CADILLAC AT LAST

by Casey Williams

Rufus Wainwright is an eccentric out artist best known for his baroque pop compositions that blur the lines between a Broadway musical, Beethoven’s Fifth, and next wave pop. Most will know him from his renditions of Hallelujah and Complainte De La Butte from “Moulin Rouge”, but his 2009 album “Milwaukee At Last!!!” takes his art to new extremes…just as Cadillac raises its fins to new heights with the 2010 CTS Sport Wagon. Get ready for a multi-generational, multi-dimensional power trip fit for the self-proclaimed gay messiah.

The album was recorded in a working-class town not unlike the Detroit from which Cadillac originally came. As if rising out of the dusty murk of the mid-west, the CTS is a stunning example of modern design and competent performance. It will also coddle your bum with the grip of heated and cooled, side-bolstered, sweet-smelling, cowhide-covered seats.
I’ve been a fan of both the artist and car for many years – Wainwright since his album “Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall” and Cadillac since I fell in love with a well-preserved gold ’69 DeVille while in high school. My parents didn’t approve of either Wainwright or my trading a silver ’89 Geo Spectrum for the Caddy.

As Cadillac’s first attempt at a proper “station” wagon, the CTS is about as good as it gets. The front wears a huge and bold grille from the CTS sedan. Edgy fenders rise from the stacked headlamps, through the beltline, and end in the middle of the sky high, light-tubed taillights that accent bulging exotic-width rear fenders. Head-on, the CTS is aggressive and concept car cool. Out back, you could spot the car from three miles behinds and know who builds it. Just as Wainwright out-wails even Judy Garland at his concerts, Ed Wellburn’s design team at GM shaped a bigger tailfin than the grand master of ‘50s flash, Harley Earl himself. Blue Diamond Tricoat paint glimmers like a diva’s dress.

Inside, one finds an opera hall of decadence. From the perfect leather and wood steering wheel to real Sapele wood on the dash and doors, the smell of heaven from the seats, power tilt/telescoping steering column, analog clock, heated/cooled seats, hand-stitch door and dash coverings, everything reeks of the quality of Luis Vuitton, George Nelson, and the Ritz Carlton all tossed inside one glorious cabaret act.
Contemporary electronics allow for a pop-up navigation screen, 40-gig music hard drive, programmable liftgate (can be limited to prevent collisions with garage doors), and Bose 5.1 surround 10-speaker audio with XM or Sirius Satellite Radio. Keyless entry and starting and a rearview back-up camera make using this rolling orchestra a cinch. From the two rows of seats, the CTS Sport Wagon is like any other CTS, but with the rear seats folded flat and the rear hatch powered up, a 58 cu. ft. cargo area opens up – easily able to swallow a couple of mountain bikes laying flat. The Ultraview sunroof lets in a sky’s worth of light.
During the Milwaukee concert, Wainwright walked out on stage wearing heels and tights, the diva-bitch of Canada, with a conservative black jacket to wail out a Garland tune. Jacked up on 18” alloy wheels, tearing to the road through available all-wheel-drive, the CTS Sport Wagon is ready to wail its own road-burning tune. AWD is great for performance on dry pavement and a lifesaver during less than glamorous days. Stabilitrak electronic stability control, all-speed traction control, and four-wheel ABS disc brakes are the perfect accompaniments. Flat out, or floatin’ through a back road dance, the CTS Sport Wagon rides like a billet of Pittsburgh steel – even if loaded with 20 cases of Milwaukee brew.
Stepping on this swift cat’s tail sends the 304-HP Direct Injection 3.6-litre V6 (or base 3.0-litre 270-HP DI V6) into the rafters to sing its high notes while sending ample power to the road through a six-speed manumatic transmission and gripping the road through all four corners. There’s plenty to step off the line in a tear, but enough in reserve to give Camaros a good run on the open road. Driven with less gusto, the car achieves 18/26-MPG city/hwy while burning regular unleaded.
The CTS Sport Wagon is a car for all moods and destinations – luxurious and elegant when desired, as down-home and work-boy as the folk music Wainwright sometimes plays, or as flamboyant as Judy Garland in heels. CTS bears witness to Cadillac’s glory days while thrusting at least one fin into the future. This is the final coming of Cadillac we’ve all been promised – until, let’s pray, a V-version with the sedan’s 550-HP supercharged V8 arrives. Expect to pay plenty for this exclusive concert ticket, making the Caddy’s appearance a frightful sight for the Volvo S70, Mercedes GLK, and BMW 3-Series.
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