????凱迪拉克（Cadillac）旗下的車型名稱一向十分拗口，連凱迪拉克的營銷副總裁唐?巴特勒都受不了。為了把名字起得簡單些，他采用了星巴克（Starbuck）給咖啡杯命名的法子（如小杯、中杯、大杯、超大杯等等），按尺寸給新產品命名。于是凱迪拉克的新車型按身材依次喚作ATS、CTS還有尺寸最大的XTS。

????通用汽車（General Motors Co.）把凱迪拉克新XTS的競爭對手定位為奧迪（Audi）A6、寶馬（BMW）528i和奔馳（Mercedes）E350等豪華轎車。入門版XTS的價格為44,995美元，與41,700美元的奧迪A6、46,900美元的寶馬528i和50,490美元的奔馳E350相比，還是顯得相當有“性價比”。不過巴特勒表示，如果把所有可選配置都加上，頂級配置版XTS的價格可能會上升到6萬美元以上。

????雖然凱迪拉克已經和海外競爭對手擺開了搶奪顧客的架式，不過它更在乎的可能是那些老款凱迪拉克的車主。凱迪拉克STS旅行車剛剛停產，此外早先已經停產的DTS轎車也有一批車主，通用希望確保這些車主不會被吸引到別的品牌那里去。密歇根州諾斯維爾市IHS公司的高級分析師亞倫?布拉格曼表示：“XTS最重要的任務就是確保現有客戶不會流失。”

????凱迪拉克XTS搭載了一臺3.6升304馬力的V6發動機，排量比同級的奧迪A6和寶馬5系都要大得多。另外它還的賣點還包括一系列安全性配置，比如車道偏離警示系統，以及所謂的“凱迪拉克用戶體驗”系統，簡稱CUE。CUE是一個安裝在儀表盤上的人機交互系統，它的界面與智能手機很相像。用戶只需通過使用觸屏、操作多功能方向盤或使用語音控制就可以使用導航、聽音樂或激活安全設備。

????凱迪拉克的高層們意識到XTS的儀表盤上的確搭載了不少新技術。在這方面，福特（Ford）的教訓可以作為前車之鑒。福特的MyFord Touch儀表盤在面世之初故障連連，讓福特損失不小。為了幫助車主迅速上手，裝備了CUE的XTS轎車還隨車附送一個蘋果iPad，它提前預裝了一些應用程序，可以展示汽車的各項配置是如何工作的，其中一個應用還可以編輯和播放數碼音樂。

????凱迪拉克的品牌復蘇旅程已有十年之久，期間由于通用2008年的財務困難和2009年的破產危機，XTS的研發屢次遭到干擾和拖延。XTS是凱迪拉克DTS和STS大型轎車的替代車型。在XTS上市后，凱迪拉克今夏還要繼續推出尺寸更小的ATS轎車，以在轎車的三大細分市場都保持存在。

????The tongue-twisting alphanumeric names for Cadillac's vehicle lineup had gotten so baffling that Don Butler, vice president of marketing, borrowed Starbuck's drink sizes to simplify them. Tall, grande, venti. Small, medium, large. ATS, CTS and XTS, Cadillac's newest large sedan.

????General Motors Co. is banking on U.S. car-buyers considering the new XTS when shopping for luxury vehicles like the Audi A6, BMW 528i and Mercedes E350. The $44,995 price-tag for the entry-level version of the new Caddy makes the car a "good value," in Butler's words, against the $41,700 A6, $46,900 BMW and $50,490 Mercedes. With all available options, the XTS' price can rise to just above $60,000.

????To be sure, Cadillac's goal is to steal customers from its foreign rivals. But a perhaps more important target are current Cadillac owners. GM wants to ensure customers trading in now-discontinued STS touring sedans or the discontinued DTS sedans aren't poached. "The most important mission for XTS is to make sure it doesn't lose the ones it's got," affirms Aaron Bragman, a senior analyst with IHS Inc. in Northville, Michigan.

????The comparable Audi and BMW sedans come equipped with much smaller engines than Cadillac's 3.6-liter, 304 horsepower V6. Cadillac is also counting on an array of safety features, including lane departure warning and CUE or Cadillac User Experience, a high-tech graphic dashboard interface with similarities to a smartphone. CUE will allow the driver to navigate, listen to music and activate safety devices using touch screen icons, steering wheel controls or voice commands.

????Cadillac executives realize they're cramming a great deal of new technology into the XTS's instrument panel. Ford Motor Co. (F) was burned when its MyFord Touch controls initially experienced glitches. To head off confusion while adding a sweetener, GM is distributing an Apple (AAPL) iPad with each vehicle equipped with CUE. The iPad will be preloaded with apps that explain how various features work, including one which organizes and displays the user's digital music. (Another luxury car, Hyundai's Equus, distributed 2,000 $500 iPads before discontinuing the practice with the 2012 model.)

????Cadillac's decade-long brand resurgence was derailed by GM's financial troubles in 2008 and the 2009 bankruptcy, which disrupted and delayed the XTS' development. The XTS replaces the Cadillac's DTS large sedan, as well as STS. With the new model's debut, GM's luxury division still has to roll out the smaller ATS the summer to gain representation in the three key sedan size categories.