2016 Cadillac CT6 (Reaction) Motorweek

[@gsczr1]

I have a 2019 CT6 V. I could argue that it's the best full size Cadillac GM ever built. The 4.2 Liter Black Wing V8 is world class. It puts out, 550 HP and 640 FPT. it's backed by an excellent 10 speed automatic. It is packed full of tech. In 2019 CT6 was refreshed and I think the nose is much better looking. The headlights are more substantial. Inside They replaced the touch pad with a knob that works way better. They also included a volume knob. My CT6-V also has carbon fiber through out the interior. It looks good. Last, the CT6-V is a lot cheaper then their German competitors. In developing the CT6 Cadillac received 12 patents. The platform that the CT6 is based on (Omega) is brilliant. Cheers!!!

[@crabbymilton390]

Sadly CADILLAC had a long history with the NORTHSTAR engine with very bad quality problems and that GULWING was questionable too. GM has a long weird history of duplication and overlap. They could have just used a long and well proven V8 instead of developing a special one just for CADILLAC. The rest of the car could have remained unchanged. Who cares which GM division built the engine? That’s of little importance when you get in and start the engine and drive.

[@maineiacman]

If you have a proper blackwing only a handful were built, you have a collectors item on you hand thanks to GM pissing away millions developing that engine and not using it.

[@weegeemike]

I've always wanted to drive something with the BLACKWING V8...I've heard great things. A Caddy isn't a TRUE Caddy unless it has a V8, in my opinion anyway. Glad to heat there's people Southern that still drive and support Cadillac. I'm a GM loyalist and I'd buy a Cadillac over a Lexus, BMW or Mercedes any day. People talk about Cadillac problems...well if you want some SERIOUS and EXPENSIVE problems, buy a German car, it won't disappoint.

[@crabbymilton390]

@@weegeemike I don’t disagree. All I’m saying is that GM could have used their long and well proven V8’s instead. That beautiful GULLWING version of the CT6 would have performed just as well with the GM small block.

[@glx68]

When it comes to design/styling and technical details, including power, it's the best and most innovative car since the 1979 Cadillac Eldorado. Congratulation to this great car!🎉

[@albertadams2095]

I always felt like that car was 80% “there” … meaning, it just needed some areas to be toned down (like the way the head and tail lights “reach” for the center) and simply infused with a little more of that understated elegance that doesn’t shout, but whispers. The W222 S-Class HAS that and when this was a concept, I was really hoping Cadillac would finally prove they have what it takes. It’s just not quite there, though. In my opinion, the new Genesis G90 is a closer competitor to the Mercedes S-Class than any of the ICE Cadillac sedans of the past decade. Al always, another great video Jon 😌

[@MyHumanWreckage]

Jon, you must be reading my mind lately. A few weeks ago you had the Continental, this week you have the CT6. Both of these are on my short list for my next car purchase. I find the Continental more aimed towards the traditional American luxury buyer, whereas the CT6 is aimed more towards the BMW, Audi conquest buyer. Great review as usual.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Appreciate it. Would like either of those cars if I'm honest, but even with depreciation I'm still somewhat shocked at their prices.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Oh, and it's not reading your mind. It's the cameras I've selectively placed. (JUSTKIDDING!) 😀

[@royperry2859]

Its a nice car.

[@weegeemike]

I would have appreciated this car a LOT more if I knew that it would be one of the last traditional, large, RWD Cadillacs. Looking back it's a pretty cool car. Way better than the car it replaced. I would actually like to buy one of these if I could find a clean, affordable, grandparent-owned unit.

[@johnnymason2460]

Cadillac did consider producing a CT8 sedan before. That car probably would have been a true competitor to the 7-series and S-Class. Unfortunately, GM seems determined to go electric(which won't work because most people don't want electric vehicles).

