hyperv6

Who is to say Buick may not use all the above? They only have 3 car models and as time advances I see that being added too. I could see the Verano as a new name as most of Buick small cars sucked. but the larger ones on larger cars would serve well. With the China connection I do see more models coming some many not be here too.

The 2+2 was done around a Kappa. It also has many things that would change once reality hit. An Alpha car could be done but Buick needs to enlarge it to a 2+2 Luxury coupe if they plan to do a Riv. I could see this being reworked into a more stylish larger coupe in a Bently GT style. It would be comfortable, Sporty but practical for daily use. It would be smaller and much cheaper but make it a Bently for the masses for $45,000-50,000. Make it the most expensive Buick but keep it under the price where Cadillac is going. As for a 2+2 smaller sports coupe. Good Idea but much later. Buick could do something to competer with the Audi TT and the like. A Riviera needs to be a car they could sell in quanities larger than the Solstice and Sky were sold in. It needs to be a car where the back seat could be used and it could easily be a daily driver vs a third car like the Kappa. THis is a car that will set the styling direction and face of Buick so it needs to be sold in numbers that would get it seen and convince people Buicks are for well off 30 somethings.and not just grandpa. The Lacross is a very nice car and well styled but too many still think of it as a Lasabre for today and never give it a chance.

Anything is possible if you know the right people. I have seen many paint and other changes done if you know the right people. Now if you do not know the right people it can be a major deal to even get someone to talk to you and then tell you no. Might hook up with a couple dealers that do special editions like Tom Henry Chevy in PA and see what they say. They friends of the F bodfather former head of the F body platform and still active with the Camaro planning. who is from that areas and they should be able to tell you what could be done. I hate to say it but unless you have friends inside GM I would plan on finding a really good body shop as it can be painted well by a good shop. Now you will have to expect to pay for what you get in paint. It would not be cheap for a good quality paint and get on the jambs and under the trunk lid. You may also want to see if there is a better color to order that could be painted and help in the odd areas. A black often makes a good base and helps hide any missed spots.

Cadillac is taking the XTS off the retail market?? XTS would be particularly unsuited for such unless completely discontented. I do not remotely see that happening. The XTS main work was done long ago and GM pulled it off the shelf and finished it to fill in gaps in the line up. Cadillac is a few years from filling in with other cars and the XTS as it is now is a stop gap. In could in time turn into a Town Car and have majority sales in the livery fleet sales unit to protect the CTS, ATS and LTS from needing to be turned into to fleet whores. Cadillac is going down the same road Porsche did in the late 80's. They need to turn their lines into lower volume, higher priced and higher profit cars. Porsche tried with the 944 and 924 and do as Cadillac the volume game and that did not work for them and has not worked for Cadillac. Just look at the resale of anything that is not a truck based SUV or V series now. I see the XTS as a tool to make the remaining DTS lovers happy and to fill in for the livery market. I see it as like the Captiva of the Cadillac line. Autoweek also echo'd this though. The XTS is not going to be a bad car as Autoweek has pointed out but it also does not fully represent the full futre and direction of Cadillac. I expect the XTS to be phased out or transformed to the next level at the end of this models life. Great car no but a very good car and one that will support the team till better can be found or developed. It is the one to carry the volume load till they can get Cadillac to the point it can move up to where they need to be. The XTS life wil be multi tasked and transitional. How long it lives depends on how well it does with the task it was given. If Cadillac was a football team think of the XTS as an offensive tackel. While it is not a high profile place to play it is still important in supporting the star running back and quarterback. It may not be all pro but it is the best option available at this time. Will GM upgrade this tackle? I expect they will but they have many other things Cadillac needs to do first. Only the first step to Cadillacs future has been shown in the ATS. The next will be the CTS and LTS but we still have some time to kill till we get them. Rebuilding Cadillac will take more time and there are no other options other than to ride it out with the work you have in hand till the rest is ready. The XTS is the life boat from DTS to the future.

Exactly, but for that money to work long-term they'll need to stop building DTS/XTS over and over again and. Cadillac might need to be subsisdized by the rest of GM and to me the scale side should be covered from sharing mostly within Cadillac itself. Read the review of the XTS in Autoweek and it sums up the whole idea of the XTS that I have been saying all along. I would not get too attached to the XTS as I suspect it will not live long and if it does it be as a Service car like the old Fleetwood limo Chassies used to.

By building a car good enough to sell over seas. With better product they can grow a little in the USA, but they need a global winner to get sales. Which is why they need a flagship car to be taken seriously over seas. You don't sell a flagship in volume. You sell 3-series and C-class size cars in volume... which is what Cadillac has in the ATS. That has been my point all along. The modern BMW was built from the bottom up with the 3 series. The Flagships are to get attention, showcase technology that is tricked down and bring in extra income nothing more. The future growth of Cadillac will lie mostly with the ATS and the new CTS.

