Monday, October 20, 2014


Celebrity Drive: Seether's Dale Stewart and his Cadillac CTS-V


By on 9:44 PM

Quick Stats: Dale Stewart, bass guitarist, Seether
Daily Driver: 2010 Cadillac CTS-V (Dale's rating: 8 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Favorite road trip: Angeles Crest Highway
Car he learned to drive in: beach buggy
First car bought: 1992 Honda Civic

Always looking for the next car to buy, Dale Stewart, the bassist for South African rock band Seether, bought his used 2010 Cadillac CTS-V in 2011, and it's his favorite car to date.

"It's my first American car," says the South African-born Stewart, who rates the car an 8. "I think it's probably the one I enjoy most out of everything and the most practical at the same time. I had a Maserati GranSport before, and the car itself was finicky -- I always felt like I was going to break or damage something -- so I wanted something I could almost not feel sorry for, a real workhorse."

Stewart also wanted a car that was still fun but more practical and had trunk space. "I love that giant V-8. It sounds like a monster. I love the way it drives. I love the two personalities -- it's like Jekyll and Hyde. You can cruise along with the AC and the radio on in complete comfort, and then you can go into the mountains and put it in Sport mode and it becomes a sports car. It's really the best of both worlds for me."
There are only a few things he dislikes about the car. "On the steering wheel I think they could have paddles on there," he says. "They could have put a start button instead of this weird key thing because it's got the electronic key, but that's just nitpicky. I'm actually incredibly pleased with the car. I've been looking around for a long time. This is the longest I've ever owned a car."

Before this purchase, Stewart looked at the BMW M5 as well as the Jaguar XFR. "What sold me at the end of the day was the value for money. It's an M5 killer for two-thirds the price, and I prefer the aesthetics of the car from the outside, as well," he says. "I didn't like American cars for a long time. But I feel like finally they're getting it together now. They're really starting to compete with the Germans and the Italians and everyone else."

Stewart enjoys having nice rides, but he's also cost-conscious, so he always buys used, except for his motorcycles, which he purchases new. "I'm always on the market looking at what I need to get next," he says. "I'll be looking at 911 Turbos now, thinking maybe that's the next step. I'm always changing my mind and seeing what's new that comes out. It's not a solid rule. I think I'm like that because I guess I'm kind of thrifty. Not that I'm a cheapskate. I'll get something decent. If I can get the same car for 20 percent less, I'm certainly going to go for that option. "

He admits there is a balance between being frugal and stingy. "You don't want to worry too much about things and try to cut corners too much," he says. "You need some of your fun and to reward yourself for hard work, but I find it very hard to waste money."

Car he learned to drive in
"The car I really learned to drive in was a beach buggy, like a VW-based fiberglass beach buggy," Stewart says, adding it was either a late 1960s or a mid-1970s VW Beetle. "I just know it's a 1.6, and if you can master the clutch on the VW bug, then I think you can drive just about anything."
Stewart grew up in Pretoria, South Africa, and he could easily find some back streets to practice driving. "I'd drive down the quiet streets and try not to get pulled over by the cops. And it was pretty quiet where I grew up. It wasn't really an issue."

The street-legal beach buggy belonged to his dad, and although his dad had a pickup truck, the beach buggy was the car he trusted then-high-school student Stewart to learn in. "We used to take it down to the beach on vacation," he says. "It was funny because with the engine in the back and being all fiberglass, if you dropped the clutch or try to race someone away from a traffic light, the front wheels kick off the ground, which was fun."

Not long after learning how to drive -- and before he got his driver's license -- Stewart's dad helped him buy a Fiat Uno. "I used to try to sneak around in that, which probably wasn't the best idea. But I loved that car. I've never felt pride like having my own car for the first time."

Trukania.com
Judul: Celebrity Drive: Seether's Dale Stewart and his Cadillac CTS-V
Review oleh: Tukang Coding |
Update pada: 9:44 PM | Rating: 4.5

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