[@baronvonjo1929]

Well there is a certain demand for EVs. Notable Tesla sold hundreds of thousands of Model 3 and Ys. But all other brands? The third best selling EV last year was the Mach E with only 41k units sold. Every other EV sold less. So not enough demand without the Tesla badge. And of course government mandates. Cadillac has slowed EV adoption after poor response.

[@juelzm149]

I had honestly forgotten about these cars. I agree with just about every point you made here. And from what I understand these powertrains have not been very reliable. Such a shame. People like the guy in your story were who kept GM's market share high for all those years.

[@AGPreston12]

I loved the CT6, in particular the 2019 refresh.

[@raymond_sycamore]

It’s definitely AN luxury car!

[@Westcoastride]

The badge never found itself being a “benchmark” brand again. Just a very good “Me Too” brand. Nobody bought this model. Less than 40,000 over 4 years.

[@Walderstedt]

I love it too.

[@phileasler5401]

The CT6 also came in a phev model imported from China. I think it had 30 miles of Ev range before the gas engine came on, 4cyc turbo gas. Rare vehicle

[@rtcturnemup7028]

Really, the ct6 was a placeholder for the ice version of the celestiq( escala concept) that was supposed to be had with a ttv8 and hybrid powertain. Gm dropped this idea in place of a “ all electric brand “ turning that concept into the celestiq …

[@davealmer3803]

would love to have a V edition but they re a rare beast and sadly the CT6 sales #'s were poopy at best.

[@adamsmith7580]

This platform definitely should have been used for a new Buick sedan. If they'd offered this as a flagship Buick with lower pricing (maybe with a well equipped mid level or top model starting around 55k with a base model in the high 30s) used slightly curvier styling and called it the new LeSabre or used another legacy nameplate I seriously think it would have been a hit. It might have also helped sales of the Cadillac to make it a more well known platform, if it was known for reliability anyway, since many Buick sedans from the late 90s into the 2000s were famous for being almost Lexus like in their reliability, but with a more traditional American style and comfortable ride. There is a market for a premium comfortable sedan, they just aren't catering to it because they know many people in that market are loyal customers, people who will buy American no matter what, and they'll settle for a crossover if that's all they can get, and it's also the cheapest easiest way for them to convert buyers who are open to cross shopping multiple brands because they can offer CUVs at a competitive price.

[@jermainec2462]

GM / Cadillac should have kept this and made it Cadillac's 1st ev .... but nooooo they do what GM they always do when they have a product that makes sense and have potential ... they kill it !!!

[@crabbymilton390]

Well there’s always the CELESTIQ

[@johnnymason2460]

​@@crabbymilton390 You want a $300,000 Cadillac EV that most people don't want? Good luck with that!(Lol)

[@crabbymilton390]

@@johnnymason2460 Hehe. If I could afford a car like that I could probably afford 2. One on charge and the other driving it.

[@stevenswan3642]

Also you know it will drop in value like a stone

[@engineer_alv]

To be fair pretty much all luxury cars depreciate like a stone except for Lexus. Germans are king in depreciation

[@mrgurulittle7000]

I really love the newer Cadillac models and Cadillac’s new direction, but I still see some “cluelessness” in GM’s overall decisions, especially in Chevrolet and Buick. I’d say Cadillac is pretty solid in their products and that they just need to build a better reputation. Cadillac is still better off than Lincoln and Infiniti.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

funny enough the Blackwing version of the CT5 V has a lower compression ratio than a Toyota Camry XSE V6 does and its a heavier vehicle by more than 500 LBs and still has the option for a manual transmission where the Camry dropped that option after 2021 model year because so few people know how to drive a manual now a days in the US in 2021 it was .9% and last year it was 1.7% meaning more than 98% of US car buyers choose an automatic transmission. also Luxury cars in general don't sell as many units per year as they did in the late 1970s early 1980s when it wasn't out of the ordinary for Cadillac to sell over a million units a year and 30% of that to be the Deville Camry has been the best selling midsize sedan in the US for nearly 30 years every year since 1997 accept 2001 when Honda Accord outsold it by 26,000 units 415,000 for the Accord and 389,000 for Camry where as its more compact brother the Corolla has been in the top 10 or 15 Cars sold in the US for 46 years since 1979

[@JimmyShields-z2h]

Jon should Caddy have used Zeta platform of Chevrolet Caprice or WM Holden Caprice? Caddy could have done exterior n interior design changes which would made great flagship.

