On Wheels

The new Cadillac CTS really surprised me. I suppose I should have seen it coming; with the success of mid-sized luxury/sport sedans from overseas, the Big Three have been trying to crack the market for a long time. Lincoln's effort, the MKZ, is quite a long way off-base, possibly the right vehicle for Lincoln but not the best way to get the attention of the sport-luxury public, so to speak.

Cadillac presents the world's first fuel-saving hybrid powertrain in a large luxury SUV. The innovative 2-Mode Hybrid system delivers more than a 50-percent improvement in fuel economy in city driving, while delivering the style, features and capability that have made Escalade an icon.

Thanks to all of the big news about Cadillac's high-performance V-series cars, the upcoming all-new CTS and its expansion in the European market, the updated STS sedan kind of snuck up on me. But just like that, one showed up in my driveway, a familiar design with a bigger grille and a more expressive face, and the acres of leather and class that Cadillac is known for.

At first, no one wanted to take the Cadillac Escalade seriously. Just a badge-engineered Suburban, they said--it was as bad an idea as the Cimarron.

During our week with the Cadillac XLR, the word 'slab' popped to mind a lot. This car exudes a singular sense of purpose, a confidence of its place in the world. If you discovered a vast brick of pure 'Cadillac' in a GM warehouse somewhere, and sliced yourself off a good-sized chunk, it would probably look a lot like the XLR.

Ah, the holidays. What better time to have a vehicle as versatile and capable as the Cadillac SRX in the driveway? We don't necessarily like the fuel consumption associated with V8-powered SUVs, but there aren't many times of year that reaffirm the usefulness of these popular behemoths.