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Cadillac and Buick boost GM's return to growth in China

BEIJING — General Motors on Monday said continued market recovery from the COVID-19 crisis helped its China vehicle sales grow 12% on year in July-September, marking the Detroit automaker's first Chinese quarterly sales growth in two years. The second-biggest foreign automaker in China by units — after Germany's Volkswagen AG — said on Monday it had delivered 771,400 vehicles in China in the third quarter. That followed a 5% fall in the second quarter, when parts of China were still emerging from virus-busting lockdown measures. GM has a Shanghai-based joint venture with SAIC making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac vehicles. It has another venture, SGMW, with SAIC and Guangxi Automobile Group, producing no-frills minivans and which has started manufacturing higher-end cars. Sales rose 26% for cars under its mass-market Buick brand in the third quarter versus the same period a year earlier, while those of premium brand Cadillac jumped 28%, GM said in a statement. Sales of its mass-market Chevrolet marque fell 20%. Sales of no-frills brand Wuling grew 26%, whereas those of mass-market Baojun vehicles tumbled 19%. "GM's compact models returned to four-cylinder engines and that helped sales growth," said LMC Automotive senior analyst Alan Kang, referring to an attempt to market cleaner but noisier three-cylinder versions. "Cadillac also has a more complete lineup this year." China's biggest automakers' association expects overall car sales to grow by double digits in July-September versus a year earlier. Makers such as Toyota, Honda and Geely saw sales jump in the just-finished quarter. GM has seen its China sales suffer in a crowded market and slowing economy. To revive its fortunes, it plans to have electric vehicles (EVs) make up over 40% of new models in the next five years in China, where the government promotes greener cars. The automaker's Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV, a micro two-door EV with a starting price of 28,800 yuan ($4,200), was China's biggest-selling EV in August. GM's sales fell 15% in 2019 from a year earlier to 3.09 million vehicles. The automaker delivered 3.65 million vehicles in 2018 and 4.04 million in 2017. Related Video:

2017 Cadillac XT5 cuts weight, adds room over SRX [UPDATE]

UPDATE: This post has been updated with a full set of official photos. Impressions on the interior and exterior have also been added. The attention of Cadillac fans may be focused on the new CT6 sedan, but the most important new vehicle in the New York-based company's quiver might be the all-new XT5. Cadillac officially unveiled the SRX replacement today ahead of its full debut in Los Angeles next week. Short for Crossover Touring 5, the new XT5 drops 278 pounds over the old SRX, while offering an extra 3.2 inches of interior space. The XT5's face balances the best parts of the Escalade and CT6's fascias, with a strong egg-crate grille and prominent LED accent lights. It looks good scaled to a vehicle of this size. The taillights curve up and over the rear haunches, which feed into a strong shoulder line that runs towards the front of the car. It's a solid look, and one we're looking forward to seeing in person. The interior looks very, very nice, with warm leather and wood trimmings. The steering wheel, with its large, central wood accent, looks remarkably good. In fact, it might be one of our favor parts, if only because it's such a bold piece of design. We aren't crazy about the sheer abundance of buttons on the wheel, though. All four spokes are covered, and it just looks kind of cluttered. As is the trend nowadays, the center console features a floating bridge design with plenty of storage space underneath. Our early impression of the leather-wrapped dash is positive, although as is so often the case, we need to get a hands on before rendering a final judgment. There are no major surprises under the hood. Like the current SRX, the XT5 utilizes the same 3.6-liter V6 as the CTS and ATS sedans. Start/stop has been fitted, which should provide a boost in fuel economy although no mileage figures have been published yet. Cadillac will also offer a standard 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder XT5, although for reasons that aren't clear, it's only for the Chinese market. This seems like a misstep in our eyes, considering the XT5 will challenge the likes of the BMW X3, Audi Q5, and Mercedes-Benz GLC – all of which offer four-cylinder turbos. With the V6, the XT5 delivers 310 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. While there's more total horsepower than the Lexus, Audi, or BMW, the 3.6 still faces a torque deficiency versus the turbocharged X3 xDrive35i or supercharged Audi V6. The XT5 has a standard eight-speed automatic transmission.

2014 Cadillac XTS Vsport

Not long after bombing around the Milford Road Course in the new CTS Vsport, Cadillac invited me to try out its other new-for-2014 Vsport model: the XTS. And despite using the same twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 from the CTS, the Vsport package takes on a whole new meaning here in Cadillac's softer flagship.
In the CTS, this trim perfectly bridges the gap between the standard models and the hardcore CTS-V, and is focused on being the best-driving version of the range without a standalone V badge. The XTS, however, has no proper V model, so the Vsport becomes the new range-topper for that line by default. But unlike the CTS Vsport, which uses rear-wheel-drive architecture and is focused on driving dynamics above all, the XTS is geared toward a much different customer.
The entire XTS experience is far more concerned with plush comfort than handling prowess, and while this Vsport model certainly ups the ante with more power and some mild suspension and steering tweaks, it's not exactly what we'd call a particularly engaging experience. But that doesn't mean it isn't good.