[@engineer_alv]

no, I think it needed the Omega platform as it was much newer and almost 10" longer than Zeta, hence a proper platform for a flagship Cadillac

[@mumwifeteacher]

You need to do a reaction to the ford sport trac. A car that 10 years ahead of the market

[@sannissansanjuan5074]

Only Thing Missing in the CT6 Like Obvious in the S Class since 85 7 Series Sometime A8, Every Lexus LS had it Since 1990 is Power Front Head Rest, That only Gadget That the CT6 and Escalade Lacks,

[@baronvonjo1929]

As for your final remark about no Buick spin off...all of Buicks final sedans sales were in the gutter. Probably why they started usong Opels. And why they completely axed all Buick sedan after. There really was no demand for them. There was absolutely no way they were ever going to greenlight a new Buick sedan. I did look it up and this platform seemed to have only been used for the CT6. They did make a concept Buick using the platform but quick amature research said GM stated they never intended to build it.

[@maybelive765]

Jon, I'm not gonna lie, everyone knows the big 3 are overrated since the past 10 years. They've been living in a bubble; often times the specs didn't match the price. The reason why Cadillac, Jaguar, Alfa, Maserati and Volvo were not as hard-hitting on the market is because they've not been able to enjoy the same money backing them up, especially looking at BMW/Mercedes Finance wing, which are absolute monsters when it comes to rates and services. The other luxury companies are not functioning on the same level, which is why they can produce 1 amazing car that sells out and still not compete. Some of my fav cars of all time: Cadillac STS-V, CTS-V1/2/3, Jaguar XFR, Jaguar XJR, Volvo S60R, Volvo S80 V8, Jaguar F-Pace SVR, Porsche Panamera wagon, Audi S6, Lexus ISF, Giulia QF and the recent Blackwings.

[@sentiencepsn2714]

This and the Lincoln Continental were the last gasps of that traditional American luxury large sedan. Whereas Lincoln tried to wow customers with its refined interior, Cadillac wanted to wow customers with its ride and technology. Neither are still in production.

[@johnnymason2460]

You can still get a CT6 sedan. You just have to go to China to get it. Not good.

[@crabbymilton390]

Such a shame that they discontinued the CT6 and the LINCOLN CONTINENTAL. Gee, smooth, quiet, and plenty comfortable. Can’t have that now. To me when you say CADILLAC, that’s what comes to mind. That is a bigger sedan with all the comfort you want. Not a rebadged CHEVROLET SUBURBAN/ GMC YUKON and present it as the flagship. Nothing against those SUV but some of us like sedans. I wonder how many were built with the 4 cylinder engine. 4’s are much smoother and quieter now. It still would have made more sense to just have the V6’s to standardize production. The V8 option didn’t last long but that was a separate model then they discontinued them five minutes later.

[@kevingoins5837]

And it looks better than anything on the road quit being cheap G.M. if you cannot handle that cadillac sale it to someone else that might put it back on throne & fleetwood had the best seats that has ever been put in a car

[@colinschmitz8297]

