I haven't actually seen a CTS-V in person, but if its "interior bits" are like the ones I saw on an '04 or '05 CTS I test drove — and from that picture, they appear to be — they need more than a "little upgrade". They're all cheap black plastic with white silkscreened labels that look like they'll wear off in about a week.

That said, I really liked the driving experience, and the CTS-V, by all accounts, is a really nice car. It currently holds the laptime record around the Nürburgring for a 100% stock production car.

I'm not a big fan of the new Cadillac styling, but it's certainly distinctive in an era of similarities. Try to get your grandmother to distinguish between a BMW 5-series, a Lexus GS, an Acura TL, Infiniti M35, and a Hyundai Genesis without looking at logos.


I would assume it has something to do with sales, though I don't have any numbers, but I think it makes sense otherwise. My mom owned a mid-'90s LeSabre, and it was more well appointed than the CTS I drove by a long shot. It was a nice car, while being nicer than a Chevy and not as expensive as a Cadillac. Buick really is a good mid-range between standard and luxury, and their models are distinct.

Compare Pontiac, the other other GM brand, which currently has seven models, of which only one, the G6, is not a badge engineered version of another card sold in the US, or a captive import, and no one's clamoring to buy a G6.

They should probably dump Chevy, too, but that's their ... I don't want to say "flagship" brand, but, I guess, most prominent brand. Chevy is (was?) to GM what Ford is to Ford. So they probably can't do that.

They should definitely dump GMC, though. Or cancel the Chevy-branded versions of those trucks. I've never understood why they both exist.