Oh the hype! Cadillac CTS vs Model S

[artsci]

I'm having some paint work done to my Model S P85 and I'll be without my car for the rest of the week. I rented a car from Enterprise and when I want to pick it up it was a Cadillac CTS. The folks at Enterprise acted like I should be thrilled to have a CTS. Not so. Here'e the BS GM uses to describe the CTS -- highlights mine:

The prestige sedan has been reinvented. With the first-ever CT6, Cadillac embarks on a bold journey that sets the new standard for excellence. Innovatively engineered and beautifully crafted, the CT6 combines advanced technology with breathtaking design. Matching the available 3.0L V6 Twin Turbo engine is an entirely new, lightweight vehicle architecture for a superb driving experience that is agile, solid, and secure. And every journey delivers the utmost comfort and convenience for all with optional Bose® Panaray®Sound System featuring 34 speakers, individual climate control and extended comfort seats with five massage settings. The result is a daring expression of ambition.

What a crock! It's hard to believe they actually pay someone to write this kind of stuff. I'm breathless alright, but from the hype, not from the performance or quality of the CT6. It's a decent car, but the performance, ride quality, and road noise fall way short of the Model S. Makes me very happy that Tesla does no paid advertising and tends to avoid this kind of hyperbole.

It's been less than eight hours but I miss my Tesla

 

[kevincwelch]

So, is this yet another upgrade to your S or maintenance?

 

[kort677]

could it be what you've noted is why GM stopped making those cars?

 

[lolachampcar]

Yet another spoiled Tesla owner

 

[palmer_md]

so is it a CTS or a CT6? They seem like very different cars to me, but I've never driven or even seen a CT6 so I cant say for sure.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Lucky. I'd have done a little dance to get a CTS or CT6. My S was in for service and I had a Chevy Traverse for a week and a half. I was grumpy cat.

 

[artsci]

so is it a CTS or a CT6? They seem like very different cars to me, but I've never driven or even seen a CT6 so I cant say for sure.

CT6.

 

[artsci]

So, is this yet another upgrade to your S or maintenance?

About a year ago I backed into a post and did some damage to the rear quarter panel and bumper. The repair work was fine but the color match pretty bad. I took it back to the shop that did work and they promised to repaint it for free, so it's in the shop for that work to be done.

 

[artsci]

Yet another spoiled Tesla owner

True, true. Even the Bose sound system on the CTS is lacking. On some of my classical favorites the tympani sound like bongo drums on the Cadillac Bose system. Makes me appreciate all the more the investment I made in the Rues system for my Model S.

 

[DCGOO]

The local store rented me a CTS for the 120 mile drive to pick up my S in December. Awful, just awful, Not only that, but Enterprise did not give me enough to fuel to make the trip. So I had to go buy gas. A fitting end to an era.

 

[artsci]

If the CT6 is the best top-of-the-line GM can build, one has to wonder what they've been doing all these years. Tesla's first car built from the ground up, the Model S, is an order of magnitude better. Are you hearing that Mr Lutz?

 

[CHG-ON]

Profit is GM's number one priority. Amazing cars is Tesla's. Or perhaps it is changing the world order with respect to motor vehicles. Clearly, neither of those are GM's or they would be producing different cars. I can't think of any other way to sum up why GM continues to build mediocre cars when they have more resources than almost every other car maker.

It make me sad to see the once pinnacle of American industrial might compromise so much.

 

[Ryan MF]

34 speakers?? Seems a bit excessive

 

[brantse]

The folks at Enterprise acted like I should be thrilled to have a CTS.

I had the exact same response from the Enterprise employee who was handing over the keys to a Ford Escape, while my MS was being worked on. She was shocked and amazed that this unknown car insurance company "Tesla Motors" had such a high daily reimbursement rate. I was less than thrilled to have to drive the Escape for a day.

 

[Gizmotoy]

Huh. I was always impressed by the CTS. I found it to be a comfortable and competent vehicle for the price (just over 50% of the base Model S), and I thought the CTS-V was perhaps the best reasonably-priced sedan coming out of a traditional automaker. We looked for a used one but couldn't find a manual wagon available for sale. I haven't driven a CT6 yet, but I'm a bit surprised it's worse.

I didn't enjoy my time in an ICE rental recently, but you can do a LOT worse than a CTS.

 

[kmtl]

You see what they charge for one of those new Cadillacs? Crazy. GM it's banking on most people not thinking of Tesla as an option.
They can write all the marketing nonsense they want, and spend a fortune on anti-fair trade lobbying at the statehouse, but it's not going to deliver a competitive vehicle. Come on GM, America's needs you to make a quantum leap here, not become the oil industry and stick your head in the sand.

 

[Maximus8]

GM has had it's chance to be America's car brand. Now, Tesla is showing the world great cars can be designed and built in America.

 

[McRat]

Holy bat guano Robin!!

OK, there is a CTS and a CT6. You can't rent CT6's AFAIK, they just came out, and GM sharply curtailed their rental sales. You won't see many new GMs on the lot at rental agencies.

 

[BOOMER7]

The only Caddy I like was in the Entourage movie. The car looked incredible.

 

[HookBill]

Once you've been elecTrified everything else is like sitting in an ICE bath.