Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

Once again, thanks to the fantastic folks at Driving the Northeast, I was given an opportunity to try out another GM vehicle. This time, however, it was not Bumble Bee, but rather a Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. Now, a lot of people have not heard of this car, much less seen one, which made it an entirely different driving experience than the Camaro. Two kinds of people recognized this beast at first glance, Cadillac lovers, and people who know cars. I actually fall into both categories, so this was like a dream come true. When it first arrived, it looked pretty outstanding sitting outside of my house.

I actually had a pretty amazing trip planned, where I was going to head to the shore and eat my way around the beach. Unfortunately, I happened to get this beauty the week where the earth was supposed to end in the form of hurriquakes. Therefore I was more than slightly saddened that I, not only wouldn't be taking an awesome day trip in this thing, but I wasn't even going to get to do much driving around the city itself. However, a couple of days after Irene, I took the Caddy down to the Italian Market to pick up some pork belly, and to grab some lunch. One of the first things you notice in this car is the combo suede and leather seats. They are supple, stylish and much more aggressive than I would have expected. The Recaro seats fit like a glove. Even the steering wheel is suede. All class.

After driving it for a while, you become very accustomed to the quick acceleration and just when you thought that severely trite phrase "corners like it's on rails" should never have been uttered, this vehicle proves otherwise. Performance and comfort, combined with nifty tech features like the fish-eye reverse camera and pop-up nav unit, make this a damn sexy car.

For one of my (unfortunately limited) outings, I pulled up to a mainline restaurant that was packed with Porches, other German sports cars, as well as a couple of American muscle cars. The valets, who drive exotic cars all the time, commented both on my way in and on my way out that this car was "awesome" and they had "never seen one of these before." It's not the type of car that Cadillac has previously made, but they have my vote. I would die to try this thing in 6 speed manual, although it would most likely be a dangerous proposition for me. I felt it was only appropriate to park it across from a battleship, as this whip gives a nod to the past and future of Cadillac in a stylish, fun, and incredibly fast package.