I have to say my first thought when checking out the Caribbean Blue 2010 Cadillac SRX was…“HMMM, a little bright for a Caddy”, but the paint is rich and orange-peel free which gave the clear coat and metallic hues a rich feel.
When I first climbed inside, the SRX felt every bit a Cadillac. Wood steering wheel, shift knob, wood everywhere there wasn’t polished aluminum or chrome accents.
SRX DASHBOARD CENTER CONSOLE
On the highway the SRX delivered a solid, not doggy effort from 30 to 60 to 90+ mphwith agility. The suspension handled capably with a tight turning radius and little tire or wind noise transfer into the cabin. While body roll is not significant on a 4wd/AWD crossover, I did run the SRX through some switchbacks at 20-30mph and expected at least some over-steer if not wheel kick, neither was noticeable. Acceleration 0-60 is lagging, from 1st to second is admirable, considering the rig weighs in at over 4000 lbs., 4400 to be exact in the AWD. Inside the air conditioning blew full blast when I hit the gas hard and the outside temp hovered around 100. The typical C pillar blind-spot was evident, as it is in all SUV’s, but the view is enhanced by the panoramic moon-roof which shed a lot of light into the cabin and back hatch.
From the driver’s seat the steering wheel offers adjustable pedals but no power tilt and telescope-memory settings ? The wheel controls are limited to stereo mode, volume, blue-tooth and cruise. Navigation, temperature and all the other tuning tools are buried low on the center console, which makes it impossible to keep your eyes on the road. NOTE: Do your adjustments before driving away.
The pop-up touch-screen command center video display is clever, and easy to see, and remarkably unobtrusive to the driver’s view. However, I found the large, black, mounting fixture for the rear view mirror made the windshield feel small and disproportionately slanted. (Guest test drivers did not find the rear view mirror as annoying as I did.) The rear hatch activation button allowed me to control the lift-gate to a ¾ or full opening, but I found myself reaching up towards the moon-roof switches instead of down to the driver’s door, where the lift-gate button is located. NOTE: The SRX lift-gate makes no NOISE, emits NO ALARM when opening or closing.
The 10 speaker BOSE ® stereo provided great surround sound from the radio, iPod and CD, even the Navigation voice sounded rich in French. Interior lighting at night leaves much to be desired. The bright white gauges are three dimensional and easy on the eye, but the center console control buttons are mere lit specs not easily adjusted without the use of the map reading overheads.
This is NOT a 7 passenger ride. Four passengers would make a long trip easily, but the fifth seatbelt in the rear would require a very thin person, or child booster seat. The second row affords two grown adults a comfortable reclining bucket seat with sizable armrest, DVD screen in each headrest/seat, hot/cold vents, audio ports and cup-holders. A pass-through from the rear hatch accommodates skis and long items without giving up a chair to the 60/40 fold-down option.
All-in-all I liked the SRX for the money, it packs lots of features onto a reasonable size frame. The 18” wheels and tires look decent and handle well. The 3.0L 265HP keeps the fuel economy at 18/23 reasonable, although it would have been a homerun with the HYBRID technology from the Escalade.
LIKES: Styling, interior space, paint, features.
DISLIKES: Rearview Mirror mount, 0-60, control buttons on center console too low.
Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writes about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com
Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS
LAS VEGAS USED CAR maven, Sarah Lee aka: MY CARLADY finds you the best used cars for under $10,000.00. That’s right, clean, inspected, nice used cars for under ten thousand bucks! I just got a line on this really nice, ONE OWNER, 2000 Cadillac Deville DTS with only 50,200 original miles!
The car is Silver, Black leather interior, cd player, power memory seats, traction control, parking sensors, 18″ chrome rims, Power everything but no moon-roof.
Kelly Blue Book retail is $10,250.00 but if you call me today, you can get this car for the MYCARLADY price of only $ 8777.00 plus tax and fees. Financing is available for approved buyers which could make your car payment as low as $ 200.00 a month! OMG. Don’t wait this car will NOT last the weekend!
If you need financing help, let me know I have 2nd chance banks!
Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writes about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com
Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS
NEED AUTO FINANCE HELP or CREDIT report repair go to tell them MY CARLADY: Sarah Lee sent you. It’s a free consult and they do the right thing by you, fast, easy, cheap.
