Cadillac News

General Motors Holden will launch the Cadillac CTS sedan next year. GM Holden boss Chris Gubbey made the announcement in Melbourne yesterday, adding a third top-end marque to GMH's growing imported portfolio, alongside Hummer and Saab. GMH hope the CTS will lure buyers away from the more expensive version of the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 when it arrives here towards the end of 2008. The Cadillac is expected to cost more than $90,000. The CTS will be powered by a version of the 3.6-litre V6 used in Holden's VE Commodore. One of the world's great names in luxury motoring, Cadillac was first imported to Australia in 1909. The first local models were built by GM at the Woodville plant in South Australia in 1930. Official production stopped after World War II but a small number of models were imported by independent retailers into the late 1980s. Cadillac will be sold under the GM Premium Brand with Saab and Hummer through yet-to-be determined outlets. “Cadillac is luxury performance,” GM Premium director Parveen Batish said yesterday. “The brand is undergoing a renaissance, driven by a new generation of vehicles, dramatic design and technical innovation. “While it has an undeniable heritage, Cadillac has entered a new phase with a very clearly defined global strategy.” The CTS was named the 2008 car of the year by US magazine Motor Trend two weeks ago.  

Millions of dollars worth of history's finest cars of all shapes and sizes will go for auction this weekend at the close of the Australian International Motor Show.All eyes will be on the 1971 Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III, which is expected to sell between $600,000 and $800,000 with the value of Aussie muscle cars going through the roof.This could set a record price paid at auction for a Phase III, the previous sitting at $683,650.“It's one of the nicest Phase IIIs we've ever had on offer,” Shannons national auctions manager Christophe Boribon says. It features racing legend Allan Moffat's signature on the glove box.While seems like a lot of money for a car, it's an old number plate that is expected to be the biggest seller of the event. Organisers believe the No.6 plate will attract $1 million-$1.5 million.A 1929 Hudson Super 6 'Model L' Dual-Cowl Phaeton has a range of $100,000 to $140,000.A classic 1972 LJ Torana XU-1 Sedan is expected to be sold for $85,000 to $100,000.For '50s style, try a pink 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Seville “Cool 57” Custom (LHD). Restored in 87 days, it's priced at $70,000 to $100,000.But it's not just the big cars going under the hammer. A 1929 Austin Seven Wasp Sports is up for grabs, expecting to attract $10,000 to $15,000.The auction starts at 2pm on Sunday at the Australian International Motor Show; dont miss out.How much do you think the Falcon GTHO Pase III will go for?  

They are some of the questions, among others, many Australians who still buy the “local hero” tag Holden promotes, would like to be answered.

GM Holden chairman Denny Mooney has often talked about including the Corvette among American imports starting with the Hummer H3 next month.GM Holden national media relations manager John Lindsay said he had “no further update” on importing the Corvette or other brands such as Camaro and Cadillac.Meanwhile, Chevrolet has announced more power for the iconic Corvette next year.The 2008 'Vette coupe and convertible will get a bigger small-block 6.2-litre V8 engine, even bigger than Holden's 6-litre V8 in models such as the Commodore and Caprice.Chevrolet says it will have 321kW of power and 575Nm of torque, which compares with Holden's V8 figures of 270kW and 530Nm.An optional dual-mode exhaust system will boost power to 325kW and torque to 580 Nm.But the Z06 edition of the 'Vette will go even bigger with a 7-litre V8 with a claimed 376kW of power and 637Nm of torque.Chevrolet claims a 0-100km/h time of 3.7sec in first gear.It also maintains that the six-speed paddle-shifted automatic Corvette is its fastest automatic yet, capable of hitting 100km/h in 4.3sec.

The Cadillac CTS was revealed at the Detroit Show as GM Holden ramped-up plans that will eventually also include the Camaro Coupe and the successor to today's iconic Chevrolet Corvette.The heavyweight Hummer H3 is already set for Australia this year but the Cadillac is the pivotal car for GM Holden, dealers and company president Denny Mooney."It will be here in 2008. That doesn't mean January 1, but 18 months from now is pretty realistic," says Mooney, who has pushed the Cadillac cause almost from the day he arrived at Fishermans Bend."Price? I don't know what it is. It will be similar to today's CTS in the States. That car sells for $40,000 Aussie, but that's not what it will sell for in Australia."We don't have a final date yet, but it will be coming as soon as we can get it. We are still working out the distribution."Mooney says they are looking to have up to 24 dealers nationally and they would use the same premium strategy that GM is developing globally.Mooney says the bottom line on the CTS — which joined the Cadillac line-up in 2002 — will be more costly Down Under once shipping, exchange rates and taxes are included. It will probably be a rival for the Lexus IS and Audi A4 in the $60,000 range.There are a range of Cadillac CTS models in America, all with six-speed gearboxes, three engines and with a choice of rear and all-wheel drive.GM Holden is pushing for a 300kW V6 engine and rear-drive, as well as a full set of standard specifications."Ultimately, the V-Series performance vehicles are the ones we want," Mooney says."We won't get all-wheel-drive. I don't see what it gives you in Australia, except worse fuel economy."The Cadillac CTS was one of GM's hero cars in Detroit, after a huge makeover that included some body tweaking by Australian design ace Mike Simcoe.The car is a five-seater, which qualifies as a compact in the US, has edgy new styling and a lot of new engineering work including a revised front-suspension system and improved noise suppression.Cadillac designer Peter Lawlis, introducing the CTS and the Cadillac team that produces it, says: "Things change. A lot of thinking went into this car."We want our customers to feel rewarded for choosing a Cadillac."The CTS is part of a youth push at the American luxury brand, which has been tortured by Japanese and European rivals in recent years.The package for next year begins with a chassis that is longer and wider, the improved 3.6-litre direct-injection V6, a move to six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes and LED tail lamps.The aim is to make the car quicker and a better drive, and to improve quality and refinement.The CTS goes into production in the US about the middle of this year."I cannot wait to get it to Australia," Mooney says.

Selected dealers have been approached to join an exclusive network that will sell the military-inspired Hummer H3 SUV, and eventually encompass Saab and US luxury marque Cadillac."It's gone beyond the discussion stage. It's been formally talked about to the dealer network," an automotive retail source said. The source said Holden had modelled its strategy for adding two new American brands on Ford's Premier Automotive Group of Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo."What they're envisaging is Holden going to do its version of PAG — Hummer being Land Rover, Saab being Volvo and Cadillac being Jaguar," the source said. "It's a lot of money to spend for dealers, but the pay-off is they'll eventually get three brands. They haven't finalised the Cadillac bit of it, but the Hummer plan is a fait accompli."The longer term intention was to integrate Saab with the Hummer and Cadillac network, the source said.The offer was only being made to selected high-volume Holden dealers or dealer groups."The volumes will be too small to spread across the Holden dealer network, so the plan is to ensure a concentrated market presence," the source said.Large Holden dealers were aware of the plan but reluctant to discuss it."It (Hummer) will be bundled in with other products — just what, we haven't been told yet," one metropolitan dealer principal said.Another city dealer principal said, "Not everybody's going to get Hummer ... I've been told it could come under Saab, HSV or Holden."Holden launched the Hummer H3 at the Australian Motor Show. It said the SUV would go on sale next year after right-hand drive production begins in South Africa, but sales and marketing director Alan Batey declined to give specifics."We're finalising the details of which distribution channel we'll use and we'll make an announcement in two months' time," he said."It's a niche. It's not going to be a mainstream segment but it's going to do well."About 1000 Hummer sales a year was the initial target with prices starting between $50,000 and $60,000, according to another Holden executive.Holden spokesman Jason Laird said the company had yet to finalise its Hummer marketing strategy and had no detailed plans for Cadillac."We're looking at all options available to us," he said. "But nothing's firmly in place when one of the brands is not confirmed for this country."If approved, Cadillac would be unlikely to arrive here before 2008, Mr Laird said. "Discussion about Cadillac would be premature, although we've made no secret of our interest in the company," he said.Cadillac is on an export push with foreign sales up by 42 per cent last year, giving the brand its best result since 1990.Cadillac launches in South Africa — another right-hand-drive market — next February.The three-model line-up consists of the Cadillac BLS, a sedan based on the Saab 9-3 for $44,000, the STS sports sedan at $70,000, and the SRX crossover at $79,000.The vehicles will be marketed together with locally made Hummers and imported Saabs by GM South Africa's newly established Premium Channel division.GM executives in Detroit are bullish about the export prospects of Hummer, which has been one of the few sales successes in the automotive giant's recent history.In Europe, where the H3 went on sale last year, the brand's sales are up more than 200 per cent. Exports could account for up to 25 per cent of the brand's 62,000 annual sales, Hummer general manager Martin Walsh last week told the Detroit News.