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Mistakes, typos and other types of accidents happen when you’re updated a website on a daily basis (believe us, we know the feeling). Something like that happened today over at cadillac.com earlier today when a picture of the 2013 Cadillac XTS, which is scheduled to debut at the 2011 LA Auto Show next week, was accidentally thrown up for a few minutes.

The picture has now been taken down – however, a bunch of media has grabbed a snap shot of the car prior to its LA debut. At LA, GM will also debut the CUE infotainment system in the XTS sedan.

The Cadillac XTS will go on sale early next year and will replace the DTS and STS models.

The 2013 Cadillac XTS will go into production in Oshawa, Ontario in spring 2012.

*Updated: GM has officially released a high-res photo of the Cadillac XTS.

Source: egmCarTech

Earlier this year, Karl Stracke, GM’s vice president of global engineering, said that a Lambda-based Cadillac crossover was in the works but he did not confirm when the model will show up. According to latest details on Cadillac’s future lineup, it is reported that the Lambda-based crossover is scheduled to show up as a 2013 model year vehicle.

The model is expected to be a mix of the XTS Concept-like front face with SUV/crossover-like design cues from the SRX. Power is expected to come from Cadillac’s 3.6L direct-injected V6. Of course you can look for a Platinum version to come in at a higher price tag for those looking for extra chrome and plush leather seats.

The Lambda platform currently underpins the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and the Buick Enclave.

As for the Cadillac Escalade, the model is currently undergoing a redesign and is expected to hit the markets in late 2013 as a 2014 model year.

Source: egmCarTech

This morning at the media preview hosted by General Motors in its design dome, VP of Design Ed Welburn showed off full-size styling bucks of the next two models from Cadillac. Rounding out the lineup for GM’s luxury brand will be the XTS and ATS. The ATS is a smaller car than the CTS and will take direct aim at the heart of the 3-Series. The model shown was a two-door coupe with a roof-line closer in shape to the CTS sedan rather than the extreme fastback profile of the CTS coupe. The overall design is an evolution of the current CTS with headlights that stretch back across the top of the fender line.

Although no one would confirm the platform underneath, they did say it would be rear- and all-wheel drive, just like a 3. Earlier in the morning, new Cadillac general manager Brian Nesbitt said the next generation CTS is already under development and would be new from the ground up. It seems reasonable to assume that it is being developed to allow for a shorter version for the ATS.

The XTS, on the other hand, is huge and carries a lot of the design first seen on the celebrated Sixteen concept (seen above and in high-res gallery below), which means it’s stunning in person. Given that a V16 is out of the question, the hood is obviously much shorter than the concept’s. The flanks have more curvature than the current DTS and a character line with an undercut lies just below the belt-line.

Welburn declined to give specific timing except to say that both cars were coming soon. We already know that DTS is ending production soon to make way for the Volt at the Detroit Hamtramck plant. There was also no indication of powertrains, although the ATS is likely to be powered by four- and six-cylinder engines. The XTS may use the next generation small block V8 that debuts next year.

Although the evidence is circumstantial and there was tea leave-reading involved, it may be true that General Motors will unveil a new Chevrolet Volt range-extending hybrid powertrain Cadillac model at the Detroit Auto Show.

Rumors of a Caddy-badged Volt have been circulated since earlier this year, with Bob Lutz and other GM execs hinting at the possibility of new hybrid model joining the Cadillac line-up. Lutz told reports back in September that “there’s definitely room” for an eco-conscious Caddy and that “there’s going to have to be some kind of dramatic environmental statement” from GM’s luxury brand. So what form could it take?

Opel and Vauxhall versions of the Volt are already planned, but a Cadillac variant would likely be a small- to mid-size crossover. Just such a vehicle is slated to arrive in the second quarter of 2009 – the next generation SRX — inspired by the Provoq concept unveiled earlier this year. While the Volt is supposed to carry a price tag of around $40,000, the range-extended, plug-in hybrid CUV from Cadillac would be priced significantly higher, and that could help GM recoup some of the costs associated with the Volt’s advanced drivetrain development. We’ll know for sure in a few weeks time.

Source Autoblog

Cadillac has remarkable timing. Just three months after the 1929 stock-market crash, Cadillac premiered at the New York auto show its Series 452 with a 185-horsepower V-16 engine designed to trump chief rival Packard’s V-12.

Fast-forward almost 80 years: Cadillac is ready for another flagship, perhaps something along the lines of the gorgeous Sixteen concept that was first shown in 2003. Except, once again, the economy isn’t ready. Worse, once-mighty GM doesn’t even have the money to spend on such a project — it’s got Chevy Volts and Cruzes that badly need building.

It’s been four or five decades since Cadillac built a car that came close to being “The Standard of the World” — the brand’s tagline until the 1970s — but with the new CTS, and especially the world-beating CTS-v sport sedan, its rehabilitation is well underway. The first step was, believe it or don’t, the King of Bling 1999 Escalade, which made Caddy a must-have for sports, music, and Hollywood stars. More important, it dramatically improved Cadillac’s chance of being considered for purchase by buyers under 50 years of age.