Interestingly, I don't think that sharing Thetas/Epsilons is the way to get there... There might be other alternatives... What Cadillac still needs is a clear focus and then aim for that focal point. That was my point they need billions yet to help transform them to where they need to go.

This is the look the LTS V8 needs sans windows.

I am only guessing here but I am guessing they will do something like this. Eco 2.5 coupe $22K Eco 2.0 Tubo RS $30K TT V6 SS $40K Z28 V8 replacing the ZL1 Expect this one to price around $50K With the less weight and options with the Magnetic shock package I see this as being killer car. I expect it will have some retro cues but I would not expect a modern 1970 clone like todays is like the 69. This coming one will be for the world market and it will pay respect to the needs of the other markets to make it real global player. It will have what I will call more global appeal. Ford has already hinted of this in the coming Mustang and I suspect GM is already doing similar. It will not be mistaken for anything but a Camaro but it will play a little less old school and cut a new original path for the future with hallmarks of its past here and there. If it were only a North American car the future would be in the past but on the global stage they only care about what you bring to the table today. There are pockets of American car fans around the world but for many in other markets the retro theme is lost on them since they really had nothing like it in the past. The Corvette has done this already with keeping a familiar shape but making it more global friendly and modern.

The V12 is the wrong way to go even in limited cars. Many are moving already from V10 and V12 engines to V8 and V8 Turbo engines. Bently is already making a big push to buyers to the new V8, There is a storm coming and there will be little and limited use for anything over a V12. You can spit all the numbers you want but the market is moving away from your thinking and your numbers. Don't try to justify it to me just try to justify it to the industry how you are right and they are wong, As for mid engine. Hmmmm If you wanted to do a super Vette in the long rumored mid engine and call it a Corvette Duntov or even a Zora fine. But a mid engine Cadillac is anything but what Cadillac ever has represented. A sports luxury coupe with the engine up front would be fine. A Eldorado GT would be great. But mid engine is a very limited car to use and expensive car to maintain. Mid engine is great for a low profile but for handling and balance it can be done with the engine up front. I own a mid engine car and I have the suspension tuned to where GM would not take it. I have it handling to high level and It is fun but I fully understand and have driven front engine cars that did as well or better. I just feel Cadillac has a chance to compete with the Bently coupe or even the BMW and Benz GT coupes but I see no way they will ever make a real dent in the market of the mid engine cars at the level they would do it. THey could build one but few would buy it at that kind of price. Resale on some of the mid engine V8 Ferraris are bad enough and I would expect a Cadillac resale would be at the bottom of the pile. I will admit it is a nice dream but reality will bite you in the but on this one.

I would rather see Cadillac attempt a Bently GT type of performance coupe. This would not only enhance their image but would better play to those who buy Cadillacs. Imagine a better funded CTS like coupe sold at a little higher price. . Cadillac has never been really taken seriously for sports cars and now is not the time to waste more money trying to do it again. The Allante and XLR were nice but both cost a lot of money and had little impact on Cadillac. Might badge a mid engine sports car under The GM performance Division banner and sell it as selected GM dealers. This way it could represent all of GM and only be sold at dealers that could handle it. GM had a good thing going with the GMPD tuning and badging and they should go back to it as each and every model they touched was one of the best vehicles GM has made in years. They could trump SVO and SRT easily if called upon. The FORD GT was a SVO product and the VIper is now a SRT product so why not a GMPD division? Holden has HSV so why not something here.

I expect a smaller lighter Camaro with options on turbo and V8 engines will have a much wider appeal than the present car. I would also hope they can hold the line on price too. I do expect the V8 will be limited to the top level model only though. It will get more expensive because of the model it will be offered in. This way GM will either limit the sales and force them to look to the smaller engines or they will make more money to pay for missing the CAFE regs that are coming.

Until they can figure out how to sell a sedan in Europe Cadillac needs a high end sports car like any of us need a STD. If breaking into the flagship segment is difficult the sports car segment is even toughter. People buy this kind of car often just on image along. Honda had a hard time understanding how the NSX was praised for being a better car than some of the older Ferraris of the time but in the end they never could crack into the same class as Ferrari. If anything they woke Ferrari up and made them even better and harder to beat. Same goes for Honda's many attempts to beat Harley Davidson. They may make a better model but it is still not a Harley. Cadillac was really never know for their sports cars and the ones they are known for are not worth remembering. There is little image there or need for this kind of car at this time. Once they solve their core market issues then they can look to expeand. If you want a high end sports car you need to break out Corvette as a brand and sell it as a seperate model through approved Chevy dealers that could handle such a car. Not all Chevy Dealers should have a higher end Corvette unless they have enough volume on the lower models. Better yet if you have to do mid engine just make the high end sports car its own brand. This would let Chevy keep the Vette and give Cadillac a sports car to sell that could create their own image for. This way too only the approved dealers would offer it and not let customers stuck as small Cadillac dealers ill prepared to deal with it. It would give you an advantage of selling the car as a brand but not the burden of building a new dealer network. But on the other hand the money and time on a car like this would go a long way to making a LTS a better car that Cadillas really needs first.

