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GM cutting vehicle trim options to save money for electrification

Information continues to filter out about GM's plans based on comments the automaker made during its Capital Markets Day event in February. GM President Mark Reuss said the company's push to save money by rationalizing the number of build combinations will continue in 2020, carrying on the work done in 2019. As GM Authority covers, last year, the carmaker cut 3,500 components across model lines, a 12% drop in the number of parts it needed to stock in its plants. Reuss used the next-generation Chevolet Equinox and GMC Terrain as examples for more cost efficiencies, saying build possibilities — which include international markets and their options — will be cut by more than 50%, and use more shared parts. "We will reduce total trim levels on Equinox and Terrain from eight to six," Reuss said, "reduce engine variants from 11 to 5, reduce build combinations from more than 200 to less than 100 per program, and see significant cost savings of an already paid-for architecture that took the mass out, helping us self-fund electrification programs." GM will plow a large amount of the money it saves into its ambitious EV program. In 2017, the automaker said it intends to have 20 electric vehicles on the market by the end of 2023, some of which could be shared between brands. An automotive analyst at Seeking Alpha and a piece in Automobile attempted to put specifics to what we should expect. As Automobile points out, the first two EVs in the 20-car program are already on sale, being the Ariv Meld and Ariv Merge eBikes available in Belgium and The Netherlands. We've seen the Cruise Origin autonomous rideshare taxi, although we don't know when it will hit the road. The next three, which we should see in the metal shortly, are two Cadillac EVs and the GMC Hummer EV pickup. The Cadillac pair are expected to be sized like the XT4 and XT5, and along with the Hummer, should hit the market starting in late 2021.

2016 Cadillac CT6 shows crisp sense of style in leaked images

You're looking at the 2016 Cadillac CT6, aided by the almost inevitable internet-aided leak, ahead of its debut at the New York Auto Show this week. As you can see, the overall shape is straight-edged and aggressive, and overall in keeping with what we've seen from Cadillac over the last several years. High-tech lighting clusters extend from the fender peaks all the way down in what appear to be LED strips toward the lower fascia and its rectangular fog lights. A suitably massive grille encrusted in chrome boasts one of the larger Wreath and Crest badges we've ever witnessed on a car. Under that sharply creased hood will sit a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine with 400 horsepower at its disposal, according to Cadillac, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. A naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 will also be available, we're told. We may wish for an edgier range-topping sedan from Cadillac, but it's not really fair to draw any real conclusions from just one leaked image. In other words, stay tuned, 'cause the rest of the story won't be far behind.

Cadillac electric crossover will be revealed in April

Cadillac will unveil a midsize electric crossover in April, brand President Steve Carlisle told dealers at the National Auto Dealer Association (NADA) Convention Monday. The new crossover will be Cadillac's first all-electric vehicle.  The New York Auto Show is April 10-19, with press days April 8-9. It's unclear whether the Cadillac reveal would happen there, or as a standalone event before or after. Per Automotive News, Carlisle told the assembled representatives that Cadillac has big plans for transitioning from an all internal-combustion lineup to one anchored in electric cars.  "We enter this decade as an internal combustion engine brand. We want to position ourselves to exit as a battery-electric brand, so we have to manage both at the same time," he said.  Early last year, Cadillac teased the new midsized crossover, telling us to expect it to come in two- and four-wheel-drive flavors and to be offered as a global model. The last we heard of GM's plans to electrify its luxury brand came in December, when Carlisle laid out an aggressive plan to switch over its entire lineup by 2030.  Just a week later, parent company GM canceled its plans to appear at CES earlier this year because the model it planned to showcase was not ready to be unveiled due to delays introduced by the UAW strike last fall.  Not even two weeks after the tech show concluded, GM introduced of the self-driving Cruise Origin at a private event in San Francisco, prompting speculation that it was the original subject of GM's CES plans. Whether the Cruise Origin or Cadillac's new mystery midsizer was to bow at CES, there's only one left to reveal now.  Cadillac has been keeping news of its future EV offerings largely on the back burner. The brand has been busy effectively re-launching its entire lineup — an effort that will culminate with the rollout of the new Escalade SUV later this year.  In Carlisle's NADA remarks, he indicated that Cadillac dealers will learn more about the company's plans at a meeting in September.    Green Cadillac GM Crossover Concept Cars Electric Future Vehicles Luxury