REPORT: Cadillac DTS to be replaced by XTS, which will be built in Canada alongside new Buick Regal
The days of Cadillac's big DTS sedan are numbered as the plant that builds it will soon be shut down and re-tooled. The Detroit Hamtramck assembly plant that builds the DTS and Buick Lucerne will switch over to building the Chevy Volt in 2010 and the current products are both long in the tooth.
The National Post is reporting that the new Cadillac flagship will be dubbed XTS and will be produced at the Oshawa assembly plant. It will be built alongside an updated Chevrolet Impala, the new Camaro and the Buick Regal. The DTS is a front-wheel drive car, but the XTS is expected to the share the Epsilon II platform with the Regal and the new Impala. As such, it will likely get all-wheel-drive at least as an option. For its part, the Regal will likely be a re-badged version of the Opel Insignia. The report goes on to say that Oshawa will produce a hybrid version of one of those offerings – a gas-electric Regal model is a reasonable bet.
Earlier reports had pegged the next Cadillac sedan as a model that would supplant both the DTS and the slow-selling STS, and although the NatPost article does not speak to this, it is reasonable to assume that the new XTS will result in the phase-out of both model lines. The new model line was reportedly put on hold back in August of last year, but it apparently has once again been given the go-ahead.
The XTS is scheduled to be launched in December 2011, with the new Impala coming in early 2013. Thanks to Ben for the tip!
[Source: The National Post]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Avinash machado 8:39AM (7/02/2009)
The regal could cannibalize sales from the LaCrosse.
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The Other Bob 8:56AM (7/02/2009)
Which is why I find this report unlikely.
Sam Abuelsamid 1:51PM (7/02/2009)
The Regal is 6 inches shorter than the LaCrosse and should not cannibalize it much
Motor_Yakuza 3:09PM (7/02/2009)
@Sam, the CHINESE Buick Regal is shorter then the LaCrosse, chinese Regal=Opel Insignia, now the Regal that we will get should be a whole new car.
alex 8:40AM (7/02/2009)
Great news for caddy if it can keep up with the quality of the cts and srx. But no new impala until 2013? The current gen will be around WAY too long.
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Nightcrawler 11:26AM (7/02/2009)
I had the same thought. Hasn't the current model been basically the same since 2000? That makes a 13 year life cycle if it isn't replace until 2013. That's an awful long time.
But with GM's money troubles they probably can't do everything at the same time. With the Malibu such a competent vehicle, maybe they are now thinking of the Impala as more of a lower sales model, much like the Avalon is compared to the Camry for Toyota. And it's not as if we haven't seen large cars go little changed for decades in the past, such as the old RWD Impala/Caprice and Ford's Panther platform.
Tool 12:29PM (7/02/2009)
Cadillac needs a solid top-shelf vehicle that can do 50-75,000 units a year.
If Cadillac could round out its line-up emulating the concept of a 3-, 5- and 7-series sized vehicles, I think you could honestly say that Cadillac is a serious competitor.
jv2k 2:40PM (7/02/2009)
I disagree. I think a new impalla would be very redundant.
It already is redundant, but the age of the platform makes it an extremely cheap and a fleet darling. That is the only justifiable reason for this car.
Making a new one on the same platform as the malibu is a terrible idea because it looses the only reason this car is still around and switched from the budget model to competition.
Now GM may end up moving the impalla up in it's class, but then we face the same issue we had with the g8 and saturn(going from the budget brand car to a more upscale one). They'd have to find ways to modify it's size or give it something unique in order for it to have purpose.
mgrinshpon 8:41AM (7/02/2009)
Nothing says standard of the world like underpowered, front-engined, front-wheel drive.
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Cougs 8:50AM (7/02/2009)
Exactly...
2 steps forward...1 step back.
Nixapatfan 9:01AM (7/02/2009)
It will be AWD hence the X in it's name. Do you perceive Audi as FWD garbage since it has an identical drivetrain layout as this XTS will have?
Quattroporte 9:26AM (7/02/2009)
@Nixapatfan
"Do you perceive Audi as FWD garbage since it has an identical drivetrain layout as this XTS will have?"
Technically they do not have identical drivetrain layouts. Audis (VW-based A3 and TT excepted) have longitudinally mounted engines, while the Epsilon cars have transversely mounted engines. The AWD Insignia uses the Haldex AWD system (which suggests that the Cadillac will have Haldex AWD) which I do believe differs quite a lot from quattro.
Nixapatfan 10:37AM (7/02/2009)
@Quatroporte
You're right, my bad for lumping them all together. The point still stands just because they aren't RWD doesn't mean they suck. Plus the XTS is replacing the DTS (i.e. targeted at old people) so it doesn't matter anyways, the people that are buying the DTS wouldn't buy it if it was RWD only.
I don't know why people are calling the DTS a flagship, it hasn't been the Cadillac flagship for many years now. Good news is with a downsized XTS, Cadillac can finally move the next STS upto where it needs to be and finally compete with the big german sedans.
Other Man 1:35PM (7/02/2009)
In my opinion it depends on two things; the AWD system engine placement.
Audis have a traditional north-south engine placement like most any RWD platform vehicle. The Epsilon II platform, like most FWD-based platforms, is transerve-mounted (east-west). That's not a good recipe for excellent handling or a traditional setup that people like. Hopefully they'll change that and offer a V-8, the LS3 for instance.
The AWD system won't be that great if it's a simple, there-for-traction-only setup. I pray GM will use their performance AWD system (called XWD for Saab and Active 4X4 for Opel).
So this could go either way. We just have to find out.
DCorbett 8:41AM (7/02/2009)
It's great to that there's a future for production at the Oshawa assembly plant. Not only is this great news for Canada, which has been far from immune from the difficulties affecting the automotive industry in the United States and elsewhere, but I think it's good news for GM, too. The Oshawa plant has a history of producing high-quality vehicles efficiently and has received awards recognizing this fact. It'll be neat to see what the new Impala and Regal look like, too.
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Mirko 8:45AM (7/02/2009)
So the plan to make all Cadillacs RWD is dead?
Why do they bother keeping the brand alive then?
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alex 8:50AM (7/02/2009)
Seriously, what a bad move! Way to follow in the footsteps of epic industry failures Audi and Lexus!
Mirko 8:54AM (7/02/2009)
Audi is historically a FWD brand. Lexus is a brand for people who don't care which wheels are driven. But Cadillac?
Alex 10:40AM (7/02/2009)
Funny you say that, since 3 out of 4 Lexus sedans are RWD (all of them except the ES = Camry). And how is it that Lexus is an "industry failure" when it has outsold all luxury marques for at least the last 10 years (in the US)?
chconline 11:52AM (7/02/2009)
That was a sarcastic comment. Audi and Lexus are relatively successful in their niche with the former having all FWD or AWD vehicles.