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2014 Cadillac ELR

Well, this is awkward.
A few years ago, Audi Of America's boss Johan de Nysschen went on record describing the Chevrolet Volt as "a car for idiots." Fast-forward to earlier this summer, and the well-regarded executive suddenly found himself in a new office with new business cards bearing the title: President, Cadillac. That means that among other challenges, de Nysschen is now tasked with selling the ELR, a car that is, at its core, a Volt in a sportier, less utile frock wearing a price tag that's twice as expensive.
Frankly, it's not a prospect we imagine the South African executive and recent Infiniti boss relishes. Just about nobody is buying the ELR - Cadillac has sold but 774 examples of its plug-in hybrid coupe this year and it presently has an almost a 200-day supply according to Automotive News. What's more, those numbers actually represent big improvements over just a few months ago, before GM started heaping on the incentives. The cynic in us says that the bad news for De Nysschen is that he's got a borderline sales-proof car in his new corporate garage. The good news? Cadillac customers apparently aren't idiots.

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.

Luxury car brands scrambling to avoid a blue Christmas

DETROIT — When financial markets surge to new records, sales of luxury cars usually rise, too. Instead, October U.S. auto sales reports on Wednesday showed that a collapse in sales of luxury sedans is accelerating. Consumers have gradually shifted over to luxury sport utility vehicles from sedans in the past decade, but the trend — which has occurred in both the non-luxury and luxury sedan segments of the auto market — was particularly pronounced in October. Sales of Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz S-Class, long a global benchmark for large, premium sedans, plunged 49 percent in October, and are down 24.8 percent for the year to date. General Motors' Cadillac brand said it sold just 779 of its CTS sedans in October. Demand for that car, designed to compete with German luxury sedans, is down nearly 33 percent for the year. "There's still a significant portion of the market that wants a car, but I'm sure there were people who preferred a horse to a car at one point." Cadillac's best-selling model this year is the XT5 compact SUV, which has more than doubled sales from a year ago. The shift within the luxury vehicle market away from sedans toward SUVs of all sizes is forcing some of the most prestigious brands to scramble to add SUV models to their lineups or boost SUV production to meet demand. "In the short term, there will be pressure to add (consumer) incentives, cut production or both," said Cox Automotive analyst Michelle Krebs. "And we just don't see an end in sight to this trend." The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been trading at all-time highs, usually a good sign for luxury sedans, but as major automakers reported new U.S. vehicle sales for October on Wednesday, sales for passenger cars continued their slide while luxury SUV and crossover sales rose again. According to Kelley Blue Book data, in 2007 luxury sedans made up 7.6 percent of U.S. new vehicle sales, while luxury SUVs made up 4.2 percent. Through September this year, luxury SUVs made up just over 7 percent of the market, compared with 4.9 percent for luxury sedans. In the short term, luxury brands could use holiday season sales promotions to clear slow-selling sedans off dealer lots, analysts said. Toyota's Lexus brand said on Wednesday it will launch its "December to Remember" year-end sales promotion for the 18th straight year.