As you may recall, GM has been having a tough time deciding what to do next with the Escalade.

On one hand, they have strict government fuel economy targets to hit later in the decade. On the other, the Escalade is still a cash cow (who wouldn’t want to charge 2x as much as a comparable Tahoe for an SUV that shouldn’t cost that much more to build?).

So, we have been hearing rumors first that the body-on-frame Escalade is being cancelled in favor of a Lambda (think Chevy Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave) based large crossover. Then that the next Escalade would be body-on-frame just as it is now and the Lambda option had been shelved.

Lately we have heard that GM had decided to bring both to market. Escalade for their traditional buyers and the Lambda-based vehicle as a larger version of the uber-successful SRX formula (i.e. a heavily sporty leaning CUV).

The latest details have the new vehicle hitting the market as a 2013 model year (likely going on sale sometime in 2012) – this should also put this on the Lambda II architecture – so there is room for more interesting powertrain options as well as unique body-work that should resemble a bigger SRX.

The next Escalade should bow a year later as a 2014 (and will hopefully distance itself even more from its platform-mates).

Source: eGMCarTech

Categories: News, SRX, Escalade, Rumored Models
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Not that long ago, Cadillac’s efforts to be a player in Europe collapsed with the loss of the Kroymans Group – which marketed the brand on the continent.

Now, GM has decided to, rather than go truely head-to-head with BMW/Mercedes/Audi in their home turf, they will market the CTS line and the new SRX and attempt to make a push as a ‘niche’ brand.

A sign of this is the drop of the planned diesel engine (typically a kiss of death to sales in a market where most cars are diesel powered) – so we have them supplying a wagon body style that Europeans are expected to respond favorably to, but not the powertrains those same buyers want.

It will be interesting to see if this strategy will do any more for the brand.

It certainly feels like this is a re-focusing on getting the product mix right in the home market (i.e. get the ATS line in place and work on a true flagship above the XTS) while trying to not abandon the Euro market during the transition.

Categories: News, CTS, SRX, XTS
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With sales totaling 11788 units in the month of June, Cadillac sold 39% more than June 2009. This also reflects a 33% increase in the first half 2010 over the same period in 2009.

The SRX lead the way with a 462% increase over the same month last year. CTS has also seen a 31% increase – and its best sales month in over a year.

Overall, this is certainly a result of the market recovering – though good product that customers want certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Read the whole press release below:

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Categories: News, CTS, SRX
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After Cadillac decided to re-instate over 400 dealers that had previously been told they were out of the Cadillac selling business – they now find themselves in the enviable position of needing to provide hundreds of dealer lots with inventory.

Given the incredible success of the new SRX, that has left Cadillac with a shortage of inventory and no easy way to increase production.

Kurt McNeil, Cadillac’s U.S. sales chief, has stated that GM is looking at ways to increase production, but that relief would not come until at least the 4th quarter of this year. This likely means adding SRX production to another of the plants that builds Theta crossovers (the SRX is built at GM’s Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico. Other Theta products are built in GM’s Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada plant.

GM will need to find significant production capacity not only to supply the hot SRX to their ‘new’ dealers, but also to provide promised capacity for the SRX’s sibling, the upcoming Saab 9-4x which goes on sale in several months.

Expect an announcement on how they will get the additional production soon.

Categories: News, SRX
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Part 1 – Overview
Part 2 – Our test car
Part 3 – Exterior and Design
Part 4 – Interior and Electronics
Part 5 – Ride and Performance

Image galleries – SRX Review Pics | SRX Pics from Cadillac

Finally, we are about to cover a lot of nitty-gritty on the systems and features that come together to make up the result we would generically call the SRX’s ‘ride and handling’. This includes things like a 2.8l turbo V-6 engine, Haldex AWD system, ZF/Sachs adjustable performance shocks, and Cadillac’s handling and safety systems like StabiliTrak traction and stability control.

But, what you really need to know is this:

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Categories: News, SRX, Reviews
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