Special Car, auto, cars, vehicles

Then, an aunt or an uncle or someone gave me my first Hot Wheels. They weren't as nicely finished as the Matchboxes were, but were painted groovy '60s colors, and some had an oversized supercharger sticking through the hood. But Hot Wheels' real appeal, of course, was that the slick black plastic tires looked like they were mounted on cool mag wheels, and man, did they spin around fast and for a long time. You could slide the cars across the floor (or race them on the bright orange plastic track you could buy) so much faster than a Matchbox. I used to oil the wheels and swap them around to get my favorite car to go faster than my buddy's. Yes, I blueprinted and race-prepped my Hot Wheels, but again, I digress.

In February 2008, in celebration of the company's 40th anniversary and the construction of the 4,000,000,000th (that's four billionth) Hot Wheels toy, Mattel and Beverly Hills jeweler Jason Arasheben have created what has to be the ultimate Hot Wheels toy (and the brand name is never written in the singular, by the way -- there is no such thing as a "Hot Wheel"), although it seems strange to call it that.

This one is the proper 1/64th scale, but it is crafted of 18K white and yellow gold, and carries 22.94 carats worth of diamonds, colored diamonds, and rubies. You read right: just a point or two south of 23 carats of diamonds and gems, some 2700 in all, in a variety of cuts. This star-studded Hot Wheels is stored in its own special carrying case -- duh -- adorned in another 40 bezel-set diamonds.

The little bling thing isn't crafted in the likeness of any one car model, but if anything it sorta kinda looks like a gen-one Firebird. It was originally unveiled at a major toy show by Nick Lachey (the lucky boy toy singer who used to be Mr. Jessica Simpson). The Jason of Beverly Hills Hot Wheels anniversary car is going to be auctioned by Bonhams this Saturday at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.

Does anyone really need such an extravagant bauble? No, but then a Porsche GT3 isn't required for human survival either. For those who've got to have the ultimate Hot Wheels, here's your chance. What will it go for? Who knows, but presale estimates floated by the auction house indicate that $20,000 shouldn't be a big surprise.

I guess your sig other could always wear it on a chain. Or someone could use it as a belt buckle. Having another one cast up and wear them as earrings? Ouch.

By the way, the little solid-gold wheels do, in fact, turn. Not as well as the ones on my original Hot Wheels Dodge Deora, perhaps. But I digress...

Bonhams' California Classic: A Sale of Important Motorcars, Motorcycles, and Memorabilia (Sale 16122)

October 25, 2008, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

The Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California

www.bonhams.com

LEDs promise daylight-bright illumination with low current draw and unprecedented packaging and styling flexibility. They're little silicon computer chips, so they're relatively slim by nature and they can conform to unusual shapes, though they still need to shine through a lens of some sort. Cadillac has adopted them for its ne-plus-ultra flagship model, arranging the LEDs in a narrow vertical stack to match the vertical taillamps that have become a signature design motif (they're also LEDs).

Each Cadillac headlamp includes five LED arrays and lenses to cover the low-beam pattern and two for high-beam, with each of the seven units dedicated to lighting up a particular area of the road. LEDs throw little or no infrared heat forward (stick your hand in front of most any headlight and it'll feel warm -- not the LEDs), but the chips generate heat that has to be removed, so they have finned heat-sinks like many computers use, with a fan that circulates cooling air (in the winter, this helps defog and de-ice the headlamps). Further development will reduce the heat generated, resulting in lower energy consumption than High-Intensity Discharge (aka Xenon), but for now they draw just a bit less than Halogen bulbs.

We got the chance to compare the Platinum's LED headlamps against the Escalade's standard HIDs and against a Yukon Denali's halogen compound-reflector lamps. From the driver's seat the illumination is amazing. The "color temperature" of the light is about 6000 Kelvin (10,340 *** which is whiter than daylight (5600K). HID lamps, the ones that look bluer, are 4500K. At the bottom of the scale is the yellower looking light of your halogen headlight bulbs (3200K) and plain incandescent foglamps (2800K).

