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Cadillac boss says small SUV 'at least four years away'

Since Johan de Nysschen's takeover as brand president, there's a lot of buzz around Cadillac. Now, the brand's leader is now giving a little more clarity about when we might see some of the company's future vehicles, including its compact crossover. "Product development life cycles being what they are, I don't have a date in mind but I would estimate it is at least four years away," said de Nysschen about a small Cadillac CUV. The comments were made to Reuters during the Washington Auto Show. The vehicle is part of Cadillac's eight-model, $12 billion reinvention through 2020. Interestingly, de Nysschen told Autoblog at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show that he estimated the compact luxury CUV to arrive by early 2018. The boss also indicated that Cadillac would get a sedan to slot below the ATS some time in 2017, and the previously spied SRX replacement, possibly called the XT5, would debut in 2016. In the meantime, the company's flagship CT6 is being unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April. The wait for a luxury compact CUV makes Cadillac one of the later entries into the segment. The space is already filling with vehicles like the BMW X1, Audi Q3, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, Lexus NX and Lincoln MKC. Small crossovers in general seem to still be growing in sales. While building a better brand in the US, de Nysschen also wants to grow Cadillac in Europe in the future. He told Reuters that he wants diesel vehicles ready for 2019 to appeal to customers there. Some might even be offered in the US. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Scott Olson / Getty Images Design/Style Cadillac Crossover Diesel Vehicles Luxury de nysschen

Even if GM does close all 5 of those plants, it'll still have too many

DETROIT — General Motors' monumental announcement on Monday that it will close three car assembly plants and two powertrain plants in North America and slash its workforce will only partially close the gap between capacity and demand for the automaker's sedans, according to a Reuters analysis of industry production and capacity data. Sales of traditional passenger cars in North America have been declining for the past six years and are still withering. After GM ends production next year at factories in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario, it will still have four U.S. passenger-car plants — all operating at less than 50 percent of rated capacity, according to figures supplied by LMC Automotive. In comparison, Detroit-based rivals Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will have one car plant each in North America after 2019. The Detroit Three are facing rapidly dwindling demand for traditional passenger cars from U.S. consumers, many of whom have shifted to crossovers and trucks. Passenger cars accounted for 48 percent of retail light-vehicle sales in the United States in 2014, according to market researchers at J.D. Power and Associates. This year, sedans will account for less than a third of light vehicle sales. That shift in turn has left most North American car plants operating far below their rated capacities, while many SUV and truck plants are running on overtime. The collapse in passenger-car demand is a challenge for nearly all automakers in the United States, including Japan's Toyota and Honda, which have the top-selling models in the compact and midsize car segments. Toyota executives said last month they are evaluating the company's U.S. model lineup. But Toyota also plans to build compact Corolla sedans at a new $1.6 billion factory it is building in Alabama with partner Mazda. The obstacles facing GM in its plans to close more auto factories became apparent on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block payment of government electric vehicle subsidies to GM. While it is not certain that Trump unilaterally has the power to do that, he made it clear he intends to use his office to pressure the company to keep open a small car plant in Ohio that GM says will stop building vehicles in March.

Cadillac launches ATS-V, CTS-V Crystal White Frost editions

With power and performance enough to challenge the best that Europe and Japan have to offer, buyers in the luxury performance market shouldn't need much more reason to consider a new Cadillac ATS-V or CTS-V. But to make its fastest models that much more enticing, Cadillac is rolling out the new Crystal White Frost editions you see here. Available on the ATS-V coupe, ATS-V sedan, or CTS-V sedan (pictured), the new Crystal White Frost Edition models feature unique matte-finish white paint. They also get special wheels and the Carbon Fiber and Luxury packages as standard. Other equipment like Recaro buckets and microfiber-trimmed control surfaces are also available, among other options. GM's luxury division will only make 99 examples available across the three models – 39 ATS-V coupes, 31 ATS-V sedans, and 29 CTS-V sedans. So if you want to get your hands on one, you may have to act faster than these forced-induction performance machines will muscle their way around the track. Prices start at $71,460 for the smaller sedan and extend up to $94,900 for the larger one – those prices including destination but not taxes, registration, and other fees. For a full rundown of the equipment included and available, scope out the detailed press release below. Related Video: 2016 Cadillac V-Series Crystal White Frost Editions CELEBRATING THE FIRST-EVER CADILLAC ATS-V & THIRD-GENERATION CADILLAC CTS-V 2015-10-16 Cadillac today announced the exclusive Crystal White Frost Edition for all three of its new high-performance V-Series models – the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe and Sedan, and the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan. These new special edition models celebrate the ongoing launch of the first-ever Cadillac ATS-V and the third-generation Cadillac CTS-V super-sedan. They feature a special production run of low-gloss Crystal White Frost exterior paint, which first appeared for the world premiere announcements of the new V-Series models, receiving positive consumer reaction. The edition includes select V-Series wheels and Carbon Fiber and Luxury packages that are options on regular V-Series models. The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Crystal White Frost Edition sedans start at $71,460 and coupes at $73,660. The 2016 Cadillac CTS-V Crystal White Frost Edition sedans start at $94,990, including destination freight charges but excludes tax, title, license and dealer fees.