mmarshall

Thanks, Mike. I know I panned the car somewhat (more than usual), except for its superb rough-road ride comfort and ease-of-use controls. But I was honestly disappointed with many things on it......GM has seriously neglected this car.

Honda/Acura, as far as I know, doesn't use 4-speed automatics any more, even in the Fit...they are all either 5-speeds or CVTs.

The DTS does have a number of dated components....not that they are all bad (for one, I like the relatively simple stereo/climate controls...stuff like the I-Drive and MMI drive me nuts). But the Northstar engine has essentially today's V6 power, there's little excuse for a 4-speed auto in a current vehicle in this price class (Honda or not), and the dull interior plastics/hardware are not worthy of a luxury vehicle of this class. And the engineers could have at least used a quicker-ratio steering in the rack...that would improve the slug-like steering response without stiffening up the ride.

IS-SV

The writing is on the wall already, with actual people in late 60-80+ age range actually choosing cars other what used to be known as American premium cars (not that they were ever tier 1 premium). I have actual parents in that age bracket.

The problem with soft-riding tuna boat American cars is poor active safety (poor handling and braking for emergency situations), bloated and oversized (making it difficult for less agile senior citizens to park and manuever in traffic) combined with poor gas mileage (only a minor problem due to low annual miles driven despite fixed incomes). Often they choose the cushy crossover SUV's because of the easy of entry/exit/loading/practicality/comfort/safety (including visibility via seating positons).

The reality is modern cars (with what were low profile tire in the 70's, lol) have plenty cushy rides (including examples of popular vehicles: LS, LaCrosse, Camry, ES, E-class, S-Class, Fusion, Accord, RX, Highlander). And vomit bags are not required for rear seat passengers like in some of the floaty tuna boats of the past.

Good point about GM seriously neglecting this car, it really shows.

mmarshall

There's a difference between cushy and CUSHY. The DTS goes even beyond that.....to CUSHY. Handling, though, is a joke.

And, yes, it does it on 55-series tires....which, I agree with you, would have been considered low-profile, even on the muscle-cars I grew up with, many of which had the famous red-striped Uniroyal Tigerpaws.

Hard to complain about the new Buick LaCrosse, though......even more than the other cars you mentioned. GM has done a superb job on the ride-handling balance......arguably the best I've seen on an American-badged car.

IS-SV

Yes, that's the reality of the market place, and the Big 3 know it as they seriously strive for consistent profitability (for a change).

IS-SV

Agreed, comfy/cushy and safe handling and braking can and is being achieved by all the market leaders with much more advanced and isolated suspension systems. LaCrosse, ES, LS, latest gen RX are prime examples with plenty of emphasis on comfort.

LexBob2

Back in the day when families rode around in LTD's, Impalas etc. as well as their BIG station wagon counterparts, it was a natural progression to treat yourself to a big Lincoln, Caddy etc. when you retired.

Todays boomers are used to driving Accords, Camrys, SUV's, CUV's etc. Their ideal retirement vehicle is looking different than the earlier generation. The savy manufacturers recognize this and are making cars that appeal to them. Current sales of some of the cars mentioned in this thread are indicative of this.

IS-SV

Yes, because as a kid I've ridden in more of those cars than anybody here. My family had a new, custom-ordered tuna-boat American car every single year for over a decade back in the day.

I know plenty of retired people and know exactly what they drive. Only one has a Caddy (STS).

IS-SV

Btw, nice review enhanced with a bit of "factual data" which is always a plus.

Maybe I will rent one someday soon (when it's provided as a free upgrade).

LexBob2

The good news in this is there are a lot of very well maintained Caddys and Lincolns out there which will be on the roads for years to come.

After that we'll still be able to see them in car shows and cruise-ins in original or restored condition.

They won't be going away for a long time.

mmarshall

I didn't put it in the review, but I've had some experience with DeVilles (the DTS predecessor) myself over the years, though I never personally owned one. My late uncle had a whole string of them...and sold my dad his used '62 (with big, sharp rear fins). I wasn't old enough to drive on public roads then, but loved the car, washed/waxed it constantly, and rode several hundered miles in it....even got to practice with the steering and WAY over-boosted power-brakes in private lots, not street areas. Later, after I got my license, my uncle let me take my girlfriend in his (3-year-old) 1967 DeVille (alone) up to the photo-studio to get our high-school senior yearbook shots....man, was she impressed! That thing must have been a good 20 feet long....and rode like it . (I was a more-careful-than-average teen-age driver, and could be trusted alone). Later that year we went out to the Virginia mountains, for an outing......he let me drive most of the way. My first job out of high school (in college) was working part-time in a gas station...and I got to service a number of cars, including Caddies.

