Jump to content
Create New...
  • 💬 Join the Conversation

    CnG Logo SQ 2023 RedBlue FavIcon300w.png
    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has been the go-to hub for automotive enthusiasts. Join today to access our vibrant forums, upload your vehicle to the Garage, and connect with fellow gearheads around the world.

     

  • William Maley
    William Maley

    Cadillac To Build RHD Models, Take Europe Seriously

    William Maley

    Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com

    January 20, 2012

    Cadillac is hoping the third time is the charm with their entrance into the European market. The company told Autocar this week, they will build a RHD CTS-V for the United Kingdom as a start to a renewed commitment to taking markets outside U.S. more seriously. Currently the CTS-V is only offered in LHD, which means UK customers are locked out.

    “We’re geared up for right-hand drive now. We’re working on it.” GM Marketing Chief Joel Ewanick said to Autocar.

    Alongside the CTS-V’s conversion, Cadillac includes the ATS, its 3-Series warrior, as part of their commitment. Ewanick has faith in GM’s European success this time around, saying “we’ve signed in blood.”

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

    Ewanick told Autocar new Cadillacs would be developed with global markets in mind, but also said there was no rush to get new models to market and would be replaced under normal lifecycles.

    Source: Autocar

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    They are going to convert Sigma to RHD at this stage of the game? for all of 1,000 CTS-V sales in UK and AU combined? maybe there is more life left in Sigma than we thought.....

    Don't forget the 500 Japanese buyers and 100 South African buyers!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Thinking about this, It would be cool to be the only one with a RHD CTS-V coupe here in Seattle. :D

    Would be cool.. but awkward at tollbooths, parking garage exits, and drive thrus...

    Speaking of RHD Cadillacs, I saw a RHD UK plated current style CTS sedan in Denver last summer...

    Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Thinking about this, It would be cool to be the only one with a RHD CTS-V coupe here in Seattle. :D

    Would be cool.. but awkward at tollbooths, parking garage exits, and drive thrus...

    Speaking of RHD Cadillacs, I saw a RHD UK plated current style CTS sedan in Denver last summer...

    While we got our first toll bridge to help pay for it, Seattle over all has no toll roads and even the bridge is electronic with no booths to stop at so RHD is not a problem for driving here. :)

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Don't think they will leave out the Austrailian market either.

    I suspect they will wait till the new CTS to do this. It is too late to invest in the present car now unless they already have the work already done and just have not used it.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Thinking about this, It would be cool to be the only one with a RHD CTS-V coupe here in Seattle. :D

    Would be cool.. but awkward at tollbooths, parking garage exits, and drive thrus...

    Speaking of RHD Cadillacs, I saw a RHD UK plated current style CTS sedan in Denver last summer...

    While we got our first toll bridge to help pay for it, Seattle over all has no toll roads and even the bridge is electronic with no booths to stop at so RHD is not a problem for driving here. :)

    No toll roads here in Phx, but parking garage entrance/exit access card readers and Starbucks drive-thrus are what I encounter every week that would be a pain w/ RHD.

    Edited by Cubical-aka-Moltar
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I am sure there are thousands of rural mail carriers across the USA who'd love a RHD SRX to replace their old Cherokees and Legacies. I can see them now, all grimy with the right side all scraped up from hitting the periodic mailbox.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    I am sure there are thousands of rural mail carriers across the USA who'd love a RHD SRX to replace their old Cherokees and Legacies. I can see them now, all grimy with the right side all scraped up from hitting the periodic mailbox.

    Too Funny :P but true

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

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

    So what were they doing for 100 years? They just now figure out you have to build to market demands and they trying to sell old rehashed product that people don't want doesn't work? They do need to go into Europe and become more global, and RHD is needed. But they need diesel engines above all and build quality still has to get better.

    • Agree 1
    • Disagree 1
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    Thinking about this, It would be cool to be the only one with a RHD CTS-V coupe here in Seattle. :D

    Would be cool.. but awkward at tollbooths, parking garage exits, and drive thrus...

    Speaking of RHD Cadillacs, I saw a RHD UK plated current style CTS sedan in Denver last summer...

    Checker's drive thru has a left AND right side. Best part, is to my knowledge, there is no actual law requiring LHD vehicles in this country.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    We took a RHD Rolls to the Drive through hat Mc Donalds once.

    to me Driving the cars was not a challange but riding in the left hand seat without the wheel was a thrill. You nver felt so out of control in a car.

