Omega
05-11-2012, 08:52 AM
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Omega
Cadillac’s Omega Platform Comes Into Focus: RWD XTS Successor On the Way, Long-Rumored Flagship and More Derivatives Still Being Discussed
Its nice to see that Cadillac will be getting a proper RWD flagship to sit above or replace the XTS. The mention of the "near-Suburban-sized high-end Cadillac crossover" could point to the next Escalade. If done properly it would work (Durango, Grand Cherokee...). Also hoping how some RWD Buicks.
Rumors are also going around about a new premium V8 which will be for Cadillac only. Wonder if it will still be called Northstar?
Cadillac’s Omega Platform Comes Into Focus: RWD XTS Successor On the Way, Long-Rumored Flagship and More Derivatives Still Being Discussed
As platforms go, the Omega is as “all-new” as anybody is doing these days. Sure, most of the drivetrain equipment will be shared with other GM rear-drive cars and the rear-suspension geometry is intellectually related to that of Alpha, but there is no real commonality with the smaller platform beyond the way it all goes together in a plant.
The first product off the platform is a lineup-crowning successor to the still-to-be-introduced Epsilon-derived XTS. (This is not the flagship-y flagship.) Yep, a proper rear-drive sedan will supplant—if not completely replace—the XTS at the top of Cadillac’s offerings in about two and a half years; it will have the fast roofline currently applied to everything from the latest Ford Fusion to the Audi A7.
Regardless of powerplant, drive will be transmitted to the wheels through an all-new eight-speed automatic that also will find its way into the CTS, the ATS, and some GM trucks. While the default powertrain will be rear-drive, all-wheel drive will be offered to make sure the Omegas can be sold year-round in the Snow Belt, Rockies, and Pacific Northwest.
Beyond the identified XLS-augmenting sedan, a number of additional Omega derivatives are being discussed. Omega could be used to create a near-Suburban-sized high-end Cadillac crossover. This would be an offering with no counterpart in the luxury arena. Farther down the Omega product list is a coupe that would effectively revive the Eldorado—if not in name, certainly in product position. A long-wheelbase version of the launch sedan is all but a certainty for the back-seat-happy Chinese market, and would make sense for the U.S.
As platforms go, the Omega is as “all-new” as anybody is doing these days. Sure, most of the drivetrain equipment will be shared with other GM rear-drive cars and the rear-suspension geometry is intellectually related to that of Alpha, but there is no real commonality with the smaller platform beyond the way it all goes together in a plant.
The first product off the platform is a lineup-crowning successor to the still-to-be-introduced Epsilon-derived XTS. (This is not the flagship-y flagship.) Yep, a proper rear-drive sedan will supplant—if not completely replace—the XTS at the top of Cadillac’s offerings in about two and a half years; it will have the fast roofline currently applied to everything from the latest Ford Fusion to the Audi A7.
Regardless of powerplant, drive will be transmitted to the wheels through an all-new eight-speed automatic that also will find its way into the CTS, the ATS, and some GM trucks. While the default powertrain will be rear-drive, all-wheel drive will be offered to make sure the Omegas can be sold year-round in the Snow Belt, Rockies, and Pacific Northwest.
Beyond the identified XLS-augmenting sedan, a number of additional Omega derivatives are being discussed. Omega could be used to create a near-Suburban-sized high-end Cadillac crossover. This would be an offering with no counterpart in the luxury arena. Farther down the Omega product list is a coupe that would effectively revive the Eldorado—if not in name, certainly in product position. A long-wheelbase version of the launch sedan is all but a certainty for the back-seat-happy Chinese market, and would make sense for the U.S.
Rumors are also going around about a new premium V8 which will be for Cadillac only. Wonder if it will still be called Northstar?
05-17-2012, 12:52 AM
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Re: Omega
Ed Welburn hinted at this at the LA show when he spoke to a few of us next to the Cien.
He pretty much came out and said that they were going to produce the car (actually said they were working on a car very similar to it that would be above the XTS.... possibly even as a convertible). The car is viewed as vital (as was the ATS) to make Cadillac a credible global luxury brand.
The XTS is NOT slated to be just a 2 year car. It will continue as long as there's buyers.
He pretty much came out and said that they were going to produce the car (actually said they were working on a car very similar to it that would be above the XTS.... possibly even as a convertible). The car is viewed as vital (as was the ATS) to make Cadillac a credible global luxury brand.
The XTS is NOT slated to be just a 2 year car. It will continue as long as there's buyers.
05-21-2012, 09:08 PM
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Re: Omega
Its sounding like everything that was put on hold a 4-5 years ago is now coming back online. It will be interesting to see what coming in the next few years as more and more programs come back.
I think the Cadillac Northstar V8 replacement program was called Ultra V8.
I think the Cadillac Northstar V8 replacement program was called Ultra V8.
05-23-2012, 01:29 PM
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Re: Omega
In that view, no, it hasn't been greenlighted.
But as far as GM working on it, with Cadillac seeing it as vital to becoming a global brand, and GM being on board with Cadillac's goal, it's clearly progressing. To the point to where the guy who didn't say a peep about Camaro's development till almost the end touched on it in a small sitdown at LAIAS.
Its sounding like everything that was put on hold a 4-5 years ago is now coming back online. It will be interesting to see what coming in the next few years as more and more programs come back.
I think the Cadillac Northstar V8 replacement program was called Ultra V8.
I think the Cadillac Northstar V8 replacement program was called Ultra V8.
The Alpha started off as a Kappa-like sedan and coupe idea, then it was supposed to be the G6's replacement, then it evolved into the ATS. GM's truck program was on hold and then came back on line. Corvette was frozen for a couple of years. GM's next gen V8 is close to production after being on ice. If the demand for diesel rises, GM may even bring out that groundbreaking diesel V8 they developed that fits in the same space as the conventional LS engine.
However, the Northstar replacement is deader than a doornail.
GM made the decision to kill it off well before things for them turned from bad to horrific, unlike the other projects that were shelved simply because GM ran completely out of cash, and wound up bankrupt.
The issue was that the engine was pointless. Advances in the LS engine made it more powerful, more fuel efficient, and cheaper to produce. Add to that the fact that GM has V6 engines that produce more power and turbo V6s that also produce more power and use less fuel (and can spread it's costs across far more vehicles) plus major improvements in NVH, and finally the fact that the public carbuying trend had turned away from V8 engines outside of performance cars and large trucks, and that pretty much took away any case for it.
All engines in Cadillacs today can be found in some other GM car.
05-23-2012, 03:34 PM
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