Both the first and second generations of the Cadillac CTS struggled against their competition from Bavaria. While not bad cars by any means, they never sold in numbers anywhere close to matching those of either the BMW 3 Series or 5 Series. There were many reasons for that but one of the biggest was the CTS’ placement in the market. While the 3 Series and 5 Series occupied clearly defined spaces in the automotive marketplace, the CTS was a bit of a ‘tweener. It was bigger than a 3 Series and smaller than a 5 Series. And considering that literally every other luxury brand competes in the clearly defined segments that were created by the Germans, Cadillac didn’t.
Then, Cadillac started to catch on and developed the ATS, the new third-gen CTS and the CT6. Those cars competed with the 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series, respectively. And with those cars, Cadillac started to do significantly better. Now, though, it seems as if Caddy is scrapping that plan and making another ‘tweener, the upcoming Cadillac CT5.
The Cadillac CT5 was recently caught doing some winter testing in the snow and it seems to be another middle-man, caught between the 3 Series and 5 Series (we don’t won the photos but they can be seen here). Which is odd, because the ATS and CTS were doing well. Maybe not as well as Cadillac had hoped but well enough to show proof of the business model’s success.
In these spy photos, we see a car that looks longer than the current ATS, in terms of wheelbase, but maybe not as long as the CTS. We also see that this could be a performance model, thanks to its hood scoop and vent, as well as large front air intakes. Maybe a CT5-V? Or it could possibly be a CT5 V-sport, which is Cadillac’s sort of M Performance line, as its exhaust pipes are just two rectangles. It’s also sporting a sort of Dodge Charger rear taillight, which is a bit odd for Cadillac.
This seems like a bit car, so maybe it could just be the replacement for the CTS and compete with the BMW 5 Series, which would be a smarter move. It would also make sense with the naming scheme, as the CT6 could compete with the 7 Series, the CT5 could take on the 5 Series and a potential CT4 could compete with the 3er. We’ll find out eventually.
[Source: Car Scoops]
