Amid a massive global restructuring announced early Monday morning, General Motors has also confirmed plans to discontinue multiple models as it changes direction, retools its workforce and its product offerings to better meet demand for crossovers and pickup trucks.
Cadillac XTS
Cadillac CT6
General Motors said that before the end of 2019, it will idle the GM Lordstown Plant in Ohio, the GM Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan, and GM Oshawa Assembly in Ontario, Canada. In a statement, the company simply said the plants in question wouldn’t be receiving product allocation, but failed to mention what might be in store for the beleaguered products.
Buick LaCrosse
However, new information tells us that GM plans to end production of the Chevrolet Volt, Cruze, and Impala, along with confirming that the Buick LaCrosse is also scheduled for the slaughterhouse. These confirmations echo a similar report from over a year ago, which cited that all of these vehicles will be culled, along with the Cadillac XTS and CT6. Today’s announcement also indicate that these decisions were a long time coming.
Chevrolet Cruze
Both the Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet Cruze are expected to be phased out of production by March 2019, while the Chevrolet Impala will soldier on until the fourth quarter of next year. The Buick LaCrosse will also be shown the door in March 2019. There still remain some question marks, namely the fate of the Cadillac CT6 which is currently produced in the Detroit-Hamtramck plant alongside the Impala. It’s thought the big Cadillac sedan could join its siblings at GM’s facility in Lansing which currently produces the ATS, CTS, and Chevrolet Camaro. This past June, General Motors said it would invest $175 million into the plant for the express purpose of producing new Cadillac sedans (the CT5 and CT4), while the CT6 itself just received a major update for the 2019 model year, including the introduction of the new 2019 CT6-V model.
Chevrolet Impala
Meanwhile, the loss of the Oshawa Assembly plant in Canada likely spells the definitive end for the Cadillac XTS, which was granted a stay of execution under former Cadillac boss, Johan de Nysschen. Oshawa also handles final assembly and paintwork of the previous generation Silverado and Sierra, both of which are scheduled to exit production come December 2019. It’s likely the XTS will bow out of North America around the same time.
Comments
I hate to say I was right but….I was right. I knew Johan de Nysschen wasn’t going to be able to implement all his grandiose plans for Cadillac. GM is way too shortsighted to invest lavishly on something that isn’t paying dividends and won’t have a return on investment for a decade to come. Further, no CT6 pretty much signals no CT8/Escala and Blackwing is probably a still born engine. CT4 and CT5 may live very short lives as well if they are even launched.
Cadillac’s future, if it has one at all, is probably just three rebadged Chevrolet crossovers; XT4, XT6, Escalade, and some sort of rebodied Bolt.
I sure didn’t want to right about this. It’s very sad. I’d like to see GM sell off the Cadillac brand to another company that understands its heritage and could properly manage it.
I completely agree with your last paragraph. I’ve been saying it for sometime now, Cadillac’s only hope is for GM to sell them to someone who does right by Cadillac.
Geeley would’ve turned Cadillac’s luck around by now have they bought them instead of Volvo.
True. I’d hate to see Cadillac in the hands of the Chinese but there is no argument that Volvo is prospering again while Cadillac is as lost as ever still being run by General Mismanagement (GM). At least with Geely, it wouldn’t end up getting the Oldsmobile treatment which is where I think Cadillac is headed.
Regarding your point on Cadillac’s remaining portfolio:
Selling gussied up Chevrolets is exactly where Cadillac was in the late 90’s. It’s also stooping down to the mission of Buick and GMC.
The obvious issue is that Cadillac will spend their last decade competing with Buick Avenir, GMC Denali, and Chevy Premiers in the showroom.
But hey, commentators here and elsewhere complained that Cadillac should stop competing with the Germans and sell soft, cushy barges again, which was Buick’s job. Cadillac is no longer competing with the German 3, therefore they no longer have a reason to exist.
Very sad day.
Cadillac will be a great competitor for Lincoln and Acura….
With the Lincoln Aviator and Navigator, Cadillac will be outclassed, as there’s no evidence that GM has invested to make Omega or VSS-R compatible with CUVs.
Besides the CT4 & CT5, all Cadillac has left are CUVs that are in, some shape or form, Chevies:
XT4= Chevy Malibu
XT5= Chevy Blazer
XT6 (SWB?)= 3-Row Chevy Blazer?/GMC Acadia
XT6 (LWB?)= Chevy Traverse
Hold up! What’s gonna happen to the Blackwing V8????
Update: The Drive reached out to Cadillac & a spokesperson told them that the CT6 V will be offered as a 1 year model only.
Wait wait wait. So they spent all that money, and time on the CT6, plus the MCE for 2019 along with a V series to cancel it? That cannot be true.
The CT6 is a beautiful car and while it’s not selling like a crossover, it’s an important car in the Cadillac lineup. I highly doubt that GM would kill it after the MCE effort. If they do, then they’re just throwing money into a hole
According to The Drive, the CT6 will continue production in China for the Chinese market, but no word about exporting it to the Middle East, South Korea or Russia.
I’ve been watching GM for a while. Don’t try to understand it, just accept it. CT6 is dead. CT6-V is dead. It doesn’t matter that they just spent a lot of money on it to make it into the car it should have been at launch. It doesn’t matter that the just developed a new V-8 for it. GM spent a lot on Oldsmobile too and just when their image was turning around which would’ve hopefully resulted in better future sales, GM pulled the plug on their oldest and arguably most storied division. Fiero and Allante’ had the same fate. It’s what GM does.
Johnan de Nysschen’s departure foreshadowed all of this. He had a vision for Cadillac that required a lot of money to be spent. GM agreed at the outset but then cut him off as the investment didn’t appear to be returning the profits that the accountants wanted to see.
Not to mention all the money they spent on the MCE for the La Crosse, and the $300 million it took to retool Detroit_Hamtramck for the CT6.
I suspect they will continue selling the Buick LaCrosse but only in China, since those recent spyshots of the LaCrosse MCE were seen.
I think this is a huge mistake and fall from grace for Caddy. Just like you said, they spent all the money and development for a new flagship sedan, which was going to usher in a new series for Cadillac. Now they’re burning it all to the ground!
gm generally throws money in holes.
Giving the cars segment to Japenese/Koreans companys isnt the option. When you will learn GM.
But look, at least they saved a buck that will be wasted on autonomy and electrification that few people want….
As a CTS owner and a very interested customer in the upcoming CT5 (was ?) I’m going to wait a few more days until jumping to conclusions about Cadillacs future–but it looks a little depressing today.
Leave the CT6 alone, Mary!
It’s a flagship! It brought one of the best platforms in the industry, that GM has failed to leverage in other vehicles (XT6 anyone?). It brought SuperCruise to the market, GMs most advanced technology in years, with many saying it rivals if not surpasses Tesla. And the latest treat, Blackwing! It has done exactly what it needed to do as a flagship, but GM is failing it because they are so short-sighted and don’t know how to properly leverage a flagship vehicle, because they never truly had one in any of their brands!
As for sales, it is neck and neck with the ATS and CTS, vehicle’s that are much more attainable. In Q3 the CT6 outsold the ATS.
GM is a fool if CT6 production does not shift to join the ATS and CTS at their factory, and Cadillac has no chance at true luxury.
I miss JDN!
I’m not too convinced that CT6 is dying off completely and could move to Lansing to join CT4/5 models.
We’ll see a year from now.
The challenge with CT6 is that the Omega structure is unique in the sense that it is a hybrid of aluminum and steel panels. A special body shop had to be built to accommodate construction of the body at a cost of $300 million. I do not see GM spending that kind of money for a car that only sells 10K units a year.
I’d say the Escalade is more of a flagship than the CT6. Sells better, costs more, and is much more “Cadillac”.
Escalade is a thinly disguised Chevy Tahoe which is itself a Chevy work truck under the skin. There is simply no comparison between CT6 and Escalade as a flagship.
With that being said, what is GM’s flagship vehicle now? Cadillac was supposed to be the top of the line.
A better solution might be for General Motors to fire CEO Mary Barra because she signed off on all of these cars are considered as being failures which need to be replaced, the individual which gave each vehicle project the green light should be held responsible; maybe it’s time to bring back Bob Lutz.
What part of “nobody can sell sedans today” don’t you get?
And yet the best selling luxury car in the US is a sedan- model 3.
The Germans do.
Worldwide.
A lot.
Profitable.
Only Americans can’t sell sedans.
Only Americans can’t sell cars and suv’s in europe.
The biggest automotive failures of today are the American Ford and GM.
It is not a matter of selling or not selling sedans- it is a matter of selling what the market wants. Barra failed miserably in this area. While Ford and FCA recognized the trends of diminishing sedan sales and retooled their plants accordingly, GM did nothing and instead just pulled the plug on most of its sedans pissing about 250K units of sales a year in the process and cheerfully handing that market share off to competitors.
I say the sooner the better.
LMAO.
How can luxury buyers trust Cadillac?
A volatile brand and cars; Allante, Cimmaron, Catera, Deville, Seville, Fleetwood, Eldorado, DTS, DHS, ATS, CTS, SRX, CT6, XTS, ELR, XLR -where is the stability?
C, E, S, 3, 5, 7, LS, IS, ES have been around for years people know and trust those car names.
Yes, it the CT6 is dead!
They fired JDN – because he had a good vision. GM’s vision of Cadillac is tarted up Chevys with leather to compare with global brands.
CT4, CT5, XT4, XT5, XT6, Escalade – Yeap that sounds like a luxury brand I would aspire to.
BMW has more Xs and MB has more Gs than Cadillac’s whole line up
You are 100% right!
Which car in the Cadillac lineup has been around the longest?
What is the only Cadillac model with a “real” name?!?!
What model is closest to the “old” Cadillac of being the biggest, most luxurious, most expensive, most “in your face” when it pulls up?
What model (I’d argue out of every American car) says “I’ve made it”?
Now answer me this; What is Cadillac’s best selling model?
Fire her…….
Sexestt
You dam Skippy I’ll be sexist if my job gets cut while forcing the loyal buyers to go import…
what are you talking about gramps, we saw you checkin out that new Santa fay on Hyundai.com , you know the cheap asian plastic allures you as well…
too bad about the volt. great car but not worth $37,500 w/o tax credits.
if they are killing off the ct6, that doesn’t bode well for the ct4/5.
This a sedan thing. There will be a Trax/Encore Volt or Bolt soon enough. Mark my digital characters.
Old GM is back and Bloody Marry is ready to kill another brand (Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Saab, Hummer, Opel, Holden…). The end of mighty GM is near.
so you think gm should’ve kept all those brands? more brands more money?
In reality, Pontiac would have been relatively costless since it was already integrated with Buick and GMC. I am sure a Trans Am or a Grand AM coupe would have attracted a good number of buyers.
I don’t think so…
In fact they probably realized they spread too much and that they’re late in the electric game – although they we’re visionary for a brief moment with the Bolt.
Transitioning a large company like GM to a new car model is extremely risky. It seems they want to try but there’s also the humongous ICE legacy they’re carrying.
If they actually do this purge to ease the transition toward electric vehicles, they may succeed.
If all of this is just an excuse to do some cleanup and they focus, like Ford (pun intended), on pick-ups, I do agree they’re in for a painful extinction.
I still think that at the very least Pontiac could have been successful.
They never should’ve gotten the Minivan or the Toyota Matrix twin. Death note was signed, sealed and delivered right then.
I’d even argue that there is still a market for Saturn. Cheap cars, with just the bare minimum that get great MPG, are dead reliable, with no pressure dealers… sounds a lot like Subaru and some Toyota models to me.
The article title with referencing the CT6 as being phased out serves to be a bit misleading. It mentions that the factory where the CT6 is produced is being shutdown but that production is likely to shift to the Lansing facility. Being that the CT6 is also produced in China, it still has options to stay in production.
See quote below:
“The flagship Cadillac CT6, the marque’s biggest and boldest bet on its luxury sedan heritage, is dead in North America, a victim of General Motors’ largest global restructuring since its 2009 bankruptcy. But thankfully the old bird will be going out with a bang—the recently-announced Cadillac CT6-V and its new 550-horsepower V-8 will still be offered for the final model year, the company confirmed to The Drive…..While the Cadillac CT6 will still be built and offered in China, where it remains relatively popular, the car is scheduled to end production for North America in June 2019 as GM’s Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly plant is shut down—or “unallocated,” in the press release’s Orwellian verbiage. A GM spokesperson told The Drive that the timeframe should leave the CT6 on sale “for most if not all of 2019.” But when they’re gone, they’re gone….Now it appears The Cadillac CT6-V will act as a swan song for the car, a final-year blowout to celebrate the good times. “Our commitment to launch the CT6-V with its all-new Blackwing Twin Turbo V8 engine in unchanged,” GM told The Drive.”
http://www.thedrive.com/news/25119/the-cadillac-ct6-is-dead-ct6-v-to-be-offered-as-final-year-model-for-2019
This explains the mystery of why Blackwing was announced as a special hand-built engine with each one constructed by hand by a lone craftsman at Bowling Green. It would now appear it is another part of Johan de Nysschen’s plan that is being dismantled but given that the engine was already developed, GM will do a limited run of them for the final CT6s. The engine may never be used again.
That engine will be used in tons of Cadillacs. The CT5-V, XT7-V and V-Sport, XT6-V, Escala, and the Escalade should all use it, or a variation of it. I know sedan sales are dying, but BMW, Audi, and MB/AMG don’t seem to care. GM already has the blackwing, Alpha II, 10-speed Auto, and have developed the CT4 and CT5. They might as well make use of them.
Gary,
The CT6 is dead in NA; however, in China it lives on…There will be plenty of 2019 CT6 around on dealer lots. A new lower price. I wonder why Cadillac did not have this design before hand of the 2019 CT6? Yes, I know about the Escada that they will never remotely come close to building.
There is no more Cadillac. Just as someone pointed out Chevyllacs or me Chevallacs. I am fine with either.
A new generation of Cimmaron SUV awaits us. And two lame small Chevyllacs coming soon. With the new 3 coming and a new C for 2021, as well as an updated A4, new IS, the S60 – sure those Chevyllacs/Chevallacs will fair well. Its like the 1970-through now without stopping to learn from the mistakes of the past.
MB new GLE has gotten awesome reviews. Cadillac is going tying to sell a Traverse with metal window switches? Okay. Yeah sure. Escalade while a success – Chevyllac. XT5, XT4 Chevyllacs and with the latter two it’s so evident of what they’re are based on.
The Corolla and Chevy sales maybe down but they are not going anywhere anytime soon.
I wish Chevyllac/Chevallac would be more forth coming about it’s future products everyone else is.
As shown with the stock value uptick, this move makes sense to people with business sense. It just doesn’t make sense to people here because they have car sense. GM is in the business of building cars, and needs not just investors, but also car buyers to believe in the company.
Which car guy would consider buying a car model that will be dead in a few months? Good luck finding parts to those planning on holding on the vehicle for more than just a couple of years. The decision for potential buyers on the fence to buy a GM car, or a European, or Japanese car… that decision has just been made much easier for them.
When Wall Street tanks, first there will huge rebates on trucks nobody can afford anymore, then there will be cries for a bailout because “not enough time to switch to smaller vehicle production”. We’ve heard it before.
There a lot of people on car forums that really believe cars and sometimes entire brands should just exist so they can exist, no so that they can buy one eventually, but just people who feel better because they know that a Malibu “exists”, again, not that they can or even want to buy one, maybe they wouldn’t even take it if it was free……but the car or brand merely “existing” gives them the warm and fuzzies.
