What is it?
2008 Cadillac STS
What's special about it?
Cadillac already sells a large and largely boring sedan. It is called the DTS (née DeVille). Why then would the company need the STS (which arrived in 2005 as the senior sporty sedan in the Caddy family) to be conservative nearly to the point of blandness? Beats us. But at the 2007 New York Auto Show Cadillac will unveil a shinier, more extroverted 2008 STS.
The 2008 Cadillac STS, which will go on sale this summer, has a new front grille, which Cadillac says was inspired by the Sixteen concept sedan of a few years ago, but actually is a dead ringer for the intricate grille of the fully redesigned 2008 CTS. Also from the new CTS come chrome front fender vents. Additional shininess is provided by chrome door handles. Bigger exhaust tips speak of performance and even more shininess. You might not be surprised to read that the optional 18-inch wheels are offered with polished finish.
Also pinched from the upcoming CTS is the (nearly) 300-horsepower direct-injection 3.6-liter V6. That 298-hp motor is now the base engine in the STS series. If you think the marketing folks at Caddy were begging the engineers to add the 2 hp to make a nice round 300, consider that those folks would also like to sell some STSs powered by the optional V8, which makes 320 hp. The new V6 will be mated to the six-speed automatic in place of last year's five-speed.
The STS's interior has been upgraded with Sapele Pommele trim, a wood so exotic and little-known that Cadillac might actually have just made it up. Anyway, there's a handsome new steering wheel made out of the stuff. And the wood trim on the center stack is now bordered by metallic surrounds. That's right: The trim has its own trim!
A new "performance handling package" for V8 rear- and all-wheel-drive models as well as V6 rear-wheel-drive STSs comes with 18-inch wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires and monster-size 14-inch Brembo brakes front and rear.
For stepping up to the V8 model, buyers get the right to pay more for an optional new lane-departure warning system and radar-based blind-spot alert system. All V8s come with a new electronic stability control system that can not only apply the brakes and cut engine power but also can automatically steer the front wheels to correct a skid.
If that sounds creepy, it's because it is a little. But some Lexus models have that capability as well and we haven't heard about any Christine-like stories from owners. But if you don't pony up for the V8, forget it. It's not offered on the base model.
What's Edmunds' take?
More gears plus more power minus a bit of the staid looks? Sounds like a winning formula to us. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
2008 Cadillac STS
What's special about it?
Cadillac already sells a large and largely boring sedan. It is called the DTS (née DeVille). Why then would the company need the STS (which arrived in 2005 as the senior sporty sedan in the Caddy family) to be conservative nearly to the point of blandness? Beats us. But at the 2007 New York Auto Show Cadillac will unveil a shinier, more extroverted 2008 STS.
The 2008 Cadillac STS, which will go on sale this summer, has a new front grille, which Cadillac says was inspired by the Sixteen concept sedan of a few years ago, but actually is a dead ringer for the intricate grille of the fully redesigned 2008 CTS. Also from the new CTS come chrome front fender vents. Additional shininess is provided by chrome door handles. Bigger exhaust tips speak of performance and even more shininess. You might not be surprised to read that the optional 18-inch wheels are offered with polished finish.
Also pinched from the upcoming CTS is the (nearly) 300-horsepower direct-injection 3.6-liter V6. That 298-hp motor is now the base engine in the STS series. If you think the marketing folks at Caddy were begging the engineers to add the 2 hp to make a nice round 300, consider that those folks would also like to sell some STSs powered by the optional V8, which makes 320 hp. The new V6 will be mated to the six-speed automatic in place of last year's five-speed.
The STS's interior has been upgraded with Sapele Pommele trim, a wood so exotic and little-known that Cadillac might actually have just made it up. Anyway, there's a handsome new steering wheel made out of the stuff. And the wood trim on the center stack is now bordered by metallic surrounds. That's right: The trim has its own trim!
A new "performance handling package" for V8 rear- and all-wheel-drive models as well as V6 rear-wheel-drive STSs comes with 18-inch wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport summer tires and monster-size 14-inch Brembo brakes front and rear.
For stepping up to the V8 model, buyers get the right to pay more for an optional new lane-departure warning system and radar-based blind-spot alert system. All V8s come with a new electronic stability control system that can not only apply the brakes and cut engine power but also can automatically steer the front wheels to correct a skid.
If that sounds creepy, it's because it is a little. But some Lexus models have that capability as well and we haven't heard about any Christine-like stories from owners. But if you don't pony up for the V8, forget it. It's not offered on the base model.
What's Edmunds' take?
More gears plus more power minus a bit of the staid looks? Sounds like a winning formula to us. — Daniel Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit
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