Tag Archives: cadillac

Autoblog admires the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, Jalopnik the Volt

Posted on by
Reply

Autoblog has a post with a photo gallery of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon.

I keep saying Sport Wagon but sometimes it is shown as the plural Sports Wagon.  I’ll work on it.  GM messaging looks like it always shows it singluar. Anyway, good that the ‘general’ car blogs are picking up on the new CTS Sport Wagon.

Meanwhile Jalopnik is running info on the Chevrolet Volt.    GM showed the Volt live this morning as part of GMNext.com day and the 100th birthday celebration.   The Volt is more and more interesting if the powerplant may next migrate to a future Cadillac model.

The dramatically-designed 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon makes its European premiere at Paris, followed by production launch in spring of 2009.

The dramatically-designed 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon makes its European premiere at Paris, followed by production launch in spring of 2009.

GM is noting that the Volt is NOT a plug-in hybrid, but rather an extended range vehicle.  Ah; I’ll have to think about that, but I think they are pointing out the difference between a hybrid with minimal battery backup like the Toyota Prius or the  2-mode Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, and a car like the Chevrolet Volt that actually is an electric car with a gas engine generator to recharge on the go.

Top speed of 100mph may be new news, but seems plenty fast enough for most people.

Happy Birthday, General Motors 9/16/2008

Posted on by
1

The Buick Motor Company was started in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick in Detroit. The company was taken over by James Whiting later that year, and moved to Flint, MI. In 1904 William Crapo (Billy) Durant, a successful manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles, joined Buick, and became General Manager by 1908. (wikipedia) He formed General Motors either with only Buick or as a holding company then put Buick into it.  Although Billy Durant was a high school drop out, he was an entrepreneur of the first order.

Billy Durant

Billy Durant

The gmnext.com history wiki notes:

Under the guidance and persistence of Billy Durant, a company called General Motors was established on September 16. Its initial holdings included only Durant’s Buick Motor Company and went un-noticed in the news media, with the major business news story that day being the announcement by the White Star Line shipping company that it would begin construction of the world’s largest ocean liner, to be called the Titanic.

Late that year he also bought Oldsmobile. The next year he added Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland, and several other makes. But General Motors marks their birth as 1908. So on Tuesday, 2008 they will officially be 100 years old.

GM is marking the celebration in an appropriate 2008-era way by conducting activities on the internet.
Please check in at GM Next http://www.gmnext.com to participate in the planned celebration, discussion, interaction, and broadcast.

Commemorate the day with a series of forward-looking activities right here on GMnext.com. Join in the first day of GM’s next 100 years. Here’s what we have planned:

* Global Broadcast 8:30 a.m. EDT
* Virtual Chats beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT
* Future of Transportation Roundtable 1:30 p.m. EDT

Happy 100th Birthday General Motors

Happy 100th Birthday General Motors

The Auto Writer also has coverage of the event. (wave)

Alpha Cadillac to lead the pack of Entry-level Luxury Cars

Posted on by
4

Motor Trend has a short update with a Motortrend? graphic artist depiction of what the upcoming, smaller-than-a-CTS Alpha architecture Cadillac might looks like.  The depiction looks great:

Will the new smaller Cadillac look like this?

Will the new smaller Cadillac look like this?

The alpha platform is a larger variant of the kappa RWD architecture used in the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, and Opel GT. The new car will slot below the CTS in price and size. The new car has not been name officially yet. BTS would match as the B-sized Touring Sedan, but we’ll see what Cadillac’s Marketing folks think will suit. I like “Cadillac Alpha”, with maybe the Greek letter for Alpha shown on the car.   I think there is a lot of marketing mileage in that if it is available.  But the platform names are almost never used as vehicle names.

Cadillac has recently debated in the press whether the world is ready for a 4-cylinder Cadillac again. Powerplants under consideration for the new small Cadillac are the 3.6L V6, the newly-on-the-way 3L V6, perhaps the 2.8L V6 or V6 Turbo, and the 2L I4 Turbo from the kappa cars apparently. A diesel variant using the VM Motori sourced 2.9L Turbo diesel may also come along.

Motor Trend notes we may see a coupe or hardtop convertible of the new car. I say WOOT!!