What Do CTS & DTS Stand for in Cadillacs?
by MilesFor many years, General Motors' flagship brand, Cadillac, was known as the "Standard of the World." This standard-bearer dropped its traditional names, such as Fleetwood, Eldorado and DeVille, in the late 1990s in favor of three-letter nameplates.
DTS
Cadillac's big four-dour sedan, the DeVille, went the way of the dodo bird upon the release of the DTS, which originally stood for "DeVille Touring Sedan." Now, the name is no longer an acronym, and is simply part of Cadillac's letter-based naming system.
CTS
In the 1990s, Cadillac introduced "the Caddy that zips," the Catera. In the mid-2000s, Cadillac dropped the Catera for a new model, the CTS, which originally stood for "Catera Touring Sedan." Like the DTS, CTS is no longer an acronym, and is simply part of Cadillac's letter-based nameplates.
Other Letter-Based Cadillac Names
Cadillac also dropped the Eldorado name in favor of ESC and ETC, standing for "Eldorad Sports Coupe" and "Eldorado Touring Coupe," respectively.
Other Nameplates
Along with the DTS, there is also the Cadillac DHS.
"V" Series
Cadillac's STS-V and CTS-V are top-of-the-line models with souped-up V-8 engines.
References
Writer Bio
Miles Davis is a New York-based writer and editor. He lives in Manhattan. He has been a writer and editor for more than 15 years. Among his interests are newspapers, public radio, travel, urban planning, books, movies and music. A love for travel sparked at a young age means he doesn't like to stay in one place too long.
