Cadillac chief: Future models will be smaller, more affordable, yet faster

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BlackGTP

Discussion Starter · Jan 24, 2015

Cadillac chief: Future models will be smaller, more affordable, yet faster
By Justin Hyde
January 22, 2015 6:21 PM
Motoramic

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen has one of the tougher jobs in the auto industry — making General Motors luxury brand a global success. Despite billions in spending over the past decade, Cadillac still trails its major German competition at home and abroad; last year, sales fell in the United States even as the rest of the market grew, and Mercedes-Benz outsold it 2-to-1.

Armed with a fresh plan for $12 billion in new models — including a top-line CT6 flagship sedan set to be unveiled in April, along with new SUVs — de Nysschen has been unveiling a revamp of Cadillac, including upgrading many of its 900 U.S. dealers (who sell far fewer vehicles per store than the 200-300 dealers its competition uses.) In an interview with Yahoo Autos, de Nysschen answered several questions about where Cadillac goes from here, and how. The responses have been edited for space.

Q: What's the sales outlook for 2015?

JDN: The United States will be similar to last year. We are looking more at preparing the way for the introduction of a strong product offensive as the first big shots being fired next year with all-new product. We have this year the exciting cars, the V-models, but they’re not big volume cars. The reality is that SRX which is a big car for us is at the end of its life cycle.

Next year we will have full-year availability of the CT6, but once again that is a high profile but not high volume. During 2016, the new SRX will be introduced...By the time we are firing on all cylinders in 2018, 2019, with the new product we are launching them into a market that’s ready to receive them.

Q: When you get these new cars out in a few years, what will be the distinction between a typical Cadillac and a typical competitor from the German brands or higher-end Japanese models?

More at link: https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motor...r--more-affordable--yet-faster-232150973.html

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BlackGTP

Discussion Starter · #2 · Jan 24, 2015

So sounds like they will be taking elements of the El Miraj - can't go wrong there!

I like this approach they are taking - light weight, performance, etc.. So it seems they are trying to make a name for themselves by being light weight, hopefully they can get a full lineup out that is industry best in weight before the other makes catch up.

I'm excited by the next 5 years! Not that I want to rush being 5 years older, but I can't wait to see the lineup of 2020. This is such a frustratingly long time frame, I wonder how much of this has to do with the endless top management change that went on at Cadillac since bankruptcy. Each new president probably put a hold on all programs to review and make their own, bringing paralysis to Cadillac product plans over the past 5 or so years.

And this is the second time I've posted this thread this morning, hopefully this one sticks. GMI is getting very frustrating with threads appearing and disappearing. I wouldn't think this website is rocket science to maintain.

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sfbreh

· #3 · Jan 24, 2015

So basically, he's saying Cadillac will be building faster cars and flushing out the bottom end of their lineup as it IS pretty mid-top heavy with zero cars in anything resembling a growth segment.

They'll be late to the party. They need to predict where they should be next. They have a hard road ahead, regardless of how competent their cars are or what inspires their designs.

As far as designs go, I'm looking for the same stance/musculature as Elmiraj and Ciel. Still stuck with the same swooping gesture on the side of the cars.

CT6 better not be stricken with that.

Reactions: 2

dslay04

· #4 · Jan 24, 2015

sfbreh said:
So basically, he's saying Cadillac will be building faster cars and flushing out the bottom end of their lineup as it IS pretty mid-top heavy with zero cars in anything resembling a growth segment.

They'll be late to the party. They need to predict where they should be next. They have a hard road ahead, regardless of how competent their cars are or what inspires their designs.

As far as designs go, I'm looking for the same stance/musculature as Elmiraj and Ciel. Still stuck with the same swooping gesture on the side of the cars.

CT6 better not be stricken with that.

I think the most refreshing part is his blunt honesty and that he gets it. That question about growth proved it

BlackGTP

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 24, 2015

sfbreh said:
So basically, he's saying Cadillac will be building faster cars and flushing out the bottom end of their lineup as it IS pretty mid-top heavy with zero cars in anything resembling a growth segment.

They'll be late to the party. They need to predict where they should be next. They have a hard road ahead, regardless of how competent their cars are or what inspires their designs.

As far as designs go, I'm looking for the same stance/musculature as Elmiraj and Ciel. Still stuck with the same swooping gesture on the side of the cars.

CT6 better not be stricken with that.

