The 2008 CTS is only the start. We clue you in on the rest, including a sub-CTS model, an upcoming diesel, and the next-gen SRX and DTS.

Cadillac is launching a much-improved, second-generation CTS for the 2008 model year. The car will initially launch as a sedan in more than 40 countries worldwide. It should be in U.S. showrooms in mid-August.

The CTS also was designed to leave room for a smaller sedan below it. Cadillac sells the smaller BLS in Europe, but the current generation of that car will not come to the U.S.

With the second-generation CTS, Cadillac is launching the next generation of Sigma, as well. The SRX, which got a refresh last year, is expected to migrate to the next-gen Sigma in about two years. It should remain more of a tall wagon, as opposed to an SUV, but with a more striking exterior.

Meanwhile, GM officials say a decision has been made on the platform for the next-generation DTS, but they aren’t divulging the final verdict. We suspect the DTS will stay front-wheel drive given the need to hold the line on fuel economy with more-stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations having been proposed. The alternative is to switch to the Sigma platform and rear-wheel drive, like the rest of the North American lineup. The entire Cadillac lineup was front-wheel drive for about 25 years until the 2003 CTS marked a change in direction. GM also considered dropping the DTS altogether.

Read the entire story. (http://www.caranddriver.com/carnews/13538/the-future-of-cadillac.html)

Dropping the DTS would be a HUGE mistake, as would in my opinion, something smaller than the CTS. I love the new sportier direction Cadillac is taking (and the new CTS is smokin' hot) -- but as the baby boomer generation gets older, not everyone is going to try to squeeze into something the size of a CTS.

Not sure what the redesigned STS is going to be like (in terms of size) but it would be nice if it were a little bigger so that you could tell it and a CTS apart at a glance. The last generation M-B E Class would be a good size target for the STS IMO -- not the BMW 5 Series...

Mike

The STS and the DTS are gone. They're being replaced by one vehicle around 2011 or 2012.

Some interesting Cadillac future product details are in the UAW contract:

• Lansing Grand River will become Cadillac Central, adding coupe and station wagon versions of the extraordinary CTS. People who have seen the coupe planned for 2009 say it is stunning.

• Lansing Grand River becomes the second plant to produce GM's eagerly awaited Zeta family of midsize and large rear-wheel-drive cars when it adds two models in 2011. They will probably be full-size cars for Cadillac and Buick. The first Zeta model in production will be the Chevrolet Camaro in Oshawa, Canada, in 2009.

• Lordstown gets great news when it adds production of a new line of rear-wheel-drive cars smaller than those built in Lansing. The lineup will include a hot Cadillac to take on the BMW 3-series, and one or more others for Buick, Pontiac or Chevrolet.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070929/COL14/709290354&theme=AUTOTALKS072007

Plus, references to future BRX and XLR in the Detroit News:

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070929/OPINION03/709290355

It looks like there will be some changes on the powertrain side, too. Per the following article about the recent UAW contract from the Detroit News:

"The Livonia plant west of Detroit, which now employs about 300, would remain open through its current product life cycle, which ends in 2010."

That would be the Livonia engine plant where the Northstar is assembled.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_AUTO_TALKS_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Lord Cadillac, your little cartoon, "Now that's Crossin [sic] a Picket Line" is offensive and inappropriate.

"In loving memory of Angelo Anthony Quagliaralillo... Rest in peace..." What happened to Angelo? Did you run over him, too?

Lord Cadillac, your little cartoon, "Now that's Crossin [sic] a Picket Line" is offensive and inappropriate.


Surely you jest...:cookoo:

I'll tell ya what's offensive and inappropriate. GM assembly line workers averaging over $75 per hour in pay and benefits. We are handing the auto business to Toyota on a silver platter.

I'll tell ya what's offensive and inappropriate. GM assembly line workers averaging over $75 per hour in pay and benefits. We are handing the auto business to Toyota on a silver platter.
1. I'll take your $75/hour at face value. These pay rates (and the post-WWII GI Bill) made the US middle class that buys most of the 16 million cars sold here each year.
2. Automotive News reports (October 1, page 1) that the new GM UAW contract brings GM's labor cost/car to within $800 of Toyota's. The remaining gap is largely due to (i) Toyota having no employee medical and retirement expenses in its home market, (ii) Toyota being a relative newcomer manufacturer in the US, thus having a younger workforce and virtually no retirees, and (iii) Toyota having no, or minimal, employee medical expenses anywhere it operates, except here and in China. Remember, the USA--and China--are the ONLY industrialized countries without universal health care, where employers shoulder that burden to their competitive disadvantage.

