Production of the Cadillac CT6 at General Motors‘ Detroit-Hamtramck plant will cease in January of 2020, the automaker confirmed in a memo sent to plant employees this week. It is currently not clear if it plans to build the full-size luxury sedan at another one of its plants, or it will replace it with a different product sometime in the future.
The Detroit-Hamtramck plant has been earmarked to produce GM’s new line of large electric vehicles, which will use a new platform currently being referred to as BT1. The new line of large EVs will include a battery-electric pickup truck, which will begin rolling off the Hamtramck line in the fall of 2021, along with an electric Cadillac crossover and potentially an electric Hummer SUV as well.
GM has not said if production of the CT6 will be moved to another one of its plants, or if it will build a next-generation version. GM is slowly moving away from the sedan business after committing itself to building more crossovers and SUVs instead, which typically sell for more and have higher profit margins. The automaker is also axing some of its car programs in order to free up the cash needed to engineer and produce more electric vehicles, so it would not be a surprise if the CT6 were to be killed off in North America.
It is believed that he sedan will remain in production at the Jinqiao plant in China, it is believed. Demand for full-size luxury sedans like the CT6 remains strong in China.
Sales of the CT6 in North America were down nearly 22 percent in the first nine months of 2019, with GM moving 5,675 examples through to the end of Q3, compared to 7,270 in the first nine months of 2018. The automaker also killed off the Cadillac XTS this year, which had stronger sales than the CT6, the automaker having sold 10,242 examples through Q3 2019.
While not a strong seller, the CT6 was used as a technology showcase for the Cadillac brand, with GM debuting the twin-turbo 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 engine in the sedan, along with its Supercruise semi-autonomous technology. Cadillac may be planning to use another one of its future products to showcase new technology, such as the upcoming 2021 Escalade SUV. The new Escalade will also spawn a fully electric variant with up to 400 miles of range.
The Chevrolet Impala, which was built alongside the CT6 at Detroit-Hamtramck, will be killed off in February of 2020. Sales of the Impala have been on a steady decline since the tenth-generation version of the sedan was introduced for the 2014 model year.
We’ll provide an update on the situation surrounding the Cadillac CT6 once more information becomes available.
Subscribe to GM Authority as we bring you the latest Cadillac CT6 news, Cadillac news and ongoing GM news coverage.
Comments
Such a shame!
Here’s a 12 billion dollar question:
Other than the CT4/5, what does Cadillac now offer that can’t be had cheaper in another division?
THAT’S a shame in and of itself.
Curtnik
Maybe Cadillac should start selling work vans like Mercedes.
GMOs shooting itself in the foot again. Too bad.. the xts.impala.ct6 are great cars. Barra is going to ruin it again.MAybe it’s time to dump the stock. I’ll never buy an electric Cadillac.
Why, just purchase the GMC version
Better, safer did I say more dependable……
Cadillac hasn’t been a winner in how many decades,
Copy cat , nothing original…. ???
This is immensely upsetting. Cadillac, and GM as a whole is such a tragically-run company.
Now people looking for a big luxury sedan have no choice but to look at the Europeans.
The CT6 is far and away the best Cadillac sedan EVER, and the LAST true Cadillac. Watch it finally get the appreciation it deserves.
As someone whose been rooting for Cadillac as an underdog for years, I’m not just upset at GM, I’m also upset at some other “fans” and journalists here and elsewhere who constantly made excuses for moves that got GM to this point. I knew this was coming ever since the XT4 was in development on a FWD platform.
Ever since then I knew that behind the effort to finally make Cadillac competitive, there were remnants of Old GM continuously chomping at the bit to turn Cadillac back into upscale Buick/Chevrolet.
This is why I’ve always said Cadillac should be RWD/AWD-only. This is why I’ve always been against Cadillac borrowing corporate FWD platforms.
How did Old GM apologists respond?
“Luxury CUV buyers don’t care about handling.”
“Audi is FWD-based (wrong btw). What about them?”
“The Escalade is just a Cadillac Tahoe and it’s doing just fine.”
“Cadillac should stop competing with the Germans and stick to making luxo-barges like they used to.”
All of these gave Old GM cover to shoot themselves in the foot. I’d bet one thing: this wouldn’t be happening if GM committed to adapting the Alpha and Omega platforms to support CUVs.
I get it, luxury sedan segments are shrinking.
Is Mercedes-Benz cutting their core sedan lineup? No. Not only is it unnecessary, thanks to their modular RWD/AWD platform, their enthusiasts would be pi55ed. ALL of them.
But then again, Cadillac isn’t competing with them anymore. Cadillac is just being Cadillac now.
I Blame GM Ceo mary barra for nearly destroying a once proud company.
She’s not done yet….. give time….. it will be a faded memory also…
Chetnik,
I agree with everything you said but take it from me, Cadillac is never again going to be the acclaimed Tier 1 carmaker they were in their heyday where the name alone was a euphemism for the finest of its field. Those days are gone; dead, gone, buried. The sooner you accept that fact and quit rooting for them, hoping for a bright future just over the horizon, you will be a lot happier. I certainly am. I have no hope for Cadillac anymore.
CT6 is gone and I expect the visually challenged CT5 and dated CT4 to be phased out soon too. I doubt very many of either of these uncompetitive products will ever be built and sold. My expectation is that in terms of ICE products, Cadillac will only offer models that are essentially an upscale trim level for Chevrolet SUVs/CUVs in a few years.
I think Johan de Nysschen tried to save Cadillac but he was outgunned by Mark and Mary and their loyal band of gleeful cost cutters. You cannot build luxury cars on the cheap but that’s the only thing GM knows how to do. I believe that if Cadillac is even still around in five years, all remnants of what de Nysechen tried to do will be gone and their lineup will have further devolved. I have no hope for anything beyond that. I also have no hope that Cadillac being recast as Tesla is going to work. GM’s electric Caddy’s will most assuredly be as half-baked as everything else they’ve done since the Cimarron. Elon can rest easily.
