It was a time when associating Cadillac with all-wheel drive was considered to be a heresy. But mentalities have changed and more American customers are specifying their cars with the AWD option. GM’s luxury brand has registered a combined sales increase of 38% for its 4x4 SRX, CTS and Escalade models in the past two years. Specifically, one-third of the SRX crossovers, almost half of the CTS and three-quarters of the Escalade vehicles sold in the U.S. have been equipped with all-wheel drive.
Not surprisingly, the highest demand comes from cold weather and mountainous areas. Besides offering better traction on snow, the Cadillac AWD systems also promises to enhance handling and performance in normal weather conditions.
According to the Detroit automaker, AWD improves the SRX’s passing acceleration compared to the front-wheel drive version by transferring more torque to the rear wheels, while also reduces the over-steer tendencies manifested by the rear-wheel drive CTS during aggressive cornering.
“Cadillac’s investment in advanced AWD systems across the line-up is enhancing the brand’s reputation for performance,” said Don Butler, vice president of Cadillac marketing. “We’re able to offer luxury buyers exceptional ride, handling and control on a wide range of road conditions.”
The 9-4X's shape and styling will familiar to most as the crossover model was previewed by the 9-4X BioPower concept at the 2008 Detroit Show. On the outside, changes over the 2008 study concern some minor details such as the smaller front fog light openings, mirror caps, tail lamp color combos and smaller (and less impressive) alloy wheels.
The same can be said about the interior, with differences limited to the air vent designs and the less flashy decorative trim.
The 9-4X's shape and styling will familiar to most as the crossover model was previewed by the 9-4X BioPower concept at the 2008 Detroit Show. On the outside, changes over the 2008 study concern some minor details such as the smaller front fog light openings, mirror caps, tail lamp color combos and smaller (and less impressive) alloy wheels.
The same can be said about the interior, with differences limited to the air vent designs and the less flashy decorative trim.
After GM's most recent fiasco with Kroymans, a Dutch distributor that sold Cadillacs in Europe before declaring bankruptcy last year, the U.S. automaker will now establish its own organization, called "Cadillac Europe" that will import, distribute and market a selected range of models specified for the Euro market.
"Europe is an important market for Cadillac," says Bryan Nesbitt, Cadillac general manager. "Re-establishing distribution of our premium offerings is good news for those who seek import exclusiveness".
Of course many Europeans have associated Cadillac's "import exclusiveness" with products such as the now discontinued BS BLS that was essentially a re-skined Saab 9-3 which in turn was heavily based on the Opel Vectra, but anyway.
At the Geneva Motor Show, Cadillac will give Europeans a taste of their newest products including the CTS Coupe that's sated to arrive in North American showrooms this summer and this fall in Europe as well as the new CTS Sport Wagon, CTS Sport Sedan, the range-topping 556HP CTS-V, the SRX crossover and the "oh so European" Escalade Hybrid.
No word on any diesel or small displacement gasoline engines. That said, we suspect that Cadillacs will continue to be a more rare sight than pink-colored Aston Martins on European roads.
Cadillac has revealed that it's all-new and more compact sized 2010 SRX Crossover will hit U.S. dealerships this summer with pricing starting from $34,155, which is about the same as the entry-level RWD Mercedes GLK 350 ($33,900) but undercuts the BMW X3 xDrive30i by around $5,000. The 2010 SRX will be offered in North America with two petrol units, a new 260HP 3.0-liter direct injected V6 and a 300HP 2.8-liter turbocharged V6 that are both matted to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The SRX gets front-wheel drive as standard and all-wheel drive as optional.
Latter in the summer, the compact crossover will be joined by another new Cadillac, the CTS Sport Wagon. GM has yet to announcing pricing but expect it the Sport Wagon to be priced a little higher than the sedan variant of the CTS. The new Sport Wagon includes the same 260HP 3.0-liter Direct Injection engine that serves as the standard engine in the new SRX, returning an estimated highway fuel economy of 28 mpg.
We believe that there are some things in this world that were never meant to be and one of those is transforming a Cadillac SRX into a sedan. It's not only that a SRX Crossover Sedan is completely useless (what's the point of reducing the SRX's practicality?), but more importantly, from a stylistic point of view, the result is even more repulsive than a SsangYong Musso with a boot.
Mahoning Automotive Design doesn't see it this way as the American firm states that its concept, which made its worldwide debut at the 2009 Cleveland Auto Show, "defines an exciting new type of passenger car: comfort, space, visibility, all-season capability and amazing utility, all wrapped in classic, elegant style with impressive road presence."
Well, we'll let you check out the photos below and be the judge of that yourselves...
Source: Mahoning , Via: Autoblog.com
We believe that there are some things in this world that were never meant to be and one of those is transforming a Cadillac SRX into a sedan. It's not only that a SRX Crossover Sedan is completely useless (what's the point of reducing the SRX's practicality?), but more importantly, from a stylistic point of view, the result is even more repulsive than a SsangYong Musso with a boot.Mahoning Automotive Design doesn't see it this way as the American firm states that its concept, which made its worldwide debut at the 2009 Cleveland Auto Show, "defines an exciting new type of passenger car: comfort, space, visibility, all-season capability and amazing utility, all wrapped in classic, elegant style with impressive road presence."
Well, we'll let you check out the photos below and be the judge of that yourselves...
Source: Mahoning , Via: Autoblog.com
