Archive for the ‘Personal Performance’ Category
Canadian securities regulators propose enhanced disclosure requirements on investment costs and performance
Posted: June 14, 2012 at 7:16 pm
TORONTO, June 14, 2012 /CNW/ - The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) are publishing for a second comment period, proposed amendments to National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, which would require registered dealers and advisers to provide investors with clear and meaningful information on the costs and performance of their investments.
This Proposal includes, among other things, requirements for registered dealers and advisers to provide their clients with annual reports that show them:
In June 2011, the CSA initially published the Proposal based on consultation with investors and industry. Approximately 2,000 investors were surveyed and document testing sessions were held to gain better insight into investors' understanding and expectations related to fees, performance measurement and reporting.
After reviewing public comments on the 2011 Proposal, conducting additional investor research and industry consultation, the CSA are now proposing some enhancements and added requirements to the 2011 Proposal, which include:
"This is an important investor protection initiative that aims to help investors better understand the costs and performance of their investments," said Bill Rice, Chair of the CSA and Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Securities Commission. "With the proposed changes, investors will be able to better assess their progress towards meeting their financial goals and the value of the professional advice they receive."
The Notice, Request for Comment and reports on the investor surveys and document testing will be available on CSA members' websites. The comment period is open until September 14, 2012.
The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.
Backgrounder: Summary of Proposed Changes to National Instrument 31-103 related to Cost Disclosure and Performance Reporting - Client Relationship Model Phase 2
Published on June 22, 2011, the proposal to amend National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (NI 31-103), would require registered dealers and advisers to deliver enhanced disclosure about the costs of investing and investment performance reports to their clients.
In response to public comments, today's publication includes some amendments to the 2011 Proposal and some new requirements to make the information investors receive more complete.
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Canadian securities regulators propose enhanced disclosure requirements on investment costs and performance
Shinji Kagawa performance against Australia – Video
Posted: at 3:25 am
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Shinji Kagawa performance against Australia - Video
Fetter's 5-hit night a personal best
Posted: at 3:25 am
Travis Fetters incredible 5-of-6 night at the plate Friday against Stanly County was an historic night for him. He knocked out two milestones in one game with his first four-hit and five-hit games in his baseball career.
The performance also catapulted him over the .400 mark in hitting. Fetters average went up 64 points, and he leads Statesville with a .432 batting average, nine points above Lance Clanton.
That jumped his batting average quite a bit, Statesville head coach Trey Ramsey said.
He also has a team-high six doubles and is tied for second on the team with Colby Dishmond with 10 RBIs. Sam Laws leads Statesville with 11 RBIs.
In six innings as a relief pitcher, he has allowed only two earned runs on three hits. He pitched three shutout innings June 1 in a 6-5 victory over Mooresville Post 66. That time on the mound included a pair of huge strikeouts to end the eighth and ninth innings.
Fetter is one of the hardest workers and biggest competitors I have ever coached, Ramsey said. He is having a good year.
Post 65, Post 66 coming off long rest
Statesville Post 65 and the Mooresville Post 66 Moors have been idle since Friday. Statesville went into its five days of rest with a 12-5 victory at Stanly County while the Moors went into theirs with a 10-9 loss at home to Concord.
Both teams resume play Thursday with two weeks left in the regular season. Statesville is at home in the first of back-to-back games against Kannapolis.
Kannapolis (10-3, 9-3) is in second place behind Mocksville-Davie (9-5, 6-2) in the Area III Southern Division standings. Statesville Post 65 (5-7, 4-5) is in seventh place.
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Fetter's 5-hit night a personal best
Bold Looks and Key Demographic Divergences Ignite the U.S. Personal Care Market, Reveals Kline
Posted: at 3:25 am
PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --New trends in nail care, dramatic eye looks, and the appeal of limited edition scents significantly bolstered sales in the 2011 U.S. personal care market, which exceeded $38 billion at the manufacturers' level, surpassing pre-recession levels and representing robust growth of 4.2%, according to the recent Cosmetics & Toiletries USAreport from global consulting and research firm Kline & Company.
