The current DTS is getting long in the tooth, and it never was really an active part of Cadillac’s renaissance that began with the CTS. It did get an update in 2006 that somewhat helped to align it with the rest of Cadillac’s lineup, but that didn’t help to bring it into contention outside it’s core audience.
As such, rumors have been swirling for the past year or more about what it’s replacement will be. Most have them have centered on Cadillac dropping both the STS and DTS models for a new model, likely to be dubbed XTS.
Now a new report has come out that says the car will be based on the Opel Insignia. What? Yes, you heard that right. To me, I think this is ridiculous. Does Cadillac want to be a serious luxury contender or not? If it does, then it needs to produce a viable Zeta-based RWD 7-Series competitor, not a new flagship based on a Opel mid-size sedan. On one hand the report doesn’t seem believable, on the other with GM anything is possible (and I don’t always mean that in a good way).
Buick? Maybe. Buick could be positioned as GM’s FWD Lexus competitor. Not Cadillac though. Cadillac needs a clear goal; it needs to go after BMW with dedicated, Cadillac-specific models and RWD platforms. Otherwise Cadillac and Buick’s missions will be confused. As good as a new Insignia-based model might be, I think Cadillac deserves better. This isn’t what I had hoped for Cadillac as part of a ”New GM.”
July 4th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
OMG. Seriously? They’ve already cloned the Insignia into the Malibu and now they want to relegate the grand daddy of all Cadillacs to feeble, front wheel drive mediocrity? Here’s an idea, given the popularity of the Camaro these days, why not LEARN SOMETHING FROM THE MARKET and start from scratch on your flagship?
We’ve all been up in arms about their neglect of the G8 as they just don’t wanna, but now they actually have a CASE for a full sized (if not AS full sized) V8-powered, rear wheel drive sedan, they actually have a candidate, and yet they’re talking about turning an already badge engineered car into yet ANOTHER badge engineered car.
If they’re going to keep acting this way, they need to seriously reconsider their “GM:reinvent” slogan. They are NOT reinventing right now.
July 4th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Yeah, this is more of the same thinking that got them to where they are right now. What I don’t get is the comment about G8 rebadging. If the G8 is no longer a Pontiac any more, how could reskinning it to make it a Chevrolet (or even if done heavily enough, a Cadillac) make it a “rebadge”?
Cadillac deserves more than this.