When he said “Cadillac” we thought he was nuts. As far as we knew he was all about the Euro’s. Rob has had 3 VWs in the few years we’ve known him and plenty more before that. We thought it must have been part of a running joke we weren’t privy to. Never did we figure he would go as far as pull the trigger and buy one but sure enough, Rob brought home a 2002 pearl white Cadillac STS Northstar V8. The “why” threw us for an even bigger loop. “The decision to go with Vogues was totally my idea and something I’ve wanted to do for literally a decade. I’ve always wanted a Caddy on Vogues.” Guess it was that simple… Or was it?
The price point on the car made it too easy not to pass up, especially knowing how much Rob would have to set aside for the white wall Vogue Tyres. The biggest difficulty came in sourcing the right wheel. “I didn’t want to go with a donk-style wheel or send off that hip-hop image. Pickings in the low-cost wheel market for Cadillac that didn’t scream ‘cheap’ were slim. Being an odd bolt pattern (5×115) made the search for a proper wheel that much harder. I realized I would have to start looking for alternative patterns and consider using wobble nuts.” Wobble nuts, or PCD (pitch circle diameter) variable nuts allow you to run a slightly different bolt patterned wheel on your vehicle without adapting or modifying the vehicle hub. The hardware allows for a few millimeters of PCD variance which opened up a few more options for Rob’s wheel selection. After weeks of mind numbing wheel searching online, Rob came across Vossen Wheels and their VVS-CV1. “I wanted some icing, but not bling” so a polished lip with painted center would be just the right look. The neutral color painted center would look good when clean and work with any other color should Rob decide to put these on another car. We feel he made the right choice! In a 20×9 they fill out those fenders nicely. (Vossen has since offered these in a 5×115 bolt pattern…)
“It’s funny because in the end the wheels & tires cost the same as the car but they completely transform it, making it look far more expensive & classy.” The fact Rob meticulously keeps the wheels and tires clean on a regular is certainly a large contributor to that. The caddy never sees an automatic car wash and is always washed by hand. The wheels and tires alone take Rob a couple of hours to clean as he scrubs the yellow and white on the sidewalls to keep them looking fresh and brilliant against those polished wheel lips!
It’s been two years and the car is still turning heads. “The really cool thing is the wide variety of people I’ll get a thumbs-up from. I’ve had quite a few senior citizens obviously stare and smile, but I also get some props from the young kid on the skate board, the black guy on the crotch rocket, and the cop directing traffic when the traffic light was out. Even my parents think it’s tasteful!” You know you’re doing it right when you win the approval of your parents!
See more images of Rob’s “Caddy on Vogues” in our album!
