Cadillac Sales in July 2012 up 21%

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Cadillac sales are rolling with the XTS in the showroom now, and the ATS on the way.

Cadillac July 2012 Sales

Cadillac July 2012 Sales

Yes, the Cadillac XTS has reached the showrooms.  Just over 1,700 found their way to new homes the first full month of some availability.  I’d like to see the Cadillac XTS attain CTS or SRX numbers of over 4K per month, so we’re not there yet but it is in the running.

Cadillac CTS sales continue strong, and SRX almost broke 5K again this month, and outsold the CTS.  DTS and STS are still clearing out the last few available cars.


 July      (Calendar Year-to-Date)
January –  July     

2012 2011 %Change Volume
2012 2011 %Change Volume
CTS 4,743 4,449 6.6
30,226 31,454 -3.9
DTS 20 715 -97.2
449 9,453 -95.3
Escalade 1,123 914 22.9
7,117 7,859 -9.4
Escalade ESV 711 605 17.5
4,458 4,402 1.3
Escalade EXT 163 171 -4.7
977 1,067 -8.4
SRX 4,911 4,133 18.8
30,361 30,333 0.1
STS 7 132 -94.7
149 2,661 -94.4
XLR 0 0 ***.*
0 12 ***.*
XTS 1,739 0 ***.*
2,492 0 ***.*
Cadillac Total 13,417 11,119 20.7
76,229 87,241 -12.6

 

Cadillac Sales Summary

The Cadillac ATS is in production now, and will be in showrooms in late August or September, and in full sales mode in Sept/Oct.  It is planned to see at 5K / month or 60K/year.  I would like to see it at a 3-series like 9K/month.

Cadillac ATS in production at LGR

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The Cadillac ATS is rolling out of Cadillac’s home factory at Lansing Grand River.  Here is a gallery of first-day baby shots for the new Cadillac ATS.

[click on any image to go into slide show mode]

The Cadillac ATS is in production and is arriving at a Cadillac dealer near you soon.

Full Release:

DETROIT – The first 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury sport sedan intended for public sale was built today at the Lansing Grand River assembly plant in Michigan, culminating a massive design and development project.

Arriving in U.S. dealerships in August, ATS is Cadillac’s all-new entry into the most significant global luxury segment, featuring a new rear wheel drive-based architecture targeting nimble, quick and fun driving performance.

Cadillac’s Lansing Grand River plant, also the production site for the CTS Sedan, Wagon and Coupe and V-Series performance models of each, underwent a $190 million upgrade for ATS production. A second shift was added, creating or retaining 600 jobs.

In total, the award-winning plant that opened in 2001 now has 1,643 salaried and hourly employees.

“The new Cadillac ATS represents an investment in Lansing and our workforce,” said Tony Francavilla, Lansing regional plant manager. “A successful launch needs a great process and a great product, but at the heart of it all are the people, and the care they put into each and every vehicle.”

The ATS expands Cadillac into the highest volume category in the luxury automotive industry. Following the initial start of production in Lansing, distribution to U.S. dealerships will begin in August. Exports to international markets will begin later this year.

“This is a car with a big mission, and it’s been comprehensively prepared for that mission,” said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac Marketing. “The new-from-the-ground-up ATS creates a new entryway into the Cadillac brand for luxury car drivers, and a compelling new challenger to the status quo among the top luxury sport sedans.”

The all-new ATS was custom-built using a new lightweight vehicle architecture featuring advanced materials and techniques to ensure precise driving dynamics.  ATS includes a host of exclusive advanced-tech features, including Magnetic Ride Control, the Safety Alert Seat, and CUE, a new in-car user experience for connectivity and control using industry-first capacitive touch and natural voice recognition systems.

The ATS hits the airwaves during the television broadcast of the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics on Friday.

Cadillac has been a leading luxury auto brand since 1902. In recent years, Cadillac has engineered a historic renaissance led by artful engineering and advanced technology. More information on Cadillac can be found at media.cadillac.com.

Cadillac ATS-V Turbo V6 or Supercharged V8

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The Cadillac ATS-V needs to bring the power to put the BMW M3 away.  The Cadillac ATS-V will bring an exciting engine for the new Cadillac track star — we just don’t know which one yet.

Cadillac ATS Exterior

Cadillac ATS Exterior

The Cadillac CTS-V uses the LSA supercharged 6.2L V8.  This engine makes 556 hp in the CTS-V.  The Camaro ZL1 uses a modified version of the LSA engine, tuned to 580 hp.  We may reasonably see this modified variant in next year’s redesigned CTS-V as well, at 580 hp.

2010 6.2L V8 SC LSA LoR

 

The Camaro ZL1 is down on power compared to its arch rival the GT500, which makes 662 hp.  The ZL1 is a better overall package, but I am hoping GM Powertrain brings the power for the next iteration of the LSA and hits 700 hp.  A powered up CTS-V also gives more head-room for a powered up ATS-V.

Cadillac ATS-V – Turbo V6?

The ‘missing’ engine is the Turbo 3.6L coming as an engine for the 2014 CTS.  We don’t know the exact output for this engine yet, and it will likely arrive in several states of tune.  Rumors have been all over the place — 450 hp for an initial show car, down to 425 hp for production, and up to 475 hp.

A maximum effort ATS-V version of a turbo V6 engine could be tuned for 480 hp and still leave room for a slightly heavier CTS-V  with a 580 hp V8.  But besides avoiding  sibling rivalry, will that be enough for the Cadillac ATS-V?

Sizing the Competition

How much power does the Cadillac ATS-V really need?  The 2014 BMW M3 is the logical target.  The current M3 uses a 414 hp V8.  The next M3 is rumored to equip a tuned turbo V6, for 430-450 hp.  BMW manages to under-rate their engines; so when matching it is best to plan for an extra 25-35 hp for equivalent.  A good target for the Cadillac ATS-V powerplant then is BMW 450 +30 equivalent + 50 better or 530 hp.

And ding ding we have a 556 hp LSA engine available that can be slotted for the ATS-V.  Give the CTS-V a power-up to a 650-700 hp version that the Camaro ZL1 needs, and there is head room to give the ATS-V the current LSA.

If GM Powertrain can bring the same power range (500-530 hp) in the Turbo V6 of course, all the better…