DETROIT — Cadillac has quietly stalled its plans to build a 12-cylinder flagship sedan and continues to wrestle with details and timing on a proposed rear-wheel-drive replacement for the STS and DTS sedans.
Inside Line has learned that the XLS sedan and its V12 engine, neither of which was ever officially approved for production, have been put on the shelf while Cadillac planners focus on developing a single high-end model to replace both the front-wheel-drive DTS and rear-wheel-drive STS.
The new sedan is known internally as DT7, using a new alphanumeric naming system that Cadillac is considering for its future production vehicles (the proposed baby Cadillac is known as AT1).
According to General Motors suppliers, the DT7 would be based on a premium version of the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform that underpins the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Camaro, and had been scheduled to begin production in mid-2011 at GM's Lansing Grand River plant. Now its launch may slip until late 2011 or early 2012, they say.
Production of the current Cadillac DTS is slated to end in mid-2010, while the STS is to be phased out in late 2010, leaving a potential gap of a year or more before the new DT7 reaches the market.
A shortage of engineering and financial resources, and concerns about rising fuel prices, have prompted Cadillac planners to rethink much of the brand's future product arsenal, particularly at the upper end, as well as its proposed future powertrain lineup.
Cadillac last built 12-cylinder cars from 1930-'37. It displayed an experimental 750-horsepower 7.5-liter Northstar-based V12 in the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept. The engine featured direct injection and displacement on demand. Several years ago, it also tested a 7.2-liter V12 in the Escalade but canceled production plans.
What this means to you: For now, Cadillac has killed the V12 and expects to further de-emphasize the Northstar V8, while focusing much of its future powertrain development on V6 gasoline and diesel engines, including high-output variants of each for performance-oriented models.
stupid GM again
Inside Line has learned that the XLS sedan and its V12 engine, neither of which was ever officially approved for production, have been put on the shelf while Cadillac planners focus on developing a single high-end model to replace both the front-wheel-drive DTS and rear-wheel-drive STS.
The new sedan is known internally as DT7, using a new alphanumeric naming system that Cadillac is considering for its future production vehicles (the proposed baby Cadillac is known as AT1).
According to General Motors suppliers, the DT7 would be based on a premium version of the rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform that underpins the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Camaro, and had been scheduled to begin production in mid-2011 at GM's Lansing Grand River plant. Now its launch may slip until late 2011 or early 2012, they say.
Production of the current Cadillac DTS is slated to end in mid-2010, while the STS is to be phased out in late 2010, leaving a potential gap of a year or more before the new DT7 reaches the market.
A shortage of engineering and financial resources, and concerns about rising fuel prices, have prompted Cadillac planners to rethink much of the brand's future product arsenal, particularly at the upper end, as well as its proposed future powertrain lineup.
Cadillac last built 12-cylinder cars from 1930-'37. It displayed an experimental 750-horsepower 7.5-liter Northstar-based V12 in the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept. The engine featured direct injection and displacement on demand. Several years ago, it also tested a 7.2-liter V12 in the Escalade but canceled production plans.
What this means to you: For now, Cadillac has killed the V12 and expects to further de-emphasize the Northstar V8, while focusing much of its future powertrain development on V6 gasoline and diesel engines, including high-output variants of each for performance-oriented models.
stupid GM again
