The good folks over at GMI are reporting that a proper Cadillac flagship, high tech and rear drive like God intended a Cadillac to be, will hit production in 3-5 years.

Built on a new, heavily revised and aluminum intensive variant of the Zeta chassis internally known as Omega…the new car will displace the XTS which has apparently not exactly impressed GM management with it’s flagship cred.

This might mean Cadillac will position the XTS as more of a STS replacement rather than a flagship product, leaving room for the new car when it arrives a couple years later. If this is the case, we’ll go out on a limb and predict the XTS name might be supplanted by a return to the STS moniker to cement it’s lower than top dog position.

Depending on the front-driver’s ability to draw buyers, it likely will enjoy a short run before disappearing a year or so after the new Omega-based car bows.

Now, Cadillac, about that coupe version to hunt CL’s…

Source: GM Inside News

Categories: News, STS / SLS, Rumored Models, XTS
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it appears that, in addition to being rumored to having some issues with weight and suspension geometry, Cadillac is still serious about match g the competition.

On one hand, rather than forcing out a product that is too heavy, they are working to remove hundreds of pounds from the car.

Additionally, GM is dissecting BMWs and ‘borrowing’ what they find to make the ATS the best small Cadillac possible.

Ultimately, we have to wait to see how well they do, but they are certainly running short of time to get the car right.

Source: Autoblog

Categories: News, Rumored Models, ATS
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GMInsideNews is reporting that there are some troubling reports from within the ATS program.

As you and I know it, ATS is a product based on the new Alpha chassis that was originally for small rear drive products for Holden, Cadillac, and previously Pontiac before its demise.

The Alpha program started as the next generation of the Kappa chassis that was the basis of the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, and the Opel GT. Over the years, the program has grown and had its scope altered with each brand that signed on and came with their own requirements and demands.

Unfortunately, this seems to have resulted in an ATS that is bumping into 4000 lbs which far outweighs the intended competition from BMW (which is more in the 3500-3600 range), Audi A4 (3500-3700), and Mercedes C-class (3500 to start). There is apparently a crash program in place to cut hundreds of pounds out of the ATS to get it down to a competitive weight.

Also, changes to powertrain requirements, V-6 and AWD options for example, have forced changes to front suspension geometry that could impact the competitiveness of the ATS’ handling vs the competition.

Read more about this program and the issues they are reportedly having over at:

Source: GM Inside News

Categories: News, Rumored Models, ATS
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Cadillac sales rose by 70% in February, speeding past the likes of Mercedes and perennial 1st place Lexus to take the second place luxury spot in the US market behind BMW.

A portion of the sales growth is due to increased sales of the SRX crossover and the DTS large sedan. The new SRX has been a huge success for Cadillac since it’s introduction over a year ago. The DTS is due to be phased out thus year along with the STS, both to be replaced by the new XTS large sedan (based on GM’s Epsilon II platform).

Incentives have made it easier for Cadillac intenders to finally pick up the car they’ve been wanting with lease deals on the CTS as low as $299/mo (lease deals are a major driver of luxury car sales in the US market).

Time will tell if this sales spike keeps Cadillac near the top in months to come as the US market recovers from the precious years’ economic downturn.

Source: Bloomberg

Categories: News, SRX, DTS, Rumored Models
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MotorTrend.com is speculating about the details of the new BMW 3-Series fighter from Cadillac (which everyone is calling the ATS).

They are suggesting that the drop-top version will go with a fabric roof vs. the retractible hardtop that is popular with BMW (in the 3-Series) but is not by any means universal (witness the soft-tops from Audi and Mercedes). The advantages of a fabric roof are easier packaging as well as keeping a heavy top mechanism and its adverse impact on handling dynamics (by keeping the center of gravity low) in a car that is going to sell on its superior handling.

Interestingly, in the MT article, they are suggesting that the previous rumor of the 6.2l V-8 making it into the ATS-V with 400+ hp is not a done deal. There may be V-6 with forced induction in the cards (with similar output) to bring better fuel economy if not lower weight (all the forced induction hardware will likely make a V-6 of this type practically as heavy as a normally aspirated, OHV V-8 like the 6.2.

Expect the ATS to reach production in a couple years as a 2014 (later for the V, coupe, and convertible).

Source: MotorTrend.com

Categories: News, Rumored Models, ATS
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