Charger Scat Pack

               

This week's review is in the dodge charger scat pack.  I would have to say that this car is the most fun you can have for a starting price of 40 thousand dollars.  The cars come in some very cool eye catching, vibrant colors which make this car a head turner.  The normal charger or charger RT is a nice standard 4 door car to drive.  But the second you turn it into a scat pack or even a hell cat it's a whole different car. 

               When you think of a four door car you think of big, bulky and slow.  This is just not the case with this car.  The engine has so much power that it quickly over comes the heavy nature of this car.  The suspension is also done in such a way that the car handles like its much lighter than it actually is.  With insanely big Brembo brake calipers this car comes to a complete stop in the blink of an eye.  Its very impressive for a four door.

               My all time favorite think about the charger scat pack is the transmission.  The way this car shifts is other worldly.  The shifts sound like the car is shooting its self into the next gear in an explosive manner.  This is unheard of in a car at the 40 thousand dollar price range.  Normally cars that feel like this are 200 thousand plus.  While I do love their automatic transmission I do wish they offered it in a manual.  It is an American muscle car and I feel like its un-American to not have that option for people like me who want that experience of shifting.  

               The thing that amazed me the most is how this car handles over 150 miles per hour.  In a normal car once you get over 100 miles per hour you start to get nervous.  At 150 miles per hour this car was still calm and collective.  180 miles per hour is where this car started to feel like a normal car at 100.  This car has been strictly designed for speed and acceleration in a straight line.  While this car isn't great around a track that doesn't even matter to me.  It's just way to fun in a straight line and never gets boring when you put your foot down.  It's also an insanely fun car to drive sideways.  This charger handles drifting very well and is set up for it out of the factory.

               The downfalls to this car are few, but no car is perfect.  I don't like the slope of the hood as it makes it a little challenging to park.  This could be fixed with a couple of front parking sensors.  The second is the turning radius is pretty bad but that is to be expected in a four door of this size.  The last and biggest downfall to this car for me is the lack of manual transmission option.  If I'm going to buy a car I want to be able to shift it.  The fake tiptronic paddle shifters just don't do the job for me.  I understand that the new automatic transmissions shift faster than a human could.  But for me I don't care.  With a car like this it's about the experience and not about being the fastest.  I think dodge dropped the ball on this option that wouldn't have cost much to offer.  Because of that lack of an option, it's the only thing stopping me from buying one.               

2016 Cadillac Escalade

          

2016 Cadillac Escalade

This week's review is about the 2016 Cadillac Escalade.  The new Escalade is a completely redesigned look top to bottom from previous years of this car.  The thing I hear most from people who get in this car for the first time is, "wow this thing is like a space ship".  That is no understatement, this cars design is vey futuristic looking.  I myself said the same thing when I first drove it.  With a car this edgy on design either you love it or you hate it.  I myself hated it at first, before I drove it.  But boy was I wrong.

               

This car has some crazy lines running down the car which give it a boxy appearance which I didn't like at first seeing it in pictures.  The simple fact is this car just doesn't photograph well.  In person its way better.  The attention to detail in this car was just unreal for the price you pay.  The lighted door handles at night make you feel like you are getting into a limo every time you step in your car. 

               

Another cool future was the automatic folding steps.  By making the steps only open when the door opens the car has a much sleeker appearance when going down the road.  The problem lies that they are so darn slow.  When I was driving this car I found myself not even waiting for the steps and just jumping right over them to get in.  It's a pain when you have to wait for a step to come down every time you get in your car, especially when you're in a rush.

               

The interior in this car is just as nice as the outside.  The seats are air conditioned and heated.  Also the steering wheel is heated.  Which is a very nice feature to have here in Michigan during the cold months.  You don't understand how nice these features are until you go back to being without them.

               

The most talked about part of this car is the navigation screen that slides up to reveal a hidden storage compartment for charging devices like phones.  The only problem is every time you get a call you have to open your Nav screen to get your phone.  I'm all about hiding the clutter and charging cables but this is not an efficient way to do it.  The only good thing this feature was good for was hiding my Bluetooth headphone while charging.  Other than that it's a very dun to play with useless feature.  The good thing is that you don't have to use this charging station.  There are other usb ports in the center council and even a wireless charging station for droid phones.    

                

The paint options for this car include all the basics and the option to have metallic flake in the paint.  This is a must have when buying one in black or white.  It really makes the whole car.  But isn't something that can be experienced in pictures.  It can only be appreciated in person.  

