Better Beaters - Building Cars and Daily Drivers

 More comparison shopping.

The Cadillac name is something that still holds a lot of appeal for me. I've owned several vintage models and a couple of cars that were only a few years old when I purchased them. Vintage models still hold a lot of interest for me, though I know that they are quite large and require a lot of storage space. They are also very old fashioned in their driving dynamics and in their high fuel consumption. But they have that glamorous Fifties and Sixties style which can't be replicated. 

Of course they are now pretty expensive, and any example is likely going to need more work and expense to sort them out and re-commission them.

Couldn't a later model provide some of that swagger at a lower price point?

Besides that, this could be a car that I could regularly drive and enjoy. Hopefully just requiring normal maintenance and repairs, no restoration needed!

In doing my research, I recently inspected a 2017 Cadillac CTS Sport AWD with a V6 engine at a local used car lot.

I really like the face of this car.

It sports a "California Rake."

The car has an unmistakable RWD profile.
Note how far the front wheels are ahead of the windshield.

This gold colored example is not the car that I inspected. It was from an earlier CL listing located in Modesto. The dealer selling the car took a lot of good photos. It is a 2014 model, equipped with the base engine, a 2.0 turbo four. I surprised myself, in that I actually liked the gold "ish" color.

This slightly newer example is a higher content model.
It was located on San Jose's Stevens Creek Blvd.

It is finished in White Pearl with a black leather interior
 with carbon fiber trim.

The CTS was somewhat unique in the Cadillac line up. It is a mid sized, RWD based platform, which shares a lot of DNA with the Chevy Camaro. It is larger than the ATS, though the ATS, also RWD, has the distinction of offering the only Cadillac coupe. The CTS carried that model for several years. There was even a second gen station wagon.

These have been around for quite a while.

The CTS debuted Cadillac's Art and Science design themes, in 2003, and the initial models were very angular and flat planed in style. The interior was lacking a bit in richness. There have been three generations before the name change to CT5.

The interior was nice enough, but still a little too "plasticky" looking.

The second gen arrived in 2008, and the styling was more curvaceous and the interior definitely looked more upscale. I feel that it started the trend towards the "road locomotive" appearance best displayed by the current Escalades. Not a bad look, it certainly is in line with earlier Cadillac's bold styling themes.

I prefer this style better than the original.

The coupe was stylish but the looks were polarizing.
It certainly wasn't the return of the Coupe de Ville.

A definite step up.

The third generation debuted in 2014, it has a more athletic and richer appearance. The navigation screen is a bit small and it was not standard equipment yet.

Now, That's more like it!

The 2014 and newer models have the kind of interior that I like, with a more exciting modern design, combined with a nice use of wood trim. They also have retained a console mounted shift lever, no push buttons... yet.

There are a lot of CTS models to choose from, prices are quite reasonable for earlier models, but of course it is important to find a well maintained and preserved example. There are also many combinations of rear wheel, or all wheel drive configurations in the later versions. 

The later models are available with a wide variety of engines. The base turbo four, the natural aspirated V6, and the twin turbo V6 models. The V sports models are ferocious performers, but even the base models provide adequate levels of driveability. 

As a used car buyer, I usually prefer the less complex arrangements, I'd choose a RWD, base V6 engine equipped example. Though I am curious about the turbo fours, could they return high fuel economy numbers? Especially under my feather foot?

Lately I've been concentrating my interest on later models, as I prefer to find a late model car in good original condition with low mileage. I want to choose a car that I can use and enjoy, and that still has a lot of life left in it. 

From everything that I've read, the newer CTS models are quite a good driver's car. It compares very favorably to a BMW. There was a lot of development done at Germany's famed Nurburgring. I think that these are very good cars and well worth considering as a purchase. I have sat inside the 2008 and 2014 models and they are fine for four passengers and their luggage. They are not quite as roomy as my old '94 STS.

These later model cars, especially those post 2014, are quite a bit more expensive than my usual old car budget. The latest models are selling for around 15,000 to 20,000 dollars. But I would expect a car like this to be usable as a daily driver. Since I am also seriously considering cutting down on the size of my hobby car fleet.

But would a late model Cadillac really fulfill what I'm looking for? As nice as they are, aren't they just "used cars?"

Isn't the point of being a car enthusiast to own and preserve something that is special?

I have a former co worker who has a Dodge HellCat as well as a Camaro SS, both either purchased new or almost new. He told me that he takes them to Cars and Coffee events. They are newer, but they are what we used to call "special interest" models. There have always been interesting new cars, either sports or low production specials, that had a lot of enthusiast interest from the time they were introduced.

The easiest way for a car to be considered to have special interest to enthusiasts, is to be an old car. Once they have disappeared from the roadways and are not a common sight, that alone will add interest. 

Do I really need a car that I can take to Cars and Coffee events? Well, I already have one. My Riviera is not that old, but it is kind of rare and seldom seen. I suppose that I can have other cars that do not have special interest. I will definitely be looking for later models cars to replace my hobby cars in the future.

As always, looking is almost as much fun as buying, and a lot cheaper.