Sunday, November 29, 2009

Cadillac Previews CTS Coupe Ahead of Los Angeles Auto Show

Cadillac CTS Coupe. Cadillac CTS Coupe will come with a 3.6-liter V-6 engine, rated at 304 horsepower. A higher horsepower V-Series will is also planned.

The on-again, off-again Cadillac CTS Coupe is back on again. Cadillac officially announced the 2011 model Monday morning, promising to show the car publicly — for sure, this time — next week at the Los Angeles auto show.

The two-door version of the popular CTS sedan was to have been unveiled at last year’s Los Angeles show, but a high-power coupe was deemed politically incorrect, as well as economically questionable as General Motors edged toward financial collapse. The introduction was rescheduled for the Detroit auto show last January, but it didn’t surface there either.

The concept version of the coupe was first shown at the 2008 Detroit auto show, and green-lighted for production soon after in response to positive public reaction to its sharp-edged, origami-like styling.

Cadillac says the coupe will now arrive in dealerships next spring and a high-performance, 550-plus horsepower V-Series edition of the coupe is also expected.

The coupe will come in rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive versions. A 6-speed manual transmission will come standard, but only available with the rear-wheel-drive configuration. The base engine is a 3.6-liter V-6, rated at 304 horsepower. Cadillac says the CTS Coupe will be capable of 27 miles per gallon on the highway, using regular unleaded.

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe


The first Cadillac coupe in almost two decades features a classic 2+2 seating layout and is slated to arrive in U.S. showrooms in the spring of 2010. The most obvious rivals for the 2011 CTS Coupe are the BMW 3-Series Coupe along with the new Audi A5 Coupe, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and the Infiniti G37 Coupe.

The coupe has the same wheelbase as the CTS, but an overall height that is approximately two inches (51 mm) lower and an overall length that is two inches (51 mm) shorter.

According to Cadillac, even though the Coupe is based on the CTS sedan, it shares only the instrument panel, console, headlamps, front fenders and grille with four-door model.

At launch, the 2011 CTS Coupe will be offered with GM’s direct injected 3.6-liter V6 engine that produces 304 horsepower and offers an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 27 mpg on the highway.

The V6 engine is coupled to a standard 6-speed manual gearbox with an automatic transmission with Driver Shift Control and available steering wheel mounted shift buttons offered as an option. It will also come with rear- or all-wheel drive.

According to a previous announcement from GM, the CTS Coupe V6 will be joined in the near future by a range topping “V” model boasting the same 556-horsepower 6.2-liter supercharged V8 found on the CTS-V Sedan.

The Wagon of Cadillacs

EURO HAULER The first regular-production wagon Cadillac has sold in the United States, the CTS Sport Wagon flaunts the division's rakish knife-edge styling.

FOR most of us, the classic American station wagon — with its acres of fake woodgrain siding, sticky vinyl bench seats and lazy-revving V-8 engine — is a fixture of our collective automotive consciousness. It is also extinct. The gas crises of the ’70s hobbled it, the minivans of the ’80s dealt a knockout blow and the S.U.V.’s that followed stomped on its grave.

Could the new Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon — the only American-brand station wagon now available in this country — be a green shoot that portends a revival of this American archetype?

Not a chance. Instead, this car’s inspiration comes from Europe.

On the Continent, station wagons never were the wallowing land arks we knew, so today’s European car buyers aren’t scarred by that memory. And with Europe’s sky-high gas prices and narrow streets, S.U.V.’s make even less sense there than they do here, so Europeans who are engaged in all those much-talked-about “active lifestyle” pursuits — or who just need to carry a lot of stuff — often drive station wagons.

They drive so many of them, in fact, that it’s not unusual for station wagons to outsell their sedan counterparts. That explains why European carmakers haven’t dropped the body style — their home market loves it. Thus, most of the wagons sold here are European makes: Volvo, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Cadillac ardently wants to be thought of as a legitimate competitor to those makes, and it would also like to increase its tiny business in Europe. “For us, with aspirations in Europe, it made sense to do a wagon,” said Steve Shannon, the Cadillac marketing director. “It’s a relatively inexpensive vehicle to do once you have the sedan. And we think that over time there will be some European-ization of the U.S. market as vehicles get smaller, with smaller-displacement engines. A greater interest in wagons may also be a result.”

