Cadillac remembers the days when size was king in its new, gloriously grand-scale CT 6

by industry staff

For the first three financial quarters of 2015, a remarkable sales dichotomy emerged in Cadillac revenue streams. Though sales were down just over 2% in the United States, they were up a remarkable 7% in both China and Canada (until a sudden 9.6% contraction in July), rose 38% and 39% in the Middle East and Mexico, respectively, and doubled in South Korea. If last-quarter figures hold up, it will mark one of the more robust profit margins Cadillac has seen in the last two decades, boosted by high demand for the ATS line and a 45% volume expansion for the Escalade mega-SUV.

These cheering sales figures represent a vindication of a 14-year-long design rethink of the more than century-old luxury marque…but what’s often mentioned as missed is the wide-body sedan dream of old—the limousine for the everyman that Cadillac once represented. Seemingly in response to this restless appreciation for interior and exterior space, and perhaps as a result of $2.20 per gallon gasoline, January saw production begin on a Caddy that our fathers and grandfathers would likely appreciate: the CT6. Short for “Cadillac Touring Six,” it was unveiled last year right here at the New York International Auto Show, and combines both the wedginess we’ve come to associate with many of the maker’s 2003 CTS-and-beyond models with one of the grander cabins since the Fleetwood Brougham departed the marketplace in 1986.

Space is where the Brougham similarity begins and ends, however. Most decidedly gone is the floating bathtub suspension sensibility of dad’s Cadoo, replaced by one of the most advanced body structures in the world—an aluminum-intensive architecture that incorporates no fewer than 11 materials to achieve strength, stiffness, and weight efficiency. And though it has interior dimensions on par with BMW’s short wheelbase 7 Series, its weight and agility is akin to the CTS line (think BMW 5 Series weight). In short, this large car manages to achieve midsize sport sedan sportiness—a very neat trick, thanks to an all-new 3.0L twin-turbo 400hp kicker that’s among the most power-dense V-6 engines in the world.

The almost ridiculously plush interior is where the CT6 truly shimmers, however, with a technological package that is simply without domestic parallel—including a 360-degree camera (displayed on the CUE screen), a surround-view video recording system, Enhanced Night Vision that helps identify people and animals via heat signatures, quad-zone climate control, and a Bose Panaray audio system with 34 strategically placed speakers. Prices start at $54,000.

Englewood Cliffs Cadillac
374 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs / 201.568.4800
englewoodcliffscadillac.com