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Despite De Nysschen saying it won't, Cadillac cuts struggling CTS prices

Ah, well that didn't last long. Not even two years after elevating the price of the then-new third-generation Cadillac CTS by $7,000, the company is now stepping back, telling dealers it will be slashing the price of the 2015 model by anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000. It seems that there are two reasons behind Cadillac's move. First, and most obviously, are its slumping sales, down seven percent last year. That figure is made worse, Automotive News reports, by the seven-percent gain made by the greater luxury market, not to mention gains from fellow American luxury brand Lincoln. Cadillac, meanwhile, also likely faced pressure from its dealer body, which AN reports hasn't been so keen on the price increases. The price reduction is something of a surprise following statements made by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen shortly after he took office. In September of last year, the 54-year-old exec, who took charge of Cadillac in July of 2014, defended the company's decision to raise prices, telling Automotive News a price cut was "not going to happen." It seems current conditions contradict de Nysschen's statements, though. "We're taking what we've seen are the more desirable optional features for customers and making them more readily available," Cadillac's Dave Caldwell said of the price cut. "Once a car has been on the market for a while, it's not unusual to look at the customer behavior and try to optimize for it." In what's sure to be a pleasant surprise for anyone in the market for a CTS, the most expensive models are getting the biggest price cut, with the price on the Premium and Performance Collection sedans dropping $3,000, AN reports. The 2.0T will get a $2,000 drop, while certain optional extras will now be standard on the Luxury trim, including a panoramic sunroof, navigation and Bose stereo.

Book by Cadillac subscription service returns next year

Cadillac rolled out its subscription service Book by Cadillac at the beginning of 2017. On December 1, 2018, the automaker put the service on hiatus after having made a few revisions and learned a lot of lessons. Just a month later, brand president Steve Carlisle told GM Authority at this year's Detroit Auto Show that Book was definitely returning. A week after that, GM chief financial officer Deborah Wahl said Book 2.0 could be ready as soon as Q2 this year. It's taken a touch longer than expected to sort out the kinks, but Automotive News reports Wahl told an audience at the J.D. Power/NADA AutoConference L.A. that the real return happens in the first quarter of 2020.  When Book went on hiatus last year, the service charged $1,800 per month for insurance, maintenance, unlimited miles, the ability to swap into any Cadillac at will, and concierge-like vehicle delivery to your location with amenities like bottled water, umbrellas, and detailing. Good things came of it for the brand, such as the 70% of subscribers who'd never owned a Cadillac. Yet the drawbacks were too much. At one point, the carmaker said Book's halt was due to technical issues like "snags with the back-end technology used to support the service" that hampered customer service and increased costs. Cadillac managed the Book's fleet, as opposed to the dealers, and consumer choice — or a lack of it — played a role in the hiatus. In Carlisle's comments to GMA, he said that subscribers didn't swap out vehicles nearly as much as expected. Even though everything up to the full-fat V-Series models was in the catalogue, Carlisle said of the customers, "They wanted an XT5." The devotion to that one product changed the economics. "Are [subscribers] going to stay in that service if thatÂ’s what they realize they want?" he asked. "It is inherent in that model that we maintain more than one car per customer. And you got to think through the economic implications of that. Particularly if utilization is a lot lower than we thought because people are switching less than we thought." Wahl didn't offer any specifics on how Book 2.0 will differ from Book 1.0, only saying that there will be more "convenience, flexibility and value for potential subscribers." There will be less focus on swapping cars, and Cadillac will "base it off the dealer network." Since the brand's 900 U.S. dealers have the inventory, anyway, that should help both parties.

Hennessy wastes no time in supercharging the 2015 Cadillac Escalade

The ink is still drying on the all-new 2015 Cadillac Escalade sales brochures, but that hasn't stopped Texas-based Hennessey Performance (HPE) from leaping out of the gate with its own high-performance variant. In stock form, the big fourth-generation Cadillac flagship arrives with a new small block naturally aspirated 6.2-liter Ecotec3 V8 delivering 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. Fresh out of the showroom, the 5,900-pound SUV will sprint to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds.
While that is plenty fast for some owners, others don't want to be shamed by a 550 horsepower Mercedes-Benz GL63 AMG or a 510 horsepower Land Rover Range Rover Sport - both will leave the stock Escalade at a stoplight.
The team at HPE has come to the rescue with its HPE550 supercharger upgrade, which includes a belt-driven supercharger, air-to-water intercooler, recalibrated engine management software and a three-year/36,000 mile powertrain warranty. With 6 psi of boost, the direct-injected 6.2-liter is tuned to deliver an impressive 557 horsepower and 542 pound-feet of torque - gains of 32 percent and 18 percent, respectively, over stock. Although HPE isn't releasing performance figures as of yet, our math says that should be enough power to put the two Europeans in the Cadillac's rearview mirror. The company also offers a set of 20-inch lightweight H10 forged monoblock wheels, to further improve performance.