2008 Cadillac DTS

Old-School Cool

The Cadillac DTS is a throwback to the days when the cars coming out of Detroit were sexy and sinister.

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Do you think that I am someone dumb?

You can't cut 20 inches off my favorite tracks.

This ain't no Caddy, man. I want my money back.

Those lines kick off Michigan R&B singer Dick Siegel's 1980 album "Snap!" The song is "Downsize Blues," in which Siegel bemoans the shrinking of Cadillacs that began in 1975.

Big-bodied, big-engined gas guzzlers had been the business of General Motors' Cadillac division for decades, but the energy crises of the 1970s forced the brand to downsize. The Cadillac Seville — introduced in 1975 — was a compact sedan, which was smaller than other Cadillacs. Going into the 1980s, Cadillac had shortened its DeVille and Fleetwood Brougham models. And in 1981, Cadillac introduced the forgettable Cimarron, which was the company's smallest-engined car since before 1910.

These days, Cadillac continues to forsake its history as a maker of elegant boulevard cruisers. Compact and zippy modern Cadillacs, such as the newly redesigned CTS sedan, are more like European or Japanese cars than your grandfather’s Cadillac.

It's not that we don't like the new Cadillacs. We think the latest CTS is fantastic, and when you consider the Escalade model line, the excellent STS sedan and SRX sport utility vehicle, Cadillac probably has the most consistently solid lineup of any American automaker. It's just that we miss the long and sinister Cadillacs of old.

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Cadillac, like other luxury automakers, has been building sportier, more energetic rear-wheel-drive sedans. But as a large front-wheel-drive luxury sedan, the DTS is a remnant of another era. It's built more for comfort than speed. President George W. Bush rides around in a DTS limousine. It's easy to feel powerful when you drive this car.

Luxury and comfort are the prevailing impressions left by the DTS. When we drive a BMW 7 Series Sedan, the steering and engine leave more of an impression than the quality of the interior. The opposite is true here.

The DTS’s cabin is a great place to be. Cadillac clearly paid attention to fit and finish, which are on par with the finest luxury vehicles from Europe and Japan. Good-looking and nice-feeling touches like burl-wood trim complement sophisticated features like a heated steering wheel and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

As for performance, the DTS is not supposed to be a BMW. The steering wheel's lack of feedback keeps you more isolated from the road surface than a BMW's does, and the ride is considerably softer.

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But the DTS also has power when you need it. In passing maneuvers on two-lane roads, the V8 roars and accelerates confidently. No, it doesn’t have 300 horsepower like so many other luxury sedans, but speed is not the point. The point is to have enough power to get you in front of other cars and then back on the cruise control.

The DTS achieves a balance of subtlety and — thanks to its sharp-cornered exterior — attitude. We love how the DTS looks from the outside, with its aggressive grille, crisp character lines and angular rear end. When a friend first saw our test model, he gave it the highest compliment a twenty-something could give: "This thing is so pimp."

But when you get inside the car, you don't feel sinister. You feel like you are in command of the world and riding in style — a little like the President of the United States.

— This review is based on a previous version of the Cadillac DTS that is nearly identical to the current one.

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