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The last two champions of the Speed GT series will both be driving for Team Cadillac in 2007 in new CTS-V racers. Cadillac veteran Andy Pilgrim, the 2005 champ, will be joined by 2006 champion Lawson Aschenbach. Aschenbach finished in the top ten in every single 2006 race along with his single victory. The CTS-Vs will have a fresh color scheme of red and black with silver Cadillac script this year. They'll debut the new look publicly on February 3 at the Cadillac / Mobil 1 Super Bowl Celebrity Grand Prix go-kart race in Miami, Florida the day before the big game. Aschenbach and Pilgrim will run the full season and a third CTS may compete at certain events. For 2007 the CTS-V racer still has the look of the first generation production car, not the the new CTS that debuted at the recent Detroit Auto Show. The GM press release is posted after the jump.


[Source: General Motors]

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In a move to make the new CTS more appealing to European luxury buyers (read: compete with the Germans), Cadillac will begin offering their mid-sized sedan with a diesel sometime after its initial launch in October of this year.


Automotive News' sources are claiming that Italian engine manufacturer, VM Motori, will be tapped to produce the oil burner, likely a 3-liter V6, producing around 250 HP.


Considering that GM expects to sell approximately half of it European CTSs with diesels, and only 464 sedans were sold in 2006, this decision is crucial to the success of Cadillac abroad.


Also of note: AutoExpress is reporting that the Saab-based BLS and the new CTS will get wagon variants in the coming years. Expect the BLS estate to debut in Frankfurt, while the CTS will be unveiled sometime in 2008. No word yet on whether or not we'll be seeing the CTS wagon in the U.S.


[Sources:Automotive News - Sub. Req.,AutoExpress]

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Before the highly anticipated debut of the Cadillac CTS later today, pictures and details about Caddy's newest luxury sedan have surfaced.


The all-new CTS grows both in width and length, with a striking exterior that we've only seen parts of up until now. The interior gets a thorough redesign as well, with a new dash, steering wheel and instrument cluster that may finally bring it to the levels of its European competition.


At the top of the line, you'll the direct-injected, 3.6-liter V6, producing 300 HP and 270 lb.-ft. of torque. The new-to-the-CTS mill will be mated to a six-speed automatic, although in basic trim, you'll be able to row the gears yourself via a short throw, six-speed cog swapper. Power will naturally find its way down to the rear wheels, however, the 2008 model will offer a CTS-first: all-wheel-drive.



Later on, expect to find a V-series CTS, packing an additional two cylinders and producing adequate oomph to keep up with some of its hi-po rivals.



We'll have plenty more information available when the CTS is unveiled later, so stay tuned.



[Source: Edmunds]

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GM's getting pretty serious about globalizing the Cadillac brand. You know they're serious because they're not just exporting cars built for American buyers to overseas markets, they're actually making cars specifically for Europe that aren't even available here, like the BLS. Based on the Saab 9-3, the BLS puts Cadillac's edgy styling in a European package, and now Cadillac is raising the stakes a bit with the BLS Sport.

While no V-Series, the Sport model upgrades on the standard BLS with 18-inch rims, dropped suspension and fine-tuned handling. Inside the wood trim is replaced by brush aluminum (aluminium, with an extra I, to our overseas friends) and sportier-looking instrumentation. In overseas markets, leather trim is not the must-have option it is in the US, so that remains an option.

Power comes from a range of engines including two-liter turbocharged four-bangers producing 175 or 210 horsepower, a 255-hp V6 or a 150-hp common-rail turbodiesel.

Shame we don't get it here, but somehow we don't think anyone will be complaining once the upcoming new CTS is unveiled. It'd be interesting, however, to see how the BLS Sport stacks up against its platform mate, the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan.

(Interior shot after the jump.)

[Source: Edmunds' Inside Line]

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Reader Julius Cheng calls his '81 Eldo diesel "a rolling monument to GM stupidity," which, in addition to making us chuckle, also serves as a vivid reminder of just how far GM and Cadillac have come in the last 25 years. Examples of the aforementioned "Old GM" stupidity included Diesel badges that were misaligned on each side of the car, as well as only having three matching wheel centers. Ahhh, the salad days of quality control.


The car is mostly stock, save for repairs/replacements performed after it was stolen, as well as a couple of modern concessions like a K&N filter and Performance Friction brake pads. Julius learned to drive in this car, which his dad bought because of it's fuel economy potential. In its prime, it was apparently a nice road-trip cruiser, as the 105-horsepower diesel was good for 24-25 mpg between refuelings. Due to scarcity of parts, however, taking it on long trips is a bit of a gamble now. It recently blew a fuel injector pump on a drive from NJ to NY, and Julius had to drive the car an hour out of the way (at a blazing 35mph) just to get the part.


In any case, he does work at maintaining its original look. The diesel exhaust makes keeping the rear end clean a full-time job, and he's also pretty meticulous about ensuring that the wire-spoke wheel covers look tidy. Lastly, the interior retains the utterly breathtaking 80s GM ergonomics and appears to be in decent shape. When you consider that a lot of Eldorados from this era are either total beaters or already rotting away in junkyards, it's nice to see someone put in the effort to keep one looking and running OK. The fact that it's a diesel makes it particularly interesting and seals the deal: it's today's Reader Ride of the Day.


