Since the launch of Cadillac's revitalized models such as the Escalade and the CTS, the company has promised to return to its one-time benchmark, "The Standard of the World." Today, that means beating competition from BMW (including the company's M performance division), Mercedes-Benz (likewise AMG) and Lexus.

The thinking at GM goes like this: If the company can take on the likes of the BMW M5, Mercedes' SL65 AMG and Lexus' LX 470 SUV, then surely the company's other brands can beat their respective competitors.

There is significant validity to this thesis. Cadillac sales have increased 37 percent since 2001 and the company outsold Mercedes-Benz in the U.S. in 2005. The cars are smarter-looking and more rewarding to drive than ever. Cadillac's success is in stark contrast to its rapidly fading crosstown rival Lincoln, which sold barely more than half as many cars as Cadillac last year.

The problem with Cadillac, GM and domestic manufacturers in general, however, is the unfortunate tendency to benchmark against one's own previous products, rather than against the latest and future BMW M3, Mercedes CLK63 AMG and Lexus GS 450h. Those are the cars that must be defeated in the showrooms for the company to succeed.

Admit it: You've asked yourself this question
With the launch of the new 2007 Escalade, Cadillac has announced the beginning of Phase Two of its renaissance. But the question that can rightly be posed regarding Phase One is whether it was truly the miracle Cadillac claims, or just a mirage that is apt to dissipate in the face of increasingly fierce foreign competition.

The question is not asked out of some pro-import bias, but out of the belief that only by topping the competition, feature for feature and dollar for dollar, can Cadillac reclaim its stake as the "Standard of the World." The company is reaching for that banner now, but some product shortcomings may suggest that the reach is still premature.

Today's Cadillac lineup is excellent, with the popular Escalade, zoomy XLR and sporty CTS. GM is justifiably proud of the achievements since the dim days of the Eldorado, Fleetwood and Catera.

"It is hard to remember now, but six years ago Cadillac was still literally on the ropes," recalled Detroit gadfly and publisher of the Autoextremist.com blog, Peter DeLorenzo. "Their vehicles were out of touch," he said. "Cadillac was strictly a deteriorating country club brand. But now they have street presence."

Phase Two oversights
That is true enough, but "better than ever" doesn't always equate to "best in class" in the American luxury market. "In round two we have to come out with no-excuses products," proclaimed Cadillac General Manager Jim Taylor. "In this round, if we miss something we have to take our lumps and stand tall."

Cadillac knows, for example, that it must stand tall in the face of some hiccups in the all-new Renaissance Phase Two-era Escalade.

The power windows have no one-touch express-up function, like those you'd find, for example, on every Volkswagen Jetta, for all four windows. The steering wheel tilt is not only manual rather than power adjustable, it adjusts in the huge, clunky increments one might associate with some commercial truck.

The key has no built-in remote control functions, like those you'd find on, say, a Toyota Yaris economy car. Instead, the Phase Two Escalade's key ring includes a key and old-fashioned separate fob with the remote functions.

The good news here is that the antiquated key fob isn't present as the result of some negligent oversight. Cadillac will replace the keys in all its models with ones that incorporate remote functions, but because of the differing engineering schedules for each model, those keys won't be available until summer, explained Taylor.

Such is the case with all of the product details that Cadillac realizes are needed, but absent. "It isn't generally something that is missed," Taylor said. "There is usually a story around it." That means that there is some production capacity, engineering commonality or corporate intrigue sort of obstacle that prevented Cadillac from executing on that particular detail.

So Cadillac folks aren't blind to the competition, or stupid, or careless; they are bogged down by GM's bureaucracy. "But consumers don't care" about the source of the shortcomings, acknowledges Taylor.

Fulfilling present expectations
At the same time, the "overall integrity and design" of the Escalade are so strong that customers will forgive these oversights, asserts DeLorenzo. But the company might not find luxury sedan buyers as forgiving as SUV buyers. Certainly, at the prices of the high-performance "V" models, Cadillac buyers have the right to be extremely discerning, and some expectations have yet to be fulfilled.

Take the new STS-V, for example. It has the same horsepower rating as the mighty Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG, but it doesn't deliver the same visceral thrill that taunts the driver into misbehaving. The Mercedes-Benz E55, BMW M5 and M3, and Caddy's own CTS-V snarl and snap, reminding the driver of the potential under his right foot.

The STS-V seems to doze off, like a Pompano Beach retiree in his La-Z-Boy — still sharp as ever, just taking a little rest. Once roused, the STS-V can deliver the goods, but it is far too easy to draw the wrong conclusion from its quiet cruising attitude.

Defining a future direction
One way that Cadillac can truly take the fight to Europe's Old World prestige powers is to compete in their markets. The company has taken that step with the development of the Saab-derived BLS, a compact front-drive sedan that gives European Cadillac dealers the four-cylinder and diesel engines they need to attract customers in the volume to justify selling the brand. Meanwhile, they will be able to show off CTS and STS models that a few of those shoppers might consider.

At home, Cadillac will soon roll out a higher-performance CTS-V, followed by a new CTS that will reinforce the current model's many strengths, while correcting its obvious weaknesses, such as the cheap-looking interior. Perhaps that car will be the first, true no-excuses example of Cadillac's Phase Two hardware. "The next-generation CTS will have to have bulletproof execution" to sustain the renaissance, agreed Cadillac's Taylor.

DeLorenzo, who has seen a preview of the CTS, says he thinks it will. "I think this vehicle is the first direct threat to the BMW 3 Series," he predicted.

Cadillac fans, and anyone who thinks GM can punch its way out of the corner it has backed into, hope he is right.