1998 Cadillac Deville Base Cab & Chassis 4-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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General Motors could turn Hamtramck into its electric pickup, SUV hub

Electric off-roaders could revitalize the Detroit-Hamtramck factory that General Motors previously announced it will close. While official details remain shrouded in secrecy, analysts believe the plant will be re-tooled to manufacture at least three electric models due out during the early 2020s. The plant's scheduled closure was one of the grievances the United Auto Workers (UAW) union cited when it embarked on a 40-day strike in September 2019. General Motors agreed to keep it open without shedding much light on what it planned to build there. Analyst at LMC Automotive told the The Detroit News they believe an often-rumored electric SUV that will resurrect Hummer's name, image, or both will be one of the models assigned to the Hamtramck plant. Battery-powered variants of the GMC Sierra and the Cadillac Escalade will be made there, too, as will an enigmatic van. LMC Automotive's Jeff Schuster believes the van will come first; it could enter production as early as 2021. The Hummer — which might also be offered as a pickup — will follow before the end of 2022, while the Sierra and the Escalade will both arrive in 2023. We're taking this report with a grain of salt, though, because only one of the aforementioned models has been announced by General Motors. Rumors of a Hummer resurrection emerged in the summer of 2019, just a few weeks before we heard unverified reports of a battery-powered variant of the next-generation Escalade. General Motors confirmed plans to enter the burgeoning electric pickup truck segment, which Ford, Rivian, and Tesla also have their sights on, but it hasn't detailed how or when. The van is a mystery. General Motors refused to comment on the report. It previously announced it will keep Hamtramck open, and invest $3 billion to build electric vehicles there. The investment will create 2,225 jobs. Inaugurated in February 1985, the Hamtramck factory has churned out a diverse selection of models over the past 34 years, including Cadillac's Eldorado, Seville, and Allante, the Oldsmobile Toronado, the Buick Riviera, and more recently, gasoline-electric Chevrolet Volt. General Motors announced plans to close Hamtramck in 2018, but it quickly backpedaled and extended its lease on life until 2020 by keeping the Chevrolet Impala and the Cadillac CT6 around for a few additional months.

How the demise of Lincoln's Town Car has kick-started a limo revolution

The deaths of the Ford Crown Victoria and the Lincoln Town Car have meant overhauls of three high-profile American fleets: police, taxi and livery car. Just as police fleets are more open to considering other options and a Nissan van is the new face of the NYC taxi, livery car companies are looking at replacements for the Town Car beyond The Blue Oval. Ford, via Lincoln, has made an MKT Town Car (pictured), but an article in the Detroit News claims "it has failed to win over most of the big limousine companies." The upstarts trying to move in include livery and limo editions of the Cadillac XTS, and livery specifications of the Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300.
Each of those challengers, however, faces challenges. The Town Car was a workhorse, American, rear-wheel-drive sedan with plenty of rear legroom. Cadillac has been in the livery space before but with decontented models that were about selling the brand, not its luxury. It is taking the opposite approach with the XTS, pointing out that its livery edition is "contented in the upper half of the XTS range." Still, the CEO of Michigan's largest livery company says "it's quite a bit smaller than what we're used to," and he also prefers rear-wheel drive.
The Chrysler 300 is rear-wheel drive, and American, which matters to some companies, but Chrysler hasn't yet revealed the livery package for it. The livery Avalon marks Toyota's first time getting into that business in the US, a natural step after having done so well with taxi clients and with the Town Car out of the way. Still, the livery client is a different to taxi buyers, so the Avalon could face other soft-touch hurdles.

Cadillac boss says small SUV 'at least four years away'

Since Johan de Nysschen's takeover as brand president, there's a lot of buzz around Cadillac. Now, the brand's leader is now giving a little more clarity about when we might see some of the company's future vehicles, including its compact crossover. "Product development life cycles being what they are, I don't have a date in mind but I would estimate it is at least four years away," said de Nysschen about a small Cadillac CUV. The comments were made to Reuters during the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle is part of Cadillac's eight-model, $12 billion reinvention through 2020. Interestingly, de Nysschen told Autoblog at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that he estimated the compact luxury CUV to arrive by early 2018. The boss also indicated that Cadillac would get a sedan to slot below the ATS some time in 2017, and the previously spied SRX replacement, possibly called the XT5, would debut in 2016. In the meantime, the company's flagship CT6 is being unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April. The wait for a luxury compact CUV makes Cadillac one of the later entries into the segment. The space is already filling with vehicles like the BMW X1, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, Lexus NX and Lincoln MKC. Small crossovers in general seem to still be growing in sales. While building a better brand in the US, de Nysschen also wants to grow Cadillac in Europe in the future. He told Reuters that he wants diesel vehicles ready for 2019 to appeal to customers there. Some might even be offered in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Design/Style Cadillac Crossover Diesel Vehicles Luxury de nysschen