Cadillac Will Have Diesel Engines in US

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

Cadillac CEO Johan de Nysschen said future Cadillac cars in the U.S. will have diesel powertrains, Automotive News is reporting (via Autoblog).

De Nysschen told journalists that oil burners would make their way to the States after they’re launched in Europe, presumably around 2019. He said engineers at Cadillac were working on 4- and 6-cylinder models, but wouldn’t specify what cars those engines would power.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes offer diesel power plants in their compact or mid-size sedans that would compete with the theoretical Cadillac.

In January, de Nysschen said as much, “If you want to play in Europe, you better have some diesels,” he told Reuters.

It wouldn’t be the first foray into diesels for Cadillac, Automotive News points out, but perhaps it’ll be a less smoky one.

Cadillac has shown off a hybrid CT6, but it’s unclear how electrification would play into Cadillac’s future plans.

Aaron Cole
Aaron Cole

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  • Speedlaw Speedlaw on Aug 19, 2015

    Hmm. I like my 2012 TDi. I would have bought a BMW diesel but at that time, the 335d was out of production in the US and the 328d not yet for sale. I may have dodged a bullet, though as the 335d has massive carbon buildup issues. Of course, I had to eat a Diesel Particulate filter so the bullet got me on a ricochet. ($2400 day, 1/2 paid by VW as I was 3000 miles past the Fed Emission Warranty-so much for fuel savings...) Still, less than the five figure repair on the 335d. Pity too, I loved that car. Why does the 335 motor carbon up ? You'd assume that it doesn't have this problem "over there". Why does a DPF fail before 100k ? (Cue VW hate) I see why GM would want a diesel over there....most of Germany is diesel, and at $10 per gallon, driving a gas car is visible extravagance. Still, even BMW diesels have issues....

    • TOTitan TOTitan on Aug 20, 2015

      I have a 335d. In 82000 miles so far no CBU issues. The reason many of them carbon up is that people dont drive them hard enough, and they dont change oil often enough. My gets car 70 miles per day of freeway driving and on the return trip it gets to pull a 4 mile long 7% grade. The M57 engine is very much underworked in a 3 series, and since diesels are at their best when working hard, people who baby them tend to have issues. I change my oil every 6000 miles. The reason for this is that the pcv valve sends a slight mist of oil into the intake which then gets baked by the hot exhaust from the egr valve. The dirtier the oil the more the cbu will occur. I learned this from a 30 BMW only mechanic who now runs his own independent BMW repair shop. I have followed his advice since I bought the car with 34000 miles on it and have had no issues. The last thing my BMW guy recommended was to add some diesel injector cleaner to every tank. If the injectors start to get dirty the chance of cbu occuring skyrockets. Many here say diesel cars are not worth having. Last October I went on a road trip which included driving the nearly abandoned US95 from ID through NV. I set the cruise at 100 and left it there for a whole tank of fuel. MPG was 30. Enough said.

  • Philadlj Philadlj on Aug 19, 2015

    Merc, BMW, and Lexus are currently outselling Cadillac ~2:1 so far in 2015. Crossovers, crossovers of every size and description, crossovers NOW, will help get Cadillac out of the toilet. Not flagships, not higher performance versions of their tepid-selling, self-cannibalizing range of sedans, not diesels in 2019.

  • Richard Richard on Aug 19, 2015

    Just recently De Nyschen said Cadillac won't bother too much with Europe. Is this the same fellow?

  • Tjh8402 Tjh8402 on Aug 21, 2015

    The first car I remember my mom having was one of the old 70s diesel Devilles. I have only two memories of that car- its ginormous size, and us waiting at the mechanic for my dad to come pick us up in his Honda Civic because the Cadillac broke down again. I know this isn't the same Cadillac, but I wonder how many buyers have their memories and impressions of Cadillac diesels tainted by that?

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