Do you have a truly bespoke pair of shoes, hand-made, to the tune of $1,000? Or a truly bespoke suit, not just one off the plebeian racks of Armani or Ermenegildo Zegna? Watch out, “bespoke” is losing its worth faster than a dollar during the peanut president regime. Oddly, it is Rolls-Royce that is behind that dangerous paradigm down-shift.

According to most dictionaries, from Oxford to Webster, “bespoke” simply stands for “custom, made to order,” something that sounds just right on the shingle of any tailor, whether on Savile Row or in a seedy side street of Kowloon. Now, the meaning of the term “bespoke” is slowly fading into “fancy,” or “high end.” Even in the pages of TTAC, the word “bespoke” has been used to gussy-up a simple top-line Acura.

The forces behind this semantic race to the bottom appear to be aligned with Rolls-Royce.  As anybody in the high-end business knows, a Roller is hardly bought off the rack. Or, in the words of a Roll-Royce press release, “nearly every Rolls-Royce Phantom and almost three in four Rolls-Royce Ghosts sold around the world are commissioned with Bespoke personalisation.”

So, they are Custom, made to order personalizations? Made by Two twins?  Sold at a High expensive price? The effects of this tauto-logic are wide-spread. From Autoevolution to  Motor Authority , car blogs have reprinted Rolls-Royce’s silly press releases for multiples of 12 Month years.  Next step:  Tailors will have to remove the term from their shingles, because Rolls-Royce’s parent will Trademark the patent on Bespoke. As you may have noticed, they already capitalize the B in Bespoke, soon they may want to capitalize on it.

Wake up, little Susan, wake up

Uh-oh: Susan Docherty, dispatched from China to Europe to teach the Eurotrash the proper appreciation and respect for Chevrolet and Cadillac, has come up with a strategy that assures the destruction of Cadillac outside of the U.S. Cadillac’s global aspirations hinge on its success in Europe, Docherty told WardsAuto. Again: To be successful in China, Cadillac must first be successful in Europe. No blond jokes please, show some respect.

“If a luxury brand is successful in Europe, whether that brand is Chanel or Prada, or Mercedes or BMW, people in parts of Asia look to see what Europeans validate as true luxury,” Docherty told Wards. “So we have to get Cadillac rocking and rolling in Europe to get it going in China.”

Auto execs in Europe think this is hilarious. Everybody knows that Europe is overflowing with premium brands (the Euros avoid the word luxury, they think it’s gauche). They also know that to establish a new one, you need lots of time and lots of money, both of which GM does not have in abundance. Just ask Infiniti or Lexus how they are doing. Audi took about 30 years and a Ferdinand Piech to become relevant in the field, and it had the heritage that is so important in the EU.

In the parts of Europe that count, Cadillac is associated with Elvis, and it is given as much chance for a return. The European buyer of a premium car is conservative and married tighter to his brand than to his wife.

If Cadillac’s success in China hinges on Europe, then Cadillac is doomed. Last year, Cadillac delivered 2,274 vehicles in Western and Central Europe, “including Russia,” as WardsAuto snidely reports. The Chinese won’t be impressed with Russian tastes and want to know how Cadillac is doing in Paris, Berlin and Rome. There, the brand isn’t even on the radar of the European manufacturers association ACEA. It says that GM imported all of 299 cars from the U.S. to Europe in 2012, across all brands.

What’s less, now may be a very inopportune time to launch any car brand in basket case Europe, especially a luxury brand. Doherty is not concerned: Europe is “still a hell of a big market. I say to my team that ‘14 million people are going to be out there buying a car. We just need to get our fair share.’”

Frau Docherty has another grand idea: She wants to integrate Opel with GM’s other brands in Europe and “eliminate duplicate work in areas such as back-office administrative functions and front-office areas such as aftersales,” as WardsAuto reports. “It’s worth millions,” Docherty said. Good idea, but it does not work that way. One of the secrets of Volkswagen’s very successful brand separation is that the company wittingly has work duplicated across all twelve brands. It costs billions, but it gives them that own true identity.

P.S.: Most of all, the Chinese aren’t stupid. They will tell you: “Cadillac? We’ve been there. Even their taxis are Benzes. That’s why we want Audi and BMW.”

The first in a collection of 35 Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection models – which feature a suite of exclusive design concepts, colour combinations and new materials – debuts today at the Pebble Beach Quail gathering in the United States. And here are  some pictures.

