Why bother with mere flames on an XLR, repaint it with a high gloss finish and ghost flames from bumper to bumper and add in a skull variant of the Caddy emblem at the start of those flames and on hood.
I understand this being compared to the C5 Corvette, but I don't think that was the original intention of GM. Surely it was never designed as a posh alternative to the C5, but as an American alternative to the Mercedes SL.
Why try to talk reason with this lunk head? This is (obviously) NOT a review; what it is is some know-nothing spouting his meaningless opinion. This is like some cab driver or walmart stock boy that fantasizes about owning a corvette. In any event, he owns neither the caddy, nor the 'vette, but probably a sonata or a grand marquis. ( so much crap on UA-cam.)
VMAXBX calm down boomer! It’s a corvette with more weight and a 100 less horsepower for more money! Stupid! Why not just stick the 7.0L in it and give it some go juice?
I had a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora with a 4.0L Northstar V8, the block cracked and it caught on fire in my grandmother's driveway exactly one week after she died. It hurt to see both of them die.
Sorry to hear that but if the block cracked, that would not cause the fire. The fire would have most likely been started from a fuel leak somewhere in the engine bay. Also these blocks do not crack for nothing.
I had my dad (born in 1961) listen to the "typical boomer mix CD" track list, and each song he nodded and said "mhm. Good song. I see nothin wrong with that list." Ok. Thanks for proving the stereotype dad. So there you go Mr. Regular! 100% right, verified by my boomer dad.
I want to make a YT playlist called "boomer mix 2005" and put all these songs in order To be fair most of these songs are ok songs if you hear them on their own. Not my daily listening music for sure but if one of them comes on the radio i wont oblect
These guys are morons. A Cadillac XLR, especially in its V configuration, is a nice ride. Also, if anything, the Cadillac CTS-V is more of a luxury version of a Chevrolet C5/C6/C7/C8 Corvette than anything else. Moreover, BOTH rides appear in perhaps one of the greatest racing video games of all time, and I am talking about, of course, Midnight Club III: DUB Edition Remix.
The Northstar was GM's attempt to make something as sophisticated as... oh, let's say the Mercedes M119 that powered the SL 500 from the '90s that the XLR was blatantly trying to rip off. What GM learned from this thought experiment gone too far was that while they could engineer something as sophisticated as ze Germans, they didn't have an army of meticulous men from das Vaterland on the assembly line putting it together. What they had was Bob. Bob, who was perpetually half baked even while at work, but was always up to date on his union dues. Bob could slap together an LS regardless of his level of inebriation because the engine has the tolerances of a hot dog flying down a hallway while still managing to make perpetual nervous grin levels of horsepower. The Northstar, sadly, was a bridge to far for Bob.
+Justa318i something the Germans will NEVER understand: simple can be good. However I love German cars, and will let them over engineer the shit out of everything down to pegs in the floor that hold your carpet in.
Huge props that you haven't varied on your format, this is from 2016 and nothing has changed to this day. NOBODY does that. I guess you did show your face but that's it :)
@@pfleeger2010 a Cadillac with a toyota engine.... Im a millennial and that pisses me off, I cant imagine the reaction you'd get from the typical gen x or boomer
@BigKleib34, it honestly is not that hard to do an LS swap into the vehicle. Personally, I would rig it up like the Chevrolet Callaway C4 Corvette Sledgehammer. Please, go look that car up on UA-cam and tell me if rigging up a 2005 Cadillac XLR, or even a 2005 Cadillac XLR-V, like that car would not be dope as fuck.
No actually it wouldn’t, it was always going to be a low volume car. It was almost 100k at launch and the v series was 100k in 05. Your comment shows you know nothing about cars or the economy....
Most caddy dealers are chevy dealers in my area. Its because the 3 or 4 times they denied investing money into a dohc replacement for the shitstar (as its nicknamed). GM did this to avoid the awkwardness of a clueless upscale customer starting a debate with a hack salesman of "gee, its just a corvette with wood and vert top?"...stares directly at a random corvette in lot. Just as reg said.
The Corvette is GM's Halo car. There's an unspoken rule that says nothing shall be greater than Corvette. That's exactly _why_ a LS was never dropped into the XLR.
+Matthew “Crash McNeal” VandenBerg thats true, makes me think of the time GM put down Pontiac and its concept of the 1964 Banshee, makes you also think where the C3s styling came from, so many great cars turned away to keep the corvette on top.
This is the first RCR that got me teary-eyed. My late best friend, Padraic O. Derrig, had a 2006 Caddy DTS and he and I would polish it on the weekends together. One time, I accidentally scraped the bumper pulling into the garage and I literally had a panic attack. I couldn't get the Meguiars polish and orbital buffer out fast enough! Fortunately, it all buffed out and all was well. In retrospect, it was super minor but at the time, it was a big deal to me. My late friend was from that era where a handshake sealed deals and your word was your bond. I miss him. I know that a DTS is no XLR but it's still amazing how spot-on you are with these reviews! This channel is truly amazing and I feel like you bring people together with your mix of comedy, stats, songs, and stories. Thank you :-)
It may be unreliable, impractical, and apparently hated, but it's one of the most beautiful American cars ever made. It looks European, but with mid-2000s Cadillac styling, which comes together actually very nicely. It's low, and looks nice with the roof up or down. It actually looks exotic, which is saying something, considering it came out of Detroit.
Most beautiful? The standard grill looks cheap and cheesy; so does the interior instrumental panel. It is in fact a reskinned Corvette that failed miserably
What were they thinking when they built this engine? A newly designed performance engine with a belt? Why? Oh, right; GM beancounters. For christ' sake, build it right with a timing chain. It has to last. Nobody needs to have a belt on a regular car.
CaptainTeemoOnBooty The XLR is one of the few cars out there that SHOULD have an LS in it. '79 Camaro? Sure. Junkyard Chevette? Go ahead. FD RX-7? Go to hell.