Although I have no hope, having accepted Cadillac’s future allows me to no longer be upset by announcements like this. Honestly, learn to love someone else. It’s vital to your wellbeing. Loving Cadillac is like being in an abusive relationship. You will perpetually be hurt. It’s best to move on.
On one level, the demise of CT6 is still sad for me too. I think It was the best product from Cadillac in 40 years and was so close to being exceptional but although it’s sad, it is not at all surprising. Cadillac is a loser brand so just figure they are always going to lose. The sooner there is acceptance of that fact, the better of you become.
I can’t.
One of the most iconic brands of all time is being destroyed right before our eyes.
This is Cadillac’s last chance. GM has shown that they are more than willing to axe or bastardize their own iconic nameplates to make a quick buck.
When Cadillac ends up on the chopping block, us consumers lose choice.
@Curtnik
With you on most of your feedback except that the majority of Audi models at the core are based upon FWD platforms.
I keep asking myself why do I continue to read about anything GM or Cadillac. Mary Barra is slicing and dicing the company to profitability. I get it, keep pace with the changing times and move towards electrification but damn, what about current brand offerings and perception for long term viability!!??
If Cadillac does become GM’s showcase for electrification, surely it won’t sell in the volumes needed for profitability. So what happens then? Sell a cloned model as a Chevrolet for scale.
GM will recoup its investment in the Omega Platform because of the Chinese Market. Otherwise for consideration as a top tier luxury marque here in the states, Cadillac is certifiably a has-been.
Completely agree, and good points all around. The worst part of this is that those of us who own a ct6 (2019 Sport) and that buy the Cadillac Flagships have nothing to look for next. There is no “aspirational” model in their lineup.
Instead, they are sending us to a foreign maker; I’ll probably head over to Benz, reluctantly and without enthusiasm. Do they expect us to get a ct5, or (cough!) an Escalade? No way.
My ONLY optimism and hope is that, as in the past, Caddy will bring out a new Flagship after cancelling an older one. There was the Eldorado, the Seville, the Allante, the XLR, and now the Ct6. They all got cancelled, but something else came out a few years later. Maybe we just have to wait and hold onto our Ct6’s for a few more years.
So interesting. What we knew (or seems to be the case) is now being put in words. The CT6 seems to be dead. IMO, that is really sad that they decided to kill the best looking sedan in the lineup, and YES I’m including the “all new” CT4 and CT5. I took a fair amount of time at the Cadillac display at the LA Auto show and really looked the two new sedans over quite closely. No, the CT5 is not better looking in person. No, the CT4 is not really new, but a thinly renewed ATS but with a more ugly back end. No, the CT5 funky rear/side window treatment does not look good. No, the interiors are not at the level they must be at. This is the first I’ve mentioned this since being at the show, but boy what huge disappointments.
Now back to the CT6: By far the best looking car in the lineup. By far the most Cadillac looking and has the best interior, although not to the level it should be, of all the sedans there. And away it goes. Sad.
I agree. The CT6 looks very good (the refresh) other than the S class this car has the looks of a high end sedan
S/CTS
XJ
7
A8
LS….too bad its interior sucked compared to any of these cars.
Yes, that rear CT4 is awful. But I did see a CT5 is south Miami about two weeks ago. I have to say not bad..
I agree. The CT6 is one of the finest current versions of the Art and Science design language.
Yet another thing some Cadillac commentators took for granted:
“Art and Science is getting stale.”
Yet look at what’s replacing it: The CT5 and XT6. Arguably the worst Cadillac designs since Irv Rybicki’s in the 80s.
This is a darn shame. I currently have a 2017 CT6 Luxury 3.0 TT. It is by far my favorite car in the past 15 years and I’ve had lots of different vehicles including: Mercedes ML63 AMG; Lexus ES (2); Infiniti M45 Sport V8; Mercedes C350; 2-CTS’ (2011 & 2014); 2014 Impala and a 2017 LaCrosse.
I’m a sedan buyer and don’t really want any part of an SUV. Every soccer mom in my neighborhood has an Escalade, Tahoe, Yukon or some other bland, boring SUV/CUV. None of the other vehicles I’ve owned can match the ride of the CT6.
“I’m a sedan buyer and don’t really want any part of an SUV. Every soccer mom in my neighborhood has an Escalade, Tahoe, Yukon or some other bland, boring SUV/CUV. None of the other vehicles I’ve owned can match the ride of the CT6.”
That’s the thing. Along with the cancellation of the Buick Regal and Chevy Impala, as well as other sedans, GM now relies on a CUV/SUV-heavy lineup. They’re not even the good kind.
The bulk of GM now caters to that soccer mom clientele; the opposite of young trendsetters.
Until now, GM sedans were the only real differentiators for GM’s core brand lineups. Pickup trucks and Corvettes don’t count.
These CUVs and SUVs are even less differentiated than GM sedans during the pre-bankruptcy era. At least back then GMC was the truck brand.
Almost all GM CUVs are some variation of Gamma, VSS-F, E2XX, or the ubiquitous C1XX.
None are very engaging to drive.
None offer anything bigger than the same naturally aspirated V6 mated to that darn 9 speed automatic.
This is nothing if not incompetence. Mary Barra… is incompetent. Her team is incompetent… This Omega Platform is insane and without question the best vehicle GM has ever built. (including the mid-engine Vette as mid-engine technology has been out there for decades).
I can go on about what they should have done, etc… but this is simply typical GM… abandon markets. They don’t know how to compete and are fraggin quitters. While Hyundai/Kia/Genesis double down on what might be a declining market with fantastic new products that offer extraordinary value GM abandons markets. Whats so tragic is the markets where they remain, they field vehicles that are not compelling. GM leads NO where… they consistently underwhelm and lead in zero categories, except ones they make up.
I think I am probably done on this site as Cadillac is dying a miserable death and it’s frustrating. The XT4 is junk, the XT5 is off 18%, the XT6 was outclassed and rendered irrelevant before it was even on the market. The CT4/5 are confused and the Escalade… I predict the new E is going to under whelm as well. GM offers pathetic value and again… it’s frustrating, NOTHING changes… BTW: the Blackwing and the Omega Platform I predict die with the CT6, GM is just too cheap to keep it. They’re pathetic in showcasing the finest engineering, styling, quality, and value in the world. While other vehicle mfr’ s commit and want to increase market share, GM is just full of quitters, its un-American how they embarrass the nation with such poor decision making.