Says the press release:

“Finished in Aviator Grey, the Phantom Coupé Aviator Collection features a contrasting matt bonnet, window and grille surround while inside, the interplay of wood and metal hint strongly at a cockpit theme. A Thommen, aviation-grade clock with blood orange needle tips is embedded in the metal foil upper fascia, complemented by matt black dials for power reserve, speedometer and fuel gauges.”

“Fitted with leather floor mats, Aviator Collection cars have also been designed to incorporate the Rolls-Royce of cup holders. Beautifully engineered in highly polished aluminium, the designer’s aim was to deliver functionality, but with that special combination of theatre and jewellery, both of which are expected by every Rolls-Royce client.”

Did I hear “How much?” If you had to ask, you probably can’t afford it.

When the wraps came off what is still called an “LE Concept,” a stunningly styled sedan emerged. It has sexy curves similar to those of the Emerg-e range extender that was shown in Geneva. A car like this, backed by the production prowess of Japan’s second-largest automaker, should worry prospective producers of all-electric luxury sedans.

Nissan’s Leaf provides the electric Infiniti with the all-important economies of scale. However, Nissan’s “Division General Manager of Exploratory and Advanced Product,” Francois Bancon, denies hackneyed intimations that the LE will just be a rebodied Leaf:

“The LE Concept is designed from the ground up as an Infiniti, not a re-badged Nissan. There will potentially be some shared components, but they will be configured specifically for use in the Infiniti EV.”

Range and performance are still kept under wraps.  “It will drive, feel and perform like an Infiniti,” says a sibylline Andy Palmer, who just recently was put in charge of the Nissan’s Global Infiniti unit. Name, production details, price are likewise kept secret.

Good looking as it is, this is not a show car. They call it a ‘production intent’ concept, a car they actually want to produce. Folks at Infiniti are positive that the yet unnamed electric Infiniti will be launched in 2014. Palmer says it is a global car that first “will be available in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.” He did not want to comment on China, understandable, given the in-flux state of Chinese production for Nissan’s luxury marque.

The LE will most likely be the first plug-in which you don’t have to plug in. In addition to a regular corded charger and a DC fast charge option, the LE can be charged without wires. Infiniti’s  U.S. VP Ben Poore explains:

“The LE Concept includes a built-in wireless charging system, we expect it to be the first home-based wireless charging system. All you have to do is park your vehicle over the charging pad with no need to connect cables.”

This is a truly exciting system: Through a coil in the garage floor, a magnetic field is created. This excites an electric current in a second coil in the LE, which then charges the batteries. Infiniti promises that the high-frequency charging is safe for children and pets, and can be installed easily in a home garage. The batteries will sit under the passenger compartment floor, delivering a low center of gravity, a lot of trunk space, and room for the high net-worth legs.

The BMW Group sold 127,634 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars worldwide in February, a gain of14.2 percent.

BMW notes a “particularly strong demand for all BMW X models last month.” BMW sold 9,059 X1, 11,053 X3, 8,194 X5, and 3,414 X6. Of the MINI, 20,020 were sold. Rolls-Royce sales remained unmentioned.

Drivers of the growth: The usual suspect China (+38.8 percent,) and the unusual suspect U.S.A. (+31.5 percent.)

Are you the King of Spain, the Sultan of Brunai, Jay-Z, or the Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich? Check your mailbox. Volkswagen’s Bentley has sent you mail. Bentley wants to grieve with you over the passing of your beloved Maybach brand, and then, in a tasteful way, hopes will be expressed that your next car will be a Bentley.

In November, Daimler announced that it will bury Maybach (for an eulogy fittingly written by Jack Baruth, click here). This allegedly caused tears amongst the über-rich. Bentley Chief Executive Wolfgang Dürheimer told Reuters at the Detroit auto show that he already heard from some sad Maybach owners: “The comments I’m receiving aren’t very positive – they feel left alone.”

Well, it’s lonely at the top. To set themselves off from the riff-raff, current Maybach owners are unlikely to replace their $372,500 Maybach 57S with a Mercedes S350 Bluetec: $91,300 – never mind that the two look like twins. They are.

The thinking goes that Bentleys and Rollers are closer to the hearts of the clientele. A Bentley Mulsanne ($290,000 MSRP, excluding tax, title, license and destination charge) will look like a bargain compared to the lowest-priced Maybach, the 57.  If you have money to burn (like the royalty in that video,) Bentley has a shop that caters to the strangest tastes, at a hefty surcharge.

Then, why send letters? At around 200 Maybachs sold in 2011, seeking an audience with the grieving owner would probably be more efficient. Bring Kleenex and brochures.

Usually, all automakers in the U.S. market report together on the same day of the month. This time it’s different. The world does not know exactly how many cars Americans bought in December and therefore for the year, because Daimler and BMW had not handed in their numbers.

BMW and Mercedes had been in a year-long battle for the luxury crown, a title that oddly enough only has cachet in the otherwise monarchy-averse U.S.A. where kings are used to measure beds and burgers. With annual sales in the quarter million territory, both players would be Mazda-sized, would it not be for the (sometimes doubtful) “luxury” title.

Toyota had conceded defeat early in the day by reporting a total of 198,552 units for its Lexus brand, which takes the third place on the podium. Both Daimler and BMW must be busy counting hanging chads and calling every dealer in the country to account for stragglers.

Yesterday, editors the world over (yours truly included) had been nervously drumming their desks while they stared at the empty spaces in the Daimler and BMW entries. At 9 pm, Automotive News [sub] gave up waiting, and estimated the sales. AN gives Mercedes a slight edge with 261,573 units sold for the year, BMW were given 247,773 units. Both received a finger-wagging from AN:

“Daimler AG and BMW Group still hadn’t reported December results, as their Mercedes and BMW brands remained locked in a battle to become the best-selling luxury brand in the United States.”

Translation: Don’t hold up the proceedings. Let’s hope they will hand in their homework today.

Low cost cars? Who needs them. BMW’s CFO Friedrich Eichiner thinks that the premium segment is where the growth is. Eichiner projects the global auto market to go basically sideways by growing 4 percent in 2012. He expects the premium segment to grow twice as fast at 8 percent. That according to an interview given to Munich’s Süddeutsche Zeitung today. Of course that growth is not spread evenly around the world. Eichiner predicts that the European car market will remain flat this year. Growth potential is seen in the U.S. and China.

“In the future, we will increasingly produce where the growth is,” says Eichiner. A decision for a new factory in Brazil should be made in a few weeks. New plants in South America, India and China are being studied.

Those heady days appear to be coming to an end. Instead of gold-plated Gallardos, now there are – silver-plated Ferrari 458 Italias.

If the current Chinese slowdown turns into a recession, we might see bronze Porsches. Once it’s down to black A6, then you know: Busted!

Jenny Gu, a Shanghai- based analyst at research firm LMC Automotive, sees the number of luxury cars sold in China to climb 39 percent to 939,000 in 2011.  In Germany, 914,000 premium cars are likely to be delivered this year. For the next year, Ms. Gu sees an increase of 16 percent in China, compared with Germany’s 4.4 percent growth.

China has become the growth and profit engine for BMW, Daimler and Audi. Executives hope it will stay that way, as Europe looks a little pale around the nose.

All three luxury-auto makers posted record November sales in China. Audi soared 69 percent over last year, BMW (BMW) rose 9.8 percent and Mercedes gained 24 percent.

Audi’s 11-month sales in China have advanced 35 percent to 283,600. BMW through November has climbed 40 percent to 200,699, while Mercedes has gained 31 percent to 170,112.

In the U.S., deliveries will probably climb 18 percent to 1.65 million this year, Gu said. Give the Chinese a few years, and that will be taken care of also.

Fuelled by Nissan’s decision to move the HQ of it’s Infiniti brand to Hong Kong, rumors of an impending  Chinese production of the upscale marque would not end. In November, while not denying the story out of hand, spokespeople in Yokohama indicated that announcements of Chinese production of Nissan’s luxury brand were premature. Today, China Daily has an interesting twist on the story:  A trucks-for-luxury cars swap.

Citing a Chinese Newspaper, China Daily writes:

“As part of the plan, Nissan Motor, which makes commercial vehicles and passenger cars in a 50-50 partnership with Dongfeng, would stop making medium-to-heavy duty trucks at the venture, the Economic Observer said on its website, without identifying the source. Dongfeng would in turn back an option to make Infiniti as well as Renault cars at its existing venture with Nissan, it said.”

China Daily was unable to receive confirmation for the unusual trade-in.

Given a cooperative Dongfeng, Nissan should have no problem making high quality Infinitis in China. After all, if BMW, Daimler and Audi can do it, why not Nissan? In July, Carlos Ghosn had declared in Beijing:

“In addition to China being home to the largest volume facilities in the Alliance, it is also home to the best performing plants. Based on our global ranking system that measures quality of production and products, our plants in Huadu and Xiangyang rank first and second against 34 other plants in the Alliance.”

