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Will attaching the electrodes re-animate Cadillac?

This announcement last week from General Motors —"Cadillac will be GM's lead electric vehicle brand"— followed quickly by the surprise reveal Sunday night of a Cadillac EV crossover, leads one to wonder whether this is a case of GM pulling out the defibrillator and hoping a full-on jolt of electricity will revive Cadillac from its ongoing diminution in the market. In 2018, Cadillac U.S. sales were 154,702 vehicles, which was down from the 156,440 it had sold in 2017. And the 2017 sales were down significantly from the 170,006 vehicles delivered by Cadillac in 2016. And that is down from the 175,267 sales of 2015. Sure, part of Cadillac's problem — one shared by some other OEMs — is that its sedans aren't selling. But if we put those to the side, realize that in 2018 sales of the venerable Escalade were down by 2.2 percent. Admittedly, that rig is a little old in the grille, and it's suddenly gotten strong competition from the Lincoln Navigator, so a sales decline isn't too surprising. But the XT5, the compact lux vehicle that was launched in 2016 as a model-year 2017 product, had an 11.3 percent decline in a segment that is doing nothing but growing. This is not promising. Although the argument at GM HQ might be that Cadillac can reinvent itself as a Tesla fighter, one of the things that isn't often noted about Tesla vis-a-vis other OEMs is that while sedan sales are generally down, Tesla, which had an estimated 2018 sales volume of 197,680 (according to Cleantechnica.com), made its numbers primarily with the Model 3 and Model S, both sedans, as it has just the Model X crossover. So it isn't just about vehicle architecture. It is going to take more than an electric SUV to change Cadillac's performance. But here's where circumstances can fall in Cadillac's favor. Scale can be highly beneficial to Cadillac versus Tesla. The Chinese market, even though it is weakening of late, will be largely predicated on "New Energy Vehicles," which means electrified and fully electric. And while Tesla only just now broke ground on a factory in China, LMC Automotive reports that as of December 2018, SAIC GM is already well-established there and is the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in China (behind SAIC Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen). Cadillac is going to be able to take advantage of GM's global efforts in developing EVs, so soon the Cadillac showroom could be filled with an array of luxury EVs that may make even Tesla loyalists take another look.

Volvo and GM team with Amazon for in-car deliveries

Volvo and GM are the first automakers to pair their vehicles with a new service from Amazon that lets owners have their packages delivered inside their cars, without them having to be there. The service will initially be rolled out in 37 U.S. cities at no extra charge to Amazon Prime members with a Volvo On Call or OnStar account, and it works with same-day, two-day and standard shipping. It's intended as an alternative for people who don't want to risk having their package stolen from their front porch or receive deliveries at their workplace, and both automakers say it's an example of how they're embracing innovation as a way to make their customers' lives easier. Volvo released a video (above) showing how the service works. Users download the Amazon Key App (or " Ama-zin," as the narrator pronounces it) and link their Amazon Prime account with their Volvo On Call account — or OnStar, in the case of GM-branded vehicles. Once they register their delivery location in a publicly accessible location, users can select the "In-Car" option at checkout. They get a notification when the delivery is en route and once it's completed and the car is relocked. Volvo has been offering in-car delivery in certain European countries since 2015 through its Volvo On Call platform, which enables services like the ability to send calendar-based navigation destinations directly to the vehicle, find nearby gas stations and help locate the vehicle when you forget where you parked it. Volvo says the platform is now available in roughly 50 countries and covers more than 90 percent of its global sales. The service is compatible with 2015 or newer Volvo, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC vehicles. Volvo says it's available to the majority of Volvo owners, while GM says more than 7 million vehicle owners can qualify. The service is expected to roll out to more cities later. You can check eligibility at amazon.com/keyincar. Related Video: Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GM GMC Volvo Technology Infotainment Amazon connected car volvo on call e-commerce

GM veteran Bryan Nesbitt tapped to head Buick design

General Motors styling veteran Bryan Nesbitt (pictured above) took over a new role on Monday as executive director of global Buick design and global architectures. Andrew Smith, who previously did that job and also coordinated the look for Cadillac, has remained in charge of the pen at Caddy with this shift. Nesbitt rose to prominence when he designed the Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to Automotive News. He joined GM in 2001 and has been there ever since in multiple high-level roles. In 2007, he was appointed vice president of design for North America and was later briefly general manager of Cadillac in 2009-2010. Nesbitt took over as the vice president of GM's international operations design in China in 2011. This shuffle also moves Ken Parkinson, currently styling boss for Chevrolet trucks, to China as design vice president there. In addition, John Cafaro becomes the person in charge of the look for Chevy globally, rather than previously splitting that role between cars and trucks with Parkinson. GM Global Design Leadership Changes – effective June 1, 2015. Bryan Nesbitt, Design Vice President, GM China will repatriate to North America and assume the position of Executive Director, Global Buick and Global Architectures. He will be located in Warren, MI. Bryan will be the design Champion for Buick in the US and China. Ken Parkinson, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Trucks and Global Architecture will assume the position of Design Vice President, GM China. He will be based in Shanghai, China. Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Global Cadillac and Buick Design will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Cadillac. He will continue to be the design Champion for the Cadillac brand. In addition, he will continue to lead the Global Color & Trim team. He will be based in Warren, Michigan. John Cafaro, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Cars will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Chevrolet. He will be the design Champion for Chevrolet. In addition, John will lead the exterior components and accessories team. He will continue to be based in Warren, MI. The roles and responsibilities of Helen Emsley, Mark Adams, Carlos Barba, Clay Dean, Michael Simcoe, and Teckla Rhoades remain the same. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.