CONFIRMED: Cadillac ATS, CTS and XTS On The Chopping Block

Hint: If unit sales were reasonable, they'd still be in production.

If YOU really listen to what DeNysschen said - they are almost doing what I recommended them to do years ago

1 - They are downsizing the ATS - to compete in the entry level with the CLA and the A3.
2 - They are then going to produce an almost "CURRENT" 5 series size car - to compete against the current 3/C/A4 class. Frankly that is what the CTS is today except for the price. and
3 - THey are going to bring the CT6 down to the low $50,000 range to compete against that E/5/A6 class - where it will have a decided space and luxury advantage. THe current CT6 is already LIGHTER that those competitors.

Now - the ATS,CTS and CT6 all are in production - but they are marketed wrong. THe fact is - you can TODAY - buy those three like the above - because Cadillac heavily discounts the product. THe ATS is poorly packaged - has little room when compared to the 3/c/a4 class - but it has a superior chassis to the A3/CLA and is more in that size bracket - and if it were "Marketed" as entry level with real Logical List Pricing - I suspect it would be selling better since it is larger and better than the CLA without question.

THe Current CTS simply has poor rear seat room compared to the E/5 class cars - so it cannot compete - BUT - at its real selling price - it sells against the 3/C/A4 class where it actually has more interior room - and this car also has the dynamics to compete at that level.

I have a CT6 - and I must admit - I do not understand who wrote the specifications for that car. Again - it is a Tweener. When compared to its "price" competition - the E/5 class - it is far larger and with a little help for the interior - I believe it is easily an equal. IT really does not compete in any way with the S class - or the 7/A8 below the S class. Again - marketing is simply fouled up here.

Once you actually compare the current offerings from Cadillac with what I consider to be the REAL competition - Cadillac actually offers some nice vehicles - and if they were just a few thousand less - they would lead the competition. However - as long as Cadillac continues to market them against their CHOSEN competition - the cars are too small and poorly packaged to compete at those levels.

"S class - or the 7/A8 below the S class" Keep drinking that Kool-Aid Tom

Sorry - but the market has SPOKEN on that one - and that is the result.

No need to apologise, your bias is obvious enough

de Nysschen is one of the great Beers in the industry -- no credibility to anyone paying attention. And unlike Bob Lutz, who appears to be a similar blowhard, Lutz knows a vehicle needs to be good or better; de Nysschen apparently believes that all is takes is great BSing.

He's actually credited with creating Audi's move from near premium status to a bigger player in the premium market in the USA. He's in this position because of his track record. Saying that, he may have bitten off more then he can chew with Cadillac, the cachet and products aren't there yet to compete properly with the imported luxury brands.

Actually - it was DeNysschen who was there when VW spentthe money to bring Audi to near Premium status- they have never actually progressed beyond that - Audi is only a player based on its SMALL cars - the larger ones don't sell worth anything. THey remain in the Lexus, Infiniti, Buick, Volvo - second tier status - basically selling small sports sedans.

He certainly did not help Infiniti go anywhere - they could not wait to get rid of him to GM. AND with GM - he has simply "hoodwinked" the poor GM management to thinking that he simply needs more time. The fact is - he has deliberately abandoned his base of owners - which were too old for his liking - without creating a new base FIRST - causing sales to drop. The only car he left for the base was the XTS - and his constant claims that it would be dropped certainly did not help it sell more cars. AND NOW - I wonder who made the decision to REFRESH the XTS. It is still Cadillacs best selling sedan. He also was against the HUGE Escalade - did not plan for it to change names in the STUPID changover to alphanumeric garbage when Cadillac has a Royal History of names to use - but of course - the Escalade sells like Hotcakes on a cold December morning in Chicago.

However - FIREWOMBAT - if you really think that the new styling the Lexus has introduced - with its glorious COW CATCHER grills - is fresh and contemporary - we know how to deal with your opinions.

He wasn't at Infiniti for that long and you can treat my comments however you like but not seeing Audi as a premium brand shows how skewed your views and opinions are, and they remain just that, no matter how many capital letters you use. And the market has proven which design language they prefer between Lexus and Cadillac

Cadillac is proof that GM can engineer and build great cars and that talentless stylists and idiotic leadership can keep those designs from being successful.

Are they great cars? I'm not trying to be funny, I honestly don't know. I assumed they were reskinned Chevys.

@carlosasshatter You're not funny, you're just stupid. The ATS, CTS, and CT6 are RWD while Chevy sedans are all FWD.

He's not entirely wrong, Camaro shares the same platform, what does it matter whether they're sedans or coupes?

