Next year for General Motors could be defined by a new lower, longer Spark, production starting on the Bolt and a convertible Camaro, according to Automotive News’ facts and factoids department.
The automotive publication posted a speculative timeline of cars that may or may not be in GM’s future, including fuzzy details on a mid-engined Corvette that may or may not happen in or around the year 2020.
In case you’re wondering, we don’t know either.
The timeline includes tantalizing details that GMC may be looking at adapting the Chevrolet Trax — which could be called the “GMC Granite” — and that the Colorado/Canyon may finally get an off-road ZR2 edition next year.
The story also summarizes their earlier claim that GM will be shrinking the Equinox and offering a new, mid-size crossover based on the current Traverse. Cadillac wasn’t included in their analysis, but the automotive publication spelled the death for the Chevrolet SS. We can’t have nice things.
A redesigned Malibu will see the light of day next year, and the curtain may fall on the Spark EV.
No.1 reason why Cadillac is hurting – lack of crossover aside from the SRX replacement (won’t get any additions to its CUV lineup for about 3 years).
The article was on Chevrolet, but the reason Cadillac is hurting is because the products not named Escalade basically suck. They would continue to suck with a Catera-CUV as well although sales might be slightly higher due to another product in the mix.
@ 28 cars
Your comment that Cadillacs products “basically suck” is idiotic. The mainstream sedans are at (CTS) or near (ATS) the top of their respective classes and the CT6 is still an unknown. Yes the SRX is dated but the replacement is just around the corner.
Clearly you’ve been sucking the Dead Weight pipe and have lost touch with reality. Caddy has problems yes, but their products are very good right now.
So which one do you own?
I’m guessing he’s got a Sigma CTS and hasn’t been back to the dealership in a year or two. The Sigma seems to have sucked less than it’s successors.
Ford Escape and a Mazda 6
You must be new here. We have debated this for months and while yes how the CT6 fares has yet to be seen, but the current product selection does suck and its not moving the way it was expected. But don’t believe me, look at the facts:
“Cadillac sales fell 6.5% last year, Autodata reports, in a new-vehicle market up 5.9%. All three of Cadillac’s newest car models reported terrible sales in the U.S. In fact, CTS fell the least, 3.8%. ATS small sedan was down 22%. XTS big sedan was off 25.3%.
The big Escalade truck-based SUV was the only Cadillac with a sales gain in 2014.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/01/07/cadillac-cts-poor-sales-price-cut/21401741/
“The ATS began with healthy sales when it launched last year. Cadillac initially moved nearly 3,200 units per month. This year, as of October, that number has dwindled to about 2,500 monthly sales. This means the ATS is being outpaced by nearly all of its competition in the entry-level luxury segment.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kbrauer/2014/11/11/2015-cadillac-ats-why-cadillac-cant-sell-great-car/
and my favorite:
“In some cases, the 2014 Cadillac ATS is offered with up to $12,000 off a sticker price that starts at about $33,215.
The situation is similar with the 2014 CTS, which is offered with a discount of up to $17,500 from the starting price of $45,345. According to a report from Reuters, dealers have been asking for Cadillac incentives for a long time.”
http://www.carscoops.com/2015/02/cadillac-has-hard-time-selling-ats-and.html
Great “luxury” product usually sells itself and doesn’t require such a large amount of money on the hood (I haven’t even mentioned the colossal failure ELR in these links or the truth about Cadillac resale). The Cadillac brand is lost and its product is not up to par for the segment its MSRP attempts to compete in. You are free to disagree.
You’re equating sales to product quality, IMO sales and product quality are not exactly synonymous.
Go to somewhere like Long Island NY and you will see plenty of dumb housewives and gelled bro’s in a BMW or a Merc. You think they are buying because of quality? No they are buying (err leasing) because thats what everyone else drives and they want to keep up. Face facts, the people who buy a majority of these cars are status seekers.
It’s without question Cadillac has image problems but as I said their products are very good right now. The two issues are not one in the same.
Those are arguably more marketing and pricing failures than product failures. The decision to make the CTS a 5 series/E class competitor was an incredibly bone-headed decision: they finally had a model that had been reviewing and selling well, and now they’ve gone and confused everyone by repositioning it one segment higher, with commensurate price increases. Blowing up the naming convention again within 5 years is another stupid idea, not BECAUSE they’re using alphanumerics, but because they already had a perfectly fine naming scheme that was starting to be recognizable to customers.
