General Motors’ future passenger car lineup might not be as threadbare as initially thought. After sparking continent-wide hair pulling with its decision to shutter three assembly plants and cull six car models in the process, it seems the most prestigious vehicle of the bunch might live on after its plant goes dark.
The Cadillac CT6, which first hit U.S. sales charts in March of 2016, isn’t officially dead. It seems GM didn’t get its story straight back in late November, as Caddy’s flagship sedan might live on with another home base.
The news comes by way of Automotive News, which cornered GM President Mark Reuss and Cadillac President Steve Carlisle to get the straight dope on the big Caddy’s fate. GM builds the CT6 alongside the Chevrolet Impala, Volt, and Buick LaCrosse at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, which has less than five months left before workers vacate the building, perhaps for good.
Reuss and Carlisle said both GM and Cadillac are working on keeping the CT6 alive after Detroit-Hamtramck dries up on June 1st, even if it means sourcing the sedan from China, where GM (through a joint venture) builds them for Chinese customers. For obvious reasons, Carlisle said he’d rather not bring the sedan over from the Orient.
Where CT6 production might move in the U.S. remains to be seen, but that’s the top-ranked plan for now. Michigan’s Orion Assembly, which may lose the Chevrolet Sonic this year, exists as a possibility, though one gets the feeling GM has loftier, non-ICE plans for that space, which is also home to the Chevrolet Bolt. There’s also the more promising Lansing Grand River plant, which loses the Cadillac ATS and CTS this year.
Scrapping the CT6 seemed like a rash decision, given its newness and the emergence of a new 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 for use in the 2019 CT6-V, but Carlisle claims the company never actually admitted to the model’s discontinuation. It didn’t communicate things in a great manner, either.
While CT6 customers won’t want for product for the remainder of the year (GM said previously that inventory should last through 2019), they’ll definitely have a hard time finding a CT6-V. According to Motor Authority, GM confirmed that its 2019 production run of 275 units was sold out minutes after pre-orders opened on Monday. The super-sedan, which boasts 550 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, stickers for $88,790.
Customers can still order a CT6 with a detuned version of the Blackwing V8, this one offering 500 horses, but it won’t come with the same external trappings as its V-badged sibling. As for the nameplate itself, the CT6’s fate should become clear by the time contract negotiations between GM and the UAW wrap up in September.
Sales of the Cadillac CT6 fell 8.3 percent in 2018.
[Images: General Motors, © 2018 Chris Tonn/TTAC]
“…but Carlisle claims the company never actually admitted to the model’s discontinuation. It didn’t communicate things in a great manner, either.”
Will someone please hire these folks a decent PR person? Please?
Put that on list along with a Chief Marketing Officer. And shoot that guy in the Chevy ads.
Put him up against the wall with the Verizon guy while you’re at it.
“even if it means sourcing the sedan from China”
Knock me over with a feather. I can’t handle such surprise.
Makes you want to sit down next to a 1965 Sedan de Ville and cry.
Could GM management be any more tone deaf than they are now? I don’t think its possible! Or are all of these recent announcements just leverage for upcoming labor negotiations?
I’m glad it isnt going away. Seems like such a fine effort, I hope it can hang on for a long time.
I agree, but my preference is that it’s made in Hamtramck.
Well, yeah, or somewhere in North America.
There may come a time when it’ll be cool to purchase a Chinese-made car, but not today.
(Before the Ford troll comes out from under his bridge, I’d say the same about a Chinese-imported Focus.)
Will it ever be cool to buy a Chinese made car? Maybe, maybe not, but I think we’d need to see a cool car being made there first to test the question. As it is, we have what…Buick Envisions and Volvo sedans? Neither would top anyone’s “must have” list.
If the right product was made there, people wouldn’t have a problem buying it.
That’s probably true, Mike. I’d still rather but a product made here, Canada or Mexico.
Japan started a war with us via sneak attack that killed over 160,000 Americans and we not only bought the hell out of their cars, we’ve even got little sushi bars in most grocery stores now.
A good car at a good price and I don’t care if even the Irish build it.
Funny as sales have demonstrated by-and-large the Chinese and Japanese don’t feel the same way.
“the Chinese and Japanese don’t feel the same way”
Well, they’re Confucians. Some weird ducks.
The Chinese love American cars, as long as they’re building them there.
As far as Japanese are concerned…these are the folks who are so busy doing whatever the f**k they do that they’ve apparently forgotten to make babies anymore, so WTF?
In 2018 the Chinese bought
1 million Buicks
200,000 Cadillacs
523,000 Chevys
752,000 Fords
So I wouldn’t have a problem buying a Car built in China.
@Jatz…True. Even my wife’s Grandfather who survived both Pearl Harbor and a Kamakazii attack purchased a civic for one of his grandchildren. His last personal ride however was a Crown Vic LX Sport with a floor shifter. Cool to the end.
My guess is they’ll move it to Lansing.
The difference btwn Japan and the PRC is that Japan is a democratic nation and never a threat to US as a superpower.
The PRC is an Fascist/autocratic state which has plans to dominate its region, if not much of the world (hence, China moving aggressively into South America and Africa).
