The General must be proud, because for the first time in over a decade, a GM product has been crowned the Car of the Year by Motor Trend. (The Corvette won last time.) The 2008 CTS that the boys at Motor Trend tested made use of a direct injection 3.6L V6 engine producing 304 horses, a six-speed automatic, and FE3 performance suspension. They were not only impressed with the smooth power delivery, but the entire package. Their 0-60 test run brought them a time of 6.3 seconds, and stopping from 60 to a halt only required 109 feet of pavement. Not too shabby at all!
Performance wasn’t the only deciding factor either. Believe it or not, both interior and exterior designs were taken into consideration too, and the CTS still came out on top. I’m not suggesting the CTS is ugly. Far from it. But you can’t deny that traditionally speaking, Cadillac and most GM brands in general have struggled to impress anyone with their chintzy interior build quality.

This award represents another victory in GM’s attempt at turning themselves around. Hopefully Motor Trend has fans across the pond, as Cadillac doesn’t quite have the same reputation in Europe as it does in North America. You reading this, Mr. Clarkson?!

Thanks for the tip, Brian!
[Source: Motor Trend]

Cadillac wants its CTS to be seen as a performance player in the luxury segment, and to try and sway public opinions, they have entered a hopped up CTS for the SEMA show. Admittedly, “hopped up” may be a bit of a stretch, since, as far as we can tell, the only additional performance parts are a free flowing Corsa cat-back exhaust and some upgraded brakes. Still, power is rated at 304-hp, coming from a 3.6L Direct Injection V-6.

Most of the modifications to the car were aesthetic, which is fine. Judging by the press pictures, this thing looks badass. The CTS Sport boats new front and rear facia as well as an aggressive looking hood, all air vents covered by a mesh grill.

There’s a lot more info on this sexy CTS, but you’ll have to make the jump to see the rest of the high res pictures and the official press release!
[Source: Autoblog]
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Oh yes. While perusing one of our favorite online automotive journals, Jalopnik, we came across some spy shots of the CTS sans camo. This photo is credited to avid Jalopnik reader, Matt.