I have no idea what you're talking about Jon. This is a world standard car... According to the bean counters.😉 All kidding aside, The core of the problem is they are not building a car that is trying to benchmark the market they're putting a half level effort into this. I can get a similar level effort from a Chrysler 300 with a lower price tag and at least I have a world-class transmission from the ZF HP 8 and it gets about the same fuel economy from the Penta star without the problematic cylinder deactivation and gasoline direct injection concerning the high feature V6 and that assumes they finally got the timing chain problem, the PCV valve, and ventilation problems fixed on the high feature engine. Until they are willing to take the bean counters out of the room and build a world standard car with no restrictions they're not going to change the reputation and they're not going to beat Mercedes and BMW. If you want to do it right, first you have to look and study all the great cars of the last 30 plus years and see what they did right and what they did wrong and make sure to spend the budget to make the interior of that caliber that exceeds what Mercedes and BMW is doing today And even then it's going to take a couple generations of cars for that reputation to be fixed after 30 plus years of half-baked efforts. I would say a great place to start for them would be to be willing to go outside of corporate GM for the drivetrain to address the problem that you mentioned. Now air struts I don't think anybody has a bulletproof set of them. I think regardless they're just like that. The engine and transmission stuff needs to change and it needed to change 40 years ago. For Cadillac, I would honestly open the floodgates of possibility of not only buying a third party transmission from ZF or Aisin(And this would not be the first time that they've done this for Cadillac) but I would also suggest doing the same concerning the engines from whomever isn't Mercedes or BMW. That means if they were to offer another V8 don't spend the enormous development cost for a miniature 4.2 twin turbo V8 but buy a coyote from Ford, buy a Cyclone V6 for rear wheel drive applications. The bottom line is GM just isn't good at overhead cam engines for whatever reason but Ford knows how to do it very well (so long as they don't drive water pump via the timing chain). The advantage of this would be that building such a vehicle doesn't have a direct competitor under Ford, Ford's overhead cam engines are competitive in their class but they never use them in anything competitive outside of the Mustang which doesn't compete in this class of cars. The other point is I think Cadillac would be more successful if they would embrace the more comfort direction because that is what is missing in the market today. You can still have good handling characteristics with the suspension that doesn't beat the tar out of you if you run over a duck's feather. It is also possible to have supportive seats that are still soft. Chrysler did this very well before Mercedes took over. I would even go as far as to suggest a V12 but with the market today that might not work anymore. The bottom line is Cadillac needs to not match their competition but exceed it. They need to build the cars that are going to not only be amazing when they're new but remain amazing for decades. If they can't build a reliable engine for this class of vehicle, buy one (remember this is supposed to be world class vehicle not the best of general motors), same with the transmission. If anything it helps to separate it from Chevy and Buick.

[@colinschmitz8297]

On second thought, I think I would go the route of adding a V12. Mercedes still offers it and there's going to be some people who regardless of how expensive fuel gets once something like that and that's part of benchmarking. For that you might want to go to cosworth.

[@careavis]

I am with you where is the Buick I have loved my Buicks.

[@crabbymilton390]

BUICK is a joke. That division only exists so the GMC dealer can sell rebadged CHEVROLET SUV’s and crossovers. BUICK used to build wonderful sedans too.

[@a64aquarian]

Where is your Buick sedan? Well….its being sold in China….to people that hold Buick in a higher regard than Cadillac. Also…American auto makers HATE marketing large cars. Seriously. When is the last time you saw a Chrysler 300 or Ford Taurus or Chevy Impala or Buick Lacrosse or Cadillac XTS or Cadillac CT6 commercial when they were in production?

[@danielstrachan8988]

😁👍👍

[@haroldb2663]

GM-isms are real. LOL!

[@OLDS98]

Thank you for the review. Several things they sell the CT6 in China in 2024 and not in the United States. The CT6 was sold along side the XTS. The XTS has a bigger trunk. The only issues I had with the CT6 was the side window design. That third wide window should be on the rear doors not after the rear doors like an after thought. I am so over everyone doing that window design. You are not Audi. Give it a rest. The trunk was too small for a large sedan. Those are my only complaints.

[@Rusty5000]

for me its a CT4 manual blacking but probably will never happen

[@michaelbogdanowicz5059]

Reliability ?

