#NAIAS: The Cadillac XT6 WHIFFS So Bad That Even The Buff Books Smell The Stench — Now What?

Cadillac has no choice. They need a presence in the 3-row crossover space. Deeply incentivizing it is the only answer if it doesn’t take off initially. And fleeting a large number is the other option.

the XT6 exterior kinda makes the Aviator exterior seem a little soft. both of these full-sizers are similar in size & proportions to the X7 as well. and all of their interior & content are of course debatable.

Agreed with cidflekken, they should rush a refresh through as well.

They ought to take a lesson from Lincoln on the refresh. The Aviator intro with better exterior and interior colors was orders of magnitude ahead of the XT6's drabness. Gray ought to be banned for GM interiors.

year 1 introduce
year 2 do nothing
year 3 a very noticeable refresh that does not need a roadmap to the changes.
year 4 do nothing
year 5 total reskin with a fresh design language.
year 6 do nothing
year 7 a very noticeable refresh that does not need a roadmap to the changes.
year 8 do nothing
year 9 a full replacement

I'm a big Cadillac fan but this is very disappointing compared to the new Aviator. Very.

LOL what was Cadillac thinking, let’s discontinue our sedans then carry over the same bland, lack of presence/excitement from them to our SUVs...

I was disappointed initially but then I went & looked back at the X7 & the production Aviator, then the XT6 started to make a lot of sense.

I'm thinking the next M-B GLS make the big Cadillac crossover seem right in-line with its intended competition & consumer base.

Clearly the XT6 is the Cimmarron for 2019 - just like the Cimmarron was a thinly disguised Chevy Cavalier, this is a thinly disguised GMC Acadia.

I guess it will make a nice Uber though once the stealer's put cash on the hood.

Cadillac mails it in.

Oh the irony of this vis a vis this site: "Whenever the automotive media says something, typically you can rest assured knowing that the complete opposite of what's being said or written is true. At the end of the day, the media — at large — simply doesn't have its finger on the pulse of the buying public or their head is lodged so far up an automaker's ass it doesn't even register what a normal customer would think."

Cadillac should ink a deal with Genesis to co-develop platforms because it and Genesis are both in the "build-a-brand" mode.

Another reach out could be to Lexus or even Lincoln.

At this point, Cadillac needs premium product that is convincing.

For the time being:

Drop the XT4 price down to $30K, the XT5 to $35K, the CT6 to $40K.

Price the CT5 at $33K and the XT6 at $45K

Cadillac sells about 155,000 vehicles a year in the USA in a market of 17m. Should they exist?

Look at Alfa Romeo's utter failure to catch on worldwide. Should they exist?

@MD - They each have different problems. Alfa Romeo is a post war brand (at their height) where most new car buyers have no idea who they are unless they are pushing 60. If they can improve quality and have good reliability they can grow into a solid nice luxury brand. Cadillac has been in the business of luxury cars for a very long time and has permanently lost their way with no chance of finding their mojo again to be seen as on par with the Germans or the Japanese. I think it is a money pit for GM. Look at the CT6, all that development money, mix materials manufacturing and related technology and it is just thrown away. Not a smart group.

Oh so they are different ONLY because it suits your rhetoric. Got it.

Cadillac has been promising top tier level products for15 years. Hiring de Nyshessen and hearing him say with conviction it is a process that will take 10 or more years, but we have to stick to it. They gave him 4, cancelled the most promising car, the CT6 and rolled out this minivan. The Reuss jumps out and says "we have one last chance to save Cadillac." That statement alone will keep people away.
Who signs off on these decisions, interiors, slab sides designs?

You're defending De Nysschen that got fired from Audi and Infiniti? Make no mistake. He got fired. Companies tell people like him to leave or be fired.

The XT6 has the potential to be a 50K volume product IF they keep a lid on price and lease it well.

He did get fired, and it's a shame.

I believe Johann got fired over his conflict with GM leadership over this particular vehicle, and all that it stands for.

His whole "schtick" if you will, was to sacrifice short term gains for the sake of long-term brand building and reputation. That means delay products until they're right, and no more quick and easy good-enough jobs. You can argue whether or not his alternative was any better, but it sure as hell was preferable to the modern day Cimarron we got here.

If anyone offers proof or logical argument that Johann was responsible for the XT6, in its current form, in any meaningfully substantial way, I will take all of that back and denounce him as a fraud.

NOTHING about Jockitch DeNiacin is intelligent or virtuous. They fired him because he had ZERO ideas. They fired him because he did not develop a coherent marketing plan. They fired him because he is an idiot.

Lol I wonder the same exact thing. It's almost like no one knows what their doing. Sometimes its good to just mimic others i.e. Lincoln. Lincoln is on the road to recovery with their decisions lately.

Cadillac should ink a deal with Genesis to co-develop platforms because it and Genesis are both in the "build-a-brand" mode.

Another reach out could be to Lexus or even Lincoln.
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Generally I find your brand positioning and pricing strategy comments to be well informed and well written (as opposed to your political takes which are all in the category of lunatic rants), but I find the notion that Cadillac should "reach out to Lincoln" to be beyond bizarre.

