Oh No! 2012 Cadillac CTS to Lose Manual Transmission Option?

Damn it!

Looks like Car & Driver’s Save the Manuals campaign isn’t having too much of an affect on automakers as there is now word that Cadillac is considering dropping the third pedal for the 2012 model year of the CTS V6. GM hasn’t specified why dropping the manual is being seriously considered but it’s likely due to slow sales. Apparently people like having a car that drives them, which I don’t understand. If you’re the driver, you should drive the car not the other way around. The way to do that is to have a proper manual transmission.

That said, it’s not like the manual tranny in the CTS is really all that great. In fact, it sucks. Badly. In my review of the 2010 CTS, I wrote:

“…my tester didn’t have was a manual gearbox from this decade. The CTS is the first Cadillac to offer a manual transmission option since the  Cimarron, and they either took it directly from a 1988 Cimarron or they just plain don’t know how to make a proper manual. The throws are about as long as a football field and it’s very clunky from shift to shift. On top of that, it’s awkwardly placed. It’s raised too high, the stick is too long and you actually have to bend your wrist back to a 90 degree angle for shifts to 2nd, 4th, or 6th gear because the centre arm rest gets in the way.”

I then went on to suggest that a perspective buyer might be better off opting for the automatic. But back then, I had no idea that Cadillac was seriously thinking of axing the manual transmission option. In light of this news, I rescind my remarks! Despite how bad it is, I still maintain better control and more enjoyability can be had over the boring, gutless 4-speed automatic. I also suggested that the problem with the manual transmission could be easily fixed if they fitted the short throw manual from the CTS-V.

Speaking of, the manual transmission will thankfully stick around for all CTS-V models for 2012.

But yeah, let’s hope GM reverses this decision. All you need to do is make a better manual and you’ll get more sales, GM. Which you are clearly capable of as evidenced in the CTS-V. No need to scrap the manual all together, just use that gearbox (or at least elements of it if cost is an issue) to make it better. Seriously, take my advice on this one, GM.

[Inside Line]

Here We Go Again…

A while back Hennessey decided to take a stock Cadillac CTS-V wagon and tuned it to make it even faster – nothing wrong with that at all. However I was unimpressed because they took it to a drag strip to take on a previous generation Porsche 911 Turbo. Again, nothing wrong with that, but there was a real sense of bragging and I didn’t understand why anyone would pit a tuned car against a previous generation stock car. What exactly does that prove?

Well apparently Hennessey didn’t read my rant because they went and did the same thing again. They pitted their hotted up Caddy wagon against a previous generation Nissan GT-R. That’s right, the 485 (give or take) horsepower version. Why didn’t they try to take on the 2012 GT-R which has 530 horsepower? Considering their CTS-V wagon churns out 650 horsepower, that would’ve seemed like a bit more of a fair fight.

But apparently that didn’t matter much since Hennessey only beat the previous gen GT-R by a hair. 0.1 seconds to be exact. And to me that’s more embarrassing. Their car can barely beat an older GT-R? Well done.

[Youtube]

Drool… Cadillac CTS-V Black Diamond Edition

Oh my.

Check out this new edition of the CTS- V, the Black Diamond (no relation to the cheese company). It’s strictly an appearance package and it’s available on all CTS-V models – the sedan, the coupe and the wagon.

Cadillac has designed some “spectra flair” paint which means they took aluminum flakes and encapsulated it into magnesium floride. They then put on three coats of the stuff and voila. You have a stunning colour that will pretty much be un-repairable. Which means you won’t see a black diamond edition CTS-V anywhere near a shopping cart infested parking lot.

But that’s not all. Those 19 inch alloys are Satin Graphite in colour and the package includes yellow brembo brakes. Mmm.

On top of it all, you get micro-fibre suede Recaro seats along with Midnight Sapele wood.

According to GM, the package is meant to emulate a tailored tuxedo. But really what they’ve done is just cause arousal. Looks fantastic!

Check out an interior pic after the jump.

[General Motors]

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Car Driven’s 2011 Car of the Year Nominees Are…

For the first time ever, Car Driven will be announcing its Car of the Year (COTY). Mostly because this is the first year for this blog, but also because unfortunately I don’t have the means to test every new vehicle myself this year. But that never stopped me from making my own pics for AJAC’s COTY awards last year, so why not?

So with much thought and deliberation I’ve narrowed down the nominees to five cars overall. Every new 2011 vehicle, no matter what the segment, is considered. However to keep things simple, I’ve opted to not separate them by categories this year. That means the new Honda Odyssey was technically considered alongside the Ferrari 458 Italia. Since both are obviously very different vehicles made for very different purposes, I decided to choose all nominees based on how well each vehicle is suited for Canadians. That means everything from performance, price, quality, safety, fit & finish were considered. However to keep it fair, each of those criterion are relative to the vehicle segment. So for example the Ferrari 458 Italia is compared against other supercars. And the Honda Odyssey against other minivans. The vehicle that presents a clear, absolute best case for itself wins.

I’ll probably do categories next year, but for now we’ll go with this. And I’m working a lot harder to try to test all the new vehicles for next year to make a more informed decision, press vehicles are pretty hard to get your hands on (in the meantime, check out all the vehicles I’ve tested so far). And to keep it simple, I’ve narrowed it down to 5 vehicles.

Find out what they are after the jump.

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BMW M3 GT Coming?!

Rumours are floating around the internets (from fairly reliable sources too) that the next generation M3 sedan will be replaced by a GT hatchback version similar to the 55oi GT pictured above.

I must say, I really liked the 550i GT that I tested a while back because it blended excellent performance and handling with a luxurious comfortable drive and excellent versatility. But that’s not what M cars are about.

M cars, specifically M3′s are all about raw performance and eff anything else. That means ride quality, luxury, versatility, and reliability even all take a back seat to the raw performance.  Adding some versatility to a vehicle that has traditionally been a raw performance coupe since its inception is a bit like adding a business degree to a porn star’s education.

Still, there’s something deliciously awesome about the CTS-V Wagon, the C63 AMG wagon and the RS3 hatchback.  And when you think about it, BMW has no high performance car that is also practical. The M3 GT is probably meant to that void. Sure the X5 M and X6 M are options, but let’s get real here. While they are tremendous for SUV’s they are still SUV’s nonetheless. Showing up to a track in your X6 M is pretty ridiculous afterall.

[Inside Line]

Oh Hi: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon

This is how you do a wagon properly, Acura. People who buy wagons don’t necessarily want to be reminded that they are driving a wagon. You don’t want to make your customer feel like a 70 year old just because they have kids and need more space.

How do you do that? Well, you offer a copious amounts of power. Then you offer a manual transmission (we can’t stress that one enough). Then you make it handle like the dickens and ta da! You have just made a desirable wagon. That’s it. That’s all you need to do to keep performance purists who happen to need room more often than not, happy.

And it just so happens that Cadillac has discovered the uncomplicated formula as they had the bright idea of making a wagon version of the CTS-V sedan. The CTS coupe is also going to be offered in V guise as well. Kudos to Cadillac for making a family car for us performance nuts. The CTS-V wagon will get the same 556 horsepower V8 with 551 pound feet of torque that the sedan gets.

The CTS-V wagon will go on sale in late 2010, expect “limited availability” however.