Caddy's Mid-Size Diesel Coupe. Huh?
God knows TTAC has upbraided GM for downsizing the Cadillac brand and taking it downmarket. Adding oil burning insult to mid-sized injury, "the standard of the world" has unveiled a diesel-engined CTS Coupe. Speaking to our man Mehta, GM Powertrain's Executive Director of Diesel Engineering defended the oil burner sitting in the snout of Caddy's overdue two-door. Charles Freese says new 2.9-liter V6 diesel's "closed loop feedback system" means the new engine runs lower compression ratios (16.5:1) so the system is "less volatile for more controllable emissions." This maximizes the operating properities of a diesel engine when it runs in the cleanest times, when it spits out less soot, CO, NOx. (Think of it as the diesel-loving tree-hugger's sweet spot.) Meanwhile, GM design chief Ed Wellburn marked the CTS Coupe's launch by pronouncing that his employer's empowering its designers to make "wild cars like this." What's more, GM has the "conviction" to turn them into reality. Well, a concept car anyway– with a rear that looks a little too much like a 1970s Buick Century Aeroback (Google is your friend) and a little too little like a G37.
[Reported by Sajeev Mehta]
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Merc and BMW all feature diesels in heavy rotation. Since Cadillac is now benchmarking these two brands, it seems only logical. Except that Cadillac isn't supposed to benchmark a damn thing. It's not supposed to ape everyone's product lines. It's not supposed to be American Toyota. In its hey day, it sat above Merc and BMW. It is where Buick and Pontiac should be right now.
That is a sexy beast there. CTS-V coupe, would be so hot. They need a higher HP V-6 or a 400hp V-8 to compete with teh TT6 in the 335i.