Cadillac News: Cadillac DTS / STS to be replaced by XTS; built in Canada

[Cadillac Forum]

Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Plants/Manufacturing, Cadillac



The days of Cadillac's big DTS sedan are numbered as the plant that builds it will soon be shut down and re-tooled. The Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant that builds the DTS and Buick Lucerne will switch over to building the Chevy Volt in 2010 and the current products are both long in the tooth.

The National Post is reporting that the new Cadillac flagship will be dubbed XTS and will be produced at the Oshawa assembly plant. It will be built alongside an updated Chevrolet Impala, the new Camaro and the Buick Regal. The DTS is a front-wheel drive car, but the XTS is expected to the share the Epsilon II platform with the Regal and the new Impala. As such, it will likely get all-wheel-drive at least as an option. For its part, the Regal will likely be a re-badged version of the Opel Insignia. The report goes on to say that Oshawa will produce a hybrid version of one of those offerings - a gas-electric Regal model is a reasonable bet.

Earlier reports had pegged the next Cadillac sedan as a model that would supplant both the DTS and the slow-selling STS, and although the NatPost article does not speak to this, it is reasonable to assume that the new XTS will result in the phase-out of both model lines. The new model line was reportedly put on hold back in August of last year, but it apparently has once again been given the go-ahead.

The XTS is scheduled to be launched in December 2011, with the new Impala coming in early 2013. Thanks to Ben for the tip!

[Source: The National Post]REPORT: Cadillac DTS to be replaced by XTS, which will be built in Canada alongside new Buick Regal originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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[Lord Cadillac]

I have a feeling that this car is going to be competing directly with the Lincoln MKS...

[hardrockcamaro@mac.c]

the XTS is expected to the share the Epsilon II platform with the Regal and the new Impala. As such, it will likely get all-wheel-drive at least as an option. For its part, the Regal will likely be a re-badged version of the Opel Insignia

I'm confused.

The Opel Insiginia is slightly shorter than the Cadillac CTS, so how can the XTS be larger than the CTS if it's based on the Regal platform which is a rebadged Insignia?

[Lord Cadillac]

Originally Posted by hardrockcamaro@mac.c

I'm confused.

The Opel Insiginia is slightly shorter than the Cadillac CTS, so how can the XTS be larger than the CTS if it's based on the Regal platform which is a rebadged Insignia?

They're going to stretch it...

[hardrockcamaro@mac.c]

Ah fair enough!

[c5 rv]

I believe this is the same platform as the 2010 Buick LaCrosse in the U.S.

[Lord Cadillac]

Originally Posted by c5 rv

I believe this is the same platform as the 2010 Buick LaCrosse in the U.S.

I think you're right.. If so, the new Cadillac flagship will ride on a mid-grade Buick platform.

[Brett]

Boy I like the sound of this....not

[mik2718]

The new LaCrosse is not bad at all, on paper. I considered it a possibile alternative when I was shopping for an STS, but they weren't yet available. Unfortunately, I accidentally test-drove a CTS-V and that changed my plans altogether.

[hyperboimmv]

... So they are going to do what Ford did and take their biggest car and shrink it and try to get top dollar out of it yet?

[southsider]

Glad I just traded my 05 STS for a 09 DTS. If a mid size car is all they are going to produce , another American icon goes down the drain. The same car with a Buick. Chevy or Caddy badge. GM tried this a few times before and it didn't work. Who is the wizz kid that thinks it will work this time?

[c5 rv]

I've been predicting this move for a while. Despite what the auto enthusiast press and forum members say, most American drivers want FWD. They're convinced that FWD has better traction than RWD and AWD is desireable in northern climates. They have come to expect and tolerate understeer and are scared of oversteer. I work with a dyed-in-the-wool DeVille owner whose brother owns a new STS. He said he didn't like the way the STS drove, but he couldn't really say why. I asked if he realized that the STS was RWD. He replied something like "Why would anyone do that?"

What worries me is the quality of this new car. Lincoln launched the MKS last summer, building it in the same Chicago plant as the high volume Taurus. This year, Lincoln dropped something like 26 places in the J.D. Power survey - supposedly due to MKS quality problems.

[dkozloski]

How do you finarkey an FWD car with a sidewinder motor into an AWD; some kind of crazy right angle drive?

[c5 rv]

Originally Posted by dkozloski

How do you finarkey an FWD car with a sidewinder motor into an AWD; some kind of crazy right angle drive?

It's all in how you twist the rubber band. Some systems are fulltime AWD while others are FWD that only engage AWD when wheel slip is detected. I believe the system on my MKZ functions like fulltime AWD at low speeds and reverts to FWD at highway speeds.

Some FWD/AWD configurations don't allow you to pair AWD with more powerful engine options. (Think Toyota Matrix / Pontiac Vibe.) The 2010 LaCrosse is like this, offering only the 3L engine on AWD units rather than the 3.6L engine. On the other hand, the 2010 MKS with the optional 340HP ecotec engine requires AWD.

BTW, I hate the name XTS.

[70eldo]

Someone at GMINSIDE mentioned the XTS will be Theta-Epsilon II like the SRX, so it will be AWD as well.
I think this is very plausible and I salute this development.