Emissions Setbacks Delay Arrival Of The Cadillac CT6-V
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General Motors first pulled the veil from the 2019 Cadillac CT6-V back in March of 2018 – at which time the automaker was still referring to it as the CT6 V-Sport.
Then, in September of 2018, not long before it announced its major corporate restructuring plan, GM decided to rename the CT6- V-Sport the CT6-V – indicating the automaker was adjusting its strategy for the rather slow-selling CT6 nameplate. Not long after this, GM announced that all 275 examples of the 2019 CT6-V that it intended to produce had been sold out, prompting it to raise the price of the vehicle by about $4,000 and boost production capacity. Once again, all available units of the CT6-V sold out.
That was really the last we heard of the CT6-V, however. So far not a single car has been delivered to customers, despite GM telling GM Authority’s sister site, Cadillac Society, that deliveries of the sedan would commence “soon” back in July of this year.
Cadillac Society now has an important update for CT6-V buyers, however. Our colleagues learned deliveries of the 550 horsepower sports sedan have been delayed due to emissions setbacks for the twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 engine. Deliveries of standard Cadillac CT6 models with the twin-turbo 4.2-liter LTA V8 engine have also been pushed back for the same reason.
The good news is that GM has already remedied the problem and the 4.2-liter V8 engine has passed regulatory approval testing, with deliveries expected to begin shortly. As we reported previously, all 2019 model year CT6-V sedans have been spoken for, and the 2020 CT6 order book closed on August 22nd, 2019.
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Source: Cadillac Society
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Emissions setbacks delay arrival of Cadillac’s CT6-V; this borders on insanity.. GM CEO Mary Barra should consider this as grounds for firing Cadillac President Steve Carlisle as it is an example of incompetence and possibly that the job might be too big for Carlisle to handle and possibly admit that Barra and the GM Board of Directors made a mistake in firing Johan de Nysschen.
Hold your horses.
Carlisle is a lot of things. But he doesn’t run Propulsion (formerly Powertrain) that is responsible for B;ackwing and it’s emissions certification.
The Problem is called “A Slow Boat From China”. They’ll get here when Trump gets the tariffs worked out.
It’s perfectly conceivable that the month-long government shutdown earlier this year put the EPA behind schedule, and caused a significant backlog of testing/certification. That said, with the generous length of time since the engine/application was announced, I’m surprised that it wasn’t done already. Some of those poor cars have been built and just sitting since April, waiting to be released to dealers.
What I can’t figure out is why GM, when it became obvious that the cars were going to be delayed by a certification issue, didn’t simply come out and explain the problem. Instead, the official line in June was that, “…due to our commitment to quality and fine detail, their vehicle is taking a little longer than expected.” (Cadillac spokesperson, Stefan Cross) It seems unlikely (though not impossible) that the engineers needed to go back to the drawing board with a calibration or hardware spec before being EPA certified, so if it was just a regulatory/bureaucratic delay, why not be more transparent about it?
Offering that reasoning wouldn’t have put GM in any worse light than they are now…their vague approach to these customer satisfaction issues creates more questions than answers, and the answers that Cadillac fans are coming up with on their own generally do not favor the brand. I guess it’s all about keeping the investors calm, stock prices up, and the competition guessing – the automotive equivalent of ‘upper/lower body injury’.
If it was due to the shut down then it may have been an effort to keep out of the political spectrum by not pointing that out.
Big Mistake. Carlisle is now at all good for this job, in fact he has set the Name Plate back 10 years.
Bet He’s a better speller and can write a better sentence than you…
Are they still calling these 2019 model year?
I think they are. So the poor folks that bought up the first cars likely for a premium price will finally get their cars after they’ve become last year’s model.
The situation with Cadillac is profoundly tragic and sad. They finally maybe have the Blackwing working and ready and it’s September of 2019. The plant is closing and CT6 is going away in January; only four months from now. Why did they even bother? And the next big idea is to turn Cadillac into Tesla so it’s unlikely they are going to be using the engine in another product. I knew it was a very bad sign when the engine was announced as a “hand-built” power plant.
For countless years, I have felt and hoped for Cadillac to have a modern, exclusive V-8 to stage a serious threat to the Germans. Now they have it…..for four months. It’s just tragic. As sad as the tale of the Fiero.
GM’s hands are tied on that front. All the cars built up to a certain date have a 10th VIN digit (‘K’) that makes them 2019 models, regardless of how the customers feel; 2020’s will have an ‘L’. GM can’t change the MY, but they certainly do have the option to offer other concessions. I have a funny feeling that they won’t…it’s not their style.
At the end of the day, there will be no significant differences between the ’19s & ’20s – both year CT6-Vs will be rare, and likely unavailable beyond the current allotment of engines. Sad that such a compelling powertrain could be potentially orphaned for an indefinite time…
As one of the 275, I’m not happy at all and if not for a personal commitment to the dealer would not be accepting delivery of a car I wanted and needed six months ago. Other than a letter and a drawing from GM – no communication no word. Bottom line – Cadillac has made it clear I’m not a customer they want or need.
