1997 Cadillac Catera: Automobile All-Stars
European cars such as the BMW 3 and 5 series and Mercedes C and E classes exuded prestige – wealth, perfection, coolness. By the mid -1990s, Cadillac sought to become competitive with these luxury foreign cars.
Previous attempts had proven disastrous. From 1982 to 1988, they produced the Cimaron ( a tarted up Cavalier). This automobile had a high tech engine that would go from 4 to 6 to 8 cylinder engine depending on the need. Unfortunately the engine would change on its own at unpredictable times.The Cadillac next tried a more European version called the Alliance from 1987 to 1993 with very poor results.
Cadillac decided to fight fire with fire and imported a car from Germany – GM’s rear wheel driving Opal Omega MV6. This car was part of GM’s international portfolio of products. This slightly redecorated North American model was the Catera. It was produced from 1996 to 2001. It had a 3 litre 6 cylinder engine that was 200hp. It had mediocre gas mileage and unfortunately required high test gas. The car weighed almost 4000 pounds and with not an abundance of horsepower, performance was anemic.
The interior was less than upscale compared to European and Japanese competitors. In spite of a vigorous ad campaign, its sloppy handling, weak acceleration and the “Cadillac image”, it did not appeal to the youthful market. A more chic and exotic car was favoured and the Cadillac was often viewed as an “old man”s car”.
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