Jacob West oh, and s-13s. keep vette motors the fuck out of those. Personally, I think you should only LS-swap other GM stuff, with a few exceptions. (they make great motors for baja bugs)
As I posted in another comment, the owner of this XLR is a woman in her 20s. She doesn't like Corvettes, and listens to country. But, she did buy the car from an older guy, he may fit the description better.
You mean women that look like they're from Florida. And probably *are* from Florida. Golf caps, fanny packs and everything. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
Frandaman84 Im in Maryland around the MD, PA, and DE tri-state area so a lot of these jokes hit me. It makes me feel good because I dont really know another youtuber who lives in and makes references about this area of the East Coast. It's like giant inside jokes.
I was wondering about "why won't they just make a rebodied vette?" AND THEY DID! ITS AMAZING! I LOVE CADILLAC STYLING! - sort of blocky, but dynamic, flowing, lovely
I have an 03 DHS. Northstar car.. bought it new.. it now has 220,000 miles and none of the issues people have bitched about.. I have properly maintained it. No oil consumption. No leaks. No cracked head or block. No bolts pulling out of the walk either. Also no coolant usage. The only thing I've ever done to that car as a water pump and an intake plenum boot. That's it. And it still gets incredible gas mileage for what it is
@@retrokingranch I get 30mpg in my 2003 Seville STS, ive fixed a power steering leak and a coolant leak and a sticky egr valve, plan on doing northstar performance headstuds soon
the CTS-V never had the northstar....it used an LS1... the STS-V and XLR-V used the supercharged northstar, deSTROKED, not detuned. to 4.4 litres to handle the supercharger better. 400 something horsepower
Yes, my mom had one. I bought it at auction with my STS-V. It was pretty good. I still have my STS-V. Intake and tune. I love how this dude always shits on almost every car. It really wasn't that bad. Umm.. this dude just said it was built on c5. It wasn't. It was c6.
3:08 "The automatic shifter is smooth and tapered...unlike the C4 which was FLARED LIKE A HORSE'S ERECTION" hahahahaaaa 😂 I almost spit out the drink I was sippin at that part
That monologue about cadillac bringing back memories of Grandpa really made me tear up, but in a good, comforted way. Thank you Mr. Regular. I needed that. I miss that guy.
I guess my experience gives me a slightly different perspective. The Northstar's been called "Son of LT-5". My 1991 ZR-1 LT-5 has 120,000 HARD miles on it and still specs out close to new. My 2004 XLR has 155,000 miles on it and the NS stills pulls strong with no issues. Liked it so much I bought a 2006 XLR-V that has 29,000 with only one issue, unrelated to the engine (454 on the dyno). Both XLR's have had zero top problems. Lotus did a fine job designing the LT-5. In the ZR-1 it ran for 24 hours on a big oval track in Texas and 'averaged' over 175mph, breaking a world record that stood for @ 50 years. Belonging to both clubs (ZR-1 / XLR), I hear and see the problems but considering the technology of the day I think they stand up pretty well. (insert insults here) ^v^ PS ... Loved your review of the DeLorean. Long Live the Legend!
"ran for 24 hours on a big oval track in Texas and 'averaged' over 175mph" ...kinda cute, lol. for comparison, Honda ran it's '86 VFR750 V-4 motor at redline for 1400hrs straight, tore it down, & found zero measurable wear. (the VF in previous years, with the steel cradle frame, had oiling issues. Honda being determined to save it's rep) Lotus make great chassis tho
Krazie Ivan what the hell does “kinda cute” mean? They set multiple FIA world land speed records that I believe still stand to this day for production cars. Are you really going to compare that to running a bare engine in a clean room?
The Northstar had a lot of issues early and they lasted way too long into its lifecycle, but anything after 2004 has has the bugs worked out. Not to mention most of the issues were on the FWD models. The RWD Northstars were generally more reliable.
had a 02 Dhs cracked the block, 06 Dts never had a problem but I also changed the oil every 1000 miles. Take care of a northstar it will take care of you.
After the initial repair for the head gasket on my Grandpa's 1997 Deville Concours early on, it lasted until 2014 reliably until he sold it. And he drove that thing everywhere and used it like a truck carrying garden supplies, green houses etc in that huge trunk. It had a ton of miles by 2014.
It looks fine, but you can't deny that in the end it was still a C5 Corvette with different badges sold mostly during the time where the C6 was a thing, for a higher price, with a worse motor and a heavier body. If they had waited and launched it alongside the C6 on the updated platform, with the LS2, they'd have had a real chance at a hit which could have easily provided increased profit margins basically in the same way as an Escalade versus a Tahoe.
GM fixed the NorthStar V8 by the time XLR production began. It’s far from common for an XLR to blow a head gasket! I’m a Corvette guy but I admit the XLR looks damn good!
I was just about to make the same point. If you blink, you'll miss it at 10:03. It's across the top of the speedo and looks as pretentious as a gold necklace on a poodle.
Strangely enough, one of the family members of the Bulgari company is a HUGE Cadillac and GM fan in general - he's a big car collector. They collaborated on this vehicle because of that.
David B r lol, I had to change one last year on a customers sts... Whole intake manifold had to come off. Screw that.... Literally have a nice weekend cause it took longer than that to do
I have this car in red (officially named Crimson Pearl). I love it. There are two others riding around Fort Lauderdale, one is silver, the other is blue. This car still turns heads, I will tell you that! It is fun to drive! You need to take good care of them and they are expensive to fix if something goes wrong. Definitely don’t agree with the smarmy narration, but I also don’t take myself too seriously either.
As a mechanical engineer, this may be the only time I've disagreed with any of your perspectives, but I still think you're awesome, love these episodes, and continue to look forward to more episodes. Let the GM engineers experiment with engine designs. Any progressive step in the right direction is still a progressive step in the right direction. GM knew that the demographic of buyers of this car weren't going to care about performance like the Corvette drivers would.
