April25
Spies have snapped another round of photos showing the production Cadillac CTS Coupe undergoing testing — this time on public roads. We've also got a few shots showing a glimpse at the interior, plus some new angles of the exterior, giving us a better overall impression of the changes (or lack thereof) Cadillac designers have made to translate the striking Detroit concept into a production vehicle.
Codenamed GMX226, the stylish couple will be built alongside the CTS sedan at the Lansing Grand River Plant. Production will start in May of 2009. The coupe will feature a backup camera which is not currently found on the sedan, and won't have traditional door handles, but rather a touch-pad setup instead.
Thankfully, it appears that the majority of the CTS Coupe concept's lines have been faithfully duplicated on this production model. Some feared that the concept's radical fastback design might be watered down, revealing the Coupe's sedan roots, but our profile view proves these fears as unfounded. It appears that the production version may have a slightly more pronounced rear deck, but if that's so, it's not enough to significantly alter the concept's silhouette.
The CTS Coupe prototype further separates itself from its sedan donor thanks to the elimination of a conventional door handle, adopting instead the concept's Corvette-style design which hides the door trigger behind the door's aft cut-line. The concept and production similarities continue with the Coupe's revised lower side sill, and the distinctively sculpted waistline, which begins at the A-pillar/fender vent, and narrows as it stretches rearward. The camouflage hides whether or not the line terminates into the concept's razor-sharp point at the C-pillar, but it looks likely that that's another design convergence between the show- and production cars. Earlier photos also confirmed that the concept's bold central exhaust will also reach showrooms.
There are some visible differences between the Detroit Show Standout and the production model. Cost and feasibility studies have killed the concept's glass-to-glass side windows, in favor of a visible B-pillar on the production model. The rest of the changes are found in front of the A-pillar. The concept coupe's large, CTS-V-style hood bulge is gone on this prototype (although we'd love to see it return on the "V" coupe). And the show car's reshaped front fenders — which sweep more voluptuously to a revised front bumper, tweaked front ground-effects, and more dynamic headlight and fog-light clusters — appear to have been replaced with stock items from the CTS sedan. It looks to us like the CTS Coupe and sedan will share identical front fenders and front fascia designs. From there back, however, the cars could scarcely be more different. The drama of the CTS Coupe concept is alive and well, and on its way to Cadillac showrooms.
April 25th
March 27th
March 7th
Live Shots - Concept
Press Photos - Concept
love the car, losing the glass to glass kinda sucks, if they can do it for convertibles, why not this. its really slick looking in the concept would hate to see it lose that edge. Also a fan of the center exhaust. I will deff deff buy one of these when they are out , no questions about that.
This is a winner
Two words…bad ass
Cadillac - you da man.
@anyclearer,
There are NVH issues that verts encounter that you wouldn't want in a Caddy.
Why is it so tough to build a coupe without a B-pillar? Is it not possible to add enough strength to the roof arch to compensate?
This is going to be one of those automotive milestones in recent American history, alongside the 300C and the Escalade.
Nice………….still wish it was smaller though.
nice
How much f'in testing needs to be done? It's just a coupe version of the sedan that's already out…
'SR', I agree … besides testing for structural integrity (crash testing), how much really needs to be tested? Build it and start selling it … I want one.
Mercedes-Benz CLKs are pillarless hardtops so whats the problem?
As much as I hate the American car companies, this is the only GM product that looks good.
^ You're an ignorant ass. I dare you to come up with a GM model that HASN'T been praised by the public or the media. The Aura, G6, CTS, G8, Escalade, Lambdas, GMT900's, Astra, Lucerne, H2/H3, Corvette, Solstice, Sky are all the best looking cars in their class, good luck finding any fucking buffoon who doesn't agree. These vehicles are miles ahead of any japcrap, Euro-trash, fake Ford or shitty ass Chrysler and you're an ignorant ass if you think otherwise.
Get a clue, seriously. You're making yourself look stupid.
They may have been praised (I question the G6 though) but for each of the above models you cited I can think of a better car that I would spend my money on.
Aura: New Accord or Nissan Altima
G6: Anything as it's garbage
CTS: BMW 3 Series
G8: No competition at pricepoint but wouldn't buy anyway
Escalade: Range Rover Audi Q7 BMW x5
Astra: VW Rabbit
etc etc.
Looks are subjective and while these cars are not hideous they are not the best looking in their class.
Maybe the 2009 Pontiac Vibe is class competitive but Hummers most definitely are not.
Wow, good luck with that Accord, or even Altima, those things are utter pieces of shit.
it looks like
This car has a case of ghetto booty. Even after childbirth J.Lo has a smaller caboose, and she has a solid one, please help me God.
