Tag Archives: cadillac

Cadillac August 2011 CTS Sales up 39%

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Good news — Cadillac sales overall were flat August 2011 compared to August 2010.   Why is that good news?  With the DTS discontinued, flat sales means that CTS and SRX sales have stepped up to hold the line until the XTS, ATS, and ELR arrive.

CTS sales blossomed at 5.8K for the month, a 39% month vs month, or 34% increase when the number of sales days are factored in.  SRX sales continued to show strength at 4.6K for the month.


 August
(Calendar Year-to-Date)

January – August

2011 2010 % Chg Volume %Chg per S/D
2011 2010 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D) 26 25





CTS 5,783 4,155 39.2 33.8
37,237 28,756 29.5
DTS 719 1,896 -62.1 -63.5
10,172 12,117 -16.1
Escalade 1,105 1,076 2.7 -1.3
8,964 9,842 -8.9
Escalade ESV 655 724 -9.5 -13.0
5,057 4,874 3.8
Escalade EXT 174 188 -7.4 -11.0
1,241 1,196 3.8
SRX 4,627 4,325 7.0 2.9
34,960 32,703 6.9
STS 145 324 -55.2 -57.0
2,806 2,728 2.9
XLR 0 1 ***.* ***.*
12 177 -93.2
Cadillac Total 13,208 12,689 4.1 0.1
100,449 92,393 8.7

Summary

Cadillac sales are up 9% from last year for the same period.  Cadillac CTS sales are a highlight.

Press Release summary: Cadillac:  Combined sales of the Cadillac CTS sedan, coupe and wagon increased 39 percent compared with August 2010.  Cadillac reduced its fleet sales by 51 percent.

 

Cadillac goes with Alpha & Omega

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Cadillac apparently has internally approved development of a modified Zeta platform called Omega.   The Zeta platform is the GM Full-size Rear-wheel Drive platform.  GM platforms lately have received greek letters for their internal references.  The Zeta was originally designed as a replacement for the W, H, and K platforms, but was not used, instead becoming the underpinnings of the Chevrolet Camaro.  The long wheel-base version of Zeta has also arrived in the form of the Chevrolet Caprice police vehicle.

Zeta has an independent suspension utilizing MacPherson struts coupled with a dual ball joint lower A-arm in front and a four link independent setup in back.   Holden is working on a variant of Zeta to make it lighter and more economical.  One would suppose the new Cadillac Omega platform would be lighter and more premium — utilize more expensive components for the same platform in order to save more weight and improve performance.

GM Zeta Rear Wheel Drive Platform

The upcoming Gen V V-8 is the suggested powertrain for the new Top-Cadillac.  This seems a good selection to me as it should give terrific power and relatively good fuel economy for what promises to be a heavier vehicle.

The upcoming ATS will be on the Alpha platform, and the refresh of the CTS will also go onto a long-wheelbase Alpha.  Alpha was originally designed as a small rear-wheel drive program.  The advantage of the new Omega platform perhaps is that it allows for a even longer wheelbase for the upcoming Top-Cadillac.  Also, with the addition of the Omega platform for the larger Top-Cadillac (ULS?) Cadillac will have a nice mix of platforms to develop from.  The upcoming XTS is on the Epsilon II Front-wheel drive platform, although it may be all-wheel drive with rear-wheel drive bias.   It will be interesting to see how the XTS, ATS, CTS, and SRX fare in the showroom.

Cadillac STS-V visit with TexasJim in Grapevine

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Ran out to Grapevine Texas to meet with Texas Jim and show him my STS-V.  Jim lives out west somewhere, so Grapevine is 30 miles from me and 35 miles from him more or less.

I managed not to talk to the STS-V Nav system the right way, so Jim actually provided turn by turn navigation to get me in to the parking lot where we planned to meet.  Now I have that spot saved in the nav for another visit.  I love that the STS-V has bluetooth so my pocket cell phone becomes a hands-free phone using the 15 speakers in the STS-V when synced.

I’m still driving the Cadillac around dirty, but he had not seen/Driven the V-Series so I wanted to show & discuss.  When I was test driving the Cadillac CTS-V I had brought it out to show, but because it was a Dealer car I could not offer test drives.  Since the STS-V is my car, I wanted to give Jim a chance to try it out.  He posted his take on the experience here.

Jim’s 2006 Cadillac DTS Performance Sedan still looks great at 100K+ miles.

Jim also took numerous pics of the V.  One feature the STS-V has is headlight washers.  They are actually controlled by the same controls as the windshield washer.   So while I sat in the V and hit the washers, Jim grabbed this shot:

Normally that little panel is flush with the front of the car, but on command it lifts up, clearing the nozzles below to spray the headlight covers to wash them clean.  Charming.

We had a nice visit and talked about Cadillacs, and ran the STS-V up and down the highway so he could get a feel for it.  I think we concluded that it would suit him just fine as a next Cadillac.  Actually his 2006 DTS is still going strong so no rush to a new Cadillac.

I like the way the camera autofocus came out on this shot.   The STS-V was produced at Lansing Grand River by UAW 652.   “One Team, One Goal, World’s Best”; well done.

 

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