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GM's Ultium EV platform finally shows up in Q3 sales numbers

General Motors has heralded its Ultium battery-electric platform as the future of its passenger car and truck lineup, but for the first two years of its existence, its impact on the marketplace has been virtually nonexistent. Well, that finally changed in the third quarter of 2023, and while the cars based on this architecture don't represent anywhere near the volume of GM's broader combustion portfolio, we're reaching a point where Ultium products are finally in view (and in the hands) of real-world shoppers. At this point, five U.S.-market Ultium models are in production: the GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer & Silverado EV, and BrightDrop Zevo 600. If you're not familiar with that last one, that's OK; it's a commercial product that you likely won't see on the road for some time. Together, these four combined for 4,257 sales in the third quarter alone — up from 2,663 for the entire first half of the year. While that may not seem like a significant uptick when viewed from altitude, the quarter-to-quarter numbers paint a clearer picture.  Let's toss out the stragglers first. The Chevy Blazer EV, and Silverado EV for example, are barely in production. GM delivered 19 Blazers and 18 Silverados in the third quarter and that's the entirety of their production runs so far. Likewise, GM's BrightDrop Zevo 600 delivery van effectively exists apart from the consumer marketplace, so its contribution of just 35 units can be set aside too. That leaves us the two you've heard of: the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq — models with high sticker prices and long reservation queues.  Through the second quarter (remember, we're talking six months here), GMC sold 49 Hummer EVs. No typo. In the three months that made up the third quarter, GM moved 1,167 of them. Not only is that a dramatic improvement over the first half, but it's more Hummers than GMC sold in the entirety of 2022 (854). Lyriq's improvement was less eye-popping on paper, but after moving just 122 total units in 2022 and 2,013 of them in the first half of 2023, Cadillac managed to up that figure to 3,018 units in the third quarter alone.  GM is betting its short-term EV future on the Ultium platform, so these trends need to continue if that's going to be a profitable wager.

2020 Cadillac CT6-V First Drive | A new kind of V

One of the weird tidbits of car news in the past year was the change in naming for the 2020 Cadillac CT6-V. When it was first revealed, it was called V-Sport, the term previously used for Cadillacs with more moderate performance upgrades than the full-blown V cars that possessed massive power outputs and serious track-going capabilities. But then, before the car in question went on sale, Cadillac changed the name to match the equally moderately sporty CT4-V and CT5-V that officially downgraded the V name. So what should we make of this CT6-V, then? Is it a hardcore performance machine like the old V cars? Or is it what we’re expecting of the new V cars: a lightly upgraded version of the base car that isnÂ’t particularly distinguished? As it turns out, the CT6-V sits between these two extremes to create a car thatÂ’s involving and exciting for the driver without compromising the CT6Â’s refinement and luxury. Mechanically, the CT6-V is ultimately closer to its full-bore V predecessors. The highlight is the “Blackwing” twin-turbocharged 4.2-liter V8 that makes 550 horsepower and 640 pound-feet of torque. Besides giving the engine prodigious output, Cadillac borrowed some pages from the AMG handbook: the turbocharger is nestled in between the cylinder heads, just like the current 4.0-liter AMG V8, and each engine is hand-built start to finish by one of six engine builders. The builderÂ’s name is even featured in the engine bay. TheyÂ’re special details that fit the idea of the old V cars, but the fact that a version of the same engine is in the Platinum CT6 does make its inclusion in the CT6-V seem less special, even if its output is notably less at 500 horsepower and 574 pound-feet of torque. Setting aside the details, the engine performs well in the real world. ItÂ’s astonishingly smooth, exactly what you want from a fast flagship. It also emits a unique exhaust note thatÂ’s both raspy and growly. You wonÂ’t mistake it for a pushrod powerplant. The power and torque provide a prominent push at all points in the rev band after a brief moment for the turbos to spool up. ItÂ’s just a shame there isnÂ’t much of a rev band, as the engine redlines at 6,000 rpm, which is easy to hit thanks to the engineÂ’s creamy character. ItÂ’s so low one wonders why Cadillac bothered developing a double-overhead-cam engine at all. The V8 is coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. The 10-speed is perfectly fine when cruising around town.

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.