GM may flop, but Cadillac will prevail.

“There’s speculation of a more expensive model based on the Cadillac Sixteen concept that would compete in the range of the BMW 6-Series and Mercedes CL-Class.”

Isn’t that the job of the Cadillac XLR?????

No, the XLR was made to fight the SL.

Jon.

XLR has no chance of competing with the Mercedes SL. The SL is a class of its own with 50 years of history and laying claims to being the first true sports car with the 300SL. How can that piece of junk which is the XLR even get close with its cheap look and feel inside and out. Everyone at GM and all their fans are in a dream world. Rathter take a chrysler over Cadillac let alone Mercedes

obviously you have never walked around a XLR, sat in a XLR, or driven an XLR. Tit for tat, it competes quite well with the SL. tuck in your skirt, your bias is showing.

Forget about the historical associations of the SL name for the moment. Now, look at the development Mercedes has regarding the SL. They have 50 years of development in making a GT 2 seat roadster. They have learned things over time and have been able to apply what they learned into each new generation of SL; can Cadillac claim that?

Also, I have been in both (never driven the XLR, so I won’t argue ‘driveability’), and the tactile feel of the materials in the SL are far better, so is the layout and ergonomic placement of controls and displays. The XLR, for the price feels, well, cheap. At over $70K I would expect nothing but perfection, but it doesn’t even come close. Clarkson was right when he said that if you want to take on Mercedes, you have to make a car that is better than Mercedes.

Regarding the 300SL, it was the worlds ‘Supercar’; the world’s first sports car (production) is debatable, although the Mercedes SSK is a pretty good bet.

Jon.

I agree that the XLR has a cheaper interior than the Mercedes. I also will state that the Cadillac will be far more reliable. Regardless, I would happily take either car (I own a GTO and a Caddilac SRX – both very reliable).

THE XLR is CORVETTE-BASED, so the performance is not lacking, if the art and science theme is your thing, the XLR nails the look, so you then have a bias towards Mercedes which you cover up be nit picking about interiors and history and GARBAGE. The XLR is a fine vehicle. As for the next CTS and CTC? (the coupe in the article) they will blow the previous gen away. V Series-500 hp?

Dosent matter what cadillac it is, its still a gm peice of ****, and that’ll never change.
GOD I CANT WAIT TILL GM AND FORD DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Derek, do you sit on the outside of the car while you drive? If you don’t then obviously the interior is a very important part of the car. And you are telling me that the car is based on the Vette…so why would you buy the XLR if the Vette is $20K less, and you et all the good parts of the shared chassis? I mean if the interior of the XLR is crappy, and you admit this, then why would anyone buy the XLR for a premium? It can’t be the Cadillac name: it’s not that prestigious.

You can’t ‘nit pick’ the history of the technical development of a car, you really can’t. Without the history of development, Cadillac was starting basically from zero, so it was impossible for them to make a car as good or even better than the SL the first time around. Also, the SL handles incredibly well, especially with the active suspension option. The Vette handles well, but it is nowhere as tight and as controlled as the SL.

If you are so impressed with HP, may I direct you to the SL65 AMG? It has 602 bhp, more than enough. Although, you might think that 602 horse is ‘garbage’…

Jon.

Error in my post, which should read: ‘since you say they are all the good parts’ .

Jon.

PS – The Coervette is the basis for the XLR, that being said, the Corvette ALSO has a long history, since 1953 Chevy has been tuning ITS GT Sports car too, that would be 53 years, the SAME as the SL. Now, jsut talking performance, most generations of Corvette OUT PERFORM most generations of SL. THe difference, is that the Corvette only as of late has become a more luxury oriented car (pre C6). So, you could argue, that since the XLR is made from Corvette underpinnings, that the XLR has just as much heritage and development, but it focused more at performance for a good buy ($43K vs $98K) Even the XLR is a bargain compared to an SL.

You know when the XLR is not a barging? At resale time. Lets see what depreciation looks like, percentage-wise compared to an SL. At one time Cadillac was a great brand, but since the 30’s have been over for quite some time, its best not to try to league it with Mercedes. At the same time, I do admit that Mercedes quality has been going downhill, but its hardly as bad as some of the cars GM has for sale.

Jon.

resale: cars.com search

06 XLR Certified used 1082mi $99,900
06 XLR-V 2500mi $105,000

06 SL500 certified used 854mi $88,900
06 SL55AMG 2800mi $112,000

based on new car price points, I would say that resale hasn’t affected the XLR compared to the SL.

I’m looking forward to what I saw in the 60min spot. That was HOTT!! If that’s thing going to be a coup, i will be the first to sign up for one…I’m sorry if your younger then 50 or at least have a beating heart stay away from those geezer mobiles ……Mercedes, you while as well smell like Bengay, and their rock solid reliability is all but gone. Okay I’m taking it a bit to far, Mercedes have one or two good rides

Mike, are you for real? Who sells a car the same year they own it? Wait, no, let’s restate that: the first 6 months of ownership? Look at 5 years down the line.

Jon.

sca, a ‘sports car’ has to be able to turn and quickly, in a very precise manner, at high speeds, not simply drive fast in a straight line; when the XLR matches the SL in that respect than we’ll talk again.

Jon.

Body double…

http://www.leftlanenews.com/index.php?s=2007+Navigator

Notice any similarities? LOL

To the guy who said he can’t wait until GM and Ford die: I can’t wait until your breed dies. Do you not realize what that means to this country, how many jobs will be lost, were even one of them to go under? Toyota, Honda, etc, won’t be racing to fill those spots, and the economy of this country, were they both to go under, would be near collapse, you can bet on that. If that sounds appealing to you, then you’re a moron.

Like it or not, GM is righting the ship. It’s a big company, and it takes time, but it’ll come around. 5 years is not a long time in this business, but there will be a marked improvement within that time frame, just as there has been within the last 5. Not necessarily an improvement in sales numbers, that will come, but an improvement in quality.

Well said mike. Nice to hear something intelligent get said about all this bashing.