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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  Complete Lemon - 2013 Cadillac XTS
  By richzand - April 10 - 11:39 am

  I have a very bad back so I always drive a big heavy car. The XTS has coach work 2nd to none. The problem is Ive had the car back to the dealer nine times. Service is supposed to be available at your preferred dealer. But if you have a legitimate problem, and the dealer doesnt have a fix they will blow you off because you arent going to give them a perfect survey. Im currently on my 3rd dealer. Getting Cadillac involved doesnt help they tell you dealers can refuse service if they choose to. I bought my car in July, and to date the vehicle will unlock the doors at least 25% of the time. When you are trying to get out the power seats, and mirrors will start moving. No heat, at times. Bad

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  Happy Owner - 2008 Cadillac CTS
  By majsharan - March 23 - 9:24 pm

  I have owned my Cadillac CTS since 2008 when I bought it fully loaded during the bankruptsy and employee pricing wars for $35,000. At that point the 09s were out so I also got rebates for buying the old model year. I have been generally very happy with purchase. A couple of issues mostly relating to fit and finish. The car has some spots where the wood accents arent quite large enough to fill the space they are in so there a couple of gaps here and there. Also, the car has a pretty bad paint job for a luxury car. It was like they only put one coat of clear on it. The car also has some interior rattles that seem to come from the bowels of the dash and cant be held down to be stopped.

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  + and - of the ATS - 2013 Cadillac ATS
  By bullzeye - March 8 - 1:20 am

  Fun car to drive, fast & great brakes. Clean ext design.Cue is nice but somewhat difficult & sometimes frustrating. They really forgot about leg room when designing back seats, Boo. Gas, Not really all that great 16.8mpg which is somewhat of a drag & that is driving calm, if u push it will be under 16 mpgs forsure I recommend 91 or even 93octane that ur best chance of having best MPG. My best has been 17.4 using 93 oct. Car tends to flutter when idle esp if 89 or lower octane gas. Overall like my car, yeah CUE update would be nice overall Good car.1st yr model always need tweeks Love my Bose speakers & the ride come on its a Caddy....and Pow is nice esp mid range no top end yet let u know.

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  1999 Cadillac DElegance - 1999 Cadillac Deville
  By robooo - February 21 - 5:32 pm

  Bought in 2011 with 92k miles, had to have new front struts put on by dealer. Now at 120k miles, I have had to put new radiator fans, new radiator as fans ruined the radiator, torque converter, TPS sensor, a blower motor which took a week to get a 5 bolt since most are 3 bolt and just recently a water pump. All are expensive to fix. Good running car, but like everyone says, they can be expensive to fix. If you buy one used, make sure you like the car and have some money set aside to fix them. Watch your selling price, weak resale value for a Cadillac. Heated seats dont work. Had to convert rear suspension

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  1St Caddy - 2007 Cadillac DTS
  By singboi - February 14 - 10:52 am

  I just purchased a 1 owner 07 Cadillac DTS Performance for $17,995 with 68,000 miles. I love everthing about the car I did a year of research on the Cadillac DTS before I purchased one and the Performance is the best of them all. I got everything I wanted in the car.

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  Nice ride - 2012 Cadillac CTS
  By rallye350 - February 9 - 2:42 pm

  Ive had mine for about a year now. It is AWD Performance package and has the FE3 suspension and 19 inch wheels. While the handling is great with this package, the tires are a bit noisy. The 3.6 is well worth the price premium. The engine really pulls strong in upper ranges. Love the audio system that came with this package. Slightly disappointed with gas mileage, averaging about 19.5 in mixed driving. All highway trip managed to get about 25. CTS still seems pretty popular with older crowds, so be prepared for comments if you are younger and driving one of these.

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  1996 base - Great car - 1996 Cadillac Deville
  By don2037 - January 26 - 9:53 am

  Great car, creme color, which is interesting, depending on lighting situation can appear white with tinge of pink, egg-shell, or light tan. Beautiful car, although the front end could have been a little designed more distinctive, kind of reminds me of a chevy with a cadillac emblem. lol. Runs great, good acceleration and breaking, I like cluster guages, right in front of your eyes, no looking all over dash for emergency lignts, wonderful seating, posh Theres just something about a cadillac, its hard to verbalize, but you know when you are in one, that special feeling you get, especially with these older models. Very easy to drive and park. Maintence is expensive.

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  Great car for the price. - 1998 Cadillac Deville
  By albee213 - December 2 - 12:57 pm

  I purchased a 98 Deville Delegance with 62k from an older gentleman. This car was almost perfect, did all maintenance, coolant flush, trans filter fluid, plugs wires, brakes, and rebuilt front end with new shocks, tie rod ends and ball joints. This car is power and smooth with many options standard that many new cars do not have. After replacing the shocks the car is nice to drive but its no sports car. This is just a cruiser that can give a beat down to kids with Hondas trying to pass you up. I live in Seattle so nothing but hills, MPG is 16 no matter what I do, but if I travel on the freeway it gets 26mpg with tires infalted to 38 pounds.

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  2012 SRX is a lemon - 2012 Cadillac SRX
  By gjet1 - November 27 - 8:25 pm

  I purchased a 2012 srx luxury model in march of 2012. Since then a rear shock broke car was 2 days old. Next the brakes made a strange chirping noise, front pads and rotors, now the engine misfires. It has been in shop for a total of 45 days for this problem. GM cannot fix it not the dealer where car was purchased or the GM engineer dept. The car just misfires when it feels like it. GM tried cols 1,4 map sensor,throttle and alot of other parts. Today the steering make noise. Nothing but problems and headaches. I have driven many caddy loaner cars all 2012 srx and at least 3 of them had this misfire problem. My ADVICE STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR. THE NEW STANDARD OF THE WORLD DISSAPOINTING.

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  Miss my old Caddy - 2008 Cadillac DTS
  By caddygirl4life - November 11 - 12:39 pm

  My 2008 DTS is sexy, I have been driving a caddy since 16 and have owened through the years 10 plus cars (caddys) always upgrading to a newer year... The 2008 is the first caddy I brought brand new and I have to say the even though I think the car looks good, the ride is just not there. I really miss my 97 deville concours and wished I never upgraded.