The electric future GM envisions will be full of hard plastic, crappy “jet black” interiors and poor value. This company is run by arrogant morons….
I couldn’t agree more. You’ve got it right. I think GM should have never been bailed out or at the very least all of GM’s lifers like Mary Barra and Mark Ruess should have been fired. The most foolish part of the bailout was to put members of the same team who’d run the company into the ground back in charge. What do we have? More failure. Contrast that to Chrysler that got new leadership from outside and has gained market share while GM is still in decline.
Mary barra and mark ruess should have been let go period.
Just another sad day at Cadillac.
So really nothing new !
CT6 BEV.
Watch them kill the CT4 & 5 next.
Cadillac’s last opportunity to get back to relevancy is for someone to buy them from GM. Geely got the vision and capital to turn Cadillac’s luck around.
100 percent right. That’s the only hope they have. I hope it isn’t a Chinese company but even FCA would be an improvement. Imagine what BMW could do. They took Rolls Royce from the brink of extinction back to being the purveyors of the most esteemed cars in the world. I think pretty much anyone would be an improvement over Mary Barra and GM.
“I think pretty much anyone would be an improvement over Mary Barra and GM.”
Ain’t that the truth.
I agree that GM is behaving in a defeatist manner.
Toyota Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen will continue to build great sedans and they are eating GM’s lunch.
GM is fantasizing about success with electric cars in the future.
They are jumping on a bandwagon without realizing that the public is not really ready for mass consumption of electrics.
Electric cars are still in an early phase of development and there is much to be accomplished.
The EV/car/SUV needs to have a range of over 300 miles and it needs to be possible to recharge any electric car at any gas station within 10 minutes in order to make this truly acceptable by most people.
I hope they do, they’re both mediocre and compromised products that will also fail to attract customers……
From the outside looking in, you gotta worry about the fate of the CT4/CT5. They seem to be taking forever to hit the market and I worry the Blackhawk V editions might follow the CT6-V in being DOA.
Geely would be a massive improvement over Barra and Ruess. A 10 year old could run this company better
Cadillac’s best car, probably, ever. GM says they’re killing it, then back off, then sales nosedive (who’s paying a premium for a soon to be discontinued model), then they kill it again because it’s not selling. No foresight on GM’s part. Self-inflicted wounds, again and again.
I know I’ve said this before, but chancing sounding like a broken record, I so hope they retooled Lansing during the CT4/CT5 retool to also build this thing. Would help justify operating a plant of three current low-volume vehicles. I agree with earlier comments, I’d argue that the 2019+ CT6’s are the best cars Cadillac has built in the last 50 years, full stop. What a crying shame if Barra and the Bean Counter Cult she’s surrounded by kill off one of their best efforts in decades. How stupid can you be.
If they’d done that they would have already announced it. I think it’s safe to say LGR is not going to be building any CT6s.
Instead, i imagine if a trade deal is reached with China that eliminates punitive tariffs, GM could bring the car back as a Chinese import; Carlisle basically said that was a possibility. I think right now though, politically, GM cannot announce that they’ve laid off Americans working in struggling Detroit and effectively given their jobs building Cadillac’s flagship to workers in China. Plus, not knowing the tariff situation, they can’t make a public commitment to that plan.
Personally although I’d love to see the car continue, I think GM is foolish to think they can source it in China and US consumers will buy it. The Envision was a flop largely because of its Chinese origins and that situation has only become more toxic recently. Although that may have been the plan, and may still be the plan, I don’t see that option as a viable way to save Cadillac’s best product in 40 years from execution.
VSS-R/BEV3.
Anyone buy one of these in the last 2-3 years?
Wanting to buy does not count.
The numbers are just not sustainable.
This car just had too many cooks. It started under a Mark and the board direction. Went to JDN who tried to fix it but never got it all done. Now it is back to another board chosen divisions puppet to kill it.
C8.R,
Your comment is the trouble with the GM sedans !!
You see there are ALOT of sedans sold in the USA, just NOT GM sedans !!!!
Why, because AGAIN they are NOT what the customer wants !!!
I am so, so sorry you don’t see it !!
I REALLY WANTED a Cadillac XT4, was WAITING in line CASH in hand !!
Did I buy one ————– NO ——- NO I did NOT——– I DID NOT !!!!
WHY ?
Because I did NOT want a FWD 2.0T vehicle from Cadillac !!!
I would buy this very CT6 if it was the size of the CT5, CT6 interior, 3.0TT or 2.7T.
However I will NOT buy this CT6, its to big, and will NOT buy the CT5 because its just to cheapened out and do not care for the interior over the CT6.
This CT6 failed do to GM and the introduction of it with a 2.0T and a junk GM 8 speed transmission.
This vehicle DID NOT fail because customers did not want one.
The customers bought something ELSE !!!!!!!
Cadillac is just done as a GM brand —- The to high priced cheap EV that are to late to market , is to late !!!!
Please GM, just sell the Cadillac name to a company with forward thinking customer focused vision !!!
Yes, I leased one and want another one with the 3.0TT. Of course they killed that for 2020, but the lease isn’t up until September.
VSS-R/BEV3 that’s these fix.
Mary Bara what goof man like this car if given more time could have really taken off. It has the looks and handling. The CT6 is by far the best looking cadillac in the line up. Ive seen a couple on the roads and man they stand out. What shame the heads at GM need to be fired starting with Mary Bara boy what an idiot. Ive seen the XT6 and that is the item cadillac should have cut from the line up hideous.
For a company that claim to be budget conscious they sure know how to waste money. The spend billion to redesign the CT6 and develop a new V8 Then turn around and cancel them. They get my vote for the dumb move trophy.
@VCAT
Totally in agreement with the intent of your post/comment. However keep in mind that for GM and Cadillac, the U.S. market is secondary to the China market. So GM will recoup its investment in the Omega platform because of sales in China.