Dongfeng is owned by China’s central government. In the luxury sector government sales are key in China. But why the swap? A foreign company may only have two joint ventures in China. For a Chinese company, there is no limit to its promiscuity. In addition to Nissan, Dongfeng already has JVs with Kia, Honda, Renault’s rival PSA, and more. Why not simply add Volvo?

Update: On further checking, Reuters had reported a week ago that Volvo and Dongfeng plan a JV, and that Nissan would pull out of their current truck JV with Dongfeng. We don’t follow trucks. The only new wrinkle is that Infinitis and Renaults will be made.  Renault and Dongfeng have been together for years. The Infiniti story is months old. Book it as another Chinese fire-drill in a country with more than 100 carmakers.

Update to the update: Reliable contacts at Infiniti HQ in (still) Yokohama confirm that no deal has been struck (yet) for Infiniti production in China. They have no knowledge of the swap described in Chinese media.

Sometimes, there are perks in this business. Yesterday, I had the biggest perk so far: I saw a  $375,000 (base) supercar in the nude. And I could ask the man who built the LFA what he was thinking. He thinks the LFA could change Lexus as we know it.

Haruhiko Tanahashi is the Chief Engineer of the Lexus LFA, the storied supercar, population 500. A Chief Engineer at Toyota and hence at Lexus is much more than an engineer. He is the father of the car, he is responsible for the car from idea to realization and optimization.

A lot has already been written about the LFA. I wanted to know only one thing: Why?

Why build a car that is limited to 500 units, which are beyond the reach of a mere mortal? Will the LFA remain an exotic  island, or will its technology filter down into the whole Lexus line?

Yes it will, and it already does, says Tanahashi:

“Sure, there will be direct technology transfers to all Lexus lines. For instance  carbon, engine efficiency and more. But the most important cross pollination is not the car itself, it is the thought process behind the car. That thought process could change the philosophy of Lexus 180 degrees.”

Tanahashi gives just one example that is indicative of what may happen to the Lexus brand, should the ideas behind the LFA prove communicable:

“In the past, the engine sound has always been something we were trying to suppress. We were trying to remove all sounds from the car. I was told and I told my people: Sounds are bad, sounds are bad, sounds are bad. Especially the engine sound. We used to want that as quiet as possible.

What is different with the LFA is that you hear the music of the engine, and it has a beautiful sound. People want to hear that sound.

That is one example that you will be seeing – well, hearing – in other Lexus cars in the future.”

When Tanahashi and his team developed the LFA, they worked with Yamaha. Not only with Yamaha, the engine builders. They worked with the musical instrument builders at Yamaha. They turned the LFA into a musical instrument. Not a synthesizer that plays sampled engine sound. They turned the LFA into a veritable wind instrument.

Tanahashi’s Deputy Chief Engineer Chiharu Tamura demonstrates this for me on the most unusual LFA I had ever seen (not that I have seen many): A naked, disrobed LFA. They removed the outer skin of the car so that all that is inside can be seen and touched.

In the LFA, the air rushes into an opening on the engine side of the firewall. The air enters an echo chamber in the dash, and sound is emitted though small openings in the dashboard.

In addition, there is a membrane behind the engine computer that creates sound as the air rushes across the rear of the car.

Of course there was another question that needed to be asked, and that is the question of the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time. Currently, the LFA lap time stands at 7 minutes, 14:64 seconds, which is “very fast” as Tanahashi states, and do I honestly want more?

Then the Chief Engineer kicks in, and Tanahashi feeds me the company line that nobody wants to set a record on the Nordschleife. Driving there is done solely in the name of science and testing, to optimize the ride, to make it handle well, and the 7 minutes, 14:64 seconds are simply a result of this test.

There must be a secret cue card which is used by all manufacturers, because they all say the same: “Record? Us? On the Nürburgring? What record?”

I roll my eyes so fast that I become dizzy.

Then slowly, a smile unfolds in Tanahashi’s face, he leans forward, lowers his voice, and says:

“My test driver Akira Iida says that from his point of view,  we can reach 7:12. He thinks it’s possible. Of course, that is strictly his own private opinion.”

Of course it is.

