DeVille Concours looks just like a $36,635 DeVille. Both share the hidden rear wheels

and tail fins that have been Cadillac trademarks since 1949, although the tailfins are

a mere suggestion of those bygone days.

Both editions of the DeVille also share a rich palette of toney hues that include

Cotillion White, Polo Green and the Dark Cherry that adorned our Concours test car.

While both cars get Cadillac's 32-valve Northstar V8 for 1996, the Concours gets

an extra 25 hp. H-rated tires also give it a heady 130-mph top speed versus 112 mph

for the DeVille. We'll take the manufacturer's word on both of these upper limits.

Concours literally means "competition." As such, it has more head, hip and legroom

and a larger trunk than its Lincoln Continental rival. It even beats the larger Town

Car in some key dimensions, including rear head and hip room and overall space. It

also wins the horsepower competition hands-down, with 40 more than the Continental and

a 90-hp advantage over the Town Car. Although sheer acceleration isn't a key buying

point for cars in this class, power is part of the prestige formula, and it always

comes in handy when you're passing on a 2-lane highway.

Concours triumphs in the price wars as well. Its base sticker comes in at some

$1000 less than the Continental's. Though the Concours also costs four grand more than

the Town Car, the plain DeVille costs $1000 less and offers most of the Concours'

advantages.