Cadillac Refocuses on Global Markets, is Preparing Right-Hand Drive CTS-V

With around 34% of the world's population driving on the left hand side of the road, in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Japan, any automaker that aspires to go global needs to produce right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles.

With only a few exceptions like the fifth generation Seville (built from 1998 to 2004), Cadillac has for the most part shied away from RHD markets. But this is about to change as the wreath and crest brand is getting more serious about increasing its presence in markets outside of North America.

Aside from the product presentations like the new BMW 3-Series rivaling ATS sedan that will eventually be offered with a diesel option as well, Cadillac is also getting ready to introduce right-hand drive models.

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GM Boss Mark Reuss Builds a Fantasy Supercar Out of the Company’s Parts Bin

Almost every car fan has, at one point or another, considered building his ideal car: for example, one with a Ferrari or Lamborghini bodywork, a Pagani interior, a Veyron engine, Porsche everyday usability and all this at the price of a used 300,000-mile Ford Escort…

Well, the automotive term for this is a parts bin special; that is, a model built by borrowing only (or mostly) existing parts from other models. Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, was asked by Car & Driver to assemble his dream car by using components that already exist on the company’s shelves.

We have to admit that, even though General Motors is not the first carmaker that comes to mind when picking components to assemble our dream car, Reuss has managed to conjure a pretty interesting vehicle.

The bodywork would come from the 2002 Cadillac Cien concept, which Reuss believes “defined Cadillac”.

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The Classic Eldorados that Inspired the Creation of the Cadillac Ciel Concept

Cadillac has seen some dramatic ups and downs (mostly the latter…) over the past few decades but General Motors' flagship brand seems to be heading down the right road in the 21st century, slowly but steadily improving its product portfolio.

And it's not just the upcoming ATS small sedan, the XTS full-size saloon or the pure-electric ELR coupe that make the future look very promising; it's also Cadillac's most recent conceptual model, the Ciel, which drew a lot of attention at the Pebble Beach classic car show in August.

A modern day Eldorado convertible with four doors measuring a lengthy 203.7-inch (5,174mm) from nose to tail isn't exactly a recipe to rev up enthusiasts, yet Cadillac's designers somehow pulled it off and the Ciel proved to be a hit with most show-goers, not to mention readers as well.

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Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Le Monstre to Terrorize Las Vegas with 1,001HP Supercharged V8

The SEMA Show is all about excess - be that for the appearance and performance of the tuned cars or the…upgraded booth models.

And there seems to be plenty of that going on with the 2012 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe created by "The D3 Group", which will be displayed at Toyo Tire U.S.A.'s booth at the Las Vegas aftermarket show.

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Report: GM May Build a Production Model Inspired by the Ciel

“If you build it, he will come”; now this may be the whisper heard by Kevin Costner in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, but it also stands true for any product –and especially cars.

No matter what your image or marketing strategy, in the long term the product itself makes or breaks a carmaker. Recent “rags to riches” stories include Hyundai, Kia and Skoda, all of which a little over a decade ago were offering below par, or at best acceptable, models but are now posting record sales year after year thanks to their new, much improved range.

Cadillac, once the default choice in the luxury car segment in North America, witnessed a streak of uncompetitive products ruin its image and sales before GM buckled up and began reshaping the brand starting with the CTS.

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Video: Jay Leno Meets the Cadillac Ciel Concept

Jay Leno, one of America's most famous comedians and notable petrol heads, was at hand at last week's Pebble Beach show where he met up with GM's VP of Global Design Ed Welburn for a more…personal look at the impressively styled Cadillac Ciel. Read more »

New Cadillac Ciel 4-door Convertible Concept Wows Pebble Beach Crowd [Photos + Video]

GM's Cadillac division is on a roll lately. After confirming the production of three new cars including the XTS large luxury saloon, the BMW 3-Series rivaling ATS compact sports sedan, and the ELR Coupe plug-in hybrid EV, Cadillac revealed an impressive new concept model called Ciel that looks into the future but winks at the past.

Named after the French word for sky, the Ciel is a large (5.174 mm or 203.7-in. in length) four-seat, four-door convertible with “suicide” rear doors and no B-pillar reminiscent of the 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible.

“Large, expressive luxury is innate to Cadillac and the Ciel recalls that heritage, while suggesting where the brand can go in the future,” said Clay Dean, global design director for Cadillac. “Authentic luxury is driven by experiences, not just products, and Ciel is about the experience of the journey.”