We’ve been a bit critical of Honda’s advertising recently, and though I’m not a big fan of most of the latest David Puddy (OK, OK, Patrick Warburton) spots, I have to give it up for this one. I’ve wondered about the “cars with bows” ad meme for some time now, and though it was estimated that some 50,000+ vehicles were given as gifts last holiday season, I really can’t wait for the ad theme to die. We all love surprise gifts (especially expensive ones), but shouldn’t the person who will actually be driving the car have some say in what they get? I mean, I’d be grateful if someone bought me a new Lexus RX (a chief perpetrator of this ad meme) out of the blue… but mostly in the “it’s the thought that counts” way. Want to surprise someone with something expensive? Buy them jewelry or a watch. Want to buy someone a car? Make sure you really know exactly what car the giftee wants, and for goodness sake, make sure they drive it and the competition first. Surprises last a few seconds, the right car will delight for years to come.

Lincoln’s updated look doesn’t seem to have won over too many of the skeptics, but before you make up your mind entirely, do check out these live shots from the LA Auto Show floor. Our man on the ground, Alex Dykes, notes

The interior refinements are welcome, especially as Cadillac has made some improvements to their interiors lately. Lincolns My Touch systems do seem considerably snappier than the previous versions, but we won’t be sure about the reliability until someone at TTAC has one for a week.

It’s no secret that Ferrari has been wrestling with the inevitable conflict between its bellowing V12s and European emission regulations, but that’s not the only challenge facing the Prancing Horse’s powertrain division. Sure, there’s the increasingly-tenuous link  between the Scuderia’s Formula One technology and its road cars [sub], but in the short term that actually helps the emissions issue by creating a pretext for bringing KERS to the road (where it otherwise has little role). In fact, the real issue for Ferrari’s powertrain team is not even a “Ferrari issue” at all, but a Maserati issue.

One of the keys to Maserati’s success as a brand, is the fact that its engines are supplied by Ferrari, a “secret” kept by precisely nobody and referenced in every Maserati review ever written. And considering that Ferrari has to limit its production to 7,000 units in order to maintain exclusivity, it’s not a bad way to build scale on such limited-production engines. The problem is this: with Ferrari unable to grow its volume (instead, focusing purely on profits), Maserati has to. Thus, the new plan to build 40,000 new Maseratis per year by 2014, up from 5,700 cars sold in 2010. About 20k units of that volume are expected to be Kubang SUVs, and the rest will come from two sedans that straddle the current Quattroporte. The Kubang will come with Maser’s 4.7 liter V8, and the two sedans will use direct-injected V6 twin-turbo or V8 engines, also developed and built by Ferrari. Maserati CEO Harald Wester tells evo Magazine (print edition)

Paolo Martinelli [Maserati's powertrain boss and a previous engine chief for the Ferrari F1 team] is developing these new engines right now in Maranello, and Ferrari will be producing them exclusively for Maserati.

And, admits Wester that will present some serious challenges, as Maserati is talking about a seven-fold increase in engine demand.

If we need 30,000 Ferrari engines, the project is different. The set-up is perfect in terms of quality, but Ferrari will have to do something significant to be able to supply us with the engines we will require in the future.

But how does Ferrari ramp up to make seven times as many engines without losing any quality or exclusivity? Here’s where the story gets strange, as evo reports

Ferrari is already investigating working double shifts in its engine plant as a way to increase production

…and that’s it. Now, I don’t know enough about Ferrari’s powertrain plant to know whether it’s possible to get seven times the volume by switching to a double shift, but it sure sounds like a challenge. And if nothing else, it certainly takes a little of the exclusivity out of the Ferrari brand. But then, a slightly-less exclusive Ferrari is probably more than worth it when you multiply Maserati’s profits margins by 40,000. In any case, we’ll be curious to see how Ferrari manages this situation going forward.

When Infiniti said they were coming out with a new 7-passenger crossover, I, like the rest of the world, was expecting a stretched FX CUV with a V8 option, RWD and optional AWD. While the exterior was first shown off at Pebble Beach, the interior and drivetrain were merely well placed rumors. While Infiniti’s 3.5L V6 was the expected engine choice, the FWD (or optional AWD) CVT transmission was a curveball for sure. While I’ll try to hold my opinions until we can get some behind the wheel time, I am somewhat disapointed by the drivetrain choice. Inside, the JX is far from a disapointment continuing Infiniti’s recent trackrecord of world class cabins. While most of the shapes are familiar to Infiniti owners, many of the controls are new and only the steering wheel seems lifted directly off other Infiniti models. Like most vehicles in this segment, the third row of seats is best left to the small kids of that coworker you really hate.

