GM has spent a lot of time and energy into the new Cadillac CTS, and from the looks of things, it has payed off. The CTS sedan has reinstated Cadillac as a contender among the top sport luxury brands, which include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, and Infiniti. Now, however, there is an even better car, the 2009 Cadillac CTS Coupe.

The CTS Coupe is a stunning, sexy, machine. It takes everything that is good from the CTS sedan and makes it better. The sharp, futuristic styling embodies Cadillac’s motto of Art and Science. Hopefully, Cadillac will make this concept into production with no changes, since it looks so good. It has the same edgy look as Cadillac’s Cien, as well as the luxury/prestige look of the Sixteen concept. The sensational styling also recalls bygone days, days when style and design were everything, and among the luxury brands, Cadillac was king.

There was a period in American automotive history when an American car was a real American car, when power, speed, and looks were all, a time before American cars began to lose their flavor. Gas was cheap, cars were fast, mpg’s matter to the John Q. Public, and The Big Three ruled the streets. I am, of course, talking about the 60’s, a time when America was the undisputed boss of the world, people had money to burn, and the overall attitude of the John Q. Public was fun and good, and cars reflected that. For some reason, American cars have always seemed to reflect the attitude of their nation. The 60’s were the glory days of the American automobile, they were a time of true muscle cars, and a time when the name of Lincoln or Cadillac actually meant something. Then, sadly, things started going downhill.

After people began worrying about mpg’s, and after the introduction of economic Japanese cars, The Big Three lost sight of what a true car is. Design was no longer a priority, and cars became bland, milder, and overall more timid than their 60’s counterparts. If you need an example just look at the ‘69 Chevrolet Corvette Manta Ray concept, vs. the 1994 version. The ‘94 was bland, unattractive, and had no flair. By contrast, the ‘69 Manta Ray was a sick, lean, evil machine with killer looks. Another example is the ‘68 Camaro vs. the ‘93 one. Or the ‘67 Mustang Gt vs. the ‘95 Mustang GT. Or the ‘64 Lincoln Continental vs. ‘96 one. I could reel off dozens.

My point through all of this is that American cars are considered be lower than European or Japanese cars, when before it was the complete opposite. The American car is steadily falling behind. Now, however, that might change.

The introduction of the CTS Coupe is important mostly because of the thinking behind it. As Cadillac’s director of exterior design, John Manoogian II puts it “Bob[GM’s Vice Chairman] always makes mention of the era when Bill Mitchell was running Design Center…that’s how cars were done, with so much passion and enthusiasm. A designer had an idea, and they just translated it into full-size. And we didn’t want to water down the process.”

This is great, this is fantastic, this shows that at least Cadillac has now finally re-learned what made an American car great. Cadillac’s design director Clay Dean says
“One of the messages that Bob telegraphs tremendously is that everybody is enabling design again. And everybody is pushing for design.”

This is the best news I that I have heard about GM in years, and if GM, Ford, and Chrysler all get the same message, then I think that the American car has a bright future to look toward to.

Dean also says is “We’re not trying to be a German car. We’re not trying to be and English car. We want to be an American car. This is the premier luxury brand. And our brand needs to be something we flaunt. We want to stand for what made this brand great in its day, again”.

This is what the American automotive industry has been missing, and this is partly why GM is now second to Toyota. GM lost sight of what Americans want in a car, and they paid for it.

People are also now talking about the end of America, and how America’s time has come. Well, now that I’m confident in America’s car industry, I’m also confident in America as a country. Why? Because American cars have always reflected the attitude of their nation, and if GM, Ford, and Chrysler start making cars every bit as good as Cadillac’s CTS Coupe, then I think America as a country is gonna be just fine.

And you can take that to the bank.