Makeup sales comfortably exceeded the industry average growth rate, boosted by an astonishing near 30% growth of the nail polishes subcategory in 2011. The magnitude of this growth was partly caused by the emergence of new trends, including bold colors and special effects that attracted women of all demographics. The category was additionally augmented by innovation in application techniques, which could be seen in products such as Sally Hansen Salon Effects and Nail Inc.'s Magnetic Polish.
Eye makeup, supported by the season's popular "smoky-eye" look, saw a strong increase in 2011. Eye shadow, eye liner, and mascara, all used to complete the dramatic eye look, contributed to the growth seen in all trade classes.
After several years of declining sales, fragrances for women experienced high growth in 2011 as more consumers turned to fragrances as an affordable indulgence. The luxury trade class in particular experienced above-average growth of over 10%, where niche fragrances were a new trend in 2011. Limited distribution scents from brands such as Bond No. 9, Creed, and By Kilian gained high visibility during the period. Conversely, celebrity scents saw substantial declines.
Looking at the usage of cosmetics and toiletries by specific demographic groups, Kline's consumer research has found that a higher percentage of Hispanics use perfume or cologne regularly, at 56% of all Hispanics, as compared to 32% of the non-Hispanic population. Furthermore, about half of African Americans use perfumes or colognes regularly, as compared to one-third of Caucasians and Asians in the United States.
The ever resilient skin care product class, dominated by facial treatments, remains the largest product class. Men's skin care became more popular, seeing the best growth in several years and now offering expanded product lines exploring new applications by creating solutions for men, such as concealers, products free of parabens, formaldehydes, dyes, and added fragrances.
The cosmetics and toiletries market continued its upward trend due to an especially strong performance in the luxury class, which saw nearly double-digit growth. Analysis also reveals that all trade classes posted gains in 2011. "The comparatively low growth in the professional class correlates with the greater trend we're observing with consumers' relatively moderate expenditure on professional services," explains Nancy Mills, Kline's Consumer Practice Industry Manager. "And yet, driven by 'frugal-fatigue' and a rising financial confidence, consumers are compensating by purchasing premium products as affordable luxuries driving sales in the luxury and mass trade classes."
Looking ahead, Kline projects skin care and makeup to maintain exceptionally high growth over the next five years. Additionally, Mills expects the dominating drivers in personal care to be multi-functional products that deliver promised results, a gradual replacement of harsh synthetic chemicals with more natural-derived products, and an adoption of a more overt environmentally responsible profile.
These trends are examined in Kline's recently published Cosmetics & Toiletries USA report. As an authoritative and comprehensive annual survey on the U.S. cosmetics and toiletries industry, this high-value study contains information on cosmetics and toiletries market size, retail sales, channel breakdowns, trends, and forecasts for 26 major product categories in addition to detailed profiles of 29 leading marketers.
About KlineKline is a worldwide consulting and research firm dedicated to providing the kind of insight and knowledge that helps companies find a clear path to success. The firm has served the management consulting and market research needs of organizations in the chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products industries for over 50 years. For more information, visit http://www.KlineGroup.com.
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Bold Looks and Key Demographic Divergences Ignite the U.S. Personal Care Market, Reveals Kline
AppNeta Introduces Industry-leading Network Traffic Analysis Solution to Identify Top Causes of Bandwidth Problems
Posted: June 13, 2012 at 2:22 pm
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AppNeta, the leading provider of end-user centric network and application performance management solutions, today announced the launch of PathView Cloud with FlowView Intelligent Application Visibility (IAV) and breakthrough network traffic analysis capabilities. Compared to traditional netflow analysis tools in the market, PathView with FlowView offers the easiest, most in-depth view of application traffic and causes of network performance problems.
