Cadillac Lyriq-V Reviews

It could be third time lucky for Cadillac in Australia. General Motors is once again considering bringing its luxury brand Down Under.

It's June 1927 and Alfred Sloan, Chairman of the growing General Motors company is looking for a way to take sales leadership away from Ford. To date Sloan has amassed a number of brand names under his GM banner-Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile Buick and Cadillac -- and his objective for GM is to be number one by offering a range of cars "for every price and purpose". Henry Ford Snr grew up working hard on a farm. He conceived the Model T as a simple machine to eliminate the drudgery of an everyday working life-a car for the people (a folks wagon!). Henry sees no need to change the Model T. He believes people buy cars for their mechanical substance. His famous quote that "the customer can have it any colour he wants as long as it is black" misreads the desires of the increasingly affluent American consumers in a big way. Sloan is a new breed of professional manager. He sees the car as a consumer product and now he's decided that style, and annual styling changes-planned obsolesce will be a key competitive weapon in his quest for market leadership. And so he goes looking for someone to head up his new styling area, the Art and Colour department. He chooses Californian Harley Earl. It is Harley's job to give visual identities to all the brands and to convince the American car buyer that style trumps substance, which he does. Within five years GM overtakes Ford in sales. By the mid 1950s Harley Earl's focus on style has become the substance! At GM right now they are celebrating 85 years of the establishment of the Art and Colour section. Although America has had 14 presidents in those 85 years, only six men have held the powerful role of style arbiter for the world's largest car company. Two men, Earl and Bill Mitchell, sat in the big chair for a combined 50 years! Earl and Mitchell took the styling of cars from a backroom craft and made it the engine of a global organisational and economic powerhouse, and a way of life. So much has been shaped by so few. Harley Earl is remembered at GM with this prayer: "Our Father who art in Styling, Harley be thy Name" Amen to that, brother. David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au

How do you launch a rear-wheel drive car as your flagship model when it is physically smaller than a front-wheel drive model already on sale?  That's just one of the problems Mike Devereux must address as he considers the future of the Commodore in Australia. The Chevrolet Cadillac ATS is the latest of the global GM architectures to be revealed. It comes as a rear and all-wheel drive platform capable of being produced in right-hand steering configuration and will take a V8 engine. It is also aimed at the BMW 3 Series in the US and - more worryingly - is smaller in every dimension except wheelbase than the front-hook Holden Malibu that will go on sale here next year.  That makes it an unlikely candidate to replace the locally built Commodore when GM has to dip in to the global platform parts bin some time after 2016. Developing a "top-hat" of panels imprinted with Holden's styling DNA on a Cadillac CTS chassis would more sense, especially given Holden originally developed the Sigma II platform in the 1990s and Holden boss Mike Devereux is on record as saying he prefers a rear-wheel drive platform. Holden spokeswoman Emily Perry refused to comment on the Commodore successor. "We're not going to talk about the VF, let alone anything beyond that," she said. WHAT'S COMING The VF Commodore - an update of the VE platform - is due in dealerships next year and, while keeping the V6 and V8 engines, will be a leaner car than ever before as Holden looks to compete on the fuel-savings front. Helping the cause will be extensive use of aluminium panels instead of steel and optimised ECU and injection-mapping. The resultant weight-saving and software efficiencies are designed to push the Holden to four-cylinder fuel use levels. The trouble is, the fours are following the same path to generate more power and use less fuel. The 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder in the Cadillac ATS cranks out 201kW and even detuned for the Malibu the same engine will generate 193kW/353Nm. That compares well with the 179kW/353Nm in the 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost engine for the Ford Falcon. It looks even better alongside the 190kW/290Nm3.0-litre V6 in the Commodore Omega and Berlina variants. SIZING IT UP  

