Staff photographer Scott Jacobs had a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience with our Seville during its final month with our staff. In and out of town for much of the past four weeks, Jacobs drove the car three times, and had different impressions during each jaunt behind the wheel.

According to Jacobs, he aged 30 years upon entering the Seville for the first time, likening the car to a "big block of American steel." Make that an unattractive hunk of metal. Our Caddy's clean looks did not appeal to our driver. He carped about how heavy the car felt, saying it reminded him of a 1970s luxo-boat. "I knew this wasn't my kind of car when a kindly elderly woman at the car wash told me how much she liked my Caddy." And this comment came despite the lack of a dealer-installed vinyl roof!

Then, after a long night without sleep and a cross-country flight straight out of a Stephen King novel, Jacobs found our spacious, comfortable Cadillac soothing. The next day, as he jetted north on Interstate 5 to San Francisco, his jet lag faded as he listened to the fine sounding Bose 4.0 sound system. He was not happy, however, that the car was programmed to engage the "Spacious" DSP sound mode and he had to keep shutting it down manually.

Returning from San Fran, Jacobs was tired and grumpy, finding numerous faults with the Cadillac. The peeling paint on the steering wheel buttons was irksome, the gap between the wood and the top of the dash (where another staffer had been able to unfasten the dash top trim without hand tools) was bothersome, and the brakes were not performing as expected, offering little feedback or stopping power. Wheel slop common to the MagnaSteer steering gear irritated, as did the front suspension, which chattered over bumps and wallowed on the open road.

Finally, Jacobs took a long ride to discern what he liked about the Seville. The powerful V8 engine, which has been consistently praised for its effortless power, won him over. Dual-zone climate controls made passengers with different ideas of perfect cabin temperature happy. And Scott appreciated little things like the penholder in the glovebox, the easy-access disc changer in the center console and the flexible cargo net with multiple anchors for a wide variety of uses.

Overall, Scott summed his feelings up thusly: "My attitude about the car was dependent on my mood at the time. Right now, as I write this, I don't like it. Talk to me in a week and see if I've changed my mind."

In preparation for returning the vehicle at the end of the lease, we had the Cadillac serviced by Martin Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC in Santa Monica, Calif., to provide some insight regarding long-standing complaints. We asked the dealer to investigate the driveline shudder some drivers have reported, as well as check our braking system for trouble and see what was causing a rough idle. We had the stereo speakers checked to see what the source of a rattle was, and the dash top clipped back into place. We also had the steering wheel-mounted stereo controls replaced.

Turns out our driveline shudder was the result of an engine mount that had separated and was leaking, so that got replaced. While under the hood, technicians at the dealership found our Northstar V8 to be down 3 quarts of oil (the "check oil level" dash warning had come on just prior to our visit). No leaks were detected, and the dealer topped off the motor's lifeblood. A new speaker was ordered to rid the Seville of the buzz in the sound system, and according to our service advisor, this is a common problem. Our braking system checked out to be within GM specs for proper operation, and the dash top was snugged down nice and tight. We also got new steering wheel stereo controls, but the rough idle problem did not repeat itself under the dealership's care.

As we departed Martin Cadillac-Pontiac-GMC after a friendly and fruitful visit, we noticed that a segment of our third brake light was burned out, but we left it that way. The car was turned in to the leasing company shortly thereafter. Still, our editorial assistant, who has taken charge of servicing several of our long-term vehicles, is perplexed by the service at Martin and the construction of GM products in general. Wrote she in the logbook, "I still find myself unsure of how to approach some of the recurring problems we have had with the GM long-term vehicles - was Martin Cadillac unable to detect the rough idle and poor braking in the Seville or the loose, vibrating steering in the Sierra (after two tries) due to the technician's haste or lack of attention, or are these problems all caused by the manufacturer's faulty construction of the vehicles?"

Check in next month to read a roundup of our thoughts and feelings after two years with Cadillac's somewhat star-crossed Seville.

Current Odometer: 37,672
Best Fuel Economy: 21.5 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.3 mpg
Body Repair Costs: $0
Maintenance Costs: $39 (brake inspection fee)
Problems: Weak brakes with little pedal feel, rough idle, burned out brake light.