It’s officially spring, and this past Monday I was out just cruising around. I had gotten a picture frame for a 1966 Lincoln Continental ad I’d acquired awhile back at an antique store. But the previous night, while putting it together, I pressed the back a little too hard and broke it. Dagnabit! So it was off to the store the next day to get another one. Oh well, at least it was cheap.
Anyway since it was nearby I stopped at McLaughlin to chat with my friend there, Brian Cox. As I checked the inventory two caught my eye, a 2018 CTS in Red Horizon with only 13,000 miles, and a black on black 2016 CT6 Platinum with only 26,000 on the clock. All the goodies too, AWD, heated and cooled seats, massaging seats, dual power moonroofs and more.
I’d already driven two CTSs with the 2.0 four/AWD combination, but was curious about the CT6, the last large Cadillac sedan-at least as of this writing. Unlike Lincoln, which cheerfully axed ALL sedans after the 2020 model year, Cadillac still offers two: the CT4, which is essentially a facelifted ATS, and the CT5, a new model that appeared in 2020 to replace the CTS.
I found Brian and we chatted while he went to the service deparment and got a full set of rubber mats for a Subaru Ascent he was delivering soon, and we discussed Cadillacs, Town Cars, the state of the crossover and other important stuff. I inspected the Ascent as he was equipping it. Not a bad vehicle, not a sports car, but lots of room. This one was brand new, in a rather nice mocha color, with a two tone ivory and black interior.
Subarus do seem to be rather honest vehicles, though the sportsy outdoorsy advertising does get a little old sometimes. But I enjoyed the new flat six Outback I tried out a few years ago. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would-perhaps because it’s one of the few honest to God station wagons left, albeit not marketed as such.
But as you may surmise, my first love is domestic luxury, so Cadillacs were discussed. The Ascent fully accessorized, we went inside the showroom to yak, and Brian asked if I wanted to try out the CT6. With a twin turbo V6, room and style to shame the snazziest combover. Hmm. Gee. OK.
This was an approximately 85-90K car when new, so it was supremely ritzy. Power retractable sun screens for the rear passenger doors, power retractable sunscreen for the rear window. Two power sunroofs, front and rear, with power sunshades for each. Heated, cooled, massaging seats. The massaging seats were particularly swell. I remember driving a brand new 2018 Continental a few years ago, engaging the massaging seats, and accidentally almost driving to Maysville as a result. But I digress.
When the CT6 appeared in 2016 and the Continental appeared the following year, I was all excited. New, top of the line, large luxury sedans from Lincoln and Cadillac, awesome! It would be like an all-new king of the hill, like back in the ’70s between the Mark IV and the Eldorado!
Alas, it was not to be, as the sheep that drive modern leases, oops, I mean, sales, gravitate to various and sundry combovers that the fat, old buyers can fit their cabooses into without tripping and needing to activate their medic alert bracelet, or have someone bring them a bag of Butterburgers from Culvers. Oops, did I say that out loud? I usually just think it in silent frustration.
Anyway, the new big sedans did not last, with the CT6 zapped after 2020 (except in China, naturally, where a four-cylinder hybrid version is still available) along with the Continental. Though it saddened your author, I can’t fault their logic. If the small SUVs sell, that’s what they’ll offer.
At least Cadillac still offers sedans, Lincoln killed them all. Like a giant middle finger to people who don’t want SUVs. Swell! But I digress. Unless the market changes, the 2016-20 CT6 will be the last traditional Cadillac: Long wheelbase, big seats, super comfortable, and lots of oomph. The remaining sedans are just too small to give the usual Cadillac space and smooth ride-except perhaps the Escalade, if you’re feeling adventurous and want to include SUVs.
It had been a long time since I had driven a turbocharged car, so I had to refamiliarize myself with the concepts of turbo lag and turbo boost. This thing moves, as it should, with 400 horsepower. Acceleration was effortless. You’d be moseying along at 42, floor it, and suddenly be going 86, and it still felt like you were going 42.
For instance, I was on the Interstate headed back when an Altima (of course it was an Altima!) decided to get cute and pass me on the right. There was a slow Suburban in front of me in the passing lane. Lo and behold, he moves over, I floor the Caddy, and the Altima became a distant battered speck far in the distance. Cue your author cackling like Dr. Evil.
So yes, it was an extremely nice car, a car fit for a captain of industry from decades back. But today’s fattuccinno-sipping CEOs would likely frown at a competent sedan and would instead be driving a Lexus Cimarron, oops I mean NX350h, and wearing a chartreuse and lilac track suit. Such is the 2020s. But you can still find these here and there, lightly used, like this one, if you’re so inclined.
As always, thanks to Brian and McLaughlin Cadillac for allowing me access to one of these surviving domestic luxury sedans!