In the new GM UAW contract, GM unloaded its retiree health benefits liability to a VEBA, and unloaded its retirement obligations to a 401K for future employees.

Surely you jest...:cookoo:
Does my post read like a jest?

The cartoon might be appropriate in an episode of Southpark but, IMHO, not in these forums.

And I am offended.

And don't call me Shirley.

Hi Shirley.

Suck it up.

Here's an article from Automotive News that clears things up a bit:


GM plans rear-drive baby Caddy

Jamie LaReau

Automotive News | October 8, 2007 - 12:01 am EST



DETROIT — Cadillac will get a small rear-wheel-drive car positioned below the CTS sedan, part of General Motors' aggressive plans to expand the brand's U.S. reach.

Plans for a baby Cadillac were confirmed after the UAW published a summary of its tentative labor contract with GM. The summary listed GM's plan to produce a vehicle based on a new architecture called Alpha. Several sources later confirmed that Alpha would be for Cadillac.

A less costly Alpha variant may go to Pontiac, a brand that GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz wants to revitalize with a new lineup of affordable rwd cars.

Cadillac also will:

Launch a CTS coupe and wagon in 2009.

Introduce a rwd sedan, expected in 2011, to replace the front-drive DTS and the rwd STS.

Consider a vehicle powered by a fuel-cell version of the E-Flex plug-in hybrid powertrain. The E-Flex powers the Chevrolet Volt concept.


GM's product plans
Cadillac gets a small, entry-luxury vehicle.
Cadillac may get a fuel-cell variant of the E-Flex technology used in the Chevrolet Volt concept.
Cadillac will get a rwd sedan to replace the STS and DTS.
Cadillac gets a CTS wagon and coupe.
Chevrolet may get a European-style small minivan.
Pontiac may get a small rwd vehicle on an Alpha variant.

Cadillac goes global
In 2011 General Motors will launch Alpha production in its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant, which produces the Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt.

Alpha will be for Cadillac's entry-level model. According to a knowledgeable source, it will be aimed at the near-luxury segment once occupied by the BMW 3 series and Mercedes C class, when those nameplates were smaller and cheaper.

The larger 2008 CTS carries a base price of $32,990, including shipping.

The product plans outlined in the UAW document suggest that GM has resolved its internal debate over Cadillac's future.

Previously, Cadillac General Manager Jim Taylor had said he did not need a new entry-level car.

But Lutz favored it, arguing that it would help Cadillac in overseas markets.

The Saab-based Cadillac BLS — on the market in Europe — is not selling well.

More recently, Taylor has said he would welcome a baby Cadillac if it carries a premium price and if the brand gets a new flagship, too.

Alpha “is really critical to Cadillac becoming more global,” says one source familiar with GM's product plans.

“You'll see Cadillac really start to take shape.”

Cadillac may not be the only brand to get a product based on the Alpha architecture. Pontiac or GM's Australian Holden subsidiary might get a cheaper variant.

“I don't think anyone would want to see a degradation of the Cadillac brand because it's sharing with another brand,” says the source.

“If there is an offshoot product of Alpha, it'd be a re-engineered platform.”

The UAW's contract summary also revealed GM's plans to produce a U.S. version of the next-generation Opel Zafira in 2009. It probably will be badged as a Chevrolet.

The seven-seat people mover is code-named global Delta MPV7, and it will be assembled in GM's Detroit- Hamtramck plant. Hamtramck produces the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS.



Source: www.autonews.com
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Hi Shirley.

Suck it up.

Very good idea!

And seriously, a baby Cadillac... Isn't that the CTS?

The CTS is all grown up now and ready to move out of the house.

Apparently car years are like dog years.

