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The expression “Yank tank” could have been coined for Cadillac, the American luxury brand whose history is filled with hulking motoring palaces that are ideal for cruising on US freeways but have foundered everywhere else.
Not the Cadillac CTS.
The car that will bring the American brand to Australia is taut, youthful and surprisingly good to drive.
For something built in America, the quality is surprisingly good.
And just like the gangster Chrysler 300C, the CTS will stand out in any crowd. In a good way.
The CTS will go on sale here in the final quarter of the year with a starting price in the $75,000 range, which will put it up against a range of rivals, including BMW's 5 Series and the Lexus GS.
Its arrival is part of a strategy for GM Premium Brands that began with Saab, grew with Hummer and will reach its full potential with Cadillac.
The plan is to eventually have a broad spread of luxury cars and four-wheel drives from throughout the General Motors world, all banded together in Australia in a network of premium dealerships.
The Cadillac plan was revealed more than two years ago and, at the time, looked wildly ambitious. There was nothing international about the Cadillac family — despite promises of a new generation of global cars — that would work in Australia.
The first of the global Cadillacs is the second-generation CTS — for compact touring sedan — and it was previewed to the Australian press last week during a drive from San Diego to Palm Springs in California.
It made a strong impression, from the bold styling to the roomy cabin and enjoyable driving, and proved the global approach to Cadillac development.
To the best of anyone's knowledge, Cadillac cars have not been sold in Australia by an official importer for more than 70 years. There have been Caddys on the road, mostly the ghastly '70s limousines, but they were granddad cars that were ugly in every way.
The chief engineer on the CTS program, Liz Pilibosian, knows all about the challenges in creating something special and says Cadillac has made a fundamental change.
“We're in the game now. This was a global car from the beginning,” she says.
“It is much easier to start from the beginning. There is less need to rework things.
“You have to make sure you are satisfying your global customer. And you need to understand them.”
So who will be buying a CTS sedan, or the CTS wagon and coupe that will eventually follow?
“It's an affluent buyer in a country like Japan or China, but in America it is a middle-class person, and that's probably the same in Australia,” Pilibosian says. “It's for the entrepreneur, for the up-and-coming person. They are looking for more than just transport.”
She says the CTS was always intended to be a European-style drive, despite its aggressively American design. That meant a total commitment from the 500-plus people who worked on the program.
“The biggest challenge was engineering the car while keeping the styling,” she says. “We had to make sure we emulated the design we were given, and that doesn't always happen.
“We basically worked with two cars, the previous-generation BMW 5 series for steering, handling and ride. And we looked at Audi for fit and finish.”
So the shape is the same as the CTS concept car revealed at last year's Detroit Motor Show and the mechanical package is built around a 3.6-litre V6 engine, a six-speed automatic gearbox, rear-wheel drive and a roomy four-seat cabin.
The engine is basically the same as the one used in the VE Commodore, but picks up high-pressure direct fuel injection and other tweaks to lift output to 227kW and 370Nm.
The chassis is a wide-track layout with independent control at all corners — with two suspension settings — and there is switchable electronic stability control and anti-skid brakes.
The safety package runs to six airbags, though a costly pedestrian-friendly bonnet will not make it to Australia. The car is also available with a keyless entry system, Bose sound system with 40GB hard drive, LED interior lighting and a lot more.
Satnav is fitted for the US, but will not be coming here because of a conflict in mapping. The 2009 model cars will land here with a a paddle gearshift change and some other tweaking.
Parveen Batish, GM Premium Brands boss in Australia, says: “We have not finalised the specification or the pricing. That will happen closer to the on-sale date.”
Work on the CTS is continuing, with new features and a tough emphasis on safety.
Pilibosian says she is committed to making the '09 model even better.
But she is happy with what the Cadillac team has produced and is looking forward to the next full model change on the CTS.
“There is always room for improvement. The current car is really close to a 10, for what we wanted. But I know what I'm going to do in the next program,” she says.
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