The original Escalade made so much profit and gave GM management so much confidence in the brand’s appeal that the decision was made to invest in the Sigma premium platform, which returned most of Cadillac’s passenger-car lineup to rear-drive and forms the basis for the COTY-winning 2008 CTS. It was a turning point in Cadillac’s fortunes no one expected, and few –especially at GM — initially understood.

Nearly a decade on, Cadillac is still only a bit player in the premium segment — selling fewer cars than Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus here in the U.S. — and virtually invisible in Europe and Asia. And now, it’s at a crossroads; arguably the most crucial in the brand’s history: Cadillac is off life support, but to prosper it must go global. GM will not measure Cadillac’s success only by the number of German and Japanese luxury-car buyers it conquests. More important is to grab a share of new luxury-car buyers, many of them coming from emerging markets like China and Russia.

With the U.S. appeal of the Escalade diminishing in proportion to the rise in gas prices — 2008 sales to the end of July were down 30 percent year on year — and the current STS, DTS, SRX, and XLR aging fast, Cadillac is effectively a one-car company, almost totally reliant on the CTS. That means it needs at least 10 more years of solid investment in a new range of vehicles. Problem is, cash-strapped GM faces a ravaged economy and the spectre of the 2011-2015 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, right at the very time its luxury brand needs money to take on Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Lexus.

All this explains why GM is taking a bigger gamble now than it did in 1929 and launching up to 10 new Cadillacs in the next five years. But it has no choice. The future of American luxury is at stake.

2010 CTS COUPE
The coupe, which premiered at the Los Angeles auto show in November, rolls on the same 113.4-inch wheelbase as the CTS sedan, which saves a lot of development and tooling money, yet achieves coupelike proportions, thanks to a fast roofline and a rear overhang that’s 4.6 inches shorter. It’s a strategy GM’s Australian designers used to create the Pontiac GTO coupe from the Holden Commodore sedan.

All the sheetmetal past the A-pillar is exclusive to the coupe. But while that fast backlight looks great, it effectively nixes the chance there will be a convertible version, because GM would have to engineer new structural metal around the rear end as well as new quarter panels and decklid.

The concept’s rear bumper was redesigned for rear-offset crash standards, but the single-pipe-centered exhaust remains. The engine is the sedan’s 3.6-liter V-6, including the optional 304-horsepower gas direct-injection version. The CTS-v version will follow within a year after the coupe’s mid-2009 launch. As most of the engine, transmission, and suspension hardware from the sedan virtually bolts right in, this 556-horse Caddy two-door will be a relatively low-cost program.

2010 CTS SPORT WAGON
This is very much a Eurocentric model. Cadillac initially considered the wagon a niche car for the U.S., with volume in the 3000 to 4000 range. The entire brand sold just 4508 units in Europe in 2007, so even if the Sport Wagon becomes its volume model there, total sales probably will be well below 8000 units worldwide.

As a result, Cadillac now is talking up the CTS wagon as an alternative for buyers anxious to get out of big, luxury SUVs. Given America’s love affair with the SUV, it’s unlikely to prove as popular as the next-generation SRX (see next page). Powertrain lineup in the U.S. will mirror the sedan’s, which means the 3.6-liter V-6, with either 263 horses, or direct injection and 304 horses. All-wheel drive also will be available.

What about a CTS-v Sport Wagon? A 556-horsepower load hauler might tempt us enthusiasts, but it’s off the table, for now. The wagon has a flexier body than those of the sedan and coupe and would require serious recalibration of the suspension. The potential sales volume would be too small for that sort of capital investment.

European buyers will be able to buy the CTS Sport Wagon with the 2.9-liter VM Motori turbodiesel. But don’t rule out a diesel for the U.S., either: GM is considering its smooth, innovative new 4.5-liter turbodiesel V-8, originally designed for the GMT 360 midsize sport/utilities. It fits under the hood of the CTS sedan, coupe, and wagon, so long as Cadillac uses the raised CTS-v hood-the 4.5 diesel’s turbocharger resides in the engine’s vee.

Source Automotive.com

The Buick Enclave and Cadillac’s bling king may share underpinnings.

Source Automotive.com

The premium hard-top convertible 2009 Cadillac XLR-V was spotted test-driving by spy photographer Chris Doane. Although designs were spotted, it was difficult to determine what was under the hood.

As reported by John Neff.

Spy photographers have snapped the 2009 Cadillac XLR-V out testing, and it’s clear that Caddy’s premium hard-top convertible is getting a refresh for next year. Though the front end is obscured by covering, spy photog Chris Doane claims the grille is still wire mesh, and we presume it will be tweaked to look more like the cow-catcher grille on the CTS sedan. Also new are the vertical fender vents ahead of the doors. What we’re really interested in knowing, however, is what’s under the car’s hood. Having heard it for himself, Doane suggests that it could be the carryover 4.4L Northstar V8 that’s supercharged to make 443 hp, but our money is on the next XLR-V using the same LSA motor getting dropped into the next CTS-V. Producing 550 hp and 550 pound-feet of torque, the supercharged 6.2L small-block V8 would be a big boon for the drop-top Caddy. Without it, the XLR-V will not be much competition for convertibles from Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Gallery: 2009 Cadillac XLR-V – spy shots

[Source: Chris Doane for Brenda Priddy & Co.]

Originally by John Neff from Autoblog on March 21, 2008, 5:01am