Cadillac sales up 36% in March 2010

Posted on by
Reply

Overall Cadillac sales were up 36.3% per sales day, driven by consistent Cadillac SRX sales.

Cadillac sedan sales rebounded a bit — up nicely in the case of the DTS:


 March
(Calendar Year-to-Date)

January – March

2010 2009 % Chg Volume %Chg per S/D
2010 2009 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D) 26 25





CTS 2,870 3,899 -26.4 -29.2
8,125 10,576 -23.2
DTS 2,146 1,161 84.8 77.7
3,375 3,505 -3.7
Escalade 1,269 1,116 13.7 9.3
3,924 3,707 5.9
Escalade ESV 666 510 30.6 25.6
1,614 1,598 1.0
Escalade EXT 159 226 -29.6 -32.4
382 727 -47.5
SRX 4,090 629 550.2 525.2
10,866 2,069 425.2
STS 400 576 -30.6 -33.2
965 1,346 -28.3
XLR 39 92 -57.6 -59.2
101 218 -53.7
Cadillac Total 11,639 8,209 41.8 36.3
29,352 23,746 23.6

Cadillac CTS sales were up a bit from Feb 2010, but down from Mar 2009.  The CTS still needs a fundamental sales boost, and additional advertising.  CTS Coupe and V-Coupe sales will help this summer of course.

Cadillac SRX sales are far outpacing the previous design from 2009, and at 4,090 are ahead of SRX sales for February 2010 of 3,542.

Cadillac Escalade sales as a whole are consistent.

Total Cadillac and Buick combined luxury car sales went up both year over year and month over month:


 March
(Calendar Year-to-Date)

January – March

2010 2009 % Chg Volume %Chg per S/D
2010 2009 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D) 26 25






Enclave 4,519 3,193 41.5 36.1
12,372 9,271 33.4
LaCrosse 6,054 1,800 236.3 223.4
14,345 4,825 197.3
Lucerne 2,381 2,372 0.4 -3.5
5,419 6,420 -15.6
Rainier 0 0 ***.* ***.*
0 3 ***.*
Rendezvous 0 1 ***.* ***.*
0 1 ***.*
Terraza 0 3 ***.* ***.*
0 14 ***.*
Buick Total 12,954 7,369 75.8 69.0
32,136 20,534 56.5
Cadillac Total 11,639 8,209 41.8 36.3
29,352 23,746 23.6

Due to an amazing run by the Lacrosse, total Buick & Cadillac US Luxury car sales for the month of March of 24,593 easily outshone BMW US March sales of 21,670, Lexus US March sales of 20,219, or Mercedes US March sales of 20,023.

Cadillac CTS Coupe, then XTS, then ATS?

Posted on by
Reply

No Cadillac ATS at the NY Auto Show.   The CTS-V Sport Wagon was there instead.

The CTS Coupe and CTS-V Coupe will be in showrooms this summer.  Lots of excitement about these two, and hopefully “a rising tide lifts all boats” and increased showroom traffic will result in more CTS Sedan sales as well.

Next model year, in 2011, we are likely to see the new Cadillac XTS sedan rolling down the line at Lansing Grand River as a 2012 model.  At that point we will have the CTS Family in Sedan, Coupe, or Sport Wagon, including CTS-V Sedan, Coupe or Sport Wagon.  Escalade Family in regular, extended, or pickup bed, and SRX.  The STS will bow out after the 2011 model probably.  Cadillac said that the DTS will continue in 2011, but it does not appear in the order book, so that seems limiting.

The ATS will likely arrive in 2012 as a 2013 model; the rumors still don’t correlate.  I expect we will see a concept soon, and then it will arrive in 2012 as a 2013 model.  The XTS arriving in 2011 as a 2012 model suggests that the ATS won’t arrive in 2011.

The ATS will take over from the CTS as the sedan sales leader for Cadillac.  This is a crucial launch for Cadillac, as the ATS will largely become the new Cadillac, and everything depends on how good this new model is. The CTS refresh will make it a bit larger and a bit more upmarket.  The ATS and the refreshed CTS will both be on the Alpha platform.

Competition improves the breed Send more LLT V6 HP

Posted on by
Reply

Motor Trend did an early test drive and acceleration test on the 2011 Mustang with 3.7L V6 engine, managing a surprising 0-60 time of 5.1 seconds from the base Mustang.  Why does this matter on a Cadillac blog?

The base Mustang competes directly and aggressively with the V6 Chevrolet Camaro.  The current 304 hp V6 Camaro outsells the current Mustang, partially because it out-accelerates the 2010 Mustang V6, which got the old 210 hp 4L engine.  The new hotter base Mustang with the new 3.7L DOHC V6 makes 305 hp, and will ‘put the hurt’ on the current V6 Camaro, if the Mustang consistently manages 0-60 times of around 5.1 sec and the Camaro does the deed in around 6 sec.  Similar hp, but the Camaro is heavier.

To respond, Chevrolet will need to pump up the volume on the LLT DOHC DI V6, perhaps by 40-50 hp to overcome the Camaro’s weight disadvantage.  Generally in this weight class, 10 hp = 0.2 sec difference in 0-60 time.  BTW, another thumb rule in this class is that 100 lbs = 0.1 sec difference.  So the Camaro needs a minimum of another 30 hp, but another 50 hp would be safer.  So that means getting the LLT V6 up to 350 hp.

This is an exciting development for Cadillac because the CTS family shares the LLT V6 with the Chevrolet Camaro.  So hopefully any ponies that GM Powertrain prepares for the Camaro will go right in to the CTS as well.  Doesn’t always work that way, but the current CTS is also coming in high in its class for the acceleration tests, so that makes a good case for sharing.

What can GM do to increase the V6 output?  Tuning the LLT to run up to 7,000 rpm should get it to 325 hp.  Since it is a variable valve timing engine, there is no disadvantage to tuning at the top end.  Work on a more header-like exhaust manifold, and improve the exhaust port flow on the LLT should yield 20-30 hp, which would put the engine at 345-355 hp, with almost no recurring increase in cost for the power train.

Oh sure Bruce — if it is that simple why doesn’t GM do that already?  Because the LLT was meeting the design spec already — a great high value V6 that puts out more than 300 hp smoothly and with great MPG.  But now we need the more, and GM Powertrain needs to turn up the wick and send us a 350 hp LLT.