No one who had a CTS wants to go and buy a new car and see that for the same money they now need to “downgrade” to an ATS, even if the car is theoretically playing in the same segment as the old CTS was.
The ATS and CTS are good cars. I’ve spent time in both that belong to friends. Unfortunately Cadillac is yesterday’s aspirational brand. A person would either have to know that these cars exist and what they are as an enthusiast, or decide that they want a Cadillac for some reason and discover them on the lot.
@ttiguy
Mercedes and BMW deliver relatively good materials quality at their price point. I’m not going to go into a DW-esque rant on dash gauges but if the Cadillac models delivered the same amount of material’s quality at their price points that Mercedes/BMW does, I find the need to discount them so heavily unnecessary. If these cars were so wonderful and being sold at much below MSRP, what should happen is strong demand in the aftermarket because these are a value. But… just at 2MYs old over 1/3rd lower than an ATP of $33K (msrp for “Luxury” is 40K):
MY14 ATS 2.0T RWD “Luxury”
07/01/15 DALLAS Lease $24,000 7,596 Above BLACK 4GT A Yes
06/25/15 TAMPA Lease $22,800 11,654 Avg WHITE 4GT A Yes
07/17/15 NEVADA Regular $24,250 15,256 Above BLACK 4GT A Yes
07/03/15 FT LAUD Regular $19,000 23,928 Below SILVER 4G A No
07/21/15 ORLANDO Lease $21,800 28,609 Avg TAN 4GT A Yes
07/08/15 DALLAS Lease $21,800 30,762 Avg SILVER 4GT A Yes
06/23/15 ST LOUIS Regular $22,900 32,155 Avg GOLD 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DALLAS Lease $22,100 33,712 Avg WHITE 4GT A Yes
07/21/15 ORLANDO Lease $21,800 33,985 Avg BLACK 4GT A Yes
06/25/15 PHOENIX Lease $20,200 38,355 Below SILVER 4G A Yes
07/01/15 DENVER Lease $20,300 39,618 Below GREY 4GT A Yes
MY14 Cadillac CTS 2.0T RWD “Turbo Luxury”
06/29/15 DETROIT $34,400 5,581 Above WHITE 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $34,200 14,953 Above BLACK 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $33,600 15,448 Avg BLACK 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $33,200 25,213 Avg GRAY 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $32,800 19,632 Avg SILVER 4GT A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $32,400 16,600 Below GREY 4GT A Yes
07/16/15 DETROIT $33,200 20,131 Avg TAN 4GT A Yes
for S&G heres the (then) $75,000 ELR:
MY14 Cadillac ELR
06/29/15 ORLANDO $38,400 704 Avg BLACK 4H A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $38,000 8,955 Avg BLACK EL A Yes
06/29/15 DETROIT $37,800 11,791 Avg BLACK EL A Yes
06/30/15 ORLANDO Regular $42,500 2,882 Above BLACK EL A Yes
06/30/15 NY Regular $42,000 1,140 Above Silver EL A Yes
07/02/15 DETROIT $36,700 22,867 Avg RED EL A Yes
07/02/15 DETROIT $36,500 9,302 Avg GRAY EL A Yes
07/02/15 DETROIT $36,300 16,277 Avg SILVER EL A Yes
07/13/15 ORLANDO $33,000 9,599 Below RED EL A No
VS
Tesla Model S “60”
02/04/15 ATLANTA Regular $74,500 577 Above BLUE EL A Yes
03/05/15 CHICAGO Regular $68,500 16,962 Above GRAY EL A Yes
03/25/15 SEATTLE Regular $65,000 9,516 Avg WHITE EL A Yes
05/05/15 RIVRSIDE Lease $68,500 12,376 Above SILVER EL A Yes
06/18/15 RIVRSIDE Regular $62,500 13,113 Avg BLACK EL A Yes
06/18/15 ATLANTA Regular $66,000 16,927 Avg WHITE EL A Yes
These Cadillacs aren’t as desirable as one might think.
