December13
If you liked alphabet soup as a kid, make an appointment at your Cadillac dealer for three to five years from now. That’s because GM has recently trademarked several new nameplates for Cadillac, and so far we’re worried and a bit confused.
At present, these names are trademarked in Europe and Canada. However, companies often register their trademarks in foreign markets first, and later in the United States.
This potential new naming system is undoubtedly complicated, but we will try and lay it out in the simplest way possible. So far, GM has trademarked:
- DT7
- CT6
- CT5
- BT3
- AT1
- DTX
- CTX
- BTX
We suspect the numbers in each name signifies each vehicle’s overall size.
The “DT7″ might be the eventual DTS replacement, for example. This large, luxury sedan may end up riding on the Zeta chassis in a few years time.
The CT6 and CT5 would be some kind of variants of the car we currently know as the CTS. One possibility is the numbers indicate two possible wheelbase lengths. On the other hand, we can’t rule out the “5″ and “6″ being the current CTS sedan and forthcoming CTS coupe.
The BT3 could represent the next-generation BLS. This vehicle would probably be on the Epsilon II chassis, however, with GM’s plans on the new Alpha chassis being unclear, there is always a possibility BT3 could be an Alpha car.
The AT1 is still a bit of a mystery. That said, it’s a safe bet that this would be a small car that is definitely based on the Alpha chassis GM is currently developing. Could it be a competitor to the BMW 1-Series?
The “X” cars will more than likely denote crossover or wagon vehicles. However we’d also leave open the option that the “X” indicates all-wheel-drive models.
If the crossover assumption is true, the DTX is probably the vehicle currently known as the BRX. The CTX could be the forthcoming CTS wagon, and the BTX remains a mystery.
Of course, the all-wheel-drive option is also a strong possibility. The CTX could be an AWD CT6 or CT5, while the DTX would be an AWD DT7, and so on.
Obviously there is one glaring part of Cadillac’s lineup not mentioned here — the Escalades. Some might suggest that the “X” vehicles we just talked about are in fact the trucks. However, given what our sources say, we don’t think that’s the case.
That leaves a few options. One being that GM just hasn’t gotten around to coming up with new names. Another being that the true Cadillac trucks will not be part of this new scheme and continue on with regular names. With the marketing power the Escalade name carries, we think the latter is more likely.
As I projectile vommit with a filth and fury not seen for 3 generations.
CTS DRIVER: We hardly knew ye.
Cadillac needs to put together a really good RWD compact coupe and call it the Cadillac STFU.
I think those names are results Lutz’s brain farts. What was wring with sedan DeVille, Coupe DeVille, Eldorado, Seville? What are those TLAs devil worshiping codes?
There are 36^3 = 46656 three character alpha-numeric combinations. I should trademark them all and then sell them back to the manufacturers at 10,000% markup. Who needs to work when you can lounge your way to riches???
I think that some, if not all, of those monikers are just being trademarked so another manufacturer (a Chinese one, perhaps?) doesn’t use something similar and cause confusion in the marketplace. CTX, DTX are very simlar to current models, for example. Wow, LLN, way to take a bit of trivial information and fabricate an entire article around it. How do they know what these letters “could” represent?
hey why not take a jab at germany and call it the dcx?
lucklaster i am here to stay, even with my goofy name.
…the odds of our children coming up with even more vehicle model names each time they open a can of Chef Boyardee have just increased dramatically.
There may be 46656 combinations, but there are only about 1500 left to trademark. Good luck on finding some.
I think im forming a love hate relationship with Cadallic. Im starting to love their new cars, but hate their lazy names.
Tasteless alphabet soup!
cts driver im in your neck of the woods, i still havent seen a cts or 525 tho
autonut: all caddies should have names, unless they build Madcapp’s suggestion
I hate the alphabetic soup names on cars. It’s confusing, difficult for people to remember, and boring. Names have more meaning, are easier to remember, and easier for people to assign mental pictures to. There are many people who cannot picture what a CTS or a SRX are if you say you drive one, even though they have seen them many times. They recognize the car, but not the name of the car. That’s not a good thing. Say I have an Escalade, and almost everyone knows what it is by name and can picture the vehicle. If I said I have an ESV, or an EXT, and they have no clue what I’m driving.
Some of the marketing MBA’s think the letters are more “upscale” sounding. They’re wrong. It’s stupidity.
SUCH STUPID NAMES. TYPICAL OF CADILLAC
I seriously doubt these will actually be the car’s names. Cadillac just revamped their names not too long ago by changing things like Catera to CTS and Seville to STS and so on. I see no reason for them to abandon the current naming scheme since they have already built a reputation for cars like the CTS.
Those seem more like engine or transmission codes to me. I sure as hell hope they aren’t names.
They should call the new CTS-V the HTFU so M5 drivers can see it on the trunk.
As long as it has the 600hp that I saw someone say in the CTS-V thread.
“There are many people who cannot picture what a CTS or a SRX are if you say you drive one, even though they have seen them many times. They recognize the car, but not the name of the car”
And somehow that doesn’t apply to BMW, Mercedes and Audi?? That is a dumb premise… It is the standard in that class of product and Cadiilac is consistant.
They left one off:
.
