Caddy engineers punch up the power in '04 CTS.(News)(Cadillac CTS)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

Aside from the truck-like floor-mounted emergency brake pedal and some fit-and-finish concerns, Cadillac knew from the moment its 2003 CTS hit the pavement that the car's biggest shortcoming was the modest punch from its 220-hp, 3.2-liter V6 engine.

So here's good news for all those Cadillac CTS apologists: Help is on the way, in the form of what General Motors calls a ``high feature'' V6 engine for 2004 models. The 3.6-liter, dohc 24-valve powerplant offers such high-end technologies as variable intake and exhaust valve timing, piston-cooling oil jets and a dual-stage variable intake manifold. The all-new aluminum block engine produces 255 hp at 6200 rpm and 252 lb-ft of torque at 3200 rpm, all with the same estimated average fuel economy of 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. (For those seeking serious performance, Cadillac is still working on its 400-hp, 5.7-liter V8-powered ``V'' Series CTS, due in early 2004.)

The 3.6-liter engine debuts in the 2004 CTS due in dealerships by August, followed by its introduction in the Cadillac SRX sport wagon in late 2004. Buick Rendezvous gets the engine beginning next January and a variant of the V6 appears in the 2005 STS. In CTS, the only transmission ...