It will be Camaro sized. No one has said anything about size but I have been told to expect a major drop in weight. I would expect a smaller Camaro and as for weight we know a ATS Turbo can hit 3200 pounds. I expect that would be a good starting point for a new Camaro 4 cylinder and going up a little from there with the V6 TT and the V8.

Well, a new Mustang on a new platform (with IRS) is already all but confirmed for '15. We can reasonably expect a new Shelby no later than '16. Following that line, when is Camaro supposed to move to Alpha again? Last target was 2015 unless it gets pushed back. Much has already been done for the car and it is well on the way. I would not be suprised to see ATS with Camaro bits under the bodies soon. The Diciples they used on the 5th gen have been grilled for a while now on things intended for the Alpha. They are not talking but will freely admit they have been getting asked on things for the new car. Details are much more closed than the Mustang that Ford has been more open about. At this point we just have to wait to see if they hold to the 2015 time line or if it gets pushed back. Right now the present car will get some detail changes but I would be suprised to see any major changes. I had originally heard the Mustang was slotted as a 2015 but would be here in later 2014.

The GMC question is well answered by the dealer I bought my new GMC from. I have a friend who helps out there once in a while and this is what he has to share. The dealer is one of few GMC only dealers in the country, yes that is all they sell is new GMC vehicles and have done so since losing Pontiac. As of now they are suviving well and making great pofits with sales to the public and getting vehicles in that they get first choice on and selling to other dealers. They are able to sell at a good price and still make a large profit per vehicle. Per GM they are showing more profit than the Chevy/Buick dealer 2 miles from them. GM wants to give them the Buick dealer but they are not sure if they want it as the Buick sales at the other dealer are not all that great. Once Buick get more and updated product they may change their mind. But even losing Pontiac did not hurt them nearly as they had expected. They though after building a new building to GM spec and then losing Pontiac it would be the end but so far the GMC models have held them in place and making money. I think this is the BIllion Dollar Question.

GMC owners will not flee to Ford. As a three time GMC owner and with many firends who also have been GMC owners we buy them because we like the grill better than the Chevy. It is just that simple. Now that they are doing body panels a little different we go for that. The wife liked the truck look of the Terrain over the Nox with the latest. Either way other than the few small changes they have made a profitable Chevy even more profitiable higher priced GMC. The only way out of this is not to kill GMC but to make it a trim level within the truck line. I see little need for many of the low end GMC models as most are mid level and up, Just let Chevy have the low end and use the higher models as up scale GM trucks. We already have many dealers selling Chevy and GMC on the same lots now. since the dealer shake up. Lutz said the one mistake he made with Hummer is to make it a brand vs a GMC model. It would be much easier to manage that way and cheaper to change and mold to the market needs. GMC could do the same. When I have owned a Chevy truck it has always been a mid level trim but each one of my GMC;s have been loaded top line models. Look around and you will find that most others only buy mid to top line GMC models and there are few base models sold anylonger.

Nearly every car that is regular production is to some degree a parts bin car as that is just the way it is today with most MFG. As for budget Cadillac does not support GM, Pick up trucks support GM as does Chevy in general just due to volume. Cadillac is moving to become a low volume MFG but they just can't charge the price yet to support themselves. I think that Mark was just letting it be known that Cadillac still has work to do and do not be suprised to see a version of the Gen V Chevy powering the car. While not a bad thing it is not what they really want but sometimes you have to you just have to take the best you have and make due. Now that does not mean that I do not believe GM should not take this engine and do a special verison only available in the Flagship. Also I feel in place of the cheap plastic covers they should full dress the engine in polished aluminum and poweder coat. Dressing up that engine is would go a long way to present it in a premium form. Hell they dressed up my Fiero 2.8 V6 in red powder coated aluminum and stainless 12 point bolts and made it look unlike any GM engine offered. The key was it still was pretty much the Citation engine but the dress up made it look like a much better and advance engine than it was. I hate to say it but GM was in a bind. They need Chevy as this is their volume line and their new global mainstay. They need to save Cadillac as they will need to get back to the Luxury market. To save Cadillac on a limited budget will take more time but it would be even more expensive and difficult to relaunch Cadillac at a later time. As for Buick and GMC they are brands GM has to have because GMC is pure profit and Buick is paying it's way in China. Sharing parts for Cadillac is a given and there is no way around it. They just need to make sure they use only the best needed parts. It is not a sin to use shared parts but it is a sin to use the wrong parts as it sends a bad message. Example the ZR1 Corvette had the same steering wheel as my HHR SS. While it gives me a cool factor to my HHR it is a down right shame to see this in a 100K Vette. For that kind of many it would not be that great expense to have a supplier [Momo] make a special wheel for this car. If you want the HHR wheel in the regular Vette that is fine but not in the top level car you want to make a statment with. This was just as bad as the Vega wheel in the 1977 Vette. The key to the flagship is while it may share parts do not let any show that may give away where it came from in the first place. The only things it should share that can be seen are things shared with the ATS, CTS or XTS. This would help reflect a division shared heritage. Anyway I see a shared engine and shared Omega platform coming and if done right they can pull it off if you can tell what is shared it will fail.

