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Cadillac Celestiq, Lyriq, Hummer, other future GM electric cars: Here's everything we saw at ‘EV Day’

WARREN, Mich. — Today, General Motors held an “EV Day” event at its Warren, Michigan, campus to present its new “Ultium” battery technology, modular electric vehicle architecture and soon-to-come electric vehicles. Unfortunately, we were forbidden from bringing cameras into the event, so while we canÂ’t show you what we saw, we can tell you more about it. While we saw the previously teased Cadillac EV (which we now know to be called the Lyriq) and the GMC Hummer pickup teased during the Super Bowl, there were a number of other future cars at the event, which GM President Mark Reuss assured us are all real vehicles in the works. The biggest surprise came at the end of the event, though, in the Cadillac Celestiq electric sedan, which Reuss described as a future flagship that would be hand-built “very locally.” It had been hiding under a dark sheet all morning, with the front and rear illuminated Cadillac emblems shining from underneath. When the wraps came off, we saw a long, white, four-seat fastback sedan. The 23-inch wheels were pushed out to the very corners of the car, giving it what appeared to be a very long wheelbase. The model on the stage had no side mirrors or visible door handles. The grille mirrored that of the Lyriq crossover next to it, with integrated lighting in lieu of the usual mesh or slats youÂ’d see in an internal combustion car. The entire roof, all the way until it tapered to the tail of the vehicle, was tinted glass. In back, vertical tail lighting ran down the C-pillar before turning rearward across the top of the trunk. Inside, everything below the beltline of the windows — essentially all but the headrests and top portion of the steering wheel, was hidden from view. Behind the Celestiq, a large digital display showed a rendering of its interior. The dash consists of a pillar-to-pillar curved LED display serving as both instrument panel and infotainment system. Protruding forward between the front seats was another touchscreen that appeared to house some more controls, with open area, probably for storage, below it. The rear seats had the same sort of touchscreen between them. Built into the back of the front seats were a pair of rear-seat entertainment screens, much like we saw in the Lyriq. The door panels blended wood, metal and animated lighting to give character and a sense of opulence. GM interior design manager Tristan Murphy was on hand to tell us a bit more about the Celestiq.

2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe priced from $37,995*

Cadillac has released pricing details on its new-for-2014 ATS Coupe. The new model, which will be available with buyer's choice of a 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder or a 3.6-liter V6 (the ATS Sedan's base 2.5 won't be making the trip) can be had with optional all-wheel-drive in place of the standard rear-wheel setup, while customers can also snag a six-speed manual or six-speed auto.
Prices start at $37,995, which represents a $2,900 premium over the 2014 ATS Sedan (pricing on the 2015 four-door isn't available yet) with the same 2.0-liter engine. Still, the ATS Coupe starts at just over $2,500 less than a base BMW 428i, which is also less powerful and offers less standard equipment. The Caddy is also less costly than the Mercedes-Benz C250 Coupe, although only by about $200. It's even cheaper than the Audi A5, which starts at $38,105, but that model includes all-wheel drive as standard. It should be noted that these prices are without their respective destination charges (*$995 for the Caddy, $925 each for the BMW and the Mercedes and $895 for the Audi).
Unfortunately, Cadillac hasn't released any additional pricing information beyond what we have here, so we can't tell you how much things like all-wheel drive, an automatic transmission or the 321-horsepower V6 will cost. That makes it difficult to figure out just how reasonable the ATS Coupe will be relative to its challengers, but so far, the value equation looks to be in the car's favor. When those full details roll in, though, you know where to look. Scroll down for the official press release from Cadillac.

It's going to cost $12 billion to fix Cadillac

The Cadillac CT6's development predates Johan de Nysschen taking over at Cadillac, but the forthcoming flagship is the luxury brand's first major new product launch since the beginning of his tenure. The vehicle's debut also marks the beginning of a comprehensive $12 billion renewal plan bringing eight new vehicles in the next five years. Now, the former Audi and Infiniti exec is talking about joining Caddy and the company's future. "Cadillac will be a powerhouse global luxury brand that will command the respect of its peers," de Nysschen said about the forecast state of the company in 2020 to Bloomberg. He disclosed that three of those new vehicles under the five-year plan would be crossovers and reiterated that plug-in hybrids are on the way that would take advantage of the Chevrolet Volt's tech advances. De Nysschen also reminisced about joining Cadillac last year. He told Bloomberg that leaving Infiniti wasn't an easy decision, and there were apparently long conversations on the phone with General Motors President Dan Ammann discussing strategy for the luxury brand. De Nysschen was apparently clear that a greater investment and more autonomy from the corporate mother ship were vital. These days, the revitalization of Cadillac is just getting rolling. The company has a swanky New York office with a dedicated team to focus on the future. According to de Nysschen, the brand will grow its staff to around 150 people by the end of the year, compared to over 40 now. The marketing plan is to position the American luxury brand as a more distinctive product versus more common German rivals. It's going to be very interesting to see if this new Caddy can dare greatly enough to accomplish these lofty goals.