Don't we already know that the CT6 will be along the lines of the ATS and CTS as far as exterior style? I.e. no Elmiraj or Ciel hints....

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1999 White C5 Coupe

· #6 · Jan 24, 2015

Most modern cars will easily exceed 100 mph - even the 4-cylinder models. Why would you want to make the cars faster?

Do you think he means quicker?

BlackGTP

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 24, 2015

1999 White C5 Coupe said:
Most modern cars will easily exceed 100 mph - even the 4-cylinder models. Why would you want to make the cars faster?

Do you think he means quicker?

Probably quicker, but faster too for bragging rights. Look how many on GMI are infatuated with 0-60 times and similar as if a tenth of a second means a car is better than the one that is slower. Even if no one drives it at 200 mph it's necessary for bragging rights.

EJD1984

· #8 · Jan 24, 2015

It's going to be good to see Cadillac back with a full lineup again. I'm still hoping for an Elmiraj type production car.

With GM investing 12b into Cadillac, how much of this investment and new vehicles will the other divisions benefit from.

Dr.Show-Me

· #9 · Jan 24, 2015

Yep, GMI bench racing has gotten beyond ridiculous. It's like the whole discussion is a video game,,including taking your luxury car to the race track and high-speed 175 mph+ highway runs.
And let's get out V12 twin-supercharged, turbocharged 1,000 hp monsters so we can drive 200 mph ( where?)
JdN is right on direction, including smaller models, cars more likely to have 4 cylinders than 12. I wish some of the people on GMI were as realistic as JdN!

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bmwboy2007

· #10 · Jan 24, 2015

Cadillac is preparing for a renaissance now. It's simply awaiting the tick tock of new models and dealership experience upgrades.

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CaddyLac10

· #11 · Jan 24, 2015

BlackGTP said:
Don't we already know that the CT6 will be along the lines of the ATS and CTS as far as exterior style? I.e. no Elmiraj or Ciel hints....

Look familiar?

You'd have to be blind not to see the similarities between the CTS-V and the Elmiraj already. Of course, the proportions aren't going to be as extreme as large coupe, and a concept at that, but there's no denying the clear influence.

On top of that, there's plenty of spy photos of the CT6 that show a front end very similar to the Elmiraj as well. It's not hard to see.

So, you're questioning the CT6's influence despite the CTS-V sitting in plain view?

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richmond2000

· #12 · Jan 24, 2015

I agree faster/lighter ETC is GOOD but I hope CADDY does NOT forget about ride quality as they are NOT very good right now (nether is BMW)
I would love to see MRC used across the board with a set up for ride and when needed cornering prowess (adjust as soon as the speeds pick up or G forces start climbing)
stuff like that would IMHO set Caddy apart from NON MRC equipped German cars

1999 White C5 Coupe

· #13 · Jan 24, 2015

BlackGTP said:
Probably quicker, but faster too for bragging rights. Look how many on GMI are infatuated with 0-60 times and similar as if a tenth of a second means a car is better than the one that is slower. Even if no one drives it at 200 mph it's necessary for bragging rights.

Good point.

sfbreh

· #14 · Jan 24, 2015

BlackGTP said:
Don't we already know that the CT6 will be along the lines of the ATS and CTS as far as exterior style? I.e. no Elmiraj or Ciel hints....

CTS and Escalade are suggested to look like Ciel with the huge, full-length vertical lights and, on Escalade, the grille.

Along the lines of and a bigger version of are two different things.

BlackGTP said:
Probably quicker, but faster too for bragging rights. Look how many on GMI are infatuated with 0-60 times and similar as if a tenth of a second means a car is better than the one that is slower. Even if no one drives it at 200 mph it's necessary for bragging rights.

Pretty much. I want a Cadillac that can claim superiority in every metric.

EJD1984 said:
It's going to be good to see Cadillac back with a full lineup again. I'm still hoping for an Elmiraj type production car.

With GM investing 12b into Cadillac, how much of this investment and new vehicles will the other divisions benefit from.

Very little, I'm guessing. This is for Cadillac.

GMC could conceivably get a crossover and Buick will probably get a sedan... but that's not part of that $12b.

Sox

· #15 · Jan 24, 2015

BlackGTP said:
I like this approach they are taking.

I don't.

