Cadillac’s new CT6 will not be the brand’s flagship, the new Ford Mustang did not influence the soon-to-debut new Chevy Camaro, and the small-block V-8 is not going anyplace. So said GM executive vice president Mark Reuss in a discussion with reporters at the New York auto show.
Reuss described the firm priorities thusly: “to grow Cadillac, and get Chevrolet back in the vehicle game, truly feed Buick and GMC, get Opel straightened around, and get our international operations profitable.”
At New York, of course, a lot interest was focused on Cadillac, what with the unveiling of the CT6. Right after explaining that a extended-wheelbase version is not in the cards, Reuss said that the CT6 “is not the flagship,” adding that “there’s a car above this.” He would not, even so, take the bait in referring to that larger-level entry as a production version of the swoon-inducing Elmiraj concept.
What about a dedicated sports vehicle for Cadillac? “The brand’s got to be ready to do some thing like that. Right now it’s not. I don’t consider doing a auto like that is going to adjust the brand image right now, either.”
Asked where is Cadillac in the method of rebuilding its reputation, Reuss was blunt: “Year one. I feel we’re talking to ourselves if we feel that we’re on the consideration list of people, in volume, in the luxury segment. So let’s get real about it, and preserve hammering, and keep creating excellent vehicles and trucks, and individuals commence to notice and want to attempt anything diverse, and that’s our opportunity. There’s a entire generation out there whose moms and dads drove BMWs and Audis and Mercedes, and they didn’t drive Cadillacs. We need to get on that consideration list with fantastic automobiles and trucks. In that sense, from a item-improvement standpoint, we’re a lot more than year one particular. From a brand standpoint, we’re year one particular.”
A Cadillac model smaller than the ATS observed here is unlikely.
From a solution standpoint, however, “we’re halfway there, because we’ve filled out half the portfolio that our competitors have.” While Cadillac will be adding a lot more models, it sounds as if these might not extend to the very bottom of the luxury segment. “We’re not going to fill out some of the decrease-finish factors with the depth of some of our competitors just to match them,” Reuss stated. He makes the point that given that GM has tiny, higher-mpg models in its other divisions, Cadillac does not want to field low-volume compliance automobiles in the way that other luxury brands may have to.
On the topic of low-volume niche goods, do not look for Reuss to ram through pet projects. “I consider a big basic way to consider about how the company’s diverse these days is we had single advocates—no matter what the market place data said—who would push a program into production. And some would be okay, and some would fail.”
Sounds like we’re talking about, oh, say, Bob Lutz. “I look at the [Pontiac] Solstice and [Saturn] Sky, and some of these cars—and I owned a Solstice, so I’m not talking out of school—but the car was okay. It was very pretty, it was extremely nice. But these are not moneymaking automobiles for us. And by the way we didn’t sell that many. I think gone are the days of an individual in my position pushing solution on men and women and attempting to sell and rally help on them. We’ve got to be consumer-focused.”
To that end, the sweet, rear-drive Chevy Code 130R concept coupe [pictured above] is dead. This despite Reuss’s prior enthusiasm for the project. “We looked at that and we looked at our competitors who have been doing things like that and what the market told us was that was not a great concept. The volumes of these issues were terrible.”
Asked regardless of whether the 2015 Ford Mustang set a bar for the new Camaro, Reuss was a lot more succinct: “No.” He then added, “We did the vehicle way just before the new Mustang came out.”
What about the little-block V-8? Are its days numbered? “No. Do not see it taking place.”
GM’s Mark Reuss: Cadillac Isn’t Prepared for a Sports Auto, Chevy Code Is Dead, Modest-Block V-eight Isn’t in Danger