Same can be said for Russia, and we do quite a bit of business with them as well.
I certainly wish all the countries we traded with were up to snuff morally. They aren’t.
Russia isn’t the threat that the PRC is simply due to manpower.
And US trade w/ Russia ranks 30th, about HALF of what the US has w/ the city-state of Singapore.
The US has a trade deficit w/ the PRC of $375.6 Billion.
W/ Russia, it’s $10 Billion.
The PRC’ sovereign wealth fund is approaching one TRILLION dollars and that wealth comes pretty much solely from trade (and has financed China’s military modernization and expanding use of soft-power around the world).
Russia would be a basket-case economically but for being a petrol-state.
“The difference btwn Japan and the PRC is that Japan is a democratic nation and never a threat to US as a superpower.”
You know, except for that one time they were, but we took care of that. Took us a minute to clear that little kerfluffle up, though.
We have no problem getting all of our other chit from China, so getting our cars from there too shouldn’t be a problem.
But it’s the realities of today (and of tomorrow) that matter and not the past (England at one time was our colonial overlord).
And while it’s difficult to avoid purchasing apparel or cheap electronics made in China, there are still many choices when it comes to autos – which are one of the big drivers of a country’s industrial might and wealth builder.
The PRC already has countries around the world, including South America beholden to them; building infrastructure financed by Chinese banks.
For instance, Ecuador is on the hook for $19 Billion (and growing) to China and it doesn’t matter that they can’t afford it as China will get paid no matter what as China gets paid in petroleum and receives 80% of Ecuador’s oil production.
China basically owns Ecuador’s economy now and this is happening all over the world.
This is what the PRC has been doing over the past 2-3 decades while we have been distracted by wars in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The XTS is still available in V-Sport trim with the 3.6 twin turbo that puts out 410hp to all four wheels for around $70k.
A far cry from the livery version that you see everywhere.
Just a reminder for all those who “piled on” in the Kia Telluride thread – the Telluride will be built in Georgia.
Georgia as in peaches or the Georgia near Russia?
Peaches – and girls who giggle when I say “Yes Ma’am.”
…Nah, I’d wager it’s pretty damn dead. The market has spoken, and the only thing premium American customers want less than a $60K+ Cadillac “luxury” sedan is a ChiCom-assembled $60K+ Cadillac “luxury” sedan.
Escalade says “What?”
Read it again. Sound out the big words (like “sedan”) if necessary.
Oops.
LOL. Sorry for the snark.
That said, no one will ever convince me the Escalade is a true luxury vehicle even if it is Cadillac’s most relevant offering. All I see is bling stuck to a Tahoe.
That’s OK, these are the same guys that stuck bling on an Impala and sold it as “DeVille.”
“There’s also the more promising Lansing Grand River plant, which loses the Cadillac ATS and CTS this year.”
That plant loses both those vehicles but picks up the replacement. Still, it’d make some sense.
FreedMike
The ATS & CTS are being replaced with the CT4 & CT5
More like the ATS is being replaced by the CT5 and the CT4 entering a new segment for Cadillac (CLA/A Class, A3, etc. competitor).
bd2
Good than I won’t have to worry about you being hurt, when I drive one up your…..
backside.
Anyone care to guess about the quality of work provided on the line in those last 5 months?
The Communist Cadillac. Coming soon to a dealer near you.
China’s not even remotely communist anymore.
Nope, just repressive and autocratic.
Yep. But it’s not like we refuse to buy things from repressive, autocratic countries.
Sadly, that’s true.
Pretty much a repressive Fascist state nowadays.
China – “I know you are, but what am I?”
-dp-
Could someone please explain this to me? “According to Motor Authority, GM confirmed that its 2019 production run of 275 units was sold out minutes after pre-orders opened on Monday. The super-sedan, which boasts 550 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, stickers for $88,790.”
So GM takes the time to develop and build a car that stickers for $89k and sold it out in minutes. Then does not make anymore. Does this make marketing and sales sense to anyone?
I think they’re referring to the CT6-V in particular. And frankly, that car sounds kick-a**.
More basic versions of the CT6 go for a lot less money.
But, yeah, I wondered why GM would drop the mike on a car that was in its’ third model year as well.
Well, they kinda did that with Oldsmobile, only it was an entire brand going away and not just a car.
Oldsmobile was a different story altogether. The “sick man” of Detroit brand lingered for years and then they still have four year’s notice on it culling. Historically GM runs models for five MYs even if sales drop off but it seems in more recent years they will cut and run as Ford always had.
Keep in mind the Lacrosse is only in its 3rd model year also.
Frankly the whole thing seems like posturing. I 100% know this much though – you don’t just pack up, move, and get a vehicle production line of this sort back up running (IN A BROWNFIELD LOCATION), in one year time.
They’re axing it because they priced it like an A8, sold it like a Phaeton and marketed it like a Chevy SS. Oh yeah, and the non-configurable dash looks cheap.
Cue earned rant from DeadWeight.
so they sell out 275 units in minutes, and the thought never occurred to them to maybe make another 275, heck, even 2750?