You are aware that GM and Ford do quite a bit of collaboration already, right?

I am not a Cadillac fan, but this isn't bad. It actually has a pretty good side profile. The interior looks identical to a Hyundai, but not be bad for the demographic.

a bad quasi copy of the Q7. GM hasnt a clue. and these useless magazine 'editors' who act like they are supreme drivers when they are not, champion everything buyers despise, dont own any vehicle they orgasm about, and pretend that their heads arent wedged up manufacturers ass have been largely replaced by fairly objective youtube reviewers and their respective comments sections. car mags arent worth the price and are generally reviewing the same vehicles each month. when a massive clown like johnny liebermann is supposed to be an 'editor' the shark has been jumped.

Not defending de Nyshessen per se, but they introduced him enthusiasticly and committed to a ten year plan that lasted almost 4 years.
Agree the CT6 is overpriced, but Cadillac tried to charge top tier pricing when entering a market. Need to earn your way to MB/BMW levels with consistent product and identity.
Lincoln is rolling out some very good products without the big pronouncements that Cadillac has annually.

The real problem is the absolute tone deafness and arrogance of GM leadership to actually think this is competitive? Its become typi, something we all recognize for GM to bring something to market that is 70-80% there and "act" as if they've really delivered. I recently read Mark Reuss say they were very proud of the FWD and the execution on the XT6. I mean that is simply insane. Cadillac is doomed and GM as a whole is spinning down the toilet unless that mindset vanishes, immediately. They are simply not getting it done. The mediocre launch of their cash cow pickups with $&*tty interiors and now this? Plus the announcement to kill the CT6 then to not kill it... the bravado over the "blackwing" only to announce "YOU cant have one, they're already sold out"... 275 probably to dealers who will mark them up. Is that anyway to run a business? Oh and the Customer Service at Cadillac dealers stinks.

Recall a few years ago they launched the redesigned Malibu, only to completely redo it within one year as it wasn't competitive the day that model launched.

I met Mary Barra while she was in HR and one thing she said was she wanted to change the culture at GM. Clearly she is in over her head and needs to go, NOW. GM needs to address this very serious problem, its their #1 issue or the company is going to die.

It's not good, it's not bad, it's simply mediocre. Fills a hole in their lineup. Cadillac customers have low expectations and notwithstanding all the marketing hoopla, these folks are smart enough to understand this is a dying brand that has little chance of being saved. They are aren't building this to gain conquest sales; this is simply to slow the customer defections and keep a lease customer when they need that 3rd row that have no interest in a monster truck. It's a parts bin car because you can't put big bucks into something that isn't going to sell in volume. The failures of the Ct4 and ct6 prove that. This will be a pleasant enough car that is heavily incentivized that will be reasonably profitable as GM seeks to make Cadillac more Tesla like.

As to the Aviator ( and Navgator interiors), while they may hype the interior in the rags, they are far too heavily stylized and over the top. Both the new Hyundai and Kia 3 rowers would absolutely kill both these vehicles if they had better dealership experiences and brand equity. There will be lots of cross shopping higher end trim Koreans new 3 rowers against the xt6 and Aviator, and they are going to win lots of sales. The Koreans took some styling risks on the outside and appear to have delivered upscale interiors. Neither Lincoln nor Cadillac have much brand equity so many will ignore brand for a functional appliance.

I do give GM credit for the defeatable start stop on the CT6. It's absence on the new Blazer will make it a non starter for many.

Take the advise from Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank...”Take it behind the barn and shoot it”

I don't know what to think about this vehicle. My initial reaction was that they blew it big time. The more I look at it I think they may have came up with this on the cheap so that they could have an offering, with the intentional strategy of not making something that will cannibalize Escalade sales. This is something that they can dangle out at customers topping out at $50-55K, and upsell them Escalades when they see how much nicer the Escalade is. And if some of the customers decide to buy this they still make out because the additional costs to build this over an Acadia is minimal. I dunno...maybe I am giving GM product planners too much credit.

Why not have 2 great products to sell? They blew it because they’re lost idiots ...make that lost, overpaid, idiots...

Whether or not this does well depends on pricing. If it sells for around 50-55K loaded it will sell well. Hopefully for their sake GM brings it with their full size SUVs. From rumors of IRS, and Super Cruise availability if they get the interiors right they will own the full size SUV market.

This will be more like $70K loaded.

Very weak effort from Caddy esp. with Billion$$$ invested from GM... Waste of $$

There Wil be nearly 20 3-row cuv in mkt this yr n Caddy will just blend in... Nothing special to draw in New customers!

Lincoln's Aviator is just the opposite n shows smart investing by Ford with a strong stand out product. This Aviator will challenge Range Rover, MB, Audi and other "high-end" luxury competitors n leave Caddy in the distance with Buick.

Just look at the side profile of the new Kia Telluride vs. XT6... Almost identical.

GM better get incentive$$$ ready... They r going to need them to sell this junk!