The Cadillac Lyriq is a striking piece of design, catapulting the Cadillac brand into the EV segment with brand-new styling language and features. Notably, the 2023 Cadillac Lyriq is equipped with some rather unconventional door handles, but now, GM Authority has learned that the Lyriq will eventually get a new door handle design.
As it stands now, ingress and egress with the current 2023 Cadillac Lyriq doesn’t actually involve traditional door handles. Rather, passengers that want to climb onboard must press a large button located on the outside of the door. Pressing this button unlatches the door, allowing the passenger to grab a black shark fin located on the outside of the door to swing it open. For the rear doors, passengers must grab the door frame itself to actually swing the door open.
Now, however, per GM Authority sources, these electronic buttons will be replaced by actual door handles, which will deploy when the onboard vehicle systems detect that a key fob is approaching. For example, if the vehicle owner approaches the Cadillac Lyriq with the appropriate key fob in their pocket, the door handles will deploy.
The result is that the Cadillac Lyriq doors will be easier to open, as passengers will have something to hold onto to swing the door open. Meanwhile, the “shark-fins” up front will be removed, as they will no longer be needed to open the door.
As for the timeline for these changes, GM may replace the current Cadillac Lyriq door handles as early as the 2024 model year.
Once passengers get inside the Cadillac Lyriq, they are met with a host of luxury and technology features, with highlights that include a large 33-inch curved LED screen that stretches across the dash, high-end soft-touch materials, and plenty of space.
Motivation is sourced from a single rear-mounted electric motor, which is rated at 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, with the upcoming Lyriq Luxury AWD upping output to more than 500 pound-feet of torque thanks to the addition of a second electric motor. Under the skin is the GM BEV3 platform, while production takes place at the GM Spring Hill plant in Tennessee.
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Comments
The new door handle is a copy of the Tesla Model S handle that are troublesome, and have failed . The touch handle is simpler and less troublesome The Ford Mustang Mach-E has it ,too.
I seen an older Continental in a parking lot yesterday that had the handle incorporated into the beltline bright trim that wasn’t much better. Door handle design is difficult to make unique, yet functional.
I have a friend with a Mach E that he took delivery of 4 months ago and is already having issues with the goofy handle on the driver’s side. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Why add unnecessary and needless complication to something that should be simple?
Glad to see GM responding quickly. remember they had to pull this program forward almost a year.
Actually be able to buy most gm cars! Can’t wait to plop down $105,000 for a base Z06 plus markup…..not!
I hope they fired that woke person who designed those stupid shark fin pull handles for only the front doors.
You can tell someone is woke by door handles? Here you go, you dropped this: 🤡
Glad I’m getting an early one! I really hate those door handles that stick out and then retract. The Hyundai ones let everyone know when the car is unlocked!
The current design is fine with me.
If anyone has tried the Mach E doors and actually opened/closed them and you still like that set up, then go with god on that one. I would not buy the car just on that alone. The little fin on the front doors isn’t the worst of it. I could live with those. But that system on the rear doors of this car and the Mach E is just stupid and dangerous for little fingers.
One day I was parking in a mall lot with the S60 and plugging it in to charge when a guy pulled up in a new Mach E. It was a very attractive car. We began to talk and he was very eager to show it off while I was eager to see it. I asked him how the doors opened (I had not seen one before this) and he began to show me. Let’s just say he had a lot of problems with the rear door and by the time he actually got it open for me, I could tell he was frustrated and I would be too. Bottom line: This isn’t that complicated! Just put a normal and well crafted door handle on the car and move on.
Door handles don’t need to be complicated as is. I’m fine with the current door handles with the LYRIQ. But what’s wrong with the current traditional handles currently use on the Escalade and CT5? Is the reason they are not using it on EVs due to aerodynamic reasons?
How could GM screw up a door handle? Let me cite the ways………………………………….. and on. Cars are not “lego” toys, so keep children out of the design room.
They have to make it cool, and Tesla already has the cool door handles.
Of course it’s going to be problematic, but that’s ok, as long as it’s cool.
I thought this was going to say they are making a new front end instead of that cheap crappy plastic one.
How about your iPhone as a Key? Tesla has had this for years. Why even have a clunkey, so yesterday, key fob taking up room in your pocket or purse>
@Guy: This isn’t talking about the key fobs. This is about how you open the door (unlach it) as you get in. The traditional and all around smartest way is to have some type of door handle that you lift, pull, etc. What you are asking is how the vehicle’s doors are unlocked.
I don’t want my phone as a key. I don’t need fancy stupid powered handles motoring out just so they can be flush at other times. I’m not so stupid or lazy that I need everything being done for me. The handle on my Malibu looks great, works great, does the job and if perfect. No need to reinvent the wheel.
The 1969 Grand Prix had unique door handles… that worked. Kind of inexcusable that in 2022, gm has to go back to the drawing board at great expense to re-do something that should’ve never made production to begin with.
I don’t need doors that automatically pop out for me when I walk up with my iPhone or wrist implanted microchip. Luxury is functional design that works intuitively and reliably every time you want to enter the damned car. The obsession with tech has screwed things up so badly that at this point, real luxury is a traditional lock and key.
So let me get this straight :
Caddy cannot design something right the first time, and must redesign something as trivial as the door handles AGAIN..
The ‘white metal’ 1/200 th hp motor worm gear used in the Tesla S breaks at all 4 doors at the first sleet storm of the season.
The other goofy thing nearby is the HUGE SURFACE AREA MOTORIZED charge port that will also likely freeze in February.
Chevy had a solenoid operated lock on the charge port (that was only LOCKED when there was NOTHING TO STEAL – geniuses) on the 2011-12 volts. They spent way too much on recalls and the 2013-19 volts all had a simple click latch – as did my 2014 Caddy ELR.
But GM never learns. But then I guess the Celestiq (at $300K) will mainly appeal to Drug Dealers.
Pointing out a bad idea doesn’t make someone a knucklehead.
@sigmund smith: You really need to chill out some. Allow me to blow your comments apart.
1. What significant “issues” is GM having with this rollout? None that I’ve heard about and in fact they are supposedly ahead of schedule.
2. “Any other EV”: Really? Bolt and Bolt EUV? Hummer EV? And this is being rolled out as we speak.
3. Hefty dealers added surcharge: Maybe you live under a rock? The entire industry is in the same boat with the same lack of cars available. Surcharges are (unfortunately) a way of business for now. Have you been to a Toyota store and seen the massive markups on those turds? Some as high as $10,000 just for the “pleasure” of buying a Rav4 hybrid? What a joke. So the fact that this Lyriq is showing to be so popular and people actually want them, thus a premium price, says in your eyes that it’s a failure?
Sounds to me like you are just another anti-GM person trolling this site.
I’m normally quite pro GM and am quite satisfied with the features and performance of the two Chevys, one EV and one ICE, in our garage.
But I have to question how things like those Lyriq door handles ever got into production on a vehicle to crucial to GM’s future.
What is the price on this thing? Is it also 300k?
Thanks for sharing this quality information with us. I like this information.
Looks like they are taking lessons from the custom car industry. These look very close to the Kindigit Designs door handles that they use on most of their custom car builds. They are also sold to other car builders.