LOL at C "my roof flies off "6
If Accord or Altima are such POS why are they beating the HELL out of the american cars in the class ?
You c6 is a pos and make sure you put extra glue on your roof
Awesome!!!
tripleonefive - Bold statment my friend. Bold, utterly retarded statment.
Excellent car. I know it won't breach M3 territory, although I would probably look at this longer than Lexus' IS-f.
Adding in a B-pillar, IMHO, changes it from a 2-door coupe into a less exciting 2-door sedan. Quite a disappointment.
Remember, #1 on Cadillac's own list of unique elements for their CTS Couple is:
* Classic hardtop styling, with no "B" pillar
Nice interior in the disgusting body. Not much to look at.
Walt - don't ever say that again. There isn't such a thing as a 2-door sedan OR a 4-door coupe. Now, this is the first time I have really voiced my frustrations at the whole 4-door coupe marketing bullshit, so don't think that I am one of those people that is really angry about it but there are people out there that will kill you for saying that lol. And for the 2-door sedan comment, you will be tortured and castrated before being killed
sunshine - I like that you came out and said that you hate american auto companies. You are upfront about it, whatever your reasons might be, unlike people like 1115 who insist they are not biased (or "biased towards the superior product" what an oxymoron lol). That brings me to him…
1115 - For the life of me I can't understand why you get so excited over the Accord and Altima. They are BORING cars, the Malibu is too but to a lesser extent. That's because they are midsize sedans. Who cares about them considering most people here are enthusiasts and wouldn't buy ANY of them. The fact is that the Malibu is more than competitive enough to do battle with the Accord. It matches the Accord's interior (which I love), it bests the Accord in exterior design (subjective but most agree with me that the Bu is a good-looking car at least), and the Malibu is reliable enough because it has had no problems, its sister car the Aura has also been trouble-free, and yes its a new car so it doesn't have a decade long track record but the Honda doesn't benefit much from that. The 03 Accord was just recalled for problems which proves its track record isn't that great. Get over yourself and just watch what happens. Will the Malibu beat one of the top dogs in sales? Will its long-term reliability be good? STOP talking about it OVER AND OVER again and just let things play out and we'll see what happens.
And the Corvette issue doesn't prove that the Malibu is unreliable??? How does that work?? And you really need to stop using that to prove your point because its not a strong argument. You are like Sean Hannity that keeps talking about Obama's Bill Heirs issue OVER AND OVER again and he is not getting any traction on it - IT'S NOT WORKING. The Corvette roof issue is also not working because the problem was the GLUE. The wrong adhesive was used on the roof, and no major problems happened. THE WRONG GLUE WAS USED. So what? That's like if GM forgot to put the "GM" badge on the side of the cars and recalled them. It would be a non-issue. It is nowhere near as serious as the Toy rust issue because that is a STRUCTURAL PROBLEM. Toy didn't build good enough cars to resist rust and because of that they failed the 10-year quality test when the Tacomas broke down in just 8 years.
Commo, out of curiosity do you consider this model good looking car? With or without B-pillar? It is not a test, we all entitled to out opinions.
I like the sedan more.
Look's likem i'll be getting a new area code (442) Funny, because i used to drive an Olds.
Nice job GM. I'm a 2 door car only guy. I think this Cadillac coupe will be what I'll next purchase. I've test driven a BMW 3 series (fabulous vehicle but the dealership experience was the deal breaker), Infiniti G37 (good looking in a generic way), a Solara (pleasant was all I could think about it), CLK Mercedes Benz (almost but not quite), and then a loaded Accord (a good driver but who penned that shape) last week.
I will be waiting for the CTS with cash, er, certified check in hand.
I hope the rear windows lower, though.
nice! love this car, definite winner. good job GM
JJT, 442 was serious designation for serious drivers. Original was actually very solid performance mobile. Of course in it's infinite wisdom GM prostituted the brand and was slapping decals on 3 speed automatic Cutlasses, but original was competition to 'Cudas, Chickens and Tangs.
autonut - Unlike 1115, I am not gonna defend just anything domestics put out (I mean look at him trying to defend that ugly new Honda Pilot for example). That said, I do defend the cars GM (and all other automakers) that are actually competitive cars. The CTS range from GM is one of the best GM has put out in recent memory. That is why I myself have a DI CTS. But I do point out the flaws. With this car, it has taken a long time for it to grow on me because of the fact that it is way too much hatchback. The side shot reminded me of a CRX or whatever that little ricer hatchback was called. That is not good. I still love the interior, I like the fact that it is B-pillar free, love the ass and exhausts on it, but wish that they would add some more length to the trunk. Regardless of whether they do or don't add more length to the back, this car still manages to have a strong presence so it wouldn't matter if they didn't make it more coupe-like. Either way, if I was going to buy a coupe, I'd go for the S5 or something.
