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de Nysschen pushes to separate Cadillac, GM

Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen continues his push to separate his brand from General Motors. After controversially picking up shop and moving to New York's trendy SoHo neighborhood, de Nysschen has now gone on record as saying that within two years, the brand will enjoy "a far higher degree of autonomy and self sufficiency." That autonomy will include the brand reporting its own financial results, independent of GM. But what would such a move do for Cadillac? Well, as de Nysschen explained it to Automotive News, "Cadillac at this state makes a very sizeable contribution to the overall profit at General Motors." If that's truly the case, separating financial announcements serves to emphasize the prosperous character de Nysschen seems so keen on attaching to his brand. But that's only one phase of Cadillac's push to distance itself from GM. De Nysschen is eager to revamp the company's dealership model so that it stands out from other GM brands, calling it a "very profound focus." Those moves, according to AN, including a change to the current dealer incentive model with a particular emphasis on building the brand rather than nailing sales figures. "If you aren't strengthening the brand perception, you should have less reward," de Nysschen told AN. While his goals seem clear, de Nysschen's statements have left us wondering whether they're also somewhat counterintuitive. Emphasizing Caddy's prosperity to potential consumers while incentivizing dealers to move less metal seems more like a tactical move rather than a strategic one. And there's no telling how the new dealership model will impact de Nysschen's goal to hit 500,000 global sales by 2020. Related Video:

2020 Cadillac CT4 First Drive | Small shoes to fill

Following an existential crisis of fits, starts, headquarters moves and executive shakeups, Cadillac has itself a new luxury sedan, the CT4. It’s a convincing driverÂ’s car, less convincing as a luxury car, and seems a long shot to lure BMW, Audi or Mercedes owners into the Cadillac fold. For all the changes at Cadillac, that sure sounds familiar. The 2020 Cadillac CT4 is a redesigned ATS by another, equally unmemorable name. That includes an updated rear-drive chassis with eager, enthusiast-friendly tuning and 50/50 weight distribution – always among the ATSÂ’ top selling points. Styling is another winner, with crisp sheetmetal and CadillacÂ’s distinctive lighting signatures helping to differentiate this Yank from the international crowd. Cadillac is stretching so hard to cherry-pick the CT4Â’s competitors, it's possible they might slip a disc. We all remember the ATS as an able, rear-driven rival to the compact BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class et al. But to paint the CT4 in a more competitive light – even as this sedan grows nearly 5 inches in length versus the ATS – Cadillac suddenly claims that its entry-level model, regardless of what it's now called, competes against subcompact, front-drive-based models like the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, Mercedes CLA-Class and Audi A3. Unfurling a tape measure reveals the truth: At a bit over 187 inches, the CT4 is actually longer than a 3 Series, C-Class, Audi A4 and every other major compact player. ItÂ’s a foot longer than an Audi A3. So, it's not a subcompact sedan, but there is one area where the CT4 does align with them – just not in a good way. The back seat is scrawny and hard-to-access, the result of its rear-wheel-drive platform and the sort of inefficient packaging that plagued the ATS. As such, it's better to think of the CT4, like the Genesis G70, as an affordable alternative to the roomier 3 Series, and other German compacts. And thereÂ’s nothing wrong with that. It starts at $33,990, undercutting the Germans by many thousands, and still boasts CadillacÂ’s greatest competitive strength: Smartly engineered ride-and-handling that matches up against the Euros with no excuses required. I drove the evident smart play in the CT4 lineup, the Premium Luxury 2.7 model, priced from $40,990, or $42,990 for the all-wheel-drive version I tested. (A Premium Luxury with the 237-horsepower 2.0T starts from $38,490, or $41,690 with AWD).

GM removes start/stop from full-size trucks and SUVs with V8 engines

GM is removing start/stop technology from a number of its popular full-size SUVs due to the ongoing chip shortage. This follows the removal of cylinder deactivation technology from some of its trucks, which was also due to the chip shortage. GM Authority first reported the news, but we’ve just confirmed everything with a GM spokesperson.  The following 2021 model year vehicles will be affected: Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. Only versions of those vehicles built with the 5.3-liter V8 or 6.2-liter V8 and mated to the 10-speed automatic will have the tech removed from them. Only vehicles manufactured on or after June 7 will be affected. “By taking this measure, it will enable us to continue production of our high-demand full-size SUV and pickups as the industry continues to rebound and strengthen,” GM said in a statement. Those who ultimately buy one of these vehicles without start/stop technology will receive a $50 discount off MSRP for their troubles. Losing this fuel-saving tech could be a big negative for some, but we know many folks turn it off anyway. Not having to press the button to deactivate start/stop every time could actually be a positive if youÂ’re part of the camp who does that already. 2021 Cadillac Escalade Sport Platinum View 27 Photos On the downside, GM says “most of the affected vehicles will experience a minor reduction in fuel economy.” We donÂ’t have revised window stickers in hand to know how each model will be affected, but any 1 mpg reduction will be rather impactful for vehicles rated as low as these trucks already are. Any reduction will be seen in the city mpg rating, so take the kind of driving youÂ’re going to be doing into account before purchasing. When it comes to greenhouse gas compliance rules, GM says it doesnÂ’t foresee this impacting the companyÂ’s average fleet score. It also intends to begin adding start/stop back to these models as soon as possible, but there will be no retrofit effort made to fit the tech to vehicles already built without it. “Our supply chain organization continues to make strides working with our supply base to mitigate the near-term impacts of the semiconductor situation,” GMÂ’s statement reads. “GM continues to leverage every available semiconductor to build and ship our most popular and in-demand products, including our highly profitable full-size trucks and SUVs for our customers.