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With Cadillac’s CTS-V Wagon producing 556-horsepower and 551 foot-pounds of torque, you could rightly say there’s no quicker way to get a family from point A to point B. Autoholics recently compared the newest CTS-V wagon to Clark Griswold’s infamous “Family Truckster,” aka the green Ford LTD County Squire wagon of death from the classic movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” Legendary movie and show car creator George Barris was responsible for the green wagon capable of dragging a dog, but imagine the horrific fate if a CTS-V was used in a remake? With the sheer increase in power, performance and style, would the overall feel of the movie be lost? It is hard to imagine how the sleek Caddy would change the story in terms of the all-American family driving across the country to reach a theme park. It almost seems like the CTS-V would be a fitting vehicle for the yuppie neighbors Todd and Margo in “Christmas Vacation” versus the Griswold clan.
With retro remaining a current theme in automotive design, perhaps the memory of fuel inefficient, gutless family wagon will fade from memory, as the CTS-V brings performance and refinement to the annual family vacation. With an optional paddle shifted automatic or 6-speed manual transmission, this is not the vintage “Truckster” that hauled Aunt Edna’s body to her son’s home in Arizona. Thanks to the modern luxury of the CTS-V wagon it makes a family road trip seem a bit more appealing to a couple of different demographics, including performance enthusiasts. It is hard to find fault with wagon that features a 6.2-liter engine that creates over 500 horsepower, Electronic Ride Control, Brembo brakes, and is capable of shredding set after set of expensive rear tires. It may offer modern refinement and reliability over the LTD “Truckster,” but would you want the smell of dog and dead granny in your new CTS-V?
