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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.

Cadillac's 4.2-liter Blackwing V8 to die with the CT6?

Cadillac's 4.2-liter twin-turbo Blackwing V8 debuted only last year, popping up in the CT6 V-Sport — now the CT6-V — with 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. The engine's been stymied in every attempt to power a different Cadillac model since then. Its only two use cases have been a first and second run of the original, limited-edition super sedan and the CT6 Platinum V8 trim at a slightly detuned 500 hp and 553 lb-ft. Motor Trend cites "a highly placed source at GM" as saying that the Blackwing won't go into the coming high-performance version of the CT5-V nor in the next-gen Escalade. Left without options, there's a chance the Blackwing will die with the CT6, itself a sedan with its grille on the executioner's block just waiting for the bite of an ax that might or might not shortly fall. Cost-cutting has been tagged as the reason for this misfortune; Cadillac's sales malaise and lack of clarity as to how to turn sales around led GM to downsize the brand's allowance. The parent company chose to build the new CT5 on the Alpha platform used for the erstwhile ATS and CTS instead of the Omega platform underpinning the CT6. Along with that choice, the MT report says expense reasons nixed fitting the Blacking V8. We know the lower-tier V series CT5 will work with a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 making 355 hp and 400 lb-ft. When we heard spy video of the upper-tier V series CT5 out testing, the engine sounded like the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 that would be a carryover from the last model.  The XT6, also rumored to get some V sauce, simply can't fit the V8. Instead of sitting on the Omega platform as once planned, the XT6 rides on the C1XX architecture under other GM products like the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse. The C1XX engine bay doesn't have room for a stouter V6, much less a hi-po V8. The next-gen Escalade ruled itself out due to price issues in back, not in front. MT writes that the independent rear suspension supporting GM's next-gen full-sized SUV quartet has burned through cash in development, putting engineers a few direct deposits short of the funds needed to massage Blackwing installation. Earlier this year at least one report said the twin-turbo DOHC V8 could serve the top-spec next-gen Escalade. More recent reports of a performance-heavy next-gen Escalade have predicted the 6.2-liter supercharged LT4 V8 from the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Corvette Z06.

Cadillac XT3 caught covered in copious camouflage

While a bit difficult to tell thanks to the impressive camouflage used, what we're looking at here is likely the upcoming Cadillac XT3. There are a few details that stand out to lend credence to this prediction. There are a handful of sharp angles scattered throughout that are in line with Cadillac's modern design language. Specifically in the LED running lights and on the side mirrors. The rear profile also is reminiscent of the current, and slightly larger XT5. The rear lights extend into the D-pillars, which would match the current Escalade. We get a pretty clear picture of the rear suspension on this XT3. It's clearly an independent rear suspension using coil springs. While General Motors uses independent suspension on some of its crossovers, we can't quite match it to a particular model. We believe that if the XT3 is based on an existing model (which it almost certainly is), the platform and suspension have been substantially modified. The XT3 could use a version of the D2XX platform that underpins the Buick Envision. However, we know from a previous report that the XT3 will likely be built at the factory that produces the Buick LaCrosse and Chevy Malibu. The XT5 uses a modified version of the LaCrosse/Malibu platform, so it's possible the XT3 could use a shorter version of the XT5 chassis. Depending on how small the XT3 ends up being, it might even share a platform with the Chevy Trax and Buick Encore. However, considering their economy car roots and torsion-bar rear suspension, we think that's the least likely. Regardless of what chassis is underneath its crisp bodywork, we expect the XT3 to be released sometime next year. Related Video: