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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  Great Truck - 2004 Cadillac Escalade EXT
  By Jimmym - July 31 - 10:00 am

  Fantastic vehicle. Very utilitarian, yet provides full luxury features. The truck would rate a 10 if it were not for the poor fuel economy. 13.8 mpg average. Will do 17mpg on highway. They should put a diesel in this truck. Diesels have become much cleaner and quieter.

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  The SRX Experience - 2005 Cadillac SRX
  By shock em - July 19 - 10:00 am

  I was one of the first to own an SRX in my area. There were many people asking me what type of car I had. It was a pleasure telling them it was an SRX. I fell extremly safe within this vehicle.

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  Cadillas STS 2005 - 2005 Cadillac STS
  By Elaine Gold - July 19 - 10:00 am

  the seats are very uncomfortable,,,the cd that explains how this car works is 2 hours long and ridiculous to sit and listen to since you cannot have the motor on and then you have to start on and off...i did not listen to the whole thing...we still dont understand how you handle valet parking...what do you give the driver??the keyless portion is great...i think that gm should offer a house visit after you have the car for a few weeks...we will probably visit the dealer and go over some of the items again....gm should definitly have made the seats with more comfort in mind-the book is not clear either

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  my 1st. cadallic - 2005 Cadillac CTS
  By Nantucket - July 19 - 10:00 am

  Iv been an Alfa lover-driver.. Loved its performance, handling,looks.Due to an deer accident my 94 was totaled by the insurance co. Alfa is no longer available in the States.Was not sure about Cadillac, but after driving all that was out there under $40,000 I bought a 1994 cts. To date I find the car is not an Alfa performance wise,however more than holds its own.It moves when ever I ask it to perform. It satisfies me and Im pretty spoiled when it comes to performance.Like the size,handling,comfort..Dont understand consumers constantly berating interior finish.. I disagree.

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  CTS-- A big disappointment - 2003 Cadillac CTS
  By MMRPharmD - July 11 - 10:00 am

  This car is a BMW/foreign car wanna be that will never happen. I bought it on first impressions and regretted every day thereafter (all 5 of them). I traded this in after 5 days of owning it (for a BMW 330i) and one trip lasting 200 miles. This is portrayed as a younger persons vehicle; however,I felt like I was driving my moms car the whole time! At 27, this is not the car for me yet, but maybe at age 57 it will be.

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  Huge improvement over SRX but... - 2017 Cadillac XT5
  By Tomonthebeach - July 3 - 4:45 am

  We waited to get the XT5 because of review promises that the CUE system would be greatly improved. After 12,000 miles, I would say CUE is still crap. A huge problem is that the touch screen requires far too many submenus to achieve even simple commands. The navigation system relies on out-dated maps which reflected incorrect speeds easily half the time on our 40 state trip. It got lost about once every thousand miles on interstate segments that had been changed at least 2 years earlier. It had no detour option and will not reroute even after driving 50 miles on a different highway! Traffic warnings were unreliable. Fortunately if you have a mobile phone supporting Android Auto (AA), that functions like you would expect a luxury car nav system to function. AA understands my Bulgarian spouses accent every time. When driving, handling is fantastic. This car and turn inside many sedans with a far shorter radius than our SRX. Pickup is quite peppy. Mileage is very good for a car of this class. The gearshift is counter intuitive, and the transmission sometime hunts for the right gear in stop-n-go traffic. The fit and finish is good, cargo space excellent, and it has lots of nice feature like ample door storage.

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  XTS WOW - 2016 Cadillac XTS
  By Thomas Dover - June 23 - 2:04 am

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  SUV - 2005 Cadillac SRX
  By BUTLER - June 4 - 7:13 am

  Having a DeVille as previous car, the ride is not as smooth but for a SUV it handles and rides great. Having the glass top for viewing is really great and to ride with it open does give the feel of conv. But only drawback is I cant have satellite radio on the model with the glass top. Gas mileage on the highway is disappointing for a six cyl. car it comes at barely 22mpg. My biggest problem is that my wife loves it and I rather have a DeVille.

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  my cad cts - 2005 Cadillac CTS
  By ootch - March 28 - 5:20 am

  excellent,not so great on rain..easy hydroplaning..awesome ride..great pickup..neat looks

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  \Cadillacs are for drivers of all ages - 2004 Cadillac SRX
  By HCW - March 24 - 2:00 am

  Car is only a month old and it drives like a dream!