GeneralMotors

Cadillac Planning Renaissance With New ATS and XTS Luxury Sedans

Filed under: Wheels

General Motors may be in trouble, but that doesn't mean they don't have a few more tricks up their sleeves, especially when it comes to their luxury division. And so the troubled American automaker, fresh out of bankruptcy and frantically restructuring, has revealed plans for a pair of new Cadillacs to take the fight to Europe's best in pursuit of the lucrative luxury market.

First up is the ATS, a compact luxury sport sedan aimed to compete with the BMW 3 Series and its ilk. Slotting in below the current CTS, the ATS is expected to be available with four- and six-cylinder engines in either rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive set-ups to offer customers their choice of luxury propulsion.

Next up is a full-size luxury sedan dubbed XTS. Replacing both the DTS and the STS model lines, the XTS is said to closely mirror the styling of the gorgeous Cadillac Sixteen concept car (pictured above), only with a more realistic engine in place of the show car's V16 resulting in more reasonable proportions. Expect both new sedans to debut within the next year or two, at which point the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus had better take notice.

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Tags: ats, cadillac, cadillac ats, cadillac sixteen, cadillac xts, CadillacAts, CadillacSixteen, CadillacXts, general motors, GeneralMotors, luxury sedan, LuxurySedan, xts

General Motors Cuts Back On Jets

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

General Motors has announced that they are paring down their corporate jet fleet. General Motors started this year with seven jets in their corporate fleet but the Detroit News reports that they turned in two in September and plan to jettison two more as a result of drastic cutbacks in travel expenses. The Big Three automakers all faced angry words from lawmakers on Capitol HIll when their CEOs flew in on private jets to ask for federal aid. Regulatory filings reveal that General Motors spent 256,793 on personal use of the company's aircraft by CEO Rick Wagoner, Chief Operating Officer Fritz Henderson and Vice Chairman Bob Lutz,. Ford spent $752,203 last year on CEO Alan Mulally's personal use of the company's aircraft using the jet for all business and personal travel for security reasons. Ford also spent $29,107 last year on first-class commercial airfare for Ford Americas President Mark Fields' to fly to and from his Florida home. Chrysler doesn't own any corporate jets but leases or charters planes per trip as needed and says they try to fill the jet whenever possible including giving children rides to Detroit hospitals from other cities. The corporate jet has been seen for years as a necessary perk for CEOs who frequently travel but like lavish holiday parties, luxury boxes at sporting events, and corporate retreats, the private jet now serves as a symbol of greed and foolish expense.

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Tags: ceos, general motors, GeneralMotors, private jets, PrivateJets

Russia's Richest Man to Buy Hummer from GM?

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wheels

Oleg Deripaska (right), 40, the richest man in Russia with a fortune of $28 billion and the 9th richest man in world (Luxist fave Roman Abramovich is #15), has reportedly held talks with General Motors about acquiring their beleaguered Hummer division.

As my colleague Deidre Woollard reported last month, Hummer is in financial trouble in the wake of the oil and gas price explosion, with sales of the SUV having tumbled some 40 percent through June. Ailing GM has announced plans to unload the brand, and Deripaska, whose company Russian Machines recently acquired a major stake in Canadian auto parts manufacturer Magna International, is a natural buyer.

In the wake of the reports, Russian Machines issued a statement saying it was "not strategically interested in such a deal", which sounds to us like a non-denial denial. We would hardly expect him to invite counter-offers by publicizing a planned acquisition before the deal is signed. This past New Year's Eve Deripaska paid Barbadian signer Rihanna $500,000 for a private 40 minute performance for his friends.

Tags: General Motors, GeneralMotors, GM, Hummer, Oleg Deripaska, OlegDeripaska, Rihanna, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, russian billionaires, RussianBillionaires, SUV

Hard Times For Hummer

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wheels

For years, the Hummer from General Motors has been a symbol of American exuberance. The beefy road-dominating car was a freeway favorite for its spacious interior even spawning a whole fleet of Hummer limos. But with gas and oil prices at all time highs, the brand is in big trouble. In an article in the Baltimore Sun, new figures from Autodata show that sales of the SUV are down 40 percent through June. The Hummer has the dubious honor of being the worst selling car brand in America right now. Hummer owners are also facing increasing scrutiny from the more environmentally-minded drivers who see the car as a vehicular affront to green values.

Still, there will always be Hummer fans. Those who are very tall and those who have money to spend on big cars with low gas mileage such as professional athletes will always have room in their garage for this car. The Hummer's brash masculine style still drives people to showrooms but the recent economic woes have weeded out those who are not hard-core enthusiasts.

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Tags: autos, cars, general motors, GeneralMotors, hummer

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