Does The Cadillac V Actually Stand For Anything?

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There are plentifulness of net theories astir why Cadillac chose "V" for its capacity division. Just arsenic group insist connected believing nan Jeep's seven-slot grille represents 7 continents aliases is nan consequence of Ford trademarking nan Army Jeep's nine-slot grille (Ford didn't trademark that grille — I looked done complete 5 years of copyright/trademark/patent paperwork to beryllium it). People connected forums declare Cadillac's "V" officially stands for "Velocity." Others declare it refers to the style of nan engine, for illustration a V8 and V6, which is simply a problem because nan CT4-V non-Blackwing has an inline-4 and nan Lyriq-V has electrical motors. Go to Wikipedia, and you'll publication that nan "V" was chosen because it resembles nan aged shapes nether nan crowned wreath logos connected post-WWII Cadillacs.

Here's nan existent logic Cadillac settled connected "V." In an question and reply pinch LSX magazine, Bob Lutz, former president of GM North America and all-around automotive legend, explained nan missive choice. The interviewer asked, "Finally and not to put to good a constituent connected it, but what does nan 'V' guidelines for?" Lutz responded: "They hired group for this and did investigation and such. We, of course, wanted to enactment distant from M, A, G, R aliases S and felt that 'V' was a unsocial and elegant letter. There's decidedly a reliable declare to opportunity that it stands for velocity, pinch nan later models being described arsenic visceral." In different words, "V" was chosen because it looked nice, and evidently Cadillac couldn't usage a missive already claimed by different manufacturers. But if group want to opportunity it stands for something, much powerfulness to them.

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Really, nan "V" could guidelines for "vendetta" (hey, that would beryllium a catchy movie title). In nan precocious '90s and early 2000s, Cadillac had a estimation of making cars for people truthful aged they remembered nan woolly mammoth. The reality wasn't truthful dramatic, of course, arsenic successful 2002, an Escalade spokesperson said nan mean Cadillac purchaser was 62. Still, nan marque knew it had to people correct aliases it would spell nan measurement of nan dodo. Since astatine slightest nan early '80s, Cadillac wanted to entreaty to younger demographics and stop hemorrhaging income to BMW and Mercedes. After failing pinch the Pininfarina-designed Allante, Cadillac deed golden pinch nan Escalade successful 1999. While mean Caddy buyers were 62 successful 2002, Escalade buyers were 50.

So, successful 2004, Cadillac began its vendetta against BMW's M-series successful earnest pinch nan CTS-V. "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson said its styling was "done by personification who only had a ruler." And while that's fair, who cared erstwhile nether nan hood was nan 400-hp LS6 V8 from nan Corvette Z06 routing done a mandatory Tremec six-speed manual? I regular a reddish '05 CTS-V, and I tin show you that it's intolerable to attraction astir creation choices erstwhile nan state pedal is firmly planted to nan floor. Cadillac tuned nan handling connected nan legendarily challenging Nürburgring successful Germany and made judge it would extremity acknowledgment to four-wheel Brembo disc brakes.

Cadillac followed up nan CTS-V pinch nan little successful Cadillac STS-V, which battled nan Mercedes-AMG cars, and nan XLR-V, which existed for immoderate reason. Cadillac XLR-Vs bid caller sports car money these days, though, truthful time's been benignant to them.

Over its tenure, nan CTS-V was nan main V-series mantle carrier, utilizing people aspirated LS6 and LS2 powerfulness during '04-'07. In 2009, it was equipped pinch a 556-hp supercharged LSA V8 (based connected nan C6 Corvette ZR1's LS9), which was replaced by a 640-hp LT4 successful 2016. Unfortunately, on nan way, it seems GM misplaced its manual transmissions, arsenic nan CTS-V was automatic only from 2016 until its discontinuation successful 2019. 

The V-series logo dispersed done nan brand's lineup, including nan "middle-tier" Vsport. Still, though that 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport wasn't a afloat V, it rocked a 420-hp twin-turbo V6. Then came the ATS-V, which besides utilized a twin-turbo V6 but upped nan grunt to 464 hp. The CT6-V arrived successful 2019 pinch a caller double-overhead cam twin-turbo V8 that looked for illustration nan 2nd coming of nan Northstar (or nan due first arrival, since Cadillac didn't precisely cleanable nan Northstar retired of nan gate), but it only lasted 2 years. Then there's nan Escalade-V, which uses a 682-hp supercharged V8 that tin propel nan cruise ship-sized conveyance pinch nan haste of a cruise missile. The astir breathtaking modern Cadillac V-series, however, person sewage to beryllium nan CT4-V Blackwing and CT5-V Blackwing. Powered by a 472-hp twin-turbo V6 and a 682-hp supercharged V8, respectively, some are offered pinch either a 10-speed automatic or, nan correct choice, a six-speed manual. 

In 2023, Cadillac Vice President Rory Harvey claimed that CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing buyers are, connected average, 54 and 56 years old, respectively. Non-performance Cadillac buyers are 10 years older. For nan past 21 years, Cadillac has chipped distant astatine nan cognition that its marque is for group who were astir during nan Civil War, and we tin squarely convey nan V-series for that.