Cadillac April Sales up 34% in 2013

Cadillac sales were up 34% in April, with momentum led by the new models — ATS and XTS.  Cadillac SRX sales were actually down 13%, and CTS sales were off 43% as we look for the new 2014 redesign to arrive in the Fall.

Cadillac ATS -- Theo Johnson tests the brake system on an ATS

Cadillac ATS — Theo Johnson tests the brake system on an ATS

Cadillac XTS sales at 2,891, and ATS sales at 2,725 took up the slack, pushing Cadillac to 37% increased sales so far for the year.

ATS sales are still below target — this model should be selling at 5K+ per month.  Although it appears at first that ATS is cannibalizing CTS sales, 80%+ of ATS sales are conquests, not former CTS customers.  Cadillac is still not getting the ‘goodness’ of the new ATS design and execution in front of their target customers.

  April (Calendar Year-to-Date)
January – April
  2013 2012 %Change Volume   2013 2012 %Change Volume
ATS 2,725 0 ***.*   12,475 0 ***.*
CTS 2,398 4,202 -42.9   10,260 16,276 -37.0
DTS 0 39 ***.*   3 275 -98.9
Escalade 919 908 1.2   3,609 3,914 -7.8
Escalade ESV 619 543 14.0   2,465 2,420 1.9
Escalade EXT 199 141 41.1   773 535 44.5
SRX 3,478 3,998 -13.0   16,334 17,290 -5.5
STS 1 20 -95.0   2 107 -98.1
XTS 2,891 0 ***.*   10,021 0 ***.*
Cadillac Total 13,230 9,851 34.3   55,942 40,817 37.1

Sales for the Mercedes brand rose 5.8 percent to 23,635 in April, while BMW posted a 10 percent increase to 23,225.  Cadillac has a lot of room for improved sales.

Cadillac was the industry’s fastest-growing brand in the first quarter, and April’s results bring the brand’s year-to-date sales increase to 37 percent.

Cadillac Press Release:

DETROIT – Driven by the popularity of two new cars – the ATS and larger XTS – sales of Cadillac luxury sedans are up 109 percent compared to models the brand was selling a year ago. April was the 11th consecutive month of year-over-year retail sales gains.

Total U.S. sales for Cadillac were up 34 percent for April and 37 percent for the first four months of the year.

“The ATS sport sedan and XTS luxury sedan have significantly broadened our portfolio, and are attracting new buyers to Cadillac,” said Chase Hawkins, vice president of Cadillac sales and service. “This growth is driving market share increases for the overall brand and in specific key segments.”

The ATS sport sedan continued to bring in new customers from competitors. More than eight in 10 ATS buyers traded in something other than a Cadillac with most non-GM trade-ins coming from BMW, Audi and Lexus.

The XTS luxury sedan gained nearly a full percentage point of market share in April, despite deep incentive offers from luxury competitors. April was also XTS’s best month for sales to individual customers since its launch.

Comparing the Cadillac ATS 2L Turbo Torque to the 3.6L V6

During our recent Cadillac Chat we debated which engine brings the most torque — the highly boosted 2L Turbo 4, or the 3.6L V6?

Here are the engine dyno curves, both for the Cadillac ATS:

2013_2.0L_(LTG)_CAD_ATS copy

This first graph is for the LTG, the 2L Turbo 4.  It hits a ‘shelf’ of 260 lb ft of torque at 1700 rpm and holds that level until over 5500 rpm.

13R_LFX_3.6L_ATS_081312 copy

The 3.6L VVT DI normally aspirated engine hits a  higher max torque at 4800 RPM of 275 lb ft.  It appears to slope up from around 240 lb ft to 275 lb feet and back to near 240 lb ft at redline.

After 5500 rpm the 3.6L heads on to peak HP while the Turbo is out of breath, so the V6 clearly has the ‘nod’ at redline.  My impression comparing the two charts by sight is that the 3.6L stays ahead all the way through the rpm band — what do you think?

Here is a layered comparison — the graphs are difficult to compare because they do not have constant x and y axes.  I used GIMP to stretch one to align with the other in order to give an apples to apples comparison:

Layered comparison with both engine dyno graphs on the same scale

Layered comparison with both engine dyno graphs on the same scale

This makes it harder to read the scales, but what it suggests is that below around 3500 rpm the LTG 2L Turbo makes more torque; after that the 3.6L normally aspirated LFX makes more torque.  With an automatic transmission and torque converter, the LFX likely stays above 3500 rpm at open throttle regardless.  With variable valve timing, the 3.6L manages a heroic torque curve down low and good power up high.

46_tc

Finally, as a nod to the V8 fans, here is a comparison between the two Northstar FWD variants, overlayed together, against the 3.6L RWD VVT V6.

layeredcomparison 3pt6 4pt6

What this shows is a) this is a messy way to discuss and b) the 4.6L Northstar in either variant pulls more torque, earlier, and holds an advantage until past 6K RPM when the smaller 3.6L V6 finally wins only at peak hp.

As a note, the Northstar graphs were not done to the same J1349 standard, which can effect the graphs slightly.

Podcast: CaddyInfo Cadillac Chat 2013-04-18

Audio of the CaddyInfo Cadillac Chat held on Thursday, 2013-04-18.  Live chat is on at 8 PM CT, 9 PM ET, 6 PM PT, 3 AM in Sweden!  If you Google+ talk to me about how to participate!  I am just catching up with how to publish these as podcasts; please plan for them to be available in video or podcast on Thursdays.

Full video of the chat is available also:

Topics this week included:

  • Cadillac and young Luxury Buyers
  • Cadillac ATS Selections:  2L Turbo 272 hp or 3.6L 321 hp? RWD or AWD?
  • Automatics — 4, 6, 8, 10 speeds; Joy of Manual Driving?
  • OnStar, XM, and the Subscription Model for enhanced vehicle features

Podcast Stream:

This cast is in M4A format; please hit the comments and let me know if you need other formats.