With the rapid increase in personal devices and shared network resources, it is critical for network and application managers to have visibility of all levels of activity and application traffic specific to individual users, devices and applications. As the first cloud-delivered solution to analyze network activity, regardless of hardware in place at remote locations, PathView Cloud with FlowView gives IT teams the data they need to know exactly what is happening on their networks and which devices and users are contributing to performance problems. With this insight, it is easy to identify who and what is causing network congestion and poor application performance.
Prior to using PathView Cloud with FlowView, we would spend weeks looking for a phantom performance issue, said Bill Gillis, manager of Clinical Application Services at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. PathView Cloud with FlowView gives us the deep dive visibility into network performance, application traffic and flow analysis that we could not get from any netflow tools. This has been one of the greatest bang for the buck technologies that weve implemented.
For the first time, IT managers can access intuitive, easy-to-understand network usage analysis, presented in clear traffic summaries and classified into simple categories, such as recreational or business-related. PathView Cloud customers drill down into their top applications to get a breakthrough level of detail, beyond standard http traffic to get meaningful data about which application and individuals are causing the problems from Youtube.com to Salesforce.com.
PathView Cloud with FlowView is offering a level of network traffic analysis and intelligent application visibility that has never been available before, said Jim Melvin, CEO of AppNeta. We are excited to offer an easy, scalable solution to tell you what is happening on your network and who is using all of your bandwidth.
Traffic and flow analysis gives users a valuable view of user activity and network bottlenecks. PathView Cloud with FlowView provides continuous and easy-to-access insight into network usage patterns, changes in user activity, and alignment between network usage and outlined policy. This data enables network managers and business managers alike to see which users and applications are consuming capacity and negatively affecting the performance of critical applications.
Pricing and Availability
FlowView is an add-on module to the cloud-delivered PathView Cloud service. FlowView can be enabled immediately on the PathView Cloud microAppliances and does not require flow-enabled devices. To learn more about PathView Cloud with FlowView, please join the Webinar: How to Understand Network Traffic for Mere Mortals: Easy, affordable network usage insight and analysis on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Sign up at: http://www.appneta.com/resources/webinars.
About AppNeta
How much is too much sharing for stand-up comedians?
Posted: at 2:22 pm
"I've been trying to work some incredibly personal stuff into my act," explained Chris Condren, a 24-year-old stand-up comic from Libertyville. He's appearing Wednesday at the Playground Theater on Halsted Street. He sounded hesitant to explain further, then continued: "Even now, as I'm saying this, I'm thinking I shouldn't be saying this. My mom is not thrilled with me. I'm at that point where I'm still figuring out what I want to talk about versus how it affects the people around me. Audiences forget: There is collateral damage in comedy."
Condren's performance, tucked into the sprawling Just For Laughs comedy festival playing across Chicago this week, is a part of the festival's Pet Project series, devoted to new and experimental comedy voices. His act is absurdist, provocative, disturbing, often unnervingly personal; a chunk of his material is about being expelled from high school and sent to a North Shore day school for adolescents with emotional disorders.
An atypical bit the "incredibly personal stuff" he's fretting over (but working into his Just For Laughs appearance anyway) is about his father. Specifically, he learned that his father runs a gay porn website.
It's not that he's uncomfortable with the subject: "I want to share this," he said. "I'm not trying to 'heal' or anything, and I'm not mad at my father. There aren't any wounds to heal. It's just my way of dealing." Indeed, even his father, Stephen Condren, a visual artist, while not relishing his son's choice of material, is more philosophical than uneasy: "I told him that I didn't think it was wise because one day he might look back and wish that he'd rethought things. But I know he's not being disrespectful. I know it's not malicious."
So what's Chris Condren's worry?
The Internet.
In particular, Condren is worried someone will record his act with a cellphone then post the video online. "I don't want it to go viral," he said. "I know how that sounds: I want to talk about my life, but I don't want everyone to hear. To me, a stage is a controlled environment. What's said there stays there. That's the illusion I have."
Or, as his father said, "Everything is about context. Comedy is about context." And the Internet, impatient and distractible and so easily prone to knee-jerk snark, isn't great with context.