Jaguar-Land Rover’s only all-new debut at the LA show is the mad XKR-S Convertible, which it says will be its fastest, most rigid convertible ever. And with its five-liter supercharged V8 making 550 HP, that may be an understatement: the XKR-S may be one of the fastest convertibles ever… at least it would be if Chevy weren’t showing its Camaro ZL1 Convertible at the very same show. But for fans of the Indian-owned brand, the XKR-S is just a warm-up for Jag’s first new sportscar ages, as signaled by the CX-16 Concept that debuted at Frankfurt. It’s no F-Type, but the Maserati GT-meets-Nissan Z styling should definitely help give the brand a boost. Finally, JLR is offering another look at its possible future with its Land Rover Defender DC100 Concept, which hints at a new Defender that is apparently in development. And with Jaguar-Landie once again earning profits for its corporate overlord,  the future looks promising for these two brands.

Refinements Signal Direction for Brand Today, Tomorrow.

Note to Lincoln: the future is not in refinements. If this brand is going to survive, it needs a clean sheet of paper.

Hyundai has been doing a lot of things right lately, but one thing they can’t do is keep a secret. TTAC showed you this car, known as the Grandeur in Korea, a year ago, warning “Buick beware.” Now that it’s arrived stateside, the threat is real and Azera is no longer the red-headed stepchild of the Hyundai family. Hyundai says the new Azera’s design was pursued following the same “fluidic sculpture” theme as Elantra and Sonata, rather than aping the Genesis and Equus’s more formal design language… although to our eyes it almost splits the difference between the two looks. Meanwhile, its 3.3 liter, 293 HP V6 separates it from its V6-free Sonata cousin, while still providing what Hyundai claims is “class leading” efficiency.

Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik says they are transitioning Hyundai from a “Value brand” to a “Valuable brand” (yes, really), and this Azera is intended to help challenge cars like the Acura TL and Lexus ES as well as the Taurus and Avalon. And with no plans for new US production capacity, despite razor-thin inventories, moving the brand upmarket makes sense for Hyundai. And replacing the old dullard of an Azera was a crucial step in that direction.

Throughout its history, Cadillac has fed the press some glorious concept cars dripping with opulence, snazzy features and WTF styling. This works when production cars live up to the concept’s hype, but a history of histrionics is less helpful when you’re launching a car that somehow defies hype  altogether [Ed: see AutoWeek's headline: "Cadillac aims its flagship XTS at imports and traditional buyers"].  Don’t get it wrong, the XTS is not intended as a true flagship for the brand (GM’s release calls it “the newest addition to the lineup” and “the most technologically advanced production car in the brand’s history”), but at the launch at the LA Auto Show the XTS’s FWD proportions, slab sides and generally predictable exterior dominated the first impressions. Put simply, the midsized sedan exudes none of the presence that makes the CTS-V coupe exciting, possibly due to the fact that it has what may be Cadillac’s shortest hood ever. No wonder GM CEO Dan Akerson warned us that the XTS “wouldn’t blow the doors off” the competition.

Inside, however, we found perhaps the best interior Cadillac has fashioned in decades. Cadillac spent a great deal of time telling the assembled press masses that this Caddy is different, this Cadillac is world class and this Cadillac will be at the top of the luxury food chain. And yet the competitive comparisons are all against the mid-line sedans from Europe. Which is really no surprise, considering the XTS is still motivated by the same 300HP V6 we see in other GM products, mated to the same 6-speed FWD transmission and AWD. New to the midsized party are Magnetic Ride Control shocks and and an eLSD in the rear which promises to improve handling when the going gets twisty. Not that anyone will take the XTS to the track mind you. Blue hairs will however love the new full-stop radar cruise control and the “virtual bumper” which will stop you automagically when you try to run over Joey on his trike. The new Cadillac infotainment system also appears to be a winner combining Apple-like multi-touch gestures with Android-like haptic feedback. All in all, it’s a strange beats, this XTS.

Jalopnik says it managed to snag this image of the production Cadillac XTS from the Cadillac website earlier today before anyone at GM’s luxury brand realized it had been inadvertently posted. The funny thing is, this could just as easily be an image of the XTS Platinum Concept, which first introduced us to the idea of a Epsilon II-based DTS/STS replacement… this purported production model looks exactly like the concept. Then again, it also looks exactly like you’d imagine a rebodied-for-Cadillac Buick LaCrosse would look… which is basically what this is. And since we know what the XTS’s interior will look like, this ends a lot of the suspense about the first all-new Caddy since the SRX. Well, except for the “how it drives” and “how it sells” parts…