2015 Cadillac Escalade on 2040-cars

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GM laying off more than 4,000 workers Monday morning

According to reports from Automotive News, The Detroit News, and CNN, General Motors plans to begin laying off more than 4,000 salaried workers starting Monday morning. In a statement to AN, a spokesperson for the automaker said, "We are not confirming timing. Our employees are our priority. We will communicate with them first." We've been expecting layoffs at General Motors since November, 2018. At the time, the Detroit-based automaker announced it would seek to shed 8,100 salaried employees, shut down five assembly plants in North America, and kill off several slow-selling models. One month earlier, GM offered buyout packages to 18,000 workers and said it would seek to cut its global workforce by 25 percent. A spokesperson said at the time the moves were "proactive steps to get ahead of the curve by accelerating our efforts to address overall business performance." The cost-cutting moves are expected to save GM up to $2.5 billion in 2019 and as much as $6 billion by 2020. David Kudla, CEO and chief investment strategist of Mainstay Capital Management, referred to the impending culling as "Black Monday" and told The Detroit News that the layoffs would begin around 7:30 a.m. and continue in waves throughout the coming days and weeks. GM plans to deliver on its fourth-quarter and full-year 2018 earnings report on Wednesday. President Donald Trump plans to deliver the annual State of the Union address a day earlier on Tuesday. We expect to hear plenty more from both sides over the next several days.

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen expands on brand's future

Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen chatted with journalists at a recent roundtable, expounding on everything from domestic racing to Chinese manufacturing. The brand's been doing a slow burn on rolling out new products and increasing sales, but admittedly, there was a lot of work to do. After closing out last year 0.8 percent down in the U.S., the domestic luxury brand is more than 5 percent up so far this year, thanks to healthy double-digit bumps for the ATS and Escalade, and increased fleet sales. Globally, the brand's doing 21 percent better. The XT5 still outsells everything, though. Asked about slow sedan sales, de Nysschen cited a few reasons, one of them "energy prices," which are low enough to fuel the crossover craze. You can also read that as another admission that Cadillac doesn't have enough crossovers to please the crowds, a fact the XT4 will soon address. Yet de Nysschen also pegged the sedan malaise on "younger consumers who really are less tuned into dynamics and handling and all of those things that used to excite enthusiasts. It's more about the way cars complement and enable their lifestyle now." He topped that with a take on U.S. roads, saying, "I also have to say it may also be influenced a little bit by the decay of America's infrastructure. When roads no longer support high-performance sport sedans and ultra-low-profile rubber, people are going to respond to it." Those latter takes seem wide of the mark. Yes, BMW is the established leader, but the Munich carmaker sold 8,806 3 Series' so far this year in all variants, compared to 2,543 ATS coupes and sedans. Mercedes-Benz has sold 8,366 C-Class models so far in all variants. As for infrastructure, yes, it's a mess, but AMG sales rocketed up nearly 50 percent in the U.S. last year, nearly 10 percent of overall Mercedes sales, and the Three-Pointed Star expects that to rise again this year. People are buying sedans and performance models. They simply aren't buying enough of them with Cadillac badges. Cadillac has no plans to go racing in Europe since the brand doesn't have the kind of presence there to justify the investment. De Nysschen said they'll stick with the Daytona Prototype International formula in the U.S. domestic scene, and continue with the tech transfer from race to road.

2019 Cadillac Escalade Sport Edition goes dark for the L.A. Auto Show

Cadillac is taking a shallow swing at the L.A. Auto Show, which might have something to do with the churn and burn happening at the brand and at parent General Motors. The Escalade Sport Edition brings its dark hue to the West Coast shindig, a touch of anti-flash that's actually a pinstripe job. For $2,700, it installs Gloss Black Ice chrome on the grille, rear fascia, window surrounds, and body side moldings, and the otherwise optional 22-inch Midnight Silver wheels. That's the whole show. Available on three of the Escalade's four trims — Luxury, Premium Luxury, and Platinum — brand president Steve Carlisle said the Sport Edition comes "in response to customer and dealer demand for a dark and aggressive look." The least expensive 2WD Luxury model starts at $84,790, including destination, with orders commencing at the beginning of next year. For all that the package isn't, it is still a better deal than buyers got ten years ago, when the 2007 Escalade offered a similarly thin Sport Edition for $4,890. There are a few small changes for the Escalade line overall for 2019. The exterior colors Midnight Sky Metallic and Dark Granite Metallic leave the palette list, making room for Manhattan Noir Metallic and Shadow Metallic to join the list. In back, there's a hands-free tailgate with a logo light, standard on all trims. The Escalade Sport Edition represents both a beginning and an end for the model. The fourth-generation Escalade went on sale in 2014 as a 2015 model, and this is the first special edition it gets. This could be the last, too, since the fourth-gen money machine we called "Old, but not antiquated" in our Driver's Notes last month is expected to give way to a fifth-generation for the 2020 model year. Related Video: