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"         Are you as surprised as I am to find a on the cover of Road &amp;amp;amp; Track? We have been driving and testing all of the available performance models from this prestigious American brand, and have found them to be seriously exciting enthusiast cars.   This process began several years ago when Cadillac planners started talking about the need to change their cars to attract younger buyers. Remember the that was introduced in 1992 with refreshingly new styling and pretty decent performance and handling? It was a big hit with car buyers in their 30s and 40s, which was exactly what Cadillac hoped for.   Some time later, the group came to visit with us and talk about what makes a really good sporting sedan with some luxury touches. We talked about engine performance, balancing the ride/handling compromise, and the space efficiency that makes a sedan useful but not egregiously large. The discussion touched on image cars, too, like the Allant\u00E9 2-seat convertible of the early 1990s, and what sort of image car would be more suited to enthusiast buyers.   The upshot of all of this study, planning, engineering and hard work is clear in the Cadillacs for 2005. We&amp;#039;re already familiar with the CTS, which won our in the June 2004 issue over the likes of , , and others. And if you examine our Road Test Summary chart, you&amp;#039;ll find that the Cadillac CTS-V posts a 5.0-second 0-60 time and runs through the quarter mile in 13.4 sec. at 109.0 mph. And that is impressive \u2014 other cars that match those numbers are the BMW M3 SMG, the and the Maserati Coupe Cambiocorsa.   Coming in the middle of 2005 is the V version of the STS, the larger (but not largest) Cadillac sedan. We road tested the in August 2004 and concluded that this sedan offers brisk performance (5.9 sec. for 0-60) with considerably more comfort and ride quality than the CTS. But John Barrick, the program engineering chief of the Cadillac Performance Series, tells me that the upcoming STS-V will be substantially more impressive \u2014 like 0-60 mph in maybe 4.8 sec., and chassis dynamics that will make you think of a run around the N\u00FCrburgring as a piece of cake. We haven&amp;#039;t had the opportunity to try out the STS-V as yet, but it&amp;#039;s clear that these guys mean business when it comes to performance.   Add to the list of coming attractions the XLR-V, which will really make people sit up and take notice of this 2-seater with its edgy styling. It&amp;#039;s comfortable and offers pretty good space, a folding top and lots of excitement.   So, put aside your perceptions of Cadillacs as cars for elderly drivers and read this month&amp;#039;s cover story by our Detroit Editor, Matt DeLorenzo. It becomes clear that Cadillac is carrying the enthusiast performance flag into the future. It&amp;#039;s an interesting turn of events that brings to mind the 1950s when Cadillac was the car of choice among an awful lot of knowledgeable enthusiasts.   The Readers&amp;#039; Choice Award   On the subject of American performance cars, you may also be surprised to learn that you, our readers, chose three American cars for the top of the list of The Best Car 2005. You can see the in this issue, but I will say that it reflects well on the American manufacturers that a Chevrolet, a Chrysler and a Ford were the top vote getters.   And we want to thank all of you who participated in the voting process for The Best Car 2005. With more than 25,000 votes received, we are convinced that this is the most meaningful award in the automotive arena, and it&amp;#039;s gratifying to know that our readers are excited about the opportunity to participate. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a10745/cadillacs-on-the-cover/>