Cadillac CTS

The CTS is a mid size luxury car made by General Motors for the Cadillac brand. It was introduced as the replacement for the Cadillac Catera in 2003. Designed by Wayne Cherry, the CTS uses edgy styling that Cadillac calls "Art and Science", which was first seen on the Evoq concept car. The CTS is credited with rejuvenating the Cadillac brand, and possibly saving it from extinction, as Cadillac sales fell in favor of imported luxury brands such as Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. Although Cadillac tried to capture a younger buyer base in the 1990s, the CTS was the first of these new models that was successful as Cadillac's other attempts at luring in younger buyers, such as the Catera and Allante, were unsuccessful.

The 2008 CTS was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show. It borrows styling cues from the Cadillac Sixteen concept car, and went on sale in late August, 2007.

First generation (2003-2007)

Introduced in 2002 for the 2003 model year, the CTS rode on the new rear-wheel drive GM Sigma platform. It was a return to rear-wheel drive, as well as being the first Cadillac with a manual transmission since the 1988 Cimarron. It replaced the mid-size rear-wheel drive Catera. The CTS was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award for 2002. The CTS is built at GM's Lansing Grand River plant in Lansing, Michigan. The CTS was also assembled in China in 2006, but assembly was discontinued shortly thereafter due to poor sales in that market. The CTS in China is now an exported model once again.

Originally powered by a 3.2L LA3 V6 producing 220hp (164kW), the CTS received a 3.6L DOHC V6 with variable valve timing in 2004, producing 255hp (190kW) and 252lb·ft (342N·m) of torque. The 3.2L engine went out of production in 2005, when a new 2.8L version of the DOHC V6 debuted in an entry-level version of the CTS. In Europe, the 2.8L replaces the previous entry level 2.6L.

The CTS originally offered either a 5-speed 5L40-E automatic transmission or 5-speed Getrag 260 manual transmission. The Getrag was replaced with an Aisin AY-6 6-speed for 2005.