Participated in Automobile Focus Group Today
 

Last week I filled out a survey in regards to a Focus Group. I was sent this survey because I own an E46 and it paid $75.00 for a couple of hours. I qualified and my appointment was today at 12:30:00. I was given a three ring binder and taken into a warehouse with black curtains. Behind these curtains were four cars:

Cadillac CTS
BMW 330i Sport
VW Jetta
Chevy Impala

All the cars had their markings covered with Duct Tape we were not told what type of cars they were. Each one was Silver Exterior/Black Interior and all were Automatics.

The first section of the binder asked opinions on my car, rating different aspects on a 1 to 5 scale, much like the BMW Survey. The second section asked me to write postive and negatives about my current car.

Finally, I was asked to grade all four vehicles on individually. I had to grade the front end and headlight appearance, the side view, rear view and overall quality of appearance. Then I was asked to sit in the drivers seat and observe the interior ergonomics, quality of materials and how much storage space there was. In addition, I was asked about the vents, cupholders and steering wheel. Obviously, the guys knew what car I personally own, so they asked that I pay particular attention to the other three.

After making my observations, I was "debriefed" by one of the workers and asked specific questions comparing the CTS and the E46. This is when it became apparent what the Focus Group was about, how to make the CTS a better competitor to the E46. The worker even admitted as much.

I feel, personally, that I gave the most honest answers I could. Obviously, 99% of the people could not care less about the input I offered, but who knows.

I will say this, the CTS is actually pretty nice on the inside. I expressed this, but also expressed that I could never consider a vehicle a competitor unless I actually drove it. The gentleman seemed to truly appreciate my input and it was pretty cool. That said, I was really hoping it would be the E90.

Interesting. I think the CTS interior looks cheap and lousy.

I thought the vents looked cheap, but otherwise I was pleasantly surprised. I guess my shock was in the gauges, as I thought they looked good. Plus, the center stack was tilted towards the driver, much like BMW, and that surprised me.

I hated the cupholders, on all four cars and explained that to the guy doing the interview.

The one that really surprised me was the Jetta. I was really disappointed in the Jetta they had. I have been in an upper end Jetta and it was much, much better. This one was awful. The interior was cheap and the doors were light and cheap feeling. The backseat was small, as expected, but also much more uncomfortable than I would have guessed.

I was just surprised I liked the interior of the CTS as much as I did. Given the front, I had pretty much written off that car.

The one thing that I really didn't care for in the CTS interior that I can remember (from over a year ago) was the wood steering wheel (hmm, maybe the stereo display too :scratch: ). I remember liking the rest of it.

The CTS steering wheel has a bit of that Mack truck appearance to it, mostly due to its size. And the stack of climate control and stereo controls aren't bad, but they do not strike me as looking particularly "rich." However, the overall effect is quite good, and I would definitely give the CTS interior a solid 8 out of 10. I'm kinda partial to American cars to begin with, but I truly believe that Cadillac is increasingly representative of GM at its best. Once the Cavalier and Sunfire finally disappear from the lineup, I'll have to look around the rest of the family for a good example of GM's worst.

autoweek recently reported the completion of the "lutz-burgring", a small scale copy of the n'ring on the GM proving grounds.

this, plus the fact that the CTS was actually designed on the real ring....plus the fact that the CTS V can do the 'ring is a pretty sick time.......

..i'm happily surprised that maybe cadillac is starting to benchmark BMW instead of lincoln!

thanks for the post, GSR.

Surely none of you E60 haters think the CTS/CTS-V are better looking than the E60, do you?

I'm not an E60 h8r, but I prefer the look of the CTS/CTS-V to the E60. I also think that the Caddy's looks will age better than the E60's (partly due to where the Caddy's looks will likely slot in amongst all other cars over the coming years)

While I really dislike is the front of the CTS, and a few other minor elements, I also believe the car will age well. Honestly though, most GM cars age well to me, and I am not much of an American Car fan.

The worst, to me, have to be the Japanese makes such as Lexus, Toyota and Honda. It could, of course, be overkill in seeing a million Camry's and Accords on the road, but within a few years the cars just look dated. As much as I like the S2000, it already looks old.

I did tell the guy interviewing a few things:

1. The wood grain had to go. To really compete in this segment, for me, the car interior needed a more aggressive interior.

2. Rear Wheel Drive had to stay and manual tranny was a must. Without these two elements I would never even consider the car.

3. Keep the center stack pointed towards the driver. Driving should be about the driver, the passengers need only hold on. :D

I am still pretty shocked at how well I liked the Caddy. I was really expecting to trash the two GM Cars, like the Jetta and come across as a BMW lemming. But I believe I was fair.

My wife, before getting the Z3, owned a 1996 Sunfire. She wanted the car, as is typical, because she thought it was cute. :roll: It was awful.

So yesterday, when I was looking at the Impala, I had these huge Sunfire flashbacks. Like suddenly all my BMW ownership had been nothing but a dream and the Sunfire was back. I was pretty glad to get out of that car.

So, when I was being debriefed the guy asked me what I thought of that car. I said, well, it screams cheap and I had flashbacks to my wife's Pontiac, neither emotion I would think GM was after. :lol:

To my surprise, he wrote that down.