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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  o.k. truck for lots of dough - 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT
  By yota - April 17 - 10:00 am

  own a new toy tundra limited, my father bought the caddy. The caddy has good accelaration and corners well for such a big truck, but ride and smoothness equal to my tundra.Caddy has been in the shop 5 times already tundra ZERO!He wanted to buy a lincoln blackwood at first but since it does not have 4wd and i told him to stay away he bought the caddy. he likes the caddy very much so much that his new audi S8 sits and collects dust.

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  CTS has Problems - 2003 Cadillac CTS
  By William - February 4 - 10:00 am

  I purchased this car when they came out and was excited. I thought that cadillac had finnally made a break Through. I experienced nothing but problems. Air conditioner leaks flooded the car twice. All the carpet had to be replaced. Battery went out. Warning lights coming on for no reason. And the service from the dealership was horrible. I called the Customer Assistance center thinking that they would help. Not only no help but rude. Cadillac will never regain market share with poor quality and even poorer service. They just dont seem to care about the consumer once they have purchased a car. Beware of the CTS unless you want migrane headaches

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  NOT WORTH THE MONEY AND MILEAGE IS TERRI - 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid
  By amanda - January 25 - 3:46 am

  I bought this car thinking I was going green. Unfortunately, only thing green about this car is the high price tag. I have always had a MERCEDES and never minded spending the money as it is a quality car. No comparison!!!! Leather is cheap in the Escalade and my dog have made scratches every time they are in there. Storage is non existent. Not even room for the DVD ear phones. No spare tire. Had to pay $1,400 extra for a spare tire mounted underneath the car. This car needs to be totally redesigned and done correctly Do not waste your money on this one.

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  Lake Cadillac - 2016 Cadillac SRX
  By Ed Klump - April 23 - 12:34 pm

  On hold yet again with GM service center (7th time in two days).  There is an issue with the SRX Sunroof drain tubes shrinking and popping off (very poor design).  They are supposed to fix this problem up until Jan 2017.  GM is fully aware of this and there is a customer satisfaction action that is for only a few States.  I live in Michigan so I am not covered.  The car has flooded badly and mildew has collected.  If anyone has an SRX PLEASE stay out of the rain!  TERRIBLE customer service, worse engineering, and costly to own.

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  Cadillacs Cue System is HORRIBLE - 2017 Cadillac XTS
  By Bruce - January 31 - 8:08 am

  We were actually considering purchasing a new XT-5, so we decided to rent the XTS for an extended vacation that included virtually every type of driving, including city driving in Phoenix & Las Vegas, heavy mountain driving in Northern Arizona & Utah, and flat, high-speed desert driving in Nevada and Arizona. First, the pluses: overall pleasing style that offers decent interior room in a relatively compact body configuration. Fairly well-finished interior that isnt too busy in appearance. Reasonably sized trunk that will accommodate two large suitcases plus two good sized carry-on bags. Sorry, but that is where the pluses stop. Now the negatives, and there are a lot of them: Cadillacs Cue Entertainment/Info system. This is hands down the worst system I have ever used (weve had Mercedes, Volvos, Jeeps, Ford products with My-Touch Sync, as well previous model Cadillacs, all with factory navigation systems to compare). Get your hands anywhere near the touch screen and half the screen displays control icons for the various functions the system offers...this is INCREDIBLY annoying, especially when you are using the sometimes accurate navigation screen. Our car was 3 weeks young and had just 1,000+ miles on it when we got in it, so one would assume that everything should be in proper working order. The navigation system occasionally worked well, but on at least three occasions over the 1,600 mile, nearly two-week "test drive" we gave this car, it changed turn-by-turn directions while we were driving it. Voice control worked well about half of the time, with the other half being so bad that it was actually comical. If I didnt know that it was giving us bogus instructions, we would have ended up in Canada instead of Las Vegas. Once, the voice told us to proceed 2.6 miles and then take a right, but the route shown on the screen indicated a left turn only 100 feet ahead...TOTAL junk! Cooled seats: first car I have ever driven where the cooled seats turned on by themselves when the car was not started remotely on a hot day; very bizarre. Climate Control: Set at 72 degrees on auto-temp with an outside temperature of only 78, the thing blasted cold air for hours at a clip; heat sensor must be mounted in the top of the dash where the sun is always on it. Cruise Control: Lots of luck figuring this one out. Hit the resume switch and it might go back to the previous speed, or it might choose a higher speed in 5-mph increments. One time, it was set at 82 mph, and when I hit the resume, it took-off and showed it was set for 90! During mountain freeway driving, the cruise is incapable of maintaining a steady speed. Shifting: car automatically downshifts on steep mountain grades, even at freeway speeds. Suddenly the tachometer will go from 1,200 RPM to over 4,000 RPM in an effort to slow the car down even when the driver isnt using cruise control or the brakes. This is extremely annoying and completely unnecessary. Interior storage: no place for sun-glasses, cup holders are not cooled like some competitors, making water bottles rather warm while driving in the desert. Absolutely stupid compartment hidden behind climate & radio controls that is activated by touching the bottom edge, engaging an electrical motor that swings the entire panel upward, providing nothing is obstructing it...a good conversation piece that serves no purpose. Perimeter sonar sensors: Audible about two milliseconds before impact requiring driver to rely only on the visual indicators...great when in reverse! Rear camera: Rendered totally useless at night because of the glare from the center mounted back-up lamp. Sun Glare: dash appearance strips cast a glare on the side glass that inhibits the vision of the drivers side rear-view mirror. Power Adjustable Steering Wheel: Not enough vertical movement; stays too high in the lowest position adding to arm fatigue on long drives with hands at the proper 10 oclock/2 oclock position. Head Restraint Adjustment: Only up & down...really?? On a $60K automobile?? Okay, mercifully, Im going to stop here. If you are still considering this over-priced, under-engineered, horrible excuse for a luxury car, then have at it. Weve owned new Cadillacs in the past, and they have been less than stellar. Hoping that General Motors had finally shed some of the deadwood executives that drove it into bankruptcy, we decided to give Cadillac a chance at winning us over again...Not going to happen! I would guess that the biggest market for this car is the rental car fleet at heavily discounted prices, because this car just doesnt cut it.