Ps. The CT6 is a new design; not a ‘redesign’. Either way it’s a loss for us.
Sorry to say, but it just didn’t sell well enough. There is no way GM is going to continue devoting an entire factory floor to a vehicle that only sells 5000 units a year. All current Cadillac products are placeholders. Yes its sad. But why don’t we show a little enthusiasm for them trying to turn Cadillac around amidst a massive technological shift. We may get some great performance EVs yet. Impossible expectations always lead to disappointment. Lets temper our expectations and just hope they release something good. They’ve done it multiple times in the recent past and they’ll do it again. I fully believe Cadillac can create a series of electric vehicles that are more fun to drive, more stylish, and more compelling than Tesla, mustang mach-E, or any of the europeans.
Bye bye Cadillac! Rest in Peace 1902 – 2020.
Condolences from Europe. It was a beautiful car.
I don’t necessarily blame Europe here.
Sure the Europeans took this market from GM.
And the Asians have taken the rest of the sedan market from GM !!
But like I have said, these vehicles are NOT going away !!!
Look at the numbers of sedans sold just in the US !!!
The boomers took the GM sedan away !!!
Stock dividends for example !!
Greed !!!
Profit above all else !!!
A wealthy boomer in the US drives Mercedes, BMW, Audi Not Cadillac !!
Yet they want the dividend check, from GM to pay for their Mercedes etc.
How much did GM pay out in dividends in a year ?
1 in every 3 years not paid out and reinvested in the sedan, these vehicles this would be a non issue !!!
GMs debt to equity ratio is huge, yet skimp on product and pay dividend, ? ???
Its like a trucker not buying tires and paying for his truck in stead !!!!
GM needs to just drop dead quit with the slow bleeding !!
Cut the union !!
Go broke again or I guess still are but whatever !!
GM is NOT going to win at the EV market overnight. GM does not know how to win !!
Mary is quoted as saying something like ” give GM a level playing field and GM will compete and win ”
When has that ever been true ? in 1957 ?
GM has had the same opportunities as any automaker, even greater if you figure government contracts, the chicken tax tariff on the US trucks, and the US taxpayer bailout, yet when is the last time GM has been competitive ??
Mini-van — NOPE.
SEDAN — NOPE.
LUXURY ____ NOPE.
GM competes on a truck and a grocery getter vehicle. That’s it.
Why ?
GM takes to much profit per year out for the donothingers !!!! People who do nothing towards GMs profit !!!
But you keep going trying to compete making the cheapest version of a vehicle and trying to sell it along side of real value !!!
I just don’t get it !!
Any good business leader would tell you, if you have a product of value, you will sell more than you can make !!!
GM can you make the 6.2 – 10 speed, GMC, AT4, fast enough ?
Do you wish you had more on the lots ?
Or even the GMC AT4 HD ?
Yet you cant figure out why a $80,000 Cadillac with a 2.0T 8 speed junk transmission, would not sell !!
WOW !!
BLAME, Lets blame it on the Europeans, or Asians !!!
Opinion !
Because one model got cancelled?, Lincoln has a great sedan line…uh um. I don’t like the CT6 leaving the US but sedans isn’t keeping Caddy alive, be thankful you can buy a new Cadillac sedan beyond 2021 as the CUVs and Escalade keeping things afloat. Who knows?, a flagship may return with an EV structure in mind as Omega can’t support an EV drivetrain.
I’m gonna play devil’s advocate here and say that the fault lies almost solely on the shoulders of today’s market!! I find it very frustrating to see people constantly giving in to the need to “sit higher for better visibility” and “have more versatility” that rarely gets used! Today’s taste in vehicles has utterly soured, and it’s costing us great sedans like the CT6!! Personally, I’d rather have an SUV/CUV be a secondary vehicle, used to haul the family and things around when needed! But I prefer a powerful, stylish, good-handling and comfortable sedan (or coupe) to be a personal/daily driver! I was raised in a household of 11 and this is how my father got around: he used the Chevy Beauville Passenger Van to haul us to school, church and around town, but had a Caprice as his daily driver! And he bought our mother a Mazda 626 as her personal driver!
Now I understand that the fuel economy, and even performance gap between SUVs and sedans has significantly dwindled thanks to better powertrain tech and engineering, but to see the option of a compelling sedan be taken away is frustrating to say the least! I feel manufacturers are intentionally handicapping sedans and coupes in favor of these SUV/CUV models! Offering the same powertrain and tech packages in both vehicle types, but charging more for SUV/CUV models because the market is sweeping them up without a second thought!!
IMO some of the problems that caused the demise of the CT6 ( other than the less than top tier interior, lack of promotions and less than stellar quality) was the last of foresight in designing a classic that could accommodate more than one vehicle.
To spend millions to design a chassis for a single vehicle is ridiculous in today market. The omega classic should have been designed to accommodate Sedans,coupes,and SUV’S. There should have been a XT6 and a XT7 built on the omega classic to slot between the XT5 and the Escalade.
That way they could have spread the cost and let the profits from the SUV’S carry the CT6. Cadillac without a large sedan is just not Cadillac to me. The new sedans they just brought out is unimpressive so I suspect they won’t last long in the Cadillac corral. The you have Cadillac with no sedans. That will be a sad day in Mudville.
Look at Genesis the currently have 3 sedans parent company Hyundai. With the G70 the are competing and able to offer a product that is compelling in the shrinking luxury sedan market. Why is this so difficult for Cadillac? We must keep in mind that we are all enthusiast and Mary Barra s obligation is to the stock holders which I understand. Cadillac is bigger then the Person at the top. When GM understands this they will make better choices.
people forget that “sedans” were not always a thing. Even in the early 1900s the most popular passenger cars were crossovers, i.e. cars with an A, B, and C pillar.
I’m not sure how the “sedan” got elevated to this priveleged position of being “more of a real car” than a CUV. There is absolutely no mechanical or engineering basis for this distinction.
Would someone mind explaining that for all of us?
Why do you care if the back 3rd of your car is enclosed at the same height as the rest of the roof, vs sloping downward and containing a trunk that is half the height of the car?