One would think they’d have all the calibrations and certification tests dialed-in at this point.
Certainly gives the “Blackwing” a “Black Eye” right out of gate.
If you’re having trouble with the emissions certification. Don’t be shy ask for help. The guys at Volkswagen can get any vehicle certified.
You know Cadillac is in trouble when Mark Ruess has to pen a laugh-out-loud editorial telling everyone there really isn’t a problem at GM’s once prestigious Cadillac division.
Among the other grandiose claims, Mark brags that Cadillac sold more vehicles last year that at any other time in its 117 year history. That may be true although he didn’t state a number and I couldn’t find it. However, I did find Johan de Nysschen making a similar claim of “second best sales year ever” back in 2017. At the time, he cites 356,467 deliveries. It’s important to note, however, that the figures they use to make those boasts is “worldwide deliveries”. It now takes the entire world to sell what Cadillac once sold in the US alone. Forty years ago, in 1979, Cadillac sold 383,131 cars just in the United States at a time when America had about 225 million people. Today there are about 330 million Americans and Cadillac sold just 154,702 vehicles here, in their home market. To most people, that isn’t success; it’s failure. With a significantly more populated America, Cadillac can’t even begin to best its sales figures from 40 years ago and GM needs China and the rest of the world to be able to match what Cadillac did with just 50 states before they embarked on their mission to be BMW. That pursuit, which threw away Cadillac’s historical image began in 1981 with the Cimarron and continues today.
They say the first step to recovery is to admit there is a problem. It sounds like Mark is unwilling to take that first step. I think he’s hiding the problem with the “best ever” sales rhetoric. I’ve called for GM to sell off Cadillac and in light of this op-Ed, I would renew that plea. Until they own the problems like new but lackluster, derivative products and bottom-of-the-list quality, they will never recover. All is not well with Cadillac, Mark.
https://www.autonews.com/commentary/setting-record-straight-cadillac
I wish they’d stop conflating the US and Chinese markets. They’re very different, and success in one does not assure you success in another. Don’t they understand how dismissive it is to tell a North American audience/critic (who’s concerned only about the brand’s status in the US/Canada) that things have never been better because of something that has no relevance to the brand’s appeal in the domestic market? The global statistics only mean something to shareholders.
If they need to ‘dig’ that deep for a statistic that puts Cadillac in a positive light, it doesn’t bode well. Cadillac is fully capable of offering products and features that ‘surprise and delight’ both critics and consumers, alike. But if the packaging isn’t compelling, and the pricing sounds overly-optimistic…what’s the draw? Read a review of the XT6, then read a review for the Aviator…neither is perfect, but it becomes apparent as to which product tries harder to justify its price. It at least appears that Lincoln has a clearer vision of how to differentiate itself from Ford…what say you, Cadillac? The clock is ticking…
It’s all about stock price now at GM I’m afraid. Back in the Day you could raise stock price by making great cars and trucks and selling them in the US. I guess that idea dried up in the 1970’s and 80’s. So now sell where you can and keep that stock price up. Maybe it’s better to buy the stock than the cars.
Why is everyone complaining that they are having emission problems? Multiple companies have emission problems from time to time. If you look at mpg, some manufacturers get it passed the EPA. They state their vehicle gets x (higher) mpg, but in reality they only get x (lower) mpg. At least they are trying to get it figured out before people get ahold of them. Then shortly after it’s recall and having to pay back their customers like other well known companies.
Not an emissions problem – poor planning for emissions certification for a new engine. Not like it was a surprise that the engine/car needs EPA certification right? So being five months late plus = poor planning.
So what’s worse? A car actually making it past certification, or a car being held back to be certified? In my opinion, it’s worse that a car makes it past certification, just to be under scrutiny months even years later. Recalls will be needed as well as paying back customers, if the demand is high enough. Look at the Dodge ecodiesel. It’s getting recalled and Dodge has to pay out 2k to each US citizen who’s bought one. Look at the VW Group, which include luxury vehicles. I believe they have a 98 million dollar settlement because of not meeting emission requirements. At least Cadillac is trying to prevent such a thing from happening. Stop acting like Cadillac is the only company that always has problems when other brands has problems as well.
You’re missing the point on multiple levels and reading in more than I have written. Those other manufacturers like VW LIED AND CHEATED on the diesel emissions testing. They got what they deserved. I’m not suggesting Cadillac do that. I’m also not making any general statement about Cadillac having more problems than anyone else. I am saying that this has not been a “prestigious” or “luxury” experience.
The onerous environmental regulation and testing are part of life (at least in the US) and need to be planned for if you are in the business of making cars. Bottom line – this car with the blackwing was introduced at the NY Auto show in April of 2018 (if I recall correctly) – – if that’s not enough time to plan to pass an emissions test then don’t take an order for a car you can’t deliver . . . . . the lack of communication and excuses like taking months to “check quality” just adds insult to injury. Its that simple.
Sadly, CR rated Cadillac as the worst-rated domestic manufacturer and ranks near the very bottom at 28.