The roller door of Denis Thompson's cavernous warehouse rises slowly. He hits the light switch and there, bathed in a harsh white flourescent light, sits a 1957 Cadillac four-door hardtop.  And it's pink - the colour Elvis Presley chose for his first Cadillac. And its BIG! Everything about Denis's car is big. It has a dominating presence which cannot be avoided. From the twin 'dagmar' spinners jutting out from the front bumper bar to the chrome rear end that hides the fuel cap , it's all BIG. The bigness theme is continued inside. I'm convinced the interior has more area than my first house . Under the bonnet is a 365 cubic inch OHV V8 that produces a massive 400 pounds of torque and 300 BHP. That's big , even in 2011.  About the only thing not oversized are the brakes, Drums all round on this baby .I ask Dennis if he's planning to convert them to discs. "No" he replies in a manner that absolutely convinces me he is A-OK with them just as they are.  Dennis kindly offers to take us out for a drive. From the driving position the view through the wrap around windscreen and across the bonnet goes on and on and on. The back seat seems light years away, and four goodly sized folk could sit across the bench seats.  The dashboard is a glitzy and impressive array of buttons, knobs and dials. I'm sure that the original Mercury astronauts had less complicated dashboards in their space capsules than what GM put in front of Cadillac owners in 1957. Once we moving the size of the car is actually becomes an asset. Those driving smaller vehicles give us room to move. Trucks stay in their lanes. People look, point and wave.  The soft suspension and soft seats easily soak up the irregularities in the pavement allowing us to progress to our destination in comfort and serenity.  "Every time I take it out people stop and ask me about it", says Denis. "On freeways the other drivers cruise up alongside and passengers take photos of it!"  The car was imported brand new by a Canberra doctor in mid 1957. The right hand drive conversion was done by Bill Buckle in Sydney, The doctor drove the car for a few years then had it stored. The car then went through a number of owners, all with intentions of restoring it. It finally ended up outside the Elvis Museum in Parkes, and that's where Dennis found it. "It was sitting outside the museum in all the weather and was gradually rusting away. So we decided to buy it and restore it", he says. The restoration spanned two years, and involved a complete body off strip down and rebuild. Denis drives the Caddy about once a week and he hires it out for formals, weddings, sightseeing trips and such like. "It is a driver", he emphasises. www.retroautos.com.au

As you fork over your 30 per cent luxury car tax, consider the Chinese buyer being offered massive discounts and incentives such as free iPhones and cheap designer handbags.  Luxury car makers are falling over each other to gain a foothold in the lucrative Chinese market, according to financial news and data service Bloomberg. It reports that discounts up to 25 per cent are being offered on the Audi A8L, BMW 7-Series, and Mercedes-Benz S300.  A Mercedes distributor in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen is also offering female customers up to 20 per cent off Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes handbags if they buy a car in March.  BMW dealers offered iPhones, free car insurance and maintenance in January and February, while Volvo gave buyers of their C30 small car a free trip to Hong Kong.  Shanghai Mercedes-Benz salesman Jack Ren says the days when customers paid extra to jump the queue for a new car have ended.  "A buyer of a S600 sedan ($390,000) last year would have to pay an additional 200,000 yuan ($30,000) to hasten delivery of his car," Ren told Bloomberg. "This year, the same car is selling for 200,000 yuan less." The discounts and incentives come as China's vehicle sales are likely to fall short of an 8 per cent growth forecast thanks to a slowing economy and rising fuel costs.  While China's car market may struggle to stay in the black, luxury car companies are still poised to make double-digit gains. Experts tip that luxury car sales will rise by about 24 per cent this year, which is down on the 34 per cent growth of last year.  Audi, BMW and Mercedes accounted for more than 70 per cent of luxury-car sales in China, with Audi having the largest share at more than 30 per cent, according to Morgan Stanley. Eyeing the sales luxury boom are brands such as Cadillac, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus and Infiniti which are expanding in China. But Credit Suisse has warned luxury car makers that offering discounts to increase their market share could dull the luster of their brand.  "You'd rather lose a customer because of pricing because that is part of your premium heritage: people can't afford it," a spokesman said. "Protecting your brand should be the most important thing."

