Mention Cadillac to many people, especially those of a certain generation, and what springs to mind is a barge of a car with flashy chromed fins, a fuel tank the size of the Titanic, and seats like something from Edblo Fantasyland.
The car I've been cruising around in this past week is nothing like that. Probably because General Motors now owns Cadillac and Swedish automaker Saab, and the new Caddy comes straight from that company's Swedish factory.
In fact, it's built on the same platform as the Saab 9-3, so there's really not much American flavour left in it; in other words, little flash, fins or ferocious handling.
The only hint of its ancestry is perhaps the squareness of its shape, but other than that it's unlike anything you'll ever find driving out of a Yank factory.
I thought it rather gorgeous. Big, yes, but not ginormous, and drive-wise, it's beautiful: smooth, handles like a dream, with classy leather interior, brushed aluminium accents, and all the gizmos and safety features we've come to expect from modern cars.
I piled the kids and a bunch of luggage into the car and we headed off down to the Wild Coast for the weekend, and on those lovely sweeping coastal roads, it was glorious.
My chariot was the 188kW, BLS 2.6 V6 turbo Cadillac, and I really battled to stick to the speed limit, such was the driving pleasure.
The driver's seat could be moved to exactly my specs, the aircon was more than efficient, the cupholders back and front kept all of us happy, and no, we had no need for the seat warmers, thanks very much, steaming as we were in Durban's 40-degree heat!
The car emits a very satisfying deep-throated purr, and exterior-wise, looks ultra classy and incredibly different.
Way ahead, in fact, of its great-great-great granddaddy, who was born way back in about 1902.
According to my eight-year-old daughters' Pocket Cars, (which she keeps safely tucked away in her Barbie handbag), American luxury cars only really come to the fore in the 1930s.
It was a golden era for them, particularly noteworthy for famous marques like Packard, Cord, and Pierce Arrow - as well as Cadillac - which produced vast, extravagantly styled-cars for Hollywood stars to pose beside and Chicago gangsters to drive.
Sadly, few of these remain today. And the BLS I drove bears little resemblance to any of the forefathers of the brand, like the 1931 Cadillac 7.4 litre V16, which really blew your hair back at a wicked 160km/h.
No matter. It's still a remarkably eye-catching vehicle, with beautiful manners, and loads of cachet - something never before exhibited by the average American car.
By the way, if you're a Bruce Springsteen fan, you might enjoy some of the words from his classic, Pink Cadillac:
Now some folks say it's too big,
And uses too much gas.
Some folks say it's too old,
And that it goes too fast.
But my love is bigger than a Honda;
It's bigger than a Subaru.
Hey man there's only one thing,
And one car that will do.
Anyway we don't have to drive it;
Honey we can park it out in back
And have a party in your pink Cadillac.
Go Bruce!
- The Caddy will be in our showrooms from about April and you can expect to pay about R360 000.