This Kustom Caddy Is A Real Eye Catcher And Loved Where Ever It Goes! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Cadillac can't keep up with Escalade demand, can't move its sedans

No matter how much Cadillac revitalizes its lineup and its image, it seems that all consumers want is the Escalade. In fact, Automotive News reports that General Motors can't keep up with demand for the fullsize luxury SUV, despite sticker prices that start at over $70,000 and approach six figures at the top end of the spectrum. Contrast that with sedans like the ATS and CTS, which are far cheaper but which Cadillac hasn't been able to move fast enough to keep up with production, prompting both the manufacturer and dealers to offer substantial incentives to keep them from piling up. Cadillac had been resisting a price cut of the ATS or CTS, lest it hurt resale values – itself a factor that could explain consumers' reluctance to buy them in the first place – but been offering subsidized leases, discounted financing, rebates and cheaper options. Combined with incentives from individual dealers, according to AN, buyers can be looking at five-figure discounts on buying a new Cadillac sedan. And now, finally, it seems the CTS will indeed get a little bit off its bottom line. Yet GM has been producing the ATS and CTS at rates that their sales can't keep up with. The automaker was forced to idle the plant in Lansing, MI, where it assembles the ATS and CTS for six weeks starting this past December. And since it reopened late in January, it's been reduced to a single shift as dealers try to move the metal they've already got. Meanwhile the plant in Arlington, TX, that produces the Escalade and its Chevy and GMC siblings has been running on overtime, with three shifts throughout the week and even into the weekend to keep up with demand. Profitable as it's been for Cadillac and GM, though, the Escalade does not represent the future of where it wants to take the brand - separating the Escalade as almost a brand unto itself that's been left out of the company's new naming scheme. If only it could make its sedans as successful as its fullsize SUVs, it'll be all set.

Next-gen Cadillac CTS-Vs caught in parking lot

A pair of camouflaged Cadillac CTS prototypes were spotted, and thankfully photographed, outside a grocery store in Southern California. From the image above - there are plenty more if you click over to TotalCarScore.com - it appears these could be testers for the 2014 CTS-V, but that is just speculation. We've seen the obvious "V" motif in the grille before, and there's what could be another "V" in the design of the side mirrors.
The hood on the car in the background appears to include two bulges, but the single shot that affords a tiny peek under the hood shows reveals only the airbox. Plenty of rumors, and the sight of an engine cover inscribed with the words "Twin Turbo," have caused people to wonder if a twin-turbo V6 will live under the production car's hood instead of the V8 currently there. In back, instead of the round tailpipes found outboard on all the CTS sedans, there's a pair of integrated tips in a parallelogram shape. A new shifter with contrasting stitching was spied in the cabin.
If predictions hold up it will arrive later this year. When it does, expect the body underneath all that camo to be softer on the eye compared to the current car - less science and more art. For now, hit the link to see more spy shots of what's coming.

GM winding down Chevrolet brand in Europe

If you've taken even a cursory look at GM's European strategy and wondered how it can target the market there with both Chevrolet and Opel/Vauxhall, you're not alone. In fact General Motors itself has found it difficult to justify the two-pronged approach. That's why it's essentially pulling Chevy from the European marketplace.
Instead of trying to ply European buyers with what are mostly former Daewoo products rebadged as Chevys, GM will now let Opel (or Vauxhall in the UK) represent its mass-market aspirations. Chevrolet will keep its presence in Russia and other former Soviet markets, and will continue selling certain niche products in Eastern and Western Europe. The Corvette, for example, has long been sold in Europe through Cadillac dealerships, which for its part is currently "finalizing plans for expanding in the European market".
While the shift in strategy is expected to help GM get a stronger foothold in the European market in the long run, in the short term the restructuring will cost it dearly: between $700 million and $1 billion, according to its own estimates, split between the last quarter of this year and the first half of the next. Jump into the full press release below for more.