Missed opportunity
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The revised 2009 Cadillac XLR doesn’t address many of the issues found on the previous model.
Mainly the interior.
It is fine, and a striking looking car. But the interior has always been a let down. Especially for the asking price.
Which is more than a Lexus SC.
It’s just too bad they chose not to spend the money on this.
Maybe the next “all new one” will be great…
Hey, where’s the ford flex review? I’ve been waiting all day lol. Btw, I agree w/ you on the cadillac XLR. I never see these on the roads and this update definitely won’t help sell this car.
The interior looks just fine. It’s the exterior that looks so bad. Snow Plow meets Fiero. Striking? Strikingly UGLY! This car might have been a great replacement for the Allante so … so… so many years ago, but for 2009, I don’t think so.
Am I the only one who thinks that the interior is truly classy and elegant? And that, while it’s not the most modern of the designs out there, it will (actually it does…) age much better than others that seemed to be more attractive when we first saw them?
Do you honestly believe that the pseudo jaguar look of the SC interior, combined with the materials and the switchgear that screams “TOYOTA” is better?
IMO the XLR has no competition design-wise (in and out) and that statement comes from a man that lives in Europe, admires European cars and thinks that is a pitty you have to see and drive all these awful cars they used to offer you until some years ago.
@ndreas – [email protected]
Gee, front fender vents. What a unique idea!
The XLR 2009 refresh is a let down.
I’ve always enjoyed XLR’s unique style and sporty driving attitude.
XLR’s interior is pleasant, but not enough for 80-100k.
The engines are strong, but not powerful enough to make the Cadillac stand out from the european competition.
Cadillac had a chance to fix this for 2009 but chose a mild refresh instead. A GM money saving move.
This mild update allowed GM to skip expensive crash testing.
An all new front, rear end, interior and bigger engines, would have to be recertified for crashworthiness. This costs of millions of dollars per test!
Too bad GM didn’t at least slap some extra wood and metal trim around the interior. BEFORE YOU FOLK SAY HOW TACKY THIS INTERIOR IS – be aware- I don’t like the color of this wood or the extra piece on the bottom of the steering wheel.
http://www.lgtautomotive.com/popup_image.php?pID=1760&image=1
http://www.lgtautomotive.com/popup_image.php?pID=1760&image=2
With darker richer wood and expensive looking metal pushbuttons instead of grey plastic, a dress up job like this would liven up the XLR interior.
It wouldn’t cost much more than the lame 2009 interior changes and would show some effort on GM’s part.