+Heel Toe it has everything to do with being a mechanical engineer. What passionate mechanical engineer wants to work for a company that's just going to be like "hey guys, there's no progress left for us to make, so we aren't going to need y'all anymore. Sorry, but I like the idea of there being more jobs in my field.
idk what world you live in but GM stopped making the LS engines and has moved on to the LT engines. The LT engines have variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, and direct injection which is all new for the GM small block engine so idk where you get the idea that they're not advancing upon their design.
esnebta The fact of the matter is, the northstar blows. Sure, the LS (or new LT for that matter) is OHV, and all the internet kids might say "oh it's ancient" but it's probably the most bulletproof high hp engine in existence and the easiest to work on and fix. The new LT, as oddball said, has variable cam timing cyl deactivation, etc. A big part of engineering is reducing costs and increasing reliability, and GM has got that down. It's not all coming out with designs that will look 'better' on a spec sheet even though it functions worse. Although as a ME, like you claim to be, should know that...
try changing the starter in one of these things, go ahead and change the head gaskets at the same time since you have the intake manifold off to change the starter which is inside of the engine!!!
My experience has not been so sad. My 04 Deville DHS runs like a top and just sings when you put your foot into it (which you need to do now and then ). Take better care of your toys!
i agree with you, last year i bought a 1998 deville Northstar for $500 and it had headgasket failure from the likes i could've never imagined being possible. i was the second owner of it after an elder retired gentleman from california who owns the funeral home in my town. it ran like a top for 2,000 miles. once it was done, it was done and it didnt move anymore and i never felt so helpless in my life. that engine left me walking more than i cared for. idea, perfect body and chassis, perfect brakes and suspension, but the engine was literally like a time bomb that only lottery money could stop. The fact GM manufactured a motor that they knew would self destruct on their loyal customers at the time is disgusting.
Jacob Patterson The problem with the Northstar, is possible with all GM motors, it's the DexCool Coolant (also called DexKill or DexCrap). If you don't change it more often than they tell you, it'll become corrosive and eat away at the head bolt threads, which causes them to pull out of the block. This problem was fixed for 2005-2011. I had a 1999 Seville STS. Ran like a champ up to 160,000 miles until it got totaled last month. I upgraded to a 2009 STS with the same motor. Like all cars, it needs to be taken care of.
its not about maintenance by a long shot. Its an engineering issue where the head bolts get stripped which means that the hole have to be re tapped, a new head gasket is then needed as well as coolant flush since you are exposing the coolant channels to open air. Otherwise the engine will overheat within 5 minutes at the least.
I stumbled on this randomly after a year but uh. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate the Galavant parody song, truly an underappreciated series. XD
The XLR is stunning inside and out. I'd love one in good working order and shape. With that being said, As a NorthStar Owner - They can really fuck off with that motor. Such an amazing overly designed fucking headache.
AMCNorthstar 93 No, they're really no harder to work on than other proper powerplant. They're just naturally faulty in the cooling system. Even my "revised" NorthStar (Longer head bolts, etc. You know the drill I'm sure from your username).
AMCNorthstar 93 Yep. My Cadillac has been flushed and replaced with normal green. My ol Yukon just had it's 2nd Water Pump since 1996 running Dex. (I'm not saying you're not right about Dex btw! lol). I got real lucky on that one.
I remember when all the broomers were hot on the XLR V! It sold for $80K and the final year 2009 MSRP went to $112K! I like the look of the XLR with it's narrow side door windows that somehow got into the Camaro but was even narrower still! Cadillac refuse to offer the ZO6 and ZR1 engines in the XLR; which seal it doom as a Mercedes SL and 911 fighter! Plus, the mechanical roof had problems and it was pretty slow too! All in all, people who purchase got their $$$$$$ wasted!
American V8's vs Europe/Japan is like the girlfriend finishing before you and waiting laconically for you to get done already. You increase your pace with some pushes with exhaustion coming before climax and realizing giving up for some cuddling is the better option. And that is the Northstar. A great idea. Good intentions. But without the determination to push to the finish line.
Boomer track list: Each song individually is like, “Ok, that was fun.” However, the synergy of combining these songs together, in today’s perspective, paints a very clear picture. Trying to relive their good-ol-days. Or, someone getting married for the third time, but still feel like they have to have a bachelor party like it was their first time. Someone who drinks, not to enjoy the company of family and friends and not to enjoy the moment, but for the very act of getting drunk itself. That’s the picture painted by all these songs together.
Very well said, occasionally we all enjoy listening to a couple old songs wondering what it might have been like, turning it onto that radio station while traveling, but going on a binge of this kind of music for weeks on end, getting dragged into the hole of overimaginative nostalgia is not good for anyone.
"no one is going to paint flames on an XLR"
CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
Why bother with mere flames on an XLR, repaint it with a high gloss finish and ghost flames from bumper to bumper and add in a skull variant of the Caddy emblem at the start of those flames and on hood.
CWDTrixie also the skull will be blowing a smoke ring that spells "DEATH IS CERTAIN"
hulk hogan Nice one there, but you cant forget the most important part. Gotta have a AARP bumper sticker to.
Mr. Regular CLEARLY never played Midnight Club 3.
CWDTrixie and a NAMBLA bumper sticker on the other side
11) Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins
Bernabe De La Cruz DON'T TALK SHIT ANOUT KENNY LOGGINS
12) Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
13) Jukebox Hero - Foreigner
14) "I Can't Drive 55" - Sammy Hagar
Fuckn funny!!!
I understand this being compared to the C5 Corvette, but I don't think that was the original intention of GM.
Surely it was never designed as a posh alternative to the C5, but as an American alternative to the Mercedes SL.
🤔Ahhhhhh. You're on to something
This Car Is Based On The Mercedes SL Right?
But with this engine it wasn’t competitive AT ALL. It really needed to corvettes engine to be competitive with the SL
Why try to talk reason with this lunk head? This is (obviously) NOT a review; what it is is some know-nothing spouting his meaningless opinion. This is like some cab driver or walmart stock boy that fantasizes about owning a corvette. In any event, he owns neither the caddy, nor the 'vette, but probably a sonata or a grand marquis.
( so much crap on UA-cam.)
