Cadillac STS Forum - 2005 through 2010Forum for discussions regarding the new Sigma-based STS model. Not for Cadillac "Seville" discussions (2004 and older).
I work for a cadillac dealership and I personally have an sts and my wife has one too. I love this car and try everyday to sell it no matter what the customer comes in for. The thing about the sts that is so awesome, is that it has everything! It's got good power, luxury interior and dont forget one of the best supsensions you can get. I traded in my 07 sierra with 5,000 miles on it for an 05 sts 4 and it has been the best trade I have ever done. I feel like a million bucks when I drive these cars. It has a sporty yet classy style to it. The cts sells more because of the price and thats all. Even the 08 cts still does not drive half as good as an 05 sts. The 08 cts is an sts with a little sharper front end (not in style, in lines). The interior is awsome but not as comfortable as an sts. I drive these everyday and the reason the sts does not sell more is there is no advertising for it.
the engineers did come pretty close on the ride/comfort/handling of the sts...if i had to pick one side of the fence, i would say that the ride is on the firm (hard to believe for a caddy with the stock suspension, no less) side but the handling is incredible for a car that size. and how about the steering? the weight of the feel and the degree of feedback is spot on..it's interesting to see the difference in the r/c/h between the current gerneration and the fwd platform it replaced. the design team firmly had their sight set on a euro sedan....somewhere between a 5 series and the a6....very nice...
With sales at 1600 a month do not look for any improvements to this car except different colors. GM is not going to dump money into this car as it will be discontinued in 2010.
That number would go up if GM had decided to offer the long wheelbase option on the 08 til discontinued. I have read the "stretch" would intrude into the DTS market. But heck, the DTS will still get its share from all the limo and hearse conversion business.
Not at all. When we were looking to replace my wife's 2002 STS last December she wanted me to make the decision. I told her that I wasn't going to take a chance on her walking across the parking lot to her car for the next several years and thinking "That is one ugly car" and she was going to be involved. She has said several times since then we picked a truly elegent and very pretty car. Good enough for me!
Let me be the only one (apparently) dissenter. It's not as much that the car looks dated as it just doesn't look right. The '08 front end is gorgeous. But it stops there. The sides are high and plain and, unless you get 19" or 20" wheels, the tires/wheels look too small for the bulk. The Chrysler 300 does the slab sides much better. The back end is too square and too boring. Looks more like the back of a pickup truck. The CTS does it much better. Don't like the interior either: Console too high, giving a sitting-in-a-bathtub feel; and the massive center stack it just that--overpowering. Didn't find the seats particularly comfortable either.
I walked into the Cadillac dealership intending to buy a CTS, but it felt too small (didn't help that the salesman accompanying me on the test drive was a good 250 lbs.). And though I really wanted to like the STS, it failed in the looks department as noted above. Plus, in order to get the N* and the Magnetic shocks you were paying a super premium. I ended up (and y'all will probably groan) with the "old fuddy duddy's" (as my secretary calls it) DTS Performance. Am not particulary fond of it's front end. But like the sides and love the back. And found the interior much more comfortable...not to mention the size of the rear seat vs the STS. Coming out of a 300C, I miss the hot performance. But it's more than adequate. I'd rate the STS an "almost got it right" car.
Let me be the only one (apparently) dissenter. It's not as much that the car looks dated as it just doesn't look right. The '08 front end is gorgeous. But it stops there. The sides are high and plain and, unless you get 19" or 20" wheels, the tires/wheels look too small for the bulk. The Chrysler 300 does the slab sides much better. The back end is too square and too boring. Looks more like the back of a pickup truck. The CTS does it much better. Don't like the interior either: Console too high, giving a sitting-in-a-bathtub feel; and the massive center stack it just that--overpowering. Didn't find the seats particularly comfortable either.
I walked into the Cadillac dealership intending to buy a CTS, but it felt too small (didn't help that the salesman accompanying me on the test drive was a good 250 lbs.). And though I really wanted to like the STS, it failed in the looks department as noted above. Plus, in order to get the N* and the Magnetic shocks you were paying a super premium. I ended up (and y'all will probably groan) with the "old fuddy duddy's" (as my secretary calls it) DTS Performance. Am not particulary fond of it's front end. But like the sides and love the back. And found the interior much more comfortable...not to mention the size of the rear seat vs the STS. Coming out of a 300C, I miss the hot performance. But it's more than adequate. I'd rate the STS an "almost got it right" car.
There you go. You gave a perfectly good explanation of why you purchased the DTS ("More Cush For The Tush") instead of the STS. You did not call it "dated." You said it was an "almost got it right" car. The STS is an extremely fine, well-styled, highly engineered car, with a few flaws and many above average items. It rides much firmer and has less inside room that the DTS, and it has the similar appearance to other cars out on the road today (CTS, Chry 300, Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aurora to name a sampling), it contains about every high-tech item currently in vogue today (darn, no cooler in the console - should I consider abandonment...), and it is fast, comfortable, and fairly well behaved on other than straight roads.
Now, I must ask the magical musical question that is generated by this thread. What would a person describe as "dated?" Besides clothes and haircuts from the 1970's, what would you describe as dated? What could this be in an automobile? Since about every car manufactured in the last century that still might run is still purchased by someone (classic buffs, rodders, collectors) can any of the be called "dated?"
As I write this response it occurs to me that GM will drop the STS after the 2010 run, having had little promotion or annual changes to a car that ran for five years. Surely the design and R&D costs were recovered. And since the final output of the series will be under a quarter million, with who knows how many were 6's V's and V8's, I wonder if I have a good future collectible on my hands now (2006 1SG on 18" wheels and a V8 engine).
Of all things automotive, styling is the most subjective. There is no right or wrong answer to the question; the answer is in the eyes of the beholder. There can be general consensus (of styling of a model) but there are some who thing even an Edsel or Gremlin look fine.
You can't see the outside while you're driving down the road so it doesn't make a hell of a lot of difference what it looks like unless you are so insecure in your own skin you feel you need to make some sort of visual statement to the general pulic.
WELL SAID LIFER!!!!
I agree 1000%.
As a 06 STS AWD sg1 owner and Team Member as a Paint Process Engineer/Tech Support at Lansing Grand River. I am PROUD to drive and paint such fine cars. I am partial to our Cadillac's of coarse, but I know how hard we try to keep "You" Cadillac Owners coming back model after model. This new 09 model is hot and several improvements have been made including work on the blue tooth intermittent pairing and feedback. Cadillac listens to thier coustomers!!
My ride is a wonderful way to de-stress on my 1 hour ride home every day, do I want the newer look? Maybe, but I am still content with my beloved 06 model.
Our STS's will never be outdated in my mind.
WELL SAID LIFER!!!!
I agree 1000%.
As a 06 STS AWD sg1 owner and Team Member as a Paint Process Engineer/Tech Support at Lansing Grand River. I am PROUD to drive and paint such fine cars.
I have a 2008 STS with Crystak Red Tintcoat.
Why is there an extra charge for this color?
Does it really cost more or just a profit center for a popular color?
Is it a different paint?
Could the regular paint deliver the same color and look?
I am not angry about the charge, just like to know. I have had a number of the extra charge reds in past so I do like the color