Las Vegas, NV– O% financing for 60 months isn’t gone yet. However it will be a distant memory if Chrysler and GM turn to bankruptcy reorganization to salvage the remains of their business’. The problem isn’t attracting buyers to the 0%, it’s getting those anxious consumers auto loan qualified. The rest of the car buyers are struggling with debt overload and high payments based on interest rates over 15% . Negative equity in their trade-ins and minimal cash down payment add to the woes. The dealers want to sell cars, but the auto loan stranglehold is choking the delivery process.
0% has little to do with auto loans and more to do with marketing. For those with savings, the idea of no interest for five years may have been the way to get the money out of the mattress and into a new car. The more expensive the vehicle, the bigger the interest savings over the term. However, if the car was traded , stolen or totalled before the end of the loan, the owner lost some of the incentive.
Today almost all General Motors, Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac vehicles have 0% for up to 60 months for the wholesale value of the car. Taxes and fees must be covered with a down payment. Consumers must have a minimum 700 FICO credit score and a debt- to- income ratio of 75% available, in most cases. The 72 mos. for 1.9% is an attractive alternative on the 2009 Escalade, Chevy Tahoe and GMC Denali, keeping the payment around $800-$900.00 a month.
Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge are trying to stay competitive by offering 0% on 2009 models for 36 mos. up to 5.9% for 60 mos. Hardly a fair fight in the interest game, except where less expensive models are involved. The argument can be made that on a car under 30k, the idea of paying the car off sooner may be more appealing to the over 50 yr. old consumer, less worried about the higher monthly payment.
The import brands are not offering 0%, and only recently announced 2.9% to 5.9% for their preferred clients. The interest rate advertising was a back-handed effort to minimize any negative feelings from cash strapped consumers. In difficult economic times, anti-foreign sentiment can rise, even with a general understanding by the American consumer that most Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Hyundai cars on the road today are built in the US and a large percentage of Chrysler 300, Dodge Minivan and Ram trucks are built in Mexico or Canada.
Protectionism aside, the need to get the US car business moving requires assistance from all sides, including the consumer. Fear has driven huge cash allotments out of the stock market and into the savings account.
Saving for a rainy day was common saying in the homes of many baby-boomers. Well folks, the rainy days are here and making good financial decisions will move those rain clouds faster than a lot of sideline moaning and groaning about the stock market losses. (I know from whence I speak, I feel your pain.) There are an estimated two million vehicles over ten years of age that should be retired for scrap. I’m not going to go on a rant about Cash for Junkers, but I do want to say, those who have a stable income and a car over ten years of age should consider this a great time to take advantage of a new car. The 0% financing, depressed car prices and auto sales tax credit for 2009 are great reasons to put a smile on your face driving down the road in a safer, more fuel efficient car.
NEED AUTO FINANCE HELP or CREDIT report repair go to www.ecreditautoadvisor.com tell them MY CARLADY: Sarah Lee sent you. It’s a free consult and they do the right thing by you, fast, easy, cheap.If you want to know more about specific models with low apr’s or best pricing, contact Sarah Lee@mycarlady.com or www.mycarlady.comor follow me at TWITTER: @mycarlady.
Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS
Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writers about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com
Las Vegas, NV– The bleeding needs to stop. Before another dime is spent, the Washington Car Czar board of guru’s need to bring out the Ginzu knife and do the surgery to save the patient. In this case the patient is the ailing US auto industry and the remaining retirees and employees of those companies. Being a member of this industry I would rather have the amputation than bleed to death, which is what will happen if the government continues with the drip IV of taxpayer funds. Say ADDIOS to Chrysler and Dodge, merge Jeep with GM.
Kiss Pontiac, Buick, Saturn and Saab goodbye, leaving Cadillac, GM trucks and Chevy cars in place. As for Fiat, if you want to play in this market, buy one of these vacant plants, retool and retrain the displaced workers of Lordstown or Detroit and get to work. The US consumer is not holding their breath for your cars, but then again, maybe you’ve got something they’d love to own for under $15k and over 25mpg. I’m thrilled Ford hasn’t asked for a dime, that’s the best marketing money can’t buy. Leave Lincoln, drop Mercury and keep Carroll Shelby as our legendary hero of muscle cars. BTW Carroll, can you have an electric Mustang 500GT ready for next year’s race?
