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2023 Cadillac Lyriq production model revealed with range, power, price

We got our first look at the Cadillac Lyriq's design last August, and now the company is revealing the official production version of the electric crossover. The good news is that it looks almost identical to the preproduction version no matter where you look, inside or outside the car. It has the same long hood, low roof, creased body work, illuminated grille and groovy taillights. The interior retains the 33-inch instrument and infotainment screen and wood and metal trim. Only detail changes to things like the camera in the grille and the reworked control knob in the center console distinguish it from the concept. So if it basically looks the same, what's new here? Well, we finally have specifics on all the stuff that powers the concept-car body. At launch, the Lyriq will only be offered with a single motor and rear-wheel drive. The motor makes 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque funneled through a single-speed transmission. Supplying the motor with juice is a 100-kWh battery, though Cadillac didn't specify if that's the usable capacity or gross capacity. Cadillac estimates that the battery will provide more than 300 miles of range on a single charge. The initial models will be equipped with on-board charging equipment that can handle 19.2-kW Level 2 charging and 190-kW DC fast charging. The former can add 52 miles of range in an hour, and the latter can add 76 miles of range in 10 minutes and 195 miles in half an hour. Cadillac has made no mention of an 800-volt extra-fast DC charging system like in the GMC Hummer EV. There's a chance a system like that could be offered later, just like the forthcoming all-wheel-drive Lyriq variant. The Lyriq rides on multi-link independent suspension at all four corners, using "passive-plus" shocks, so it won't be adaptive or use GM's fancy magnetic suspension, at least at launch. Braking is provided by large 17-inch rotors at the front and 18-inch units at the back, welcome additions for the 5,610-pound crossover. Cadillac also gave us some basics on what equipment will be offered with the first run of Lyriqs. Only two colors, a silver and a black, will be available to begin with, and another silver will come a tad later. We imagine more colors will be offered on later Lyriq models. The interior comes in gray or black. Twenty-inch wheels are standard with 22-inch examples available as an option.

Cadillac tipped to call flagship something other than LTS

Cadillac wouldn't be Cadillac without large sedans in its lineup, and while the XTS has had to hold down that end of the fort all on its own, it won't have to for too long. That's because the luxury brand in the General Motors portfolio is preparing to roll out its new LTS, stylistically previewed by the Elmiraj concept pictured above. Only now, the latest thinking is that the upcoming flagship model may not be called LTS at all.
As Automotive News points out, Cadillac's naming scheme is all over the place at the moment. The ATS slotting below the CTS makes sense (alphabetically), but where do the ELR, SRX and especially the Escalade fit into that naming hierarchy? And how would LTS - as the project has been known until now - sit above the XTS?
Fortunately, Cadillac may be on the case, as two of the division's most recent senior appointments seem keen to rationalize the naming scheme. One is Uwe Ellinghaus, who joined Cadillac as chief marketing officer late last year. Speaking of the brand's nomenclature last spring, Ellinghaus was quoted as saying, "We are aware that this is currently a weakness of the Cadillac brand." And his new boss is bound to agree.

Confident new Cadillac marketing boss ready to take on Tesla, BMW

When there's a former BMW executive heading Cadillac's efforts to boost sales of its only plug-in, it's a pretty safe guess that the marketing emphasis won't be on environmental friendliness and tree-hugging tendencies. The General Motors luxury brand has appointed ex-Bimmer executive Uwe Ellinghaus to be its marketing chief late last year, and the German-born Ellinghaus is now saying that he's targeting potential customers of Tesla Motors, in addition to BMW, for potential growth in sales of the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in. Appointed to Cadillac's head of marketing last November, Ellinghaus recently told Advertising Age that GM needs to highlight the Cadillac's looks and performance. He complimented Tesla for putting more emphasis on those attributes in the Model S than on its lack of emissions or lack of refueling costs (but Tesla hasn't shied away from highlighting the EV's savings). Ellinghaus says that trying to gear advertising "for people who are tree-huggers and green-wash an entire brand" won't be successful. You don't say. So far, the ELR hasn't made much of a dent in US car sales. Through May, Cadillac, which spent about $280 million on all of its US marketing last year, sold 293 units, whereas Tesla had been approaching the 11,000-unit figure for the Model S. With that in mind, Cadillac may be working on a sportier version of the ELR, as spy shots of a test vehicle from May revealed larger brakes and wheels. You can read our First Drive impressions of the ELR here.