Cadillac XLR poll

David Wallens is out testing the new Cadillac CTS-V coupe today. We haven't spoken with him for first-hand knowledge yet, but we hear good things about them so far.

That discussion led us to question Cadillac's other recent sporty entry, the XLR.

With a limited production run and a "best parts of the Corvette" engineering background, is the XLR poised to be a super collectible? Or, was it too far from the core of the Cadillac market to make long-term waves in the sporty car world?

I'm in favor of considering it a future collectible, even though I thing the value will sink in the short term. (hopefully, it will shrink to the point that I'll be able to afford one in a few years when the kids go to college.)

What do you think?

In reply to Tom Heath:

Expensive Cimarron.

Capable car wrapped in a truly ho-hum bit of styling. I don't think it will fail like the Cimarron, but it probably will have the sales of a retro T-Bird or HHR (both of which suffered from the exact opposite arrangement).

Regardless of the fact that I don't care for it much I believe that it does have or will have some collectability. Who knows when that will be though. I think the important parts are there but we will see some heavy depreciation followed by slow, gradual appreciation. OK back to reality now.

Lots of Allantes squirreled away in folks garages? Hmmm?

It seems to me that while it may have a small following that will deem it collectible, it will never have more value than a similar Corvette, mostly because it has nothing over the Vette. So any collectibility would be due to lower production numbers only. And we all know that rarity doesn't always result in valuable. Just ask any TVR owner!

Not sure if the idea that these will not appreciate over a given vette of the same era is accurate. I had the opportunity to drive one for a week and these were very nice cars. They are also rare and I think in time we will see them hold their own value wise.

Just an opinion. GM did a very nice job with these cars.

Cadillac Corvette - out of my league.

Nice car, rarely seen in the midwest. I guess I would rather have a Corvette.

then again I might be on the wrong site. Where is GRM at?

In reply to bravenrace:

Actually, I was thinking of the EDSEL. I see many similarities in terms of poor timing as well as poor price choice shared by the XLR and the EDSEL.

The XLR, like the EDSEL may survive as a collector car simply because no one wanted one new. but like the EDSEL, it will always be compared to better cars of the era.

In reply to pete240z:

Based on your site name and the inline six picture, I believe you already have a better car than either you mentioned here!

In reply to Andy Reid:

I think I know where you can get a good deal on a CIMARRON. How about a FIERO? This one hasn't collapsed or burned yet.

I've driven a couple of these and they are amazing cars. I've also owned a C5. You can't really compare the two because they are two entirely different mindsets. The C5 is a performance car. The XLR is a "personal high-performance luxury car."

In order to know if the car is going to be collectible, you've got to figure out who is going to collect it. The Caddy enthusiast? Probably not, because it isn't a traditional Cad. The Corvette enthusiast? Probably not, since they'd just view it as a pig version. The sports car enthusiast? No, it isn't that much of a rocket ship. The exotic car enthusiast? Nope, doesn't have the name badge they would be looking for, nor the performance (probably a bit posh for them, as well).

I can see it being bought by a few folks as a Palm Beach cruiser-type car, but I wouldn't expect it to become a hit at collector auctions.

My wife had a Buick Reatta. I think the XLR will end up like the Reatta and the Cadillac Allante: Nice cruiser for the golf course set, but not really a collector car despite low production numbers.

The votes were pretty clear. I've never talked to an owner that didn't like theirs, so maybe the XLR will be a luxo-performance bargain in the future. Prices on them have already dropped to the mid-20s, matching Z06 Corvettes of similar vintage.

You obviously have not sent any kids to college yet!

Maybe after you have paid for college and weddings!

Clay

I think it all depends on the popularity among the GM and Cadillac faithful. If they think it is rare and worthy, it will probably be collectible, but I don't see a lot of main street appeal that a Corvette wouldn't do better. It may be great driving, but it has questionable looks and poor marketing.

In a way, it could be a modern-day equivalent to the Volvo 1800. There will be a lot of people who say, "I remember those....", and and few people who keep them in decent condition and bring them out, but they are not likely to ever become a blue-chip car. I suppose one issue with them that may limit collectibility was the initial purchase price. They were staggeringly expensive new, ~ $100K, IIRC, so most are/were limited-use garage queens.