Updated - 2008 Cadillac CTS revealed
General Motors has revealed the 2008 Cadillac CTS — an all-new version of its popular midsize sedan, on display at the Detroit auto show this week. The new model is wider and longer than its predecessor, with a 113-inch wheelbase the only unchanged measurement. Some of the most noticeable changes come to the interior, which GM promises will be extremely competitive with European rivals.



The base model features a 3.6-liter variable-valve-timing V6 with 258 horsepower. A direct-injection version offers 300 horsepower. GM is expected to introduce a high-performance CTS-V for the 2009 model year at a later date.



Like its predecessor, the 2008 CTS is offered with rear- or all-wheel-drive. Some suspension, braking, and steering improvements from last year's CTS-V have been added to the standard CTS. Optional features include iPod integration, swiveling headlights, Bose premium audio, and remote start.

Leave it to folks at Cadillac—they seem to know where they’re going and what they’ve got to do to get there. General Motors’ flagship division, reborn shortly after the turn of this century with a striking, angular family look, must keep its momentum going. The debut of a redesigned 2008 CTS at this week’s North American International Auto Show points up that they are not likely to suffer a sophomore jinx.

Scheduled for a late-summer U.S. launch, the anything-but-conservative CTS will be exported worldwide in the fall. Eyeing beyond North America’s horizons, out across the oceans, Caddy is spoiling for a fight; if it is to succeed it will be thanks to its all-American character and polarizing style.

“The core value for this vehicle has been style. It allows for the separation and the differentiation from others in the luxury group,” says Cadillac’s Jim Taylor, an engineer by training, a marketing man by design and the one who leads the division spiritually and aesthetically. “CTS has built a strong record of success on many levels,” Taylor says. “It has exceeded our goals for sales volume, set new design trends, won championships in racing and earned awards for quality and customer satisfaction.” This new CTS appears to take the next step.

Cadillac sold more than 61,000 CTS models in the U.S. in 2005, compared to roughly 38,000 in 2002, an increase of 60 percent. For 2006 through the first 11 months in which data are available, Caddy is just slightly off its 2005 pace, which in this day is almost a win. Roughly 275,000 CTS owners exist worldwide, and Cadillac research says those owners are among the most satisfied in the market.

Visually, the five-passenger sedan has the stuff to please them all. The CTS carries a two-inch wider track (to fit its optional all-wheel-drive system); the increased stance gives it a better tire-to-wheel-well relationship. Its profile is more rakish, thanks in part to a grille virtually lifted from the Cadillac Sixteen concept. The large chrome grille is upright and gives CTS a more in-your-face attitude than before. A large Caddy wreath-and-crest badge finishes a face balanced with stacked headlights fitted with jewel-like bezels. Fog lamps flank a low air opening and brake duct intakes. If this second-generation CTS evokes anything, it is that designers are eager to integrate Cadillac’s legacy design cues.

Side air extractors forward of the front doors are another visual cue that something different lurks beneath. Brightwork details include chrome around side windows and chromed exhaust outlets.

Even at the rear, with vertical taillights, designers integrated this reborn Cadillac style; its decklid carries the angular theme with the slightest hint of a high-performance spoiler.

CTS’ design evolution follows inside with cues that hint of greater performance and luxury. That might sound like superfluous PR speak, but it is not: This interior exceeds expectations, reaching far beyond the values of the car it replaces. This new CTS is a living beauty; if you were to climb behind the wheel of both generation cars, not a single person would choose the older model. It’s that dramatic.

Change was affected by several factors. First was ideology. Corporate powers finally understood the demand to spend money on a car’s living environment to make it aesthetically, emotionally and dynamically competitive. That meant no scrimping on materials. Why? People—customers—live in cars. Customers want that time to be exceptional; that won’t be the case if they’re cocooned in fake-aluminum, plastic-touch, fossil-fuel-based materials. So Cadillac invested in technology, materials and construction to make the CTS cabin a blend of precise tailoring and character.

The upper instrument panel and door trim surfaces are hand-cut, sewn and wrapped by craftsmen; this cut-and-sew execution gives CTS a tailored feel. The good news for all Cadillac owners is it is now so well received that it is Cadillac’s

future design edict. Analog instruments are tightly framed and get bright accents. An

integrated center stack, in satin metallic finish or wood, blends into the lower instrument panel; it sweeps forward and away from front-seat occupants. A hand-assembled center console leads to a center stack that imparts a cockpit-like feel. The center console accepts iPods or other digital music media via a USB port; no, that’s not entirely new technology, but it is a capability that helps to bring Cadillac’s age profile down.

Continuing inside, a 300-watt, 10-speaker Bose stereo system is optional; an eight-speaker Bose system is standard. A DVD-based navigation unit calculates routes 30 percent faster than today’s GM devices, according to Cadillac.

Clean, white ambient light emitting diode (LED) backlighting is set in the door pulls and footwells and recessed between upper and lower instrument panels.

So that’s what the outside and inside look like, but if it won’t perform it won’t sell either in the U.S. or as an export. A new 3.6-liter direct-injection V6 with an estimated 300 hp and 270 lb-ft of torque is new to CTS and becomes the top engine option. This powerplant joins an existing 3.6-liter V6 with 258 hp and 252 ft-lb of torque; the lesser-powered engine doesn’t have the direct injection, which assists not only

in increasing power and torque, but also extends the fuel range. A 210-hp 2.8-liter V6 comes only on the rear-drive export model.

To go up against the Euro-lux competition, CTS gets an all-wheel-drive option for the first time. Additionally, two transmission choices are available as six-speeds—an Aisin manual or, new for CTS, a Hydra-Matic 6L50 automatic.

Anyone who says Cadillac isn’t serious about taking on Audi, Mercedes and BMW on these shores or at their front door hasn’t seen this new weapon in the GM arsenal. On paper, and on the show floor, it looks as competitive as anything available. Now if only the Caddy designers could create a CTS Coupe or Estate version for Europe, they’d truly be able to go toe to toe.