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New Cadillac ELR: GM Officially Confirms Production Version of Converj EV Coupe

Ever since GM displayed the Cadillac Converj at the 2009 Detroit Motor Show, rumors have swirled that a production model was under consideration. But we now have official confirmation that the pure electric Converj is indeed moving forward as a production car that will be named the Cadillac ELR.

“The concept generated instant enthusiasm,” said Don Butler, vice president-Cadillac Marketing. “Like other milestone Cadillac models of the past, the ELR will offer something not otherwise present – the combination of electric propulsion with striking design and the fun of luxury coupe driving.”

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Report: GM Seriously Considering but has Not Yet Decided on Production of Cadillac Converj Coupe

When Cadillac unveiled its Converj concept at the Detroit Motor Show in 2009, it drew a lot of attention thanks to its cutting-edge styling and equally impressive hardware as it was powered by the firm's Voltec hybrid system that comprises of a 16 Kw, T-shaped battery pack and a four-cylinder gasoline engine range extender.

A production version would be a perfect “halo” car for the brand: stylish and at the same time eco-friendly.

Recently, word got out that Cadillac gave the green light for the production version of the Converj and that the company had awarded a production contract to A123 Systems for the development of the Nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries to be used in future electric vehicles.

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2010 LA Design Challenge ends with a Tie: Cadillac and Smart Declared Winners

This year's Los Angeles Design Challenge ended with a tie, as judges, after much deliberation, declared two winners: the Cadillac Aera and smart 454 WWT. The challenge was to envision a four passenger car tipping the scales under 1,000 lbs (454 kg).

"Deciding this year's Design Challenge winner was a tremendously difficult decision as the quality of entries has increased throughout the years", agreed the Design Los Angeles judges. "This year's winners - the Cadillac Aera and the smart 454 WWT - offer two very different visions of the 1,000 lb. Car, yet are equally as amazing. They are both very expressive of their brand; GM is art and science and smart is playful and fun".

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LA Show 2010: Cadillac's Urban Luxury Concept is an Aston Martin Cygnet Killer

If you want more proof that Cadillac is once and for all abandoning its "bigger is better" mentality adapting to the times, here it is: the Urban Luxury Concept, a design study for a supermini-sized city car (think Aston Martin Cygnet) that will have its world premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show tomorrow.

"While small in size, this concept is an exploration of what Cadillac could be in the future, as the brand continues to focus on redefining industry standards for advanced vehicle design and integrated technology," said Don Butler, vice president for Cadillac marketing.

Conceived and designed in the Los Angeles area, the car's styling is typical of Cadillac's current design language with plenty of hard edges and vertical head lamps and tail lamps. To make it look more conceptual, the designers threw in a pair of scissor-type doors that extend outward and rotate forward when opened.

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Cadillac to Show All-New Concept Model at LA Auto Show: What will it be?

We're still tuned into the SEMA Show, but the news from the fast approaching Los Angeles Auto Show keep dropping in. Now we've learned that General Motors will stage the global reveal of a never-seen-before Cadillac concept study. not surprisingly, details remain slim. It could be a concept for Cadillac's recently confirmed small sedan (often called ATS), which will go up against the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, or something different altogether. We just don't know. But feel free to speculate in the comments section below.

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LA Auto Show Design Contest Part 1: Cadillac, Honda, Maybach and Mazda Concepts

For the past seven years, the most important automotive design studios in Southern California compete in a Design Challenge organized by the Los Angeles Auto Show. For this year's edition of the show, which runs November 19-29, the event planners decided to add an international flavor to the contest by inviting studios from Germany and Japan to join the competition for the very first time.

The theme for the 2010 Design Challenge is the creation of a super-efficient and lightweight four-passenger car: "The objective is to envision an efficient, light-weight, four passenger vehicle (not to exceed 1,000 lbs.), that is both comfortable and safe, while delivering satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the styling consumers demand. "

Follow the break for the first group of concept models by Cadillac, Honda, Maybach and Mazda, and stay tuned for the second part.

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Cadillac CTS Coupe Loses its Top for SEMA Show

Drop Top Customs, the Florida-based company that brought us the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger convertible models at last year's SEMA Show, is now getting ready to chop the roof off the freshly revealed Cadillac CTS Coupe. The soft top Caddy will be revealed in the flesh for the first time at this year's edition of the SEMA gathering, which runs from November 2 to 5 at the Las Vegas convention center.

For now, you'll have to make do with a set of renderings that you can check out along with some other drop top custom conversions from the tuning shop in the gallery after the jump.

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Cadillac Planning True Flagship Model And Entry-Level Player

America needs a true luxury car company and Cadillac is it. What about Lincoln, you ask? It seems like Ford's upscale brand is still trying to find its feet. To take full advantage of this, Cadillac intends to regain its position as a full-out luxury competitor over the next 5 years with a more traditional lineup, shooting volleys across the bows of more than just the 5-Series and E-Class.

