1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Limo on 2040-cars

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Despite De Nysschen saying it won't, Cadillac cuts struggling CTS prices

Ah, well that didn't last long. Not even two years after elevating the price of the then-new third-generation Cadillac CTS by $7,000, the company is now stepping back, telling dealers it will be slashing the price of the 2015 model by anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000. It seems that there are two reasons behind Cadillac's move. First, and most obviously, are its slumping sales, down seven percent last year. That figure is made worse, Automotive News reports, by the seven-percent gain made by the greater luxury market, not to mention gains from fellow American luxury brand Lincoln. Cadillac, meanwhile, also likely faced pressure from its dealer body, which AN reports hasn't been so keen on the price increases. The price reduction is something of a surprise following statements made by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen shortly after he took office. In September of last year, the 54-year-old exec, who took charge of Cadillac in July of 2014, defended the company's decision to raise prices, telling Automotive News a price cut was "not going to happen." It seems current conditions contradict de Nysschen's statements, though. "We're taking what we've seen are the more desirable optional features for customers and making them more readily available," Cadillac's Dave Caldwell said of the price cut. "Once a car has been on the market for a while, it's not unusual to look at the customer behavior and try to optimize for it." In what's sure to be a pleasant surprise for anyone in the market for a CTS, the most expensive models are getting the biggest price cut, with the price on the Premium and Performance Collection sedans dropping $3,000, AN reports. The 2.0T will get a $2,000 drop, while certain optional extras will now be standard on the Luxury trim, including a panoramic sunroof, navigation and Bose stereo.

2020 Cadillac CT5 loses the fake scoop

Well folks, the inevitable has happened. The 2020 Cadillac CT5 luxury sports sedan prototype has shed its hood scoop. Yes, we're as disappointed as you are that instead of being outrageous and brash, Cadillac is still going to try to be classy, understated and luxurious when it comes to its mainline models. And yes, we're being sarcastic here ... but there's a part of us that would kind of like to see the scoop survive. Anyway, the good news is that the scoop is only one of a few bits of fake bodywork and camouflage that the CT5 has shed. As such, we get our best look yet at the new Cadillac sedan, and it looks pretty good. The grille is very wide and not nearly as tall as the prominent prows of current Cadillacs. It actually doesn't even look as tall as the grille of the Escala concept that inspired the CT5's design. The profile of the CT5 isn't too radically different from existing Caddies, with a long hood and a short trunk. It is still a conventional sedan, though, and not a sedan-like hatchback like the Kia Stinger and Audi A5 Sportback and A7. This is evident by the open trunk lid our spy photographer caught. The taillights also continue to be slim and vertical, though we can't quite tell if they will have a horizontal elements at the bottom like on the XTS and XT4. The car also has very bold and thick angular exhaust tips. We expect the CT5 will go into production in 2019 as a 2020 model, and it will likely take the place of both the CTS and ATS, but not be much smaller than the CTS. It will likely use versions of existing Cadillac engines including the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder, naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6, and twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6. We wouldn't rule out the 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 for a potential CT5-V in the future. Related Video:

General Motors shaking up its marketing... again

One of the things that dogs the full comeback of General Motors is the instability of its marketing. That part of the automaker got yet another big shakeup today when GM confirmed what I have been tweeting for a few days - strong rumors that the Chevrolet and Cadillac ad accounts are walking to new ad agencies.
Cadillac, GM's luxury brand, is going into review from Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis and the indications are that Campbell-Ewald, Chevy's old ad shop, will end up with most or all of it. C-E just announced that it was moving from its long-time home in Warren, MI to a new downtown Detroit office next to Ford Field, just blocks from GM.
The other shoe to drop shortly will be the shift of GM's most important brand, Chevy, from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Francisco to McCann-Erickson of Troy, MI. McCann used to be the agency for Buick and GMC, as well as GM's corporate advertising, and has retained some pieces of business over the last few years. Sources have even told us that it was McCann that did a lot of the creative work on Chevy's new ad platform, Find New Roads. (Not to be confused with a former McCann tagline for Saab, "Find Your Own Road.")