Even if you knew nothing about European wagons, one look at the CTS Sport Wagon would dispel any notion that this is the second coming of the Country Squire. There’s nothing retro to it. Even more so than the CTS sedan, the wagon is a showcase for Cadillac’s faceted, angular design.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Cadillac unveils much anticipated CTS Coupe

The unveiling of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe has topped a busy month for both the car, and the brand.

lutzandctsvnaais08

The 227kW/370Nm 3.6-litre V6 will be officially revealed at the Los Angeles Motor Show next month before a mid-2010 release in the US.

It comes around three weeks after Cadillac announced six finalists in its high profile search for an agency to handle its national creative account.

Cadillac will hold meetings with the agencies in Detroit before they make their final pitch in January.

But Cadillac’s vice chairman of marketing and communications, Bob Lutz, has been doing a reasonable job of marketing the brand himself.

2011_cadillac_cts-coupe_07

The brand is aiming to attract a younger demographic of buyers through its “May the best car win” campaign, and it is having some success.

Most if not all of the challengers were under 50 and the majority of the non-journalist entrants heard about the race through blogs and YouTube.

2011_cadillac_cts-coupe

And Lutz and Cadillac need something, with GM sales down 36 per cent year-to-date over the first three-quarters of 2009.

Cadillac unveils 2011 CTS coupe

CAPTION
By GM
Cadillac today unveiled the 2011 CTS coupe, due to arrive in showrooms in spring.

The coupe joins the CTS sport sedan, the muscle-bound 556-horsepower CTS-V and new CTS Sport Wagon as the foundation of Cadillac's lineup.

CAPTION
By GM
The CTS coupe's design carries over virtually unchanged from the concept car that was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2008. It's a classic 2+2 with goodies like a rear-view camera and a performance-oriented suspension system coupled to rear-wheel or all-wheel drive.

"CTS coupe is the new focal point of Cadillac, expressing both our design and technical capabilities," said Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac general manager. "It is intended to appeal to a new generation of car enthusiasts." And it's different than the sedan:

It has the same footprint as a CTS sedan but is two inches lower. The windshield is raked at a steeper angle. A touch pad replaces the need for standard door handles.

The CTS coupe's standard powertrain consists of a direct injected 3.6-liter V-6 and six-speed manual transmission. Among other things, direct injection helps the engine cut hydrocarbon emissions by 25% when its cold on startup. The 304-horsepower engine will offer EPA-estimated fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon on the highway. It also runs on less expensive regular unleaded gasoline.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon Confirmed

cadillac-cts-v-sport-wagon

Up until today, you could not convince me that wagons, or what some of you call ‘station wagons’, are cool. I think they are hideous and plain butt ugly but lately my old-school perception has changes with the introduction and conformation of the new Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon coming out.

The new Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon is pretty bad-assed if you ask me. It has a rear-end that I would want to ahh-cough-cough, open and CLOSE. Not only does the CTS-V Sport Wagon look pleasing to the eye, it should do a number to your back when you press the gas pedal laying down 556 horsepower and 551 ft-lbs of torque. The big 6.2-liter V8 crammed into the CTS-V Sport Wagon is good for a run from 0 to 60mph in 4.1 seconds. Yea, beat that Clark Grisswald, let’s see your station wagon with wood on the side do that. I bet I could get the CTS-V airborne too buddy!

Cadillac Narrows Contenders List to Three

General Motors Co.'s Cadillac has cut the list of semi-finalists vying for the brand's national creative account in half.

The shops moving to the next round are two Publicis Groupe shops: Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York, and Publicis, New York; along with Interpublic Group of Cos.' Martin Agency, Richmond, Va. Eliminated are Omnicom Group's DDB, Chicago; Interpublic's Gotham and independent McKinney, Durham, N.C. Cadillac confirmed that list.

The holidays will be a frenetic time for the finalists to put together their presentations, as the marketer has said it will hear pitches in January. A decision is expected soon afterward.

Prior experience
The three finalists have experience dealing with car brands.

Bartle Bogle was a finalist in Audi of America's review in 2006. The agency's London office handles Audi in the U.K., which created this TV spot for the Q5 early this year. In the Audi of America review, the agency pitched against incumbent McKinney, which had held the account from 1993 to 2006. The account is now with Venables, Bell & Partners.

Bob Lutz Says Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon is a Go

2010 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon Caranddriver Rendering

556hp Cadillac CTS-V wagon will go into production. The wagon will be the third member of the CTS-V line-up.

