2009 Cadillac Cts on 2040-cars

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Cadillac to bolster CT sedans with XT crossovers

Cadillac is moving swiftly to change up its naming scheme. Barely over a week ago we received our first indication that it was considering a different name its the upcoming flagship sedan previously known as LTS. Then Cadillac not only revealed the model would be called CT6, but announced that it would set the stage with a massive overhaul of its model nomenclature. And now we have another piece of the puzzle.
According to Forbes, Cadillac will not only rename its sedans with the letters CT, but will realign its utility vehicles under the banner of XT - both to be followed by a number indicating its place in the lineup. The one exception will be the Escalade, whose nameplate has such a strong following that it would be foolish for Cadillac to cast it aside. That leaves only the SRX (pictured above), but makes room for a new crop of crossovers said to be in the works.
It's a similar approach which Cadillac's new boss Johan de Nysschen took in revising the naming scheme at Infiniti. While it's bound to ruffle some feathers and scratch some heads in the beginning - especially since the company's current flagship sedan is called XTS - it's equally sure to make sense of it all in the long run. All we need to know now is what Nysschen and his marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus plan to call the coupes.

Cadillac sells out Lyriq Debut Edition reservations in 10 minutes

Cadillac opened reservations for the 2023 Lyriq Debut Edition electric crossover at 4 p.m. EDT on Saturday afternoon. Anyone could put down a refundable $100 to reserve a buying slot for Cadillac's limited-run first salvo at the brand's all-EV future. At 4:19 p.m., the automaker tweeted that "every Debut Edition has been reserved." According to GM Vice President Rory Harvey, the process took "just over" 10 minutes. First, we'll say "Congratulations!" to Cadillac. Then we'll say: We have no idea what the news means. See, Cadillac has declined to say how many reservations it made available and how many Debut Editions it's building.  We don't know why the crest and wreath brand is being so coy, but we can imagine at least one reason. GM and Cadillac can attract such wild reactions that unless the Lyriq booked an absurdly large number of reservations in an absurdly short time, both brands were going to get flayed by comparisons to other EV makers. Still, since Cadillac's playing the long game with this entire transition to EVs, we wish it had placed its neck gracefully in the guillotine anyway.  The Lyriq Debut Edition that no one can buy anymore unless reservation holders bow out comes with a 100.4-kWh battery pack, a single e-motor on the rear axle putting out 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque for a range claimed to be "more than 300 miles," a glass roof, 19-speaker AKG audio, heated steering wheel, and 20-inch wheels standard, 22-inchers optional. The only two colors available are Satin Steel Metallic and Stellar Black Metallic. Tech features include adaptive cruise control, HD Surround and Vision recorder, rear camera mirror, and, of course, the 33-inch curved display across the instrument panel. First deliveries for the rakish $59,990 CUV are expected in early 2022. The next order slots will open for standard Lyriq trims in summer 2022. Based on Cadillac's Twitter feed, quite a few internet users wanted to reserve Debut Edition cars but were prevented from doing so. If first reports from the early deliveries are positive, Cadillac might hold onto last weekend's demand until next summer. And not only will the brand have a widely available new vehicle then, it will have a new consumer look. Last year, Cadillac told its dealers what they would need to do with their stores to prepare for the EV era, including spending around $200,000 on EV infrastructure and tools.

Next Cadillac Escalade's interior spied for the first time

Update: Now that new spy photos of another large GM SUV have surfaced, we believe these shots show us a GMC Yukon interior, not a Cadillac Escalade. You can see the new spy shots here that depict a much more upscale vehicle interior compared to the fuzzy center stack shown in the shots of the Yukon. The new Cadillac Escalade has a lot of work to do in order to properly compete with Lincoln's wonderfully luxurious Navigator. These interior spy photos are our first look at what Cadillac is working with on the inside of its new luxury truck. We won't make final judgements, as this vehicle is still a prototype and subject to change. However, a few key bits are noticeable from the fuzzy photos. As expected, Cadillac's CUE infotainment and center stack is nowhere to be seen. Replacing it is a new interior design language, with a tablet-like screen that seems to rise out of the sloped stack on top. Below the screen is a strip of stitched leather and a couple prominently placed air vents. To the left of this area is what appears to be a push-button gear shifting system, replacing the column-mounted shifter currently in use. Below all that on a lower level of the center stack are all the climate controls, along with what look like physical buttons for what could be audio-related controls. Does it look as luxurious as the Lincoln? Not with all the coverings and shrouding it doesn't, which means we'll have to wait until we get the full picture. One thing that's clear is that the interior design is definitely going to be wildly different than the current Escalade. That center stack flows downward as one sloping piece into the high and bulky center console area. This design looks like it brings the center console further downward, and also uses a multi-tiered look. It's tough to read what's on the screen, but the software looks like the same stuff we got a preview of on the new Cadillac CT5 and CT4 sedans. As for the exterior shots, there's almost nothing that we haven't already gotten a taste of in previous spy photos. The independent rear suspension is a go, as are what appear to be massive headlight and LED DRL fixtures. If you look through the wrapping, you can make out how far up and down the lighting fixtures stretch ... or perhaps they're separate units altogether. It's tough to tell at this point.