2750 = $242 million. That defines how the corporate group think is destroying GM and F.
“Caddy’s flagship sedan”
Possibly only sedan quite soon.
No, they have the CT4 (or CT5, or whatever they’re calling it) in the pipeline. I doubt GM would be stupid enough to kill a car before it’s even introduced.
Then again, if they did that with the upcoming Blazer, I’d call it a brilliant move.
The Blazer is already in showrooms, my local dealer had a test drive promotion going last weekend.
Not that I disagree with your point though….
I realy like this car and hope it survives GM’s latest moronic moves. that said……if they make it in China…………i will not ever buy a Cadillac again. This game GM has with playing Russian roulette with cars and half assing their efforts has got to stop. They have ruined this once great company. They have tried my loyalty to the limit.
Great looking sedan in need of new marketing, and a new name.
Fleetwood or LaSalle would be a major improvement over generic CT6.
Who buys a Cadillac these days? Or , for that matter anything GM puts their name on? There are better choices in Every category that GM competes in. Is it the sky high union contracts , or tone deaf stylists ,or is Ms. Barra the wrong person to be guiding this seemingly doomed company. Just like Sears & Kmart , the decline seems impossible to stop. The GM fan boys remind me of Trump supporters….no matter how ridiculous it gets , they just can’t say no to their chosen one.
A quality product that you can save money over the Japanese, here is money GM. Not many can match them for driving dynamics and pricing.
The discouting is crazy that the cash today is better than any precieved Japanese resale value.
“Not many can match them for driving dynamics and pricing.”
Could say the same about a go-kart.
I think they are doomed as well. Look at how far the Koreans have come for example and how well those vehicles are selling. And why doesn’t GM really advertise? Other than the dumb “real people” commercials, the only GM ad’s I have seen on TV of late are for the Escalade and the new Silverado. Do they really need to put the advertising dollars on these vehicles?
When I see someone in a new Traverse (or similar), I can’t help but thinking that this is someone who has fallen for the “GM is more reliable than Honda/Toyota” BS.
The only people I know who drive any GM product are people whose parents worked for GM and still have the ’employee pricing’.
I’ll raise my hand. I have a 2017 Lacrosse and love it. I have no connection to GM.
I guess I’m like my eccentric neighbor when I was a kid who kept buying Studebakers when no one else would.
Unrelated to this news, but inspired by the pics plus the recent images of the XT6 and a couple concept vehicles, I am coming to rather like the Caddy design language around head- and taillights. For awhile they’ve been extending off the A&S vertical headlight language with foglights/DRLs/whatevers down the fascias, but I feel like they’ve established a newer concept where the lights extend in all 3 directions from the corners.
What I like about it—aside from getting away from slavish devotion to the fins of yore—is that it’s a flexible language: wants a big, scowly face? Max out the lights that outline the front. Want to make it zoomier? Stretch the lights along the fender. Similarly, on the back the light can extend the horizontal lines on slinkier models, create texture on relatively generic surfaces, or pull off other tricks.
I hope/assume that the designers have fully thought this through, and that usage will keep expanding through the line. The lighting schemes that got ubiquitous starting with the Fusion are incredibly tired and generic at this point, and I feel like the action is in departing completely, not just stretching or shaping the same basic idea of ‘elongated, slightly angled’ that (almost) everyone’s playing with.
*Somebody* has to like those LED tears.
Shhh, you’re not allowed to say nice things about GM and especially Cadillac around here.
Due to the tariffs Cadillac would not be able to bring the CTS6 over from China anyway. I am encouraged GM wants to save its best car.
Cadillac doesn’t build a CTS6 in any country.
I meant CT6. A Chinese version probably won’t be allowed in the country under the new tariffs laws.
Mary Barra has really made a mess of things.
If the only way this car exists in the future is by making it in China – it is, to me, dead already
This isn’t new. My 2010 CTS had “Made in China” all over the wiring harness, the aluminum wheels, and a lot of other places. The number of CT6 I see in the “right Towns” is miniscule. I mean literally less than the number of McLaren I see in the wild. When Ferrari is more common than CT6, the end result is that it just doesn’t sell. Period. No one will care where it is made. A Cadillac assembled in China ? It isn’t sudden change as much as creep.
Cadillac is the very last of the three year rinse and repeat car makers. They have a cohort who can afford it, and wants the new ones…so they make them survive the first owner-once the new wears off, the target gets a new lease. Cadillac does not care or countenance the second owner, unlike say the Germans who rely on new and CPO sales, and have to rate well in the TUV “pass rate” stats. (stringent inspections). This lets Cadillac build cheap and warranty the first owner.
I repeat. Not a single buyer will care where the car is made. When I replaced the front end links, they were OE GM and Made in Korea. The good oil filters were made in Poland (and sold under three different aftermarket brands, no less). The coils, etc were from Asia. The spark plugs were my favorite…big Red White and Blue AC Delco. On the back, in small black block letters, “Made in Germany”.
The days the bearings were from Dayton, the seats from Missouri, the electrics from PA, and the glass from NY, are long, long gone.