Very sad news. The most perplexing thing is that the Cruze is being killed, yet the Malibu is soldiering on. Why not kill the Malibu and keep the Cruze instead? At least where I live, the only Malibus I see are rentals. I see a ton of Cruzes on the other hand, and most of the people driving them are pretty young. I’m no businessman but wouldn’t it make far more sense to keep the car that’s attracting younger buyers to the brand?
Better yet, why doesn’t GM use their head? If there are too many plants building sedans, at least consolidate them into fewer plants. Just don’t hand off the market to the competition. After all, GM was supposed to be the leader in automotive in this nation, Why not act like it?
So this means, no VSS-R based XT7/XT8. CT7/CT8?
But more fugly FWD Chevyllacs? Oh, God… Hate their proportions.
Btw, have no doubt the RWD Aviator will outclass the upcoming FWD based XT6.
They have so much money and resources, but can’t even build at least one world class brand.
GM is a joke.
So long, guys. I’m washing my hands….
LOL. I love it and GM does too
Chevyllacs! I think it will sell well!
Long live the Civic and Corolla. Bye Cruze!
As GM cuts their way to prosperity, they have in all likelihood lost me as a customer. My intention was to trade my 2017 CT6 TT Platinum for a Blackwing, not really sure whether it would’ve been a V. Needless to say, I have no interest in having the last year model and will likely look at purchasing an Audi A7 or S7.
Adios!
Pretty piss poor communication by GM and Mary Barra. They are riding high and decide to make deep cuts and offer allusions to future autonomous/electric vehicles that aren’t yet mainstream. Even if they do take off, where will they build them? … GM/Barra needs to approach the lectern and offer more details on their vision and plans. Maybe then it will all make sense. Today’s communication is only undermining customer support for GM. A damn shame.
Better yet, why doesn’t GM use their head? If there are too many plants building sedans, at least consolidate them into fewer plants. Just don’t hand off the market to the competition. After all, GM was supposed to be the leader in automotive in this nation, Why not act like it?
I Will especially miss the Chevrolet impala, RWD or FWD, that car is a legend in it’s own right.
Another reason for me to hang on to my 2007 Impala SS.
I have a ’65, had an ’11, ’14, and now a 2018… the end of an era for the Impalas again. Except I don’t think it will make a return again after they finally got it right and there were such high hopes for the SS to reappear with the HP and RWD it deserved. Since I can’t and won’t drive anything the average person can afford from foreign automakers (Motor CIty Girl) and since I cannot afford a Bentley, Lambo, or Bugatti, I will be moving over to the Dodge Charger in 3-4 years when I trade my Impala in. Dodge is the last American brand (at least 49% of it anyway) that will carry full size cars and the SRT Charger (wishful thinking for the Hellcat or Demon) now has my name all over it and a new customer coming its way. RIP Impala and to Hell with GM for this mess! I have been a GM Girl all my life and now I have to turn to Dodge… my father is flipping in his grave for sure.
I have thought the same thing when it comes time to trade I’ll do a Charger I love my V8 and my father too would freak out, I been a Chevy girl all my life.
GM is too busy trying to please their investors while writing themselves hefty bonuses (which never trickle down to blue collar) and forcing customers to buy what they want to sell instead selling what customers want!
Well they can’t force me to buy the mediocre vehicles they’re producing now. I was planning for my next truck to be a new GMC Sierra, but the more I learn about the new trucks, the more sure I am that my next truck will be either an F-150 or a Ram. Oh well.
In addition to Cadillac losing the only car they could point to in order to say they are a serious player in the luxury field, the loss of Lacrosse means Buick offers only one original product, the Enclave. Everything else is a rebadge made outside the United States , either in China, Germany, Korea, or Poland.
The German a Polish car are probably being cut eventually. I believe I read somewhere that Opel is done building the Regal after this generation. Don’t know when but it will likely die too. I’m surprised the Cascada is still on sale.
Turns out Reuters knew more about Cadillac’s future than that fool Johan de Nysschen. Cadillac’s leader being ensconced in Manhattan meant he had no clue what GM’s infamous accountants back in those Silver Tubes in Detroit had in store for his ambitious plans.
JdN:
“There is absolutely, if I could speak all capitals now, they’d be coming out of my mouth, there is absolutely no plan, at all, to cancel the CT6.”
“The [CT6] forms a very important part of our product strategy going forward for the brand. The car also has a very major contribution to make to the shaping of brand perceptions, and the transformational process that Cadillac is undergoing as far as that is concerned.”
“The vehicles that are under development as you and I speak will have the net result that Cadillac ultimately will have three sedan entries, of which CT6 will be the most senior,”
https://jalopnik.com/cadillac-president-on-cancellation-rumors-there-is-abs-1797141183
Does everyone here still think I am crazy stating GM gave up on Cadillac. How much more evidence do we need to realize Johan was pushed out due to the fact GM never had the intentions of completely bringing Cadillac back.
A lot of us were calling that out with you (and getting downgraded for doing so). Feels like Cadillac had the lights off since about 2015, and all we’ve seen since then was a watered-down XT4.
Very sad that Volt is being discontinued. Such a great car.
Hold it guys, lets back track and pay attention to some things for a second here. This might not be as bad as it sounds. GM is killing off a lot of stodgy front drive vehicles which may be a very good thing. Hear me out first. Chevrolet did a major disservice to the Impala and the Malibu both my making them front-drive vehicles The Chevrolet Impala died in 1996, the Malibu died in the mid-80’s as did the Buick Regal. These Legends are here in name only. Just like the Chevy Blazer. Dropping these cars also frees up a lot of revenue (no more FWD trans axles, no more wasted space on failed attempts of Corolla fighters or Accord fighters or anything like that, Honestly, I’m hoping a lot more of GM’s lineup gets dropped such as everything by Buick, the Chevy Trax, the Equinox and the Traverse.
Instead of a doom and gloom, picture if you will. Most of us know that GM is planning to Drop down to four basic architectures, the VSS-R (vehicle strategic set rear wheel drive), VSS-F (front wheel drive), VSS-S (unibody SUV platform) and VSS-T (body on frame truck platform). I’ll come back to this point in a minute but i want to seriously discuss a major point. If GM were to drop Buick and Opel, it would be left with Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Holden. Holden has been a major figure for GM globally and GM would be foolish to let go of it. But with four Vehicle Strategic Sets, it opens up the playing field for something a bit nicer than what we currently have. Everyone is so caught up on a few names being dropped but what if those names being dropped are making room for a few names to be added or even make a wider, broader comeback. nearly four years ago, Ford made it’s mustang a global car and it was an instant hit around the world, showing that performance is still a big market. The VSS-R is supposed to support a few different platforms and one of those platforms is the upcoming Alpha-II platform which the all new Camaro is supposed to ride on but i think there is a good bit more to this VSS-R platform than what we know so far. The Current Alpha platform also holds the ATS and CTS while the larger CT6 rides on the Omega platform, something that no other GM product rides on. I believe that GM is getting ready to drop the Omega platform and a few other cars are going to emerge on this new VSS-R platform. Now if GM was smart, they’d name them Monaro, Torana and Commodore. Those cars are global vehicles (not just Australian) and names that have already carved their niche around the world. Along with the Camaro you now have four performance vehicles all under the Chevrolet/Holden umbrella. As far as Cadillac is concerned there is honestly no reason for the CT6. SUVs have taken over the “full size” car market and that’s fine. GM’s problem is that they dont have a good SUV to fill this niche anymore (before anyone get’s mad, keep reading and you’ll see why i say this. ) Cadillac will do just fine with the Escala RWD midsize sedan, a midsize coupe roughly the same as the BMW M850 in size named the El-Miraj, and a few SUVS and the Corvette. Yes GM should move the Corvette to Cadillac, give it a Hybrid AWD system, Mid engine DOHC V8 Blackwing engine and that’s that and anything Blackwing should be exclusive to Cadillac. Now moving on from Cadillac and back down to Chevrolet, At this point, honestly the VSS-F platform is a total waste. Moving to the VSS-S platform, all vehicles in this platform should be longitudinal front engine setups and all-wheel drive. Returning in this segment should be the Chevrolet Trailblazer which was the best unibody Street SUV that GM ever made. and the GMC Acadia should be its stablemate along with an entry from Cadillac. Next, the VSS-T platform would come in with the large body on frame SUVs and Trucks. The Chevy Colorado is already a global vehicle and it has way better packages in the Land down under than it does here. Sports Cat, Sports Cat-R, Z71 extreme, and LSX. We need to bring those to America and have it unified across the globe. Not to mention the Colorado needs to look alot more like its big brother, the Silverado and the Silverado 1500 needs a few different trim levels such as the SS, the Cheyenne, ZR2 and Scottsdale while the Silverado HD needs a Scottsdale. The Tahoe needs to come in 2-door as the Z71 Tahoe-Blazer, a four door standard with an optional Z71 Scottsdale package and a Tahoe XL taking the place of the 1500 Suburban. The Suburban needs to move to the 2500 Class with an optional Duramax and a Scottsdale Suburban 4×4 package. GMC would follow suit with the Sierra/Yukon vehicles with a 2-door Yukon GT AT4, a regular Yukon with the optional AT4 package and the Yukon XL with an optional AT4 package, The GMC Canyon needs a Typhoon package as well as the other packages and Denali package. The Escalade, while riding on the same platform, needs to look nothing like either the Tahoe or the Yukon and needs a completely different powertrain and everything else. Cadillac should be its own beast.
Beyond the cars, Gm needs to switch up its engines alot. Mostly around the world, no one really has a V8 car with an engine bigger than a 5.7L, quite honestly, there’s no need for an engine bigger than a 5.7L and ironically it’s the metric size of one of Chevy’s best engines, the 350 small block. No i don’t think that GM should go back to a carbureted pushrod small block (sometimes it sounds so great) but honestly, it’s time for Chevy to somewhat step into the new world. There would be nothing wrong with Chevy coming out with its own DOHC V8 engines in 283ci (4.6L), 305ci (5.0L) and 350ci (5.7L) engine sizes or even a slightly larger 3.8L DOHC (232ci) V6. Some of the old GM faithful know these numbers very well but they all keep in stride with the engine sizes of today. Toyota has a 4.6L V8 in the tundra and everyone from Ford, Lexus, and even Hyundai have 5.0L V8 engines and Toyota also has a 5.7L V8. Nissan has a 3.8L V6 but its a twin turbo variant found in the legendary GTR. There’s no reason why GM couldn’t have a 400hp/395tq 4.6L, a 480hp/450tq 5.0L, a 530hp/500tq 5.7L naturally aspirated V8 and a supercharged 720hp 5.7L V8 and even a baseline 360hp/320tq 3.8L V6. Put those engines in front of a 10-speed auto or a 7-speed manual and not only do you have power but you also have efficiency and a bit more simplicity because you don’t have to use parts that are as expensive because without having to have forged internals due to boosted environments, you save money and you can do different things with timing, fuel, etc. Now General Motors has vehicles on par with the rest of the world. To be perfectly honest, the Suburban really has no true place in the modern world today. There is no other SUV on the planet that matches the Suburban in sheer size and absolute uselessness. It’s an absolute waste of sheetmetal and space. Launch it and focus on the Tahoe/regular Yukon and get them more on par with the rest of the “Large” SUVs of the world, the Kia Telluride, the Hyundai Palisade, the Nissan Armada and the Toyota Sequoia. Obviously offering an engine such as the 2.7L 310hp turbo-4 is an okay idea for economy and semi-adequate power but the DOHC 4.6L and 5.0L need to be offered as well. the full V8 range needs to be in the Camaro, Monaro, Commodore, and Trailblazer as well as the 3.8L V6. The Silverado 1500 should have all of those engines as well with the 10-speed auto plus the optional 2.7L . At this point, GM now has several global vehicles that fit in size wise, engine wise and tech wise with the rest of the world, which means GM and V8 engines get to live on and be more profitable and hopefully less expensive since now the whole world is buying them and not just a segment here and there.
Another thing GM could/should do is start partnering more with different GM approved aftermarket companies both domestic and foreign. GM already partners with companies like Borla, Corsa, Recaro, AGR, Pioneer Electronics, Kicker, Brembo, Bilstien, American Racing headers, AP racing brakes, and companies like that but there are other companies like Whiteline suspension, AWE, Eventuri, K&W, Akrapovic, HRE, X-Force exhaust and a few others that should make their way to Global GM Performance markets. Because it’s a statistically proven fact that a vast majority of car owners do some kind of personalization or customization to their cars and a lot of them would rather have a something that’s not going to void warranties or anything like that. I would make sense for a manufacture to partner with some of the top notch aftermarket companies to provide parts for their customers, which would in turn make more money for the manufacturer. I don’t know, this is just my thnking. Having three platforms, all global with cars that fit nearly every worthwhile niche on the market plus a way to keep customer coming back to you and spending more money with you on top of the money spent on just buying the car and maintenance not only on a small continental basis but on a global basis. This in turn gives more money for projects such as mobile electrification of commercial vehicles and fleet vehicles and all of that sort of stuff. I’d have to say stay away from full autonomy but i do feel that some autonomy would be good for fleet vehicles and commercial vehicles but this whole vehicle cut might not be a bad thing. It may offer opportunities for better things to come. A better positioned global GM would be a happier GM. We don’t need to turbo or hybrid everything (even though i do welcome some hybridization where certain things are concerned) but there does need to be some pruning done to GM to get rid of some of the “Dead” branches and vines. Nothing grows without pruning.
A lot of people are ripping Ford. I am not the biggest fan of Hackett, but he at least held a meeting and explained in detail what products are coming down the pike- with pictures- and what products will replace the sedans that are being dropped. What did Machete Mary and her team of incompetents do in that area? What products does GM have to replace these axed sedans? All we get is a mock up of an autonomous car which is a Bolt with its steering wheel and instrumentation removed, and they were even too lazy to remove the dead pedal.
Ford and FCA have converted plants from building sedans to building CUVs, SUVs, and trucks. How many plants have GM converted to that endeavor? ZERO! Now they are crying poverty.
There is no clear direction, IMHO, from the executive suite at GM. It seems a lot of decisions are made by the seat of their pants to appease Wall Street and try to jack the stock price up for a few days. The real joke will be on GM in about five years when their little electrification and autonomous vehicle house of cards come tumbling down. There is a reason why other automakers are proceeding with caution in those areas. Is Machete Mary that much more brilliant than the other execs? I think not.
Ford’s biggest problem is that they’re so dag on boring. nearly everything Ford Makes is a complete waste of engineering and their dreams of being a highfalutin euro car is completely bonkers. Now ford is doing a couple of things decent with the new CD6 Chassis along with including the upcoming S650 Chassis mustang, but Ford needs to bring the Ford Falcon up to the US and continue it as a global vehicle. Ford needs three S650 chassis vehicles, the Mustang, the Falcon and a Mustang based SUV. now if ford does hybrid or electric vehicles on this chassis that’s fine but they still need gasoline engines to and honestly they need some different V8 engines besides just the 5.0L coyote V8 and that pointless Voodoo flat crank V8. I’m glad the Explorer is going to the CD6 platform as well, hopefully it will be just as dynamic as the Durango, maybe a little bit more. I have high hopes for the Bronco & Ranger, hopefully Ford doesn’t screw them up that bad. Hopefully Ford will give us a Ranger Wild Trek, which would be better than a raptor any day in my opinion. Would also be nice to get an Eddie Bauer Bronco. As far as the F150 is concerned, we need a new F150 Lightning and a new F150 Limited Harley Davidson edition.
Engine wise, the 5.0L Coyote V8 is truly a remarkable engine, however, like I said for Chevy above, nothing needs to be bigger than roughly a 5.7L V8. Ford had an awesome engine with the Trinity 5.8L V8. Taking what Ford has learned with the Gen-3 5.0L the 480hp Bullitt GT should replace the the standard Gen-3 5.0 as the Mustang GT engine to compete with a 5.0L Camaro Z/28. Stepping up from the GT, a naturally aspirated 530-550hp 5.8L Mach 1 V8 would compete with the 5.7L Camaro SS. Above that, a supercharged 5.8L GT500 would compete with the ZL1 Camaro and that’s really all you need. At the bottom end of this, a DOHC naturally aspirated 3.8L V6 pushing 330-360hp would suffice as the base engine for anything under the performance umbrella. The Falcon should have the same setup with the the Falcon 5.0L GT, the Falcon Boss 351 and the Falcon Cobra. the Mustang-based SUV should probably be the Maverick with the Maverick LX 3.8L and the Maverick Grabber 5.0. The Explorer should be the next SUV in line above the Maverick with the base 3.8L and a 5.0L 480hp V8 Explorer GT that should be in line with the SRT Durango as a 7 seater ultra high performance SUV. The Ranger should come in with the 2.3L 310hp/350tq I-4 and the the 335/380 2.7L, the later being used in the Wild Trek along with a 400hp/400tq variant of the 3.0TT in the Ford Ranger Thunderbolt which should be a street performance truck. The F150 should get a new 5.8L Supercharged Lightning and a 5.8L N/A Limited Harley Davidson edition along with a 5.8L Supercharged Raptor and a 5.0L FX4 Lariat Off Road edition. Lastly if Ford is to keep Lincoln, I would suggest all of the Ecoboost engines, hybrid and electric engines be focused in the Lincoln brand to give Lincoln Relevance. Lincoln is Ford’s biggest crutch right now and if Ford is going to focus its ingenuity, Lincoln would be the brand to do it with.
Now the headstone for Cadillac at he LA Auto Show makes a lot of sense.
By product “onslaught” they really meant to say “to the slaughterhouse”.
Cadillac is a complete joke with just the (ct4?, ct5?), xt4, xt5, and Escalade in their future.
There will not be a xt6 and never ever will there be an Escala.
The xt4 also being a total let down for being a chevylac instead of a Cadillac, just as the Escalade will only exist as a carbon copy of a chevy.
And Buick is next, since all models (except the Enclave) are rebadged Opels and will cease to exist.
I might as well switch from Cadillac to Mercedes and be done with it, just as a lot of people around me have.
Hoping Cadillac has a future left is as flogging a dead horse.
Pointless.
Who says that sedans don’t sell? They don’t sell when u cant make a good sedan.
Germans have more sedans than ever. And different versions of them. From the smallest segment to the expensive F class. And they have no plans to kill smth. They are professionals and they know what to do.
Even the MCE 2020 Genesis G90 has a better interior than the CT6.
We all should face the reality. You must understand that GM is a *uckin joke. They are slow, they are dumb. They are nothing but scums, they are liars. They have promised new Cadillacs every six month… Where are they u *uckin liars.
CT5 has the same XT4 interior, where is ur “new style” that u’ve been farting about. Now I know why JDN left. I bet its was a torture for him to work with u, u *ucking dumb bean counters. Mary Barra, Mark Reuss u mother*uckers. Get the *uck out of this brand.
Barra the butcher is at it again. Well she just lost several future customers with this insanity. Very sad times indeed!!!!
I was planning on buying an 18 or 19 Cruze before years end, but now I’ll strongly consider the Kia Forte. The depreciation and resale value of the 6 cars being cut by GM will sink faster than a cinder block in a lake.
Live to dream.. before they kill off the Chevrolet Cruze and Volt; it would be fantastic if General Motors did something that people had been suggesting for the Chevy Cruze since it was introduced which is build a Cruze SS equipped with a LTG 2.0L DOHC-4v 4-cyl turbo generating 250 hp matched to a 9-speed automatic then develop a Chevrolet Volt SS replacing the 149 hp electric motor with the 200 hp electric motor from the Chevy Bolt.
I am bitterly disappointed to read that the Impala will be phased out. IMPALAS ARE NEVER MENTIONED IN ANY OF THE CURRENT CHEVROLET ADS, SO SINCE GM IS ALLOWING THE PUBLIC TO FORGET ABOUT THE IMPALA, NO KIDDING THEY’RE NOT SELLING. I grew on Oldsmobiles, went to Pontiac and now I’m losing the Impala. I’m running out of choices! I don’t want/need and SUV, and the comfort and safety in a midsize doesn’t entice me. My 2010 Impala got rammed right in the driver’s door and totaled on the interstate at 70 miles/hour and I walked away unscathed. A midsize couldn’t have given me that. So now I have a 2014 Impala and it’s just a great car. What the hell, GM…
My 2017 Impala LT will be my LAST GM product ever because of this. If you don’t make what I want then I go to another manufacturer who will. I was even planning on a CT6 or XTS in 7 years after retiring but that is out the window now since they just killed off every single full size sedan they make.
Alright, grab your brewsky and sit back, because I’ve got a long post coming:
I think Mary Barra has made a vital and smart business move, albeit an extremely tough one.
GM is notorious for producing certain vehicles that nobody buys. This does NOT mean the vehicles aren’t of excellent quality, but rather that demand is not high enough to make them significantly profitable. As a result of GM’s obligations to unions, these cars are manufactured anyway and dumped into the market with high incentives or to fleets when possible.
Specifically:
Chevrolet lost the cruze because it’s a small low profit margin car that wasn’t selling at high enough volumes. It lost out to the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic which are currently dominating this segment. It still sold very well, but I guess it wasn’t enough profit for GM per vehicle. The cruze decision strikes me as a bean counter move. Next, the Impala is at the end of it’s life cycle, so rather than refresh a large sedan, GM is dropping it in favor of the more popular and highly protifable “crossovers”. The Buick LaCrosse and Caddy XTS are in the same boat.
The Chevy Volt was created in the spirit of the old EV1 with a generator strapped to the hood. With the current power density of modern batteries and the existence of purely electric cars with sufficient juice to reduce “range anxiety”, there was no more place for the Volt in the lineup. It will be replaced with multiple all-electric models soon. Also, for whatever reason, the Volt was a marketing nightmare with nobody understanding it was a purely electrical car with a backup generator. Instead everyone thought it was a hybrid, eventually leading to the “plug-in hybrid” nomenclature in the industry. On top of that, gen 2 actually puts power from the engine into the drivetrain directly via a planetary gearset, so it is kind of a hybrid now. Confusing! Poor sales. Scrapped.
The one that is the most upsetting to me is the loss of the Cadillac CT6. Brand new Omega platform, incredible luxury features, legroom for days (122″ wheelbase!), supercruise, etc. It didn’t sell in large numbers, but was it ever supposed to?. Here’s where I think the CT6 went wrong:
From day one, it was marketed as “Wait! This isnt the flagship yet. A CT8 is coming out.” So basically “Don’t buy, a better one is coming”. Next, the name. NOBODY knows was a CT6 is. The name itself is hard to visually distinguish from a CTS on the back bumper. It was priced starting in the 50s with non-luxurious powertrains that were sold in cars half the price. Even today, it’s priced way higher than an entry A6, which comes standard with a 3.0 V6. It’s just a great car for a terrible price. I think the failures of the CT6 are purely at the marketing level. The car itself is great.
Lastly, I’ll comment on Cadillac and the now departed CEO JDN. Bob Lutz has a great view on this departure in R&T that is probably more accurate, but here’s where I think he went wrong:
– Marketing. Ever afraid to cannibalize sales, the ATS was too small and the CTS was large but too expensive. The pricing could have corrected all this, but it made it worse. Steve Jobs once said, never be afraid to cannibalize your own products because if you don’t someone else will.
– Terrible vehicle names. JDN renamed all the great cars at Infiniti to some terrible q- or qx-based schema that only the Infiniti illuminati understand. The G series was raw, the M was luxurious and the Q45 is still a legendary luxury car. What’s the difference between a QX50 and QX60? Wait, is there even a QX60? Who knows… Cadillac has some AMAZING brands. Can you imagine JDN changing the name of the Escalade to the XT8? He wouldn’t dare. He should have revived names like the Eldorado and the Deville. Sure, he could have kept the weird letter-number system, but paired it with a name. For example: 911 Carrera (who calls this anything by “911”?) and the 718 Boxster/Cayman (has ANYONE called this platform the “718”? It’s just Boxster or Cayman). Remember McLaren’s ridiculous MP4-12C? People could barely read it, nevermind remember it. Anyway, JDN crushed all the brand image when he renamed everything
– Cars instead of concepts. Rather than try to reinvigorate the brand with insane concepts, he pushed to actually develop these cars. A noble attempt, but a costly one. The CT6 would have surved better as a halo concept rather than a sedan. He could have invested all the time and money into crossovers first, then the land yacht.
– Not enough crossovers. I hate crossovers, but they sell today. It took WAY too long to get the crossover-heavy lineup he needed for Caddy to bring in the big bucks. Now they have the XT4 and XT5 neither of which I would touch, but which sell well.
So the next steps for GM? Moving into the future in a big way. Mary Barry has a great vision here. GM is pouring billions into electric cars and autonomous cars. They’re going to be a serious tech competitor to Google/Waymo and Uber in the autonomous car space and they’re going to be a serious manufacturing competitor to Tesla with electric vehicles. Tesla will have 2 aging cars and 1 new one. GM will have 10 with cohesive design and no quirks (glass roof? backward handles? proper smart key, etc). They’ll still make small-block V8’s in highly profitable pickups, but they’ll also make a mid-engine ferrari-killing vette and an electric SUV for parents to take their kids to soccer practice. I think GM’s future is brighter having made this decision to cut their losses now.
Anyway, good luck GM. If anyone at GM reads this, I’d appreciate 1 of 2 options: a Blackwing V8 in an AWD CT5 or an AWD Tesla Model 3 competitor. Oh and keep that dashcam with SD card functionality of the CT6 in other cars. That’s pretty smart.
GM execcutives should be fired fired. GM needs car guy’s at its head, not this staff who is ruining GM.
My husband and both LOVE our Cruzes! I can’t imagine what we’ll be buying come next year. We’ve had several, and every one of them was great. Our dealer told us the Cruze is their best-selling model of Chevy, better than the SUV’s and the trucks. I know that folks our age don’t necessarily dictate the market, but why should we be forced to buy what we don’t want?
I bought a 19 Cruze LS in November 18. I love everything about my car. My last car I bought new in 03 and drove it 16 years. Trading in a car is always a losing option. I’ll be keeping my Cruze for a very long time.