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BMW reclaims US luxury sales crown from Mercedes

The numbers, they are in: BMW has reclaimed the luxury-sales crown from Mercedes by a margin of 9,347 cars. Mercedes donned the king's headgear in 2013 after a strong final quarter of 2013 when the new CLA and S-Class poured out of dealerships. This year, led by the 3 Series/4 Series and X5, BMW sold 339,738 units – a 9.8-percent increase year-on-year. Mercedes, led by the C-Class and M-Class, saw its sales go up by 5.7 percent to 330,391 units. We'll have to wait a bit to see if there's another registrations-vs-sales challenge as in 2012, when BMW was anointed US luxury ruler. Behind them, a dark horse named Lexus nudged closer to the leading Teutons, selling 311,389 cars. The Japanese luxury automaker also had the biggest gain among the top three, its sales rising by 13.7 percent compared to 2013. Audi had the biggest sales of anyone among the top five, though, with a 15.2-percent gain to 182,011, which moved it a spot ahead of Cadillac; the Wreath-and-Crest brand dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750. Acura (167,843), Infiniti (117,300), and Lincoln (94,474) took the final positions. Speaking of Lincoln, sales at the once-mighty luxury marque stand as the mightiest jump of any on this list, up 15.6 percent. That's the power of Matthew McConaughey... and better cars and a new crossover, sure. So now that we're back to Round One of 2015, in case no one else has said it yet: "Ok, fight!"

Cadillac CT6 to be lighter than CTS, get PHEV model

Cadillac is suddenly one of the most talked about automakers in the US with Johan de Nysschen taking control. The brand claims that it eventually wants to become, once again, the standard of the world. One of the first vehicles to actually prove whether that's possible is its upcoming CT6 flagship sedan. We still don't know what the production version looks like undisguised, but other important details are falling into place. The latest big news sheds some light on the Caddy's powertrain and some estimates of its weight and size.
General Motors product chief Mark Reuss dropped the details at the automaker's Global Business Conference. According to The Detroit News, he revealed that the CT6 would use a twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission, and a plug-in hybrid would be an additional option. He reportedly claimed it would be the most "powerful six-cylinder gas engine in the segment" and said the hybrid could get around 70 miles per gallon.
Reuss also revealed that the CT6 would be about 53 pounds lighter than the current CTS, despite being about 8 inches longer, according to The Detroit News. If that's the case, the new flagship is about 203.5-inches long, which is 1.5-inches more than the XTS.

Cadillac abandons plans for six-digit flagship sedan

So much for that party. Cadillac has announced that it is walking away from plans to build a high-dollar, rear-wheel-drive ultraluxury sedan. The low-volume model would have been based on the lusty Ciel Concept, and the production iteration would have carried a price tag well over $100,000. Executives with the automaker reportedly claim the model wouldn't have bolstered the brand enough to be worth the investment.
Even so, Automotive News reports Cadillac is still on track to build a range-topping four-door to go head-to-head with the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. That model will likely be constructed on the company's upcoming Omega rear-wheel-drive platform, but we won't see it bow until at least 2016. Right now, the front-wheel-drive XTS sits at the top of the Cadillac lineup, and while that machine and it's twin-turbocharged V6 variant makes a compelling argument against certain luxury entries, it falls short serving as a legitimate competitor for the likes of the 7 Series and S-Class for enthusiast drivers.