Cadillac Catera CTS

While Europe's elite car makers weren't having much of an impact on the largest automobile market in the world, General Motors was perfectly happy to stand by and watch.

Auto Express Car Reviews

March 2002

While Europe's elite car makers weren't having much of an impact on the largest automobile market in the world, General Motors was perfectly happy to stand by and watch.

But by the mid-Nineties, GM bosses were forced to sit up and pay attention. Its premium Cadillac brand was losing sales in the US to Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo, among others. The foreign invasion had to be taken seriously, as models including the A4, 3-Series, C-Class and S60 were threatening the Vauxhall Omega-based Catera saloon.

Cadillac expected to sell 30,000 every year, but in the end only 101,146 Cateras found homes over its entire five-year life cycle - a painful 25 per cent less than was predicted. American customers clearly wanted a more dynamic driver's saloon with an image to rival the smooth and sophisticated Europeans - something the Caddy seriously lacked. The second-generation Catera is supposed to offer both, and it's due to find its way into Cadillac brochures in the UK to try to boost the brand's disappointing performance so far on this side of the pond. The striking new car will be launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month, but in a world exclusive Auto Express has already taken a test drive around Europe's toughest test track, the Nurburgring.

It may be aimed at top-end 3-Series models, but at 4,829mm the Caddy's body is 54mm longer than a BMW 5-Series, and exactly the same width. Under the skin, Catera engineers used the BMWs as benchmarks for ride and handling, and the expected price range of

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