Draco-REX

That's the plan; power mods that don't require a tune while the warranty is still good. My starting list is intake (Air raid or New Era), e cutouts (DMH?), and a ported TB. The listing says it is Black Diamond Tricoat. Sounds fancy.

It's funny. Usually when I look into a car, I start seeing them everywhere. But I haven't seen a CTS coupe (V or otherwise) in a while. Pretty cool. Of course, now that I've said that, I'll probably see 20 by the time I get to the dealership.

Signed preliminary papers and confirmed that the car is considered Sold. Barring any unforeseen bad luck, 556hp of blown Caddy is mine!

Too many racing deaths recently.

I'm going to have a big chunk of warranty left on it, so no major power mods at first. But there might be some stealthy tweaks...

Any good related forums to check out? I've found CadillacForums.com/CadillacOwners.com (meh), and CTSVOwners.com (OK).

Hard to fit a STI into the overhead storage.

I'll pay ya $20 to spend the week chasing people away from the car.

Going to need it for the trip to get the V. So no longer for sale.

They'll be closed by the time I arrive. It's an 8 hour drive.

I don't think it's worth waiting for another color. Seeing as this will be my 7th black car, I don't think it'll be a problem.

Working on it. Two more phone calls down. Turns out I will have to make the trip. Going to get as much done as possible over phone and e-mail this week and then head out Saturday. This car hasn't been on the lot very long at all. It hasn't even finished the state "safety inspection" yet. This one's MINE! Hands off!

It's in WI. I called them and the guy I talked to says he can do out of state sales, so I won't have to drive out there. Hopefully they won't be silly with the transport costs. This is the listing. It was traded in for a Viper, so this likely was the PO's fair weather car. Pros: Same price as the CarMax car 1500 less miles One year newer Not boring bright silver Recaros Alcantara wheel/shifter Cons: Yet another Black/Black/Black car. Judging by what the salesman, it *might* need rear tires. Yeah.. If he can work this out, I'm all over this one.

As I'm sitting here in CarMax, another V with all the goodies popped up... 400 miles away. But they're not open Sundays... grrr.

The single best piece of advice I remember from a headhunter is this: Sit forward on the seat, don't lean back or slouch.

Maybe I could get it wrapped.. Bright Orange V? LOL.

While I would like the Recaros, they just aren't out there within a reasonable distance, and I don't have the vacation days to do a cross country drive. In all honesty (to myself as well) this car will likely be a filler for a few years until the M4 comes off the worst of its depreciation slope. So if it isn't 100% perfect, I'll be fine with it. The regular seats are comfortable, and the silver will look fine once I de-bling it. I'm still getting all the power and the same transmission.

That's the one I linked. There's no way I'm getting an auto. I just drove the auto because it was what was local. There are no manual V coupes for sale within 200 miles of here.

So, they found out where the techs were hiding the CTS-V and I was able to take it for a spin. Bottom line, the M3 is better in almost every way, IMO. But there are a couple big ways the CTS-V got my attention. Driving it was interesting. The first thing I noticed is that I absolutely HATE the automatic transmission in it. In one word: "Slushbox". Thankfully GM still keeps manuals on the shelf. Interior quality is a strange mix. Nice leather surfaces to touch interspersed with Chevy switchgear. The BMW felt more like a special place to be, the V more like a regular car with some nice dressing. Hell the M3 handed me my seatbelt, I'm gonna miss that bit of of insanity. However, the seating position in the V was much lower, something I like. I really felt like I was sitting IN the car, and I even bumped the seat up a little; that's unheard of for me. My biggest worry is electrical gremlins; especially the electric door poppers. I know there are mechanical methods to get in and out, but it seems like an unnecessary point of failure. The ride was better in the M3. The suspension settings in M felt like they made a difference. In the V, it wasn't so evident between Tour and Sport. The V also didn't corner as confidently, but really, that's to be expected. Almost nothing with 4 seats can touch an M3 when it comes to the twisties. Power, however.. :fuckyeah: The throttle ramp is a lot slower than I'm used to, but it's t be expected with so much torque on tap. The top half makes the V feel like a normal car. But the lower half is insane-o mode. I think with a good manual it will be a blast to drive. Power-to-weight isn't all that much better than the BRZ, surprisingly. But that's saying something for a 4200lb car. About that. A 4200lb coupe? Daaamn! Yo' CTS is so fat..... Styling wise, I think the V wins. The M is understated with aggressive elements, like Agent 47. The V is more like Bautista in a suit. Aggressive looking cars always catch my eye. So, while I fully believe the M3 is a better car, I think you jokers managed to get me into a V. This is the one I'm considering for a couple reasons. First, the sheer power on tap makes this the most powerful car I've ever driven by a long shot. And since it's a LS engine, it will be more reliable and more power can be had pretty easily. (Don't start thinking I'm going all Clarkson now..) Second, this will save me a good chunk of change. Money saved here can be used for important stuff like.. reducing the amount of chrome on this car. I kind of wish it had the nicer seats, and wasn't so boring silver, but beggars can't be choosers. There you have it, I might go against my gut and buy a domestic. Crazy.

Thanks, feel free to check it out, at least to have some fun on your own. I'm not sure I'll go for it though. I think I may go for the V....

No one knew where it was when I came by to drive it. I'll be over after work.

It's not the torque, hell I drive a BRZ and think it isn't underpowered, it was partly the particular car and the frustration around it. But I also started thinking of my trips to MA. One stretch I do is about 320 miles. Given bad weather I don't think the M3 would make it. It's not a big deal since I could stop for fuel earlier, but it is a shortcoming in a 50k car.... I'm not a huge fan of Porsche for a DD, and looking at what is available in my price range, there really wasn't anything compelling.

Went to CarMax to drive the V. Seems they misplaced it... Hopefully it turns up by the time I get off work. Sometimes I almost envy the knuckle heads out there that are happy driving anything. Yeah. It's nice if a bit high in price. Problem is that I have to work tomorrow, and have a race next Saturday. So it would be two weeks before I could take a look at it. No automatics. I've made that mistake twice. I'm not making it again.

You guys do realize that if I get a domestic and I end up hating it, I'm hunting you all down, right?