've been receiving a ton of compliments since bringing it home, and the car turns heads wherever I go with it. Hope you enjoy the pics.. took them right outside my home.
Cheers
RAB.

waffleman · #2 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 03:08 PM

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!

exm22psu · #3 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 03:10 PM

very nice! keep that interior from getting scuff marks! ;-)

muschany · #4 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 04:02 PM

Your new car is beautiful.

I'm curious as to how you would describe the difference between Light Platinum and Radiant Silver. From your picture, they look the same to me.

GMFAN · #5 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 05:12 PM

Hey Rab,
Congrats

That's awesome. Car looks Great!

Best of Luck and enjoy.

ddawson · #6 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 07:38 PM

Beautiful car and home.

MoFex · #7 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 08:19 PM

RAB

congratulations! You have exactly same options as I do with the exception of colour!

I hope your CTS will be trouble free...

cafpaf · #8 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 08:55 PM

Beautiful, just beautiful. Mine is an 08 Black Raven beauty and I must say that I never get tired of looking at these cars or driving mine. Good luck with yours.

The Drakester · #9 (**permalink**) 07-14-09, 09:01 PM

Excellent choice!

Bandit1 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-15-09, 09:38 AM

Love that color. Congrats!

C "T" ess · #11 (**permalink**) 07-15-09, 10:06 AM

It's always a great feeling that a car was built just for you. Nice car,enjoy!

RAB · #12 (**permalink**) 07-15-09, 10:27 AM

Hey gents... thank you very much for all your kind comments about my new CTS - it's really appreciated!

Cheers
RAB.

RAB · #13 (**permalink**) 07-15-09, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muschany

Your new car is beautiful.

I'm curious as to how you would describe the difference between Light Platinum and Radiant Silver. From your picture, they look the same to me.

muschany, thank you.

There's actually quite a difference between Light Platinum and Radiant Silver, and is particularly noticeable when the two colors are side by side.
Several friends & neighbors noticed the color difference straight away, saying the silver on my '09 CTS is lighter and brighter than that of the '08. I absolutely agree.
When giving the radiant silver a close look you can see a very subtle bluish tint in the silver. That particular 'tint' (for lack of a better descriptor) is not in the light platinum.. instead, with that shade of silver there's a subtle pewter-color influence going on, and overall the light platinum silver is darker.
Of note.. the GM touch-up paint cartridge I had for my '08 CTS4 wasn't labeled as Light Platinum, but rather "Tarnished Silver".
I could be wrong.. but the metallic quality (metal flake) in the radiant silver seems a little more prominent too.
I've linked-in below a couple of close-up shots taken of the '09's hood while taking the other photos on Sunday. It was a bright sunny day, so you could really see the metallic quality of the paint. The metallic effect is great.. it makes the silver really 'pop'.
Below the two pics I've included a third.. it's a photo I took with my cell phone, when I was at the dealer getting the new car. My '09 CTS is on the left side of the photo, my '08 CTS4 on the right. Despite the poor quality image, I think the difference between the two silvers is quite evident in the shot.
Cheers
RAB.