Overview & Reviews

Owned by General Motors, Cadillac is America's most prestigious domestic luxury automaker. For most of its existence, the company was known exclusively for its cushy, senior-friendly sedans, but in more recent years the automaker has revised and expanded its lineup in a successful effort to attract a new, younger generation. Cadillac's roster now includes SUVs (its Escalade is a favorite of both rappers and suburban moms), a crossover and even a high-performance wagon.

Born in 1902, Cadillac was founded by Henry Martyn Leland, a manufacturer of automotive components. He named the company after a noted French explorer who discovered Detroit in the early 1700s. Leland helped create one of the company's earliest offerings -- the Cadillac Osceola, noted for being the industry's first concept car and the first closed-body car made in America. Only one Osceola was made, but it helped spark a trend; closed bodies caught on and spread like wildfire through the industry.

Cadillac quickly gained a reputation for specializing in precise craftsmanship and for using standardized parts. The success of early Cadillacs like the Model A and the "30" made the brand a sales success, so much so that the automaker was purchased by General Motors in 1909. The marque became GM's luxury division, and its list of innovations grew. Cadillac was the first U.S. auto manufacturer to produce a V8, the first to use thermostatic control of a cooling system and the first to offer dash-controlled headlights. During the 1930s, the brand earned a strong reputation for producing powerful and smooth V12 and V16 engines.

Soon after World War II, Cadillac history hit a high point as its tailfinned and chrome-laden cars became the epitome of American postwar automotive style. Cadillac's tailfin took its cue from Lockheed's P38 Lightning Aircraft, and was the brainchild of designer Frank Hershey. Vehicles like the Coupe de Ville and Fleetwood El Dorado made Cadillac a staple in upscale neighborhoods and among the Hollywood set.

By the 1960s, Cadillac's flashy tailfins had given way to a new styling cue: vertical taillights. This attribute was in evidence on one of Cadillac's most successful new cars of that decade, the Fleetwood Sixty Special. The Fleetwood offered luxury features that were cutting-edge for its day, such as fold-down writing tables, footrests and a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel.

The gas crunch of the 1970s, however, started a downward trend for the company. Cadillac's Titanic-sized behemoths that ruled the highways in previous decades were increasingly out of touch and out of favor. Cadillac responded to the changing times by downscaling the dimensions of many vehicles in its lineup. Despite this smart maneuvering, the automaker's fortunes suffered in the late '70s when it unveiled a diesel engine that quickly earned a reputation for spotty performance.

The 1980s saw the redesign of the Seville, a vehicle whose unique bustle-back styling sparked a trend and inspired its share of imitators. That decade also witnessed the rollout of the Cimarron, a small car that was essentially a rebadged Chevy Cavalier, the latter an economy car not exactly known for excellence. Understandably, the Cimarron never caught on with the public. Things got worse when Cadillac launched a series of underpowered, unreliable V8s during the first half of that decade that, along with the notoriously unreliable diesel, cost the automaker thousands of customers, millions of dollars and immeasurable damage to its reputation.

By the early '90s, Cadillac started a major turnaround as it brought out redesigned, stylish models with vastly improved engines. Shortly after the new millennium bowed, the company adopted its "Art & Science" design philosophy. With styling cues that included sharp, almost severe lines and stacked headlamps, Art & Science was first seen on Cadillac's 1999 Evoq concept roadster. By the mid-2000s, this bold new look had reinvigorated the company's sales, and was seen on hits such as the Escalade SUV and the CTS sport sedan.

This fresh styling, coupled with improvements in performance and overall product quality, has done a great deal to help Cadillac recover much of its previous status. Today's Cadillacs, which include coupes, sedans, crossovers and SUVs, are known for offering powerful engines, chiseled lines, sharp handling and a full accoutrement of luxury features.

User Reviews:

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  10 years running - 1999 Cadillac Seville
  By Md driver - January 23 - 7:53 am

  I bought mine new in 1999. 10 years later its still going strong. 142,000 miles on it now. It had a few issues in the first 50,000 miles, all of which were covered under warranty, a leak in the trunk, the seat heater broke and a leak in the sun roof. right now the only issue is it needs a quart of oil between oil changes and the ABS needs repair.