The truth, IMHO, is evident. Make the brutal changes swiftly and get it behind us. The sooner we make the necessary moves to consolidate the most viable assets of GM and Chrysler, the sooner the country can start moving forward. –
Top learn more about getting your best car deal click here: CAR DEALS
Sarah Lee is an automotive executive with 20+ years of experience. She writers about Cars, and is a staunch consumer advocate on car related subjects. Her company: MY CARLADY is a car buyer’s service committed to getting you the best deal on your next new or pre-owned vehicle. You can reach her at www.mycarlady.com You can follow My Carlady on Twitter at www.twitter.com/mycarlady or @mycarlady
SORRY Joe the PLUMBER, your leased work truck, used car for your teen driver or cash car purchase for mom-in-law, won’t get you anything under the proposed: American Reinvestment & Recovery Act!
Senator Miluski’sAmendment for the deductibility of interest and sales tax on auto LOANS misses 30-40% of the car buying public. Can you guess who wrote this legislation? While USED cars help the economy as their value improves with demand from American’s that can’t afford, or can’t get approved for a new car loan, the factory mavens haven’t figured out that helping people buy used cars will drive demand from the folks making those trades.
Leasing, typically a work-related purchase, also stimulates the economy, but since the finance arms of the Big 3 got clobbered with plummeting residuals when the price of gas strangled the demand for big SUV’s and trucks, you can appreciate their reluctance to endorse leasing. However, leasing actually stimulates the manufacturing at a faster rate than a 60-72 month loan, as most leasing clients turn their cars in 36-42 mos. intervals.
So, as you consider the latest pitch for saving the auto industry, please consider yourself dissed if you lease, pay cash or prefer to buy a used car.
OR, you can write your congress person or Senator using the letter below (Thanks Grant Cardone) and get yourself some tax deductions on your next car. Contact them at: www.house.gov. or Senate
HURRY WE STILL HAVE TIME!!!!
SAMPLE LETTER, FREE TO DOWNLOAD, EMAIL or CALL !
Dear ____:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act being considered today contains a provision that would allow families to write off the sales tax and interest paid on a new car loan. While I agree with the premise of the bill, it fails to take into account the 30-40% of car buyers who either lease or pay cash for their vehicles. This bill as written does not offer any benefit nor incentive for these consumers to make a new car purchase.
Given the fact that many families lease their cars in order to keep monthly payments within their budget, wouldn’t it make more sense to incent new car transactions without regard to how it is financed? A tax credit that is a percentage of MSRP would include not only those who purchase their cars via a retail finance contract, it would also include the 30-40% of Americans who lease or pay cash.
In addition, a tax credit based upon MSRP would be easier for the public to understand and therefore better motivate them to consider getting a new vehicle – which I assume is the real objective of this bill.
In addition, maybe we could go back to President Obama’s position on oil independence and suggest a focus on vehicles getting better than 21mpg, as long as the American public is driving this initiative?
Yours truly,
_____________
btw: I nominate Sarah Lee: aka: MY CARLADY for CAR CZAR!
. www.mycarlady.com
O% financing for 60 months isn’t gone yet. However it will be a distant memory if Chrysler and GM turn to bankruptcy reorganization to salvage the remains of their business’. The problem isn’t attracting buyers to the 0%, it’s getting those anxious consumers auto loan qualified. The rest of the car buyers are struggling with debt overload and high payments based on interest rates over 15% . Negative equity in their trade-ins and minimal cash down payment add to the woes. The dealers want to sell cars, but the auto loan stranglehold is choking the delivery process.
In this case the patient is the ailing US auto industry and the remaining retirees and employees of those companies. Being a member of this industry I would rather have the amputation than bleed to death, which is what will happen if the government continues with the drip IV of taxpayer funds. Say ADDIOS to Chrysler and Dodge, merge Jeep with GM. 
I’m thrilled Ford hasn’t asked for a dime, that’s the best marketing money can’t buy. Leave Lincoln, drop Mercury and keep Carroll Shelby as our legendary hero of muscle cars. BTW Carroll, can you have an electric Mustang 500GT ready for next year’s race?
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