Pre-facelift Catera

The Cadillac Catera was a mid-sized automobile that was largely a rebadged version of the Opel Omega MV6 made in Rüsselsheim, Germany. It was marketed in North America and other markets worldwide as an entry-level Cadillac. Cadillac's engineers made a number of luxury and safety modifications for the U.S. market, adding signifcantly to the MV6's original curb weight, as well as softening the car's suspension. Since the demise of Cadillac's top-of-the-line Fleetwood in 1996, Cadillac wanted a third sedan. The Catera was brought to North America, and the Seville became a top-of-the-line sedan, moving the DeVille as Cadillac's middle-class sedan. Also, it was the only Cadillac built outside of the United States to come to North America by that time (the earlier Cadillac Allanté roadster was partially assembled in Italy). 2001 Cadillac Catera Photographed in Wethersfield, CT This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Automakers, also known as carmakers, automobile manufacturers, motor manufacturers, or the automobile industry are companies that design and manufacture automobiles. ... General Motors Corporation, also known as GM or The General, an American multinational conglomerate corporation, is the worlds largest auto company by annual production volume for 2006, and the second largest by sales volume as of the first half of 2007, behind Toyota Motor Corporation. ... Rüsselsheim is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. ... The CTS (Catera Touring Sedan) [1] is a mid size entry level Luxury car made by General Motors for the Cadillac brand. ... Car classification is subjective since many vehicles fall into multiple categories. ... A mid-size car, frequently referred to as an intermediate, is an automobile with a size between that of a compact and a full-size or standard-size car. ... A luxury car is a relatively expensive car. ... Cars can come in a large variety of different body styles. ... A notchback full-size luxury sedan. ... In automobile design layout is the place where both the engine and driven wheels are. ... In automobile design, an FR, or front-engine, rear wheel drive means a layout where the engine is in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. ... An automobile platform is a shared set of components common to a number of different automobiles. ... The V platform, or V-body, automobile platform name was used twice by General Motors. ... General Motors Opel division in Europe designed a compact V6 engine with an odd 54° vee angle. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine V6 and V-6 redirect here. ... “Gearbox” redirects here. ... The automatic gear selector in a Ford Five Hundred vehicle An automatic transmission is an automobile gearbox that can change gear ratios automatically as the vehicle moves, thus freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually (similar but larger devices are also used for railroad locomotives). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kerb (sometimes mis-spelled as curb by Americans) weight is the total weight of a vehicle with standard equipment, all necessary operating consumables (such as motor oil and coolant), a full tank of fuel and not loaded with either passengers or cargo. ... There was also an Oldsmobile Omega, an unrelated vehicle in the 1970s/80s The Opel Omega was an executive car produced by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003. ... The Opel Omega was a large automobile from Opel, the main European subsidiary of General Motors. ... The Holden Commodore is an automobile produced by the Holden division of General Motors (GM) in Australia. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixel Image in higher resolution (2260 × 1084 pixel, file size: 204 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cadillac Catera Metadata... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 384 pixel Image in higher resolution (2260 × 1084 pixel, file size: 204 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Cadillac Catera Metadata... For other uses, see Cadillac (disambiguation). ... A mid-size car, frequently referred to as an intermediate, is an automobile with a size between that of a compact and a full-size or standard-size car. ... There was also an Oldsmobile Omega, an unrelated vehicle in the 1970s/80s The Opel Omega was an executive car produced by the German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2003. ... Rüsselsheim is the largest city in the Groß-Gerau district in the Rhein-Main region of Germany. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... The Fleetwood name was used on the top of the Cadillac line since 1927. ... The Cadillac Seville was a luxury car manufactured by the Cadillac division of American automaker General Motors. ... It has been suggested that Cadillac Coupe DeVille be merged into this article or section. ... The Cadillac Allanté was Cadillacs first venture into the luxury roadster market and was sold from 1987 through 1993. ...