... up to half their price two years ago.
The interest is fed by the strong Australian dollar's exchange rate with the US currency, and depressed prices for older cars in the US in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and the current US recession.
Car transporter Cargo Online boss Steve White said there had been "a lot of movement'' since the Australian dollar rose to US80c and though imports are stabilising, his relatively small business is still moving 200 cars a year.
But he said while classic cars were still popular, new government rules on importing modified cars have seen a big drop in some muscle cars.
US-based specialist car dealer Lee Wolff of Vintage Motor Car in Ohio said he is "getting lots of inquiries from Australia.''
"The collectors that want great cars will pay fair market value. If it is something special they usually are not concerned about the exchange rate, if it is a vehicle they want,'' he said.
"The prices in the US collector car market are generaly lower than in recent times, but good quality cars continue to stay strong. 
"It is always better to purchase a good quality car that has been restored as the cost of restoration is so high.''
Perth enthusiast Reg Toohey is just one who found a bargain in the US.
 His 1956 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible was bought for about $100,000 and arrived from New York to Perth just before Christmas. Mr Toohey said the price was about half of what a similar car would have fetched 10 years ago.
"The car had been totally restored - down to each nut and bolt - and had travelled only 1600km since,'' he said. 
"It is in immaculate condition. I was lucky that the Vintage Motor Car company I dealt with in Ohio had an honest appraisal of the car.
"I never wanted an older car because I thought they would be unreliable. But I participated with a business associate in the Peking to Paris race in 2010 in a hastily-bought 1935 Bentley and over 15,000km, it had no mechanical faults and only one puncture.
"So I got hooked on old cars, looked for a 1959 Cadillac - the one with the huge fins - and found this fully restored 1956 Biarritz.
 "You have a lot of fun with your family in these. Everyone from bikies to little old ladies love to see these cars. I know I'm just this car's caretaker - I hope it will go to other people after me who will enjoy it as much as my family does.''
Mr Wolff said Australians especially like limited editions from around the 1950s, he said.
 "Any good quality car is a candidate but Aussies like cars that were made in limited production.
 "The Cadillac Biarritz is a perfect example. The `56 Cadillac is a limited production convertible. It is 6m long and is sought after worldwide.
"They were mostly special ordered from the General Motors dealer for movie stars, sports figures and dignitaries. ''
Though rare, the Biarritz is the second in Perth - the other is a 1958 model owned by a private collector - and typifies a flow of American classics out of America.Of the 84 known surviving 1956 Biarritz cars, 50 are outside the US.
Mr Toohey said enthusiasts should spend time researching cars and costs.He was surprised that though the government charges no duty for an imported car, there were GST - at 10 per cent - and Luxury Car Tax (at 33 per cent) charges in addition to the cost of freight.He estimates it cost almost $30,000 above the car's purchase to have it parked in his driveway.
Department of Infrastructure and Transport data shows more than 11,000 vehicles were imported in 2010, the most popular being Ford Mustangs.However, showing that Australians aren't interested only in class cars, within the top five vehicle list was the Piaggio Vespa scooter.
 

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.The ATS is a rear-wheel drive rival for the BMW 3 Series and its mechanical package will also be morphed into the next Chevrolet Camaro, ending the muscle car's Commodore connection. The possibility of significant Australian sales for the car, particularly with strength of the Australian dollar since the global  financial crisis, has Holden executives thinking again about the potential of Cadillac down under.They are also buoyed by the decision to make the ATS available with right-hand drive, as well as a diesel engine, even though its development has been focussed on the USA. "There is no indication of a plan to bring Cadillac to Australia but, obviously, having the ability for right-hand drive and options like a diesel powertrain would make it a great car for Australia," the spokesperson for GM Holden, Emily Perry, tells Carsguide."It's possible, but far from decided. There are other priority markets to look at. It's a global brand, but the focus is regional." Holden came close to adding Cadillac to its local lineup in 2008, when it planned a premium division which would have tied it to Saab and Hummer. But the global financial crisis killed the plan dead, as Holden focussed on survival when General Motors slipped into bankruptcy. "We had a choice - cut people or kill Cadillac. I was not going to cut people," former chairman of GM Holden, Mark Reuss, tells Carsguide. The ATS is a good looking car with a rear-wheel drive chassis that's been tuned at the Nurburgring, and it's already a hit with one Australian - Mike Simcoe, the executive director of design for General Motors International Operations, based in Melbourne."It would work well in Australia. What the GM network needs is some luxury products. You could top and tail the brand with Cadillac," Simcoe tells Carsguide.

