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Cadillac planning more Vsport models

There's a new intermediate class of luxury performance cars emerging. Audi has been doing it for years with its S-line bridging the gap, in many cases, between the standard fare and the full-on RS performance range. BMW's getting in on it with the M Sport line slotting in below the full M models. And now Cadillac is joining the fun with its Vsport offerings.
Models like the CTS Vsport and XTS Vsport are packing a new 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 with 410 or more horsepower (along with bigger wheels and brakes) to slot in between the standard model and any impending V variant. Well, it appears Cadillac isn't about to stop there.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Cadillac product chief Hampden Tener revealed that, based on the response to the XTS Vsport, the brand is planning more Vsport models. He did not, however, indicate which would be the next to get the slightly sportier treatment. With the full ATS-V expected to pack a version of the same engine powering the aforementioned XTS and CTS Vsport models, an ATS Vsport would have to pack a smaller engine to fit in below. That only leaves the SRX crossover, Escalade SUV and the upcoming ELR hybrid. Food for thought.

Cadillac will expand its range of high-performance Blackwing models

Cadillac proved the American sport sedan isn't dead when it introduced the Blackwing variants of the CT4-V and the CT5-V (pictured) in February 2021. Launched to denote a short-lived V8 engine, the nameplate will appear on other go-fast members of the company's range in the coming years, but there's at least one model it will steer clear of. "Blackwing is reserved for really the pinnacle, the purest expression of performance and track capability, and that's what it's going to stand for going forward. [The CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing] won’t be the last Blackwing cars that we do, but you wonÂ’t see one on every vehicle. ItÂ’s not appropriate. I couldnÂ’t imagine doing an Escalade-V Blackwing," said Cadillac engineering boss Tony Roma in an interview with enthusiast site GM Authority. His comments are reassuring, because they confirm that Cadillac won't water down the Blackwing badge by putting it on sporty-looking models that are more show than go. What's next remains up in the air. The CT4 and the CT5 are Cadillac's only sedans as of writing, so the next Blackwing-badged model will either be an electric car, a crossover, or both. Regardless, it should arrive as a truly track-capable hot rod developed for hardcore enthusiasts. For others, Roma also suggested more V-badged cars are in the pipeline, though he stopped short of listing the models the emblem will appear on. Demand for quick crossovers is growing steadily in America, so it's not difficult to imagine an XT4-V, for example. And, an unverified report published in February 2021 claims the Escalade's 6.2-liter V8 will soon receive a 200-horsepower bump thanks to a factory-backed, dealer-installed supercharger. If the rumor is accurate, the 600-plus-horse Escalade could be the V-branded model that Roma alluded to in the interview. "The V-Series lineup has expanded," he said. "You're going to see more of that in the future. We're going to do more V-Series. It's important to our brand, and you'll see it on other products." Related video:

Junkyard Gem: 1998 Cadillac Catera

Every so often, during the last few decades of the 20th century, the suits running each of the big Detroit automakers would eye their European subsidiaries and decide that some car from the other side of the Atlantic could be making dollars over here in addition to pounds or francs or Deutschmarks over there. Chrysler didn't do so well with Simca 1204s or Plymouth-badged Hillman Avengers in the American marketplace (though the Simca-based Omnirizon did very well). Ford USA moved quite a few Capris and Fiestas during the 1970s, then bombed with the Merkur Scorpio and XR4Ti. General Motors tried, over and over, to get Americans to buy Opels (some sold by Buick dealers, others actually badged as Buicks), and I still see the occasional Kadett, GT, or Manta in junkyards to this day. For the 1997 model year, still stinging from the not-so-great sales of the Turin-Hamtramck-built Cadillac Allante, GM took the Omel Omega B and applied Cadillac badges. The result was the Catera, and I found this silver '98 in a Denver self-service yard recently. The Catera had a lot going for it, with a rear-wheel-drive layout and a modern V6 engine that made more power than the BMW 528i's straight-six that year. It should have been able to compete with European luxury sedans in North America because it was a European luxury sedan. Unfortunately, you couldn't get a manual transmission in the Catera, "traditional" Cadillac shoppers thought the Catera lacked a sufficiently massive presence, and younger Cadillac buyers flocked straight to the Escalade starting in 1999. After 2001, the Catera was no more. I still find Cateras in junkyards, nearly 20 years after the last ones were sold, so they appear to have held together pretty well. This one was in nice shape until the end, with all the original manuals still in the glovebox. Even the Catera ballpoint pen remained with the car for its whole life. As we can see in the owner's manual, Cadillac marketed the Catera as "The Caddy That Zigs." The idea was that younger car shoppers would become as Cadillac-obsessed as their grandparents had been. Inspired by the ducks in the Cadillac logo, the Catera marketing team created Ziggy the Duck to pitch this car. Things didn't go so well. The Catera listed at $29,995 in 1998, about $47,600 in 2020 dollars. That made it an affordable alternative to the BMW 5-Series or Acura 3.2 TL, but total Catera sales came to fewer than 95,000 cars over five model years.