Has Cadillac Found Its Flagship?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

The Standard Of The World (so to speak) may have found its long-awaited flagship in China, reports Car and Driver. Dubbed the SLS, this stretched (four inches longer than STS) Sigma platform beast was developed for the Chinese market by Shanghai GM. Previously available only in China and Middle Eastern markets, the SLS is a great excuse for GM to not develop a new flagship. C&D does note that a “reskin” and an LS V8 will make the model distinct to the US market. Meanwhile, the return to bad habits continues across Cadillac’s product planning.

“Gunning For the 3-series In Earnest?” asks C&D in a breathless sub-header. Uh, no. Resurrecting the Alpha-platform dream only serves to cruelly raise the hopes of those who don’t realize that The General has no cash for such frivolities. Instead Caddy is getting a Lexus ES-fighter based on the Epsilon II platform. Just like Buick. Not to put too fine a point on it, but what’s the point of sending two brands after one car (the ES)? Could the overlap be any more glaring here?

Oh, and in case that were’nt enough, an AWD version of the Delta II (Cruze) is being floated. Again. Still. Can you say Cimarron? Even C&D admits that

“such a Cadillac spun off the Delta platform would be awfully close to the BLS—a.k.a. the “Bob Lutz Special”—the infamous first-generation Epsilon derivative that completely bombed in the European market.”

In other “how Fritz Henderson learned to stop worrying and love the rebadge” news, the Cadillac Escalade will become Lambda-based (count ’em!) and a Volt-based Converj will replace the XLR as Cadillac’s “halo car.” First, isn’t the Volt based on the Cruze? Second, isn’t the point of a luxury brand that all your cars are halo cars in some sense? Third

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on Jul 09, 2009

    If there was ever a "Cimarron" in Cadillac's future, it is the Converj. Cadillac buyers don't want a $40/50/60k economy car that requires two fuels and has mediocre performance. Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should.

  • Akear Akear on Jul 09, 2009

    Cadillac was on its way down when they cancelled the Ultra V8 program. The division is headed to mediocrity again. I foresee Cadillac losing a lot of customers to the new Genesis. GM is reverting to its old ways again. However, instead of being large and mediocre they are now smaller but still mediocre. Putting unrefined Chevrolet engines in a Cadillac is a recipe for disaster. Heck, the aging Northstar is a better alternative than this. If Hyundai can design a brand new world-class V8 why can't Cadillac. Are they now even behind Hyundai!!!!

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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