There are some important elements of car development and testing that do not occur on test tracks. Some don’t even happen inside the car at all. In my case, a lot of the development happens here in this room at a place we call the "bench." This is where a lot of the development of the "infotainment" aspects of the CTS happens. Not an exciting place to look at, but the results are technologies that go farther than we've ever gone before in terms of in-car electronics.
This bench is where we developed a huge package of available electronic features -- including a 40-gig hard drive, leading-edge iPod/MP3 integration, on-board USB port, and new navigation system with cool stuff like 3D imaging of major landmarks, simplified voice recognition and faster, better route planning with expanded real-time traffic and weather data. The "bench" gives a small team of us the chance to demonstrate and operate the systems in the exact same way as if we were driving in a real car. All the switches and controls are exactly as they would be in a car - even the "pop-up" navigation screen deploys just like it does in the real car.
It may not look like it, but this bench is also one heckuva a music system. I have a huge CD collection "ripped" onto the hard drive, thousands of songs from dozens of CDs, organized into a nice library with our music recognition software. My iPod basically lives here. We developed a special cord that will allow iPod users to charge the battery (via the USB port,) play their files and fully integrate with the car (steering wheel controls for advancing tracks, etc.) A couple of years ago, we actually visited the iPod engineers and designers in Silicon Valley to consult on this long before we settled on our designs. And, regardless of my own taste in music, everything sounds awesome - the Bose 5.1 Digital Surround is major league home theater technology. This audio system can play AM, FM and XM Satellite Radio, nearly all formats of digital audio files off of any USB storage device, iPods or other types of digital music players, CDs, DVDs (when the car is in Park,) and audio files ripped to the hard drive from CDs or other media, and even audio books from Audible.com (we'll have a special deal with that site for CTS owners.)
Not everything is confined to this room. We also do quite a bit of driving. One of the development cars I have now has some 23,000 miles on it - compiled in just a few months. The real-world aspect is especially important to test the ease with which drivers can use all the features in daily driving. It's a huge emphasis for us to add all these cool features in a way that adds fun, not complexity, to the act of driving. Also, the nav system is a pretty big leap forward, and something we tested on city streets, remote country roads and most everywhere in between. I think the coolest thing we did there was a function especially for road trips on interstate freeways, in which the nav can show you the gas stations, restaurants and services available near the exit ramps along your route. No more guesswork when you're on a freeway in an unfamiliar area.
It’s a whole lot of features, representing a ton of work. The goal is a car that is really advanced and sophisticated, but also very useful, intuitive and fun to operate.
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Comments
This is great info. I am ready to place an order, give us some pricing and dates now:)
Posted by: KB | June 18, 2007 2:03 PM
Will it be possible to add an after market backup video camera to the nav screen, and if not why not. This is really a major safety issue.
Thanks for the great blog info.
Posted by: Marshall | June 18, 2007 3:31 PM
Great to get some details on the electronic package. I am intensely interested in the 2008 CTS - especially the electronics package.
I have a bunch of questions.
1. Can one play music stored on a standard USB memory stick? Also, can files stored on the music stick be copied to the CTS 40 gb hard drive?
2. I'm keen on the hard drive, but I'm not keen on having to stick my indvidual cds into the CTS to rip them to the hard disk. I'd rather just copy over my already ripped and properly tagged files. I don't know how you will be able to properly MP3 tag the songs without access to the internet. Most of my cds are very obscure and most cds don't support CD-TEXT.
3. It appears that you do not support HD-Radio (ibiquity). I believe this is a missed opportunity. XM Radio is far from a guaranteed product going forward. HD-Radio continues to gain traction. I know it's hard to predict formats. Maybe, you could at least make the radio HD-Radio ready by providing an interface port for an add-on.
4. I am a true audiophile for over 35 years. I still play vinyl. I realize Bose is a popular product but Bose has a very poor reputation among those that are real audio gear heads. I will try to put such prejudices aside but Bose will really have to prove they are worthy. Less emphasis on goofy digital EQ modes like "Stadium" and "Night Club" and more emphasis on clean audio specs (i.e. low distortion, low jitter, etc.).
I just visited my local Cadillac dealer and he said he might have a couple of demo 2008 CTS cars by the end of July.
I'll be there when they arrive!
Posted by: Chris Barker | June 18, 2007 3:37 PM
The new electronics package sounds really cutting edge and exciting. Will the system have the capability to play back the DSD portion of an SACD?
Can you provide more specifics on the iPod integration. Will the nav screen show the album art and track information stored in the iPod as a display similar to that on the iPod screen?
