smk4565

None. Toyota is probably the closest... they have a controlling stake in Aisin, but it is not a wholly owned subsidiary. BMW/Audi uses ZF and independent maker's boxes. Hyundai makes their own 8-speed and now offers it in a $34,000 car. Mercedes is working on a 9-speed in house for the S-class.

Europe is Mercedes #1 market, USA is #2, and China is #3, but rapidly gaining. Cadillac is nothing in Europe, and a small player in China. Cadillac has to get beyond the United States to have a chance. They have no economies of scale operating how they are now, and Cadillac is 4th place in America. I think Cadillac needs an ultra car, they don't really need a V12. A V12 is nice, but a supercharged V8 with a hybrid could be an appealing package also. Depends on how they want to market it, they can go the "green" uber sedan route and then they don't need a V12.

HYUNDAI like Sunday

That is the problem with GM, it is always 2 years away from offering what others have now.

Regardless of CAFE, there are 6 other luxury car makers with cars of 32 mpg or more, 3 brands with 40+ mpg right now. And those 6 aren't going to stand still, by 2015 they will probably all have cars near 40 mpg. Cadillac needs hybrids and diesels in the USA and overseas. Not just for buyers but for image. Lexus gets a good image because they have all those hybrids. I disagree about phasing in the 8-speed, or saving cost, it is a freaking Cadillac, we don't need to save a few bucks on the transmission or engine. The Mercedes S-class is getting a 9-speed transmission, even Hyundai is using an 8-speed transmission this year. A 2015 Cadillac should not trail a 2012 Hyundai. Mercedes promised over 70 mpg and 0-60 in 5.5 seconds from the next-gen S-class hybrid. Cadillac can not hold back like they did all through the 2000s, and pull from the GM parts bin as they are now. I believe the GM bean counters will doom Cadillac as they will never allow R&D spending to match Mercedes-Benz. And as the rest of the market advances, Cadillac will move too slow and be left behind.

This isn't surprising. Supply issues is one factor, tax credits running out on hybrid models contributes also. The biggest reason is the compacts are nearing 40 mpg now, and the hybrids don't offer much better at a higher price. Most people's salaries are flat, while everything else is going up in price, they aren't going to pay an extra $8,000 for a hybrid to get an extra 2-3 mpg. I believe that compacts will continue to rise in the coming years.

Mostly agree, but Cadillac can't have front wheel drive, pushrods or a 6-speed come 2015. The Mercedes C-class had a 7-speed in 2008. The bare bones Cadillac in 2015 should have 8 gears. The 7.2 liter V12 is too big, they can do it with 5.5-6.0 liters. I also think the 3.6 naturally aspirated engine is good to keep, not everyone wants a turbo. Diesels and hybrids will become important post 2015 due to CAFE and competitor offerings. Cadillac already really lags behind here since Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln, BMW, Audi, and Mercedes all have 32-42 mpg hybrids and diesels.

I think 3 car lines is satisfactory, small, medium, large. They can expand a line beyond a sedan to coupe, convertible, or wagon. If there is a 4th car line, it should be more of a specialty sports car.

To steal a line from Die Hard, "Shut it down, shut it down now!"

There is a 2.4 liter, a 2.0 turbo and a GS, not sure what you mean by the 1.4 turbo. But regardless, the 2.0 Turbo is $30,000-$35,000, and the 19 inch wheels are an extra $2900. Putting a loaded 2.0 at $38,000. The Regal GS I think will cost $40,000, and won't sell at that price.

Biggest problem is price. A Regal 2.0T with option package 7 is $35,000. (why there are 7 option packages I have no idea) A wheel package for $2900 is available. If the GS is that plus the cost for performance bits, this car is about $40k. For near $40k there is: Acura TSX V6 Acura TL Hyundai Genesis 3.8 or a 4.6 v8 for a little more Chrysler 300C Cadillac CTS Audi A4 BMW 3-series Mercedes C-class Infiniti G37 Lexus IS350 Lincoln MKZ Ford Taurus SHO Even if you take out the SHO, 300C and Genesis because they are bigger, there are still many other options for similar money, many with 300 hp and rear wheel drive and a luxury badge. I just don't see the Regal matching up with that list aside form maybe the TSX and MKZ which are duds anyway.