“You know what’s really going to get you guys is the CTS-V wagon”, said Lutz. The journalist responded “Oh, has the wagon been confirmed?” “Yes,” he replied, “You’ll be able to get the CTS-V anyway you want.” Great news if you are in favor of sporty wagon build by a US manufacturer.

The CTS-V Sport Wagon accompanies the CTS-V Sedan and the upcoming CTS-V Coupe which will drive and appear next year. Lutz didn’t provide any time frame for this arrival, but we think that GM made a nice decision to put this model into production and expand the line-up. Still Europe is the only region where power stations like the M5 Touring and RS6 Avant are surrounded by a large amount of enthusiasts.

We still have to wait and see what the vehicle holds when it hits the roads and can be compared to the existing group of sporty wagons.

General Motors will build hot-rod Cadillac CTS-V sport wagon

Entering the market for hot-rod station wagons, General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has confirmed to Car and Driver that it's going to build a 556-horsepower CTS-V version of the new Cadillac luxury hauler.

Interesting move. Doesn't cost GM much since it's a simple matter to drop the big engine into the new CTS sport wagon. It could claim some of the market still smarting over the demise of Chrysler's Dodge Magnum, which Drive On thinks history may judge as one of the coolest cars of all time. But a CTS-V wagon certainly won't add to GM's corporate fuel-economy luster:

C&D says the CTS-V sedan is a hot little performer, with a zero to 60 mile-per-hour burst in less than four seconds. And the wagon version of the CTS is a real head-turner. Developed from a European version, it first appeared at last year's Pebble Beach show. It could be a worthy design successor to Magnum. Now, Caddy's high-powered competition will be imports, starting with 580-hp Audi RS6 Avant.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Next Volt Gets a Cadillac Badge

converj

It’s official. Sort of. Cadillac is getting a Volt of its own. Word has it the stunning Converj concept car is slated for production as a series hybrid.

We’ve been hounding General Motors about this car ever since Vice Chairman Bob Lutz revealed it at the Detroit auto show earlier this year, and there have been rumors afoot about its impending production for awhile now. Now, according to the Detroit News, the concept’s been greenlighted. We have to wonder if Lutz wasn’t bending a few arms behind the scenes to make it happen.

The Converj uses the same technology and drivetrain layout as the Chevrolet Volt. The extended-range electric car not only will offer consumers some serious green cred and great mileage in an all-American brand but also put them miles beyond the Toyota Prius when it comes to style.

C’mon - just look at that car.

Maximum Bob with the Converj in Detroit.

Maximum Bob with the Converj in Detroit.

The News, citing unnamed sources familiar with the General’s inner workings, says the Converj is as real as a heart attack. Cadillac officials are said to have presented the production plan to GM’s board of directors last week.

It’s no secret “Maxium” Bob Lutz has been a big supporter of the Converj, nor is it any secret that what Lutz wants, Lutz pretty much gets. He’s said the production model would look similar to the concept pictured above. The show car was bold and striking, like something from Giorgetto Giugiaro, not Detroit. It’s as sexy as the Volt is mainstream. Sultry sheet metal aside, though, the two cars probably will be essentially the same.

“The car still is slated to share much of its drivetrain with the upcoming Chevrolet Volt,” according to the perennially perky Motor Trend. Others, including unnamed GM insiders, echo that claim. If so, look for a 1.4-liter four-banger up front and a big honkin’ lithium-ion battery pack providing juice to an electric motor. It should have the same 40 mile range before the gasoline engine kicks in to drive a generator that will keep the electric motor turning.

Still, we’re talking about Cadillac, so look for some upscale touches.

Slapping a Cadillac badge on a Chevrolet Volt is a smart move because it will help the General recoup some of the money it’s spent developing the innovative drivetrain — when we drove a Volt mule, GM told us it’s sunk close to a billion dollars into the Volt. The margins are, after all, much higher on a premium marque than a Chevy.

Cadillac Converj Smart Extension of Vol


Cadillac Converj It stole the show at last year's auto show. Now the Cadillac Converj is getting the green light from General Motors. This is not only a smart move that could pay off over time for GM, but it also shows how far the auto maker has come in moving quicker when it comes to taking new models from concept to production. This does not mean the Converj will be a slam-dunk, guaranteed winner. Still, I like the move.

