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2014 Cadillac ELR

Well, this is awkward.
A few years ago, Audi Of America's boss Johan de Nysschen went on record describing the Chevrolet Volt as "a car for idiots." Fast-forward to earlier this summer, and the well-regarded executive suddenly found himself in a new office with new business cards bearing the title: President, Cadillac. That means that among other challenges, de Nysschen is now tasked with selling the ELR, a car that is, at its core, a Volt in a sportier, less utile frock wearing a price tag that's twice as expensive.
Frankly, it's not a prospect we imagine the South African executive and recent Infiniti boss relishes. Just about nobody is buying the ELR - Cadillac has sold but 774 examples of its plug-in hybrid coupe this year and it presently has an almost a 200-day supply according to Automotive News. What's more, those numbers actually represent big improvements over just a few months ago, before GM started heaping on the incentives. The cynic in us says that the bad news for De Nysschen is that he's got a borderline sales-proof car in his new corporate garage. The good news? Cadillac customers apparently aren't idiots.

de Nysschen pushes to separate Cadillac, GM

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen continues his push to separate his brand from General Motors. After controversially picking up shop and moving to New York's trendy SoHo neighborhood, de Nysschen has now gone on record as saying that within two years, the brand will enjoy "a far higher degree of autonomy and self sufficiency." That autonomy will include the brand reporting its own financial results, independent of GM. But what would such a move do for Cadillac? Well, as de Nysschen explained it to Automotive News, "Cadillac at this state makes a very sizeable contribution to the overall profit at General Motors." If that's truly the case, separating financial announcements serves to emphasize the prosperous character de Nysschen seems so keen on attaching to his brand. But that's only one phase of Cadillac's push to distance itself from GM. De Nysschen is eager to revamp the company's dealership model so that it stands out from other GM brands, calling it a "very profound focus." Those moves, according to AN, including a change to the current dealer incentive model with a particular emphasis on building the brand rather than nailing sales figures. "If you aren't strengthening the brand perception, you should have less reward," de Nysschen told AN. While his goals seem clear, de Nysschen's statements have left us wondering whether they're also somewhat counterintuitive. Emphasizing Caddy's prosperity to potential consumers while incentivizing dealers to move less metal seems more like a tactical move rather than a strategic one. And there's no telling how the new dealership model will impact de Nysschen's goal to hit 500,000 global sales by 2020. Related Video:

Cadillac SRX production moving to TN, next-gen Equinox going to Mexico

It's a good week for the town of Spring Hill, TN, as General Motors has announced that its factory in the city of 31,000 will receive a $185 million contract to produce engines. On top of that, the next-generation Cadillac SRX crossover will be built at the factory (NA models are presently built in Ramos, Arizpe Mexico), which was once famous for being the home of GM's now-defunct Saturn brand.
The factory is one of GM's six facilities around the globe that will screw together the company's new line of three- and four-cylinder Ecotec engines. Spring Hill currently builds the 2.0-liter, turbocharged Ecotec, as well as the naturally aspirated 2.4 and 2.5-liter variants.
Spring Hill's vehicle assembly lines were idled in 2009, but were reactivated in 2011. The SRX is just one of the products meant to benefit from last year's $350-million investment, and should have a positive impact, creating or retaining around 1,800 positions at the factory.