The Detroit News is running this spy shot of a production ready CTS-V Coupe undergoing testing.

Note the mesh grill, V-series bulging hood, and big wheels/tires.

Expect the CTS-V Coupe to debut mid-year 2010 alongside the CTS Coupe.

Categories: News, CTS, V-Series
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Bryan Nesbitt has been quite the superstar in the auto biz the past 9-10 years.

He made his name by being the designer of the original PT Cruiser (don’t laugh, more on that in a bit).

When Daimler bought Chrysler, he jumped ship and headed over the GM where he rose quickly through the design ranks.

From Wikipedia:

In February 2004, Nesbitt was made the Executive Director at GM Europe’s design center. In this capacity, he headed the GM Europe design organization, responsible for all Opel, Saab and Vauxhall design activities. On June 1, 2007, Bryan returned to the U.S. as the General Motors Vice-President of Design for North America, responsible for all brands marketed and sold in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Now he has been head of the Cadillac brand.

Now, back to the PT Cruiser…say what you will about that car and its owners – the PT Cruiser was one of the most masterfully implemented small-car designs of its time. Any other company and designer would likely have allowed compromises to the overall design that would have made for a more awkward look. If you want to see what could have been – look at the weirdness that is the Chevrolet HHR – which Nesbitt had a hand in, but not ultimate say in the design.

This bodes well for Cadillac as it moves to being a more emotionally styled line to go toe-to-toe with well executed products from BMW and Audi.

Congrats Bryan – and good luck.

Categories: News
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Cadillac has provided this walk-around video of the new 2010 SRX.

Enjoy.

Categories: News, SRX, Video
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Lately we’ve been hearing rumors all over the map on GM’s plans to expand/update Cadillac’s lineup.

Initially, we heard that the STS and DTS would go away to be replaced by a sedan based on GM’s global Zeta architecture that also underpins the new Chevrolet Camaro and the Pontiac G8 (obviously with upgrades to match the premium nature of the Cadillac brand).

During the bankruptcy – rumors flew that the Zeta move was off and a future large sedan was going to be built on an upgraded version of the Epsilon II platform that serves as the basis for the new Opel Insignia, Buick Regal (China only), the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, and the 2010 Saab 9-5 and would have come with a powerful V-6 and all-wheel drive. Obviously this would have caused issues with being considered a real competitor to upper-crust sedans from BMW and Mercedes.

Now, post-bankruptcy, we have yet another rumor that should help get things off the ground.

The latest rumor has the new big-brother to the CTS riding on a stretched version of the CTS’ Sigma platform. This, as you might remember, is the platform that was developed exclusively for Cadillac for premium rear-wheel drive cars and crossovers. It has seen duty under the first and second generation CTS, the STS, the Chinese-only SLS, and the first generation SRX. This platform would allow for rear and all-wheel drive, V-6 or V-8 power, and would help Cadillac sustain Cadillac’s exclusive platform that is (after the demise of the STS and SRX) only used by the new CTS.

Our hope is that this platform will see enough upgrading to go toe-to-toe with the BMW 7-series and the Mercedes S-class and allow the next version of the CTS to move into 5-series/E-class territory.

Now, if GM would only get back to developing the Alpha platform for the lower end…we’d be very happy.

Expect the new large sedan to debut in 2011 as a 2012 model.

Categories: News, CTS, Rumored Models
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You may remember the ‘Turn You On’ CTS commercial with Kate Walsh of Greys Anatomy fame…

Well, Cadillac has brought her back to help give some sex appeal to a segment that is often lacking that one trait, wagons.

Enjoy.

Check out the ad below to

Categories: News, CTS, Video
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