OOOh boy ! . They better bring everything they got to the table or dont bother coming . The new 7 series and A8 are established and pretty phenomenal in current form . Dont know enough about the merc to comment about it .

Is GM capable of building an honest to god car that would better an A8 ?

 

I don't see where there is enough business case to have an XTS and a full size RWD sedan in Cadillacs lineup. XTS customers would probably buy a RWD sedan but your not going to get 7 Series/S-Class/LS/A8 customers to cross shop an XTS

 

GM does have the powertrain to get there, but the devil is in the details.

The S Class Benz is a hell of a car and it would be a great car to benchmark for this project.

The Sixteen was a good start...

 

The XTS is still FWD based and likely will be FWD biased with it's AWD system. The way I see things is that car is the successor to the DTS/Deville.

This new RWD flagship would be Cadillac aiming to try to regain the title The Standard of the World.

But I could be wrong...

 

I don't understand why they could not just properly excecute the STS. I mean they have had great results with the CTS of Sigma..why not translate that into getting STS right.

 

It sounds like that's what they'll do. It's just going to take a few years.

 

It would make no business sense, but I wish that Cadillac would jettison the CTS, SRX, the Alpha platform, the Escalade, etc. and move way upscale and just produce an S class/7 series competitor and a Bentley Mulsanne/Rolls Royce spirit competitor with total production around 20,000 to 30,000.

 

Yea we are in agreement of what the cars are I just don't see how Cadillac can have what is really 2 seperate full size sedans in their showroom. It's not like Audi or BMW have a FWD counterpart of the A8 and 7 Series in the showroom.
Spend the time and money to build one to meet Caddys needs. Preferably the RWD sedan and offer it in a AWD option and be done with the XTS. Model overlap especially in one division needed to die with the old GM. No need to design, engineer and build two cars when one will get the job done.

 

Is XTS supposed to be a "stopgap" car while the full-size RWD Cadillac structure is developed or will they really overlap in Cadillac showrooms?

 

I think it could work to have both in the same showroom, though I still think the XTS confuses the Cadillac/Buick distinction.

If the XTS is luxury FWD/AWD, the equivalent in Lexus would be a larger AWD-optional ES350. Then this new premium RWD would be equivalent to the LS460.

 

Well I would say it's obvious XTS will go away when this flagship comes out, but new GM has a way of acting like old GM sometimes.

In fact, depending on what the lineup and this new car looks like, they may need it.

The cheapest comparable car is the LS and it starts at 65k, 740 is around 70k, and every car in the class can easily be optioned over 100k.

If we aren't getting a new STS, which I've heard nothing about, and GM really intends to compete in the six digit range the XTS may be needed to slot between the CTS and this whatever, XLS? XVI?

 

That's kind of what I was thinking, though I can't bring myself to think of the XTS sliding in between the CTS and the flagship. The XTS is sort of on the side, over with the FWD/AWD SUVs like the SRX.

In reality, just as Lexus dealers depend on the volume the ES brings them, Cadillac dealers need vehicles like the SRX, DTS, and XTS to satisfy traditional Cadillac buyers, which probably still do a pretty decent volume.

 

personally, I am wondering why the XTS didn't simply keep the name DTS since it seems to be an evolution of that car?