Sometimes we wonder why is it so hard for some companies to do something that everybody else does as a matter of course. Nearly two years ago
we took GM to task for a flaw on the very nice 2008 Cadillac CTS. That car lacked a
flash-to-pass headlight feature. GM promised to correct that, and they have--partially.
The omission affected CTS versions with bi-xenon headlights which come on the Premium trim line.
We just purchased a
new CTS sedan with the direct-injection 3.6-liter V6, Premium package and FE2 suspension.
Indeed, GM has not only added the flash-to-pass feature but notes triumphantly that it didn't even cost them any money. The feature was there all along but it was disabled, GM explains, for bulb-longevity reasons. Frankly, the longevity argument doesn't cut much ice. Xenon lights already have a much longer life expectation than halogens. But here's the real caveat: The CTS's new flash-to–pass is momentary. The high beam duration is merely one second regardless of how long you squeeze the left stalk. If you hold it with the intention of maintaining high beams for several seconds, you still get only one single flash that goes off after the one second, which is unlike almost any other car. You might have to blip the stalk multiple times to get an inattentive driver's attention.
Examining the headlight unit reveals that there is no dedicated bulb for the flash-to-pass feature, which other bi-xenon systems employ. The CTS instead only briefly triggers the regular high beam. That's a creative (read: cheap) way to get off the hook. We'll take it for now, but it's no free pass. Hopefully, it won't take another two years to get a continuous flash-to-pass.
See the related posts:
The stalk that broke the Cadillac CTS' back No flash-to-pass for Cadillac CTS, part 2 —
Gabe Shenhar
