Rejoice! Is there some thinking going on at General Motors and Cadillac? If a new report from Motor Trend is to be believed, then there actually is! Recent news has said Cadillac was developing a replacement for the DTS and STS, to be named XTS and based on the same FWD platform as the Opel Insignia.
I had hoped that wasn’t the case. It just makes no sense for what Cadillac is supposed to be and stand for, especially with a resurgent Buick in the equation now. But, I knew from GM anything was possible.
Before this recent news about a XTS, GM was planning to produce a Cadillac flagship based on Holden’s Zeta platform. Zeta underpins the Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Camaro here in the United States. The program was given the designation DT7 (an internal name most likely) that stemmed from the car it was supposed to be replacing (“D” for DTS) and the car it was going after, the 7-Series – hence the “7″.
The idea for DT7 made sense, and was part of what I have promoted – covering the three main BMW model lines 3-Series, 5-Series and 7-Series with RWD Cadillacs to do battle against them. Proof of BMW’s strategy? Look at who is set to take the luxury sales crown this year.
With GM’s severe financial problems and resulting bankruptcy, the program was delayed. Now the company, fresh out of bankruptcy, is said to be restarting the project with a different platform. Not Zeta, but Sigma – the same platform that underpins the Cadillac CTS.
Yes, yes, yes! Sigma is an platform exclusive to Cadillac and it should be used extensively. Someone is using their head! If this is true, it bodes VERY well for Cadillac. This is what the brand has needed all along. Look at what Jaguar has done with it’s XJ!
Cadillac needs a new, show stopper flagship of it’s own to vault it back into the realm of high-class motoring. For Cadillac’s sake I hope this news is true. It would give me hope for the future of the brand, and indeed all of General Motors.
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