Our long-term Seville found itself caught in the typical Midwestern holiday hustle and bustle this past month, serving as the Clor family's shopping and holiday visit chariot. It rolled up a surprising 1400 miles during constant trips to and fro in the busy weeks preceding the holidays, averaging better than 15 miles per gallon in the process. It also saw its first snowfall in Detroit -- a frosty 3-inch flurry that slickened roads for a day and resulted in a scattering of fender-benders across the metro area.

With the frigid temperatures, the Caddy's quick-to-warm-up Northstar V8 was much appreciated. Both front and rear window defrosters work fairly well and the dual-zone climate controls help keep Mamacita Clor toasty warm on her side without frying Papa Clor on his. The trunk pass-through proved handy when Santa purchased a new goalie's stick for one of Clor's sons, and the trunk never failed to swallow the spoils from even the most extravagant shopping outings.

With the Caddy's front-wheel-drive and superb traction control system, driving even on slick roads isn't a problem like it is with other 300-or-so-horsepower V8 vehicles out there. The Clor's saw both a Trans Am and an SVT Lightning slide in and out of traffic during the one big snow day -- and felt glad they had the Seville. It tracks well, and careful throttle modulation makes it easy to put down power when you need it.

Even though this is a comfortable car, the Clors find the seatbelts to be somewhat clumsy to use and snap, the latch needing to be quite square to the buckle before they line up enough to make positive engagement. That means mom and the kids sometimes need a few extra seconds to buckle up, with a "what's up with this seatbelt?" making its way to the driver's ears once in a while.

Mechanically, the Seville is OK for a car with nearly 30K on its ticker. But Clor swears the front-end still shudders every once in a while during slow takeoff. And the use of key fobs 1 and 2 still don't always revert to pre-set driver memory positions. Furthermore, that Velcro-attached storage bin mounted to right-front kick panel still falls off occasionally. This despite our dealer's single attempt to repair all three concerns.

To their credit, the dealer folks called to ask if we were satisfied with their repair work. We told our local Caddy dealer -- Don Gooley Cadillac Inc. of St. Clair Shores, Mich. -- that we had no problem with the brake work and oil change. But we also said that the other three issues weren't a big enough problem to warrant the time needed to schedule more repair work. These are not horrible service nightmares, mind you, just disappointments for a car that costs upwards of 50 big ones.

But the biggest problem they faced with the car this month was nothing worse than picking up a few nails and suffering a flat tire. About a block from home the Clors heard the rumble of a low tire, and by the time they pulled into the driveway the left-rear rubber was flat.

Not wishing to incur the cost and wait involved with calling Cadillac Roadside Assistance and having them take off the offending tire, but not wanting to remain stranded in the driveway with only three rolling wheels either, the Clors decided to change the tire themselves. In an effort to save time, Clor rolled out his trusty floor jack from the garage rather than read up on how to use the factory unit. Once the fake lug caps were removed and exposed the lugs, and once he found the wheel lock key in the trunk compartment to remove the one locking lug nut, it was time to raise the Caddy and remove the wheel.

Once a suitable jacking point was determined, John pumped the left-rear high enough to pull the flat. A close look at a well-worn tire tread revealed no less than two nails that had found their way into the belt. Clor's wife threw the tire in the back of the family's minivan and ran it up to nearby Rick Gram's Amoco in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., for repair. The station mechanic pulled both nails and put in tubeless plugs while Mrs. Clor waited, and before tossing it back in her van, he had called John to say it was time to buy new tires, as the tread is nearing the "wear bars." Once home, it was only a matter of a few minutes before the tire was back on, the lugs were tightened and the wheel lock reinstalled.

So now it looks like the Seville could need some tires soon. They'll leave that decision for the crew in Los Angeles, as the Caddy is leaving Detroit for life on the Left Coast. The Clor's windshield chip repair guy also told them that it is too cold outside to have a mobile repair done, so that little concern will be left for the L.A. staff as well.

Overall, the Seville served the Clor clan quite well during its time in Detroit. It's a stylish, powerful and comfortable car that commands respect. It is also expensive and has lots of gizmos to drive you crazy. Despite Clor's nitpicking over precious little storage space for CD cases and lousy cupholders, the real appeal of this car lies under the hood. He's just not sure he'd pay 50K for it - even if he had 50K to spend in the first place.

Total Odometer Reading: 29,011
Best Fuel Economy: 17.9 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.1 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None.
Maintenance Costs: Tire repair (two tubeless plugs for two separate punctures in left-rear tire, off-car) $8. Problems: Flat tire repair (tire tread noted as worn; tires may need to be replaced soon). Otherwise, the front-end still shudders every once and a while during slow takeoff, the use of key fobs 1 and 2 still don't always revert to pre-set driver memory positions, and the storage bin mounted to right-front kick panel still falls off occasionally, despite our dealer's attempt at repair.