If you liked alphabet soup as a kid, make an appointment at your Cadillac dealer for three to five years from now. That's because GM has recently trademarked several new nameplates for Cadillac, and so far we're worried and a bit confused.
At present, these names are trademarked in Europe and Canada. However, companies often register their trademarks in foreign markets first, and later in the United States.
This potential new naming system is undoubtedly complicated, but we will try and lay it out in the simplest way possible. So far, GM has trademarked:
DT7
CT6
CT5
BT3
AT1
DTX
CTX
BTX
We suspect the numbers in each name signifies each vehicle's overall size.
The "DT7" might be the eventual DTS replacement, for example. This large, luxury sedan may end up riding on the Zeta chassis in a few years time.
The CT6 and CT5 would be some kind of variants of the car we currently know as the CTS. One possibility is the numbers indicate two possible wheelbase lengths. On the other hand, we can't rule out the "5" and "6" being the current CTS sedan and forthcoming CTS coupe.
The BT3 could represent the next-generation BLS. This vehicle would probably be on the Epsilon II chassis, however, with GM's plans on the new Alpha chassis being unclear, there is always a possibility BT3 could be an Alpha car.
The AT1 is still a bit of a mystery. That said, it's a safe bet that this would be a small car that is definitely based on the Alpha chassis GM is currently developing. Could it be a competitor to the BMW 1-Series?
The "X" cars will more than likely denote crossover or wagon vehicles. However we'd also leave open the option that the "X" indicates all-wheel-drive models.
If the crossover assumption is true, the DTX is probably the vehicle currently known as the BRX. The CTX could be the forthcoming CTS wagon, and the BTX remains a mystery.
Of course, the all-wheel-drive option is also a strong possibility. The CTX could be an AWD CT6 or CT5, while the DTX would be an AWD DT7, and so on.
Obviously there is one glaring part of Cadillac's lineup not mentioned here — the Escalades. Some might suggest that the "X" vehicles we just talked about are in fact the trucks. However, given what our sources say, we don't think that's the case.
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