@derekson
Good points which I mostly agree with, although the product is still left to be desired in some cases (CUE, 2.OT engine issues, timing chain issues on 3.6, lack of rear seat on Alphas, dated/poor styling etc)
@danio
Yesterday’s brand, I like that. I haven’t had any seat time let alone drive time in the Alpha CTS. I did not completely hate the Alpha ATS I drove last year but even at 33K I’m not very impressed. The previous Sigma didn’t impress me much either but if I had to have a newer Cadillac the Sigma would be my choice (Sigma felt very heavy when I drove one)
Aahahaha
Look at all the CTSs and ELRs that were lease turn ins in Detroit! What would Caddy’s sales look like without GM employees?
If the Alpha cars were equals to the Germans they’d be selling more. The only things the Alpha cars excel at just happen to be the kinds of things people in the luxury sedan market don’t care about. That’s a fail in my book.
28 cars was incomplete, not wrong.
He failed to mention Cadillac’s marketing is horrid, and is correct that Cadillac’s products are of poor design quality.
ATS – Universally (and correctly) criticized for harsh ride, anemic, unrefined engines, poor reliability (per CR), incredibly cramped rear seat (many subcompacts have more rear leg/head room), incredibly cheap gauges, useless trunk, cheap interior materials and finish, poor paint quality, very high prices, shoddy dealerships, and the horrendous CUE. I will state right now that a Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata are all better built, more refined, better riding, higher quality, better finished, roomies, more comfortable sedans than the ATS (and definitely more roomy and reliable/durable).
CTS – See above, but the CTS gives a better ride than the ATS, SLIGHTLY larger rear seat, same stupid gauges, same engine choices (unrefined, anemic and uncompetitive with exception of V series), unremarkable interior quality, all at a price point that rivals an Audi A6, BMW 5 series, and critically, Mercedes E Class. It’s not anywhere near competitive with the Germans, let alone lesser priced cars like the Hyundai Genesis BASE Sedan, and a Chrysler 300 has more traditional Cadillac qualities (ride, quiet, power, room fore and aft, fit/finish, trunk size) at the 28k price point than a 55k CTS.
XTS – No better than an Impala or LaCrosse, and this makes sense as its based on same platform. Yet Cadillac upgrades the standard interior and charges 20k more for it than either a V6 Impala or LaCrosse. Very cynical product.
SRX – Very closely related to the Equinox, and sadly & cynically, the upcoming XT5 will also share much in common with the new Equinox. Having said this, with a much better interior than the ATS or CTS, it’s at least competitive with the overpriced, unremarkable German competition (damming with faint praise).
p.s. – Let’s not even discuss the ELR.
As to the CT6, even fans of Cadillac (true die hards and a masochistic bunch) don’t know what it’s supposed to compete against and at what price point. It will be strangled with a base 2.0T motor found in every other GM brand, from Chevy to Buick, yet be priced between a BMW 5 and 7 Series. It will be an incredible failure and Cadillac will sell less than 1,200 a month (if they’re lucky; 1,000 a month with heavy incentives is closer to reality).
You’re flat out wrong about the CTS and ATS DW. By my own seat time in each one and reading virtually every review on the net I’d say these two are equals to the germans.
Get out of mom’s basement.
Maybe it’s the result of a young demographic in a boomtown market, but around here I’m far more likely to see a V-Series Caddy than a regular one. And they look pretty aspirational to this driver of a 15-year-old Lexus.
I bought an XTS for my small company. It “sucks” so bad that I don’t even bother talking about it.
Simple fact of the matter is, it’s cheaper similarly equipped than the overpriced-CTS and it’s a large, decent car to ride around in, but it offers no excitement whatsoever. The XTS-V wasn’t much better and cost a whole lot more.
When it comes time for parts to need replacing, you’d better be on warranty. An old Cadillac – as I’m learning with the STS I bought mom – is far more expensive and unreliable than any SRT product.
When mom’s STS dies, I’ll get her a loaded, red CTS.
I PREFER the XTS and the Impala to my 300 because they both have a lot more interior space up front and in back. Thing is, they are both soul-less econobox large cars without the V8 option.
Just going from 0 – 30 in my 300 is loud.
that’s how I like it.
Our resident MOPAR OR NOCAR aficionado purchased a NEW Cadillac for his personal use? I didn’t realize it was April 1st.
“When it comes time for parts to need replacing, you’d better be on warranty”
If Cadillac has truly crossed over to being the Germans in parts/repair costs they are seriously doomed. The brand doesn’t have the snob appeal to pull off “German engineering” repair costs.