$1 billion won't save them. Mercedes spends that on one model. A luxury version of the Focus and Explorer, along with a refreshed MKZ and MKS are still just Fords with chrome and leather. It is the same formula Lincoln has used for the past 30 years, and over the past 30 years sales have been in steady decline. We've seen this before, why they want to repeat the same mistakes and expect a different result is beyond me. If this a "last chance" maybe they will stick by their words and shut this brand down in 5 years.

In the 90s Cadillac, Lincoln and Acura used regular names. Lexus used LS400 and ES300 because they wanted to be like Mercedes. Infiniti used one letter and two numbers so that was a little different. But then it seems that Acura and Cadillac wanted everything to be 3 letters, and Lincoln then followed. The 3 letter car names I just don't find very unique and they have little brand equity. "S-class" has been around for 40 years, everyone knows it. But MDX, MKX, RDX, SRX, RX are basically all the same.

Most luxury marks (read Japanese and American ones) use alpha-numeric because they want to copy BMW and Mercedes. Rolls, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Maserati use names, even Porsche uses names aside form the 911 which has been around nearly 40 years. Jaguar uses XK because they have been doing that since 1949. I don't like how similar Acura and Lincoln names are, and Cadillac is getting close to them. I think real names are more unique. I agree with those that say Escalade should not be on lambda. I don't like that it is basically a Tahoe, but it is a good business move as long as people are willing to pay for it. I think the GMT900 SUVs need a big rethink though, much like Ford did with the Explorer. There will have to be downsizing and/or weight loss and a change in powertrains for 2015.

Nice. Although, even if GM gave that car to me for free, I still wouldn't drive it.

The A4 has a far better interior than any Buick, the A4 interior is better than what is in the CTS. I'm not really an A4 fan, the A4 is worth it's price tag. The Infiniti G37 is a pretty good deal too to get 330 hp RWD and a 7 speed tranny. I had one as a rental once, and it is a fun to drive car, probably not something I'd buy because I don't care for the styling of it, but a good car none the less. I just don't think the Regal is worth a price tag that is similar to a G37 or A4 or even an MKZ or Acura.

Premium cache. Buick still has a smidgen of it. Hyundai never has. Also, good luck finding a Sonata 2.0T with a manual. Buick in 2010 had the highest average buyer age of any car brand at 62 years old. It is still an older person's car, not to mention Hyundai makes more expensive luxury cars than Buick. The top Buick sedan is a $30k LaCrosse, Hyundai has sedans priced well above that. I'd say the Hyundai brand has a better image than Buick.

Sonata 2.0T Limited: 274 hp, 33 mpg, $27,145 Regal GS: 270 hpm 28 mpg, $35,000+??? Why would anyone pay $8,000 more for a Regal? I agree with Camino that the car is pointless. I don't think the Regal with any engine is a bad car, but it is just too expensive for what you get. $30k for a 184 hp engine? No thanks.

It seems pricy to me. An Accent starts at $12,400 and also has 138 hp. Plus the Accent and Fiesta look better than the Sonic, I find the Sonic to have ugly in-your-face styling. Sonic seems to close to the Cruze in price, but perhaps there will be big incentives on it.

I also think a mid engine supercar is too ambitious. Cadillac won't sell any of them. I think they can sell a GT car like a Jaguar XK. They sold XLRs and the car wasn't very good. Make it a 2+2 with a legit interior and it could be successful.

