GM: The New Model Lineup
More Small Cars, and Some Surprises
September 02, 2009
/ By Todd Lassa

An illustration of what the new rear-drive Cadillac ATS Coupe could look like.
General Motors outlined its new-model strategy into the 2013 model year and unveiled a few other new models further out into the decade in a recent press preview. No photos of the myriad new product were allowed or handed out.

We've predicted most of these before. There were a couple surprises, however. For one, the Super-Epsilon Cadillac, codenamed GM 166, isn't designed to slot in below the ATS (Alpha RWD platform) in price. It will be Cadillac's "flagship" until a proper large RWD sedan can be developed off Gen III CTS hardware.

The Chevrolet and GMC lineups are what we predicted, although the Aveo replacement won't get a name-change to Viva. There's a new GMC on the way that undoubtedly was designed as a Pontiac, plus a new "Baby Enclave" from Buick. There will be no Vuick, however. The biggest surprise was that GM's Executive Committee killed plans to make the Saturn Vue a Buick a week after the company showed a prototype to the press and to bloggers at the preview.

The Vuick fiasco was the product of two conflicting philosophies at the New GM: (1) Don't dilute any of the four core brands by creating models that don't fit a brand via badge engineering and (2) Don't throw away any projects on which it has spent lots of money, such as the plug-in hybrid Vue. Or was the Vuick simply an elaborate public relations ploy?

Meanwhile, here's how GM's new model range shapes up:

2012 ATS: Cadillac showed the coupe-version of its new BMW 3 Series-fighter, on its new, high-strength steel-intensive Alpha platform. It sports a thick, wedgy and fast C-pillar, large sweptback rectangular headlamp covers surrounding a wider, squatter grille (reminiscent of the Mk I CTS's grille), a long dash-to-axle relationship and short front overhangs. A source says the coupe has a longer dash-to-axle and different dimensions than the Alpha sedan (illustrated), like the current 3 Series coupe versus sedan. Expected early in the 2011 calendar year, about the same time as the XTS' release.

2012 XTS: Cadillac has been working on a convergence of the STS and DTS, but the Super-Epsilon-based FWD/AWD large sedan, handsome as it is, is not an STS/DTS convergence. It replaces only the DTS. The profile sports a very fast c-pillar and powerful, masculine swag line and the grille features the kind of high-cost detail previewed by the Converj concept. ATS and XTS are working names so far. Cadillac also noted it's working on an all-new RWD CTS, which should launch about the '13 model year. As the Mk II CTS continues to gain traction in the luxury car market, expect the Mk III CTS to grow longer and take over from the XTS status as Cadillac's flagship. Greater use of high-strength steel, a cost Cadillac can afford to absorb, would allow the CTS to grow in size without adding the same proportion of pounds.

GMC

2011-12 Soul/xB/Cube-fighter: GMC showed a small, boxy four-door hatchback concept that obviously was designed to be a Pontiac, before GM pulled the plug on the idea of making that division a "niche brand." We hear the vehicle is slated to become the new entry-level model in Buick-GMC dealers.