Not So Fast: Cadillac Flagship Likely, But Not Approved

[nsap]

Not So Fast: Cadillac Flagship Likely, But Not Approved
Will Cadillac ever get a proper RWD flagship sedan? Possibly.
www.gminsidenews.com
June 11, 2010
By: Nick Saporito

Yesterday news surfaced that General Motors CEO Ed Whitacre had essentially mandated that Cadillac develop a rear-wheel drive flagship sedan. Prior to GM’s June 2009 bankruptcy filing a Zeta-based flagship sedan for Cadillac was well on its way to becoming a reality. Internally the program was referred to as “DT7.” Unfortunately GM’s financial crisis left the DT7 without funding and thus it was scrapped. Now that we have a new CEO- a CEO that recently became in charge of product planning, the potential for a Cadillac flagship is increasing.

To clarify yesterday’s report; this program has NOT been approved for production. According to GMI sources familiar with GM’s executive committee discussions, they have simply agreed to explore options for getting Cadillac a proper rear-wheel drive flagship. While Whitacre is an internal advocate for the program, we’re told that Mark Reuss has also been pushing for Cadillac to get a new flagship as well. That comes as no surprise given that Reuss is largely considered a “car guy” executive.

GMI sources did state that this program will not see full approval until after GM’s impending initial public stock offering. A proper Cadillac flagship sedan will be a costly program and GM wants to be under public ownership before the money is spent for such a program. With that said, our sources are fairly confident the program will see full approval at some point.

There is no word yet on which platform the car will use. GM’s Cadillac-exclusive platform, Sigma, is due to die off entirely by 2013. Considering GM is actively reducing the number of platforms housed under the GM umbrella, we don’t see it as a likely candidate for this car.

As GMI has reported, GM’s upcoming Alpha platform will house the ATS and next-generation CTS, but sources state that the CTS will be the size limit for Alpha+. To make Alpha significantly larger would require GM to basically engineer another platform.

Zeta is the wildcard here. The Holden-developed platform is a clear option for Cadillac; however it would likely be an expensive one. Holden’s variants of Zeta (VE and WM) cannot easily be manufactured outside of Australia and Camaro’s hacked up version of Zeta is obviously not large enough.

Insiders that participate here on GMI have stated that GM is currently working on a new platform called “Beta” internally. Beta is supposedly the successor to “Zeta II,” which was scrapped for unknown reasons. Sources state that Shanghai GM currently has the lead development role on Beta.

Product Planning – Whitacre

As numerous media outlets have reported, Whitacre is now “in charge” of product planning at General Motors. All final product planning falls on the GM executive committee. The committee is a 13-member board that is responsible for making a wide array of decisions, including approving all global products.

Prior to his April 2010 retirement, Bob Lutz was the chairman of the executive committee’s product board. Now that Lutz is out of the picture, Whitacre is the new chairman of the product committee. This does not mean that Whitacre himself will be making product decisions. The entire committee still has say in product decisions. The committee has product meetings every Friday.

In recent months GMI sources have mentioned several times that Whitacre is generally a “yes” vote to Zeta or rear-wheel drive products. Specifically we were told he was very eager to get the next-generation Buick Park Avenue to North America. Unfortunately, that has yet to be approved.

Now that GM is financially healthy and has entirely new management behind product planning, the chances of Cadillac getting a proper flagship sedan have just greatly increased. We expect to hear more on this in the coming months; hopefully with more details on this car’s platform use.

[FenwickHockey65]

Makes sense to wait for more finances. That said, once those finances are secure, it should go into development/production ASAP.

[Al63240]

While I love the prospect of Cadillac getting a RWD flagship, I can totally understand waiting until the IPO. The cost of this, from the sounds of the commentary, will be huge.

[calgaryhhr]

The saga continues.

I predict no new RWD flagship Cadillac until at least 2015.

[AirCleaner]

If Cadillac fails to build it..and fast..it will be Cadillacs downfall.

[nsap]

Personally I would rather them wait until after the IPO to develop this car fully. Then the finances are all there to do this car right. If they screw it up at that point, the only excuse is their own idiocy.

[TuffG929]

What will become of the XTS? Will it remain as the "black sheep" of the family or is it expected to appeal to the cadillac faithful (read: old people who like the DTS).

[ChevyRules]

Have it be built in Australia. It would be a low volume product anyway. I am sure Holden has the capacity.

Or suck the cost up and tool Oshawa or Spring Hill up to assemble the thing.

[PAULSTS1]

This would seem to be reasonable, after the release of the ATS, and the finalization of the new CTS, then if profits exist (under the IPO), there may be an allowance for a flagship! Yesterday's speculation was a trial balloon, only!

[Dr. Show-Me]

An IPO that gets the government out of ownership is greatly to be desired. GM the car company has different goals and outlook than a government or government agency. Would an energy-conscious government approve a Z28? A $85,000 flagship? Or something similar......
The government is far more interested in cars that equal or exceed CAFE standards, not expensive or performance cars.
We now have a very important reason to get the government out asap.

[CaddyLac10]

I have no doubt that it will come, but when is the question.

I also understand the logic behind waiting until the IPO.

Sure, this project might be the most expensive in Cadillac's history, but that's what it takes to be the best. Cadillac needs to literally pay the price just like BMW and MB to create a true flagship.

[ChevyRules]

An IPO that gets the government out of ownership is greatly to be desired. GM the car company has different goals and outlook than a government or government agency. Would an energy-conscious government approve a Z28? A $85,000 flagship? Or something similar......
The government is far more interested in cars that equal or exceed CAFE standards, not expensive or performance cars.
We now have a very important reason to get the government out asap.

And you realize the Z28 was approved with government ownership right? They also approved to move up production of the next generation "gas guzzling" full size SUV's and trucks as well.

The government is not telling GM what products to build. How many times does this need to be repeated?

[ne_one]

Great clarification... I'm still surprised that such a kerfuffle was created from a collection of rumours.

Speaking of which, I mentioned this in the original thread but still can't figure out the implication of this little tidbit from the same article:

Meanwhile, insiders wonder what exactly Bryan Nesbitt’s future role at GM is going to be. Some believe that a personal distaste for the color "blue" cost him his top job at Cadillac...

Slideways mentioned the Wagoner/Duke connection but Wagoner wasn't in the picture when the change was made.

Anyone?

[TuffG929]

Have it be built in Australia. It would be a low volume product anyway. I am sure Holden has the capacity.

With the weak dollar they would probably lose $ on every unit. Just look at the Regal. They are intentionally limiting production because they lose money having them built in Germany.

[TuffG929]

Slideways mentioned the Wagoner/Duke connection but Wagoner wasn't in the picture when the change was made.

Anyone?

IDK about that either. The only thing I could think of was the blue GM logo.