Ill take a shot.
Most 50+ consumers grew up on traditional sedans. The top-of-the-line Lincolns and Cadillacs have always been sedans during the formative years of Gen X. In reality, the luxury sedan market is not shrinking. I will never live to see a day where Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW DO NOT offer a sedan or coupe. If you want to be a truly mainstream luxury player, you will have coupes and sedans in your lineup. If Cadillac and even Lincoln for that matter decides to an all SUV/CUV lineup, there days will be numbered.
Right now, Cadillac is sinking into irrelevance. Right now they are being outsold by Tesla and Acura. It seems they are regressing. Aside from the CT4 and CT5, Cadillac is becoming a dolled up version of GM’s lower tiered brands. Heck, even in the 1990s, Cadillac had its own plants, divisional structure, and powertrains.
Regarding the CT6, I think it should have been expanded to a CT7 Coupe, and a CT8 true flagship sedan. However, the lines between Buick and Cadillac are blurring and at which point will Cadillac cease being a standalone dealer network and just lumped in with Buick and GMC?
One thing that is not mentioned here is the Obutt Administration. They manipulated the GM Bankruptcy to ruin the shareholders and benefit the unions. They also installed their own Sr Mgt with Whittaker and then that dolt Dan Akerson. Then they appointed a token lifer to the CEO role… I’ve met MB and she has passion for GM but is a lifer, and her father was a lifer. However passion doesnt save a company good decision making does… I cant think of one good decision… perhaps the ME Vette?
She was given a shiny new company with zero debt and a bright future and they’ve absolutly nothing to move this company. (No one cares about the EV’s that have yet to materialize ( but we have Tesla’s, we have Porsche Taycan, the new Mach E has been introduced)) So where are the spectacular new EV’s from GM??????
The American Auto industry has also been bankrupted by the UAW. These companies MUST have the flexiblity to do whatever THEY need to do… regardless of the work force. I am not anti-employee but the employees, in a global economy, cannot tell the company what to do, they must respond to the leadership. This strike was unnecessary and cost the company a ton of money. The legacy costs of pensions, healthcare, work-banks, over the decades was massively destructive, then the bankruptcy and ObuttFace. The employees must find something else to do vs destroying the company and extorting resources. It would be in their own best interests to control their own lives and destinys. Move, become electricians, join the Marines, go to college….millions of others do it every year. Start now!
OK xjug, I’ll bite –
Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame,
It is a boomer stronghold.
I am NOT a union person, dislike unions, but I dislike the boomer pig corporation of the USA also.
I will just ask you a couple questions, please try to answer one or more:
Who is in charge at GM – Union or Board of directors ( Mary ) ?
Who decides what to make ?
Who decides where to make it ?
who decides what it costs ?
What is the union in charge of ?
This is just another spot for GM to place blame for their failures.
GM is in charge here – GET RID OF THE UNIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
GM is in charge here – MAKE A VEHICLE PEOPLE WANT !!!!!!!
But you see xjug, the banker/shareholder is the ones really in charge at GM.
Mary is just the last GM lifer that the banker/shareholder paid to be the puppet !!
You blame whoever you want ! But ask yourself WHO has the power to decide ? For sure not the union worker !!
And if every person went to school and became a doctor and lawyer, and above, where does that leave us in the US ? Who will make the vehicles for the GM banker/shareholder then?
Are you going to open the boarders for workers ? Haul slaves in from another country AGAIN ?
Legacy costs – who made those decisions – the unions – or GM ?
Pensions – Who gave those the ok ?
Healthcare – who agreed to pay that ?
Will I will tell you who did – – – Who made every one of those decisions – – –
A BOOMER !!!!!!!
Kick the can down the road then :
Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame, Blame,
Just my opinion
But you keep blaming those who have ABSOUTLY ZERO POWER TO MAKE THE VERY DECISIONS YOU PLACE THE BLAME ON !!!
I’m not placing “blame” but presenting “facts” on major issues that brought a once great and massive company to the ruin it currently is. Legacy costs brought GM to bankruptcy. The 70s-90’s were when “cost cutting” took over. GM started to lose market share because it could not build competitive cars and make money. So it built crappy cars, made some money but lost share. Bankruptcy was inevitable. Was there bad decision making in the Leadership yes primarily in UAW negotiations, for sure as terms have changed and job banks etc don’t exist any longer. Recall there was at one time what nearly 200k union employees at GM and now there are 46k. Peak union jobs were what almost a million at the big 3? How much does each cost and you’ll see why they’ve move as much as possible out of the USA to get rid of the union. Only Ford, GM & FCA have to deal with this BS and they’re the Americans who are in trouble.
But the union put GMs head in the noose and if employees won’t work, they cannot be replaced and cars don’t get built what are the alternatives?
Step in Liberal DemonRats who hate capitalism and the manipulation of the bankruptcy and installation of people hand picked for the next chapter! This is the current GM and it’s not going to end well!
Yet when the UAW had 1 million members, the Big Three had 80 percent market share….
Don’t disagree that the government is partly to blame here. But hard to cast the blame on any administration when GM was the one who came begging for a bailout.
In hindsight, GM was in the midst of righting itself product-wise with Bob Lutz disrupting the old culture and rolling out new competitive product when the bankruptcy occurred. By 2009, there was a big improvement at GM in interiors, overall vehicle build quality and relevance versus 5 years prior. Truth of the matter was we would have seen an ME Corvette much sooner and other exciting vehicles had GM figured out a way to recover on its own like Ford. Instead we got Government Motors.
The management team the government installed did nothing more than leverage pieces of the product pipeline prior to bankruptcy and try to squeeze as much profit out of the existing vehicles as possible. The result is obvious now that GM lacks a single class leading vehicle (aside from maybe Corvette) and any exciting future vehicles. The drawings of future electric Cadillacs are ridiculous while other automakers are rolling out real vehicles. Cadillacs SUVs are a bunch of rebadged Chevrolets. Once electric pickups and SUVs become common, GM will find itself back to irrelevancy.