[@MyHumanWreckage]

Excellent

[@andrewweltlich9065]

If the car were cheaper I could forgive it's "cheapness" so to speak, but at those prices no way. That's E class money for a car that to me screams of nice Chevy. A comparably priced E class is just a level above the CT6, no question.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Well said.

[@davinp]

Oldsmobile and Buick were the car brands for old people. Oldsmobile no longer exists, so where does that leave Buick? Now GM doesn't make sedans anymore

[@crabbymilton390]

CADILLAC still builds the CT4 and CT5 at least for the time being.

[@baronvonjo1929]

Buick largest demographic is 30 something year old women. Aiming your cars for old people seems like it would be a challenge these days How do you convince your company that you should build cars for a ever aging demographic that has very little chance of growing? And sedans and old people just dont really make much logical sense. Sedans are harder than ever to get in and out of. A CUV is much simpler to slide in and out of with a more practical hatch over a impractical trunk.

[@crabbymilton390]

@@baronvonjo1929 Well you’re gonna get old too Lord willing. I’m nearly 60 but if Lord willing I can still drive when I’m 80, I want a sedan since with most of those SUV’s and crossovers, you almost need a jetway to get in the thing since they sit so high plus they appear to be top heavy to the point that if you sneeze, it may tip over with the short wheelbase. I don’t claim exemption so if sedans are completely gone, then I guess I’ll just buy whatever crossover or SUV is available. Until then no thanks.

[@bikingD]

Usually when I see a Cadillac I feel like I sould be getting a lift to the airport. For some reason when I see this one I feel like I should be on my last ride. It screams funeral home.

[@crabbymilton390]

Which is not a bad thing. Some of us don’t like loud and rough sports cars but rather a smooth quiet sedan.

[@bikingD]

@@crabbymilton390 agreed like a nice comfy sedan. That said these are deathly quiet. 😂

[@crabbymilton390]

@@bikingD Now hearse and funeral limousine builders have to stretch XT5’s. Some of them have an option for a trunk. I’m starting to like those.😀

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Ya know, since that's a rwd platform, GM could use this as a base to develop a new Bonneville for a revived Pontiac. Maybe shorten the wheelbase somewhat to the length of the recently discontinued Dodge Charger. And offer that mentioned supercharged 670 hp 6.2 V8 as the top option. Btw, at 60, I'm now one of those "old people", and I remember like Pepperidge Farm does. I'd be tickled pink if Buick would develop a revived Roadmaster or Electra using the CT6 platform. And maybe offer a naturally aspirated 6.2 engine as a middle option, supercharged version as the top.

[@davinp]

GM is cheap and doesn't want to spend extra money if they don't have too. They are always looking for ways to reduce production coss

[@nathanielwilson1899]

They can’t compete with non union foreign companies

[@jfish9014]

That’s how they stay alive 💪

[@davinp]

stop saying he's like. That is wrong grammar. It's he said not he's like. When you talking are saying something not liking something, so it is incorrect to say the person is like

[@jermainec2462]

not you critiquing somebody this early in the morning👀 😂 mann stop ...

[@claybarnett6350]

*** Stop saying "he's like." That is grammatically incorrect. It's "he said," not "he's like." When you are talking, [unintelligible]..., so it is incorrect to say the person "is like." *** There, I fixed your poorly-worded, punctuated, and executed attempt to leave negative feedback for Jon. Get it together, pal. It's not that serious.

[@claybarnett6350]

@@jermainec2462 I tried to help. haha

[@jermainec2462]

@@claybarnett6350 lol 😆 well cut it out

[@SupremeKid98]

Mediocre luxury 😂 massage seats?

[@scottyg7284]

The Russian built Cadillac’s looked better .

[@davinp]

Safety features such as Automatic Emergency Breaking should not be treated as a luxury feature. It should be standard on all cars not just luxury cars. Toyota made it standard in 2017 with their safety suite even on the Corolla. GM, Ford and Chrysler like to charge extra for it. Safety should not come at a price

[@mbaer5]

Nanny features 👎 L