Is there proof of a 2002 Catera with a 3.2l manual tranny

[hulksteronline]

I still have not seen proof that Cadillac shipped any in 2002 as some people claim. You would think one would have ended up on the Internet somewhere.

I have pondered loading a 2003 Omega B with a 3.2l and manual tranny in a container from the Middle East where there are many German Opels for sale... One of my employees has a sister in Dubai.

[MyOpel]

the 3.2L Omegas only came with an automatic 5 speed no manual.

you'd have to get a 2000 3L or 2001-2003 2.6L

[elvin315]

As much as I want to believe it I'm like you. Unless there's real proof it's not real. CateraMV6 reported seeing one while car shopping with a friend a while back but didn't get pictures.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/1350821-post2.html

If you have the connections and the means that's great, but would I go to the expense and headaches of bringing one here from the Middle-East? A car with basically the same engine, electrical glitches, leaks, bushings, etc., as our cars? Probably not.

Now, a 377 HP / 175MPH Opel Lotus Omega............................................. ...
(Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in GB)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4V2KZNyaw8

[Warez]

No Catera ever came from the factory with a manual transmission.

[guardian]

A few years ago, right here in this group, I put out a request for any Cat owner whose car was built in 2001 to please so post.

Nobody ever answered the call.

Now mind you, every poster here knows there's a mess of 2001 Cats out there. But they all were built in calendar year 2000, in the latter portion of that year.

In 2001 GM tore down the darn factory!!!!!!!!!!

So if they built any Cats in 2002 I don't know where.

[elvin315]

Originally Posted by guardian

In 2001 GM tore down the darn factory!!!!!!!!!!

So if they built any Cats in 2002 I don't know where.

Well, the Omega was built in that same "demolished factory" from 1994 to 2003. So it is possible that a few 2002 Cateras might have slipped through before GM pulled the plug on the Catera. If, and that's a big if, they may have had the 3.2L. Whether they had the 5 speed is anyone's guess.
.

[CateraMV6]

I saw some production figures from a buddy of mine who works at GM and there were only 238 of them registered as 2002s.... and I think the number was 28 exactly for the manual versions... and all had 3.2s (black and silvers)... but only god knows what happened to them and where they went...

Don't forget the difference between the Omega and the Catera is only cosmetic... not much has changed under the hood.

Often times the GM employees get a first hand dibs on some of the new products and they may have purchased the few manuals that made it here...

A shipment of 238 was probably one boat load full...

The 3.0 was replaced in late 2001 with the 3.2 and that was the motor for the next 2 years... then the CTS ended up with that motor and a 5 speed... so why the heck not...?


I have only ever laid eyes on one of these examples and it was built late 2001... and listed as a 2002... at the time I was so new to these cars that I didn't know what I was looking at, also I had just purchased mine, and if I hadn't I would have picked it up.

[CateraMV6]

Here is something interesting to look at...

Catera SPORT 3.2L


OEM 3.0L Dynoed at 165RWHP @ 20% loss thats 198HP at the crack which is close to the actual advertised 200bhp number...

OEM 3.2L Dynoed at 182RWHP @ 20% loss thats 218HP at the crack which is close to the actual advertised 220bhp number... for the CTS.

The funny part is that my 3.0L Sport dynoed at 185RWHP but I have modified exhaust and intake, and some special fluids in the Diff, Trans and Motor...

With a chip I am hoping to push that number into the 190s...

[Black02SLPSS]

Hey cateraMV6, where did you get your steinmets muffler, and how much did it run you?

[CateraMV6]

I found it on ebay and it was something like 100$... This very muffler was off of the STEINMETZ Catera the one from the 1999 Auto show... there was a scrap yard near by that got a hold of it and they sold it in bits and pieces...

Some other fellas on here got the motor, brakes, suspension... wheels and tires, bumpers... etc, ohh and they were dirt cheap too!

[guardian]

Originally Posted by elvin315

Well, the Omega was built in that same "demolished factory" from 1994 to 2003. So it is possible that a few 2002 Cateras might have slipped through before GM pulled the plug on the Catera. If, and that's a big if, they may have had the 3.2L. Whether they had the 5 speed is anyone's guess.
.

I'm working from memory here of research I did a couple of years back. And at my age doing this can be problematic.

However

OK I'm putting out the request ONCE AGAIN for anyone owning a Catera built in 2001 to so post. There are thousands of 2001 Cats that were built in 2000, late in 2000. I'm not interested in those.

My best memory is that in 2001 (can't remember the month, and that's important) they tore down the old Ruesselsheim factory where the Cat always had been assembled. It was a very old plant at that point. I seem to remember reading GM built a new, modern facility on or very near to the same site. It's entirely possible Omegas were manufactured within that new facility. However, I do not believe there was a single Cadillac Catera produced there.

All this is hazy for me, trying to recall something I read long ago.

But if anyone out there is driving a 2001 Cat that was built in 2001, I sure would like to know the month. Because that car, if it exists, would have to have been manufactured prior to the demolition of the old factory.