The Fleetwood in my line up could have a V-series version, I'd use the proposed 5.0 liter turbo V8 for it. So that engine is shared with the cts-v. That would put the car against the Quattroporte, A8, Supercharged XJ, etc. I know that puts Cadillac short of the S600 and AMG S-class but you can't compete with everything and a hyper powered huge.cadillas won't sell

They probably won't call it Fleetwood, probably ZTS or something lame. Cadillac's model names have little brand equity, they are remind me of Lincoln and Acura. I'd rather them use real names, but interiors are a big key. Cadillac interiors of late seem cramped and small. I'd like to see the ATS with the same interior room of a CTS, and the CTS get bigger on the inside with no change to the exterior dimensions. GMT900 successor will have to get lighter, maybe smaller. Given the success of the Ecoboost F150, I can see the next-gen Tahoe/Escalade having a turbo V6, hybrid technology will have to be in the mix. Between CAFE and gas prices or $4 or more a gallon, the GMT900 is going to have to see changes. My whole Cadillac line is what I'd like to see for 2015. Factoring in increased CAFE, higher gas prices, and what the competition is doing, I think eAssist or some form of hybrid is needed on every model line. Not that I think Lincoln is a big threat, but the next MKZ hybrid is expected to have 47 mpg city. That will attract some buyers, and Cadillac has to have an answer for that.

Sounds fun. I don't love the ATS name or any alphabet soup name, but I'll stick with them since that is what they have. For transmission, 8-speed automatic standard on all Cadillacs. THE CARS ATS: small sedan, coupe, convertible near 182 inches long $33,000-$45,000 ($2,000 more for convertible) RWD or AWD 2.0 turbo 4 with 260 hp, 3.6 V6 with 320 hp, 2.0 turbo diesel (e-Assist optional) ATS-V sedan/coupe $59,000, 430 hp twin turbo V6 CTS: mid-size sedan, coupe wagon near 191 inches long $44,000-60,000 RWD or AWD. 2.0 turbo 4, 3.6 V6, 3.0 turbo diesel V6, twin turbo 4.0 DOHC V8 (e-Assist optional) CTS-V sedan/coupe $79,000, twin turbo 5.0 DOHC V8 with eAssist Fleetwood: full size sedan SWB 199 inches long, LWB 205 inches long. Aluminum chassis and body $85,000-130,000 RWD or AWD 3.0L turbo diesel V6, 3.6 twin turbo V6, 4.0 twin turbo DOHC V8, 5.0 twin turbo DOHC V8 (eAssist standard on all) Eldorado: small to mid size Grand Tourer coupe/convertible on aluminum chassis (XK, SL, 911 competitor) $75-110,000 RWD 3.6 V6, 4.0 V8, 5.0 V8 (all twin-turbo, DOHC, with eAssist) (ATS-V and CTS-V offer manual transmission also) THE TRUCKS BRX: small SUV on ATS platform $35-50,000 RWD or AWD. 2.0T, 3.6 V6 w/ eAssist SRX mid-size SUV on CTS platform $46-65,000 RWD or AWD 3.6 V6 and turbo 4.0 V8 (eAssist optional) Escalade: large SUV continues on based of the Tahoe, but the whole GMT900 line likely needs rethought with CAFE (weight reduction) $60-80,000 RWD or AWD 3.0 turbo diesel V6, 4.0 turbo V8 with e-Assist

The weight definitely hurts. I only used the Camry as an example, but the Altima V6 and Sonata 2.0T are quick also. 0-60 in 6.7 seconds and 28 mpg isn't anything special, several cars in the mid to high $20s offer that. I wonder how they will price it. I just think they will end up asking over $35k for it, maybe near $40k optioned up. That is CTS money for a FWD Buick, no thanks.

The extra power is a nice surprise, makes it stand out from the pack a bit more. Although I would have thought it would be faster than 6.7 seconds to 60 mph, unless GM has a conservative time. I've seen 0-60 times for a Camry V6 as low as 5.9 seconds and it gets 29 mpg highway. Front wheel drive has about hit is performance limit, the Regal GS at $35k can't offer performance that has already been done, and by some cars costing less.