Posted by: Jim Hufton | June 18, 2007 10:20 PM
Chris, I don't think you have any reason to be nervous about a Bose system. These so called "audiophiles" on sites like AVS are overreacting by far. I used to be skeptical about Bose just because of what everyone said. I checked them out for myself and was blown away. Right now, I'm listening to music on my Bose computer speakers, which if I wanted I could switch to my Bose headphones. My theater room has a Bose Lifestyle system in it, and my STS has the Bose Studio Surround in it. As you can see, Bose made quite an impression on me, and I'm not afraid to admit it one bit. If you dismiss an audio system that is a pleasure to listen to just because people say it is 'inaccurate,' then you are no audiophile. Take a listen for yourself and you will find what you like. As a consumer, I've learned one thing: Don't take advice when it comes to audio or image, unless it is a repeated product failure. Go out and for yourself decide what is good and what is bad.
Now you don't have to take a word I said to heart, as I am in no way trying to call myself an audiophile. But I do have ears and I know what I like. I suggest you give it a try, put all reputations and previous perceptions aside.
Posted by: Scott Link | June 19, 2007 7:15 PM
I can't wait!! Is the 5.1 Surround the optional stereo package? I was expecting more speakers with the Bose system. Care to give specs on the system (subs, watts, etc.)?
Posted by: Brian A Ruffin | June 19, 2007 11:11 PM
So, one question, How can I get on the team that works at this bench?
Posted by: Brian | June 20, 2007 1:29 AM
Can I have that bench?
Posted by: Christopherson | June 21, 2007 1:08 PM
I whole-heartedly agree with Scott. There is not a factory system available that is better than Bose. I won't buy a car without Bose in my car, and is actually one of the reasons that I bought my STS.
I even listened to the B&O system in the Audi A8, and the only thing better is the pricetag. The pop-up dash tweeters are just a fad that offer absolutely no value to the sound performance. Just another part to break. I'm sure there are many self- proclaimed audiophiles that want the bragging rights that they paid more than anyone else. If that's what you want, fine - but listen with your ears not your eyes and you will be thrilled with your Bose system. I listen to all kinds of music from Jazz to Rock to Classic and it all sounds very natural and continues to blow me away. There are many who look down on Bose because they cannot afford the best. For those with the means, I challenge them to listen to the Bose 5.1 Studio Surround system in the STS. You won't be disappointed, and I think you'll find that goofy EQ's are not what they are about.
Posted by: Tom Carlson | June 21, 2007 8:44 PM
Thank you all for the many thoughtful comments on this topic. This has inspired us to ask Charles for another post, going over more of these electronic features and taking on key questions. Stay tuned. . .
Posted by: Editor | June 22, 2007 3:12 PM
Just an addition to what the others have said about Bose... I have a Bose system in my current car, and it sounds great. Considering the work the CTS team has put in, I expect the Bose system in the CTS to sound great, too.
Posted by: Jeff | June 23, 2007 4:37 PM
Personally, I find most Bose products offensive. I have heard some of their car systems that are borderline OK (in an Audi A8), but for the most part I think it's crap. Why not use something like the Mark Levinson that Lexus uses or even Boston Acoustics? SOmething that can really carry the car over the top. I am a professional audio engineer. THe best use I ever found for a Bose speaker was using one for a step to get into a sound booth, and even then it wasn't stable or reliable. We all hear subjectively and maybe they have finally done something right, but their prior history does not bear that out. Having the Bose system in the car is more of a sticking point to me than having a pedal emergency brake, instead of a hand operated one. Or not having a manual available for the AWD. I sure love the looks and potential of this car though. I'm dying to see what the coupe will look like, especially if they finally make it a pillorless one.
Posted by: Randy Haines | June 24, 2007 8:52 PM
I love the article. when will we receive pricing and release dates?
Posted by: linton | June 28, 2007 7:52 PM
You audiophiles (and Bosephiles) posting here are missing one important point: A car is a terrible environment in which to listen to music, there is way too much noise, the speaker placement is awful, and getting anything sounding remotely good at all is a minor miracle. Keep in mind that it's a car with a radio, and not a radio with wheels we're talking about here.
Posted by: Tom Hundt | December 25, 2007 12:53 AM
Nice job, branding tags aside, this is the best media/nav integration found in any car today and just the thing that pushed me over from being a loyal Audi enthusiast. ...now how do I hack it to a much larger HDD? 40 is good, 200 would easily hold my entire music collection. If anyone developed a hack for video 500 or 1tb would not be unreasonable. Yes, I understand that you can hook up a large ipod. I have German roots, I can't help it.
Posted by: steve | December 29, 2007 2:25 PM