VMAXBX calm down boomer! It’s a corvette with more weight and a 100 less horsepower for more money! Stupid! Why not just stick the 7.0L in it and give it some go juice?
"A boomer dreams of owning a Cadillac in the same way he dreams of owning a boat." What's the difference?
It's a thing that a boomer uses to pretend he won't die someday.
Jerry Moody lol
I want both a mid 60s Cadillac sedan DeVille and a ls powered jet boat that's paint matched to the Cadillac
A boat is a little little more controllable in the curves.
@@jamesprice2163 60's drug dealer, I love that.
When it break
*LS SWAP*
Someone in Saudi Arabia had done it, look up "dodi bob."
Give it the LSA ( aka Supercharged LS )
L77 swap it from the Caprice
One taillight breaks, TOTALED!
Wouldn't that be kinda sweet thou?
I had a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora with a 4.0L Northstar V8, the block cracked and it caught on fire in my grandmother's driveway exactly one week after she died. It hurt to see both of them die.
Sorry to hear that but if the block cracked, that would not cause the fire. The fire would have most likely been started from a fuel leak somewhere in the engine bay. Also these blocks do not crack for nothing.
+AMCNorthstar 93 yeah it sat for 3 years so it was more of a burden than reliable transportation.
PlaylistHub You mean it sat that long after the fire or before?
PlaylistHub yeah but this is a totally better engine than what's in a Oldsmobile
I didn't need to see this. I have no words.
Wish I was lying, There's a bright pink XLR that I see around my town alot.
probably from a Mary Kay salesperson
I've seen one with a mirror like paint job around my area...
cashivan Ah maybe.
I LOVE YA FOR YA PIIIIIIINK CADILLAC, PIIIIIIIINK CADILLAC
I wish you were lying too !!!
I had my dad (born in 1961) listen to the "typical boomer mix CD" track list, and each song he nodded and said "mhm. Good song. I see nothin wrong with that list." Ok. Thanks for proving the stereotype dad. So there you go Mr. Regular! 100% right, verified by my boomer dad.
Badledgend117 I was born in 1999 and I think all of those are good songs lmao
Badledgend117 I looked at each song and immediately thought, "Yeah, that's music my dad would listen to." Lol
Where’s the list lol
I want to make a YT playlist called "boomer mix 2005" and put all these songs in order
To be fair most of these songs are ok songs if you hear them on their own. Not my daily listening music for sure but if one of them comes on the radio i wont oblect
@@zalien6 in the video
time to delete some songs from my playlist .
paisa 408 😁 😁
paisa 408 Eh, don't let a narrator telling jokes dictate your taste in music.
Come on Jim take a walk on a Wildside
christopher serna Do you know what that song is about?
Same thing Lola, by the Kinks is about.
That roof is pretty slick tho.
9:18 "that's Cadillac. And this isn't....." OH SNAP!
These guys are morons. A Cadillac XLR, especially in its V configuration, is a nice ride. Also, if anything, the Cadillac CTS-V is more of a luxury version of a Chevrolet C5/C6/C7/C8 Corvette than anything else. Moreover, BOTH rides appear in perhaps one of the greatest racing video games of all time, and I am talking about, of course, Midnight Club III: DUB Edition Remix.
I kinda want to buy an XLR and put ghost flames on it... just to be obnoxious.
I like you.
No flaming eight balls, though?
This made me think of the episode of fosters home for imaginary friends where cheese blue and mac did a flaming bunny rabbit paint job
I kinda want to see you fall down a flight of stairs.
JAZZ HANDS Well that's not very nice. The real Dr Krieger would at least get OP higher than a kite before sending him down a flight of stairs.
The Northstar was GM's attempt to make something as sophisticated as... oh, let's say the Mercedes M119 that powered the SL 500 from the '90s that the XLR was blatantly trying to rip off. What GM learned from this thought experiment gone too far was that while they could engineer something as sophisticated as ze Germans, they didn't have an army of meticulous men from das Vaterland on the assembly line putting it together. What they had was Bob. Bob, who was perpetually half baked even while at work, but was always up to date on his union dues. Bob could slap together an LS regardless of his level of inebriation because the engine has the tolerances of a hot dog flying down a hallway while still managing to make perpetual nervous grin levels of horsepower. The Northstar, sadly, was a bridge to far for Bob.
Wow, that sounds like it could have very well been an excerpt from Mr.R himself. Well done.
All that yet Bob's engine is more efficient, more powerful and more reliable.
Jonathon! Good job man, loved it!!!
THUMBS UP!
+Justa318i something the Germans will NEVER understand: simple can be good. However I love German cars, and will let them over engineer the shit out of everything down to pegs in the floor that hold your carpet in.
Very well done.
Huge props that you haven't varied on your format, this is from 2016 and nothing has changed to this day. NOBODY does that. I guess you did show your face but that's it :)
Ashens?
Eyo what? Since when did you watch RCR?
Oh shit I didn’t expect to see you here lmao
@@spont24 nope not me
@@TimmyJoePCTech lmaooo
I wonder if people just do LS swaps when the engine craps out
Kevin Volk never heard of the engine crapping out
I've seen quite a few quarter million mile Northstars myself, but personally, I'd drop in a 2JZ.
@@pfleeger2010 a Cadillac with a toyota engine.... Im a millennial and that pisses me off, I cant imagine the reaction you'd get from the typical gen x or boomer
You already know
Why when you can get a 6.2 from Cadillac makes more power stock then an LS does
I just love the design of the car.
mine drove really fine, I couldn't afford it, felt like a millionaire behind the wheel
Boomer Mix 2005 is the perfect mix to drive to the coast at night and end it all off a cliff...
Ainsley Harriott ahhh thank you for that very refreshing
Its literally right there in the last verse of the last song on the mix.
I love this. LOL had me rolling. This car would probably still be around if they stuffed an LS in it... shame shame.
I mean...what’s stopping us from taking matters into our own hands?
