It's been a while since I posted, and I'm glad to see so many of our old friends come back to the "new and improved" version of the GG. I missed you guys!! That said, I haven't been idle during the GG blackout. Case in point; -- I had to retire the old '95 Rodeo. The frame finally rusted through and the front radiator support cross member was so perforated that it wasn't worth my time to repair it anymore.
So when I saw this pristine 2011 Cadillac DTS come up for sale I jumped at it. One owner, garage kept, paint/interior pretty much perfect, and the price was downright cheap. It's amazing how much these luxo mobiles depreciate over just a few short years.
It's a "Luxury" trim version, and as far as I can tell it is a step up from the "Base" model, with the "Performance" and "Premium" trim versions rounding out the top tier of the line in 2011. It has Power everything, along with a nice Bose sound system, sunroof, heated and cooled seats, parking assist, and heated steering wheel.
One of the features I really wanted was the three passenger bench front seat configuration because it offers a lot more room and comfort in the front seats than the more sporty two seat separated by a console version of these cars.
Rear seating is probably better than any luxury car on the road these days -- HUGE!!, and the trunk is absolutely cavernous.
Beautiful all chrome 17" aluminum alloy wheels and 235/55VR17 Michelin tires round out the package -- NICE!!
The main reason why I wanted this car is for ride and comfort, but also for this....
....the 275HP 4.6L Northstar LD8. In my humble opinion it's probably one of the best engines GM ever produced, and I'm a big fan. The engine got a bad rep early on due to head gasket failures due to poor head stud design and persistent oil leaks due to poor engine sealing, but most of those issues were resolved in the latter years of the model.
I went over this car with a fine toothed comb and fixed a few issues with the driver's side power door lock and a missing lower bumper fascia. After testing and topping off the AC it runs like a freezer -- LOL -- you could hang meat in that car for aging beef.
Performance is absolutely great. At 65MPH it barely turns 2000RPM through the old heavy duty 4T80e transmission.
The engine and tranny have 82K miles on it and it's barely broken in. We used to take our 2012 Traverse on long trips, but after driving in this car for a few days, we realized that this ride is much less stressful and physically exhausting than the Traverse. Bottom line -- I'm enjoying the heck out of this old Caddy -- totally love it.
Welcome back everyone!!
