Big. Stuffy. Garish. For years, Cadillac has been dogged by adjectives like these, and some far worse. Once the most prestigious marque in the country, Cadillac's famous wreath and crest is no longer the emblem that tells the world that you have arrived. No, these days it's the BMW propeller, Mercedes-Benz star, Lexus L, Acura A, or Infiniti I that screams to the world that your investment portfolio, or at the very least your spotless credit rating, puts you in the top 10% of the country's financial hierarchy.
To be honest, owning a Cadillac, or American rivals Lincoln or Chrysler, is a sign that your ship came in about 15 or 20 years ago. It seems that the American land yacht has fallen out of favor with everyone except retirement community residents, good-old-boy country club members, and fleet buyers for our nation's limousine companies. Were it not for aging Republicans or the governmental requirement to buy American when outfitting the federal limo fleet, we would have seen the end of these behemoths long ago.
The Big Three have made some noble attempts at updating their luxury offerings, and none have tried harder than Cadillac to broaden the scope of their vehicles' appeal. Remember the Cimarron? It was designed to bring striving yuppies into the showroom by offering Cadillac prestige at an entry-level price. Unfortunately for Cadillac, the Cimarron was based on the plebeian Chevrolet Cavalier, and no self-respecting yuppie would have been caught dead in a Cavalier. Then there was the Allante. Cadillac did a surprisingly good job putting together a two-seater convertible, but not many people think of Cadillac when buying a two-seater convertible. The resultantly poor sales were enough to cancel the Allante's production in 1993.
Cadillac has had a few hits, though, and the redesigned Seville and Eldorado, with their amazing Northstar engines, have somewhat revitalized this company's ailing image. Still getting whooped by the imports, Cadillac has once again decided to use a little sleight-of-hand to entice near-luxury buyers. Unlike the Cimarron, Cadillac's latest offering is based on a car that lends itself to luxury. The Catera is sold in Europe through the General Motors subsidiary Opel as the Omega. Designed in Germany for a European market, the Omega was a natural choice for Cadillac to bring to these shores to compete with those pesky BMWs, Volvos, and Mercedes that have been stealing their piece of the pie for so long. A few tasteful pieces of chrome, upgraded upholstery, and some snazzy wheels were all it took to transform this beautiful bahn-stormer into Cadillac's near-luxury sports sedan.
Cadillac is worried, however, that this car may alienate traditional Cadillac buyers. The Catera doesn't isolate drivers from road and engine sounds like the Cadillac De Ville, nor does it lend itself to landau tops, and opera lights like the Seville SLS. And, unlike the rest of the Cadillac lineup, it doesn't come with V-8 power. That is, of course, the point of the Catera. Cadillac is using it to court a market that it has left unnoticed for years. A market that is young, affluent, and that actually likes to drive. A market that didn't listen to FDR's fireside chats on the radio when they were growing up. A market that will be buying cars for years to come. A market that will carry Cadillac into the next century!
Yes indeed, the Catera is truly the Caddy that zigs. It has a powerful V-6 engine, rear-wheel drive, defeatable traction control, anti-lock brakes, and a sport-mode automatic transmission that actually shifts sportily. The suspension is nicely tuned to soak up bumps without removing the driver from contact with the road, and the engine sounds are almost musical. The Catera has a wonderful dashboard with clear gauges that bathe the car in a soft red glow at night, and large easy-to-use buttons and knobs for the stereo and climate controls. In short, this is a Cadillac that won't disappoint buyers who have previously owned a Lexus or Infiniti.
The Catera looks unlike any other Cadillac on the market, and prompted a few questions from neighbors about what the car was. Its flowing shape, restrained use of chrome, compact (compared to most Cadillacs) size, and beautiful polished aluminum wheels left people guessing about its origins. When people were told that it was the new Cadillac, they would squint their eyes, turn their head sideways, and try and figure it all out. "Oh well," they'd say, "I like it anyhow."
The interior of the Catera is absolutely delightful with the exception of a few problem areas. The cupholders are flimsy and are an obvious afterthought. They flip out of the center console, thereby negating much of its usable space when not in use, and they block the area where the driver's arm would rest during casual interstate cruising. The gearshift lever is totally out of place in a car of this caliber; it feels wobbly and loose and the silly S, for sport mode, on the top looks like a bargain-basement decal that a second grader would put on their soapbox racer. We also wish that the Catera had better over-the-shoulder visibility; the tall headrests make it difficult to see what is behind the car when backing up. A couple things that bothered our managing editor, Chris Wardlaw, were horn buttons instead of a horn pad, and a cruise control lever which he found too easy to activate unintentionally. (This editor, however, thought that the Catera's cruise control was the most sensible, easy-to-use system he's ever encountered.) Our final complaint is about an irritating plastic-on-plastic squeak that came from the area where the dashboard and the driver's door panel come together. We don't know what caused the sound, but it drove us batty every time we heard it. These complaints, however, are negligible when compared to everything we did like about the interior.
Bigger inside than the BMW 5-Series and the Lexus ES300, the Catera wraps its occupants in a cozy, comfortable space. Rear seat passengers will love the outstanding leg and head room, and front seat passengers will appreciate the multi-adjustable seats that make finding the perfect driving position quick and easy. The trunk has enough room to carry a foursome's belongings for a ski weekend, the lockable ski pass-through aids this, and the low liftover makes it easy to load groceries. The Catera's moonroof is ideal, the one-step opening procedure is unmatched in its lucidity, and when open the moonroof refrains from howling or shrieking, a characteristic all too common in many cars. We also went gaga over the outstanding Bose stereo system, which is one of the best we've ever tested.
We think that it's important that the Catera's interior is so nice, because this is a car that drivers will want to spend some quality time in. Driving the Catera consists of gripping a meaty steering wheel, and shoving the responsive go-pedal to the floor. When launching, the Catera lets loose with a refined roar to let you know that something good is happening. The car sticks to the road well, considering its hefty size, although we wish that it had less body roll through tight corners. This isn't the type of car that you are likely to want to hang the tail out in, but it comports itself well when driven sensibly. We really liked the Catera's brakes, and they did an excellent job stopping the car from high speeds. Overall, we think that drivers accustomed to luxury performance sedans from Asia and Europe will not be disappointed with this car's easy driveability and sporty character.
This in mind, it doesn't necessarily mean the Catera will be successful. Before that can happen, the American driving public needs to get over their fear of walking into a Cadillac dealership to look for something fun to drive. After years of seeing their grandparents tooling lazily along in Fleetwood's, Broughams, and De Villes, this may be harder than Cadillac thinks. Also, Cadillac has to consider that this car may not be a hit with its traditional buyers, those that buy Cadillacs because of their heft, girth and content level rather than their performance on the road. Nonetheless, we don't hesitate to recommend this car to anyone thinking about stepping up to the near-luxury plate. It competes admirably against cars that we have grown accustomed to holding up as the standard, and it costs thousands less than most of its competitors, while offering more size and a smorgasbord of standard equipment. So don't be afraid, march into that Caddy dealership down the street and take one for a ride. You might just buy a wonderful new car.
