While some new car owners don’t hesitate to customize their ride with a wild set of rollers painted some flamboyant neon hue, this particular Cadillac CT4-V is not one of those vehicles. In fact, these outrageously red Cadillac wheels are exactly as they were from the factory, and for a very good reason.
As it turns out, these Cadillac wheels are simply placeholder units equipped in lieu of the accessory wheels ordered with the vehicle. Alternatively known as transit or processing wheels, the placeholder rollers are swapped out for the accessory units once the vehicle arrives at the dealer, as explained by Cadillac spokesperson Stefan Cross in a recent interview with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
According to Cross, these placeholder Cadillac wheels are equipped at the factory to keep the proper alignment specs while in transit. Once the vehicle arrives at the dealer, the proper accessory wheels are installed, while the transit wheels are then shipped back to the factory, where they are reused on another vehicle ordered with accessory rollers.
As for the bright red color, Cross says that the hue is used to make sure the placeholder Cadillac wheels aren’t accidentally sold to a customer. If, for example, the transit wheels were painted silver, the new vehicle could be driven off without the new accessory wheels installed. Thus, the bright coloring serves as a reminder to install the proper accessory wheels before handing the vehicle over to a customer.
Indeed, of the five different Cadillac wheel designs on offer with the CT4-V, none have the same bright color as these placeholder units. Rather, all five are finished in some shade of silver, gray, or black. Still, it’s interesting to see the sporty Cadillac CT4-V equipped with such an outrageous set of rollers – even if you prefer something from the grayscale.
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This post was created in collaboration with our sister publication, Cadillac Society.
Comments
They are red for the same reason range balls say stolen from….
If painted it is not a set of wheels a dealer can sell cheap like they do with take off wheels now.
Wheels today are a value item and GM wants them back. Even damaged wheels have core charges now.
They’re like hotel towels: the more different they look, the more desirable they are. There’s a whole market out there for the transit wheels they use on trucks. No accounting for taste.
They are red for the same reason range golf balls say stolen from….
If painted it is not a set of wheels a dealer can sell cheap like they do with take off wheels now.
Wheels today are a value item and GM wants them back. Even damaged wheels have core charges now.
Love the look. Beats boring silver and black wheels any day.
Rollers? Does that thing run on steam?
Just put hub caps or wheel covers on them like they used
Next week: an article about the Chevrolet/GMC truck transit wheels.
Were no lower-cost steelies available?
In 20s for a sedan? Besides, they tend to use different lug nuts and the factory doesn’t want to keep track of both.
I suppose the red powder coat helps the dealer not forget to install the option wheels, but the obnoxious hard to remove red coating also makes it harder to fence what should be obviously stolen wheels. The Caddy SUV ships on steel wheels. The option wheels are shipped via a separate delivery mechanism which presumably somehow offers more security than a shipping marshaling yard and delivery convoy truck. I read elsewhere there is a $900 core charge each for the transport wheels, so GM is serious about getting them back.
ut oh look for Caddy owners to bribe the dealer to leave the wheels on… ala Dodge Challenger/ Charger Splitter