THe new Accord and Altima are not boeing that is your opinion The Malibu is unproven and not competition to the Accord or Camry It is not reliable based on previous models and this model has to prove itself and that will take at least 5 - 10 years with out any issues
Not too fond of the Altima coupe and the Honda Pilot is nice looking and whether you think its ugly or not it will sell and better than the Lambda's. Reliability is what most people are after People who claim a car is boring or exciting are clearly lacking something in their life and trying to fill that void with a car and its pretty sad
The CTS coupe is nice but for the money the G37 is a safer more reliable bet
autonut: I know.
1115: My brother drives an altima coupe,and I love it. I like the G37 as well, but I'mnot sure it's safer or more reliable than the CTS.
Well its not from Toyota or Honda so you may be right Renault owns Nissan so they are more French than Japanese
Either way Im sure the G37 is a better bet
The Altima coupe is funny looking around the back the Accord coupe is more attractive almost like an Astin Martin mixed with an Acura
Is your brother an assistant janitor ?
My brother,like me worked as a janitor,and now has a better job.
You probably have no siblings,after your mom gave birth to you, she sepokkued, and your four-legged father split.
All the best, cool looking, well-built, American vehicles, are made in Michigan.
is that joke funny in the janitor closet ?
The new Accord and Altima haven't been on the market for 10 years yet either… So going by someone's own logic - they're not proven yet either.
Just like stating an opinion like:
"The CTS coupe is nice but for the money the G37 is a safer more reliable bet"
Funny how the CTS Coupe isn't even on the market and some people are already making definitive statements which there's no possible way they can back up.
By why should we expect anything different (ie- logical)… we're told that a vehicle has to be at least 10 years old in order to "prove" it's reliability - BUT, only vehicles (domestics) which that persons says… because otherwise, he would be blatantly contradicting himself (which he is). Then we're let to believe that the only 10-15 year old vehicles left on the road are Japanese vehicles… despite the fact there are plenty of 10-15 year old Fords, Chevys, Buicks, etc.. still on the road. Then, at the same time… we'll argue that new Japanese cars are exempt from the 10-year rule because old Japanese cars have all been spotless in their reliability, while we'll also blatantly ignore documented problems like 10 year old Toyotas rusting out.
Just like we'll say JD Power isn't a trustworthy source, but KBB, Edmunds, and Motor Trend are… but at the same time when Motor Trend names the new CTS the 2008 Car of the Year (with the new Malibu as runner-up), we'll still talk complete BS about them.
Or is it that Motor Trend is only a viable source of information when they're naming a Japanese car as the COTY??
Anyone can "win" an argument when they constantly change their story to do so… I'd rather lose an argument than be a world-class hypocrite.
Anyone can "whine" an argument when they are paranoid about everything and constantly post 1200 times on various websites
Cadillacs got car of the year once but why dont you check out every other year It was a foreign car mainly Japanese The CTS is a nice car but its not as good not worth more and not as reliable as any comparable from the likes of Toyota and Honda
I know you love your Cadillacs Adillac but they just dont match up They can sell overpriced SUV s to Funkflex master or whoever but thats about it
Give it up and watch out for those aliens .
1115, Caddy has a special place in automotive history. For starters it was the first car manufactured with interchangeable parts. Like RR or Bentley this marque is not about perfection but about panage. it is OK to arrive in Caddy into Hamptons just like in RR or Bentley, less so in Honda. Honda may be mechanically flawless, but lacks pedigree. Unfortunately through complete mismanagement marque lost its glitter, but even in the darkest days in 80s Caddy was the most reliable car build in the land (minus diesels).
I do not like this coupe looks, due to ghetto booty, but there always classy Caddy models out there. You associate Caddy with Jimmy Dean, Frank Sinatra, original Rat Pack an glamor of past days.
I disagree with the most reliable car in the land in the 80's they had a Seville 4 5 6 that was a big POS and those Eldorado's had issues with fire as well so to say most reliable is stretching it Fast fwding to the 2000's the Escalade is a nice truck and they sell a shit load of them but they have their issues as well being that GM recalled about 2 MILLION of its trucks being that GM has a hard time making different vehicles for its divisions the Esco is on that list
Im not even saying that Honda or Toyota are flawless but they are way less likely to break down and they can give over 200k TROUBLE FREE miles THis is why they are so reliable and their resale is so great
The CTS is nice and I even like the Ghetto Booty" if you mean the hatchback look. It just has to show and prove like Honda and Toyotas do or Acura and Lexus in this case. If it can prove reliable at that point I would have to like it more than something from Japan or Europe even and the Caddys resale would have to be higher
I associate Jimmy Dean with sausage
autonut- The 442 (original) was one of my favorite cars.