And the less dramatic Mustang is right there with it. The A&S toned down by Lutz will be less polarizing but still effective to make a great styling statment. Taking a little of the hard lines back and smoothing the roof line will only open the appeal more. The last CTS was pretty much a love hate design. Todays CTS has wider appeal and the next I expect will have more with a laid back roof line.

My point is from drawing that has little to no real measurments to real world they have to change. Case in point G6 drawings to production car. The point of the Cube [they did sell them more than in just 2012] Fit and IQ is to point out function with many buyers is passing up form. Today companies can sell a cube but then they complain about the rear view out of the CTS. In days of old they would be willing to look through a periscope to drive a good looking car. Today they whine if the c pillar is too big. There is nothing wrong with the so called ZTS to this point as it is not a real car. Once put to sheetmetal often roofs have to be raised etc. Neither of us can argue about a drawing. My only point is look around and for the most part people do not place styling at the top of the list when buying a car anymore. It used to be one of the top two but now I feel has slipped to 4th-5th on the list. Things like price, function, MPG and Ergo have passed up styling. If this were not true would we have all the garbage on the roads today? Car companies have to stand the middle ground and try to please both. A little styling matched with the other things most buyers want. Lutz has challanged GM to push things more than they have but there is still a little holding back with some of the styling. Anymore design has become a damn'ed if you do and Damn'ed if you don't thing. I am all for pushing it but the reality of the market does not agree with me. And no I am not going to argue over the ZTS as it is not even a GM drawing. A very nice one but not even one that is in play. Now oncw we see a full on CTS and we either like or dislike game on.

To you and I but to the masses anymore they have other ideas. Form and function both have to work anymore. This is how you can account for things like the Cube, IQ and Fit. It is sad but the truth is many classics today would not happen due to the wants and needs of todays public. Just look at the love hate on the CTS Coupe here let alone in the unwashed masses.

While this is not the new CTS it looks like the path the CTS will take with a little less squared off hard edges and more rake to the roof. It's beautiful - and that comes from a sedan hater who really isn't too interested in luxury cars. If Caddy can up their design mojo to this level - even I might take notice. NOTE: For those who do not know, the "ZTS" pictured above is the fine work of our own Dodgefan. The only issue is you are not the target market. You have got to go to the bulk of the buyers not the fringe. The bulk of the market are like the independent voters. They are the ones who determines who wins and not the die hard supporters. It is not fair but that is how it works.

Starting from scratch is a lot easier than 70 years of great and 30 years of sub par. The issue with today is too few remember the glory years while the rest only remember what you have done for me latley. the Diesel is important for when they go to Europe again but for here it is really a non factore with the American market. The Real key is to get the ATS and new CTS to be the class leaders here over the other brands. It is time for Cadillac to take the lead with these cars and not just be as good or just a little better till BMW comes out with a new model in 6 months. They need to advance the brands down the road and far enough ahead that by the time the others catch up they are already to advance the line again. Time for them to stop playing catch up and take the lead and hold it. This will pave the way for the LTS and other future models. While this is not the new CTS it looks like the path the CTS will take with a little less squared off hard edges and more rake to the roof.

Anyone noticed Buick has retrade marked the Electra name again? Could the old Duce and a Quarter be back as the new wow car for buikc to attract attention of the younger buyers? It would be a good name for some High Tech Hybrid luxury show case sedan LOL!

More appealing than a Focus? That is not hard to do lol! Buick needs to move up in price and image so they can offer better GS models etc. The reason we did not ge the AWD Turbo V6 Regal GS is because no one would pay $55,000 for a Regal as it is. Once you move Cadillac up you can expand the price and quality of the Buick line to where it needs to be in the Lexus area. The key for the Verano is to help convert the public to see that Buick has a modern superior product that the new image can be anchored too. People will take a chance on a $28,000 Encore vs a $50,000 Regal right now. Once you earn the trust the price and better cars can move up. You can buy image or trust of buyers and you have to earn it with cars they are willing to take a chance on. This is just what Cadillac is doing with the ATS.