A huge mistake! Even if the car is worth every penny of 100K, Cadillac's renaissance is not complete enough yet nor established enough in the perception of the public as a whole to make it swallow a price point this high for a Cadillac.
Overpricing is partly what killed the Allante, and it's easy to believe that the same thing could happen to the XLR - V Series as well.
The XLR is an image car more than anything else, and Cadillac should lower the price to no more than $90,000 at the absolute max. Even if Caddy has to swallow a bundle on every one, it would be worth it to help prove the excellence of the car to the maximum number of customers actually willing and able to pay that kind of change for a car which, let's face it - they don't actually NEED, and as long as all of Cadillac's other models are terrific as well, that's where the profits will come from.
No matter how good the car is technically, and it is good, there are still two problems to overcome at that price tag:
1. No one thinks of Cadillac as equivalent to Mercedes so there must be a significant price savings.
2. Cadillac has to overcome anti-American bias when it comes to quality. Personally, my last 3 American cars all went over 200,000 so I don't have it. But many consumers feel that the Japanese and Germans build higher quality cars.
Come in low, build market share, and then raise prices after the public loves you. Remember how the first LS400 came in at $35,000?
Also, the XLR-V will be significantly down on power compared to the SL55. Not only is down 20HP, it is probably down about 75 lb-ft of torque.
Look at how dealers are discounting CTS-Vs like mad whereas Chrysler is still getting over sticker for their SRT8s.
1. There is, check MBs quality levels recently.
2. V=M*A...Check the weights on the SL55...its got about 4-500 LBS on the XLRV.
1. Mercedes quality problems have come from the ML and the A class, not the SL. Even more important than actual data, public perception is that the SL is a higher quality and higher status automobile than a Cadillac.
2. The Mercedes has 493 HP and 516 lb-ft of torque versus 440 and 425. Even if you assumed the XLR-V comes in at 500 pounds lighter that is still 8.95 pounds for each lb-ft of torque versus 8.35 pounds for each lb-ft of torque for the Mercedes. Add to that the SL55 develops more torque down low and I see a clear power advantage for the SL55.
We wil see when the rubber hits the road in a couple of months.
1. There is, check MBs quality levels recently.
2. V=M*A...Check the weights on the SL55...its got about 4-500 LBS on the XLRV.
First of all it is F=M*A (Newton's second law), but to the point the power / weight of the XLR-V is .1157 or 8.65 lbs/HP, the SL55 is .1164 or 8.59 lbs/HP
but if this slight edge isn't enough to guarantee victory then you can visit
Renntech at http://www.renntechmercedes.com/pdf/R230.pdf and get yourself 50 more HP and Torque for $5k or up to 120 more HP / tq if you want to pay about 16k.
I don't think any tuners exist for caddy nor from the discussion here is there a lot you could do to the N* to squeeze out more power.
I don't know where you guys are getting your figures from. There is not a 600lb difference between the two cars. It is more like 460.
Second, you are ignoring the power below peak. The blown 5.4 from Mercedes has tremendous boost right off idle. That is what allows it to generate such obscene acceleration. Motor Trend recently ran an E55 Wagon to 12.3 in the 1/4 mile! The SL55 I have seen at 12.6 and 12.7. The SL600 has consistently run 12.5 and the SL65s are into the 11s.
Lastly, how many non-Cadillac people will rate the XLR-V higher on styling and image?
I'm not just a Cadillac guy, and I think the XLR-V is better looking than the SL55.
The prestige argument is pointless. MB quality has been crap for a long time now, and I don't care about the cars they made 20, 30, 40, or 50 years ago. Just like I don't care about what GM made in the 30's, 40's... and I don't care about some of the garbage they made in the 70's, 80's and most of the 90's, all I care about is what they're making today. Forunately, it's by far the best they've ever made.
I don't know where you guys are getting your figures from. There is not a 600lb difference between the two cars. It is more like 460.
Second, you are ignoring the power below peak. The blown 5.4 from Mercedes has tremendous boost right off idle. That is what allows it to generate such obscene acceleration. Motor Trend recently ran an E55 Wagon to 12.3 in the 1/4 mile! The SL55 I have seen at 12.6 and 12.7. The SL600 has consistently run 12.5 and the SL65s are into the 11s.
Lastly, how many non-Cadillac people will rate the XLR-V higher on styling and image?
And CTSV's have run 12.9 before, add 50HP, and stubtract 2-300 LBS and its easy to hit mid 12s. An E55 weighs in at 4087 LBS, a SL55 is 4280 LBS.
A XLRV is 3804 LBS...476 LBS. With only 53 less HP, and 91 less TQ.
Now the TQ is an issue, but so is the weight. Small import cars are a testiment that even if you dont have as much low end (The Northstar makes peak torque at 3600 RPM...hardly a lack of low end) you can make up for it in less weight as weight effects EVERY SPEED...not just low end/high end. 400 LBS for example is the difference between a Cobalt SS S/C and a Malibu SS. Between a Camaro and an Impala..its a BIG difference.
Re: XLR-V Overpriced at a $100K MSRP 