@BigKleib34, it honestly is not that hard to do an LS swap into the vehicle. Personally, I would rig it up like the Chevrolet Callaway C4 Corvette Sledgehammer. Please, go look that car up on UA-cam and tell me if rigging up a 2005 Cadillac XLR, or even a 2005 Cadillac XLR-V, like that car would not be dope as fuck.
You say "stuffed" like it would've been tougher to fit than the quad-cam Northstar :)
No actually it wouldn’t, it was always going to be a low volume car. It was almost 100k at launch and the v series was 100k in 05. Your comment shows you know nothing about cars or the economy....
@@sirloin4372 and you show that you know nothing about cars as well. Every car guy knows that if you put an ls in it, people will buy it. Duh.
+1 fist of the north star reference
++1 for freedom at rubbing one out at your own place
The XLR just screams "Trophy wife car!" at me.
Not nearly enough Jimmy Buffett on that playlist.
Hes on the bonus tracks
Oh how GM glorifies the corvette, this is one car that would of greatly benefited from an LS from the factory.
Most caddy dealers are chevy dealers in my area. Its because the 3 or 4 times they denied investing money into a dohc replacement for the shitstar (as its nicknamed). GM did this to avoid the awkwardness of a clueless upscale customer starting a debate with a hack salesman of "gee, its just a corvette with wood and vert top?"...stares directly at a random corvette in lot. Just as reg said.
The Corvette is GM's Halo car. There's an unspoken rule that says nothing shall be greater than Corvette. That's exactly _why_ a LS was never dropped into the XLR.
+Ricky Plotner makes sense to provide for a different age/class of individuals.
+Matthew “Crash McNeal” VandenBerg thats true, makes me think of the time GM put down Pontiac and its concept of the 1964 Banshee, makes you also think where the C3s styling came from, so many great cars turned away to keep the corvette on top.
***** Thankfully Buick came with the Grand National and pissed off the Bow-tie brigade.
that story about my grandfather was incredible, it brought back memories that I never even made. keep em coming, mr. regular!
This is the first RCR that got me teary-eyed. My late best friend, Padraic O. Derrig, had a 2006 Caddy DTS and he and I would polish it on the weekends together. One time, I accidentally scraped the bumper pulling into the garage and I literally had a panic attack. I couldn't get the Meguiars polish and orbital buffer out fast enough! Fortunately, it all buffed out and all was well. In retrospect, it was super minor but at the time, it was a big deal to me. My late friend was from that era where a handshake sealed deals and your word was your bond. I miss him. I know that a DTS is no XLR but it's still amazing how spot-on you are with these reviews! This channel is truly amazing and I feel like you bring people together with your mix of comedy, stats, songs, and stories. Thank you :-)
It may be unreliable, impractical, and apparently hated, but it's one of the most beautiful American cars ever made. It looks European, but with mid-2000s Cadillac styling, which comes together actually very nicely. It's low, and looks nice with the roof up or down. It actually looks exotic, which is saying something, considering it came out of Detroit.
It is hated by people who have always hated Cadillac... for selling luxury cars to blacks.
Lmao. Its looks like a corvette that Cadillac puked on... oh wait
Most beautiful? The standard grill looks cheap and cheesy; so does the interior instrumental panel. It is in fact a reskinned Corvette that failed miserably
Porsche991 GT3 if only they gave it a beefed up 4.9 those engines are beasts. I drive a 92 deville every day.
What were they thinking when they built this engine? A newly designed performance engine with a belt? Why? Oh, right; GM beancounters. For christ' sake, build it right with a timing chain. It has to last. Nobody needs to have a belt on a regular car.
I've seen two of these.
Both were LS-swapped.
LS swap the world.
CaptainTeemoOnBooty The XLR is one of the few cars out there that SHOULD have an LS in it. '79 Camaro? Sure. Junkyard Chevette? Go ahead. FD RX-7? Go to hell.
+twotailedavenger agreed on that rx-7. keep that rotary in there!
Jacob West oh, and s-13s. keep vette motors the fuck out of those. Personally, I think you should only LS-swap other GM stuff, with a few exceptions. (they make great motors for baja bugs)
+CaptainTeemoOnBooty I recently LS swapped my toaster
i only see older women driving these things. ones that look like they have things to do, and places to be.
Lol the last owner I talked to that owned this car was an old rich lady
As I posted in another comment, the owner of this XLR is a woman in her 20s. She doesn't like Corvettes, and listens to country. But, she did buy the car from an older guy, he may fit the description better.
You mean women that look like they're from Florida. And probably *are* from Florida. Golf caps, fanny packs and everything. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
this quarter's top seller in the Real Estate News.
I'VE GOT PLACES TO BEEEEE!!!!!!!!
This car was in Midnight Club 3 DUB Edition :)
no, it was in midnight club LA
.....Im pretty sure it was in Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition dude, I was just playing with it.......... I also have LA and LA is a waste of a game.
DavieDrum98 lol shutup LA is great
LA is shit, other guy is right. 2 and 3 are where its at.
Alex Woodward LA will never match up to 3 Dub Edition (Remix). Offline Dub Edition is better than LA online, and LA Online is already gone..
the "grandpa" idea of what a caddy is, is probably the best way ive ever heard caddy's cultural image described.
"No one is going to paint flames on the side of an XLR"
Challenge accepted, Mr. Regular.
3:00 AM uploads? A+ time organization
He lives in PA, so it would be 4 AM for him... glad i'm a night owl :-P
+Adolf Hitler 12:00 PM In Israel, suck this you Nazi
Lol
It's good time for Moscow, nice morning show for me
Perfect in Spain watched this while enjoing morning coffee
Seriously, every time you tell a story, I realize that I am very much from Pennsylvanian stock.
either that or we just miss 90s loveline a bunch
why is that?
Seriously, these guys are more Pennsylvania than a bag of Yuengling flavored Utz potato chips washed down with an A-Treat Big Blue.
Frandaman84 Im in Maryland around the MD, PA, and DE tri-state area so a lot of these jokes hit me. It makes me feel good because I dont really know another youtuber who lives in and makes references about this area of the East Coast. It's like giant inside jokes.
