#NAIAS: Lights! Cameras! Action! Cadillac Readies The XT6 For Its Primetime Debut — Set To Go Head-to-head With The Aviator

Ford's luxury division, Lincoln, dropped the hammer with the all-new Aviator. Sleek and sexy, it's a three-row person hauler that has a strangely Range Rover Velar vibe.

This is a good thing. But, General Motors isn't going to take that sitting down.

CES Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery

That's where the all-new Cadillac XT6 enters the picture, Spies. Set to debut tomorrow at an off-site before the start of the 2019 Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS), the all-new Cadillac is eagerly awaited. That's because Cadillac desperately needs to boost its portfolio now that its killing sedans.

In the first — and likely only — teaser, Cadillac gives us just a glimpse of what to expect.

Can you say, Escala?

CES Detroit Auto Show Photo Gallery

CANADIANCOMMENTS - 1/13/2019 8:41:00 AM

+4 Boost

There are photos of the XT6 around the web and it has an Escala face. It seems like a safe calculated effort. Underpowered for the segment. A bit bland and it seems to echo the X5 from the side. I have said they needed a bigger SUV that isn't a truck for a while. They will win over more women and families with this model. Not everyone needs to tow.

MDarringer - 1/13/2019 8:57:50 AM

-2 Boost

When you see the other pictures of it that are abundant elsewhere, it looks like what it is: a Traverse with a hastily contrived Escala face. This is a total embarrassment to Cadillac. It will sell with lots of money on the hood, but it's at best a $50K vehicle loaded to the gills, but I suspect $20K more will be the actual cost of a fully optioned model.

This is a really great Buick, but it's not a Cadillac.

NewQ - 1/13/2019 11:33:01 AM

+1 Boost

Seen it. It's crap.

MDarringer - 1/13/2019 12:49:49 PM

-1 Boost

On one hand dealers asked for a vehicle like this, but on the other hand what they got is a future rebate/incentive queen.

NewQ - 1/13/2019 7:06:00 PM

+2 Boost

The dealers asked for a 3-row luxury SUV to compete with the best entrants in the market.

What they got was something designed by a product manager who walked over to the engineering/design departments and said "okay, we need a new car right quick. We got a chassis from a Chevy, we got an interior from another older car, we got screws, we got screwdrivers, what are y'all waiting around for?"

MDarringer - 1/13/2019 8:42:08 PM

0 Boost

The hand of De Nysschen is all over this.

#FiredFromAudi
#FiredFromInfiniti
#FiredFromCadillac

NewQ - 1/14/2019 3:24:02 PM

+1 Boost

This is where your opinion and mine must part company, and we have a dearth of facts.

If you're right, and this is Johann's product (or largely his product), then I take back everything I ever said about him, apologize, and call him a fraud.

However, I think it's much more likely that this is the kind of product that Johann fought against, and what ultimately lead to him being shown the door. Cadillac needed something in this space, so they took an existing platform, an existing interior, an existing unfinished exterior design, and had the engineers bolt it all together in the middle of the night. It's a GMC Acadia wearing a Cadillac costume and it's little brother's hand-me-down (up?) interior.

I feel, at least given his public statements and sentiments, Johann fought this product and this way of thinking; but, that would have resulted in an XT6 debuting maybe next year, and going on sale much much later than the GM bosses wanted. Thus, GM threw him out and proceeded with their business-as-usual approach.