In fact, I still have a scale model of one sitting on my desk.
tripleonefive- If it's not as good as something that the Japanese or any other imports are making, then why was it chosen Car of the Year?
You know- don't even answer that. I think the best thing that most of us can do for your mental issues, regardless of which of the many we're considering, is just veer clear of it.
Pity
jayjc08, do you know what 442 stands for?
1115, I believe that Hondas are better designed then most other cars, it is not a scientific fact or statistic it is my believe. It was more of a fact when Honda was alive, it is not the same today. Toyota became more like GM then Toyota of 70s & 80s - it is gorilla not an underdog. Ergo the quality of Toyota is more or less the same as GM, except they invest better in research then GM (not more, better). Both companies can manufacture cars today because of what Cadillac engineer developed 100 years ago: interchangeable car parts - first step towards quality.
This is where I have the problem
Toyota's quality is more than GM a few recalls over 2 years doesnt add up to 20 plus years of shoddy build quality recalls and all around shitty vehicles
Toyotas are still way more trustowrthy than GM until GM can prove that they have cars that can stand the test of time
1115, I had a lemon Camry in a good vintage year - 1992. I even know why my Camry was a lemon, 'cause of manual transmission. Quality is achieved by repeating the same operation many times. 95% of Camrys are autos and 5% require change in process and Toyota failed the change. Actually they could not repair their own erratum. Having said that I assume 95% of Camrys were OK. However, Toyota attitude was arrogant then, and I believe little changed today. Their management 3 years in a row admits quality gaffe and promises to repair the reputation. Then their blind chasing American mistakes: Toyota needed to build truck for American market like hole in a head. It was greed; the fact that Ford was making 10 grand on a truck would not let them sleep: gas went up and Ford cant sell their trucks. By definition truck has to be tough and last long time so there is not rush to replace them. Toyota trucks aren't tough or even that good - my friend tuned it for Chrysler after 4 years and numerous trip to the dealer during guarantee. After guarantee period they told him to pay for transmission repairs or fuck himself. His transmission was automatic, like 100% of trucks. Isn't it a picture of GM in 80? By the same token Prius and Lexus are respective segment leaders. We will be able to see if GM quality push yields result in 3-4 years when todays Malibu will be pass warranty period, bit Toyota truck failures already de facto.
To be objective Honda's foray into luxury segment fizzled out. Numbers speak for themselves. I think Honda has to admit to themselves that they don't have good design studio and hire a good talent. Kids from LA school of design just don't cut it. Technologically I don't think anyone can touch Honda. I may be wrong, but that is my perception.
I feel sorry for you, as you can see USA car industry is gradually going down. First was the Japaneses car makers, now are the Corean car makers, and in the future maybe the Chinese… That a fact, accept it, they are better, and your negative comments will not change the buyers opinion. I don't make my decisions based on your frustated opinions!
I normally read all the comments that native americans make about foreign cars and they all say terrible things about the design, the quality and other features (see for example the comments about the Passat CC). But when it comes to USA cars, you may go blind, because all you can see is wonderfull things… WAKE UP, you are getting far behind the rest of the industry!!! The GM is no longer the biggest car maker, and it will never be. Now is TOYOTA, then Hunday may follow as WV is expecting to be in 10 yrs period.
Go and read the Book "The World is Flat" by T Friedman… It will help you to understand what is going on arround the world.
autonut- Four barrel carb, four speed transmission and dual tailpipes. When the friend had first given me the model a few years ago, I had thought it stood for engine size, but apparently that friend had known a good amount about 442's.
Need more oil for GM @ comment 14.
I'm sorry but I think you are the ignorant,
"The Aura, G6, CTS, G8, Escalade, Lambdas, GMT900's, Astra, Lucerne, H2/H3, Corvette, Solstice, Sky are all the best looking cars in their class"
Are you f**king serious????…I agree with Hummers but it's because they don't have any direct competition. All others are the American crap in their class. ANY European/Japanese car in their class would be better looking and be better in quality and reliability.
