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Cadillac XT4-V on the way?

An anonymous photographer sent Cadillac Society two tightly cropped images of an XT4 crossover wearing two surprising badges. On the right, above the taillight, there's a 2.7 badge, In the lower right corner there's a V Series badge — the full-fat, multicolored V badge, not the monochrome V-Sport version. The images — assuming they're real — elicit more questions and no answers, the first being, is this the XT4 V-Sport that's been rumored since last October? Back then, GM Authority discovered front and rear images of such a vehicle hiding in plain sight, on a Cadillac site landing page. The backside of a thick-hipped XT4 is graced with the old V-Sport badge. We know the carmaker has split its V Series cars into two tiers, the lower intended to be less intimidating than before, the upper tier the continuation of the mongo V Series cars we've known and loved. The hints have been that the entry level will be called V Series, while the upper level takes the name "Blackwing," after the name of Cadillac's new 4.2-liter, twin-turbo V8 engine. With Mark Reuss himself having said, "We got rid of all the V-Sports," this supposed XT4-V offers more proof that V Series effectively represents a new V-Sport line. The only cosmetic giveaways to increased performance we can see are a carbon fiber trim in the license plate area, and an exhaust treatment similar to that on the recently introduced CT4-V. We're not certain what the 2.7 badge means for V branding on crossovers. The standard XT4 wears a 2.0 badge on the tailgate, representing its 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. The XT5 gets a number, too, but the XT6 does not. GM's 2.7-liter four cylinder with 311 hp and 348 lb-ft first showed up in the Chevy Silverado, will get 320 hp and 369 lb-ft in the coming CT4-V, and has been predicted for the XT4-V. However, V cars — both Sport and Series — have never worn displacement badges. The new CT4-V and CT5-V go without numerical identifiers on their decklids. If there is an XT4-V on the way this year, we only have a few months before we see it and get some answers.

C7 Corvette won't spawn new Cadillac XLR [w/video]

Between the new 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray and the even newer Cadillac Elmiraj Concept shown off at Pebble Beach, we were already expecting some sort of chatter of a Cadillac XLR redux. During an in-depth C7 Corvette discussion with Tadge Juechter, the car's chief engineer, Fox News asked if a Corvette-based, Bowling Green-built Cadillac will be built off the C7. Non-spoiler alert: the answer is no.
Juechter says that General Motors has "no intent" on transforming this car into a Cadillac product since the C7 has been optimized for the Corvette buyer, a consumer that's generally a different sort of person than a Cadillac intender who might also be cross-shopping a Mercedes-Benz SL-Class or BMW 6 Series.
While we're not ready to write off a future XLR altogether, we assume that the Corvette Cadillac experiment is most likely never going to happen again. The interview with Juechter is posted below, but the XLR discussion comes in at the 9:00 mark.

GM's redesigned full-size 2021 SUVs face delay over coronavirus

As General Motors works to conserve cash for the coronavirus pandemic, the automaker reportedly told suppliers that it is postponing development of several future vehicles. The situation may cause GM to delay the launch of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban SUVs, which had been planned to roll out in April. The original launch plan for the redesigned full-size SUVs, which are some of the most profitable vehicles produced by GM, had called for production of the current models to end at its plant in Arlington, Texas, this week. After a retooling process, the redesigned SUVs were slated to begin production late in the month of April. In an email to suppliers viewed by Reuters and confirmed as authentic by GM, the automaker also said it was suspending development work on six future vehicle programs, including updates of the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Cadillac XT4, Bolt EV, Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. GM said preproduction work on those programs would be pushed back to calendar year 2021, with most of the updated vehicles scheduled to be launched as 2022 models. According to the Detroit News, work has also been paused on the Chevy Camaro and a future version of the Corvette that has yet to be unveiled and wasn't planned for production during the 2020 calendar year. Last week, the automaker told employees and suppliers it was delaying work on some future vehicles while pushing ahead with near-term models such as its redesigned full-size SUVs and the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Bolt EUV and Cruise Origin, as well as its new Ultium battery system. A GM spokesman who spoke with Reuters reiterated on Monday what the automaker had said last week — that the situation with its U.S. plants was "fluid" and that the automaker would "continue to evaluate" whether and when to reopen those plants on a week-by-week basis, with "employee safety" guiding that decision. GM said previously that it was closing most of its U.S. plants indefinitely. In its Monday email, GM asked suppliers to stop work on all pre-production tooling and pre-production parts manufacturing, but also not to dispose of any tooling or materials. GM told Reuters it had solicited volunteers from its workforce to finish the build-out of the current SUVs on a single shift in Arlington.