Follow the jump for additional photos and instructions on how to submit your car for RRotD consideration.


1981 Cadillac Eldorado Diesel

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Many of you demanded live shots of Cadillac's premium Platinum Series of vehicles that include the XLR, STS and DTS, and we are but your humble servants. Shown here is each vehicle on the show floor, with the XLR and its attractive Liquid Amethyst paint job being the obvious ringleader. Extra chrome trim has been liberally applied to each model along with bespoke wheels and interiors that are above and beyond standard Cadillac innards but not up to the standards set by the "Cut and Sew" interior offered on the SRX. We'll echo Alex's sentiment that this level of luxury should come standard on every Cadillac, but it's good to know the brand can walk a runway when it wants to.


Many pic's after the jump


PHOTO GALLERY


XLR Platinum Series




DTS Platinum Series






STS Platinum Series

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Where the Cadillac V-Series moniker focuses on high performance, the Platinum Series tag being introduced in LA this week places the emphasis on luxury. Now, we believe that this emphasis should be the brand standard anyway, and not just a trim package, but if this represents a step towards bringing Cadillac to the next level, where we hope it's headed, then so be it.


Available for the XLR, STS and DTS, the Platinum Series trim level sets the cars apart by bestowing them with specific paint colors, badging, and interior appointments. The XLR, for example, sports an exclusive and attractive Liquid Amethyst paint color and healthy doses of chrome added to its grille, bespoke wheels and other trim bits. Climb into the Cashmere leather seats and you'll notice the "Platinum" badging on the doorsill, more wood trim, and hand-stitched leather covering the upper dash and door panels. Unfortunately, based on GM's press release, it appears to stop short of the full-blown "Cut and Sew" interior available on the SRX, but we'll wait until our guys in LA get up close and personal to make that call.


Keep reading after the jump for the rundown on the STS and DTS Platinum Series, plus more photos and the official release from GM.


[Source: GM]


Following the convertible's lead, the STS and DTS sedans also get similar treatments. That means specific paint and wheels, added chrome, "platinum" badging on the bodywork and in the doorsills, and hand-crafted interior elements that aren't available on the standard vehicles. In the case of the DTS Platinum Series, we're not so crazy about that cream-colored scheme, though. It's a bit too Boca Raton-retiree for us, as you'll see below.


The STS Platinum Series gets the grid-pattern grille that's popping up on other Caddys, which is an immediate improvement. It should also be noted that while the STS does get to play dress-up in its Platinum Series threads, it's still got the '07 interior -- an element that is improved here yet doesn't hold a candle to the cabin design of the newChinese-market SLS. That, we're hoping, will appear at another show this year in an updated 2008 STS.


All that said, we're enthused that GM continues to look for ways to improve on Cadillac's interiors, which are light-years better than what they were a few years ago. Flagship brands deserve top-notch cabins asstandard equipment, though, and while Cadillac is showing aptitude in this regard, we just hope that there's even better stuff (i.e. full "Cut & Sew" for all models) on the way for '08. And rest assured, there's reason to be enthusiastic. Note that the SRX gets singled out in the press release text. That's the benchmark Cadillac appears to be using. Good.


GALLERY:

Click Images to enlarge


STS Platinum





XLR Platinum







DTS Platinum

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We told you last week that reports of Cadillac building a long-wheelbase version of the DTS were true, and now we have confirmation in the form of official shots of the long legged sedan released by General Motors today. While no information accompanied the images, you can clearly see about 6 to 8 inches of extra wheelbase that makes itself evident behind the rear doors. That extra length also gets added to the C-Pillar, which will both protect important back seat passengers from prying eyes and be a challenging blindspot for chauffeurs to see around. It's also clear from these pictures that, as we reported, a high-performance V-Series of the DTS-L will not be offered. One is clearly meant to be driven in this car, not to drive it himself (or herself). The rear-seat legroom is ample, as we would expect, with enough space behind the front seats to park an Aveo.


Will the Cadillac DTS-L give the aged Lincoln Town Car a run for its money? It might, if Cadillac can keep the cost down and find enough livery outlets looking to switch. Keep in mind, however, that we haven't heard much about the Chrysler 300 Long Wheelbase making any waves in the human delivery market. The Town Car is a tough cookie to beat due to its total entrenchment in this market, relatively low cost and a library of maintenance that's well known and tolerated. We'll likely see the Cadillac DTS-L at the L.A. Auto Show next week in person where we'll certainly climb in back and kick our feet up.


Check out the interior shot after the jump.


[Source: GM]

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No, these are not super-secret spy shots of the 2010 CadillacCimarron. GM (hopefully) learned its lesson then, and is not creating a baby Caddy by grafting a Catera grille onto a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta.

Pictured here might be the Chinese-made Marindo 506 from Shanghai Maple. Due to major language barriers, it's hard to tell if this is a past model or one soon to be introduced. What is evident is the definite influence by Cadillac's art and science design philosophy, probably not used with Ed Wellburn's permission.

But from photos found on the Maple website, their current design language is a tribute to yet anotherluxury marque.


(More photos after the jump)



[Source: Carscoop]


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These are current Maple models, though which one isn't clear. Can you guess what German company with the four-ring logo inspired this car's designer?

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