Did Cadillac Help Or Hurt It's Status With Cheaper And Less Powerful CT5-V

Yes they have, this should have been a V-Sport model not the full V which was starting to mean seriously high performance. In line with the other bad decisions at Cadillac around naming.

Cadillac has hurt itself with a cheaper and less powerful mindset/image

The only thing remaining as a reminder of the Brand’s prestigious/luxurious past is the Escalade, and unfortunately I’m
Not sure how much longer that will be able to pay the bills given the now fiercely competitive/crowded market for full size lux SUVs

What is troubling is how so apparent a winning strategy for Cadillac lies in its past but is overlooked by GM not willing to make the investment and stay with it. Rather than build on style, elegance, power, comfort, quality, names not numbers, American bravado, etc., GM commits nothing and allows this once great brand to die a slow death. The right program started a decade ago would now be reaping profits to fund electric vehicles, autonomous driving and other developments. Instead GM is being squeesed out of the entire market.

Excellent summary, 100% correct, could not agree more!

Yes and they really hurt themselves by designing possibly the ugliest sedan I’ve seen in decades. Not to mention the most non-luxurious interiors ever for a premium brand, across all models. I mean, the difference between the Lincoln Aviator’s interior and the Caddie XT6 are like night and day.

What's hurting the car is the ugly styling and the De Nysschen name. It should have been a Seville or an Escala. Buyers simply are not eyeing Cadillac as a worthy premium product.

Cadillac: Read the above comments. Not one in your favor. When you get 100% agreement on this subject, on Autospies where there is always civil and uncivil discourse ..... you've got a problem.

Cadillac is the poster child of past day quality of yore.
There is no quality in Cadillac cars in the present.

That's definitely not true. Cadillacs are actually well made and reliable.

There is little or no difference between Cadillac and Buick today. Their SUVs are all derived from the same GM platforms, parts and drivetrains. The CT4 is still sharing a platform with Camaro.
For 15 years Cadillac has been promising to have it's own products unique to the brand and able to compete with the best in the world.
Instead, the decisions are made by cost accountants and their is zero passion in their vehicles.

Speaking of Buick. I was just at the LA Auto Show and I've never seen such a deserted display of cars. The hired models looked bored and annoyed because not a single person was looking at their products.

Buick needs to die. GM does not need a brand between Chevrolet and Cadillac. The sooner that Buick is left to rot in China, the better.

Same thing last year at the Chicago Auto Show. No one was stopping to look at the XT6. The only car people paid attention to was the 1968 El Dorado on display.

The XT6 is dismal. It's a very nice Chevrolet. A Cadillac should be much more patrician and it should have a NAME.

If GM were smart, they's cut a platform deal with Genesis or BMW or even Ford for an RWD premium SUV platform.

MD, you are spot on. I still remember the Cadillac Ciel concept at the 2012 Chicago auto show. There were crowds around it all day and it had been around for a while. If they built it as a sedan and focus on the luxury it would have been the flagship that restored Cadillac.

The Continental was not a huge sales success but it completely transformed the perception of Lincoln. The Aviator is what will put Lincoln back on the map.

Calling the CT6 the Elmiraj would have improved sales. The CT4 should be a Seville. The UGLY CT5 should be an Escala.

I agree on the nose and the DRLs are pretty cool as well.

Actually - the CT5 has a major problem that I would not have expected - A person over 5'10" cannot sit upright in the rear seat - there is insufficient head room in the rear seat and that is a problem.

Especially in China - these cars are more often Chauffeur driven - and there is simply not enough room in the rear of these cars to be comfortable.

IF it does not sell in China - it makes no difference what happens here - and the need for a new ROOF line will not actually be fixed for years.

However - GM could use a modified Alpha2 platform (Which they use for the Camaro) for a RWD SUV platform.

Alpha = Alpha 2 (the differences are too minor to deserve a "2"). This is even less of a change than the difference between Chrysler LX/LY and Giorgio.

Cadillac is stingy with wheelbase. A Cadillac should have the longest wheelbase in its class. Cadillacs should also have gorgeous styling that is in no way generic.

Current Cadillacs could be a Lexus, Genesis, etc. just by changing the badge.

Drive a G90 versus a CT6 and you will see that you're wrong. The G90 is much better at being a Cadillac. The new one is even more so.

PS: You're not sorry.

Yes and it's better at being a Cadillac than anything Cadillac has.

The G90 is a more convincing flagship than the CT6, especially the interior. The attention to detail is outstanding. It still amazes me to this day that Cadillac will use cheaper, harder plastics on the bottom third of their interior as if no one will notice. No other manufacturer in this class does this. Proof that accountants happy to drive a Malibu are still the decision makers at Cadillac.