Cadillac to take CTS to the entry level in 2005

Which is nowhere near the next level. A smaller-engined, lower-priced CTS is en route next year because the current base powerplant, a 3.2 liter V6, is going out of production. Plus Cadillac wants to shave dollars from the CTS's sticker to make it  compete with the 3-Series, which starts at $28,495, although in recorded history no one has ever bought a Bimmer as such, without options. There's also a host of other vehicles to worry about in the $20,000 to $27,000 range, like the impending Audi A3 Sportback and GM's own Saab 9-2X, although the CTS's lowest dollar value will still be above the higher end of that spectrum. The new 2.8 liter six will produce 210 hp, 10 less than the outgoing model. Even Cadillac admits that the base engine is fairly irrelevant, since 80 percent of CTS customers pick the 3.6 liter engine.