First, the Converj will leverage the technology that will go into the extended range electric Chevy Volt. This accomplishes two things. First, it gives GM another model line to make money off the Volt tech. GM has spent more than $1 Billion researching and developing the electric car technology. It needs to recoup that investment and it will do that quicker selling an electric Caddy. GM will be able to charge more for an electric Caddy than it will be able to with an electric Chevy. Enough said.

Second, the Converj has the look and appeal that should attract buyers, especially if the production model winds up being anywhere close to the concept we saw at the Detroit Auto Show (See below). The exterior is aggressive, sleek and a solid design extension of where GM wants to take Cadillac. The interior, with an instrument panel that looks like something out of a jet cockpit, generated immense buzz with auto critics. And for good reason.

But with all that said, you should temper your enthusiasm for the Converj. It won't be in showrooms until 2013 and between now and then a lot could and likely will change. Remember how much the Volt changed between concept and production model? Much of that was because tests in the wind tunnel showed the original Volt design was not aero dynamic enough to help it hit fuel efficiency targets. I fully expect the production Converj to be far different than what we've seen so far.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

Sport wagons combine nearly all the velocity and road-grabbing craftiness of a proper sport sedan with the family-friendly utility of a SUV/crossover. The Cadillac CTS Wagon provides about 25 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats (double the trunk space of the sedan version). With the seats down, the interior space expands to a generous 57 cubic feet. (General Motors)

Cadillac SRX offers the creature comforts

2010 Cadillac SRX

Base price range: $33,330 -- $47,540

Warranty: Five years/100,000 miles (powertrain, roadside assistance, courtesy transportation); four years/50,000 miles (bumper-to-bumper)

Fuel economy: 18 city/25 highway (front-drive); 17 city/23 highway (all-wheel drive)

Engines: Three-liter V6 with 265 horsepower; 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 with 300 horsepower

Transmission: six-speed automatic

Safety features: Driver and passenger front airbags, thorax frontal side-impact airbags, front and rear head-curtain airbags, four-wheel antilock disc brakes, tire pressure monitoring system, traction control, StabiliTrak stability control, OnStar (standard)

"The interior of the SRX is exceptionally appealing, with attractive colors and many creature comforts," said Jama Pippin, assistant sales manager at American Chevrolet Cadillac. "It's geared toward individuals and families who want a crossover that's both practical and luxurious."

High-tech electronics are behind many of the SRX's features, she said, citing adaptive forward headlamps that swivel to illuminate the road ahead in a curve and a navigation system with a pop-up screen and three-dimensional imaging. A hard disk drive linked to the Bose audio system can offer onboard storage of a music library, Pippin added, and the video display for the SRX's available rearview camera draws an onscreen diagram to illustrate the vehicle's expected path of travel while backing up.

Seats in the SRX adjust to fit people of all sizes, and optional power-adjustable pedals move forward or backward to let shorter drivers get comfortable without sitting too close to the steering wheel, Pippin said.

"As a short-legged person myself, I like the adjustable pedals because they allow me to sit back a safe distance from the airbag," she explained. "At the same time, taller people, like my husband, can have plenty of room to stretch their legs."

The SRX's design theme, which Cadillac calls "Art and Science," resembles that of other vehicles in the lineup, according to Clay Dean, global design director for Cadillac.

"As with the 2008 CTS, we advanced our Art and Science design to create a crossover for style-conscious customers," he said in a press release. "The exterior features a dramatic diving gesture on the body side to impart the feeling of movement, even at rest."

Thursday, November 5, 2009

VSR concept the Cadillac

Cadillac VSR concept at the 2009 SEMA Show

Take a huge engine and drop it in a basic chassis. The VSR follows the classic hot rod formula to a tee.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

Cadillac and General Motors have unveiled the VSR Cadillac V-Series Powered Sports Rod Concept, or VSR for short, at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. What's the VSR concept, you ask? Well, according to GM:

"This concept features a contemporary hand-sculpted body and unique blend of Cadillac styling cues, with proportions and form that evoke images of earlier days of race cars/sports cars and 'Hot Rodding.' Race car engineering, state-of-the-art electronics and technology express the modern supercar era."

That means that GM had taken a lightweight and stripped-down aluminum hot rod chassis and slapped a thoroughly modern 6-liter, 400-horsepower Cadillac V-8 engine under its clamshell hood. This engine is probably a close relative to the 6.2-liter mill that powers the CTS-V. It transmits its power and torque through an automatic transmission to a pair of meaty, 22-inch rear wheels shod in TOYO Proxes S/T tires.

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