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I think GM was stumped back when the first engine had to be replaced, but I think they knew there was a problem by the time I began complaining about the second cold-start-smoke problem. Because of that, I was kinda pissed that they made me jump though all the same hoops....sending them a...

Well...I guess maybe I'm just not as pissed off as you are about GM. Yes, it's been frustrating to deal with and, yes, Cadillac ATS-Vs lack quality, but there is nothing else on the market that gives me what the ATS-V does. Sure, there are other powerful compact coupes and sedans available from...

Now, I get to eat some major crow... Thursday 30May, I spent several hours at my dealer Bunnin Chevrolet in Santa Barbara, California observing and photographing the top service tech there, Luis Rios, while he worked on my '16 six-speed. The problem with oil smoke after cold starts has been...

I'm still trying to get GM to fix the Blue BMW Buster's problem with oil smoke on cold starts. This morning I reorganized all the video footage I have of the problem and that got me thinking I need to summarize my "adventure" with cold start oil smoke because I've been dealing with this for two...

ATS-Vs have great brakes. They stop the car in short distances. They have great pedal feel and the OE pads do not exhibit significant fade when driven properly in a performance street duty cycle. In a brilliant use of "parts barrel engineering", GM introduced the 2016 ATS-V with the brakes off...

Actually, when I spent some time in Atascadero for a while, they told me that they'd let me out if I'd stop beating myself up.:chuckle: If that were true...GM "keeping up with the competition"...the Ford F150 and the Ram 1500 would not be outselling the Chevy Silverado so...are those TV ads...

Video of my coupe, the Blue BMW Buster, belching oil smoke after several cold starts is posted above.

Atascadero, eh. I get though there once in a while. That State Route 41 going over to SR46 is a favorite twisty road of mine. So you understood the need to run the drive cycle prior to a smog check. You're sharper than the average DIY. How'd you find out what Toyota's drive cycle is? That new...

Wow. Just looked at the date of your post. Guess I haven't been on my Blog for a while. Sorry bout that. As for the XT4, well...since I'm really not a CUV kinda guy I have no strong opinion one way or the other except to say I hope Cadillac has a better handle on quality with the XT4 than they...

Didn't realize you leased it. We don't lease vehicles because, I feel it doesn't make sense economically unless it's a business which is doing the leasing because of the write-off or I just have to own a car I cannot afford to buy. My business modifies the vehicles it owns as part of its work...

It's freakin' unbelievable how much GM has spent on warranty work on our two cars. I'll betcha, parts, labor and travel, it's -large. I know the cost on just the new motor in Sandy's car was 15 large. The parts for all the driveline work on my Coupe was probably 5-grand. I'm not even counting...

ATS-V Ownership: (still) a Love/Hate Thing? Part 4 I tell ya, this blog has turned into a place for me to bitch-out Cadillac and these ATS-Vs...certainly not an outcome I expected when I began it several years ago. My Wife's "hanger queen" the four-door we call "Pearl," is once again, at the...

As the SS was based closely on the VF Commodore SS, it makes perfect sense to swap the Chevy badging for Holden. It's even more appropriate as the SS was one of the last platforms made locally in Australia. Someone told me that Holden even had a VF Commodore with an LS9.

ATS-V Ownership: a Love/Hate Thing? Part 3 I spend too much time writing about the love/hate relationship I have with the his and hers ATS-Vs my Wife, The Fairest Sandra the Red, and I own. (sigh. Ok...big sigh) The reason for the hate is Cadillac's crappy quality. It's a damn good thing...

Trans Oil Change The latest on our ATS-V Coupe, the "Blue BMW Buster"? While every once in a while it will smoke a bit after a cold start, I'm living with that until GM gets around to testing the old engine out of the other car. Once they do that, hopefully, I'll get the word about what's...

Gear Oil Change The new engine in our four-door, Pearl, continues to run nicely and exhibit no oil smoke after cold starts. The engine has 2436 miles on it and I think we need to get about 5000 miles on it before, I can say we finally have that problem beat. I have both fingers and toes X’ed...

Apparently not.

"Pearl", our ATS-V sedan has gone 949 miles on its new engine and has used ⅓-qt. of oil which I'd expect for a new engine. Nearing 1000 miles on the engine, it was about time for the first oil filter change. I give any new engine a filter change at about 1000 miles. Last weekend in installed a...

I do most oil changes and a lot of other work on our cars, too. One of our ATS-Vs has enough miles on it that we're getting close to when the pads will need replacing. When that time comes, I'll mic the brake discs and if they're still above min. thickness, I'll just put new pads in the calipers...

I refuse to buy BMWs for a couple of reasons. One, I have little or no experience working on them and lack proper diagnostic equipment to do so if I did have that experience. Secondly, a BMW is a poor choice for a DIY service technician because service information is so difficult to obtain...