Oddly, the current administration takes offense when GM shuts down plants and does layoffs – but that is the price of irrelevancy.
By continuing to slash and burn their product, GM will likely be out of the business of selling vehicles soon.
Perhaps for the moment GM is staying silent about whether another plant (Lansing River) will take over production of the CT6.
Whatever Person, PR Firm or Entity that handles it’s communications should be terminated right away. At the very least, the memo about the CT6 should’ve concluded and been distributed with something to the effect of further possibilities for continued production in the U.S. are being explored.
I wonder if people will buy the CT6 if its imported from China and their reasons for answering either yes or no.
I would NEVER even consider a CT6 made in China. Cadillac was always the “American Standard for the World.” Ask yourself: Where is Lexus’ flagship car made? BMW’s? Mercedes’?
The CT6 was supposed to be the flagship model of an AMERICAN luxury automaker. I will buy a Benz S class or BMW 7 Series before I buy a Cadillac made in China. If I have to spend $70+ on a luxury sedan, you best be sure it will not be from China.
It’s very unfortunate.
GM is hobbling like a wounded soldier.
It’s image damaged by bankruptcy.
Cadillac is dumbing down their V-series.
And killing off the CT6. That move alone is creating uncertainty for the brand.
Zero performance SUVs in their lineup.
Running in fear from irrelevancy.
Fantasizing about electric cars selling like hotcakes.
Wounded by losses of sales of sedans due to competitors like Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen.
Now even their once lucrative pickup trucks are under assault by looming competition – future electric trucks are on the horizon.
GM management is praying that this is a bad dream that they will wake up from.
Doesn’t look that way.
ah, its good to see the doom and gloom is still alive and well. It’s rather comical, how GM is portrayed by various people. If you knew even a single thing about the larger economy, you’d realize perfectly well what is happening.
this is a good review for those interested, though from the hyperbolic type of posting I see here usually, I doubt most of them “read” much.
https://www.epi.org/publication/the-decline-and-resurgence-of-the-u-s-auto-industry/
In short, GM was stuck with an “everything for everybody” business model with very high market share, going back to the 50’s-60’s. 1 in 2 cars in the USA was manufactured by GM, under a dizzying list of sub-brands. GM tried to export that strategy when they globalized as well. But then, the oil crises, market swings, various recessions, free trade and globalization. It became evident that GM could not run a world empire with 50% market share, when every vehicle had a different platform, different supply chain, etc. Their quality suffered, the japanese invaded and Toyota/Honda reaped the benefits from the 80’s/90’s onward. Since then, it has been a long slow march back toward quality, made extremely difficult by the fact that under NAFTA, foreign automakers liberally opened operations in US and Mexico. They were unsaddled with a legacy of union workers and pensions. So GM, admittedly due to their own hubris in the prior 50 years, was so large and complex, with such a dizzying array of production operations spread all over, well, everywhere, it was basically a setup to fail. Think the opposite of “too big to fail.” More like “so big and complicated, virtually guaranteed to fail when economic conditions conspired.”
So, today we have a GM that is much smaller, with much less market share than before. However, read the article. The company itself, is in the best shape it has ever been in. And the quality of their vehicles is also the best it has ever been. The doom and gloom is simply not accurate. More an emotional reaction from particular people who have a certain, simplistic view of economics and politics gleaned mostly from the major media.
Equinox sales are incredibly good and its a very good car. I’m a car guy. I own one. It’s a great car.
C8 Corvette is coming and they will sell every one they can build.
When you combine GMC and Chevrolet, plus fleet sales and commercial, GM sells more trucks than any other manufacturer. They are still #1, and the only way the competition can make it “look” any different is to fudge numbers. Ford lumps all F-series pickups and then compares that just to light duty 1500 GM trucks and claims they are the #1 selling brand. Except they aren’t. FCA just straight up fudges their sales data, includes legacy models in sales data, etc. The bottom line is that GM, is #1 in truck sales. And thats basically not refutable unless you fudge numbers or are just an idiot, or a liar.
Electric trucks are coming and will definitely undercut the competition and gain market share rapidly when they finally come out.
So, again, the doom and gloom is comical. GM “hobbling like an injured soldier”. Tell me, what do you know about the auto industry? Probably nothing more than what you might read on google news headlines. Hilarious. Go read something!
I imagine you’d also say IBM is in the best shape it’s ever been.
@N400
Careful what you think and say about IBM ….
I’m an IBM baby from Chicago !!!
You are clueless. Most anything that has computing ability that’s IBM… not?
At the peak of the tech bubble, IBM was valued at about $120B. Today, it’s market cap is $118B – flat, if you don’t account for inflation. Apple, one the other hand, was valued at about $18B at the same peak, while today it’s market cap is $1.2T – an increase of almost 70 times.
IBM may well be in the guts of a lot of important equipment out there, but they have lost market share in the tech world (that they once owned).
Ironically, as of today, GM stock is up 3.7% in the nearly 10 years since their restructuring following the collapse. Over that same period, Toyota has nearly doubled, and the DOW Industrials have more than doubled.
The future is not bright at GM. And, although I believe you intended the IBM analogy in a positive light, I believe it’s accurate – but in the worst possible way.
I meant the IBM analogy in the most obvious way.
Revenues moving sideways and downward. https://www.statista.com/statistics/269137/ibms-revenue-since-2009-by-quarter/
Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon have all zoomed by.
Still profitable, stock buybacks to boost EPS — so don’t worry about your job Scott. At least no one ever gets fired for choosing IBM…
i would definitely say that, if IBM had just come out with the best value supercomputer in the world that was attainable by the average family, sold every one of those computers they would make this coming year already, if IBM was the number one manufacturer of powerful home desktop PCs in the 1000-1500 dollar market, and if they just announced a multi billion dollar new manufacturing facility with one of their suppliers. Yes I would say that.
I don’t exactly see how GM is all that to the auto industry. Maybe GM needs to clue us in on their roadmap for the next 10 years so we can all be as bullish as you.
All I see are products withering away and disappearing, product interiors declining to worst in class, and volume from fleet vehicles.
