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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  Satisfied Caddy Owner - 1996 Cadillac Seville
  By J.Davidson - June 17 - 2:00 am

  This 96 Cadillac SLS has been to the shop only 2 times both under warranty. one of them on tranny. other insignificant. Recent mileage on the road, 25.5. Very lively for its bulk. Quiet and comfortable. Drawbacks. Difficult to read instruments in daylite High initial price and high depreciation

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  MS 1995 - 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood
  By Mark Stuart - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Mirrors, lights and trim poorly installed and fall off refularly. Transmission has been somewhat problematic with dealer service terrible. Too costly to have them flounder around charging for the wrong solutions repeatedly.

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  not happy - 1997 Cadillac Deville
  By AMLIE - June 17 - 2:00 am

  At just over 50,000 mi got antifreeze in oil. No warrantee help from Cadillac. Burned 1 Qt oil in 1,500 mi. Installed used engine w 22.000 mi. Burns qt oil in 1,500 mi. Replaced water pump, replaced 1 plug, wire, and coil 2x. replaced all plugs and wires. Load leveler not working. presently 104,000 ni.

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  Fewer problems than expected - 1992 Cadillac Eldorado
  By todd7109 - June 12 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car when it was basically 10 years old with 100,000 miles on it. It still had its factory brakes on both ends, which weve since replaced, though only the front brakes were giving that high-pitched squeak warning. The only other problems weve encountered have been minor- pieces of plastic on the interior are broken, such as the garage door opener slot and most of the dashboard AC vents. Otherwise, weve replaced the catalytic converter (also still the factory part).

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  The Name is What Your Are Paying For - 2002 Cadillac Deville
  By CJ - June 12 - 2:00 am

  This car has been nothing but trouble since the day it was bought. The first thing that went wrong was the brakes and the traction control. Next was the Night Vision. Next the seals around the windows went bad. So as you can see this car has been nothing but a headache. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone.

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  not the same quality as older cadddys - 2002 Cadillac Deville
  By frank Z - June 10 - 2:00 am

  We bought "Vouge tyres" a $900 big mistake,The car has had these tires rotated, balanced, replaced, even had the steering gear box replaced and still I have problems with vibration in the car. had the brakes rotors turned because of the bad scoring on them, in a car with 300 mi. on it (had it to the dealer 2xs before it was corrected) loud valves (again dealer says normal 2xs). programing driver feature is never reliable. I even had a customer service rep. call us and still everyone says its normal? This is are third caddy and most likely our last. Did I hear somebody say Lexus?

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  DTS great car - 2006 Cadillac DTS
  By Pat - June 6 - 7:48 am

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  Dynomite Truck, but... - 2007 Cadillac Escalade EXT
  By winterhawk - June 5 - 5:13 pm

  I bought this truck just before Thanksgiving after haggling with the uncooperative dealer for a month. It was well worth the wait. It has superb styling and comfort, beautiful Diamond White paint, 22" wheels and best of all NO sunroof! The Escalade EXT has excellent power and great handling for a truck, but terrible fuel economy. Also, the lack of interior storage space is disappointing, it does not even have a sunglasses holder like my Suburbans had. The console storage is very limited and anything stored in the top part is dumped around every time the lower console is accessed. It has a great instrument panel layout. The heated/cooled seats are very comfortable. I love the heat for my sore old back! This truck has superb headlights and driving lights.

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  fun to drive - 1999 Cadillac Catera
  By tjh - June 5 - 2:00 am

  My 3 year lease is up this month. Will miss driving the Catera. Sporty drive from a solid car. Drove 35,000 miles during the lease. Warranty covered everything except oil change and tire rotation. Had a tire go bad and it was replaced at no cost. It is better than the 300 series BMW, but not quite up to the 500 series. We really snjoyed the drive, but not willing to pay the price GM is now asking to buy the car.

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  2WD NOT A CADILLAC RIDE - 2002 Cadillac Escalade
  By Guerry - June 4 - 2:00 am

  2WD different suspension than 4wd -- YOU FEEL EVERY bump-- and 2wd indistinguisable from 4wd -- we test drove a 4wd and were told it was a 2WD- 4wD a wonderful vehicle- One cannot get past call center people to talk to Cadillac -- We could not get a fair deal to upgrade to 4WD -- to correct what is an obvious CADILLAC problem