Will GM Dare Greatly And Bring Cadillac Back To Detroit?

General Motors' executive shuffle at Cadillac could hint at more changes to come.

General Motors set off a bombshell at Cadillac last week when the company ousted Johan de Nysschen, the outsider CEO of Cadillac, and replaced him with a life-long insider. Steve Carlisle, the former head of GM Canada who will now run the company's luxury brand, has been with the company since 1982. He has been a steady hand during tough times, especially during union negotiations, but his appointment may also represent a significant shift in how Cadillac operates in the future.

In an article published by Automotive News, GM's decision to sack de Nysschen was dissected as the trade publication asked those with skin in the game to give their own points of view on where Cadillac may go from here. It said the newly appointed executive is likely to “put his own stamp on the brand,” but it's improbable that “product plans, its headquarters location or Project Pinnacle” would change anytime soon. After de Nysschen took the post, following his stint at Infiniti, the domestic luxury brand uprooted from Detroit and moved to the trendy SoHo neighborhood of New York, where it established Cadillac House.

It was after this move that Cadillac began leveraging its New York location as part of its core identity, using it in marketing materials to set it apart from the other brands based in Detroit. Dealers, particularly those in “Middle American strongholds,” were puzzled by the new marketing message, which was the brainchild of marketing chief Uwe Ellinghaus. He left Cadillac shortly before de Nysschen's ouster. While Cadillac will stay in New York for now, it's possible the brand will seriously reevaluate its marketing messages—and maybe rekindle a lost love affair with Detroit. Only time will tell what's in store.

2020 Cadillac Escalade: Will The Upcoming Redesign Still Bring The Bling?

And what about the previously rumored three engine options? Answers are arriving.

We know Cadillac is expected to reveal its next-generation Escalade SUV sometime next year. Never before has a redesign been so needed for one of the brand’s best-selling and most recognizable vehicles. But the question we’ve been wondering, and we know we’re not alone, is whether the fifth-gen Escalade’s design will go bold or stick to an evolution of its current formula? In other words, will its “bling” styling be replaced with a new design language?

According to The Detroit Free Press, a Miami, Florida-based Cadillac dealership owner, who was shown the 2020 Escalade at its national meeting in Las Vegas last week, described the new SUV as being “really jazzy.”

Okay, so what does that even mean? “Evolutionary, not revolutionary,” said Williamson Automotive Group owner Ed Williamson. “The Escalade was up on a stage, they had a camera inside that projected on a screen so we could see the inside,” added Tyler Thompson, general manager of Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac in Springfield, Missouri. “We need it, and the interiors on the XT6 and Escalade are gorgeous.”

Given the fact the Escalade has fresh and serious competition from the recently redesigned and hot-selling Lincoln Navigator, it makes sense for Cadillac to stick with a design theme it knows it can do well. Like with all previous Escalades, the new one will ride on the same platform as GM’s full-size pickup trucks, meaning it’ll benefit from the all-new Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra’s architecture.

Another previous rumor we heard was that Cadillac planned to offer up to three engine options for its long-running SUV this time around. Apparently, that’s not the case. Dealer owner Williamson confirmed the “powertrain is the same as the current generation,” meaning the 6.2-liter V8 with 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque will stick around for the time being. However, the new Escalade will feature a console shift, instead of the current and seriously outdated steering column stalk shifter.

As for the aforementioned XT6, this is the three-row crossover Cadillac desperately needs in order to stay competitive. The 2019 Cadillac XT6 is expected to debut this January at Detroit.