The light reflected back from roadside signs seems much brighter with LED than HID. The HID lamps illuminate the sides of the road more brightly and their high-beam pattern is like a huge cone of light reaching quite high. This is in part because each lamp produces more lumens of light -- about 2500 to the LED's 2000 total, though the total light perceived on the road is roughly equivalent. That means the LEDs must focus their light right where it's needed, so there's less sideways scatter and the high-beam pattern appears maybe twice the vehicle's height and four-lanes wide at a quarter-mile distance. The upper cut-off of the low-beam light pattern seems sharper on the HIDs, because there is a sort of "eyelid" cutting it off until you turn on the high beams. LEDs light up the same pattern on the road, but the edge of the light is less sharply defined. By comparison, the halogen beams appear dangerously inadequate -- a pool of yellow light right in front of the truck with far less reflection coming back from road signs, less side illumination, weaker high-beams, etc.

Cost is the big unknown. All anyone is saying is that it's "considerably more" than HID at the moment, though with time and volume production LEDs should achieve parity or become cheaper. The Platinum model costs $10,705 more than an Escalade optioned as close as possible to the Platinum's equipment level. Along with the LED lamps, that premium pays for unique front-end styling that apes the CTS's, a four-screen rear-seat entertainment system that can play something different on each screen, heated and cooled cupholders, a special overhead console, spectacular two-tone inlaid wood and handsewn leather trim on the dash and door panels, plus glove-soft aniline leather seating surfaces. The LED chips are expected to last the life of the vehicle and the cooling fans are replaceable if they fail, in which case the light dims by 20% to prevent damage if the temperature tops 300 F. If the chips fail or the unit suffers crash damage, a replacement lamp assembly part will cost about $1500 (which may or may not be subsidized).

The new CTS Sport Wagon is also mostly about style, and in the flesh it's a style worth compromising a few cubic feet of carry-space for. The steeply raked and fat D-pillar and unique wheels make for a striking profile and the tall pointy taillamps (each with a light-pipe and 26 LEDs) terminating in the chromed finlets are unmistakably Cadillac.

Overall cargo volume trails the competitive set (Audi A6/BMW 535/Mercedes E-Class), with a seats-down volume of 54.0 cu ft (versus 58.6/58.3/58.9). And to maximize the usefulness of the available space, all wagons will get extruded-aluminum tracks with four standard tie-down loops that can be moved around on the tracks, and other attachments are in the works. A cargo-restraint net that can be installed behind the front or rear seats also is standard. And those sleek, low-profile, ultra-low-wind-resistance luggage rack bars on the roof will host a number of attachment kits for various items (skis, bikes, etc.), all designed by Cadillac to look as slick as the wagon, and all available through Cadillac dealers.

The CTS Sport Wagon makes its official show debut this fall in Paris and goes on sale in the first half of 2009 in the U.S., and eventually in all markets that Cadillac sells in (Europe, Asia, Australia, and soon South America).

Those other markets will get a diesel, but according to Vehicle Line Exec Randy Schwarz, no development work is going on to make that engine U.S. compliant. He would admit, however, that relative to that engine, the CTS-V's would be a breeze to install in the Sport Wagon. It's not in the plan, but those are words we can pin our hopes on. A 556-hp wagon sounds pretty good to us.

This CTS-V is virtually stock. The only non-production items being the bolt-in harness bar (GM says it's attached in a way that doesn't improve rigidity), race seats, test equipment, and fire system. In all, about 20 pounds extra. It's also equipped with a rear differential cooler, a dealer-installed accessory that's unnecessary for the street but recommended for track use.

Auto Club Speedway's 1.4-mile infield road course is no Nurburgring. It's not even the "Lutzring" at GM's Milford Proving Grounds in Michigan on which Motor City Blogman Todd Lassa got his laps with John Heinricy behind the wheel. But it is not a bad track, either, with a few good curveball corners and a pair of straights on which to pick up speed. The pilot for the ride was Andy Pilgrim, who drives the Cadillac CTS-V R in the Speed World Challenge series.

Despite having never driven the course or a '09 CTS-V before that morning, the veteran Brit was putting in scorcher laps, topping out at around 130 mph on the track's main straight. The car never stepped out on him, kept its balance, and compliantly transitioned from corner to corner. And this is a two-ton luxury sedan, not a sports car.

Pilgrim commended the car for its balance, quietness, phenomenal power, and superb brakes. He said that when he got into the driver's seat, he "felt immediately like a part of the car" and that overall, it was a "great place to work." He said it compared favorably to competing German offerings, its key advantage being its balance.

The passenger's thoughts? Two thumbs up and a stupid grin.

As a mere passenger (an intentional passenger, that is), I couldn't find anything wrong with the CTS-V's behavior around the technical, twisty, hilly circuit. What can I say? Heinricy is an accomplished driver. He keeps accelerating into the turns well past the point most of us would have braked. How much is the car and how much is him? The answer seems to be "yes."

Why not a six-speed manual, which will top out at 191 mph, 16 mph better than the automatic? "I'd been driving this car for days," he says and felt more familiar with it when his time came up at the Nordschleife. You only get one lap's chance to set the record.

There's no record at the Lutzring; even unfettered by a member of the press in the front passenger seat, the CTS-V ought to be playing second-fiddle to the two Corvette ZR-1s being tested around the Milford Proving Grounds, including a bright-yellow one with the carbon-fiber roof making the car look a bit retro with a kind of two-tone paint job.

For the record, Cadillac says it believes Heinricy's 7.59.32 is a record for a production sedan on street tires at the 'Ring.

"We hit about 142" mph on my Lutzring ride, Heinricy tells me. The other roll-caged CTS-V, the manual-gearbox one we pass as it limps along during our second lap, the hot one, is not so lucky. It blows a tire and gently biffs the Armco before it comes to a stop.

The good news is that in the Caddy, it doesn't feel as fast as 142. It's smooth and a bit quieter than a Mercedes AMG. After the Heinricy drive, I get to sample another CTS-V, again only as a passenger, this one a black automatic, around the Milford Proving Grounds' handling course and on acceleration runs. A few observations:

• The new, faster-reacting Magnetic Ride Control has two driver-controlled settings, "touring" and "sport." Because each setting was tuned separately, it's softer than the previous car in the touring setting, and stiffer in sport.
• This becomes obvious on the rough roads of Milford's handling course, where the v doesn't feel much stiffer than the quotidian CTS. When the driver switches to "sport," the suspension gets busier on the most uneven parts of the road, but it's not beyond the level of comfort. You could forget to switch it back in Detroit or Manhattan and not think anything was wrong.
• The V has a Getrag limited-slip differential, and uneven-thickness half-shafts, 55mm (hollow) left and 35mm (hollow) right to prevent the rear torsional stiffness to act like a spring. This is to limit axle-hop at launch, perhaps the most serious problem with the last CTS-V.
• It works: the driver brake-torques on acceleration runs, the tires chirp-chirp-chirp and they take hold of the road as my head compresses, hard, into the headrest.
• Traction/stability control has four settings: 1) Normal. 2) Click the steering-wheel button once, and you cancel the traction control. This is for winter driving. My designated driver says the car works fine in Michigan winters with all-season tires. 3) Click it twice, and traction control is off, with stability control on, but tuned for competition driving. 4) Hold the button for five seconds, and traction control and stability control are off completely. Completely.
• The pushrod V-8 burble is well-muffled, but noticeable under acceleration, with the supercharger whine threatening to drown it out. Cadillac is still tweaking the engine's sound, but otherwise the car is pretty much done.
• The driver swears there's no excessive understeer, the bane of any previous GM performance car going back to the days of the Chevy Corvair, and he does nothing that makes me doubt him. Has Bob Lutz finally expunged the fear of oversteer Ralph Nader caused GM 43 years ago? Another question that will have to wait for our first-hand drive (and yes, I know the C6 Corvette is pretty good on this issue, too).

It's not long before we can draw our own conclusions, but my designated driver
says the Cadillac balances off ride and handling, to be more of a road-carver than, say, typical Mercedes AMG sedans. Because of its size and weight, though, the CTS-V's direct competitor, handling-wise, is not the BMW M3, it's the M5.

Cadillac says times are too close to delineate between the six-speed automatic with sport-shift programming and paddle-shifters and the full six-speed manual. There's much more to tell, but I'm posting this quickly...more on the car to come.

Manufacturers' numbers typically are a tad conservative. Our testers will have their hands full trying to beat a 12-sec quarter-mile, though. How do the CTS-V's chief rivals measure up? These are numbers from Art St. Antoine's February 2007 comparison, "The Terminators":

2006 BMW M5
500-hp, 383 lb-ft. DOHC 5.0L V-10, 7-speed auto-clutch manual
0-60 mph in 4.4 sec.
1/4-mile in 12.7 sec. @ 114.6 mph

2007 Audi S6
435-hp, 398 lb-ft. DOHC 5.2L V-10, six-speed automatic
0-60 mph in 5.1 sec.
1/4-mile in 13.6 sec @ 104.4 mph

2007 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG
507-hp, 465 lb-ft. DOHC 6.2L V-8
0-60 mph in 4.3 sec.
1/4-mile in 12.7 sec @ 113.0 mph

If we can replicate Cadillac's numbers, the CTS-V will rival these smaller, lighter cars, as tested in Matt Stone's "There Will Be Blood" comparison for the May 2008 issue:

2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG
451-hp, 443 lb-ft. DOHC 6.2L V-8, 7-speed automatic
0-60 mph in 4.1 sec.
1/4-mile in 12.5 sec. @ 113.5 mph

2008 BMW M3
414-hp, 295 lb-ft. DOHC 4.0L V-8, 6-speed manual
0-60 mph in 4.3 sec.
1/4-mile in 12.7 sec @ 111.3 mph

2008 Lexus IS F
416-hp, 371 lb-ft. DOHC 5.0L V-8
0-60 mph in 4.3 sec.
1/4-mile in 12.7 sec. @ 113.4 mph

Cadillac has a long history with Italian design house and coachbuilder Pininfarina. There were limos in the '30s, lots of projects in the 1950s and early '60s, even the (still handsome) Allante in the late '80s.

These photos show a four place coupe and convertible, which made the show-circuit rounds in 1958. While the four-headlight front end was less than successful (even the best make mistakes), the rest of the cars are elegant, tasteful, and luxurious. The coupe features an all-glass roof, and note the slim roof pillars, a Pininfarina trademark. The cabriolet gets sporty wire wheels, and just a hint of fin is seen at the edge of the rear fenders.

I'm not a fan of the XLR; The look is wrong, the interior doesn't measure up to cars costing half, and it's overpriced. Car buyers agree: One study I read said that its sales dropped 47 percent in 2007...and that was starting from a low volume number to begin with. That said, it's now one of the oldest designs in the Caddy lineup, and Ed Welburn and company will certainly do a better job of it next time around, should Cadillac decide to stay in the premium-roadster business.

Still, I wonder if a well-cut, Italian designer suit from Pininfarina wouldn't be a great way to fly. What do you think?

Hey Matt:

Saw the "CTS: Compact or Midi?" post go up yesterday and have enjoyed reading all the comments from people. We certainly see the CTS gradually gravitating toward competing with 5/E/A6, etc. and taking the place of the STS. The CTS-V absolutely gives us the opportunity to position directly against M5/E63 AMG/RS6 (I see comparos coming, too!) and that will pull CTS more toward 5/E/6.

This will make room for the more direct 3/C/A4, etc. competitor we have in development. The DTS/STS replacement will then be in a similar situation to what the CTS is in now being priced like a 5/E/A6 and size/amenity/capability-wise competing with 7/S/A8, etc.

The Caddy is priced more like the 3/A4/C group of cars. Yet, it's dimensionally closer to the 5/A6/E genre.

There's no standard V-8 option, such as with an E550 or A6 4.2 (forgetting the CTS-v, AMG and M models, etc.), so that's one factor. And what about cross shoppers? Would 5/A6/E intenders really consider the CTS as a high-value alternative to the German standard bearers? Or do they not care? Will Cadillac's real competition be the upcoming Lincoln MKS?

This can be pitched and spun multiple ways. What do you think?