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  American Dream - 2005 Cadillac Deville
  By merlincat - January 21 - 6:08 pm

  Bought out of an estate sale with only 24k on it. Virtually new 4 year old car. Its every thing a Caddy should be. Heavy, big, roomy, plush, and you can get 4 bodies in the trunk.It gives you that aaahhhh feeling at 80 floating down the interstate. She gets almost 29 mi/gal on cruise at 80 and thats in the Rockies at 7000 ft! So sad the big Caddys are going away for BMW size posers. I imagine they are fine cars but the American dream sled will be another thing we Americans did really well and quit. Got caught in a Colorado blizzard and the heavy 350 sitting over the front wheel drive made her move like an Abrahms tank through the snow. Amazing. If you can find a clean one, buy it!

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  Poor V6 Engine Quality - 2005 Cadillac SRX
  By Allen Mason - January 21 - 2:50 pm

  Bought the SRX in 05. I loved the car until Mar 08. First it ran hot was towed to dealer that replaced water pump for $300. 2 months later she was driving the car and it started shaking. She took it to the dealer that checked the oil and said it was over three quarts low. They added oil and charged $117. The engine never leaked or smoked, so where did the oil go. Thee dealer could not tell us . In 2 weeks the check engine light came on. Took to dealer who ran diagnostic and found a cyl was damaged due to low oil. The car was always serviced at dealer with Mobil 1. Tried to get new engine for $8000, but none found, even by two dealers. Finally had a local garage install a used one for $2,800

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  A very Sexy Look - 2004 Cadillac CTS
  By John santoro - January 21 - 2:00 am

  I have owed alot of cars and this is the best car ive bought.

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  2004 CTS - 2004 Cadillac CTS
  By JBamonte - January 21 - 2:00 am

  So far an excellent experience driving and maintaining.

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  Poor reliability - 2007 Cadillac CTS
  By Dianne - January 19 - 5:18 pm

  My CTS Cadillac is nothing but problems. Major engine repair at 5 months and issue for over a year. Then again Major engine issue at 19months! The car has been a nightmare and the dealership is even worse to deal with in this regard. I would never buy another Cadillac nor deal with GM. I cant believe the poor level of customer service and then the poor level of quality of the car. I do like the style and look of the car, but it is a poor, poor quality car. It is upsetting as you expect a Cadillac to be the best, not the worse!

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  Fantastic Car - 2000 Cadillac Deville
  By George - January 18 - 1:09 pm

  Love to drive this car great handling and comfort. But had problems with head gaskets had to replace them and oil leak. It does burn oil. Would love to have a newer model without head gasket problems and oil use.

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  Great truck - 2005 Cadillac Escalade
  By great truck - January 17 - 8:48 pm

  We have a 2005 Escalade that we love and have never had any trouble with. We travel a lot and always take the Escalade. We also have a Range Rover sport and the comfort is nothing compared to the Caddy. Never any trouble with the Caddy, but feel the 2008 are getting terrible reviews and we dont know what to buy next. Looking at the Mercedes GL450. If you have an older Escalade, they were made much nicer than the new ones.

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  Dont buy one - 2005 Cadillac SRX
  By john - January 16 - 4:33 pm

  This thing is not worth spit. It has way too many reliability problems mainly with the so called "computer". Ours went out, they replaced it, then the gas gage indicator stopped working so they reset the computer, then the turn signals stopped and they could not duplicate it then we lost oil but the computer never told us and the dealer didnt know why. We traded it in on a Subaru Forester. The trade-in number was a surprise because it is so low! GM should go bankrupt putting out this SRX crap for too many bucks. We had 40K miles on it and in the shop 6 times!

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  Lemonade - 2008 Cadillac STS
  By LarryG - January 16 - 7:20 am

  Leased my 2008 STS in late December, 2007. Failed camshaft sensor, failed right side cam at 13,000 miles, deffective FOBs, 5-burned out lights, deffective drivers seat lumbar system. Dealer is great but car spends too much time in service bay. Will not lease or buy another GM product. Totaly fed up.