What did you do to your Blackwing today?

[ernsteeng]

Tinting the side markers and rear lower reflects cleans up the look quite a bit on a black car

i also want to get monochrome badges as well. too colorful i agree. for a black car the standard emblems just don't work for me..

 

[668LT4]

This reminds me of something I've been thinking about for a while, tying a few thoughts together.

It really says something about GM that they make a pair of crazy great cars, and then make so much about the experience really shitty. Difficulty finding allocations. High end options (e.g. carbon fiber) not available. Cars sitting for half a year once built. Shipping damage. Misaligned body panels. Paint flaws. And so on. It completely defeats the purpose of a "halo car"!!!!

I love my 5BW, it's amazing to drive, but at the same time there is nothing about this whole experience that would make me more likely to buy another GM product. This car didn't highlight any overall GM characteristics, beyond the performance of this specific model, that would make me say, hey, I should also take a look at a GM for my daily driver. Feels like an opportunity missed.

How many people are saying, well, I can't get a 5BW, so I'll buy a regular CT5-V instead? Compare that to true high-end brands. If you can't get the halo car, you still desire their higher production cars to get a piece of that magic--at least I do.

Getting back to the "how long will they build these cars" and "order banks full" threads ... Honestly, I can see why GM would limit or discontinue production. Assuming they're not making much per unit profit, what's the point?

Sort of off topic for this thread, but I wanted to reply to your opinions. I don't disagree w them, however... I bought a 2022 M4 and everything you cite against the Cadillacs was mostly perfect on the BMW. Reliable tracking updates, good customer servicer where you can call and get solid information. Paint quality, panel alignment, interior cabin precision - all perfect on my machine. But you know what? The car had so little character aside from be outrageously fast. Does not compare to the Blackwings in terms of smiles on your face as you drive. Super awesome machine, my first BMW, but definitely did not provide the attributes I was after (and it's my own fault for rolling those dice).

Now, why can't Cadillac do these same things better? Guess I don't have the answers there. But as someone planning to own my 5 for many years to come, the long wait and other things are worth it for me.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

Sort of off topic for this thread, but I wanted to reply to your opinions. I don't disagree w them, however... I bought a 2022 M4 and everything you cite against the Cadillacs was mostly perfect on the BMW. Reliable tracking updates, good customer servicer where you can call and get solid information. Paint quality, panel alignment, interior cabin precision - all perfect on my machine. But you know what? The car had so little character aside from be outrageously fast. Does not compare to the Blackwings in terms of smiles on your face as you drive. Super awesome machine, my first BMW, but definitely did not provide the attributes I was after (and it's my own fault for rolling those dice).

Now, why can't Cadillac do these same things better? Guess I don't have the answers there. But as someone planning to own my 5 for many years to come, the long wait and other things are worth it for me.

Reminds me of my last "new" BMW.

I special ordered a 6mt MSport in 2012, no M3 but it was an enthusiast spec build.

I sold it after 20 months or so. It was soooooo......competent. Yes, competent. I really loved the way it looked, but how it drove, how it made me feel. It was sterilized.

 

[ernsteeng]

Does not compare to the Blackwings in terms of smiles on your face as you drive.

I literally giggled a few times on the way home from the dealer. Completely spontaneous. I haven't giggled in years.
I really liked my '13 bmw 535 when I got it. It was a bigger deal for me when I got it than the bw and I was pumped about it for days. However the smiles and overall enjoyment I'm getting from the BW are miles ahead of the bmw.

 

[dribs15]

I literally giggled a few times on the way home from the dealer. Completely spontaneous. I haven't giggled in years.
I really liked my '13 bmw 535 when I got it. It was a bigger deal for me when I got it than the bw and I was pumped about it for days. However the smiles and overall enjoyment I'm getting from the BW are miles ahead of the bmw.

4300+ miles and still giggling here in South Jersey... every f-in time I get in or talk about my car!

 

[shiftdown]

I dyno'ed it with the jb4 and a handful of tapout bolt ons.

 

[Finally-a-V]

Yes, sort of off topic, but I agree. Every time I'm in my 5, I giggle, smile, shake me head over the power, not to mention just how nice it is in general. It's an amazing machine. I don't think I've ever been this giddy over a car. Not even my C3, C4 or C5...or probably anything else. I love this car.

 

[PrimeTime]

The BW's just keep delivering smiles! In a 4 door package! LOL! GOAT is fitting.

 

[M2Cto4BW]

Wash it today. Effing trees + a half day of on/off rain and this is the result
Reckon I am going to break down and get a cover. I'll take the cover 'damage' over this.

 

[LF4472]

How many people are saying, well, I can't get a 5BW, so I'll buy a regular CT5-V instead?

