Wrap-up Our pick is the 2006 Cadillac DTS Performance, a handsome, comfortable, and surprisingly responsive luxury cruiser well suited to daily commutes and cross-country drives.

Weaning itself off the traditional buyer whose peculiar tastes almost killed the company, Cadillac gives its aging loyalist customer base one last shot at buying a brand-new canvas upon which it can slather fake cabriolet roofs, sparkling wire wheels, brassy gold packages, and Vogue tires. That last shot is the 2006 Cadillac DTS Luxury, complete with an optional stand-up hood ornament to completely bowl the middle-America AARP crowd over with glee.

On the other hand, the 2006 Cadillac DTS Performance is an impressive update of a carryover car, closer to being competitive than any DeVille that has come before. It lacks the refinement and technology of a Lexus, the entertaining driving character of a BMW, and the brand cachet of either – unless you’re talking to the kid next door whose pants sag almost to his knees. But it’s loaded with Motor City attitude, and is a perfectly serviceable stopgap car to get Cadillac’s full-sized flagship from yesterday to tomorrow.