New Cars

Thought I'd write a little on a subject I love; cars.

My 2003 Cadillac DeVille gets a fair amount of repair work done these days and it has caused me to rent or take loaner cars while the Caddy is in the shop. It's also caused me to consider what I'd replace it with. Aw who am I kidding? I have always loved cars and if I could afford it I'd have a fleet of different models for different driving pleasures.

Anyway, two cars I recently had the use of I'll discuss here.

First the brand spankin' new Chevrolet Traverse. I think it was the LT version so it wasn't fully loaded, but nicely equipped. It had a rear-view camera and various steering wheel controls. First thing I noticed was it is made for big people. I've always thought I was large, but apparently not as big as the ideal candidate for the Traverse. Remember, I drive a Caddy DeVille. The arm rests on either side of the driver's seat in the Traverse felt a mile away. They were so far away I didn't even use them.

Next were the humungous wheels and tires. Maybe 19" are small by today's standards, but they seemed big to me. That translates into higher replacement cost than say a 16" tire.

There was no shortage of room in the Traverse. This thing reminded me of my parents' 1974 Caprice Estate wagon in terms of room. Dad used to brag that you could put 4'x8' sheets of paneling in that car...and we did. For a car over $30k I would have liked it to feel a little more luxurious in the driver's cockpit.

Second was the Cadillac ATS. The Traverse was a rental. The ATS was a free loaner. It had less than 5,000 miles on it. This car is SMALL. The footwell is so small, there's nowhere to put your right foot once you engage the cruise control.

This is another car that sells for over $30,000 but Cadillac expects it to go up against the BMW 3 series and other small imports. Maybe people shopping for these cars don't care how much they get for their money, but this IS a Cadillac. It oughta come with auto-dimming rearview mirror and memory seats.

The infotainment system in the center looked and felt cheap. There's a bunch of glossy black and cheap-looking chrome.  It wasn't real clear whether you needed to touch the word (e.g. Radio) on the glossy black, or push what looked like the cheap chrome button just below the word Radio.

The car was small, but tight. I mean real tight. It accelerated well and although the ride was a little rough for my liking, I got the impression the suspension would be right at home on a road course. Only problem is; nobody who buys this will be driving it on a road course.

The ATS felt so cheap, I wanted to test drive a new Hyundai Elantra to see if it would feel the same or better. I know the ATS is not the same car as the Chevy Cruze, but the quality of construction felt like Chevy. The back seat was one of the cheapest I've seen in any car, regardless of cost.

If Cadillac doesn't sell tons of ATS's to rental fleets, I don't think they'll be around long, in their current form. The Chevy Traverse on the other hand, is the new family-mobile for large people. I think they'll sell lots of them.

Whatchathink?