However - the Platform was initially designed for the Cadillac - of that there is NO question. AS far as what is the difference if they are sedans or coupes - I would suggest that you regularly try to get into the back seat of a coupe.

I'm ALWAYS in THE driver's SEAT tom

You do realize that vehicle has been discontinued, right?

The XTS never made a lot of sense as a place holder. ATS, CTS and CT6 are the 3 sausage sizes. Only the XTS needs to be removed in my view. Names would help. Maybe pricing adjustments. Like other brands they are trying to be in the conversation when someone is thinking about a nice car. Getting into their decision cycle is hard. Just ask leaders at Acura, Infiniti, Jaguar, Maserati, Volvo, Alfa Romeo and Hyundai Genesis just how hard it is to get someone to take a look.

Actually - Cadillac had a market - along with Customers - who bought the DeVille and Seville and Eldorado - and it was DeNysschen that abandoned these Moneyed Buyers in order to try to sell "Small - MORE Nimble - sports sedans." The problem is - neither the ATS nor CTS has a back seat worth anything - they simply do not have enough room for their supposed class levels. But it is clear this is what DeNysschen intended from the beginning - he was trying to re-create the low level success of AUDI. However - Audi did not have a built in base before he came - Cadillac buyers wanted LARGE LUXURY cars. HE simply jettisoned virtually ALL of them (Except the really loyal XTS owners - it is not a real Cadillac) - but his "small, Nimble" did not work in the USA or CHINA - in the USA where the average driver is larger than Europe - and in China where these cars often have Chauffeurs - so he actually needed to produce "L" version of them so they would sell in China with an extra 4-5 inches of rear seat room. But he never tried to bring the L versions to the USA - I believe they would have sold better than the short ones did. And yes - at the time - Lexus was there to take the Seniors who bought Cadillacs - and they sold them the ES350 - a converted Camry/Avalon - nothing special - BUT what they wanted and the ES remains the largest selling Lexus Sedan.(Nissan tried the same with a converted Maxima to Infiniti - but they failed because they did not make it look different enough - and Audi and Bmw did not get the seniors - they never really sold BiG cars.

I believe there are still enough Americans- the ones who buy Escalades and more - looking for a real FULL SIZE American Luxury car from Cadillac - and even though I did buy a CT6 - and it is a wonderful car - it is still a miss - that simply does not LOOK big - and is more of a competitor to the Eclass than the S class. But - as BMW and AUDI have also done - Cadillac has used its styling to make their cars LOOK smaller as well - and if they created a new successor to the SEVILLE - it would clean up. DeNysschen would rather die - and he eventually will.

Cadillac is proof that GM can build great chassis not great cars. When your interior lacks room, the materials lack quality, the non-V or non-V-Sport engines lack, and styling is stuck in the 80's, it doesn't make a good car.

Cadillac and Lexus share another common problem: they forgot who their traditional buyer was. That traditional buyer is one looking for affordable luxury first, sport second, if at all. Everyone wants to attract the younger buyer but keep forgetting that older buyers have money, too. Lexus keeping the ES in the lineup was the best thing they did for themselves, otherwise, their sales wouldn't be far off Acura's. Cadillac having the XTS was a good move, but I don't believe there was strong promotion of it as all the ads I saw emphasize the sporty side of Cadillac.

You make a good point but I think Lexus has done something else very few people give them credit for. Styling is subjective, whether you like the direction they're going in or not, take a look at the websites for Lexus and Cadillac. Lexus has a product range that looks new, fresh, and contemporary. ES is a big seller but RX is really good at consistent sales. Look at Cadillac's website and their product line and it looks like someone hasn't updated the site in at least 5 years. Design is stagnant, sedan-based line-up, etc. Not difficult to see why Lexus is always in the top 3 selling luxury brands and Cadillac is nowhere.

This guy is totally clueless...he happened to be in charge of Audi of America when Audi transformed itself from having a lineup of duds to having a lineup that was close to or at the top of the competitive class. Mr. DeNysschen had very little, if anything, to do with this revamped lineup but the sales increase at Audi of America was quite dramatic during this time. He did basically nothing at Infiniti, and has done nothing at Cadillac despite having a lineup of vehicles that is at or close to the top of multiple comparative reviews. If he had a clue he would openly price the CTS to compete with the C/A4/3 and the ATS should be priced to compete with the 2 series. The CT6 should have a V8 option and should be priced inline with the 5/A6/E. GM has damaged the Cadillac brand over the years with badge engineering....if they want to make it a legitimate competitor they have to eat the losses for a couple generations while they build up the brand again. The XT5 is doing pretty well but they need a XT3 and XT7 ASAP.

He was the head of Audi USA at the time.