2002 Cadillac DeVille DTS

It was 8:30 one winter morning on a Michigan two-lane with a layer of fresh snow and slush partially cleared Detroit-style. As I approached a left-hand curve at about 50 mph, a huge umpteen-wheel gravel hauler suddenly appeared, coming the other way around the bend—way across the center line!


I barely reacted in time, dodged hard right, just clearing the truck's massive prow, then quickly steered back left toward the direction of the road, right wheels well off onto the shoulder, plowing snow. The back end stepped out to the right, but I counter-steered and held it till it finally found some traction. Complicating things, the truck covered my windshield with slush and the intermittent wiper seemed to take its time to clear it enough for me to see.

A state-of-the-art 32-valve Northstar V-8 generates a potent 300 hp in the DTS from just 4.6 liters.

When the windshield cleared at last, I could see oncoming traffic behind the truck, the drivers' eyes wide as they watched this big Cadillac slew around the bend sideways toward them. This could have been a BIG one. I could have crossed the line and met one of them head-on, or over-corrected and taken a driver's-side T-bone. All I could do was stay off both pedals and steer where I wanted to go.


The moment ended almost as quickly as it began. I found myself with four wheels on my own side of the tarmac, fully in control. My first thought was to race back and catch that truck driver and get his numbers to report, but instead I congratulated myself on some truly expert emergency driving. Sometimes all the years of training and experience really do pay off.


Then I remembered I was driving a DTS with Stabilitrack, which is Cadillac's marvelously effective stability-control system that detects loss of traction at one or more wheels and expertly applies gentle braking as appropriate to the others to keep all four in line and prevent loss of control. I'll never know how much the car assisted my miraculous save that morning. I'd like to think it was mostly me, but probably not. I'm grateful either way.