In a about five weeks, General Motors will unveil the Cadillac CT6, an all-new, top-of-the-line luxury sedan at the New York International Auto Show.
DETROIT, MI - In about five weeks, General Motors will unveil the Cadillac CT6, an all-new, top-of-the-line luxury sedan at the New York International Auto Show.
Last night, viewers of the 2015 Academy Awards got a first glimpse of the car as part of Cadillac's new "Dare Greatly" series in this commercial spot:
Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell confirmed Monday that the white, wide-stance sedan is indeed the CT6. But he said the car's brief reveal shouldn't take away from the brand's Dare Greatly campaign, which features a series of innovators and trailblazers, such as entrepreneur Njeri Rionge, healthcare advocate Anne Wojcicki and designer Jason Wu.
"This was sort of a statement of core values, that was what this was about," Caldwell said.
It is the GM luxury brand's first major ad campaign since parting ways with Detroit-based Lowe Campbell Ewald in December. The company has named Paris-based Publicis Worldwide its advertising agency of record.
Last September, GM announced it would begin building the rear-wheel-drive CT6 beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015 at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant as part of a $384 million investment there.
Cadillac currently produces the ELR, the CTS sedan and the ATS sedan and coupe in Michigan. It builds the ELR at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant and the other three models at its Lansing Grand River facility.
Cadillac said the model name for the CT6 comes from its use of CTS for its centerpiece car line. The CT6 moniker signals a shift toward more simplified nomenclature for future models. The CT6 will be positioned above Cadillac's ATS and CTS models.
"The Cadillac CT6 continues our brand's elevation and global growth," Uwe Ellinghaus, Cadillac's chief marketing officer, said in a September release. "CT6 will constitute an entirely new approach to the prestige sedan, emphasizing a dynamic driving experience and advanced technology."
Also last September, GM announced that Cadillac was moving its global headquarters from Detroit to New York City, while also being spun off as a separate business unit.
Cadillac president Johan de Nysschen told reporters at the 2015 North American International Auto Show that setting Cadillac up with more independence would allow it to be more nimble in some international markets.
De Nysschen was previously at Nissan Motor Co., where he oversaw the relocation of its Infiniti luxury brand from Yokohama to Hong Kong.
Of the move to New York, de Nysschen said in a September release that while Cadillac is "proud of our Detroit roots and heritage," moving the headquarters to New York will help boost the brand to an apparent level of bourgeois not as readily found in the Rust Belt.
"There is no city in the world where the inhabitants are more immersed in a premium lifestyle than in New York," de Nysschen said. "Establishing our new global headquarters in Soho places Cadillac at the epicenter of sophisticated living. It allows our team to share experiences with premium-brand consumers and develop attitudes in common with our audience."
Last year, sales of Cadillac vehicles dropped 6.5 percent to 170,750 units. Sales of the ATS fell 22.0 percent to 29,890 units, sales of the CTS declined 3.8 percent to 31,115 units and sales of the SRX fell 5.6 percent to 53,578 units. Sales of the Escalade grew 54.7 percent to 19,482 units, and sales of the Escalade ESV rose 38.2 percent to 10,987 units.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter