Magnesium Cadillac Paddle Shifters’ Days Appear Numbered
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Years ago, when General Motors launched the 2014 Cadillac ATS, the premium GM brand made a big to-do about the car’s brand-new magnesium paddle shifters. While not a particularly rare element, magnesium’s total, industry-wide use in automobiles is substantially less than iron, steel, and even aluminum, and the metal is prized for its light weight.
Magnesium is a premium material, and its use in Cadillac paddle shifters starting with the second-model-year ATS showed that the brand was serious about elevating the overall feel of its interiors by incorporating high-quality parts at crucial touch points.
Now, however, Cadillac appears ready to phase out its (presumably costly) magnesium paddle shifters. Starting with the XT5 crossover and CT6 sedan, both launched in early-2016, Cadillac paddle shifters began to shift away from magnesium and toward plastic. The trend continued with the all-new, 2019 Cadillac XT4 crossover unveiled earlier this year.
If some recent spy shots are anything to go by, the forthcoming Cadillac CT5 will also use plastic shift paddles rather than magnesium ones, suggesting that the magnesium shifters’ days are numbered. Two models that still use the lightweight metal pieces – the ATS and CTS – will find themselves on the chopping block after 2019, and the paddle shifters appear likely to die with them.
With that, the question becomes: just how important are aesthetically and tactilely pleasing touch points on an automobile from the standpoint of profitability? It seems to be the dominant sentiment that Cadillac’s interiors lack the same elevated sense of quality as those from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and other premium brands, counting against the brand in customer and press evaluations.
But does the likely extinction of the magnesium Cadillac paddle shifters represent such a loss that the brand will lose buyers? Over the course of a full production run, GM might stand to save a considerable sum. Will that more than offset the cost of any lost business or negative critical reception?
Let us know what you think about the likely disappearance of the magnesium Cadillac paddle shifters in the Comments section below, and stay tuned to GM Authority for all the latest Cadillac CT5 news.
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GM and Cadillac have no clue what buyers perceive as quality. They want to charge big boy prices and yet have interiors designed by Fisher-Price. There are only so many hapless buyers out there who will settle for “Good Enough” vehicles when other companies try harder and make truly stunning interiors with real materials. Just look at Lexus, BMW, Infinity, Audi, Mercedes, even Mazda is stepping up its game. Maybe this is good enough for China, In America, we have much better choices than GM.
I love my ATS-V with the exception of the interior, do I use the paddle shifters not really So magnesium or plastic doesn’t matter. What does matter is style and functionality which is what it lacks.
My question would be how many Cadillac drivers ever touch the paddle shifter? Like in the XT5, Hay Cadillac send your XT5 owners a quick survey asking them if they ever even touch them, or know what they are for. We have owned a 2014 ATS for four years now and have never touched them. Talk about cost savings on some vehicles. Touch points in my opinion are something EVERY driver touches. Seat, steering wheel, door handles, buttons, knobs, shifter, ETC. The ATS interior in my opinion looks good, BUT is NOT that good, CUE screen is ****, seat leather is ****, and they are something EVERY driver HAS to touch. The leather in the NEW Cadillacs feels nicer than our ATS, but we will see over the next couple years the rest of the story.
I see someone has transmission troubles with a XT4 already . I wonder how the customer service is going. She has been driving a loaner longer than her own new vehicle.
At this point in its deployment, CUE should be THE system that everyone wants to emulate.
There is no excuse whatsoever that people should be having trouble with GM’s newly introduced transmissions. This seems to be a never ending theme. Introduce a new half baked unit, piss customers off and then after tons of warranty claims then start fixing it the way it should have been since day one.
I have dealt with mechanical my entire life so I DO understand the percentage of new glitches or failures. What I can’t understand and NEVER WILL is how GM handles these issues.
First of all the CUSTOMER is buying a NEW vehicle. If that NEW vehicle has trouble WHY is the CUSTOMER driving a loaner. Especially this early in the game. I would think GM-Cadillac would say ” Here you go CUSTOMER, here is another NEW vehicle just like you wanted. We will deal with this one we just want you the CUSTOMER to be HAPPY and SATISFIED.”.
