Cadillac Refocuses on Global Markets, is Preparing Right-Hand Drive CTS-V

With around 34% of the world's population driving on the left hand side of the road, in countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, India and Japan, any automaker that aspires to go global needs to produce right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles.

With only a few exceptions like the fifth generation Seville (built from 1998 to 2004), Cadillac has for the most part shied away from RHD markets. But this is about to change as the wreath and crest brand is getting more serious about increasing its presence in markets outside of North America.

Aside from the product presentations like the new BMW 3-Series rivaling ATS sedan that will eventually be offered with a diesel option as well, Cadillac is also getting ready to introduce right-hand drive models.

“We’re geared up for right-hand drive now. We’re working on it," says General Motors marketing chief Joel Ewanick, according to a report from Autocar magazine.

One of the first models to get a RHD version will be the Cadillac CTS-V that sports a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine with 556-horses.

Ewanick also reiterated Cadillac's newly found commitment to global markets during the interview.

“There wasn’t a commitment to the product before and we didn’t design cars to the market demands,” he said. “The Germans do this very well. There is now a full resource commitment and a vision to get this right. Bankruptcy refocused GM.”

But it's not all good news for Cadillac fans as when asked about the well-received Ciel Concept shown at Pebble Beach last summer, Ewanick said that it's not among the company's top priorities:

“The Ciel reaction was very good. But we’ve got lots of other Cadillacs to do. It’s the busiest time in our history for all our GM brands. It was a strategic time to introduce a luxury concept to the brand, but you need to remember where we are with Cadillac at the moment; the Ciel is a much higher type of luxury.”

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Fiat Rumored to Extend 500 Range With Mini-Rivaling Five-Door “Wagon”

On paper, Fiat’s return to the North American market after a 30-year absence was well planned. The first product introduced by the Italian maker was the 500 city car, which had already proven to be a hit in Europe, selling 770,000 units since 2007. Things looked promising in the U.S. as well.

While the 500’s mission was to rival BMW’s Mini, its 2011 sales of 26,000 units were almost half of original forecasts. Delays in the launch and the dealer network certainly played a role while Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also thinks that the company’s strategy was to blame.

“We thought we were going to show up and, just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it”, he told reporters last week. “This is nonsense”.

Dave Sullivan, a product analyst at AutoPacific Inc., commented: “There needs to be a reason for people to downsize and spend more for less other than fuel economy and good looks. Dealers would welcome with open arms something with more utility and space than the 500.”

According to Sullivan, that’s exactly what Marchionne plans in order to reverse the stylish 500’s fortunes: a bigger, five-door “wagon” version developed for the U.S. market.

Inside sources state that the as-of-yet unnamed model will be built at Fiat’s Serbian plant. Although it is aimed at the U.S., it will first become available in Europe.

Mark Cannon, a spokesman for Fiat’s largest American dealer AutoNation believes that extending the 500’s range is the right thing to do: “Mini started with a product everybody said would never work. They added more product, the pipeline was slowly built, and now everyone wants Mini dealerships.”

A couple of months ago, Timothy Kuniskis replaced Laura Soave who had been hired by Chrysler in 2010 to oversee the 500’s launch as head of Fiat in North America. He believes that the Jennifer Lopez commercials have raised awareness for the model, and his 2012 target is to sell 25,000 units in the U.S., and a total of 40,000 in North America.

Story References: Autonews

 

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Chevy Volt and Fiat 500 Amongst Worst Product Flops of 2011

A report on the seven worst product flops in the U.S. from 24/7 Wall Street that was re-posted on Yahoo Finance includes two vehicle introductions, the Chevrolet Volt and the Fiat 500.

According to the author of the report, Chevrolet's extended range electric vehicle made it on the list because it underperformed in sales while the fact that it is under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for fires related to the car's lithium-ion batteries is also mentioned.

As for the 500, the article says that while the Italians expected to sell some 50,000 cars during its first year in the States, Fiat sold fewer than 12,000 from January through July, and that the company ousted its chief Laura Soave this past November. For the record, Fiat sold 15,826 examples of the coupe and the 500C through October.

The other products mentioned in the list include Abercrombie & Fitch's “Ashley” Push-Up Triangle, a bikini top with padding for kids; Netflix's DVD-by-mail only Qwikster service; the HTC Status smartphone; Blackberry's PlayBook Tablet, and the Mars Needs Moms 3D film from Disney.