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.Cadillac failed to find a foothold in Australia but is still chasing fresh friends in the USA, and to that end will unveil the all-new compact ATS at the Detroit motor show.The ATS is a potential rival to the BMW 3 Series and the seriousness of Cadillac's effort - in contrast to Australia, where the plug was pulled before the first cars arrived in 2008 - is reflected in the intensive testing the car has had at the Nurburgring course in Germany.The rear-wheel drive ATS will be built in Detroit alongside Cadillac's most recent success, the mid-sized CTS that is built as a coupe, sedan and wagon including HSV-style V-Series performance models.While the ATS headlines for General Motors at home, the Detroit show will also see Chevrolet presenting a sporty RS version of the Sonic that's sold in Australia as a Barina.There will also be concept cars from GM's advanced styling studio in California, but they are secret until the show opens on Monday in the USA.

Despite decades of pressure on big engines as emissions and fuel economy legislation squeezes, they're still being made. General Motors today will build its 100-millionth small-block V8 engine - 56 years after the first production small block - that stands as engineering defiance of a global trend to engine downsizing. Chevrolet introduced the small-block in 1955 and the production milestone comes in the same month the brand marked its 100th anniversary. The small-block engine has been used in GM vehicles around the world and is currently found in the Holden/HSV models, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac. "The small block is the engine that brought high-performance to the people," said David Cole, founder and emeritus chairman of Center for Automotive Research. Cole's father, the late Ed Cole, was the chief engineer at Chevrolet and oversaw development of the original small block engine. "There is an elegant simplicity in its design that made it instantly great when new and enables it to thrive almost six decades later." The milestone engine being made today is a 475kW (638hp) supercharged LS9 small block - the power behind the Corvette ZR1 - which is hand-built at GM's Performance Build Center, northwest of Detroit. It represents the fourth generation of the small block and is the most powerful engine ever built by GM for a regular-production car. GM will preserve the engine as part of its historical collection. The small block has been adapted throughout the auto industry and beyond. Newer versions of the original Gen I engine are still in production for marine and industrial uses, while "crate" engine versions available from Chevrolet Performance are used in their thousands by enthusiasts to build hot rods. The 4.3-litre V6 used in some Chevrolet and GMC vehicles is based on the small-block, just missing two cylinders. All of these versions contribute to the small block's 100-million production milestone. "This tremendous achievement celebrates an engineering triumph that has reached around the globe and created an industrial icon," said Sam Winegarden, executive director and group global functional leader of Engine Engineering. "And while the small-block's enduring design has proven adaptable to meet performance, emissions and refinement challenges over the years, it has more importantly delivered them with greater efficiency." The engines now feature aluminium cylinder block and heads in car and many truck applications to help save weight and contribute to better fuel economy. Many applications feature fuel-saving technologies such as Active Fuel Management - which shuts down four cylinders in certain light-load driving conditions - and variable-valve timing. And despite the years, they still are powerful and relatively economical. The 430hp (320kW) LS3 version of the Gen-IV small-block is used in the 2012 Corvette and jets it from rest to 100km/h in about four seconds, run the quarter-mile in just over 12 seconds and achieve a top speed of more than 288km/h while achieving EPA-estimated highway fuel economy of 9.1 litres/100km. "The small-block engine delivers guilt-free performance," says Winegarden. "It is the quintessential V8 engine and a living legend that is more relevant than ever." GM also announced this week that the fifth-generation small-block under development will feature a new direct-injection combustion system that will help enhance efficiency over the current-generation engine. "The small-block architecture has continued to prove its relevance in a fast-evolving industry and the fifth-generation engine will build on the performance legacy with a significant advance in efficiency," says Winegarden. GM is investing more than $1 billion in manufacturing facilities associated with producing new small-block engines, resulting in 1711 jobs that have been created or retained. The Gen-V engine is expected in the near future and is guaranteed to have 110mm bore centres which has been part of the small-block's architecture from the beginning. GM started on the V8 following World War II, after Chief Engineer Ed Cole transferred to Chevrolet from Cadillac where he oversaw the development of its premium V8 engine. Cole's team retained the basic overhead valve design that was a staple of Chevrolet's inline-six engine - affectionately called the Stovebolt. It was seen as one of the Chevrolet car line's selling points, reinforcing a message of simplicity and reliability. Cole challenged his engineers to tighten the new engine package to make it more compact, less costly and easier to manufacture. Upon its debut in the 1955 Chevy lineup, the new V8 engine was physically smaller, 23kg lighter and more powerful than the Stovebolt six. It was not only a better engine for Chevrolet cars, it represented a better way of building engines, with a minimalist design that took advantage of streamlined production techniques. After only two years on the market, the small-block began a steady march upward in displacement, power and technological advancement. In 1957, a version equipped with mechanical fuel injection was introduced, dubbed Ramjet. The only other high-volume manufacturer to offer fuel injection at the time was Mercedes-Benz. Mechanical fuel injection was discontinued in the mid-1960s, but the small-block debuted electronically controlled fuel injection in the 1980s and established a benchmark with the 1985 launch of Tuned Port Injection. This electronically controlled port fuel injection system was advanced in its day and its basic design is still used on most passenger cars and light-duty trucks more than 25 years later. The small-block's 110mm bore centres would come to symbolise the compact, balanced performance of the small-block. It was the dimension around which the Gen III small-block was designed in 1997. In 2011, the small-block is in its fourth generation, powering Chevrolet's full-size trucks, SUVs and vans, midsize trucks and the Camaro and Corvette performance cars. The first 4.3-litre (265cu.in) engine in 1955 produced up to 145kW (195hp) with an optional four-barrel carburetor. Today, the LS9 6.2-litre (376cu.in) supercharged small-block in the Corvette ZR1 is rated at 638hp (475kW), making it the most powerful engine ever installed in a regular-production Chevrolet or GM vehicle.