I just don’t get it. WHY. Most CUSTOMERS these days don’t have a clue on tech or mechanical of a vehicle they just want there NEW vehicle. Give the CUSTOMER a NEW vehicle, fix there vehicle and sell it at a special price. Some one will buy it, and if the DEALER truly fixed the problem you now sold two vehicles and have two HAPPY customers. WHO is LEADING this GM CUSTOMER SERVICE, ANYONE ?
All those spy photos prove is that they’re black. Maybe anodized aluminum?
But yeah, the bean counters who run GM like cheap plastic interior parts so if I were betting on it I’d say they’re flimsy plastic that bends a little when you pull on them to shift.
“All those spy photos prove is that they’re black. Maybe anodized aluminum?”
There is absolutely zero reason to think that the paddles on the CT5 will be made of any other material except for plastic. They look exactly the same as the ones on the CT6, XT5 and XT4… so if it looks like plastic and looks like plastic… it probably is plastic.
So is what you’re saying possible? Yes. Is the probability relevant. Not in the slightest.
This is absolute crap… much like what I fear the quality of the Cadillac’s interiors will become. I love my ATS Coupe, but would know the difference between polished steel or magnesium paddles? Almost certainly not. However substituting plastic in – what is this, a Chevy? I’m not telling any tails out of school by saying Cadillac’s Aceelies Heal is their interiors… but the surfaces one physically touches seems like it would be the biggest priority for quality, improving, and spending. I commonly rest my fingers on the paddles as I’m driving – I want it to feel like a luxury car as I drive home from the airport, not like the Malibu rental car I’ve had for the the duration of a business trip.
How do we know that isn’t powder-coated aluminum? Cadillac has been trying to make a core competency out of using authentic materials and its difficult to believe they would then sacrifice material quality on a part of the car you actually touch.
“How do we know that isn’t powder-coated aluminum?”
We don’t know that they aren’t powder-coated aluminum But they do look IDENTICAL to the plastic units on the CT6, XT5 and XT4. Given GM’s obsession on squeezing every possible cent of profit out of any and all products, it would be naive to think that it invested in procuring the same exact paddle shifter as on the aforementioned models, but from a different material.
“Cadillac has been trying to make a core competency out of using authentic materials and its difficult to believe they would then sacrifice material quality on a part of the car you actually touch.”
Right. They have been doing that… or rather… were doing that in the past. But then we have products like the CT6, XT5 and XT4… all of which have plastic paddle shifters. So much for a core competency of using authentic materials.
I don’t like the design of the steering wheel in the CT6 and XT5. They look cheap. Although the design of the steering wheel in the XT4 looks better, it does not look high quality enough. I prefer the steering wheel on the ATS, XTS, Escalade and CTS while that design exudes high quality.
I would like for GM to get rid of the dull plastic buttons in Cadillac’s interiors and dress them up in piano black, metal or brushed aluminum.
I will laugh my butt off if we find them to be Carbon Fiber.
Having used the Magnisium ones they were nothing special. They did not look all that great in person.
Also Magnesium today is the modern light weight pot metal. It is not that exotic thing it once was.
Today it is used in nearly all cars and trucks as braces and supports under the dash.
It was also used on the access covers for the 84 Fiero years ago.
As for paddle shifters I have had several cars with them and they are no big deal. Nice in the snow to start off in 3rd or 2nd gear in slippery weather.
Most of today’s transmissions will shift better than you anyways. God knows they are smarter than many of the drivers.
“Having used the Magnisium ones they were nothing special. They did not look all that great in person.”
And that’s where you are way off.
It doesn’t matter so much what the magnesium units were made of. But they look cool and feel great to the touch and to use.
When I drove an automatic CTS for six months (before getting mine with the stick), the paddles were the first thing that a passenger who had never been in a CTS or a Cadillac would notice and comment on. They have a very nice, sporty yet elegant look and feel to them that other paddles simply do not – especially these new plastic fantastic units that Cadillac is using on its vehicles today.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that the magnesium paddles on the ATS an CTS were the best paddles in a luxury car that I have experienced. That’s high praise from someone who has owned Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Lexus in the past, and who observes on the industry and its products for a living. For all of these automakers, the paddles have always seemed like an afterthought… and it has now become an afterthought for Cadillac as well.