YOU WHERE HERE!!!????
Is it just me or does the Cadillac XLR look like a Mercedes SLK clone. The name and folding roof.
i was thinking the same. a mix between a corvette and a SLK.
I would rather say that it is an SL clone, not SLK :)
yeah, you're right, fits even better.
but looks like a daihatsu copen :D
Yea, but it is its fat american cousin (as old top gear might have said)
I was wondering about "why won't they just make a rebodied vette?" AND THEY DID! ITS AMAZING! I LOVE CADILLAC STYLING! - sort of blocky, but dynamic, flowing, lovely
Just spotted the boomer
They fixed all the problems with the 4.6L Northstar V8 in 2005..
Yes I have a 2011 Cadillac dts platinum it's a dream
Ha ha
I have an 03 DHS. Northstar car.. bought it new.. it now has 220,000 miles and none of the issues people have bitched about.. I have properly maintained it. No oil consumption. No leaks. No cracked head or block. No bolts pulling out of the walk either. Also no coolant usage. The only thing I've ever done to that car as a water pump and an intake plenum boot. That's it. And it still gets incredible gas mileage for what it is
@@tonychasey7990
Hell yeah its incredible. 27mph highway is insane especially for a heavy 17 foot v8 car. I have a deville.
@@retrokingranch I get 30mpg in my 2003 Seville STS, ive fixed a power steering leak and a coolant leak and a sticky egr valve, plan on doing northstar performance headstuds soon
didn't they make a V version with a supercharged northstar?
Jep, they did. But it was a detuned version and not the same engine as in the CTS-V.
That would've been the STS-V
the CTS-V never had the northstar....it used an LS1...
the STS-V and XLR-V used the supercharged northstar, deSTROKED, not detuned. to 4.4 litres to handle the supercharger better. 400 something horsepower
Yes it was the 4.4L 32v Northstar V8.
Yes, my mom had one. I bought it at auction with my STS-V. It was pretty good. I still have my STS-V. Intake and tune. I love how this dude always shits on almost every car. It really wasn't that bad.
Umm.. this dude just said it was built on c5. It wasn't. It was c6.
3:08 "The automatic shifter is smooth and tapered...unlike the C4 which was FLARED LIKE A HORSE'S ERECTION" hahahahaaaa 😂 I almost spit out the drink I was sippin at that part
That was the most beautiful description of Cadillac I have ever heard. I think you nailed it.
That monologue about cadillac bringing back memories of Grandpa really made me tear up, but in a good, comforted way. Thank you Mr. Regular. I needed that. I miss that guy.
I guess my experience gives me a slightly different perspective. The Northstar's been called "Son of LT-5". My 1991 ZR-1 LT-5 has 120,000 HARD miles on it and still specs out close to new. My 2004 XLR has 155,000 miles on it and the NS stills pulls strong with no issues. Liked it so much I bought a 2006 XLR-V that has 29,000 with only one issue, unrelated to the engine (454 on the dyno). Both XLR's have had zero top problems. Lotus did a fine job designing the LT-5. In the ZR-1 it ran for 24 hours on a big oval track in Texas and 'averaged' over 175mph, breaking a world record that stood for @ 50 years. Belonging to both clubs (ZR-1 / XLR), I hear and see the problems but considering the technology of the day I think they stand up pretty well. (insert insults here) ^v^
PS ... Loved your review of the DeLorean. Long Live the Legend!
Absolutely spot on. 'Son of LT5' is a great analogy.
"ran for 24 hours on a big oval track in Texas and 'averaged' over 175mph" ...kinda cute, lol. for comparison, Honda ran it's '86 VFR750 V-4 motor at redline for 1400hrs straight, tore it down, & found zero measurable wear. (the VF in previous years, with the steel cradle frame, had oiling issues. Honda being determined to save it's rep) Lotus make great chassis tho
Krazie Ivan what the hell does “kinda cute” mean? They set multiple FIA world land speed records that I believe still stand to this day for production cars. Are you really going to compare that to running a bare engine in a clean room?
God when he listed the track list. The sarcasm in his voice haha
The Northstar had a lot of issues early and they lasted way too long into its lifecycle, but anything after 2004 has has the bugs worked out. Not to mention most of the issues were on the FWD models. The RWD Northstars were generally more reliable.
hopefully
oh headgaskets! i had 2 96 seville sls'. both blew up.
Oh. I had a short opportunity to buy a 97 Seville for $800 as my first car. Now I'm kinda glad someone else bought it first.
had a 02 Dhs cracked the block, 06 Dts never had a problem but I also changed the oil every 1000 miles. Take care of a northstar it will take care of you.
After the initial repair for the head gasket on my Grandpa's 1997 Deville Concours early on, it lasted until 2014 reliably until he sold it. And he drove that thing everywhere and used it like a truck carrying garden supplies, green houses etc in that huge trunk. It had a ton of miles by 2014.
Sooo am I the only one who actually likes this?
I like the looks and concept. but exicution could have been better
I like it !
It looks fine, but you can't deny that in the end it was still a C5 Corvette with different badges sold mostly during the time where the C6 was a thing, for a higher price, with a worse motor and a heavier body.
If they had waited and launched it alongside the C6 on the updated platform, with the LS2, they'd have had a real chance at a hit which could have easily provided increased profit margins basically in the same way as an Escalade versus a Tahoe.
I like it a lot! Didnt knew about the engine problems though
No. I like these too. I like the idea of the Northstar but he said it well.
It's the epitome of a personal luxury coupe .....I always loved this segment.
Oh God that track list...
Holy shit his grandpa story brought a tear to my eye
My 2001 Seville SLS still works everyday with 265k kilometers. Awesome engine, worked a lot on it, but man that engine is nice
Canadian? So, six years later, what happened to your car?
Could be worse, it could be as bad as the Lexus SC430.
Hey, I love my SC430. Lol.
+ItsTheMightyD You must let him review it. It's your duty. That will be an amazing video
ItsTheMightyD I just can't stand the way it looks but least the engine is decent, I will give it that.