Or tone, or subtlety.
Like a lot of stand-up comics these days, particularly the type who mine excruciating personal details for material, Condren is wrestling with a paradox: Being a stand-up in 2012 means seeming relatable, approachable, having a Twitter account, a Facebook profile, YouTube videos; it means recording introspective podcasts so immediate a listener feels as if the comedian is playing to an audience of one. But there's a difference between revealing personal details to 200 strangers and broadcasting those same details to 200,000. The Internet can make a delicate art seem both more intimate and less personal. Which also means that a historically cranky, anti-social profession, rooted in a tense awkwardness, full of vulnerable people who learned how to rip their hearts open onstage, is learning again what it means to feel uncomfortable.
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How much is too much sharing for stand-up comedians?
In praise of performance
Posted: at 2:22 pm
(The author is AGM, Powertech Engineering LLC, Muscat. Views are personal)
June 11, 2012:
When a product that we buy lets us down with shoddy performance, many of us tend to react by complaining, and perhaps rightly so. But think about it. How often do we try to be vocal in our appreciation when we come across outstanding products?
My dad, a retired professor, now in his late seventies, took one such initiative in my childhood and in the process demonstrated to his five children the power of expressing gratitude.
My elder sister had delivered her baby and was yet to be discharged from a hospital in Tuticorin where we lived then. A teenager, I was running errands, shuttling between home and hospital. Reaching our house, I was shocked to see my father sitting alone in a room, with tears trickling down his cheeks.
What worries you dad ? I walked up to him and asked. Pointing to something on the table, he said, Worry ? Nay, my son. Sheer ecstasy on seeing that member of our house! Member ? I see no one around, dad.
I was concerned about his emotional state when he snapped, You mean only the animate can qualify as members? What about that majestic vacuum flask sitting on the table? It has been with me through thick and thin. He started pouring out as moisture laced his eyes.
I bought this flask three decades ago. It has stayed with me through your mother's five deliveries. There were times when your mother or I or some relative who visited us took ill. Every time, this flask would be pressed into service and it would flawlessly dish out piping hot water, steaming horlicks or sizzling filter coffee.
Just before your sister's delivery, I noticed that the outer shell of the flask had rusted. I took it to a local store and the salesperson transformed it, replacing the outer tin sheet. In this new avatar, the flask has started to faithfully serve gen next.
I am sorry I didn't know its history, dad.
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In praise of performance
3M Expands High-Performance Multi-Touch Display Line at InfoComm 2012
Posted: at 2:21 pm
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
As smart phone and tablet use increases significantly worldwide and user touch expectations extend beyond personal devices to desktop and public displays, 3M Touch Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of 3M Company, announces the availability of two new high performance multi-touch displays that extend tablet-like responsiveness to larger, interactive displays. Offered as the 24-inch 3M Multi-Touch Display M2467PW (20 touches) and the 27-inch 3M Multi-Touch Display M2767PW (40 touches), these multi-touch displays take interactive display technology to the next level with uncompromising multi-touch performance, brilliant high-definition graphics powered by LED backlights, wide viewing angles and elegant smart phone-like product design. In addition, the 27-inch M2767PW multi-touch display with ultra-fast 40-touch capability is ideal for multi-user applications, such as digital signage and product selectors.
These new displays are part of an expanding 3M multi-touch display offering that already include desktop products -- 3M Multi-Touch Display M2167PW (21.5) and 3M Multi-Touch Display M1866PW (18.5) -- and chassis products -- 3M Multi-Touch Display C3266PW (32) and 3M Multi-Touch Display C2254PW (22).
These new multi-touch desktop displays and other multi-user collaborative products and exhibits are on display at 3Ms InfoComm 2012 booth (#N1841 in North Hall). Visit the 3M Touch Systems virtual InfoComm 2012 booth at http://www.3m.com/multitouch/infocomm.