Whether or not they are a big deal to you or not is irrelevant. What’s pertinent is whether the market at large actually wants them. Whether they use them is another thing entirely. It’s perception (want) vs. reality (need). Cadillac needs to deliver on both fronts, just like all off its rivals have been and continue to do.
Personally, I would argue that a manual gear selection function in the gate is better than paddles… but I know I’m in the minority on this when it comes to the market at large.
I very much agree. The “Regen On Demand” braking paddles on my ELR are a nearly identical design. I use them regularly and love the substantial feel of metal. As a buyer, YES, I definitely notice and appreciate small details like that. While a shift to plastic probably wouldn’t cause me not to buy the car, cheap parts really do mar the overall experience of a luxury car.
I sat in a CT6 at the dealer recently and noticed right away how cheap the sharp plastic door pulls felt. Just the hard edge, compared to something slightly curved or padded, made me feel worse about the overall quality of the entire car. The CTS-V I sat in next to it felt far more premium from that perspective. When Cadillac is pushing hand-crafted cut-and-sew interiors and hand-built engines, they shouldn’t be cheaping out on anything a driver touches or sees.
What are you people complaining about? I have sat in every Cadillac and everyone has a great interior! I see zero problems with the interiors of GM cars and trucks!
Maybe I feel this way because I understand that GM makes cars and trucks for the entire world not just me! So if the car or trucks doesn’t fit me exactly or has a fabric I dont care for or a design that is weird to me. I dont fly off of the handle because I understand that there is no way possible that GM or any company can build cars and trucks to please everybody!
My question to you people is, if I can understand this then why cant you? I assume you’re smart, I assume you understand products are built for the masses and not the individual, so why the push back?
Just because a car or truck doesn’t suit your tastes doesn’t mean it’s a failure!
uuuuuuuum maybe it is because all Auto Makers have the same perimeters. You know, make cars for everyone around the World. The big difference is that ONLY GM makes cheap interiors now. I mean Kia has leapfrogged Chevy and are almost at Buick quality. Why is it so hard to just be honest with yourself and simply say that yes GM is cutting some serious interior corners and they must do better.
How many Mercedes, Audis, or hell, even Jaguars have you “sat in”??? ……..because Cadillac’s interiors are far from comparable. Sitting in and spending nearly a year’s salary on to live with for years are two completely different things. It’s hard to find problems with a Cadillac interior if you’re comparing it to a Chevy… but the targeted demographic isn’t even considering that.
A Cadillac shouldn’t be a car for everyone – it should be an exceptional reward for those who have done something with their lives. We don’t want plastic and synthetic, good-enough materials — we want craftmanship.
Well said. If Cadillac customers were to sit in and drive other brands blindfolded I would be curious on how many would choose Cadillac. Brian however would love to sit an a board and whip some horses because why change something that is good enough. Hey Brian, you see the XT4 transmission trouble on one vehicle so far. I thought because GM-Cadillac was spending so much time and money on drivetrains instead of interiors that drivetrain troubles would never happen.
Brian, FACT, one more time FACT,because of the LACK of focus on QUALITY AND RELIABILTY and the GOOD ENOUGH attitude by GM-Cadillac, IS the sole reason they LOST there customers in the first place. That and then followed up with ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE BY GM. I am glad Cadillac makes vehicles for the WHOLE WORLD because all Cadillac is in the USA any more is a name that once was. I would LOVE to see Cadillac on top.
Agreed. GM has to step up all the interior materials in all of it’s Brands.
Cadillac needs German Level Quality
Buick needs Acura/Infinity/Lincoln Level Quality
GMC needs VW level Quality (and I mean European made VW products not USA Specific Models)
Chevrolet needs Honda Level Quality
You would be totally surprised in how many cars I have set in, drove, and assisted people in the research and purchasing process. From the lowest price car to high end over 100K cars.
