When Cadillac revealed the CT5-V and CT4-V, it’s safe to say the luxury brand sucked all of the oxygen out of the room. And not in a good way.
The Cadillac CT5-V, which most directly replaces the raucous CTS-V, was revealed with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 engine that makes 355 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque. That’s a far cry from the 640 horsepower found in the previous CTS-V. The CT4-V, too, failed to capture the ATS-V’s power and poise. It will come with a 2.7-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 320 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.
Then, GM President Mark Reuss, who has direct oversight over the Cadillac brand, gave cause for a sigh of relief: there’s something more coming. At last weekend’s Detroit Grand Prix, Cadillac ushered two prototypes out onto the Belle Isle circuit, likely to use the “Blackwing” name in their production nameplates.
Reuss spilled more information on why the brand decided to leave the V-Series to more accessible pastures, while taking the “true” V-Series successors to a new height. He told Automotive News (subscription required) that there were many customers who were “intimidated” by the V-Series.
“They were hammers,” he said of the previous CTS-V and ATS-V. Thus, Cadillac made the call to somewhat neuter the V-Series cars themselves to make them a better opening for customers looking for more power and less gut-wrenching performance on the street.
When all is said and done, it’s far easier to launch a higher-performance trim level than it is to slot in models under the failed “V-Sport” marque. Enthusiasts have good eyes and ears; they’ll watch the rumored “Blackwing” cars like hawks. Meanwhile, the V-Series is well established, and buyers can more comfortably slip into the sub-brand with less intimidation.
We’ll see the standard V-Series cars launch this year to start with the CT5-V, while the CT4-V will come in early 2020. By that time, we should know more about what Cadillac has cooking for its V-Series-plus models.
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Source: Automotive News (subscription required)
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Comments
GM has gotten bad at releasing ‘B’ news, when ‘A’ news is needed. It’s fine for them to release the lower spec models now, but kick off the press release acknowledging the multi-tier performance system, make it clear the “hammers” are around the corner, and make it clear that this is just the beginning. Then in the body of the release discuss these lower V models, aka V-Sport of yore.
This just goes to show you that people have zero patience. They jump to conclusions without waiting!!!
And now we know!!!
Imagine that!!!
It is not just patience but it is a poor way to market a model.
First they do a V sport that vanished from marketing right after the introduction. To be honest I even forgot about it.
Second if you are going to demote the V you need to let people know up front that something greater is coming. The negative information on the web is rampant as well as inaccurate comments because Cadillac dropped the ball.
Cadillac had the perfect platform to display the new V series and announce that there is much greater models to come to stir interest and speculation. This should have been a stepping stone to the future product not responses to make it clear what is going on for days after the announcement.
I only minored in Marketing and I could do better than that.
As for the old line chasing the Germans cut the crap. The fact is the German cars are now the benchmark of the segment and have been for around 40 years. Automakers world wide are chasing a benchmark not some model that was lost to time due to the lack of interest.
Today cars are expected to turn, stop, go and ride decently and that is what the benchmarks do and what everyone is trying to improve on. Competent sedans are not a German thing. It is just what the Germans have done better than anyone else.
If Cadillac does it better then they will say they are chasing the Americans.
I’m not sure what he’s talking about. All Cadillac did was rebadge the V series much as BMW has moved the M series designation to lesser models and the same with Mercedes AMG. Cadillacs always had multiple engine options, regardless of what GM wants to call them.
I think the biggest disappointment wasn’t that the V series is underpowered. It’s that GM is sticking to its old failing strategy. I for one was hoping to see GM leapfrog the competition with something really stellar priced right. Seems Mark is satisfied for Caddy to be an also-ran. Honestly, what attracts me to Cadillac? 2% increased body stiffness? Brand legacy hailing from the 50s? Price? There are fewer and fewer Cadillacs on the road, and the quick death of the ATS doesn’t inspire confidence in buyers that their models will be coveted or supported going forward
How cool would it be if these new higher performance models were called “Blackwing” in some way and instead of the Cadillac Logo they replaced it with the sleek Blackwing logo on the front and back. That would definitely grab some attention.