Smart phone and tablet interactivity is now driving users expectations for touch, so they expect that any interactive display they encounter will have the same degree of responsiveness, says Diego Romeu, business operations manager, 3M Touch Systems. 3Ms high performance multi-touch displays meet or exceed their touch response expectations which makes this extensive product offering an ideal fit for this expanding group of touchscreen users.
Based on 3Ms Projected Capacitive Technology (3M PCT), these multi-touch displays offer the unique ability to recognize and reject the users palms or arms resting on the touchscreen to help prevent inadvertent touches while also maximizing multi-touch functionality. Plus, these displays feature a 3M-proprietary anti-stiction surface treatment that allows a users fingers to effortlessly glide across the screen for smoother gesturing and accurate draw capabilities.
These 3M multi-touch displays also feature an aesthetic flat front surface industrial design that allows easy touch access in the screen edges and corners not possible with a traditional bezel display, making them an attractive addition to any professional or retail environment. Featuring a sturdy and robust base, the display can accommodate a full 90-degree position range for more viewing flexibility while providing an inviting horizontal surface for multi-user on-screen collaboration. These displays are Windows 7 compatible and 3M offers drivers for Windows XP, Linux and Mac operating systems.
All 3M multi-touch displays are available from leading distributors (BlueStar, Ingram Micro, ScanSource, SYNNEX, and Tech Data), popular on-line retailers, and 3Ms on-line store, http://www.Shop3M.com.
3M Touch Systems provides innovative touchscreen technology products to customers worldwide under the 3M and MicroTouch brands. Popular single-touch and multi-touch applications include casino gaming, foodservice, hospitality, industrial, interactive digital signage, healthcare, retail point of sale and self-service. For more information about 3M and MicroTouch products, visit http://www.3M.com/touch01. For an overview of popular touch technologies and terminology, visit http://www.touchtopics.com.
About 3M Touch Systems Inc. 3M Touch Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of 3M and provider of innovative touchscreen solutions, operates globally and reports through 3M Electro and Communications Business, headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit http://www.3M.com/multitouch. More information about 3M Company is available online.
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3M Expands High-Performance Multi-Touch Display Line at InfoComm 2012
Neil Young documentary gets up close and personal … literally
Posted: at 12:14 am
By Randy Lewis Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES Neil Young Journeys, the new concert film reuniting the idiosyncratic Canadian rocker and director Jonathan Demme, raises the notion of spitting distance to a whole new level.
While filming Young in concert last year at Massey Hall in Toronto, Demme employed microphone-mounted cameras to capture the performance from unusual angles, including close-ups of Youngs mouth. In the middle of the song Hitchhiker, which traces the musicians life story from his early years in Canada through rock stardom in the U.S., saliva lands directly on the camera lens.
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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com
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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com
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The 25th annual Bridge School Benefit Concert featured guest performers Beck, Mumford & Sons, Los Invisibles with Carlos Santana, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, Arcade Fire and of course organizer Neil Young. Photos by Shawn Parker, heyreverb.com
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Neil Young documentary gets up close and personal … literally
2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: A serious luxury performance machine
Posted: June 12, 2012 at 10:15 am
The 2012 Cadillac CTS lineup represents very nice vehicles that provide an above average level of performance capability. And...if you are a fan of the base CTS models, you're sure to enjoy the CTS-V version Cadillacs even more. The 2012 CTS-V Coupe is a wicked-looking machine -- perhaps a little too angular to suit everyone's personal taste, but count me as an avid admirer. After all, taste is in the eye of the beholder. It's also not out of context to think of this latest iteration CTS-V as a high-performance luxury coupe version of Corvette's ZR1. Admittedly, the 'Vette generates a higher boost from its supercharger and sports a different exhaust, which, along with other tweaks, cranks out more horses and higher torque than does the CTS-V, even though they share the same basic engine.
