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GM Cadillac chief: New CT5 will replace 3 sedans; EVs coming

DETROIT - The head of General Motors' Cadillac luxury division said on Thursday the brand will shrink its lineup of sedans and expand its offerings of sport utility vehicles and hybrid and electric vehicles in response to market shifts. Expanding Cadillac's global sales is central to GM's overall profit strategy, and Cadillac has reported a 27 percent increase in worldwide sales through the first half of the year. However, in the United States, now the brand's second largest market behind China, Cadillac sales are down 1.6 percent and combined sales of the brand's four sedan models have plummeted 16.3 percent through the first half of the year. That has forced GM to order layoffs at two Michigan factories that build Cadillac cars, and raised questions about the long term future of the plants. "We have to rebalance our sedan portfolio," Johan de Nysschen told Reuters in interview, offering new details about the strategy. Cadillac will not directly replace the current XTS, CTS or ATS sedans when they end their life cycles in 2019, he said. Instead, Cadillac will use a single new car called the CT5 to appeal to consumers shopping for sedans priced between $35,000 and $45,000. New versions of the CT6 sedan will be offered to customers who want a larger car starting at $50,000. Sources had told Reuters last week that GM was considering ending production on six cars including the CT6 and XTS and models from Chevrolet and Buick. That report now appears only half-right as far as Cadillac is concerned. The new CT5 will be built at a factory near Lansing, Michigan, that currently builds the slow-selling Cadillac ATS and CTS models. A small luxury sedan to compete with the Audi A3 will be built in the same plant, de Nysschen said. Cadillac will offer more SUVs, starting with a compact model called XT4, followed by a larger SUV with three rows of seats due by 2019 to compete with vehicles such as Volvo's current XC90 model. Volvo, owned by China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, scored a public relations coup by announcing plans earlier this month to power all its vehicles with either hybrid or all-electric technology starting in 2019. The move challenges Tesla, which has eclipsed more established brands with tech savvy luxury buyers. Cadillac has plans "not dissimilar to what Volvo has announced," with more electrified vehicles launching in the second half of the next decade, de Nysschen said.

Lutz dishes dirt on GM in latest Autoline Detroit

Bob Lutz sits down for Autoline Detroit - Click above to watch video after the jump
Autoline Detroit recently played host to Bob Lutz, and, as is always the case, the former General Motors vice chairman dished out some great commentary. Lutz was promoting his new book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business, and talk quickly turned to his role as it related to product development and high-level decision making at GM. While on the topic of brand management, Lutz revealed a few rather interesting tidbits about his former employer:
All Chevrolet vehicles were required to have five-spoke aluminum wheels and a chrome band up front, as part of the Bowtie brand's overall image.

Cadillac confident attitude will attract the elite to ELR plug-in hybrid [w/video]

Cadillac is not going to pull any punches when it comes to promoting its plug-in hybrid ELR. In the real world, the company is showing off the Wreath And Crest's coupe with Chevy Volt technology at exclusive events with "groups whose members are affluent, green-minded and have an appreciation for design and innovation," says Automotive News. That evidently means young Hollywood celebrities and other well-to-do demographics. As Cadillac global chief Bob Ferguson recently told the industry publication, "If you live on the West Coast and you're an architect and you've given to environmental causes, you're probably going to hear about the ELR. We have sliced and diced who is likely to buy this vehicle." "We have sliced and diced who is likely to buy this vehicle" - Cadillac's Bob Ferguson In the realm of advertising, Cadillac evidently thinks a fast-talking, USA-USA-USA! Type-A personality is just the kind of guy who will convince those celebrities and architects to buy one. For proof, look no further than the star of this new ELR ad called Poolside that Cadillac is airing during the Olympics. There are almost no details about the ELR in this ad, just a whole lot of attitude mixed with humor (the "We got bored" line is funny). In fact, there's almost no indication that the ELR is an extended-range hybrid at all. Short of a brief moment where our hero, actor Neil McDonough, unplugs his car from its charging station, you'd probably never know it's got an EV mode at all. That's undoubtedly a calculated bet by Cadillac, whose ad execs have undoubtedly noted that most electric cars are not selling well with an eco-first message, so they appear to be going with style and swagger instead. Scroll below to see what we mean. The ELR has a starting MSRP of $75,000, and at that price, it's already out of reach for most Americans. Automotive News suggests that annual ELR production is likely to be just shy of 5,000 units, so Cadillac could be on stable ground trying to appeal to such a limited number of buyers. What type of buyers? Well, that remains to be seen. Related Gallery 2015 Cadillac ELR: First Drive View 25 Photos News Source: Cadillac, Automotive News - sub. req. via YouTubeImage Credit: Gallery images copyright 2014 Michael Harley / AOL Green Cadillac Electric Hybrid PHEV cadillac elr elr poolside