BBAV16 = Big BadAss V16 = Cadillac Sixteen
Haha yeah that is very confusing and I don’t know what is exactly going on with the combination of letters and and numbers there. LLN is pretty much just guessing on this one but their explanation for their choices do seem logical. I don’t think this is going to be good for Cadillac in the beginning because I think the alpha designations are going to sound stupid and confusing. However I was criticizing Lincoln for switching over to their alpha designated models but compared to this they don’t sound that bad. So far GM has “trademarked” also doesn’t mean that’s exactly what they are going to be using. in the next few years though we do know that Cadillac is going to be having their current 08+ CTS sedan, then come 2011/12 the CTS Coupe. CTS-V sedan and CTS-V coupe (to come later.) The XLR is supposed to still be around. the STS will still be around. The Deville/DTS may not be around too much longer because word is that it’s going to be getting the AXE or a new model in it’s class to be RWD. The SRX is supposed to stay they already have the next gen prototypes being tested. And just rumor that Cadillac is supposed to have a new flagship ultra luxury coupe courtesy of Lutz that is based off the Cadillac Sixteen but won’t have a V16, possibly a V12. As of right now we have the XLR-V. And then we also heard from LLN that their could be a smaller RWD sedan based off Zeta to be slotted beneath the entry level CTS. So who knows yet.
Also yeah C6Racer that was me saying the CTS-V is going to be having 600hp. That’s what I heard from two or three of my family members that work at GM and from a close friend’s dad whose an engineer that works in an office right in the REN CEN. Thanks to his high level and access to otherwise unaccessible files on his work laptop the LS9 stock produces 600hp and if I remember 600lbs trq (although it may have not been that high). The CTS-V is going to have the stock LS9 while the ZR1 will have a higher tuned version although the hp could be anywhere from 600-700 because they have that number down tight. We think 650. Also something that many of us outsiders don’t know is that the ZR-1 prototypes that were first spotted had only the stock LS9 equipped. They now have the tuned version but the family member that I know that drove both and were briefed on both weren’t given the total info on the ZR1
@ SS4LIFE, Cadillac needs a discernible flagship as the XLR is aging and did not garner the audience it was after. The Cadillac Sixteen is so over the top that it would actually get that exclusive client who would pay the premium provided all the high-end criterion is met on the Sixteen. The world players keep producing serious volleys at the US that Cadillac will need to return if they plan on keeping the market share they have…let alone increase it. The CTS was brilliant, and saved Cadillac, but little else in their lineup matches what the CTS brought to the table.
Weird that in all that alphabet soup there is no mention of the prefix that started it all.. where is the STS/ST6/ST5/STX in all this? I really doubt Cadillac will carry forward the DTS moniker over STS when the two platforms merge in their next generation.
not good
I’m going to make a billion dollars.
I’m going to trademark every 3-letter combination then sue GM.
I’m waiting for the 10L V8 pickup with 10 gun racks named the KKK.
BMF
People are talking about trademarking the 3-letter combinations. It’s the butt of a joke now, but soon after the public got access to the Internet, there were a smart few who started registering domain names like walmart.com, etc., and then selling them back to the companies. They made fortunes. Include that on my “things-I-wish-I-thought-of” list.
Here’s what I’m thinking about on a chilly midwest Friday: alphanumeric designations are definitely “in.” Is it just a fad that caught on, to be followed by others, or is there some corporate psychology involved?
I’ll throw this out there: now, more than ever, cars are the product of relentless research and technological advances, from powertrains to on-board technology. Taking a car from design to production is the culmination of a huge engineering effort, and just the way engineers like it, it’s easier to think of a work of engineering as an impersonal designation–a 335, an XLR, or TSX, perhaps. Gone are the days when coachbuilders personalized cars and imprinted on them their personality and/or the buyer’s personality, making the building of a car feel more like an individual undertaking….
Or maybe not. Maybe this theory would make more sense if the “T” in “Model T” stood for “Tony”….
Anyway, I’m off to trademark “.com”, “.org” and “.net”, so that everytime you chumps blog, download porn, or e-mail your high school girlfriend, you’ll owe me money!
You have girlfriend pictures ????
My high-school gilfriend is a fat pig now.
They must design Cadillacs with an etch a sketch. I like the letter and number names all luxury cars will be like that in 5 years
oh my god 1115 that was completely original, good job, wow i wish i could come up with something so whitty.
I think it makes it easier to market the cars on a global scale, since language and regional slang restrictions limit the usefulness of actual model names. For example, the LaCrosse is called the Allure in Canada because LaCrosse has a rather provocative connotation in Canada (or at least parts of Canada) from what I understand.
I still miss actual model names. I think alpha, numeric, and alpha-numeric model designations rob the products of passion or imagery. The 2008 CTS is certainly a passionately designed vehicle, but the name is very clinical and lifeless to me. I don’t see this type of nomenclature ever coming to an end (in fact, I believe it will continue to overtake much of the market), so I guess it is just something I have to accept and live with.
On the other hand, this type of nomenclature does eliminate model names that were silly or ineffective. There are way too many past examples of poorly named vehicles that just made you scratch your head and wonder what the “bleep” someone was thinking.
1115: I think all luxury cars are ALREADY like that. Don’t like it, but I understand the rationale
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-garage5jan05,1,7541183.story?coll=la-headlines-business