2008 Cadillac CTS Article at Automotive.com

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Motor Trend names Cadillac CTS 2008 Car of the Year

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at Motor Trend. Motor Trend announced today that the Cadillac CTS is the 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

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LEARN WHY

IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Review From Motor Trend Magazine

Motor Trend names Cadillac CTS 2008 Car of the Year

/ Article provided by: Motor Trend Magazine

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 20, 2007) -- Motor Trend, the world's automotive authority and part of Source Interlink Media, today announced the selection of the Cadillac CTS as the 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The complete report on Motor Trend's 2008 Car of the Year will be published in the magazine's January issue, available on newsstands December 4, 2007.

"The Cadillac CTS marks the first time in decades an American automobile has been designed and engineered with an eye on the global marketplace," said Angus MacKenzie, editor-in-chief of Motor Trend. "Among its many excellent qualities, perhaps the most valuable one is that it shows Detroit can build a world class car to compete with the best Munich, Stuttgart and Toyota City have to offer. With the CTS, Detroit is officially back in the car business, not just the truck or SUV business."

"The CTS's winning attributes go far beyond a well-designed facade," said MacKenzie. "It's the star of a new GM revival, and with a base price of just $32,990, the car is truly accessible to a wide spectrum of car buyers."

The base model CTS includes an impressive 263-horsepower, VVT V-6 (a 304-horsepower direct-injection version is optional), eight-speaker Bose audio, 17-inch wheels and a dual zone climate control. In addition to offering a classy, distinctive interior, superb fit and finish, and starched-crease tailored design, the six-speed automatic version of the CTS goes from 0-to-60 mph in 6.3 seconds. Motor Trend editors particularly enjoyed the car's road-hugging dexterity, responsive feel, and sporty acceleration.

The 2008 Field of Contenders
Motor Trend editors faced the daunting challenge of choosing one winner from one of the toughest Car of the Year fields in the history of the award.

"This year's 18-car field was laden with truly significant vehicles," said MacKenzie. "We had all-new interpretations of high-volume benchmark cars that virtually define their respective categories, such as the Honda Accord and Chrysler-Dodge minivan. We had reworked icons such as the Mini Cooper, Subaru Impreza WRX and Scion xB. We had new cars with old nameplates that carried the collective hopes of an entire company, along with all-new vehicles from Mercedes-Benz and Audi."

To be eligible for Car of the Year, a vehicle must be totally new or redesigned, and released in the 12 months prior to January 1, 2008. Besides the Cadillac CTS, this year's field of contenders for Car of the Year included:

Audi A5/S5Audi TTChevrolet MalibuChrysler Town & CountryDodge Grand CaravanDodge AvengerFord FocusFord TaurusHonda AccordMercedes-Benz C-ClassMini CooperMitsubishi LancerScion xBScion xDSubaru ImprezaVolvo C30Volvo XC70

Return to Prominence
With the CTS, Cadillac -- and GM -- captures the golden calipers nearly six decades after winning the first Motor Trend Car of the Year award in 1949.

"The CTS obliterates the 'old man' image of Cadillac," said MacKenzie. "This car will turn heads in the same way that the elite European models do, but it is unmistakably American and uniquely Cadillac. This is a bold and uncompromising showpiece of a sedan."

MacKenzie added, "Tested and developed in the U.S., Germany and China, the CTS exhibits a global poise far beyond its predecessors. The chassis has the race track in its DNA. And it has an interior that manages to be avant-garde and innovative without being difficult to operate. The navigation/information touchscreen sets a new industry standard for stylishness and ease of use."

About the Testing and Evaluation Process
Each year since 1949, the editorial staff of Motor Trend has evaluated eligible vehicles for its "Car of the Year" based on three key categories: Significance, Superiority, and Value. Superiority refers to engineering excellence, advancement in design, utilization of resources and safety. Vehicle concept and execution are important, as are use of materials, packaging, dynamics, styling and fuel consumption. Significance considers how well the vehicle does the job its maker intended it to do, and how it impacts or changes its particular market segment, influences consumer perceptions, and transforms product development trends. The value question asks, "What does this vehicle deliver in relation to what the consumer has to pay to purchase and own it?"