The limousine that carries United States President-elect Barack Obama is a specially built, rocket-repelling, high-tech Cadillac limousine.Forget your average six-stacker CD stereo and leather appointments, Obama's limo takes power and luxury to new levels. Cadillac says the side and rear profiles of the new Presidential limo are evocative of the STS and DTS sedans.Inside, the car includes the finest examples of Cadillac's recent renaissance in design, technology and craftsmanship. The cabin blends modern design and technology with old-world craftsmanship. Major aspects of the cabin are cut and sewn by hand, the same process used in popular Cadillac models such as the CTS sedan.Unlike the CTS sedan though, the limo gets a few special options. Night vision glasses, pump-action shotguns, tear gas cannons and even the bottles of the President's blood are believed to be stored on board just in case he needs an emergency transfusion.The limo, which tips the scales at around four tonnes and cost almost $1 million, uses a General Motors truck chassis as its basis to handle the weight. as well as a powerful 6.5-litre diesel engine.The huge kevlar-reinforced tyres are bullet-proof and among many purpose-built aspects of the car, including plumbing for high-tech secure radio reception and an internal oxygen supply in the event of a gas attack.The glass is, of course, bullet and bomb proof, the doors are reinforced and weigh the same as a commercial Boeing aircraft cabin door while the bodywork is a combination of high-strength steel, titanium and even ceramic to break up possible projectiles.The car was designed, developed and tested by terrorist and military specialists who adhered to an extensive set of specifications. It was subjected to an extreme testing regimen to ensure the occupants survived just about any attack short of a nuclear bomb. Cadillac refuses to talk about the car's security systems, only saying that “security provisions were undertaken at all times during development to ensure the car's functional capabilities are preserved and confidential”.An embroidered presidential seal is positioned in the center of the rear seat back panel, as well as on each rear door trim panel. Presidential seals are also affixed to the exterior rear doors. The US flag is placed on the right front fender, and the presidential standard is located on the left front fender when the president travels in the vehicle. High-tech LED spotlights illuminate the flags at night.