Then how many when they (like me) can't get a 5V, get a 4BW instead!

 

[flipray]

Finally hit the track with it.

 

[668LT4]

I sold it after 20 months or so. It was soooooo......competent. Yes, competent. I really loved the way it looked, but how it drove, how it made me feel. It was sterilized.

Full agreement. I am in no way diminishing how great the M4 was, but I want something more than competent. You hit the nail on the head.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

Finally hit the track with it.

Well..... how did you do?

 

[savethemanual]

Wash it today. Effing trees + a half day of on/off rain and this is the result
Reckon I am going to break down and get a cover. I'll take the cover 'damage' over this.

View attachment 13960View attachment 13961

Don't worry, I think its the only rain we ll see in the bay area this season

 

[rdollie]

This reminds me of something I've been thinking about for a while, tying a few thoughts together.

It really says something about GM that they make a pair of crazy great cars, and then make so much about the experience really shitty. Difficulty finding allocations. High end options (e.g. carbon fiber) not available. Cars sitting for half a year once built. Shipping damage. Misaligned body panels. Paint flaws. And so on. It completely defeats the purpose of a "halo car"!!!!

I love my 5BW, it's amazing to drive, but at the same time there is nothing about this whole experience that would make me more likely to buy another GM product. This car didn't highlight any overall GM characteristics, beyond the performance of this specific model, that would make me say, hey, I should also take a look at a GM for my daily driver. Feels like an opportunity missed.

How many people are saying, well, I can't get a 5BW, so I'll buy a regular CT5-V instead? Compare that to true high-end brands. If you can't get the halo car, you still desire their higher production cars to get a piece of that magic--at least I do.

Getting back to the "how long will they build these cars" and "order banks full" threads ... Honestly, I can see why GM would limit or discontinue production. Assuming they're not making much per unit profit, what's the point?

Can't disagree with the characterization of your experience but as a counter-point, I ordered mine the night the order books opened for the Collector Series. Car made to me actually a bit earlier than expected and everything was perfect with it. Could it be that much of your poor experience is simply due to the supply-chain and labor shortage?

My 5 BW is my second Cadillac (bought a new V3 CTS-V in '17) and the overall experience isn't far off my BMW experience (still have a couple of those including a M3.) The BMW dealership experience is more luxurious in terms of amenities but you may quite a bit more for it in my experience. Actual ownership experience so far has been the same but maybe that's because I haven't had any major issues I've had to fight for help with from Cadillac or BMW (had plenty of well-known motor issues with the S65 motor out of warranty but that's my fault for keeping it longer than the extended warranty which is a no-no for any high-output German engine!)

 

[Throat Yogurt]

Could it be that much of your poor experience is simply due to the supply-chain and labor shortage?

For me, no. The difference that makes the Cadillac experience so bad is the order process and poor communication that follows. The whole allocation process is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of in modern commerce. And all of the incorrect, misleading, dishonest, confusing and straight up bullshit information that surrounds the allocation, ordering, and delivery process is infuriating. And IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. GM's allocation process is nothing more than a gift to dealers and a FUCK YOU to customers.

Case in point: I ordered a Tesla Model 3 within a few months of ordering my Blackwing. To order the Tesla, you go to their website, choose what options you want, and give a $250 non-refundable deposit on your credit card. The website gives you a 3-month window of when to expect delivery. In my case, I ordered in May and got a delivery window of Sept. - Nov. Then you download the Tesla app and as you get closer to your delivery date, the window narrows, eventually dropping to 6 weeks, then 4 weeks, then 2 weeks, then you get your VIN, and the car is shipped, and finally you get notified that it is at the dealership. All from the app in your phone. You don't need to call anyone, join a forum, decipher event codes, plead with a salesperson, talk to Keri, hear about constraints, pray to the goat gods, etc. Nothing. Just order the car, get a time estimate, and wait for it to arrive.

In total, it took almost exactly the same amount of time for the Blackwing and Tesla to be delivered. The difference was, any time I wanted an update on my Tesla order, I pulled out my phone and loaded the app. Sometimes the dates would shift around, but it was always their best estimate of when my car would arrive, and ended up being pretty accurate. Our car was delivered in September. Tesla is dealing with the same supply chain and labor issues as every other car company, but somehow they have figured out how craft an actually acceptable customer experience.

 

[rdollie]

For me, no. The difference that makes the Cadillac experience so bad is the order process and poor communication that follows. The whole allocation process is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of in modern commerce. And all of the incorrect, misleading, dishonest, confusing and straight up bullshit information that surrounds the allocation, ordering, and delivery process is infuriating. And IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. GM's allocation process is nothing more than a gift to dealers and a FUCK YOU to customers.

