CT4-V Blackwing...kind of slow

[bloominguez]

This is why I bought a 4 BW (without ever actually driven one). I just knew - from its ATS-V heritage and all the reviews that it was the car to get...and for me over the 5 because of both price and my preference for a smaller car.

We didn't really need a new car just yet...but I was starting to panic...particularly after driving (and looking at) a few of the new BMWs and also seeing Audi (and just about everyone else) abandoning MT.

And don't even start me on electric. Fine for everyone else - I mean the Camry has always been a fine car....just not for me...

You're not the only one starting to panic, due to the "death" of the MT. I bought the 5BW, added a Bronco with MT as a daily, got one of my daughters to get a GR 86 with an MT, getting a buddy to get a Dark Horse (he's a Ford guy) with the Tremec, and I'm looking at a GR Corolla to add to the stable.


I completely agree with this:

You also need to consider the situation we are in with enthusiast cars... it's both thriving and dying.

It's an amazing time to be shopping for a car. There are so many great cars available, but we are on the cusp of many of them going away. Then you try to buy one of them and the dealers are largely not interested. They know they have us by the balls. "Additional dealer markup" or "market adjustment" or whatever they want to call it. $1000 "documentation" fees. The minute you make them a counter-offer they yawn and look for the next potential customer (at least for the cars I'm looking at). Very different from the past when you, the customer, had some leverage. Oh well.

 

[Jack Tors]

Just think... We had the Chevy SS with a manual transmission. The car that many scream today is what they want the CT4 BW to be. But did people buy it... nope, because it didn't look special, or only had a plebian LS3, or the M3 was a bit quicker... so what happened? That car died.

I'm sure you know most of this - but FWIW, the Chevy SS didn't sell because it was never intended to sell in any volume. The Chevy SS owes its existence to Mark Reuss who ran Holden before he ran GMs North American operations. He setup the export program of PPV and SS models in order to keep up production and obtain aid from the Australian government. Aside from meeting the export obligation, GM had no real interest in selling the SS other than losing as little money as possible in the process.

https://dailykanban.com/2013/11/25/why-gm-isnt-trying-to-sell-the-chevy-ss-and-why-it-matters/

interesting discussion on this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cars/comments/roq23q

 

[565565]

Too early to panic I think.

The death of the manual will be slow, protracted, and tortuous, not quick and painless.

Automakers are going to parade endless "This is it!" "Last call" and "Final edition" sticker packages before it's all done.

Same for the Blackwings.

 

[raptor5244]

Too early to panic I think.

The death of the manual will be slow, protracted, and tortuous, not quick and painless.

Automakers are going to parade endless "This is it!" "Last call" and "Final edition" sticker packages before it's all done.

Same for the Blackwings.

Not to mention we will see a lot backpedaling on this EV push, which should lead to some more ICE based offerings from manufacturers.

 

[dinkman]

You're not the only one starting to panic, due to the "death" of the MT. I bought the 5BW, added a Bronco with MT as a daily, got one of my daughters to get a GR 86 with an MT, getting a buddy to get a Dark Horse (he's a Ford guy) with the Tremec, and I'm looking at a GR Corolla to add to the stable.

that's why i'm hanging on to my gated shifter MT i picked up right before covid till i die! those we will never see again unfortunately

 

[bloominguez]

Too early to panic I think.

The death of the manual will be slow, protracted, and tortuous, not quick and painless.

Automakers are going to parade endless "This is it!" "Last call" and "Final edition" sticker packages before it's all done.

Same for the Blackwings.

"Panic" isn't the right word, exactly. I don't disagree with you, the "death of the manual" will be protracted.

However...
If/when we are truly in the long "last call" phase the cars will become even more difficult to get without markup, super long waits, or other hassles. Hence my rising sense of urgency.

Also, even if the manual hangs on for a while, I don't see development money being put into manual transmissions or internal combustion engines as a whole. All the development money seems earmarked for EVs. The manual transmissions we're getting now are literally as good as they'll ever get. So why not get what you want now and enjoy it? Newer models won't be better anyway.

All of which is why I grabbed the opportunity for a 5BW when a local dealer had an allocation back in August 2021 (and got the car 319 days later). And why I'll probably pick up a GR Corolla in the next year, opportunistically.

 

[Roadhawk]

Also, even if the manual hangs on for a while, I don't see development money being put into manual transmissions or internal combustion engines as a whole. All the development money seems earmarked for EVs. So the manual transmissions we're getting now are literally as good as they'll ever get. So why not get what you want now and enjoy it? Newer models won't be better anyway.

Exactly how I feel and why we bought the 4 BW even though our other 2 "daily" cars are running just fine (and of course are MT and fun to drive)

Just took the BW out for a moderate (wife in the car) run in some twisties in the woods...couldn't be happier with the car and the decision to buy it...

 

[CaddyCoder]

I’ve had the opposite experience, my 4BW feels pretty dang fast to me personally. My last two cars prior to the BW were a Shelby GT350 and C7 corvette and honestly, I have more fun driving my BW and it feels just as fast on the streets. I’ve surprised many mustangs, Camaros, etc around here haha, it’s a total sleeper. I can’t imagine the power of the 5BW, it’s so epic. I’d probably get in trouble with that much HP I think lol.

 

[Roadhawk]

4 BW doesn't seem as fast as my GTI...but its really hard to tell...power delivery is totally different (BW linear....GTI just wallops you in the back). I'll have to get one of my boys to drive the GTI or the BW and me the other to really see.

Still its plenty quick and great fun when you really get on it. I haven;t really had the chance to push against any worthy contenders...though twice now have beaten two different tesla 3s pretty good...even getting the jump off the line (feels good to hook up). In my GTI they beat me off the line but I always reel them in and by 60 I'm blowing by them...

 

[raptor5244]

I’ve had the opposite experience, my 4BW feels pretty dang fast to me personally. My last two cars prior to the BW were a Shelby GT350 and C7 corvette and honestly, I have more fun driving my BW and it feels just as fast on the streets. I’ve surprised many mustangs, Camaros, etc around here haha, it’s a total sleeper. I can’t imagine the power of the 5BW, it’s so epic. I’d probably get in trouble with that much HP I think lol.

Yep, 4BW feels every bit as quick as the C7 Grand Sport and Camaro SS 1LE I had. The Camaro ZL1 I owned was quicker but only when doing high speed pulls over 80mph. Around town on the streets the 4BW is just as quick and most importantly it is more fun to drive.

 

[Jdeee]

Anybody else feel like these cars are kind of slow? On youtube it gets smoked by everything comparable to it (Camaro SS, BMW M-cars and even the M340i). When I give it gas on the streets it feels heavy and I can't really feel the power. I feel like there needs to be some sort of factory revision to the tune if anybody is going to give a shit about these cars. Thanks for reading.

You put it in V mode? lol.

I got the got my BW because it’s as fast as my boosted Civic with room to grow. Drop $1000 and put on a JB4 for another 100 hp, that’s what I plan to do when I get bored of it. You’ll always want more power, learned that the hard way after dropping $15k into a civic

 

[Yalferd]

And if you drop in the JB4 and increase the HP, you already have a great set of brakes. Always said, if you're gonna add power, you gotta add brakes, and Cadillac has given us the breathing room with these brakes