Went for a nice long cruise today in my car and at one point I ended up over by the GM Proving grounds in Milford. I saw a very odd looking XLR, it had the bubble in the center of the hood like the c6. I wonder if that was the new XLR-v. It had nothing covering up any of the body panels and it had manufactures plates on it.

 

Did it look like THIS?

 

caddy is so gonna own with all these hp luxury vechicles prowling the streets

 

Is anyone else as completly unimpressed with this car as I am? 400hp, whooohooo. The base Vette has that and costs 50-60k less. A "base" XLR is in the 70-80k range, and you know the V is going to be around 90k. So what do you get for $50,000 more than its platform mate?!?!?! Different body panels, No more HP. Ive driven 4 of these things, and the interior, while a nice interior, isnt anything special. The folding roof is kinda cool. Im having a difficult time justifying the cost. Jeez, just the regular XLR is a complete ripoff. This car would do well with 450hp at 49,999 for the base and 60k for the V. Anything more than that is just rediculous.

 

LAZ, the XLR is reported to have more then 400hp.
I wouldnt call the XLR a "rip off". Its a luxury roadster. Your thinking of the Corvette, not the XLR. If you have a problem justifying the XLR, how about thoes people that get ripped on the SL500? It has even less hp? Not everything needs to be cheap.

 

Have you driven one yet?

Its a platform mate of the Corvette, I know what it is. It drives like a corvette and feels like a corvette. The first time I drove one was early this year, and I was completly unimpressed and stunned that it cost close to 6 figures. Driving it, you KNOW its a corvette. Defend it all you want with what it is supposed to be, but dont make an assumption on what it actually is until you experience it first hand. Its an $80,000 corvette.

It has its differences, albeit most are just that, differences, and not "upgrades" to a car that is produced at half the price. The styling, interior, and ride comfort are the only obvious changes from the $40k vette. it would be an interesting option for those wanting to spend 50-60k on a vette-like roadster.


Tell me WHY this car is twice the price. Dont say "cause its supposed to be this and that." My only guess is to keep it exclusive, which means the suckers that bought one got "ripped off"

 

And about the Benz you quoted...

How many of those cars are produced to spread the production costs over?

The Corvette can be produced for profit at 40k (or less).

As far as the XLRv having more than 400hp...
Well holy crap it better for just shy of $100k

 

Yup, that is what it looked like.

 

If they make the XLR, the new flagship for Caddy, at a cheap price, it will in turn make Caddy look like a cheap brand. Caddy is trying to catch up to Mercedes and BMW in terms of prestige, not Lincoln.

You can say the same thing about the Porche Boxster and how its overpriced as well....when you get to cars like these, you aren't buying a performance vehicle, you're also buying an image, and Caddy wants their image to be more than just "a nicer GM product".

 

bingo...

 

Well if Cadillac is inflating the price of this car for the purpose of having a prestige image, then L.A. Z is right, the buyers are getting ripped off. They are paying more than the actual worth of the car, unless the prestige of owning the car is worth the extra money to them.

 

People that can afford XLRs dont worry about getting ripped off.

 

L.A.Z, you do have a very valid point, and to be completely honest there isn't a single point I can bring up to rebut you on this.

The XLR starts off as a slightly, very slightly, modified Corvette chassis. It has plastic body pieces like a Corvette. It has virturally the same engine as a $45,000 DTS. It has real wood pieces, but then so does a $32,000 300C or the $45,000 DTS. Folding hardtops are expensive, but is the XLR's a $40,000 top? I doubt it's a $12,000 top. All the extra electric motors and servos the XLR has that Corvette doesn't is still fewer than on a base $32,000 CTS. To top it off, Corvette has a better handling package.

There really is in fact no valid reason on the planet why a car that is basically a Corvette with a body kit, a trick roof, and a few more electric goodies should cost nearly twice the price of a already pricey (and worth it) Chevrolet Corvette. Heck, the made-from-scratch & purpose built Dodge Viper is cheaper. dish out another $35,000 or so, and you can get a comparatively high tech Ford GT, which is destined to appriciate in value.

That said, other Cadillac mysteries worth considering are why in the world are people paying $60,000 for a $35,000 Tahoe or Avalanche? Why are people going goo goo over a CTS that has a LS2 V8 engine that's likely cheaper to produce than the DOHC V6 on cheaper CTS' yet is $20,000 more than the base model? Why is the new STS going for over $50,000 when it's essentially just a slightly wider version CTS with a Northstar V8?

Are they all rip-offs? I'd say so. But then again, so are the latest BMWs as well as other "luxury" brands.

But if the customers don't seem to care & are willing to pay for them, it's all fair game & none of our concern.

 

Ahem, I have to take issue with this. The purpose built Dodge Viper might be cheaper, and it obviously performs better, but even though the Viper has improved over the first generation in terms of comfort, ergonomics and quality, that thing could not be called a daily driver. It is still easily the most brutal car the Big Three produces. The XLR and Viper have almost zero in common.

The Ford GT even before markups is easily more than $35k over an XLR. Remember XLR starts at $76,200 and with all the options that car still should not approach $100k. GT's MSRP is $139k if I'm not mistaken?

Sorry for being so nit-picky but I had to point out the over-exaggerations. Everyone has to understand that XLR is playing in the same field as the high priced (& FUUUUGLY!) Lexus SC430 and the Mercedes roadsters...maybe we should examine what makes them worth their price tags as well?

 

You sure about the 300C? I watched C&D TV and I could've sworn they said the "fake wood trim" looks cheap.