The Driving Woman

One of my friends told me that I always describe cars as "feminine". Well, I am correcting that. The 2008 Cadillac CTS that I test drove last weekend is not feminine, it is not masculine, it actually doesn't call either sex to mind!

But, is it sexy? Well, yes...and that's why I chose it to drive my son upstate to check out colleges. I know that he ranks this among the "cool wheels". Especially, I might add in black raven with an ebony interior. Lovely.

I hadn't driven the CTS in years but I have been watching it mature into a sedan that notes BM3 and 5-series, Mercedes C-Class, Lexus G5, Infiniti G35 and Audi A4 as competitors.

The CTS is in a class of its own. Noted as Motor Trend's 2008 Car of the Year, the Cadillac CTS takes its namesake into a trendier dimension with a cut-up profile and buffed up 17 or 18" painted  aluminum wheels. The 3.6L Direct Injection  that I tested came with Sapele wood trim on the inside, heated and cooled  8-way stitched leather seats, an excellent 10-speaker Bose sound system and a pop-up info screen that was placed at just the right angle for the driver to see the controls.

GM tuned the CTS on Germany's Nuerurgring track and despite this being a large sedan, it's V6 Direct inject puts out 304 hp with 25% lower hydrocarbon emissions. The speed was sure and steady, the handling crisp-despite the fact that I have been spoiled with some over-the top European cars lately-the CTS was a delight. As well it should be. The price, as tested was $48,240.00 including destination.