All the premium brands have expensive parts. If a supplier develops a part for a car they can sell a lot at marginal profit to be included in the original build and the higher priced replacement parts make up the rest of their business case for the headlight or whatever. Since the luxury brands sell at tiny volumes in all cases the burden is carried by the private part buyer. Same goes for small batch imports of mainstream cars and their parts as well.
I think bigtruck is mostly a big car guy. This makes sense for an enthusiast living in Brooklyn/queens who has a parking space. Not many momentum roads aside from the Jackie Robinson. I’m a smaller car kept going fast kind of driver and even my (dearly held) philosophy was sorely tested by eleven years of nyc life.
Bigtruck… You would love the hot hatches and even the frs ifyou lived further north. It’s ok to admit it.
Cadillac of all brands should not engage in such behavior.
Tedward
I drove the FRS and BRZ when they first released. I barely fit in em and their interiors are far too bland for my tastes.
The only small coupe I’d ever buy are the CTS-V and Nissan GT-R.
Engine power is a luxury here.
Just starting your car on these city blocks turns heads simply because people don’t understand why it’s so loud.
As far as hatchbacks go: either an Audi “7” or a Model S P85D – which is far too expensive for what you get. I need a 4-door sedan with a powerful engine and a hatch. Dodge Magnum HELLCAT.
This is a flip-flop from the MONTHS when you brought up the XTS all the time, and said how excellent it rides, and how you loved the interior space and amenities. You talked constantly about the adjustable lumbar and waterfall cushions etc IN YOUR XTS, which has the “best American interior of any car.”
So stop rewriting history!
And for guys like me who need the 3 rows, the 2nd gen SRX doesn’t work.
Luckily I drive minimally and my 2004 only has 65,000 miles.
Build the mid-engine Vette. It will be good for the brand. Just fix the engine failures before the next one is released.
This ‘Bu is quite attractive, but it seems like ALL the sedans are going to the same aero profile. From econobox to luxe and everything in between.
Enzo Ferrari Once said, “aerodynamics are for people who cannot build engines.” Enzo is dead, and so is the 3-box design. Old age killed Enzo; CAFE killed the 3-box.
New Malibu has sad parrot face.
Polly want some Zoloft
Golly, and will the new Malibu continue to have no backseat leg room?
Do you have a problem with yours?
The new Malibu has a 4 inch longer wheelbase. Rear seat legroom problem solved. I just saw a ’16 Malibu yesterday (live in the Detroit area). MUCH better looking than the clunky current version. This one could be a winner.
This photo is a fail. First, the guy that owns that garage is not driving a Malibu. Second, look at where the sun is and where the shadows are…a totally staged, fake photo.
Who says the garage owner drives the car? It’s obviously the maid’s car, and she loves to park it so her boss can’t get the Bentley, 911, or S63 AMG out. The shadows are not from the sun, but the lights on the tennis court (not shown).
LOL :-)
The W-body is going to make it to 29 years! If you filter out Chinese re-badges does that put it into the top 10 for longevity?
I still like the Panther more though. And that one made it 33 years.
How many refreshes will they do before they admit it needs a longer wheelbase to compete in its class in the all-important rear leg room measurement?
Lorenzo, are you in ny state?
I still can’t shake my desire for one of the newer 3.6-equipped models, despite being somewhat let down every time I go test drive one. Some time passes and I keep seeing them on the street (especially in black or blue in LT trim) and I start throwing the idea around in my head again. Hell of a motor, I just wonder whether they did solve the timing chain stretch issue after all. The DI seems to be holding up good on the General’s motors so less worries there.
It looks like the size of this Malibu would pretty much render the Impala redundant – kind of like what the Nissan Altima has done to the Maxima.
The interesting point here is that the next Malibu gets two turbo engines and a Volt-derived hybrid setup. The Impala has the “traditional” nonturbo 4 and 6-cylinder engine lineup.
Yay, another Hmong-mobile.
They must be the most successful group of immigrants in our history considering all the auto market pull they exert.
Unless…. OMG! How tall are Crab People?!
>>It looks like the size of this Malibu would pretty much render the Impala redundant – kind of like what the Nissan Altima has done to the Maxima.<<
Unlike the Altima, this new Malibu is comely – better looking than the Impala, which is obviously not selling so well otherwise GM would break out the retail vs. the old fleet model stats. The fact that they won't is illuminating.