               

Everyone's complains about Escalades have always been that it's just a marked up GMC Yukon with a little chrome on it.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  Yes they are both built on  the same chassis but they really don't feel like it.  The amount of detail and styling that the Escalade offers makes it feel like a whole different car and in my opinion worth the price difference they are asking.             

   

Here is a video of what Auto Blog had to say about the car.          

Cadillac CTS-V black Dimond Edition

             This week's blog is all about the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe.  I was fortunate enough to have a friend who gave me his CTS-V coupe Black Demand edition to drive for a couple of days.  First let's start with the looks of the car. It's a love it or hate it kind of look.  There is no in-between.  The car is very boxy with very defined sharp lines while still maintaining its aerodynamics. This car is basically a luxury, more practical corvette.  The feel from inside feels like it could be a corvette if you removed all the Cadillac badges and suede interior options.  The only difference is the back seats. 

               In a sports car, I am always looking for something that is scary fast, well designed and also practical for daily use.  Cadillac has done just that.  For me, having a two seated sports car just isn't practical.  The car's back seats makes this car one of the few great sports cars that I can actually practically drive on a regular basis.  This simple fact of back seats, would sell me on this car and make me much more inclined to pay the 85 thousand dollar price tag.  I can actually use it regularly.  So many car companies are so track focused that they forget about making the car usable on a daily basis for consumers. Cadillac has not forgotten about consumers like me and for that I commend them.

               With the practicality out of the way let's talk about performance.  This car has more power than any two wheel drive car would ever need with a 640 hp super charged engine.  The car does 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds and will stop with its massive 6 piston brakes even faster.  The braking power of this car feels almost unnatural to people who aren't used to driving exotic cars.  The rear tires are insanely wide to try and grip the road on launch.  The car is so powerful that I still struggled to keep them from breaking loose at 60 mph.

               While this car is amazing in many ways no car is perfect.  Here are some things I don't like about it.  The first, being the two wheel drive.  A car with this much power needs to be four wheel drive.  It's just not safe for your average person.  My friend (long time sports car owner) didn't have this car for more than 10 minutes and lost control spinning it around in the middle of the road.  With four wheel drive the tires wouldn't break loose as frequently making this a much safer and faster accelerating car.  On the other hand some people like the rush of being on the verge of loss of traction.  But the simple fact is that's just not safe for anywhere but on the track.  The next thing I don't like is a tough one for me because I actually really love it. (if that makes sense).  The suede steering wheel.  It's so nice and elegant feeling, giving you more grip on the wheel than ever before.  It also keeps your hands from sweating on the wheel.  The problem lies that after about 2 months with this car it was destroyed and looking like old and dingy.  The suede was stained from our hands and was all worn down.  It looked like a steering wheel from a car with 170,000 miles on it.  This car was only 2 months old!  In my book that is unacceptable especially when the suede is a much more expensive option that he paid extra to have.      

               With all those negative aspects I would differently still recommend this car to someone who wants a practical sports car.  For the price you really can't beat it for what you get.          

        Below is a video of this car on a test track.  You will see exactly what I mean when I say it isn't sticking to the road and breaking loose constantly. 

Lamborghini Huracan

               

                The Lamborghini hurricane is hands down my favorite car that I see driving around Grosse Pointe.  The cars modern sleek lines and the bright vibrant orange and lime green colors they offer from the factory make this car a head turner.  All I can say is it better turn heads for the base price of $237,250.

                This sounds like an insane price when you think you can buy a dodge charger hell cat with 100 more hp for 65 grand.  Trust me when I say you are getting your money's worth.  It's not about the power for the price.  It's how that power is delivered to the road.  The hell cat has more power but it never sticks to the road.  In the Lamborghini it feels like there is super glue attached to your tires allowing you to accelerate and take turns at almost unnatural speeds.   This is thanks to the gyroscopes that monitor the road and car, adjusting the amount power to each wheel for maximum grip.  While this is one of my all time favorite cars here are some of the things I hate about it.

               The carbon fiber, Italian leather seats in this Lamborghini are terrible. While they look amazing, after 30 minutes in this car my back was telling me it was time to get out.  For this price you would think the car would be more comfortable than a park bench.  The next thing that I hate about this car are the rims.  Again with the same theme, they look amazing.  But if you scratch them up against a curb (like my friend did) it will set you back almost 10 thousand dollars. To put that in perspective that's roughly a cost of a used smart car for the price of one rim.

               With all those negative things I would still buy this car if I had the money because it's just that good at doing what its supposed to do. Putting power to the road and looking good while doing it. No car is perfect but this Lamborghini is pretty close to it.

You have heard my thoughts, now here is what Top Gear thought about the car