The power source is an extremely potent, 6.2-liter supercharged, intercooled OHV V8 engine with 16-valves and sequential center-feed fuel injection. The engine is longitudinally mounted up front and pumps out an SAE-certified 556 horses @ 6,100 rpm along with 551 pound feet of torque @ 3,800 rpm. Motive energy is delivered to the rear wheels via either a Tremec TR6060 -- six-speed fully synchronized manual gearbox with a single overdrive, or an electronically controlled Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic overdrive with torque converter clutch. The engine is the most powerful ever offered in the nearly 106 years of Cadillac's history. The automatic transmission features both steering wheel
The CTS-V displays a more aggressive appearance than its base counterpart as well. It actually amplifies the assertive stance of the standard car and seems to radiate the car's increased performance capabilities. The dihedral Cadillac grille is larger, allowing increased air flow to the potent engine, while the hood is raised to accommodate the supercharger. Both the pronounced and extended front and rear fascias readily identify it as a V-Series vehicle.
The coupe and sedan feature the same wheelbase but the coupe measures 3.1-inches less than the sedan, is 1.6-inches wider, 2.1-inches lower and 391 pounds lighter than the sedan. The CTS-V family rolls into 2012 virtually unchanged, offering only a pair of new exterior colors -- Black Diamond Tricoat and Opulent Blue Metallic. Also, side blind zone alert is added exclusively to CTS-V Coupe.
The interior of the V- Series includes all the plush elements of the CTS sport sedan and then some. Extras include available Recaro performance seats, a suede-like microfiber covering for the steering wheel, seats and shifter. The center stack is trimmed in an Obsidian material, which also appears on the center console and door trim. The instrument panel, door trim and center console are hand-stitched like every CTS. There's a 40-gigabyte hard drive supporting the info-tainment systems, an advanced navigation system with a pop-up screen, Bose digital surround audio system and Bluetooth capability.
The CTS-V features Magnetic Ride Control (the world's fastest-reacting suspension technology) with electro-magnetically controlled shocks fore and aft -- adds to the car's cat-like agility. The front suspension is an independent SLA set-up with a hollow 29-mm stabilizer bar, and tuned spring rate. Suspension in the rear is also independent SLA with a 24-mm solid stabilizer bar. StabiliTrak, a four-channel, four-mode stability system, Traction Control and engine drag control are standard fare, with Performance Traction Management optionally available. Braking is handled by Brembo four-wheel disc componentry, with four-channel ABS, hydraulic Brake Assist and dynamic rear brake proportioning, and the tires are Z-rated performance Michelin Pilot Sport2, staggered -- 255/40 R19 front and 285/35R19 rear, mounted on 5-"V" (what else?) spoke forged alloy rims that are 9-inches wide in the front and 9.5-inches out back.
My test 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe wore a Thunder Gray Chromaflair exterior finish with an Ebony interior, featuring a Midnight Sapele wood trim Package. The gearbox was the 6-speed manual. The base sticker was set at $63,215 while the Recaro high performance seats with heating and cooling and metal pedals, Navigation system with XM Nav-Traffic, V-specific sueded steering wheel and shift knob, 19-inch satin graphite finished alloy wheels, gas Guzzler tax and destination charge elevated the final tally to $71,185. before sales tax and license fees.
SUMMARY: The 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe is aggressive in its appearance as well as in its performance. Acceleration is blistering, with the ability to stop on a dime while offering change, and the ride quality, though firm, does not give up comfort. Steering is precise as well as predictable.
There will be those who prefer the Sedan over the Coupe, though I can't imagine why. Admittedly, the sedan provides easier rear seat access and a little more room, but the Coupe is so much more appealing and sexy. In the final analysis, the CTS-V Coupe is an exceptional luxury sport vehicle that is wickedly fast and quite plush, providing another seat and surroundings that are far more luxurious than the ZR1 Corvette -- and for a lot less money.
I have a favorite test road that invariably instills car-sickness for passengers, particularly my significant other, but she was fine and enjoyed the ride in the CTS-V Coupe immensely. The car's performance ultimately exceeded that of many more expensive sports cars.
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2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe: A serious luxury performance machine