Hemmings’ Mike McNessor blogs about Caddy’s family hauler – CADILLAC CTS-V WAGON: BEAST OF BURDEN – with a 6.2-liter LSA V-8 and available manual and automatic transmissions.
Most vehicles degenerate into third- or fourth-hand beaters before clawing their way to collectability — assuming they survive the years of neglect and deferred maintenance. Not so with Cadillac’s 2011-’14 CTS-V Wagons. The newest of these factory hot-rod Caddy haulers turned 10 years old in 2024 and their collectible status seems more secure than ever.
CTS-V Wagon prices have remained stable since 2020, averaging more than $50,000 for an automatic-equipped V or $70,000 for a six-speed car, according to Classic.com. That puts them in the neighborhood of their factory $60,000-plus base MSRP. By piling on some options, like the $3,400 Recaro seats, $1,150 UltraView sunroof or $800 wheels, the price of a new CTS-V WAGON could’ve increased to more than $70,000, back then.
V wagons were never produced in large quantities —something that’s also in their favor. Fewer than 1,800 were built over four model years, and of those, just 514 were equipped with manual transmissions. But these cars come up for sale quite often. There are usually several up for grabs on Hemmings.com. Last June, a low-mileage Opulent Blue, automatic example sold for $59,850 (including fees) as a Make Offer listing. During the auction it attracted 19 bids — the highest of which was $52,000 (from the bidder who wound up offering more and ultimately buying the car)— and nearly 13,000 views.
Continue reading CADILLAC CTS-V WAGON: BEAST OF BURDEN @ https://www.hemmings.com/stories/buyers-guide-2011-2014-cadillac-cts-v-wagon/?uemlid=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333
To learn more about the CADILLAC CTS-V WAGON: BEAST OF BURDEN, check out the CTS-V Owners Forum @ https://www.ctsvowners.com/
That same year, Plymouth rolled out its Barracuda, which was immediately overshadowed by Ford’s launch of the Mustang. Eager to get in on the game, Dodge sought a smaller, youth-oriented model of its own based on the Barracuda, but parent Chrysler said no—it’d have to make do with an intermediate-sized model instead.
While plans for that car began to get underway, the Charger nameplate first graced a production model in 1965 as a sporty trim level on the “senior compact” Dart. Only 480 Dart Chargers were made, all in yellow (although there is some evidence that one silver car exists), all sporting 273-cubic inch V-8s. In an era when cars received constant visual updates, the Dart’s 1963 redesign was already showing its age, so Dodge teased the upcoming model’s new look with the Charger II concept ahead of the production car’s unveiling.
In 1966, Dodge finally got its sporty coupe. The new Charger was based on Coronet underpinnings and shared much of its front bodywork (along with suspension and brakes) with that model, but was set apart by a striking, large fastback, hidden headlights, and a clean full-width taillight. The swept roofline was distinctive and eye-catching among the more mundane three-box intermediate-size designs of the time, though its looks wouldn’t be considered as sleek, or ultimately as brand-defining, as its 1968 successor.
