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Cadillac will build a Tesla fighter, sources say, as GM's leading EV brand

WASHINGTON — Cadillac is expected to become General Motors' lead electric vehicle brand as the largest U.S. automaker gears up to introduce a new model under that luxury marquee to challenge Tesla, two people briefed on the matter said Thursday. GM is set to announce Friday as part of an investor update that a Cadillac will be the first vehicle based on its forthcoming "BEV3" platform, the people said. The vehicle platform is the basis for vehicle underpinnings, including the battery system and other structural and mechanical parts. GM is not expected to disclose on Friday additional details, including precisely when the Cadillac EV will be built, whether it will be a crossover or sedan, or where it will be assembled, the sources said. A GM spokesman declined to comment. GM had previously focused on making electric vehicles under its mass market Chevrolet brand, including its plug-in Chevrolet Volt and battery electric Bolt. GM announced last year it was ending production of the plug-in Volt as well as a low-selling plug-in Cadillac CT6, even as it moved to boost EV spending. GM said in November as part of its restructuring efforts it was doubling resources for electric and autonomous vehicle programs over the next two years. Last month, two Ohio senators asked GM to commit to building all future electric vehicles for U.S. buyers within the country. GM said in 2017 it planned by 2021 to introduce a new dedicated flexible electric vehicle architecture and an advanced battery system to support the development of at least 20 new models in the United States and China. GM said in 2017 that a new electric vehicle platform in 2021 will serve as a base for at least nine derivatives, ranging from a compact crossover to a large seven-passenger luxury sports utility vehicle and a large commercial van. Johan de Nysschen, who was then Cadillac's president, told Reuters at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2018 the luxury brand will play a "central role" in GM's electrification strategy, including China. He added that Cadillac would be "at the forefront" of rolling out new electric vehicles in the United States and China. He left GM in April. This week, GM said Cadillac sales in China rose 17.2 percent in 2018, surpassing 200,000 units for the first time. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has said that GM aims to sell 1 million electric vehicles a year by 2026, many of them in China, which has set strict production quotas on such vehicles.

Mystery Cadillac coupe concept revealed in patent drawings

We have been reminded once again that when Cadillac designs a coupe, it's usually spectacular. The reminder comes in the form of a patent drawing filing that was previously reported on by Jalopnik. In the filing are shots of the two-door from just about every angle, and there's not a bad one in the bunch. Unfortunately, there isn't really any other information about the car in the patent, so the car remains a mystery in that regard. Still, there's a fair amount to be gleaned from the images. It certainly looks sportier than most recent Cadillac concepts. It has a fastback roof and a short deck lid. The rear bumper has a diffuser design fitted to it. The rear fenders are very wide. It has large auxiliary grilles on each side of the center one, and the way the taillights are designed seem to hint at extractor vents. The overall proportions even look a bit like those of the Camaro, but possibly a little larger. The car also looks like it's probably a concept. The side mirror stalks are far too skinny to actually be production units. The big diffuser and center exhaust, plus those rear extractor vent designs seem a little much for a production model, too. The headlights are also a little on the small side. Being a concept (probably), we're a little worried. We really want to see this thing come to market, but Cadillac has a bad track record of showing beautiful concepts that never make it to production, even when they aren't particularly over-the-top. The Elmiraj and Ciel are two that come to mind. The former was a coupe, too, and was elegant and grounded. We never got a production version of either. We did see some styling inspiration from the Elmiraj on the ATS and CTS, but they never quite captured the concept's beauty. Then again, when Cadillac has managed to bring a recent concept to production, the results haven't great. The Converj concept became the ELR, and while the styling came through fine, it was hampered by an uninspiring powertrain and an excruciating price tag. But hey, Cadillac could always prove us wrong. And we would like them to. Related Video: Featured Gallery Cadillac Coupe Patent Drawings News Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark OfficeImage Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Cadillac Coupe Concept Cars Luxury

Such Sweet Sorrow: Cadillac's CTS-V gets an Irish wake

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The honkin', stonkin' second-generation CTS-V, powered by Cadillac's brawny supercharged 6.2-liter V8 has been a very good thing. And now that the 500 final coupes – the only CTS-Vs designated 2015 models – have been built (just five remain unsold as of this writing), it is indeed a good thing that's come to an end. But Cadillac is not letting 2009–2015 CTS-V go gently into that good night, even as its replacement is poised to debut in just in just two months at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Instead, Cadillac invited us to Austin's Circuit of the Americas racetrack for what it called an "Irish wake" for the model that has proven to be one of the quickest and most charismatic models in General Motors' history. If you don't know what an Irish wake is, if you envision storytelling, songs, debauchery and more than a little liquor, you'll be in the ballpark. In this case, though, adrenaline substituted in for the booze, with squealing tires and shrieking V8s providing the singing. The debauchery took the form of an all-you-can-drive lapping of COTA in all three bodystyles – coupe, sedan and wagon – and the stories were told by the grins plastered on our faces all day. First and foremost, we'll miss the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Even after six years with no major changes, the CTS-V is surprisingly spry. Certainly, you never forget that it's a heavy thing, weighing in anywhere between 4217 pounds for the manual-equipped coupe to 4424 for an automatic wagon, but with 0-60 times of about four seconds and the ability to hit about 150 mph on COTA's back straight, the Vs remain an absolute hoot on the track. Sure, some of its details – the blocky front fascia shapes and the spoiler on the sedan and coupe models, for example – look a bit dated, but the overall design still looks sufficiently badass. The interior design has worn pretty well, too, and however Cadillac may feel about center stack buttons being so last decade, we favor them over the capacitive-touch madness of today's CUE system. We're not going to bother doing another full review of the car here, but suffice it to say, there is plenty we will miss. First and foremost, will be the CTS-V's perfect balance of luxury and sportiness. Rumor has it that Cadillac will offer the 6.2-liter LT4 V8 in the next generation (we predict about 600 hp), but we hear that the new car will skew more toward luxury than balls-out performance.