Cadillac leaves past behind

A few years ago, Cadillac decided to move to a different neighborhood, predominantly German.

It had existed comfortably for many years in American suburbs and resort communities, rubbing rocker panels with Lincolns and, occasionally, Chryslers.

The neighborhood was populated mainly by older folks, some with money, but also by people willing to stretch their finances to drive the “Standard of the World.”

It had worked for many years. Then the Germans, and even the Japanese, started picking away at Cadillac’s customers, especially those who had advanced financially but not necessarily in years. Soon the venerable American luxury-car builder was being eclipsed by the Germans: Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and even Lexus of Japan.

As recently as 2003, U.S. buyers went home with 186,553 Mercedes-Benzes and 200,144 BMWs, compared with 151,298 Cadillacs. If you add in trucks, Cadillac came in fourth overall, behind Lexus. Lincoln was an also-ran.

Faced with the foreign competition, Cadillac branched out, first into trucks and, later, into performance-oriented automobiles that bore almost no resemblance to the floaty Fleetwoods and DeVilles of yore.

Its intention was to move in on the Germans and capture some of their buyers.

The first of the new cars was the CTS, with edgy styling and rear-wheel drive, reversing years of Cadillacs with front-wheel drive. Though a bit bigger, it was designed to compete with the 3-Series BMW, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Audi A4 and the Lincoln LS.

For 2004, Cadillac raised the ante with the high-performance CTS-V, with a 400-horsepower version of the same V-8 engine that powers the Chevrolet Corvette sports car. It comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, heretofore nonexistent at Cadillac, and exhibits the same sort of hot-rod luxury persona as the high-performance M-tuned cars at BMW, the AMG models from Mercedes-Benz and the S models from Audi.

The folks at Cadillac also brought out the new XLR, a luxury two-seat roadster that competes with the SL Mercedes and the 6-Series BMW, and a luxury crossover utility vehicle, the SRX, which goes up against the ML-Class Mercedes-Benz, the Lexus RX330 and the BMW X-5.

For 2005, the neighborhood becomes even more integrated with the introduction of the new Cadillac STS — another departure from the past.

A rear-drive mid-size car, it replaces the front-drive Seville, and displays a muted version of the edgy styling on the CTS and CTS-V. It also is available with all-wheel drive. Lest anyone think that Cadillac will abandon the geriatric set, it continues to build the front-drive DeVille in both luxury and touring versions.

The new STS debuts in three versions: with a 255-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6 engine and rear-wheel drive, and with the 400-horsepower, 5.7-liter V-8, either with rear-drive or the tested all-wheel drive. Its passenger space is midsized, and it is aimed at the BMW 5-Series, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Audi A6.

Now that Cadillac is firmly established in the German neighborhood, it also has adopted some of the pricing. The V-6 model of the STS starts out north of $40,000, and the tested all-wheel-drive V-8 has a base price of $49,395 and, with options, came in at a breathtaking $62,510.

Not surprisingly, that covers a whole bunch of luxury and performance stuff, including stability control, Cadillac’s magnetic ride control, tire-pressure monitors, side air bags and side-curtain air bags, a navigation system, premium audio with six-disc CD changer and XM satellite radio, automatic climate control, real polished wood in the steering wheel and interior trim, leather upholstery, ultrasonic rear parking assist, heated seats and Bluetooth communications.

The powerful V-8 engine — zero to 60 comes up in under six seconds — is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission with a manual shift mode.

With a taut suspension system and precise steering, the STS feels more like a sports than a luxury sedan — as was intended. The all-wheel-drive system is seamless and unobtrusive. Road imperfections get the tires thumping, but the jolts are heard more than felt, so the ride is better than expected. There’s some road and engine noise — deliberate, the Cadillac engineers say, because they didn’t want a super-silent Lexus ambience — but the structure is tight and there’s little wind noise at speed.

For most people, the V-6 engine likely would be more than adequate. However, all-wheel drive is not available with the six, so people who live in weather-challenged areas will have to pop for the V-8 model.

Given its price point, the STS lacks a few amenities that are available on competitors’ cars. For example, the front headrests must be raised and lowered manually, where competitors have them motorized.

Access to the rear seat requires some twists of the torso, but once inside there’s space for two 6-footers — though there’s not an abundance of knee room. The center position in back is an uncomfortable perch.

Riders up front fare better, though the front bucket seats have an odd shape, with a bulge that protrudes directly between the shoulder blades. It’s weird at first, but after a brief relationship, the seats feel supportive and comfortable.