I like the SC430. It's more appealing to me than say, a Solara convertible.
yeah
GM fixed the NorthStar V8 by the time XLR production began. It’s far from common for an XLR to blow a head gasket!
I’m a Corvette guy but I admit the XLR looks damn good!
Mr.Regular never fails to deliver an absolutely spot on analysis. Excellent.
How didn't you call out the gaudy Bvlgari instrument panel? Weird attempt at trying to cram in some Italian style.
I was just about to make the same point. If you blink, you'll miss it at 10:03. It's across the top of the speedo and looks as pretentious as a gold necklace on a poodle.
I was hoping to find someone else that noticed it. I had to ask what was going on there, because that was beyond weird.
Strangely enough, one of the family members of the Bulgari company is a HUGE Cadillac and GM fan in general - he's a big car collector. They collaborated on this vehicle because of that.
So we're not gonna talk about XLR in the audio industry?
You know, the XLR plug? For long cable runs?
No we fucking aren't.
I had and XLR cable once, but it broke.
WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST TELL YOU?!
Diggidy
I once accidentally bought a headset with an XLR mic instead of 3.5mm and I had to use the most unwieldy adapter.
Am i the only one who thinks this is way prettier than the C5, and just a very pretty car period?
You and 25 others must be high
no it's really pretty
I fucking love the way it looks. Trying to buy a V right now.
Yes
Wouldn't mind owning an XLR when I'm a little older! Also, that Tinder line was spot on! Haha 😂
it's not steppinwolf it's steppenwolf
I was looking for this answer
He’s uncultured and ignorant, don’t be surprised 🤣
I think that was done on purpose.
Ok boomer 👍
K Y bro this was three years ago, chill.
Starter under the intake plenum.....because NORTHSTAR!
Lmao , yep, so asinine it makes me cringe
didn't know that. yeah that is a dumbass design.
Haven't read of anyone having one go bad. Ever. What's your point?
David B r lol, I had to change one last year on a customers sts... Whole intake manifold had to come off. Screw that.... Literally have a nice weekend cause it took longer than that to do
Shouldn't have took that long. 4hrs at the most.
Your writing keeps getting better and better. (And the Roman's too!)
In my father's XLR... track 1) Quiet Riot - Slick Black Cadillac
That story about Grandpa Cadillac makes me nostalgic every time, even though I’ve never experienced that
I have this car in red (officially named Crimson Pearl). I love it. There are two others riding around Fort Lauderdale, one is silver, the other is blue. This car still turns heads, I will tell you that! It is fun to drive! You need to take good care of them and they are expensive to fix if something goes wrong. Definitely don’t agree with the smarmy narration, but I also don’t take myself too seriously either.
I’m in Miami if you ever want to sell it let me know
As a mechanical engineer, this may be the only time I've disagreed with any of your perspectives, but I still think you're awesome, love these episodes, and continue to look forward to more episodes.
Let the GM engineers experiment with engine designs. Any progressive step in the right direction is still a progressive step in the right direction. GM knew that the demographic of buyers of this car weren't going to care about performance like the Corvette drivers would.
Your comment literally has nothing to do with being a mechanical engineer.
+Heel Toe it has everything to do with being a mechanical engineer. What passionate mechanical engineer wants to work for a company that's just going to be like "hey guys, there's no progress left for us to make, so we aren't going to need y'all anymore.
Sorry, but I like the idea of there being more jobs in my field.
idk what world you live in but GM stopped making the LS engines and has moved on to the LT engines. The LT engines have variable valve timing, cylinder deactivation, and direct injection which is all new for the GM small block engine so idk where you get the idea that they're not advancing upon their design.
You're absolutely not a mechanical engineer kid
esnebta The fact of the matter is, the northstar blows. Sure, the LS (or new LT for that matter) is OHV, and all the internet kids might say "oh it's ancient" but it's probably the most bulletproof high hp engine in existence and the easiest to work on and fix. The new LT, as oddball said, has variable cam timing cyl deactivation, etc. A big part of engineering is reducing costs and increasing reliability, and GM has got that down. It's not all coming out with designs that will look 'better' on a spec sheet even though it functions worse. Although as a ME, like you claim to be, should know that...
now review an XLR-V
I'll provide the car.
william wolfe little uncalled for.
2:30 Driving this car with the top down with this playlist actually sounds like a great time
Yes I'm a baby boomer, my XLR 05 and drive around playing party like it 1999
try changing the starter in one of these things, go ahead and change the head gaskets at the same time since you have the intake manifold off to change the starter which is inside of the engine!!!
That amazing analogy of what Cadillac is and the story of grandpa absolutely floored me. Amazing.
the official car of setting graphics to "low"
Worst engine ever engineered. By a country fucking mile. I warn you all, from sad experience, avoid the NorthStar engine AT ALL COSTS.
My experience has not been so sad. My 04 Deville DHS runs like a top and just sings when you put your foot into it (which you need to do now and then ). Take better care of your toys!
False. Chrysler 2.7L
i agree with you, last year i bought a 1998 deville Northstar for $500 and it had headgasket failure from the likes i could've never imagined being possible. i was the second owner of it after an elder retired gentleman from california who owns the funeral home in my town. it ran like a top for 2,000 miles. once it was done, it was done and it didnt move anymore and i never felt so helpless in my life. that engine left me walking more than i cared for. idea, perfect body and chassis, perfect brakes and suspension, but the engine was literally like a time bomb that only lottery money could stop. The fact GM manufactured a motor that they knew would self destruct on their loyal customers at the time is disgusting.
Jacob Patterson The problem with the Northstar, is possible with all GM motors, it's the DexCool Coolant (also called DexKill or DexCrap). If you don't change it more often than they tell you, it'll become corrosive and eat away at the head bolt threads, which causes them to pull out of the block. This problem was fixed for 2005-2011. I had a 1999 Seville STS. Ran like a champ up to 160,000 miles until it got totaled last month. I upgraded to a 2009 STS with the same motor.
