What Do CTS & DTS Stand for in Cadillacs? by Miles

For 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.

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