Though the new Impala is really a very good car. If it said Toyota on the back it would be a hit. Sadly, too many folks still think it is 1990
“too many folks still think it is 1990”
Impala nearly doubles Avalon 2015 YTD sales so maybe not.
Yeah. I hate that class of vehicle and even I have to admit that the imapala is excellent at what it does. It also sells well for the class. I rink the redundancy issue is common to the entire category of full size transverse sedans now that the mid sizers are so large.
To me the shocker in the category is the tacky and overwrought design of the new maxima.
“I have to admit that the imapala is excellent at what it does. It also sells well for the class.”
It helps to have 2 different cars being sold under the same name. They still lump the fleet queen W body sales with the Epsilon.
The problem with the new Impala is that (though it’s a better car than the previous one) it took a big price jump – unless you opted for the 2.5l 4 cyl.
The older V6 Impala owner (who paid $26k) wasn’t going to pay $28k for a new 4cyl Impala, and the first V6’s on the lot for 2015 were $33k to $36k.
Taurus syndrome.
I rented a 2014 Impala LTZ Limited and was impressed. It was loaded and had heated leather seats. It had great acceleration and handled very well. I would seriously consider it if I were buying a new sedan. Sure it is not a BMW or Mercedes but for the money its hard to beat and it is a lot less expensive to maintain. I have also driven Malibus and found that they are a decent car. I would take a loaded Impala over a Malibu but I could live with either.
It also says the new Buick LaCrosse will be built off the Malibu platform and offer a selection of fours, one a turbo, one a hybrid. Mayme the Malibu full hybrid engine.
Gm updates on ttac are interesting in a very similar way to the vw ones. Commenters appear who are very knowledgeable about the brand, exact chassis designation, trim level accuracy and drive train knowledge are a given. But then they usually share airtime with a large number of others who are either ideologically opposed to, our were burned in their formative years by, either company.
GM and the VW brand have defensive fanbases.
And vociferous hatedoms. Want some popcorn? *Crunch munch*
Chevy ought to build the mid-engine Vette as a halo supercar, call it Zora but keep the current Vette in production and design a C8 version.
Chevy ought to make an affordable “mini Corvette” roadster, rectifying the mistakes made in the Solstice/Sky.
Lots of All-American equity in the “Corvette” name, but (despite punching well above their weight), a bit pricey these days.
I always thought there should have been a Kappa based Chevrolet roadster when Sky/Solstice was phased out as well as the retro Nomad version. Or at least build a American Miata.
I think it was Peter DeLorenzo of Autoextremist who suggested making Corvette a separate brand with a family of models ala Porsche. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s a really interesting idea. Although I’m still not sure I can wrap my head around a Corvette C/SUVSUV, which would be inevitable.
No need for Corvette SUVs…. that would be the job of the Escalade brand.
Chev advertisements are starting to take a page from Hyundai, people interviewed are like “wow, I can’t believe this is a Chevy”.
To me they’re starting to look like good cars, and it’s unfortunate that the bowtie removes ten thousand dollars in the vehicle’s worth.
Hey, a fellow Kerbalnaut on TTAC. How far have you gotten? I’m currently orbiting Minmus in preparation for a landing there.
Is that a fun game? I can’t tell if I’d like it or not.
It’s incredibly hard and can be tedious at times, but if you like building and destroying things, or having one of the most realistic space (and flight) simulators out there, it’s worth the $30.
The learning curve is quite steep. You start out just getting up in the air, and eventually you can orbit and land on other planets and moons in the system, or dock multiple spaceships and build space stations in orbit around Kerbin (Earth), or even mine asteroids for minerals. There’s loads of tutorials out there, but sometimes it’s more satisfying to figure everything out yourself.
Thanks – I do like simulations and building things. Cities Skylines is the most recent simulation I have played (an excellent and very detailed city simulation by the way – and the best modern choice bar none).
However, not big on the flying aspect. I recall playing Microsoft Flight Simulator way back, and would always just be interested in crashing things into buildings. Usually a 747.
(Space)planes are just one aspect of the game, and can be completely ignored. That’s what I do, mostly because while fun, they’re difficult for me to actually do anything practical with.
When I say, “just getting up in the air,” I mean you start out with nothing but a one-Kerbal capsule, a solid rocket booster, a parachute, and a canister of “mystery goo.”
I will go on YouTube this evening and watch some reviews, see what’s what.