    Now when I drove in a country that drove on the left the first few turns can work on you till you get the mind set.

    GM build a bunch of Toytoya Cavaliers here once. The left over ones they did dump to the Rual postal people. These were an odd sight. RHD Chevy with Toyota emblems.

    Edited by hyperv6
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    You have to start sometime and when you are redesigning the CTS and building a larger flag ship it's the time is prime to incorperate the needed features to make them acceptable to a global market.

    The only issue I see is the value of the Euro and where all this will end up. If there are issues the cars will still sell here.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    You have to start sometime and when you are redesigning the CTS and building a larger flag ship it's the time is prime to incorperate the needed features to make them acceptable to a global market.

    The only issue I see is the value of the Euro and where all this will end up. If there are issues the cars will still sell here.

    I recognize this, but Europe is an economic maelstrom at the moment...

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites

    You have to start sometime and when you are redesigning the CTS and building a larger flag ship it's the time is prime to incorperate the needed features to make them acceptable to a global market.

    The only issue I see is the value of the Euro and where all this will end up. If there are issues the cars will still sell here.

    I recognize this, but Europe is an economic maelstrom at the moment...

    The way I see it they have noting to lose if the cars are right. The cars in the past failed because the cars failed. If sales don't take off do to economic reasons they at least can show they can build a real car and earn some image.

    If the Euro chokes they can fall back on the American market with no shame Europes economic mistakes. The people who would buy these anyways are the one who will still have money.

    I suspect the Euro will get bailed out again.

    I am more worried about Opel. I often wonder if Opels may be built here and China since they are just Buicks now. They can be sent in if they can't get the labor issues handled.

    Besides they will be cheaper than the others in the market. It may give them a leg up on people needing to down size. They might just give Cadillac a change if they porvide the car they want and need.

    Edited by hyperv6
    Link to comment
    Share on other sites



    Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
    Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

    Guest
    Add a comment...

    ×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

      Only 75 emoji are allowed.

    ×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

    ×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

    ×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Support Real Automotive Journalism

    Cheers and Gears Logo

    Since 2001, Cheers & Gears has delivered real content and honest opinions — not emotionless AI output or manufacturer-filtered fluff.

    If you value independent voices and authentic reviews, consider subscribing. Plans start at just $2.25/month, and paid members enjoy an ad-light experience.*

    You can view subscription options here.

    *a very limited number of ads contain special coupon deals for our members and will show

  • Posts

    • They're just using AAA's website for their data.    A ~50c/gal swing in two days is insane. 
    • Dell AI Technology using our PowerScale File storage certified by nVidia is powering Subaru. Subaru Corporation | Dell USA
    • Yes, it has been fluctuating and many here have followed the mynorthwest site for prices. They had $5 over the weekend and now it is down in the Mid $4 range. Currently their news story Washington’s gas prices: Are you paying too much? shows $4.37 now a gallon with a gas tax at 55.4 cents per gallon.  
    • This is supposed to be in line with inflation, which is understandable, to an extent. I believe this may be the smallest year over year increase since 2017. i think this year is just a 3c increase.  And, in all fairness, I've noticed a ton more road construction since 2017. Yes, it's inconvenient, but there were a lot of bad roads. Now, there are a lot less and there's still plenty of construction in the area. In fact, it's currently taking me about 15 minutes longer to get home for the next couple weeks due to "emergency bridge construction". It sucks, but I understand it and also appreciate the nicer roads. 
    • Honestly, that's actually a good thing that it goes up every July. The problem with many states, and this isn't just gas taxes but all taxes, is that they don't index taxes to inflation, and then the governments are forced into drastic budget cuts and big jumps in taxes.  I work with local governments in PA and time after time I see this play out.  They pay themselves on the back for keeping property taxes low and not raising them for 6 years and then boom, they find themselves in a deficit which local towns are not allowed to run in PA.  Then there's a big tax hike and everyone gets pissed.  I'm working with one town where the population of the town is very affluent, but the town is going broke because of the tax structure.  They rely on property taxes, but the county hasn't reassessed property values in 30 years. So you have parcels that are worth 6-7 figures being assessed for tax purposes at like 100k.   And now everyone is stuck because if the properties get reassessed, the property taxes jump a few hundred percent.  Having the gas tax go up a little bit every year is the smarter way to do it. 
  • Who's Online (See full list)

  • My Clubs

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search