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McLaren Delays MP4-12C Deliveries to Fix Software Glitch

McLaren keep open an exhibition after another around the world, but there are stories circulating online Woking based automaker stopped production of the supercar MP4-12C due to security concerns.

Tony Joseph, Director of McLaren in North America, admitted that there are delays, but they have nothing to do with certainty. "There is no need to worry about the delay, we had some quality problems related to a couple of cars, we wanted to resolve before proceeding to deliver customers' cars," he told the magazine Auto Week.

Joseph denied rumors that the MP4-12C is facing performance problems and security, saying that the questions were mostly from condensation in the headlights and a drainage problem of the operation of the battery and door.

"We believe that the issue of battery power unit, which appears not to be cut," he said. The ruling appears to be related to the software, because the electronics of the car is stopped when the doors are closed to stop discharging the battery.

In Europe, 59 vehicles have been delivered to customers, but not all were affected. Joseph said that McLaren is facing the problem in each case, by sending people on site to repair the problem.

Joseph admitted that, although McLaren retailers will receive a demo machine in time, the transmission 179 cars ordered by U.S. customers could be delayed for a couple of weeks until the problem has been solved: "We want to ensure we offer the right product for our customers and would rather delay of a couple of weeks, if I can provide a better product .. "

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Report: GM May Build a Production Model Inspired by the Ciel

“If you build it, he will come”; now this may be the whisper heard by Kevin Costner in the 1989 movie Field of Dreams, but it also stands true for any product –and especially cars.

No matter what your image or marketing strategy, in the long term the product itself makes or breaks a carmaker. Recent “rags to riches” stories include Hyundai, Kia and Skoda, all of which a little over a decade ago were offering below par, or at best acceptable, models but are now posting record sales year after year thanks to their new, much improved range.

Cadillac, once the default choice in the luxury car segment in North America, witnessed a streak of uncompetitive products ruin its image and sales before GM buckled up and began reshaping the brand starting with the CTS.

Now, things appear to be looking better for Cadillac, which is planning a barrage of new models. The brand's offensive that will help it compete with the German and Japanese rivals include models like the BMW 3-Series-challenging ATS, the large luxury XTS sedan that will replace both the DTS and STS, and of course the ELR, the production version of the Converj EV coupe concept.

But GM thinks that, to truly rival the opposition, Cadillac needs a flagship model that will also act as a “halo” model for the rest of its range. And it seems to have found it in the Ciel concept that was revealed at the Pebble Beach event and which gathered largely positive reactions from both the press and the public.

According to Autocar magazine, GM insiders claim that the Omega project, as it is code-named within the company, is expected to be given the green light very soon. Official GM execs such as Cadillac General Marketing Manager Don Butler, admit that the company is “studying its options.”

It is yet unknown if the production version will actually be a four-door convertible like the concept or, more likely, a range-topping premium sedan.

 

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Mitsubishi official says Evo franchise is dead

According to Gayu Eusegi, head of global product development for Mitsubishi, the Lancer Evolution X will be the last Evo the Japanese automaker ever builds. Eusegi says the move is part of a shift in strategy to put the company’s product focus and ethos on leadership in EV technology.

To that end, Autocar indicates that Mitsubishi will release eight fully-electric or hybrid-electric cars by the time 2015 rolls around, and make a grab for a big portion of the CO2-reduction market share. It goes without saying that the fun-yet-fuel-swilling Evo just doesn’t fit that mindset, particularly since it apes a rally car that no longer exists.

Despite the Evo’s huge popularity, Mitsubishi apparently isn’t scared of the step and says it’s confident that consumers will glom on to the idea and rally behind the brand. By killing the Evo, they’re making their intentions plain to an increasingly environmentally-conscious car-buying public.

Eusegi killed dead any notion that the brand would roll out a performance-oriented hybrid as well. “Maybe the world can change, and maybe someday we can do a motor race by electric vehicles. Maybe then we can enter the market agian,” he said.

This report of the Evo’s death would seem to stand in contrast to multiple reports that an Evo XI is in the works with a hybrid drivetrain. We’re taking this latest Autocar missive with a few grains of salt, as we can see how Eusegi may have simply meant that an Evo that relies exclusively on internal combustion is dead – a hybrid Evo would seem to offer a nice technological bridge to Mitsubishi’s more electrically minded future.

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