2014 Cadillac Ats 2.0l Turbo on 2040-cars

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Will attaching the electrodes re-animate Cadillac?

This announcement last week from General Motors —"Cadillac will be GM's lead electric vehicle brand"— followed quickly by the surprise reveal Sunday night of a Cadillac EV crossover, leads one to wonder whether this is a case of GM pulling out the defibrillator and hoping a full-on jolt of electricity will revive Cadillac from its ongoing diminution in the market. In 2018, Cadillac U.S. sales were 154,702 vehicles, which was down from the 156,440 it had sold in 2017. And the 2017 sales were down significantly from the 170,006 vehicles delivered by Cadillac in 2016. And that is down from the 175,267 sales of 2015. Sure, part of Cadillac's problem — one shared by some other OEMs — is that its sedans aren't selling. But if we put those to the side, realize that in 2018 sales of the venerable Escalade were down by 2.2 percent. Admittedly, that rig is a little old in the grille, and it's suddenly gotten strong competition from the Lincoln Navigator, so a sales decline isn't too surprising. But the XT5, the compact lux vehicle that was launched in 2016 as a model-year 2017 product, had an 11.3 percent decline in a segment that is doing nothing but growing. This is not promising. Although the argument at GM HQ might be that Cadillac can reinvent itself as a Tesla fighter, one of the things that isn't often noted about Tesla vis-a-vis other OEMs is that while sedan sales are generally down, Tesla, which had an estimated 2018 sales volume of 197,680 (according to Cleantechnica.com), made its numbers primarily with the Model 3 and Model S, both sedans, as it has just the Model X crossover. So it isn't just about vehicle architecture. It is going to take more than an electric SUV to change Cadillac's performance. But here's where circumstances can fall in Cadillac's favor. Scale can be highly beneficial to Cadillac versus Tesla. The Chinese market, even though it is weakening of late, will be largely predicated on "New Energy Vehicles," which means electrified and fully electric. And while Tesla only just now broke ground on a factory in China, LMC Automotive reports that as of December 2018, SAIC GM is already well-established there and is the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in China (behind SAIC Volkswagen and FAW Volkswagen). Cadillac is going to be able to take advantage of GM's global efforts in developing EVs, so soon the Cadillac showroom could be filled with an array of luxury EVs that may make even Tesla loyalists take another look.

It's going to cost $12 billion to fix Cadillac

The Cadillac CT6's development predates Johan de Nysschen taking over at Cadillac, but the forthcoming flagship is the luxury brand's first major new product launch since the beginning of his tenure. The vehicle's debut also marks the beginning of a comprehensive $12 billion renewal plan bringing eight new vehicles in the next five years. Now, the former Audi and Infiniti exec is talking about joining Caddy and the company's future. "Cadillac will be a powerhouse global luxury brand that will command the respect of its peers," de Nysschen said about the forecast state of the company in 2020 to Bloomberg. He disclosed that three of those new vehicles under the five-year plan would be crossovers and reiterated that plug-in hybrids are on the way that would take advantage of the Chevrolet Volt's tech advances. De Nysschen also reminisced about joining Cadillac last year. He told Bloomberg that leaving Infiniti wasn't an easy decision, and there were apparently long conversations on the phone with General Motors President Dan Ammann discussing strategy for the luxury brand. De Nysschen was apparently clear that a greater investment and more autonomy from the corporate mother ship were vital. These days, the revitalization of Cadillac is just getting rolling. The company has a swanky New York office with a dedicated team to focus on the future. According to de Nysschen, the brand will grow its staff to around 150 people by the end of the year, compared to over 40 now. The marketing plan is to position the American luxury brand as a more distinctive product versus more common German rivals. It's going to be very interesting to see if this new Caddy can dare greatly enough to accomplish these lofty goals.

Ecto-1 is the barn find of a lifetime in 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife'

Following the women-led "Ghostbusters" reboot in 2016, a completely new chapter in the franchise will be born in 2020. "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" will feature a fresh cast, a modern story and cutting-edge cinematics. Yet, one thing will remain the same: the famous Ecto-1. The first trailer for the upcoming film shows the classic movie car — a highly modified 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex — still has a little gas in the tank, even after sitting in a barn for more than 30 years. "Afterlife" follows a character played by Finn Wolfhard (Mike from "Stranger Things") as he, his sister and his mom are evicted and move to an inherited farmhouse in Summerville, Oklahoma. The property, previously owned by the kids' grandfather, turns out to be a secret storage facility for all of the old Ghostbusters gear. Grandpa was Dr. Egon Spengler. The research, the uniforms, the ghost traps and the Ecto-1 are all tucked away and out of sight. Trevor, Wolfhard's character, finds the automotive relic and is able to start the old box of bolts. He and his sister Phoebe are then seen careening the Ecto-1 through a field and testing out the car's gunner seat in town.  Paul Rudd enters the picture as Mr. Grooberson, a teacher at the kids' school who shows an interest in Phoebe's ghost trap. As somebody who remembers the Manhattan Crossrip well, Grooberson schools the kids on the past and, with them, explores their connection to it all.  The trailer closes with a Bill Murray quote from the original film: "Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma ... I believe that everything happens for a reason." He, along with Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver, are expected to have some sort of involvement in the new movie, though it's unclear what that will be. We'll find out more next year when "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" opens summer 2020. P.S. How about that Ford Ranchero GT?