The Catera debuted for the 1997 model year, and was subsequently updated with a new nose, wheels, interior trim, mirrors, HID headlights, stiffer suspension settings, and side airbags for 2000. Power came from a 200 hp 54° L81 V6 to the rear wheels, unlike all other Cadillacs of its day. The car's engine was made in England at GM's Ellesmere Port facility, the GM 4L30-E transmission, which was also used in the BMW 3 and 5 Series, as well as certain Isuzu products, was from GM's plant in Strasbourg, France. A Sport model of the Catera was offered beginning in 1999 featuring larger wheels, a firmer suspension, rear spoiler and other mostly cosmetic differences. General Motors Opel division in Europe designed a compact V6 engine with an odd 54° vee angle. ... The Ford Essex V6 engine V6 and V-6 redirect here. ... In automobile design, an FR, or front-engine, rear wheel drive means a layout where the engine is in the front of the vehicle and drive wheels at the rear. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The 4L30-E was an automatic transmission developed and produced by General Motors. ... The BMW 3 Series is an entry-level luxury car / compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. ... The BMW 5 Series is a mid-size luxury car / executive car manufactured by German automaker BMW since 1972. ... This article is about a truck manufacturer. ... For other uses, see Strasburg. ...

The Catera was marketed to younger demographic than traditional Cadillac buyers with the "Caddy that zigs" tagline, and the car generally delivered on its promise of European-style handling. The launch advertisements featured supermodel Cindy Crawford, who was paid a reported $350,000 for ads including talking to an animated duck-like creature known as "Ziggy", offered by Cadillac as follows - "Like Catera, he was hatched in Germany and has the sole mission of bringing fun to the luxury of Cadillac. He was one of six mythical, beakless, footless martins or "Merlettes" in the Cadillac Crest before we gave him big feet, a giant beak, and turned him around. He's quite a departure from his five brothers who have been part of the Cadillac Crest since the days of the crusades when the crest was the proud symbol of Le Sieu Antoine de la Motha Cadillac Family." For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “USD” redirects here. ...

The car was smaller and had less power than other Cadillacs of the time. Though the Catera generally received good reviews from the automotive press, sales did not meet GM's expectations. The car was often seen as too small to appeal to the marque's traditional luxury car buyers and failed to attract as many buyers away from European luxury brands as GM had initially predicted. Some compared the Catera's short and disappointing production run to the disastrous Cimarron of the early 1980s, although the Catera was a far better car in the opinion of most journalists and owners. The "duck's" disappearance from the company logo altogether in 1999 may have been a reaction to this failure. A luxury car is a relatively expensive car. ... The Cadillac Cimarron was a compact car built by Cadillac based on the GM J platform. ...

A phrase in some of the car's advertising (lease a Catera) resulted in a character of CBS medical drama Chicago Hope being named for the car, Lisa Catera. This article or section should include material from Tenancy agreement A lease is a contract conveying from one person (the lessor) to another person (the lessee) the right to use and control some article of property for a specified period of time (the term), without conveying ownership, in exchange for... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Chicago Hope was a popular CBS drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994 to May 4, 2000. ...

The Catera, due in part to reliability problems including initial tire wear issues caused by an "autobahn-friendly" alignment specification, and engine failures (for which a recall was eventually offered by GM) as well as a disappointing marketing campaign, was dropped after the 2001 model year. Consumer and automotive publications have generally reported the Catera's reliability improved significantly with the 1999 model year. Approximately 95,000 Cateras were sold in the United States in its five-year production run. A large (over 1600 members as of October 2006) free owners group for the Catera was founded by newspaper columnist and Catera owner Tom Meek in 2001 on Yahoo!, and serves as a primary Catera comprehensive information resource. Tom Meek with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, 2002 Tom Meek (b. ... “Yahoo” redirects here. ...

The Catera's basic platform/chassis continued in use until September 2006 in the North American Pontiac GTO, and until 2005 in the Holden Commodore and Holden Monaro in Australia. The European Omega was discontinued in 2003. North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible The Pontiac GTO was an automobile built by Pontiac from 1964 to 1974, and by General Motors Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. ... The Holden Commodore is an automobile produced by the Holden division of General Motors (GM) in Australia. ... The Monaro is a muscle car produced by Holden, the Australian branch of General Motors. ...

References & Links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Cadillac Catera

• CateraOwners, the world's largest owners group for the Cadillac Catera
• John Phillips. "Cadillac Catera Sport". Car and Driver (May 2000): 120–125. 
• Humorist Ian Shoales on the Catera marketing campaign

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Cover of Car and Driver from age of psychedelic lettering Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. ...