Or how about GM just stop using Cadillac to chase the Germans and instead make the “Blackwing” badge cars you suggest the real sports car side that chases the Germans. Then return Cadillac to a true luxury mark.
Somehow, I missed the “news” here. Regurgitated story with no new information.
Are we supposed to expect a 700HP variant of the Blackwing is in the works? If not, I don’t see how the new V Ultimate is a “new height” in the V legacy. I guess they could do a PHEV with a 500HP Blackwing and 250HP motor, but we haven’t seen any indication of that thus far.
Could be confirming the rumors I’ve been hearing. Big power coming for the CT4-V and CT5-V Cadillacs, this time with a new name attached (Blackwing?). On another note, why is GM no longer supporting the auto show circuit for reveals? Why dont they stoke interest and enthusiast debate with timely information releases building up to the full auto show reveal?
I think this is a good move! Cadillac is taking advantage of the V’s like GMC and Denali. It will make them more money in the end. Most the people crying wouldn’t buy a Cadillac let alone a V. I for one don’t need a track car to drive to work but the new V’s fit the bill on replacing my 535i. I suspect Cadillac will gain new customers with this move.
Good way how to get more money from costumers. Create a lot of special series with small changes but with higher price. Kick off traditional and exclusive V line and copy paste … Say something like it is the cheapest V series of all time. But who from Caddy buyer cares about money? It is important for Chevy buyers not for rich Caddy guys.
This sounds good and I think they have a good plan but maybe didn’t properly relay that to the public buying the cars. But you know what’s missing? Anything that people like me can grab on to and give us hope there is a true luxury side of Cadillac coming back. I’m not talking a luxury “brand” with all sport-type cars. I’m not talking “luxury” in terms of big rims, firm seats, huge sunroofs, firm suspension settings, etc. I’m talking luxury in the likes of extreme quiet. Road isolation. Comfortable seating. More room for relaxed freeway trips and luggage. High quality materials that are appealing to the eyes with warm and rich wood materials and colors other than black or black and tan.
Why not create a Blackwing brand of Cadillac and use only the Blackwing name. Then allow Cadillac to be Cadillac again. Maybe that would appease the hard-core V-series people and the many people like me both. Win, win.
Guys,
How long do we keep banging our heads on this topic.
We have been on GM and Cadillac for so many years now.
Im getting tired…the CTS-V Coupe was the best car I ever owned. In 2010 it had 560 HP.
Now Im in a 500 HP AMG and need some Cadillac power near 600 HP
Please sort it out this time!!
500HP in AMG world is probably the same as 600HP in GM world
Cadillac is like a balloon suddenly loosing its air at a child’s party. Rushing left, right, up and down – until it’s finally out of air, and left lying on the ground with all of the dignity of a soiled condom.
The brand is finished. And I say this as a Cadillac owner, son of a Cadillac owner and brother of a Cadillac owner.
Vivid!
I get the strategy and it sounds believable.
Only problem is nothing implies the high-performance V’s are anywhere near ready. And there’s no prior history that suggests these entry-level V’s will be underrated monsters we should look forward to in the meantime.
So until we hear real news, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Except they were just at the track with both of them.
I don’t find wheels and paint very convincing…
Between this and the whole “newton meter torque thing”, one has to wonder what the hell Cadillac is doing and what everyone is smoking.
I still think this a dumb ass move. Why not Call it something else. We will see how well these budget V’s do especially the CT5 V when it only has an improvement of 20 hp for 7,000 dollars? FOH “They wont care we have 15 years of EXPERIENCE with the V models”…. Yup and you are about to ruin it. Stop chasing what others are doing, you are always going to be last chasing. How many more years GM? *HOW MANY*???
If the 2.0T is the standard CT4 engine, will they still offer the 3.6 V6 on the non-V car–or a detuned 2.7T? They dropped it from the CT5, which will have two versions of the 3.0TT.
One cannot dismiss the fact that GM ruined the V-name with this move. There’s tremendous value destruction going on. Yes, they will find new customers by doing so, just like when they introduced Cimarron in the 80s. We know what happened afterwards. A V will never be exclusive again…