Like all cars, it needs to be taken care of.
its not about maintenance by a long shot. Its an engineering issue where the head bolts get stripped which means that the hole have to be re tapped, a new head gasket is then needed as well as coolant flush since you are exposing the coolant channels to open air. Otherwise the engine will overheat within 5 minutes at the least.
Can you review a 5th gen prelude sometime in the near future? please
I owned one of these. Awesome fun car. You were a rock star just for showing up.
The Galvant outro was brilliant. Roman you are a genius.
You wanna see a kick-ass Cadillac experiment? Cadillac Ciel.
Long boi
Mom has one and it's pretty awesome hers is a 06 tho
Hers is the limited nighthawk black or whatever edition there were only 250 made
Does she do lunch ?
Fun fact: The car Gemma drove in sons of anarchy
We need this back in production. Would DIE to see the 2020 model.
I stumbled on this randomly after a year but uh. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate the Galavant parody song, truly an underappreciated series. XD
I feel attacked because when i bought my c10 I had Looney Tunes floor mats
I looked at buying a Cadillac Coupe Deville with Looney Toons mats. Needless to say, I didn’t buy it.
12) "Old Time Rock N Roll" ~ Bob Seger
XLR is c6 based just FYI; only thing c5 is some random carry over. Easily shown in the wheelbase and windshield rake.
You made me want a caddy so badly from this vid with the monologue of Grandpa 😂😂
"Because car repair can be frustrating but for a lot of people it's the only measure of control they really have over their lives" god damn
That 'boomer list' scenario was LITERALLY my dad.
I don't care what the hell you say in this vid. I'm from EU and i love thid Caddy! It looks hell of a lot better than the vette.
The XLR is stunning inside and out. I'd love one in good working order and shape. With that being said, As a NorthStar Owner - They can really fuck off with that motor. Such an amazing overly designed fucking headache.
They are not bad to work on at all if you know what your doing.
AMCNorthstar 93 No, they're really no harder to work on than other proper powerplant. They're just naturally faulty in the cooling system. Even my "revised" NorthStar (Longer head bolts, etc. You know the drill I'm sure from your username).
ATCRyderX© Yes I know these engines very well. I work on them myself and always owned one for several years since they came out. The cooling system is not a problem either unless they are neglected just as any other powerplant. It the coolant that causes a problem but for all GM engines. Most of these problems started happening when GM introduced Dexcool antifreeze for all 1997 and on GM vehicles. If its not changed out when need or worse coolants are mixed together, that's where problems arise. I also work at a GM dealer myself and been around these Cadillac's all my life.
AMCNorthstar 93 Yep. My Cadillac has been flushed and replaced with normal green. My ol Yukon just had it's 2nd Water Pump since 1996 running Dex. (I'm not saying you're not right about Dex btw! lol). I got real lucky on that one.
ATCRyderX© Either coolant is fine but must be both treated differently. Now my 2000 and later Northstar Cadillac's run on Dexcool and my pre-99 Cadillac's run on the Green coolant. never had a problem on any of them. But I did get a Pontiac Bonneville SSEI V6 supercharged that had both bad intake and head gaskets due to the Dexcool never being changed out when needed. That was the only car that I owned with an engine problem.
Saw my first XLR today, glad you covered it.
Goddamn, the narrative on this video deserves a fucking Nobel Peace Prize. Absolutely beautiful, Mr.RCR
I remember when all the broomers were hot on the XLR V! It sold for $80K and the final year 2009 MSRP went to $112K!
I like the look of the XLR with it's narrow side door windows that somehow got into the Camaro but was even narrower still!
Cadillac refuse to offer the ZO6 and ZR1 engines in the XLR; which seal it doom as a Mercedes SL and 911 fighter! Plus, the mechanical roof had problems and it was pretty slow too! All in all, people who purchase got their $$$$$$ wasted!
I think I'm gonna make a CD of Boomer Mix 2005, sounds nice.
American V8's vs Europe/Japan is like the girlfriend finishing before you and waiting laconically for you to get done already. You increase your pace with some pushes with exhaustion coming before climax and realizing giving up for some cuddling is the better option.
And that is the Northstar.
A great idea. Good intentions. But without the determination to push to the finish line.
That was weird.
This video is the overall definition of all Cadillac models to be honest
Boomer track list:
Each song individually is like, “Ok, that was fun.”
However, the synergy of combining these songs together, in today’s perspective, paints a very clear picture. Trying to relive their good-ol-days. Or, someone getting married for the third time, but still feel like they have to have a bachelor party like it was their first time. Someone who drinks, not to enjoy the company of family and friends and not to enjoy the moment, but for the very act of getting drunk itself. That’s the picture painted by all these songs together.
Very well said, occasionally we all enjoy listening to a couple old songs wondering what it might have been like, turning it onto that radio station while traveling, but going on a binge of this kind of music for weeks on end, getting dragged into the hole of overimaginative nostalgia is not good for anyone.
"GM Norstar,finally we're getting with the times." I couldn't stop laughing at the engine review. lol
The dreaded northstar.... a engine designed by engineers for engineers.... I never want to deal with one
Lmao my dad is an engineer and he had a '97 STS Northstar.
LMFAO my dad made me mix this minus Bruce, plus Dylan!
Northstar head gasket failures were corrected by about 2005.
My grandpa has one of these, he traded it in for his c4 Corvette. Everybody misses that Corvette
That sounds like one hell of a raw deal unless it was the ZR-1, Grand Sport or Pace Car trim version.
I want a corvette but but I don't want a shitty interior.
This was my car in Midnight Club LA
Same here
Wasnt there an XLR V? These did have an LS in some trim, as I recall.
Never. XLR-V had a supercharged Northstar.
+DaftRyosuke oh god a supercharged north star sounds perfect with self backing head bolts!!
And cracking blocks.
+OneWhoGames 😂😂😂😂😂
Which was pretty much fixed by 2005
Northstar is a great motor, tons of power that is smooth and quite. Never had an issue with the three I have owned.
Literally the greatest UA-cam channel ever