(Cadillac's interiors, back then (and drivetrains), were indeed something to write home about. Later on, in the 1980's, they turned into junk).

My flight instructor, back in the late 1980's, inherited his uncle's '79 Fleetwood Brougham...we rode around in that car, off and on, for several years (we were also personal friends)..he let me drive it several times. By '79, though, the quality was starting to loosen up...you could tell it over earlier models.

Fizzboy7

I love the DTS! This car is is retro 90's, which is cool for those of us who learned how to drive during that time. It's also a very clean design (agreed with Marshall).
More importantly, this car is connected with a lot of sweet, old, and fun ladies who pilot themselves to Toys R Us to buy their grandsons gifts or to the deli to buy lox and bagels. Happy stories, happy people (who don't know of better cars), and good 'ol American chrome. I'll pretend the whole pimpin low-rider thing does not exist, so I don't ruin my nice image above.

IS-SV

Great Caddie stories.

I've got a couple too.

btw, my first summer job (out of high school and right before going away to college) was working at a gas station too. Those were the days.

Many years ago I actually owned a Coupe de Ville as a second car/rain car (purchased used from a retired judge in our family) for 2 years. Blue w/white leather, sucked gas like it was free. My friends always laughed every time I pulled up in this boat instead of my usual Honda Accord.

mmarshall

Yes, I agree it is handome (and doesn't have a bunch of that aero/jelly-bean stuff), but that doesn't hide the fact that, in the powertrain and interior cosmetics/materials, it's been seriously neglected.

Lil4X

Had a g/f with a new '97 caddy Fleetwood Brougham she occasionally let me drive. For many years previous I drove big Buick company cars, leaving me room in my driveway for my big Suburban and a "sporty" car or two, but this thing set the record for a soft ride. It's handling wasn't bad, but could hardly have been called precise. She was in real estate and needed that rolling palace to impress her upscale clients. It was an experience to drive, and set the standard for luxury at the cost of any kind of description of performance.

That said, there is a market for the big luxo-boats, and that is in the used car department. If you are careful not to load up on the failure-prone uber-accessories, you can exit your dealer's driveway in a sparkling 2007 DTS with under 50K on the clock for about the price of a new and nicely appointed 4-door Civic. Yes, if you are on the right side of it, that miserable resale value can really work for you.

If you think you can't live without the cargo capacity of your Suburban, Tahoe, or Explorer for weekend duty, open the trunk of a "full size" Caddy or Town Car. You can haul ten bags of fertilizer and a couple dozen pots of petunias in there, and still have room for all the tools you need to spread/plant them.

While gas consumption is pretty miserable around town, and parking can be a chore, there isn't a much nicer car for a long road trip. This is where this luxury liner comes into its own. Lots of luggage capacity out of sight, pretty decent highway mileage, and who cares about parking out on the super slab? Besides, you can haul several friends along and never feel pinched.

What about safety? Well, despite all the marketing ink spread over "collision avoidance" and "handling your way out of danger", few accidents are actually avoided in this manner. You don't read about the guy who rolled his luxury liner trying to avoid the school bus - most of us don't have the training or fully automated skillset to do anything but stomp the big pedal and slide hopelessly toward a grinding collision. At that point Newtonian physics takeover and you are better off on the side of the greater mass.

So, before we dismiss the DTS and other American Luxury Liners out of hand, we have to recognize that there are a few practical applications for the old land yacht after all. Besides, the coming CAFE laws will soon scuttle them anyway.

mmarshall

We aren't dismissing them, Lil. But I thought it necessary, in the review, to point out this car's one outstanding attribute (the cushy ride that relaxes you at the end of a hard working day) with the numerous ways that GM has grossly neglected this car....outside, inside, and in the drivetrain. Compare the dull-plastic DTS interior, for example, with the much more nicely-done ones in the 2Gen CTS, SRX, and STS.