That's right, we can expect entry-level, mid-size, and full-size luxury, along with one model that will still appeal to the "traditional" Cadillac buyers of the 90's (if they're still around).

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Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept: Videos and Live Shots from Detroit Show

Making its world premiere at the Detroit motor show alongside the 556HP Cadillac CST-V Coupe, is the XTS Platinum Concept. GM calls it a concept model, but the 203.5 inches (5,170mm) long XTS is expected to heavily influence Cadillac's upcoming flagship sedan that will replace the DTS, and quite possibly, the STS also.

The full-size sedan, which most likely shares the vehicle platform with the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, keeps all the usual styling cues of modern Cadillacs such as the sharp creases and vertical lights.

The concept's interior blends leather, wood and other high quality materials with modern technology like the Organic Light-Emitting Diode (O-LED) displays that replace the traditional gauges and screens.

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Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept Foretells DTS Replacement

Meet the Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept that made its world debut at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Officially, the XTS is just a design study that showcases Cadillac's emerging top-of-the-line Platinum series of models, but unofficially, it previews the Detroit firm's DTS replacement in the full-size sedan segment that's pegged make its way onto the market by 2012.

General Motors did not say which platform the concept is based on, but judging from the XTS' wheelbase length of 111.7 inches or 2,837mm that is identical to the new Buick LaCrosse, we'd say that it rides on a modified version of the Epsilon II.

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Cadillac to Debut New Concept Model and 2011 CTS-V Coupe at Detroit Auto Show

A never-before seen concept model and the hottest version of the new CTS-Coupe will be Cadillac's stars at next month's Detroit Motor Show. GM's premium brand released a teaser photo of the new concept model but is keeping everything else, including the name, a secret.

There's not much we can tell from the picture other than that the concept appears to follow the brand's most recent design language but if we were to play the guessing game, our vote would go to either Cadillac's planned BMW 3-Series rival, the ATS sedan or a preview of the STS's successor.

The ATS, which was confirmed earlier this year, will be positioned under the CTS in Cadillac's range and be offered with rear-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive. Given that the larger CTS starts from around $37,000 in the US, the new four-door sedan should have a base price closer to $30,000.

Also making its world premiere in Detroit is the new 2011 CTS-V Coupe. The most powerful version of the new CTS Coupe, which was revealed at the L.A. auto show in November, will get the same 556-horsepower 6.2-liter supercharged V8 coupled to a six-speed manual or automatic transmission found in the CTS-V Sedan.

Cadillac Converj Concept: Electric-Hybrid Coupe Breaks Cover at Detroit Show

Combining a sexy fastback-coupe design with GM's Voltec electric propulsion system that is similar to the one found in the Chevy Volt, the Cadillac Converj concept made its debut today in Detroit. The four-passenger Converj concept is equipped with 16-kWh, T-shaped battery pack with more than 220 lithium-ion cells, an electric drive unit, and a four-cylinder engine-generator, using electricity as its primary power source. Cadillac supports that the Converj can be driven electrically up to 40 miles without using fuel or producing tailpipe emissions.

It takes less than three hours to recharge the 2+2 coupe's battery at 240V, or about eight hours from a 120V outlet. Just like the Volt, when the battery's energy is low, electricity needed to power the vehicle is created on-board by a flex-fuel-powered engine that operates much like a home generator to create electricity.

The electric engine powers the front-wheels delivering 273 lb.-ft. (370 Nm) of instant torque, for a quick launch, and 120 kW of power. The Converj's top speed is 100 mph.

Bob Lutz, GM's vice chairman of Global Product Development, said the Converj concept has production substance. "It's a logical extension of our plan to reinvent the automobile," he said. "It clearly shows what a Cadillac electric vehicle could look like, and clearly indicates that global luxury customers can have a car that has both strong design and electric propulsion with a total range of hundreds of anxiety-free miles."

Video: Cadillac CT Coupe Concept

Cadillac’s Detroit Show shocker is something more than a concept as it will form the base for a production version which, according to our information, will be launched into the market in late 2009 or early 2010. Despite being based on the new CTS, the CT Coupe Concept actually shares very few body parts with its sedan counterpart. Power will most probably come from the same V6 and V8 engine units as the CTS, including a top-notch CT-V variant equipped with GM’s new 6.2-liter supercharged V8 unit that pumps out 550 HP. Click here for images and details on the CT Coupe. -Follow the jump for the video