EDIT

OK, here's a little more. Apparently they began building the new facility prior to demolition of the old. Makes sense, right!

Here's a lift from a page re Opel history:

"Another key initiative of Hendry's was to replace Opel's aging flagship assembly plant at its home base in Rüsselsheim. Opel in 1999 began building a new state-of-the-art plant immediately adjacent to the old plant. It was conceived of as a "lean production" facility that would require 40 percent fewer workers to produce the same number of models annually. The plant opened in early 2002 with yearly production capacity of 270,000 vehicles."

This does leave open the issue of when the old facility, where Cats always had been assembled, was demolished . . . and what happened within that facility just prior to the demolition in 2001. I don't have those answers.

Could a rogue effort at the new plant, using left over Cat parts from the old plant and/or mixing new and old parts, have produced a few Catera autos, or at least cars that looked like Cats? I don't know. Anything is possible.

2001 was a time of changeover and turbulence for Opel in Rüsselsheim. I don't have all the details.

[CateraMV6]

Sorry for the crappy picture, my cell phone is not too good!

Its my 2001 Catera SPORT...

[guardian]

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

Sorry for the crappy picture, my cell phone is not too good!

Its my 2001 Catera SPORT...

An absolutely stunning photo, CateraMV6! I have never before seen anything like that.

Your car must have been one of the very last Cats ever produced, which means your car must be as good as they ever got, with all improvements, updates, etc..

I did look further to try to learn when the old factory was torn down. Was not able to come up with anything. Of course as long as that old factory stood, it is possible Cats were being assembled.

This means I am unable today to confirm my recollection that the old factory was demolished in 2001. Obviously I would welcome any help from other posters, just as I welcome your photograph.

On the new factory, I can't even find confirmation that Omegas were built in the new facility, to say nothing of Cateras. And yet we know Omegas continued to be built into 2003.

On the OP's question about a 2002 Cat with a 3.2, I was trying to find an answer for him by coming at the question through the back door. But so far I have failed. At this point I would have to say anything is possible.

Also, regarding his request for proof . . . . . well . . . . . I can't even prove that the old factory was still standing in 2002!!!

However, thanks to you, we now know it WAS standing in January of 2001!!

BTW, that's a really special car you've got yourself there. It's darn near to being a treasure IMHO. Take care of it.

EDIT

Just want to amend the above a little bit.

The OP was asking about a 2002 Cat. To be a 2002 Cat the car would have to have been manufactured in, what do you want to say, July or August of 2001 or thereafter. Cars assembled prior to that would, presumably, be 2001 Cats. Now you can come back and say they were playing around and did it all in May of 2001, or whatever, and still called the car a "2002". I'm not gonna argue. I don't know.

When I asked a couple of years ago, nobody could even post with a Cat made in 2001. I got a lot of late 2000 responses. Now we have one car. And that car is as early in 2001 (January) as it can be.

Now if they did NOT demolish the old facility in 2001 then it would all be more plausible. Maybe they continued to make cars in that facility, Omegas, and maybe even a few Cat stragglers, and maybe even the special "2002" Cat which is the subject of this thread. So a lot hinges on when that facility was demolished. I know it was a really old facility. That's why the new plant was built.

And I would be shocked if even a single Catera was manufactured at the new plant, 3.2 or anything else. But I have been shocked before!!

[Warez]

Originally Posted by guardian

My best memory is that in 2001 (can't remember the month, and that's important) they tore down the old Ruesselsheim factory where the Cat always had been assembled. It was a very old plant at that point. I seem to remember reading GM built a new, modern facility on or very near to the same site. It's entirely possible Omegas were manufactured within that new facility. However, I do not believe there was a single Cadillac Catera produced there.

The Omega was built until 2003 as already stated, I doubt that the source stated that the plant demolition is correct. It would simply not make any economic sense to tool a new plant for a car that is already so close to the end of its product cycle.

[Warez]

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

I saw some production figures from a buddy of mine who works at GM and there were only 238 of them registered as 2002s.... and I think the number was 28 exactly for the manual versions... and all had 3.2s (black and silvers)... but only god knows what happened to them and where they went...

If any 2002 Catera's were built then they were developmental cars and definitely not legal for street use, GM likely destroyed them all by now.

A manufacturer has to emission certify every new engine with the EPA and DOT. Federal laws also state that manufacturer has to supply parts and service for 10-years.

You will find nothing listed in any GM service database to a Catera with a 3.2 or a 5-speed manual.

GM recently was auctioning off some of their Heritage collection (prototype, SEMA cars etc) at Barret Jackson. None of them were street legal, were sold with scrap titles and the buyers had to sign waiver and agree to never put them on the street. The DOT found out and went after GM regardless (not sure how it turned out).

I don't see how these cars could slip by the goverment.

Originally Posted by CateraMV6

Don't forget the difference between the Omega and the Catera is only cosmetic... not much has changed under the hood.

I have the European service database and I'm actually quite surprised by how different the North American and European versions are.

For example all of the North America version were OBD2, European Omega's were only OBD2 in 2001 when the 2.6 and 3.2 were introduced.