Well I had a great saturday
I am glad everyone here has a life
A life that is pretty much about posting over and over the same type of shit that you have said 1000 times. "Blah blah more reliable quality resale" and now you have added "safer" to the mix, presumably based on those GM truck fires from 10 years ago that you are very proud of yourself for finding and now you believe that you can use it to prove that ALL GM cars are unsafe. Do you have any idea how many safety recalls Japs have made?? Here is one where airbags deployment can cause injury:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2007/01/19/76078.htm
And that is YET ANOTHER example of problems with the old Accords. You can't make a point about the Accord being better than Malibu because of history when the Hondas have not been passing the 10 year test. You have not even established that the Malibu even has a bad track record!!!! Provide links that talk about the major problems with the Malibu. And remember, no one (at least not me) is saying that the Bu is BETTER than the Accord. JUST THAT THEY ARE ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD. If you want to shop cars based on their country of origin, go ahead with that. Just know there are other good, non-Jap cars out there.
^^ Not only that, but it was more of the same talking and arguing for the sake of talking and arguing, despite not having a firm grasp of the subject. Once again, there's an attempt to cherry-pick one piece of information and then use it to cast an all-encompassing stereotype… and the worst part is, they can't even correctly identify their argument.
I assume that certain someone was trying to mention the Cadillac 4-6-8 engine… not the 4-5-6? First of all… Cadillac had a sound theory, but the technology just wasn't there yet to properly implement it. Secondly, Cadillac quickly realized their mistake and the engine was only in production for a few years. Finally… if anyone really knew more about something than just what a quick Google search could provide, they would know that Cadillac's biggest mechanical blunder of that era was the Olds-derived diesel, not the short lived 4-6-8.
All of which was quickly turned around with Cadillac's fully-modern (for that time) aluminum block V8s. The 4.1 had it's fair share of problems… many of which were largely rectified with the release of the 4.5 and even more so with the 4.9. All of those 4.5 and 4.9 powered Cadillacs were solid and reliable cars that were more than capable of surpassing the 200K mile mark. To this day, there are still a lot of people who believe those engines were far better and far more reliable than the Northstars which replaced them. And unlike those who speak with no experience… I actually DO have experience with a 4.5L Cadillac.
But.. this IS LLN… so actual experience pales in comparison to just sitting behind a computer and reading about things…
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL + HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK:CONTROL UNIT/MODULE + GMs record for unreliability The Accord is a proven vehicle and the Malibu in all of its incarnations since 1997 has proven to be an unreliable vehicle with shoddy build quality
Cars should be shopped on build quality and when the two are compared the Malibu has worse recalls and more. Not only are they unreliable but unsafe I also posted a Lambda (all 18 of them ) recall in the Insignia and Buick threads so those are unreliable based on that and GMs poor history
The cars are NOT on the same playing field and some new unproven model that comes from a shitty company cant automatically be in the same field as a proven car like the Camry or in this case Accord
No matter how many aliens may say so Japanese cars are indeed worth more and more relaible as a whole and therefore unless you are a consumer who just likes to stay in repair shops and possible injure your self and others the Japanese are better
Sorry
jayjc08, good call. it was 4 on the floor, meaning manual shifter. It was advanced for the time, since Mustang was with 3 speed manual (on the floor) and Camaro I believe was 3 on the tree ( I could be wrong here). Firebird came out with 4 on the floor (I think actually borrowed from Olds).
It seems kinda-weak I'll just have to put the caddy out of its misery when the light turns green with the Ford Taurus SHO!
1115, FYI, most people shop on looks over reliability, and if Jap cars are worth more, then why do you only see American Muscle going for over millions of dollars at the Barret-Jackson auctions? Because American muscle are the only vehicles that apreciate in value! Notice all the Top fuel Funny drag cars are American with V-8s in them. You don't see any ricer Jap cars/w 4 bangers doing the 1/4 mile in 5 seconds @ 330MPH. Sorry, but the Americans beat the Japs a long time ago, when they nuked them, and they beat them now! The new CTS COUPE, VOLT, SC ZR-1 VETTE, and CAMARO are the Nuclear weapons that will leave Toyota in the dust in sales, for years to come.
It's just a matter of time before GM buys Chrysler, after that Toyota will be Hiroshimaed and Nagasakied again! Choke on that big cock for a while, sucker.
jpenis or whatever it is you call yourself. Learn to spell. Corea, that is funny. It's Korea by the way.
Native Americans are usually Shawnee, Seminole, Cherokee, Apache, ect etc.
You are obviously an immigrant from somehwere else enjoying the freedoms of America. Don't like it here, go away.
Rafa? American crap? Hows the day going at 7-11?
I like the CTS sedan, it was incredibly well designed, and looks amazing. This CTS coupe just doesn't do it for me. the rear half of the car looks wrong. Deanster TJ, I hope you meant the CTS sedan will be/is a great automotive milestone for American Car makers. This car seems like a black sheep.