Maybe this site that caters to GM enthusiasts is the problem, because GM has moved away from catering to enthusiasts. Maybe GM is doing very well as a fleet and parts supplier.
I only visit this site hoping to see something interesting and unique from Cadillac — as an owner. Needless to say, it’s been a while…
Brian,
Even you knowledge of tech is off.
None of tech giants make their money off selling an average computer to the masses !!!
It is tech, the make their money off of what people want !!
Advertising from what people want !!
Look at Microsoft, they just got a how many billion or trillion from the US pentagon ?
And not selling them a personal computer !!
Tech companies are making money off VALUE !!!!
Tech companies are making money off what people want ( services ).
Both are things GM used to be the best at when they were the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world !!!!
Now GM offers poor ” Good Enough ” VALUE !!
And the WORST ( services ) in the industry !!!
And the two MAIN indicators show it STOCK PRICE ——— MARKET SHARE.
While they have been able to downsize and cash flow the stock price flat yet from bankruptcy, they can NOT control the customer, and because of this their market share continues to slide !!
ABSOUTLY EVERY US business that has lost its share of the US market is now GONE !!
At every level of the business size, from the small town grocery to the once huge Sears. First thing is the market share slides, why? because you no longer offer what most people want !!!!
But I’m sure the EV and the self driving tech will save GM, no I’m not sure it will , why, because I’m not sure most customers want them yet !!
Sure Tesla customers want EVs But do GM customers want EVs ?
And unless a government mandates self driving, are there GM customers who want that ?
But its just my opinion as I watch another once beloved US business close the doors every day !!
GM is not producing their best quality ever. The two GM vehicles I have are the worst quality I’ve experienced since the 80’s. Even worse, the dealers I’ve worked with on warranty claims and post-warranty repairs acknowledge the issues I’m experiencing are common AND that GM doesn’t have adequate solutions for complete resolutions. Literally, for the first time in my life, I’m meaningfully shopping the competition and won’t buy a GM product next time. I realize that my bi-annual purchases don’t register on GM’s radar, but I’ll be one of the reasons GM market share shrinks further next year. As to the electrification angle, if GM can’t get a petro-burner right, after over a hundred years of practice, how can I trust them with $60k of my money on all-new technology??
Hey Brian,
I think Tesla is a more valuable company than GM now isn’t it ?
Did you know GM was going to go bankrupt last time ?
Sears ?
JC Penny ?
How about Boeings value ?
IBM ?
And AGAIN I could go on !!!
No, Nobody comes out and gives one a calendar marked weekly as to when bankruptcy is happening !!
Its called marketing, and they sure got you and C8.R with their message !!
Like I have said before GM does sell more trucks for instance and just a lot of vehicles in general !
But its CASH FLOW, do you understand the difference in making money and cash flow ?
Let me help you. Cash flow – if you make one cent more than expenses – today, you are OK.
I don’t care if you sell 300 BILLION whatever, and make 300 BILLION dollars – if it takes 300 BILLION to do it, you are at ZERO !!!!!
Do you know how much GM has borrowed ?
How about stock shares out ?
When GM top has the cash of sales, they have to decide who gets a piece of that pie. Dividend, product investment, pay some to the outstanding loans, union employees, GM employees, at the end of the day, ZERO !
OK so that’s OK, but is it ? If you have paid to much to the stockholder and shorted the product —- LIKE NOW — you loose market share – OK ! If you short the stockholder in favor of the product, the stockholder will look for more value in stocks – you are done because your stocks are sold to broke AGAIN ! You short the banker in favor of the stockholder and product, you are — done !!! as the bank wants their money !!!
But remember !!!!!!!
When you short the product because you have no choice but to flow cash, you are loosing the only thing that pays them all —-
THE CUSTOMER!!!!!!
And GM has been slowly loosing the CUSTOMER in favor of the above $$$$$ for decades now !!
Step in China, if GM did not have China again, my opinion is they would be done already !!!
Their US stock gain in relation to the overall market is half and if you picked good stocks its not even close!!!
But Brian you be you and just keep believing what you read written by the very brainwashers in charge !!
Do some research all around !!!
Get out and drive some competition !!!
Go to the competition dealerships, talk to the customers their !!!!!!
GM is NOT that great any longer !!!!
But you get an opinion ——– but so do I —- and this is my opinion !!!!
Hi Brian,
I sincerely appreciate your point of view.
You have clarified many of my concerns about the current status of GM within the Auto industry.
I see your point regarding GM’s market share with regard to Truck Sales. I hope they remain number one.
Please help me to understand a few things:
I am looking at the company as a consumer — looking for greater choice in performance SUVs and crossovers that compete against BMW Audi and Mercedes. I see none.
I would like to stay inside the GM fold because I like the features and switchgear of the interiors.
Why are they unclear about the future of the CT6?
It’s unfortunate that they plan to kill the Camaro.
I would love to have a C8 Corvette in the future.
I would prefer that once they start offering electric vehicles that they be made with a range of a 300 miles and also can be charged at any gas station in under 10 minutes. (I hope that’s not too much to ask)
Thanks
Performance SUVs–glad you like them, but they are a niche vehicle. Maybe not on automotive enthusiast websites, but in the real world, they do not sell in high volumes. Most people are not looking to combine their performance car and their kid hauler. For example, I have an equinox. I also have a Camaro. I don’t need my Equinox to be a Camaro, nor do I want it to be. However, the fact that my equinox has an LTG turbo 4 cylinder is pretty fun. It ain’t a Camaro though. GM has a lot of customers like me. People who have say…a suburban for the family, and then when dad retires he gets a corvette. In reality people who love performance end up with a dedicated fun car. GM knows that, and thats why they make the Camaro and Corvette. Also, I suspect that their lack of performance oriented CUVs has more to do with their patience in waiting for electrification, rather than some wrongheaded business decision. I bet when we see battery tech mature, we will see some performance CUVs.
Why are they unclear about the future of the CT6? Because everything is up in the air. And barely anyone is buying them. Camaro is not being killed. Go back and read the Alex Luft piece on GMA about plans for 7th gen Camaro. It’s almost certainly going to be electric and come out around 2025.
