Archive for August, 2008
Recall – DTS and Escalade heated washer fluid issue
August 30, 2008 - 9:56 pmCadillac’s Alpha sedan on the way…with 4-cylinder power
August 29, 2008 - 7:12 amI’ve seen this posted about in several places with lots of negative spin…so now it’s time for the official Caddy Edge take on the news…
Essentially, the mainstream automotive press has caught on that Cadillac is working on a sub-CTS sedan to replace the current Epsilon (front drive) BLS in Europe and to sell in the US as well. This model will be based on GM’s new Alpha platform (itself partially based on the components of the Kappa platform (Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky) and the larger Zeta platform (Pontiac G8, etc). You may notice that this is nothing we haven’t talked about here for months…welcome to the party guys. 
Given that this car is expected to be a much closer match, size-wise, to the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class, etc. it is not surprising that a high-powered 4-cylinder might be a great entry-level engine. We’d expect this to be a version of the direct-injection 2.0l Ecotech that currently does duty in the Solstice GXP and Sky Red Line. Pumping out at least 260hp – this would give the Alpha cars great fuel economy with all the power that a Cadillac deserves.
Note, this is all a far cry from the Cimarron that Cadillac sold years ago (itself little more than a dressed-up Chevy Cavalier). Somehow the press has latched onto the idea that 4-cylinder = cheap, unrefined, imitation Cadillac – even though you never hear the same criticism leveled at Audi’s excellent turbo, direct-injection 2.0l in the A3 or A4.
I guess taking the cheap Cimarron shot was just too easy.
Will MPG requirements hurt the future of Cadillac
August 21, 2008 - 2:54 pmCTS-V Sport Wagon ‘likely’
August 21, 2008 - 1:45 am
This didn’t take long…
Just as Cadillac is expected to release a V-Series version of the CTS Coupe, possibly at the same time as the standard car’s launch…we are now hearing that the new Sport Wagon will likely get the same treatment.
While fire-breathing wagons are, at best, a rarity on US roads. Europeans are familiar with wagon versions of the hottest sedans such as the BMW M5 and Audi RS6.
Sounds like fun to us.
Cadillac Renaissance video
August 20, 2008 - 4:00 pmCTS Coupe to debut at Los Angeles autoshow
August 18, 2008 - 3:58 pmIt appears that in addition to showing off the new SRX and the production CTS Sport Wagon, Cadillac also took some select journalists aside (nope, apparently we don’t qualify) to show off the production CTS Coupe in the lead-up to its public debut at this year’s LA auto show (expect the debut on Nov 19th or 20th).
Reports have the new coupe looking almost exactly like the concept with the same radical sheet metal and only some minor detail changes. Electronic door switches have been confirmed and we now know that a rear-view camera to compensate for the body’s lack of rear visibility will be part of the package.
Powertrains were not revealed, but everything points to at least one version of the 3.6l V-6 as well as the supercharged LSA V-8 from the CTS-V sedan. Expect export versions to also have the 2.9l diesel V-6 available.
Production and sales should begin for the coupe in the second half of 2009 as a 2010 model.
