Cadillac steers toward right-hand drive; UK and Japanese markets targeted in bid to boost sales.

Byline: Dave Guilford

Cadillac is likely to approve right-hand-drive versions of two new vehicles in its quest to become a global brand.

General Motors executives have said Cadillac needs to gain volume to compete with such rivals as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Lack of a right-hand-drive model hurts Cadillac in two multimillion-unit markets, Japan and the UK - Europe's second-largest sales market in 2002 - as well as several smaller markets.

John Howell, Cadillac's director of global brand development, said he is "more positive than negativ