I would say a little over 100K is probably where my cutoff of experience has been so far.
I always push GM Brands but the interiors are just not up to the Standards of todays buyers. I have been saying for years that Interior Materials and Technology sells todays cars. Nobody (unless your a Petrolhead like us) even has a clue about Transmissions and or engines.
I just traded my loaded ’15 ATS-AWD COUPE with only 15k miles on it. Traded it for a loaded Mustang GT that I enjoy much more in every way – and that includes the interior. My leather seats actually smell and look like leather, unlike the Caddy. The cooling on the seats is so much better on the Mustang – oh that’s right… GM saw fit to eliminate that option on the ATS. Interior just had a cheap smell to it. Same as my CTS before. I’m done with them until I see some major changes.
Instead of useless features like paddle shifters, how about adding knobs for all interior controllers instead of the b.s. touch sliders and panels. Now that would be something much more attractive and functional. I have the 2014 ATS and my biggest complaint is the lack of physical knobs and the horrible response of the touch interface Come on Cadillac, listen to your critics!
Yes, it’s time to end the CUE experiment.
That’s what happens when get a GM lifer to run a luxury car brand. When Steve said they’ll expedite JDN’s plan that’s what he meant. Cutting corners. I can sallow the XT4, it’s an entry level cuv after all, but this $#@& is unacceptable in higher models.
Personally, I find the Magnesium shifters cheesy (too shiny), but they’re much better than plain plastic. They should’ve done it in Aluminum or Stainless steel.
GM never learns.
Agreed
Please nobody tell Caddy they could save even more money by switching to drum brakes. Old habits die hard.
Just small things, but they add up, and customers in that price range expect even the small things to be right.
I own a 2016 CTS Vsport Premium and I find the press’ continued complaints about interior materials to be laughable. Sure MBZ has stunning high quality interiors. HOWEVER my recent rides in friends 6 series, X5, A7 ,A5 and F-Pace shows wide spread use the same level and quality of plastics (even low quality at the bottoms of seats and door) of what Cadillac is doing. I think there are cases where some of the seat cover designs in Cadillac aren’t as nicely done as Bmw or Audi. The styling of Cadillac is probably where there could be some improvement.
American luxury brand blew it a long time ago and are to blame for a lot of bad PR but it seems to me that the car media just bashes Cadillac because its popular but at this point its pretty inaccurate and unfair..
Completely predictable.
I agree with Ag about the lack of knobs on interior panels. Every time you touch the panels you leave fingerprints that look bad,plus response is poor.
Also the seats are somewhat uncomfortable after riding on a long trip. We have owned several Buick Park Avenues and La Crosses and liked them better than our present 2017 XTS.
I would not like plastic shift paddles as it is a cheap and nasty replacement.
The new tag line from cadillac:
Why use magnesium if you can use ultra cheap plastic – Cadillac, truly plastic fantastic!
You are all bashing Cadillac for using Plastic paddle shifters, but do us all a favor, go sit in a BMW or Mercedes-Benz. After you sit in these you will be surprised by what you see, PLASTIC PADDLE SHIFTERS!
Exactly BW – i feel like most of you havent been in any of Cadillac’s cars or personally inspected the competition. EVERY SINGLE luxury manufacturer uses plastic paddle shifters, half baked Infotainment systems, flakey electronics (BMW, JAG, MBZ) has awful reliability (AUDI, BMW, JAG)
I own this car the shifters are cool but you know what i would rather have? A better service department that was more BMW and less Buick. Cadillac has done an AMAZING job on almost every other detail. Premium cars need to come with 360 degree premium experience – NOT gimmicky paddle shifters that ad zero value to owning a Cadillac.
No, I don’t think plastic is the primary element here. It’s the fact that we, as owners, or recent owners, are fed up with the low level of quality we experience in the cars. The fact that we are expecting an improvement in interior grade and see something decreasing in level of quality suggest they are still moving in the wrong direction. I’m personally not too worried about plastic paddle shifters (though perhaps they should be using some form of metal for the high-end/performance models), it’s the concept that they are going down in materials, not up – at a time when they need to be improving.