Cadillac CTS Coupe options mirror how I would market the CTS Sedan

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I like the way Cadillac plans to equip and market the new Cadillac CTS Coupe and CTS-V Couple.  The two will arrive in Cadillac show rooms this summer.

Where the CTS Sedan is offered with 3L V6 as the base model, and 3.6L V6 in the Premium or Performance models, the CTS Coupe comes only with the 3.6L in Performance or Premium, and then the CTS-V model.  One can select rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive in either Performance or Premium.

I appreciate that Cadillac wants a range for the CTS, but the 3.0L offers NO appreciable fuel economy difference, and must cost Cadillac the same amount to manufacture as the 3.6L.  I would prefer to see the CTS drop the 3L altogether, and offer the 3.6L throughout the range.  This would simplify the CTS Sedan order book to match the CTS Coupe selections.

For suspension options the CTS coupe offers the FE2 “Suspension, Sport”, with 18″ wheels, or the FE3 “Suspension, Performance” suspension tune, with 19″ wheels.  Both are good selections.  The CTS-V Coupe of course will get the FE4 “Suspension, Performance, with MR”, with 19″ wheels.  The MR suspension of course is a world-class magnetic suspension that is ideal in almost any application.

I wondered if we might see a bit more hp from Powertrain for the CTS Coupe.  But the engine outputs showing so far are identical to previous models:

  • CTS Coupe Engine, 3.6L Variable Valve Timing V6 DI Direct Injection (304 hp [226.7 kW] @ 6400 rpm, 273 lb-ft of torque [368.6 N-m] @ 5200 rpm)
  • CTS-V Coupe Engine, 6.2L supercharged V8 (556 hp [414.6 kW] @ 6100 rpm, 551 lb-ft of torque [734.9 N-m] @ 3800 rpm)

All CTS Coupe models will come with limited slip differential.  The CTS Coupe will receive a slightly more aggressive final drive ratio, which should improve acceleration.

Cadillac has not yet announced the CTS Coupe pricing, but one can expect it to be above the CTS Sedan 3.6L Performance Model at $43K and CTS Sedan Permium Model  at $49K.  I of course recommend that Cadillac re-price the entire line, dropping the 3L option for the Sedan and holding prices across the Sedan to $35K-45K.  I would also price the Coupe in the $40K-45K range, but I suspect that Cadillac will price it in the $48K-55K range, filling the gap between the CTS 3.6L Premium Sedan at $49K and the CTS-V Sedan at $62K.

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How Exclusive Should Cadillac be?

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In 2004 Cadillac had achieved a new beginning.  The new CTS, SRX, and STS were being produced in the new Cadillac factory at Lansing Grand River, and the DTS came out of the 90s Cadillac home in Hamtramck.  The XLR was produced in the Corvette factory at Bowling Green, on a separate Cadillac assembly line.  Sure the Escalades were coming from the huge truck factories at Arlington and Ramos, but Cadillac almost had retrieved some actuality of independence and uniqueness within General Motors.

Today the CTS, CTS-V, CTS Sport Wagon, and CTS Coupe all are made at Lansing Grand River (LGR).  The STS, taking its final bow for 2011 is also a LGR product.  The new SRX comes from Ramos, and the Escalade production has all shifted to Arlington, Texas.  The new XTS replacement for the DTS is headed for Oshawa, Ontario to be built in the state of the art flexible manufacturing facility.  The production home of the ATS to my knowledge has not been announced.  So all in all Cadillac’s home continues to be the LGR facility, although their best sellers come from Arlington or Ramos, and soon (hopefully) from Oshawa.

Targeting a single-factory home like LGR would make Cadillac more like an independent Automobile Marque.  It would also mean limiting total production that Cadillac would be capable of.  Should General Motors target a certain level of production in order to ensure exclusivity for Cadillac?  Or should GM continue to produce and sell as many Cadillacs as the Public can consume?  Limiting production would have the advantage of driving up residual values for leases, and it would tend to drive up the average retail transaction price for Cadillac Dealers.  The obvious downside is fewer sales and less overall profit opportunity.  If Cadillac is to compete on the world stage with BMW and Mercedes, they need to get sales back to 200K / year or even the days of 300K / year of Cadillacs rolling out of the factories.  The upcoming ATS Family alone, if it is to compete with the BMW 3-Series, will need to sell around 100K examples.

I for one am confident that the current Cadillac team has the right feel for what makes a Cadillac uniquely a Cadillac.  It does not matter to me which factory Cadillacs come from, as long as when they arrive they are proudly and fiercely Cadillacs — luxury and performance automobiles built to a standard of excellence without compromise.

2011 is a bit of a transition model year for Cadillac.  Early retirement of the DTS, retirement of the XLR without replacement, and the fading STS sales may make calendar 2010 and calendar year 2011 sales a recent low point in overall Cadillac production. Upcoming arrival of the new ATS and XTS in 2012 or 2013 should drive a rapid blooming of Cadillac sales.  Hopefully with the CTS Coupe arrival the Dealer network can prosper though the fallow time until the new models arrive.