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Akerson says Cadillac will get a larger sedan within two years

It seems that during a recent affair showing off the 2014 Cadillac CTS, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson confirmed reports regarding a new Cadillac flagship sedan. According to USA Today, which Akerson was visiting, he said that a sedan larger than the XTS would debut within the next two years.
This matches up with what we heard earlier in the month about a Cadillac model that will go up against the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class (not a pricier, low-volume sedan also discussed in that article). But this is the first time a high-profile executive name has been attributed to such a report, and the first time a broad timeframe has been mentioned. This article adds that the unnamed car will be rear-, and all-wheel drive with a platform "loosely based" on the new CTS, with styling closer to that car than recent Cadillac concept vehicles. The XTS will continue production of course, as well.

Cadillac ATS sedan is in its last year

Cadillac has just confirmed that the ATS Sedan dies at the end of the 2018 model year. In an e-mail to CarBuzz, spokesman Donny Nordlicht wrote, "Production of the ATS Sedan is ending due to extensive plant upgrades, expansion and re-tooling to prepare for the next generation of Cadillac sedans." The admission confirms several months of deduction based on a document trail put together by The Truth About Cars. Last December, TTAC reported that General Motors didn't list a 2019 Cadillac ATS sedan on VIN documents submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Only the coupe remained, the presumption being that 2018 would be the last year for the sedan. That presumption was bolstered by industry sleuth Bozi Tatarevic's discovery this week that GM hasn't included the ATS sedan in the carmaker's fleet order guide. The death of the four-door ATS won't surprise anyone paying attention to statements from Cadillac or ATS sales figures. Brand then-president Johan de Nysschen strongly hinted last summer that three sedans would bite the dust come 2019, and one would be refreshed. We've seen the gussied-up CT6, so that put the XTS, CTS, and ATS in the funeral home. The XTS would die an unavenged death, while the CTS downsized into the properly midsized CT5 and targeted buyers in the $35,000 to $45,000 range, overlapping with $34,595 ATS sedan pricing by doing so. The ATS would go on hiatus, eventually resurrected as a compact luxury offering possibly called CT3 in coupe form and CT4 as a sedan sometime around 2020. As for the market situation, ATS sales are up 7.3 percent in the U.S. through the end of April this year compared to 2017. However, the ATS sold only 13,100 units in the U.S. in 2017, compared to 21,505 units in 2016 and a high of 38,319 in 2013, its first full year on sale. Assuming new Cadillac president Steve Carlisle stays the predicted course, GM might keep the ATS Coupe as a lure to sporty buyers in the segment until a possible CT5 coupe arrives. Otherwise, Nordlicht's e-mail said "Cadillac's future sedan portfolio will consist of three sedans, positioned in different segments and clearly differentiated by size and price." The 2019 ATS Coupe will stick with its three current engines, the 2.0-liter turbo with 272 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the 3.6-liter V6 with 335 hp and 285 lb-ft, and the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 in the ATS-V with 464 hp and 445 lb-ft of torque.

Cadillac's Butler announces surprise departure

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Cadillac's vice president of global strategic development, Don Butler, has resigned. Butler has held the position since April, after a term as vice president of US marketing for General Motor's luxury brand.
As the report explains, the timing here is pretty unfortunate for Cadillac. Butler is the third high-profile member of Cadillac's brass to depart in recent months, following the firing of US sales boss Chase Hawkins and the pending departure of Susan Docherty. Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told the Detroit paper, "Bob [Ferguson]," global boss for Cadillac, "and other leaders asked him to stay on. Don's here in the office today - and told our team that his decision is purely on a personal level. After three years of putting everything into Cadillac, he is stepping away for some personal time, and to consider new avenues in his life."
Butler says his decision is part of a decision to "recalibrate, reassess my priorities." Whatever the reason, it's an unpleasant surprise for Cadillac, which has been on a surge in 2013, with 30-percent jump in sales on the heels of the hot-selling ATS.