The Morning Call and Mcall.com's view

At a recent meeting with reporters in New York City, GM President and CEO Richard Wagoner, Jr. remarked that Cadillac needed only one more hit to become a hot brand in the luxury market.

Will the CTS be enough to do the job?

Certainly it seems like it. The CTS is Cadillac’s notice to the industry that it is becoming aggressive once again.

That’s apparent from the car’s styling. It’s bold and a bit off-putting when first seen. But take a closer look. This is one finely drawn sedan.

The car uses many traditional Cadillac design cues, such as the razor-edge design of the 1965 Eldorado, vertical taillamps first seen in 1965 and an egg-crate grille, a Cadillac design staple since the 1930s.

Yet these classic cues are taken to the extreme as if blended and reshaped in a Cuisinart. The result is edgy and faceted, like fine jewelry.

The car’s tall belt line is relieved by a character line running along the side of the car, accenting the front wheels. Up front, the stacked headlamps mimick the stacked tailamps in the rear.

You won’t lose it in a parking lot like many of its bland, blobby competitors.

That boldness continues inside, with a pleasing mix of textures that lends the car a 21st century post-industrial feel. Cadillac does add some wood trim and leather to give the interior a touch of luxury-car tradition.

Like the exterior, the interior makes its own statement, choosing not to follow everyone else’s idea of luxury, but stating its own case instead.

But none of the styling success matters if the car doesn’t handle with the best in its class from overseas. This is where the CTS really excels: the rear-drive CTS is the best handling Cadillac I’ve ever driven.

The car is based on GM’s new Sigma platform. The car itself is about the size of a BMW 5-Series. Like the BMW, the vehicle has rear-wheel-drive to enhance its performance.

The car’s handling is crisp and precise. Like many European cars, but few American ones, the harder you push it, the more the car’s handling improves. Grip is excellent in drenching downpours or on dry pavement.

Body lean comes on gradually, and there’s a noticeable lack of front-end nose-dive in panic stops.

Part of the car’s excellent road manners is the result of GM’s development of the car at the famed Nurburgring race circuit in Germany. This is where German automakers perfect the performance of their cars, and its effect on Cadillac is very apparent.

The car feels slightly underpowered, despite a claimed 0-60 mph time of under 7 seconds. The 220-horsepower, 3.2-liter double-overhead-cam V-6 seems to be working hard most of the time. Highway cruising speed is just at 2,500 rpm. Power comes on stronger the faster one goes, but it seems GM’s 5-speed automatic downshifts too quickly.

But ask for power and the transmission del ivers right up to the 6,500 redline. A five-speed manual transmission is offered for the first time on a rear-drive Caddy since the mid-50s.

Ride quality is a mix of comfort and firmness, with excellent bump absorption. Road feel is quite good.

Braking is strong. Once again, braking is similar to the finest cars on the road, with short, straight stops and excellent control.

Stabiltrak, Cadillac’s stability control system, is standard, along with anti-lock brakes and traction control.

While there are many standard amenities, one option worth considering is the $3,500 Luxury Sport Package. It increases wheel size from 16 to 17 inches and adds special polished alloy wheels. Stabilitrak, load-leveling suspension, high performance brake lining, sports suspension and a mess of niceties, including a voice memo recorder, add to the package.

The crisp styling first seen on the Cadillac Escalade SUV and Escalade EXT pick-u truck clearly heralds the new direction at Cadillac and early sales are strong.

Is it a hit? Possibly.

But that’s for marketers to figure out. Here’s what you need to know: The Cadillac CTS is one of the finest American cars made, putting the marque in the fray with the best Europe has to offer.