Look, there are lots of auto manufacturers. And lots of good cars out there. GM has its niches. They’ll never have 50% market share again, and that is a GOOD thing. At the end of the day, they are going to build what people buy. Right now that isn’t the CT6, in the USA. Look at China…they still get the CT6 because Chinese people BUY THE CT6. All the people in here complaining, how many of them do you think would actually walk into a Cadillac dealer and walk out with the keys to a CT6. Barely any of them. They live in this fantasy world where they derive some kind of weird satisfaction from seeing GM build ultra high cost sedans, but they don’t buy them.
The only story here is that its your own fault the CT6 is staying in China.
Brian, I can only speak for myself here so here it goes again.
I DO NOT WANT A PREFORMANCE MID-SIZED SUV !!!!!!
DID YOU HEAR THAT !!
I DO NOT WANT A PREFORMANCE CADILLAC !!!!!
OK !! Can you understand, when you people are talking performance you are talking like scott3 – aka – C8.R – Mark Reuss PREFORMANCE. You are talking a 6.2 in a Camaro, Corvette ETC.
I however am NOT talking performance here or ANYWHERE on ANY GM site !!!!
I am talking BETTER than a DUD !!!
Better than the competition !!!!
Better than the average GM blah ” Good Enough ”
A 2.0T 8 speed in a vehicle the size of a CT6 when loaded with people on a trip is a DUD !!!
A 3.6 v6 in the XT6 loaded with people to GM spec is a DUD !!!
AND SO ON !!!!
I am NOT saying you have to buy one !!
If you want your equinox fine !!
All I am saying is why would anyone buy a Cadillac when they can buy the same thing in a Chevrolet for less ?
And AGAIN see if you can pick this up, I do NOT want a performance racing mid-sized SUV or mid-sized truck !!
I want one that is better than the competition and better than a DUD !!
For MOST GM mid-sized this combo would be the 3.0TT or better yet 2.7T with a ten speed !!
And GM already has it !!!
I am NOT asking for a Blackwing TT V8 in every mid-sized GM vehicle here !!
The cost of making a 2.0T and a 2.7T can NOT be that different !!
This is NOT a niche super car !!
This is GM being the once great GM and making ONE f u c k I n g vehicle better than a DUD !!!
What cant you understand here ?
Why is this so hard !
There is NO added cost here !!
GM just does not make a midsized vehicle that can handle 100 ftlb more torque, they are to CHEAP !!
In my opinion !!
Brian,
With all due respect, it is not my fault the CT6 isn’t selling. It’s GM’s fault.
Granted, the market for luxury sedans in the US is contracting but there is still a market for these products and GM’s competitors are not canceling their entries. In typical GM fashion, they develop a product like the CT6 and do many things right but then also do many things wrong. They launched the car half-baked with a cheap interior and two parts bin engines; a 2.0 liter Turbo, and a 3.6 liter NA V-6. Neither engine was appropriate for the car and the interior was shockingly poor for Cadillac’s flagship offering. Then they spent essentially zero dollars advertising the product. Due to these shortcomings, the car received ho-hum reviews and never reached its full potential. GM then cancels it citing poor sales. Ironically, not before fixing one of its chief deficiencies. The Blackwing addressed the most glaring shortcoming but the car was already dead before cars with that engine even began to ship.
CT6 is a tragedy. It is a beautiful car. The best looking Cadillac in 40 years with wonderful proportions and, very importantly, it is a full size RWD sedan in the grand tradition of the brand. BMW built their reputation on the canyon carving, nimble little 3 Series. Cadillac built theirs with the boulevard cruising, supremely comfortable deVille and Fleetwood. What would BMW be without its iconic 3? No matter how many X5s they might sell, BMW without their quintessential car would be a brand that’d lost its identity. Cadillac for far too long made do without their archetypal product but it returned with the CT6. Although it had deficiencies, it signaled Cadillac was getting their act together and getting back to what they once did so well. The tragedy is that it must die and leave the brand with nothing but a sea of FWD Chevy based crossovers. Its Cadillac without the essence of their being.
And the entire tragic tale is the fault of General Motors, not the consumers who rightfully saw the CT6 as not yet the completed realization of its mission. I have to wonder what might’ve become of the CT6 if it’d launched with the 4.0 TT V-6, a world class interior and all the fanfare it should’ve been met with. Again, all of that is on GM, on Mary Barra, and on Mark Ruess. It’s not on me.
Brian
Thanks for addressing my questions.
Lets get one thing straight here! The failure of the CT6 is nobody’s fault other than GM’s. I don’t see full sized flagships over at Lexus, BMW, Mercedes or even Genesis getting lackluster reviews, spending loads of development money on them and canceling product and never advertising there vehicles. The CT6 was a great design foiled by GM bean counter incompetence and a leader that is frankly a horse with blinders running aimlessly through a mind field. They are notorious for this. Spend tons of cash. Design a promising nice looking vehicle. Run it through the bean counter office. Introduce this great vehicle with lackluster old engine designs or outdated transmissions, an uncompetitive interior, terrible packaging, lack of options people want and then cry and moan when sales fall well below expectations. Then comes the cancelation notice. Rinse repeat. And they honestly have the balls to think people will embrace there all electric self driving future with open arms.
Luxury sedans (full-size and otherwise) ARE selling in the US – they just don’t have the Cadillac crest on them. Too bad the circular firing squad that makes up GM’s Board hasn’t been able to figure out why. Luxury sedan buyers are and have been turning away from Cadillac for years. Cadillac’s competitors polish a design incrementally over successive generations of a model; Cadillac can’t even stick with a naming convention.
Instead, Cadillac will force EV’s on its customers in an attempt to boost company profits with vehicles that are cheaper to build, requiring less parts and labor in an effort to keep up with the rest of the major automotive companies who are also moving in that direction. China will continue to be the brand’s primary focus.
Never thought I’d consider it, but my next full-size sedan will likely be another brand unless I buy a 2019-2020 CT6 CPO since the expected free-fall depreciation of a discontinued model is going to really make them look attractive in the next three years. But after that?