Photo: Cadillac
Pretty obviously, American luxury car brands are struggling more than ever in this day and age. The German trio (Audi, BMW, M-B) should not be blamed for their ruin, though. It’s the lack of vision that brought the downfall of Cadillac, Chrysler, as well as Lincoln.
Despite their sorry state, two of the three American luxury brands are trying to bounce back. Only Chrysler is left for dead, having just two cars in its lineup: the rather old 300 sedan and the family-oriented Pacifica minivan. Lincoln’s best is the Continental, which isn’t exactly worthy of its name.
Cadillac, on the other hand, is the most consistent in trying to get back to its former glory. The CT6 and XT5 are but a start in the right direction. And now that sport utility vehicles reign supreme, guess what sort of model Cadillac wants to launch in 2018. Indeed, it’s just that: a compact crossover SUV.
Speaking to The Detroit News, Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen made no excuses about this course of action: “The core part of our volume lineup is in the market that’s contracting [i.e. sedans] while we are unable,” he said. “As good as the XT5 and Escalade are, we are unable to fully exploit the updraft that’s taking place in the other half of the market,” de Nysschen concluded.
Antagonizing with the XT5 and Escalade, the other half of the market Cadillac’s prez is talking about is, naturally, the lower half. On a global scale, the compact SUV segment has sold five million or so units in 2016. Of those, 800,000 units were sold in the U.S. of A., and yes, Caddy knows it all too well.
Believed to be called XT3, the new Caddy is expected to be manufactured at General Motors’ Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City. A bigger crossover, positioned between the mid-size XT5 and full-size Escalade, is believed to follow in 2019. A smaller-than-ATS sedan model could also make the cut.
According to de Nysschen, from mid-2018 through 2020, GM’s luxury division is expected to churn out a new product every six months or so.
Cadillac, on the other hand, is the most consistent in trying to get back to its former glory. The CT6 and XT5 are but a start in the right direction. And now that sport utility vehicles reign supreme, guess what sort of model Cadillac wants to launch in 2018. Indeed, it’s just that: a compact crossover SUV.
Speaking to The Detroit News, Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen made no excuses about this course of action: “The core part of our volume lineup is in the market that’s contracting [i.e. sedans] while we are unable,” he said. “As good as the XT5 and Escalade are, we are unable to fully exploit the updraft that’s taking place in the other half of the market,” de Nysschen concluded.
Antagonizing with the XT5 and Escalade, the other half of the market Cadillac’s prez is talking about is, naturally, the lower half. On a global scale, the compact SUV segment has sold five million or so units in 2016. Of those, 800,000 units were sold in the U.S. of A., and yes, Caddy knows it all too well.
Believed to be called XT3, the new Caddy is expected to be manufactured at General Motors’ Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City. A bigger crossover, positioned between the mid-size XT5 and full-size Escalade, is believed to follow in 2019. A smaller-than-ATS sedan model could also make the cut.
According to de Nysschen, from mid-2018 through 2020, GM’s luxury division is expected to churn out a new product every six months or so.
Google News