Ten years ago Cadillac had 2 cars and 2 crossovers/SUVs. Today they have 3 cars (XTS, CTS, ATS) and 2 crossover/SUVs and arguably one of these cars is a re-engineered Impala (no, I didn't say rebadge) built alongside the Impala in the same factory. In that same ten years (which is a full decade, even in Manhattan) BMW, MB and Audi have introduced ten crossover/SUVs. These vehicles have garnered the Chermans great acclaim, sky high sales numbers and untold profits, which are the point of the entire exercise I understand (here in the shire anyway).

A decade? And they have introduced zero crossover/SUVs? That's all these execu-idiots can do to move the chains down the field? Nothing?

So what is Cadillac's next release? A large car that is a flagship, or isn't a flagship depending on statements made by Cadillac executives that week. This, and the insistence the vehicle magically fits in between two Teutonic automotive classes sounds like a tacit pre-admission that the vehicle won't compete effectively with corresponding German cars. The CT6 will land with a thud into a marketplace where, we have already been told large cars are passé and sales volumes are small, and therefore financially irrelevant. I can hear the Impala excuses already. If you want to completely waste corporate resources, why not design something you know won't sell and you will have to put out of its misery, like a station wagon? Oops. Never mind.

At a time when Porsche is funding an entire automobile company from its crossover/SUVs watching the execu-dolts at Cadillac flail around and make mistake after mistake is just painful. A decade?

Oh well. I am sure they are on the right track. After all they are moving to New York City - oops, Manhattan, and JdeN won't have to condescend to work in a rathole like Detroit. I figure they can get away with blaming the dealers in Cornhusk Nebraska for a year or two until the execu-axe falls again.

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MonaroSS

· #16 · Jan 24, 2015

BlackGTP said:
So sounds like they will be taking elements of the El Miraj - can't go wrong there!

Read what he said again - slowly - and understand what he 'actually said' and did not say. Then you will not be reading into it what your are hoping for...

"JDN: I personally very much fell in love with the Elmiraj the first time I saw it…My brief to the designers is as we look at the next evolution of Cadillac Art & Science design, what does the Elmiraj look like 10 years from now? That is what the next Cadillac should look like. It is very much the inspiration for what lies in our future."

Just remember that for him 'next Cadillac' means the cars after the cars we have not seen that were already locked in as he arrived - so think mid 2020's...

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SKH

· #17 · Jan 24, 2015 (Edited)

BlackGTP said:
Don't we already know that the CT6 will be along the lines of the ATS and CTS as far as exterior style? I.e. no Elmiraj or Ciel hints....

Not having seen it I couldn't say, but the front of the CTS-V is very evocative of the Elmiraj so why wouldn't the CT6 have some of those themes? I think the general style will definitely fit in with the current Cadillac design but will likely have a little more jewelry such as horizontal vents near the top of the front fenders a la Elmiraj. Possibly the license plate will be in the bumper (although prototypes don't show that) again to give it more of an Elmiraj style. We'll know for sure in 63 days.

SKH

· #18 · Jan 24, 2015

MonaroSS said:
Read what he said again - slowly - and understand what he 'actually said' and did not say. Then you will not be reading into it what your are hoping for...

"JDN: I personally very much fell in love with the Elmiraj the first time I saw it…My brief to the designers is as we look at the next evolution of Cadillac Art & Science design, what does the Elmiraj look like 10 years from now? That is what the next Cadillac should look like. It is very much the inspiration for what lies in our future."

Just remember that for him 'next Cadillac' means the cars after the cars we have not seen that were already locked in as he arrived - so think mid 2020's...

I think he will have a big influence on some of the cars coming out prior to 2020. We are 5 years out so some are still in the very early stages of development.

Ruperts Trooper

· #19 · Jan 24, 2015

You can't count anything before July 10th 2009 - the old GM, once the biggest car maker in the world, was bankrupt, ie trading at a loss and assets less than liabilities - in many industries it would have been allowed to die.

So the whole of GM is effectively only 5+ years old and every brand is struggling to re-establish itself so no brand can be supported by the others through hard times.

VW Group has had 70 years of profitable evolution - if you're going to make comparisons you need to look much lower down the pecking order.

GM has to deal with the here and now, not basking in past glories.

Reactions: 1

JBsZ06

· #20 · Jan 24, 2015

With all of the new release by JdN....it's continually bringing Cadillac to the forefront of the news for the public...

Sounds good if he delivers...

Thanks for posting the article.

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