Cadillac Is Holding Out for a Halo

Visually arresting, technologically complex, ultra luxurious, and undeniably trendsetting, halo cars sprinkle lustre all over a brand and ensure viewers of hip-hop videos know the artist is absolutely loaded with cash.

Cadillac’s not there yet. Give it time, says the brand’s president — a halo Cadillac model will indeed appear, just not until well into the coming decade. There’s a few things to take care of first.

Shoring up domestic sales through a streamlined sedan portfolio and diversified utility vehicle stable is top of mind for Johan de Nysschen. Speaking to Automotive News at the New York International Auto Show, the Cadillac boss said housekeeping takes precedence over glitzy, high-zoot playthings.

Between now an 2021, Cadillac plans to market the XT4 small crossover (which debuted late Tuesday in New York), a larger crossover, and a next-generation Escalade. On the sedan front, the XTS, CTS, and ATS will disappear, with two new models appearing below the XT6. With these holes filled, Cadillac can then reach for the sky.

The timeline for these introductions runs through the end of 2021, so any halo wouldn’t appear until 2022 at the absolute earliest, assuming Caddy sticks to the plan. By the middle of the coming decade, the brand — already big in China — wants to make inroads into Europe. It’s unlikely such a range-topping vehicle would be a sedan.

“I do not think that the world needs yet another large, three-box conventional sedan,” de Nysschen said. “We are going to produce a halo vehicle for Cadillac. When it comes, it will stun the world.”

If Cadillac’s going after tony continental types, an electric powertrain is a must, even if it’s just one of many variants. de Nysschen himself alluded to it when he claimed Cadillac would receive a “disproportionate share” of the electrified models coming to General Motors over the next five years. It makes sense to field the technology on a pricey vehicle, he said, adding that it will help elevate the brand.

Unlike other automakers, Cadillac isn’t afraid to heap some love on ICEs. Six- and eight-cylinder powerplants will remain in the lineup for the foreseeable future, de Nysschen said.

All of this halo and product talk has us wondering how the recent report of the late 2021 production of a car bearing the Escala nam e fits into Cadillac’s plan. From the sounds of it, the Escala could appear as just about anything — electric sport crossover, reborn XLR, conventional sedan, maybe even a glamorous coupe. Is the Escala the halo? Not in its concept form, that’s for sure. It makes sense, though, to use the name of a high-profile concept car for a production halo car.

[Images: Cadillac]