A smaller than CTS is essential if Cadillac wishes to match BMW/Mercedes in all their market. Remember, both those automakers also sell some very compact cars. I've seen tiny little Benz hatchbacks running around here in Canada, dunno if you guys have them in the states, much like the Smart Car (which we've had around here for a few years, you guys are just now getting them). But notice the quote where Taylor would welcome a baby Caddy IF they get a new flagship as well. Let's cross our fingers for a proper DTS replacement. Because let's face it. I HATE the STS. No offence to STS owners here, please, but I really dislike that car. Whereas the CTS looks awesome, the STS just looks wrong to me. It has sort of an Infiniti G35 shape that bugs me, whereas the '06 and up DTS just looks totally imposing when you see a black one cruising around. I really feel this generation is the best looking Deville/DTS ever. It just looks awesome from all angles, whether parked or in motion. Yet it still looks 'classic' in a modern way. I know that I've said this before, but why has the market dropped out for TC/DTS? Rolls buyers won't accept anything but, and their sales are healthy (as far as ultra lux barges go). I want a Cadillac that looks like a Cadillac dammit! You know what I want to see? Continued DTS development, and for Lincoln to go ahead with the 2002 Continental concept. Market them side by side, start a new luxo war with modern handling V8 powered sedans that look the part, but are totally up to date.

Forget building cars to cover the competition, build them to satisfy the customer wants and desires. Cadillac doesn't need a smaller car except perhaps an entry level 2 seater (XTC) other than the CTS. With an average age of 50 Cadillac Owners won't run to the showrooms for little cramped cars and most younger people won't come into a Cadillac Dealership unless they happen to be riding with their parents or grandparents.:canttalk:

I thought this quest for new buyers was supposed to be the mission statement of Saturn?:tisk:

What Cadillac needs to do is to straighten out it's "core" sales vehicles. Re-design the STS as a Seville (personal luxury) Flashy, Hip, and over the top Luxury, re-design the DTS with all technical features RWD, 6 Speed Transmissions, better handling, and more Cadillac Style. Leave the small cars to those who do them best: Honda, Hyundai, SAAB, and unfortunately Toyota. It's a fact of life: Barbara Walters (Cadillac) will never get chased to the bedroom faster than Eva Langoria (BMW) will:stirpot:

Should not some decisions be considered in the order of perception?

No doubt Cadillac needs to revamp it's image and that means marginalizing the older customers. The DTS needs to disappear, they say an XLS would replace both it and to stodgy STS also, a big S class size Caddy with a new DOHC V8, RWD, and 400 HP as entry level. The recently shown and thinly disguised Escalade V series at SEMA will rock if given a 550 HP supercharged engine. An XLS-v with at least 600 HP would challenge AMG and M's. I think there is room for a sub CTS vehicle, with a strong V6, RWD, and great handling. Lets face it the CTS is much more a 5 series competitor than the STS, which is much larger and has a dcidedly less sporty demeanor. Although
I will say I applaud the new sport STS, with brembo brakes and a V sourced suspension. Unfortunately the Fort Lauderdale retirement crowd will mourn the DTS and the like, but change is good and Cadillac needs it badly.

No doubt Cadillac needs to revamp it's image and that means marginalizing the older customers. The DTS needs to disappear, they say an XLS would replace both it and to stodgy STS also, a big S class size Caddy with a new DOHC V8, RWD, and 400 HP as entry level. The recently shown and thinly disguised Escalade V series at SEMA will rock if given a 550 HP supercharged engine. An XLS-v with at least 600 HP would challenge AMG and M's. I think there is room for a sub CTS vehicle, with a strong V6, RWD, and great handling. Lets face it the CTS is much more a 5 series competitor than the STS, which is much larger and has a dcidedly less sporty demeanor. Although
I will say I applaud the new sport STS, with brembo brakes and a V sourced suspension. Unfortunately the Fort Lauderdale retirement crowd will mourn the DTS and the like, but change is good and Cadillac needs it badly.
Yes, the XLS is supposed to replace the DTS and STS. Hopefully it'll be the size of the DTS.. Cadillac does need that S-Class size vehicle as well - and hopefully we're getting it. That's what I'd like my next vehicle to be.. The Escalade shown at SEMA is needed as the Lincoln Navigator is about to get very powerful; moreso than the Escalade. The STS isn't "much larger" than the CTS.

I wonder which brand has the higher average age... Cadillac or Lexus. I'm thinking that Lexus is the new "old fart car". Car and Driver (the Jan 08 issue, mentioned in the Lexus IS-F review) stated that, according to Lexus, the average age of a Lexus buyer is 61 and 70% of all Lexus buyers are retirees.

If Cadillac's average buyer is indeed 50, they're well ahead of one of their main competitors.

And in reply to PAULSTSMAN1, Cadillac does indeed need a smaller entry level car to attract younger buyers. Even BMW is bringing a smaller car (the 1 Series) to the US to account for the fact that the 3 Series has gotten considerably bigger over the years. Just look at a 1988 325i versus a 2008 328i. Sizewise, the CTS is in 5 series territory.