Case in point: I ordered a Tesla Model 3 within a few months of ordering my Blackwing. To order the Tesla, you go to their website, choose what options you want, and give a $250 non-refundable deposit on your credit card. The website gives you a 3-month window of when to expect delivery. In my case, I ordered in May and got a delivery window of Sept. - Nov. Then you download the Tesla app and as you get closer to your delivery date, the window narrows, eventually dropping to 6 weeks, then 4 weeks, then 2 weeks, then you get your VIN, and the car is shipped, and finally you get notified that it is at the dealership. All from the app in your phone. You don't need to call anyone, join a forum, decipher event codes, plead with a salesperson, talk to Keri, hear about constraints, pray to the goat gods, etc. Nothing. Just order the car, get a time estimate, and wait for it to arrive.

In total, it took almost exactly the same amount of time for the Blackwing and Tesla to be delivered. The difference was, any time I wanted an update on my Tesla order, I pulled out my phone and loaded the app. Sometimes the dates would shift around, but it was always their best estimate of when my car would arrive, and ended up being pretty accurate. Our car was delivered in September. Tesla is dealing with the same supply chain and labor issues as every other car company, but somehow they have figured out how craft an actually acceptable customer experience.

Yeah, I think that comes down to the mess of having a franchise dealership network. I think GM us struggling with how to enable self-service while leaving something for the dealer to do when we all know the dealer is just a middle-man in the way of direct access to information.

I've seen GM play with modern models with things like Maven, Book by Cadillac, and other experiments but it's clear they're not ready to go direct to the consumer as most of us would prefer.

 

[RDATLTE]

Yeah, I think that comes down to the mess of having a franchise dealership network. I think GM us struggling with how to enable self-service while leaving something for the dealer to do when we all know the dealer is just a middle-man in the way of direct access to information.

I've seen GM play with modern models with things like Maven, Book by Cadillac, and other experiments but it's clear they're not ready to go direct to the consumer as most of us would prefer.

Talk about giggling, that's what I do everytime I was told that your dealer is the best source of information from corporate.

 

[strohw]

I feel the Cadillac dealer sales departments don't have a lot of education on the allocation system either. I can only assume this is because they don't routinely sell limited production vehicles. You read on here how little information these dealerships provide to people.

In my experience it's the opposite for brands that do like BMW or Porsche. When I was looking at the G80 M3 I talked to 15 to 20 dealers and I asked the same two questions to all of them. How many allocations are you getting per month and what place in line would I be. Over 50% of the places I called could immediately answer both of those questions. Another 25% said they had to talk to sales management and called me back within a hour with answers. I also asked about 5 dealerships to put me on the list if they got an allocation within the next month. I ended up going with the BW about a week later but in less than a months time 3 of them called me back with an available allocation.

 

[shbox]

For me, no. The difference that makes the Cadillac experience so bad is the order process and poor communication that follows. The whole allocation process is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of in modern commerce. And all of the incorrect, misleading, dishonest, confusing and straight up bullshit information that surrounds the allocation, ordering, and delivery process is infuriating. And IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. GM's allocation process is nothing more than a gift to dealers and a FUCK YOU to customers.

Case in point: I ordered a Tesla Model 3 within a few months of ordering my Blackwing. To order the Tesla, you go to their website, choose what options you want, and give a $250 non-refundable deposit on your credit card. The website gives you a 3-month window of when to expect delivery. In my case, I ordered in May and got a delivery window of Sept. - Nov. Then you download the Tesla app and as you get closer to your delivery date, the window narrows, eventually dropping to 6 weeks, then 4 weeks, then 2 weeks, then you get your VIN, and the car is shipped, and finally you get notified that it is at the dealership. All from the app in your phone. You don't need to call anyone, join a forum, decipher event codes, plead with a salesperson, talk to Keri, hear about constraints, pray to the goat gods, etc. Nothing. Just order the car, get a time estimate, and wait for it to arrive.

In total, it took almost exactly the same amount of time for the Blackwing and Tesla to be delivered. The difference was, any time I wanted an update on my Tesla order, I pulled out my phone and loaded the app. Sometimes the dates would shift around, but it was always their best estimate of when my car would arrive, and ended up being pretty accurate. Our car was delivered in September. Tesla is dealing with the same supply chain and labor issues as every other car company, but somehow they have figured out how craft an actually acceptable customer experience.

You mean you don't like it here?

Even though it is a true Goat Rodeo, I kinda like seeing the inner workings (non-workings? LOL) of the process and the comparisons to others. It helps build my knowledge base and give me perspective.

or...