Cadillac recently lowered the price of the new-for-2010 CTS Sport Wagon. Prior to this change, the price of the base CTS Sport Wagon with the 3 liter V6 and rear-wheel drive was $40,485. Note all prices referenced here include destination. John Howell, vice president of Cadillac products worldwide explained the move, citing concerns that prospective Sport Wagon buyers would walk into Cadillac showrooms, “see the price of the SRX and lose interest in the wagon.” General Motors knocked just more than $1,300 off the cost of admission to the CTS D-pillar club, bringing the price down to $39,150. The price of the base SRX with front-wheel drive is $34,155. The hope is that reducing the price premium of the Sport Wagon over the SRX from $6,330 to $4,995 will keep just enough potential Sport Wagon buyers interested. By contrast, the base price of the CTS Sedan is $35,990.

Thus far, most commentators have been skeptical. And for good reason: as of late, Americans have avoided wagons at all cost. Indeed, the SUV rose to prominence in part because of America’s anti-wagon prejudice. Mainstream buyers prefer SUVs over similarly capable and similarly priced wagons. Looking at the offerings from Cadillac, they will see that compared to the CTS Sport Wagon, the SRX is just as powerful, has more ground clearance and a more commanding view of the road, greater towing capacity, and more room (61 v 58 cubes, maximum cargo capacity). Moreover, the SRX comes with nearly a five thousand dollar discount compared to its stablemate. For most buyers, there is no contest.

But such comparative thinking misses the 3,500 pound boat the CTS cannot tow. The Sport Wagon’s raison d’être is to lend Cadillac credibility in the European market where the serious luxury automakers, Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW, all market performance wagons, with quite some success. Cadillac does not expect the car to be a volume seller on this side of the pond. Back in August, Motor Trend wrote:

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