My bet is on the Chevy Malibu. Chevy has spent big bucks hyping this car as the regeneration of Chevy as a real car contender.

What was last years winner? Saturn Aura.

^ I second that bet. I have read a few reviews that highly praise that car as Chevys comeback into really being a competitor. Looks promising. Good for GM. It's about time, yeeesh.

And the winner is.......................





News flash to automakers in Japan and Germany: The eagle has landed. Again.

If you were one of those who wrote off General Motors as a dying dinosaur -- after all, it's been a decade since any GM car took home the Golden Calipers (the Chevrolet Corvette won back in 1998) -- prepare to rewrite everything you think you know about what's in the General's store. With this bold, savvy, uncompromising showpiece of a sedan -- the all-new Cadillac CTS -- GM has leapt straight from the rabble's side of the velvet rope into that coveted, highly selective inner sanctum marked "World's Finest Cars." For that remarkable achievement, and for making us grin like lottery winners every time we drove it, the CTS is our enthusiastic choice for Motor Trend's 2008 Car of the Year.

Not since Neil and Buzz spiked Old Glory into the lunar dust in 1969 have red-white-and-blue ambition and technological prowess looked so good. Allow your eyes to drink in that wide, gently chiseled shape. Mmmmm. This baby will turn heads like the elites from Europe, but it's unmistakably American, uniquely Cadillac. The wheel arches ride low and snug over the tires -- no more yawning "snow chain" gaps. The massive, cowcatcher prow says "get out of my way" -- but politely, like a tuxedo-clad bouncer. Close inspection of the headlamps and taillamps reveals exquisite, pizzazz-enhancing LED "light pipes." No, you haven't seen those before. GM's premium brand has perfected a look all its own.

Superiority? The CTS's winning ways go far beyond its fetching facade. Significance? Not only is the CTS the star of a new GM revival (including such standouts as the 2008 Chevy Malibu and Buick Enclave, to name just two), it's a true world car -- tested from the Nurburgring to China and sold across the globe (40,000 to 50,000 annually in the U.S., another 20,000 or so worldwide; Cadillac will also build right-hand-drive versions). Value? Base price is just $32,990, including a 263-horse VVT V-6 (a 304-horse direction-injection version is optional), eight-speaker Bose audio, 17-inch wheels, and dual-zone climate control. In comparison, you'll pay over $33,000 for a base BMW 3 Series sedan with just 230 horses and north of $45K for the more comparably sized BMW 528i.

Read on to see how Cadillac -- winner of the first Motor Trend Car of the Year award nearly six decades ago -- earned the Golden Calipers for 2008. While you're at it, start practicing using the words "General Motors" and "celebrated" in the same sentence.

The buzz began as soon as the first few editors returned from their driving stints in the new CTS. "Wow! That thing is really sweet." "Tons of cornering stick, but the ride doesn't beat you up." "Good power, smooth and responsive automatic that holds the right gear when you're hustling. And I love the steering." "That's got to be the best nav system I've ever used." "Hey, is it my turn to drive the CTS yet?" But if we knew we had a contender on our hands from the get-go, the more we drove this canny new Caddy, the more its magic cast a spell on us.

For one thing, the CTS makes you look good. Great, actually. There wasn't one editor in our hard-to-please crew who didn't have good things to say about the car's starch-creased tailoring. Several of us think it's the most striking and original sedan we've seen in years. Better still, unlike the previous CTS, the 2008 edition carries its edgy exterior theme and penchant for beauty right into the cockpit. In comparison, the Mercedes C350 cabin looks bleak and severe; the Honda Accord's dash seems fussy -- and not as well made. Cadillac's interior team has balanced form, function, and panache as deftly as we've seen it done -- in some ways (that brilliantly simple yet powerful nav/info system) better than anyone.

Though not an all-out sports machine in the mold of, say, the S5, the CTS nonetheless proved to be one of the top performers in this year's field. Our test car (equipped with the direct-injection engine, six-speed automatic, and FE3 performance suspension) ran to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, clawed from 60 mph to 0 in a mere 109 feet (bettering even the lightweight, two-seat Audi TT), and churned around the skidpad with a vein-popping 0.89 g of grip. More important, pushing the car hard is a joy. The engine gets a little raspy in its uppermost octaves, but it's gutty enough to make the 3960-pound CTS feel far lighter than it is. The variable-effort steering is on the heavy side (a good thing) but communicative; the chassis impressively neutral, the brakes potent and durable. All those laps around the Nurburgring have formed key strands in the CTS's DNA.

It's when you're off the boil, though, that the CTS impresses the most. This Cadillac even gets the really tough stuff right-namely, the little things. The materials and controls make your fingertips happy. Your eyes notice the absence of jarring cockpit cut-lines, the tight, even fit of exterior panels. Your ears detect no annoying rattles, and but a hush of wind and road noise. Your backside senses the structure's solidity, the ride's well-damped support. Your smile...broadens.

Someone should make a plaque: "Here on planet earth landed an all-new, thoroughly reborn Cadillac, model year 2008, A.D." For sure, the CTS has the goods to send auto aficionados over the moon.



Full Article:

2008 Cadillac CTS - 2008 Motor Trend Car of the Year Winner - Motor Trend





M

And...I was correct.....


M

I am happy to see there is still some life left in the American auto-industry.

Congratulations to Cadillac. It is just a pity the CTS is so boring to look at -- it has about as much charisma as Al Gore (sorry to the Al Gore fans -- all three of you )

You and Bruce think it is boring huh, interesting. I've seen a few now with the top spec sport package and what not and it seems to be the best looking Cadillac in years, not to mention the best looking GM sedan around, IMO of course.

M

Nah, I don't necessarily think the CTS is boring. I just thanked Rob because I found his comment about Al Gore to be humorous.

As for the CTS, I do agree that it's the best looking Caddy in years. Though there are still certain aspects of it's design which I'm not fond of.

I do think it's boring .....not ugly. Over the past 15-20 years, American cars have come to look more and more like Japanese cars IMO. It is strange that the types of cars the US used to do so well are now the specialty of the Germans.

The kind of guy who once dreamed of owning one of these:


...wants one of these in 2007:

Lol and you were right. Of course I would have picked between the C-class and the Honda Accord.

Guess they have their reasons.