Automotive News - January 4, 2016 - Supplement - 6S

6S * JANUARY 4, 2016

Cadillac's edgy exterior styling evolves
Design direction is in between the lines
Mike Colias
mcolias@crain.com

eventeen years ago this
month, Cadillac unveiled
to the world a radical concept car to eradicate memories of a few decades of bland designs, one that General Motors'
then-President Rick Wagoner described as "shocking in its boldness."
The crisp geometric lines and
brash angles on the Evoq roadster
shown at the 1999 Detroit auto show
ushered in Cadillac's so-called artand-science design language. That
edgy theme carries on today in
Cadillac's latest efforts, the XT5
crossover and CT6 luxury sedan,
which go on sale in the spring.
But Cadillac's straight-from-thepress-release description of the
Evoq back then - "it appears to be
computer-generated, rather than

hand-sculpted" - underscores just
how far the theme has evolved over
nearly two decades.
Today, Cadillac designers readily
would use the term hand-sculpted
to describe their creations, along
with bespoke, subtle and elegant.
Computer-generated? Not so much.
Sure, the sharp edges and creases
remain, and the bladelike headlamps and taillamps have gotten
even longer and more striking (one
auto writer referred to them as
lightsabers). But the lines have softened. And it's what goes on between the lines - the sculpting and
ripples and reflective surfacing -
that points to where Cadillac design
is headed.
"It's gotten more artistic and less
scientific," says Paul Snyder, a former Ford and Honda designer and
chair of the Transportation Design

The outgoing Cadillac SRX, left, has a boxier grille outline compared with the softer edges of the XT5 grille.
Department at Detroit's College for
Creative Studies. "The surfacing
has gotten so much more sensual
and less rigid, less machine billet."
That evolution was evident at a
swanky party in Brooklyn last
spring, where the CT6 was unveiled
to throngs of fashion types and
journalists. Cadillac global design
boss Andrew Smith all but im-

plored the crowd to focus not on
sharp angles but on the nuance and
"deceptive simplicity" of the big
sedan's sheet metal.
"The overall exterior of the CT6 appears to be quite simple at first
glance," Smith said. "But the more
time you spend looking ... you will
begin to understand and discover the
sophistication of the surface detail."

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September 2013, isn't buying that
theory. He says trends go global so
quickly in today's interconnected
world that no one market has outsized influence.
"It's our job to look at what trends
will sustain and where they will go
next," Smith said in an interview last
year. He said those lightsaber headlights (he cops to being a big Star
Wars fan) will remain but become
more integrated into the front end.
A decade ago, there was some
consternation over whether Cadillac's brash style would go over in
China, GM designer Bryan Nesbitt
acknowledges. Nesbitt returned to
Detroit in June to take over global
design for Buick after four years as
head designer for GM across many
Asian markets, including China.
Nesbitt says any anxiety about the
acceptance of the art-and-science
theme "fell by the wayside" once
the SRX became a big hit there,
starting about four years ago. Now,
he believes Cadillac's look helps the
vehicles stand out in a "visually
crowded marketplace."
"We go to clinic all the time, and
people just can't tell the cars apart,"
Nesbitt said in a November interview. "Maintaining Cadillac's brand identity and a distinctiveness
has a lot of value."

Exterior design is a key ingredient
in the revitalization plan hatched by
Cadillac chief Johan de Nysschen
and marketing head Uwe Ellinghaus.
They want to out-performance the
Germans, yes, but they also want the
vehicles to sport distinctive skin so
that Cadillac stands out as the choice
for American luxury.
The look and scope of Cadillac's
portfolio get outsized attention inside
General Motors, where executives are
counting on a resurgent luxury brand
to drive profits in the coming
decades. That's why eyebrows raised
in September when Bloomberg reported there is a "running debate" on
Cadillac's design direction between
de Nysschen and GM's global product chief, Mark Reuss.
De Nysschen wants even
more "sophistication" in
future Cadillacs, the report said, while Reuss favors the edgy look to set
Proportion clues
the brand apart.
The world will have to
In October, CEO Mary
wait a while to see where
Barra told Automotive
the design arc leads. Once
News that the matter was Ellinghaus:
the CT6 and XT5 launch, it
"blown out of propor- Standout style
will be about two years betion." Cadillac designers
say that sort of back-and-forth is a fore a slew of new entries arrive.
Bob Boniface, Cadillac's longtime
natural part of the creative process.
De Nysschen said in a November exterior design director, says the diinterview that he and Reuss "get on rection already is visible in the CT6
like a house on fire" and that they and other new entries. It's less
are "fully aligned" on the look of fu- about design cues, he says, and
more about proportion and stance.
ture Cadillacs.
"If there's a disagreement, then They sport lower beltlines, wider
there would be an escalation. We tracks, more glass, thinner pillars -
both have bosses," de Nysschen all elements to convey lightweight
performance, to sell the consumer
said. "It's never been necessary."
Edgy design is inherently polariz- on the notion that Cadillac no
ing. In a review of the ATS-V perfor- longer makes floaty boats.
"There's still this misperception
mance coupe last year, critic Dan
Neil of The Wall Street Journal in the public's eye that Cadillacs are
wrote glowingly of its chops on the these big, heavy cars that your
track but complained that the car grandparents used to drive," Boniface said in a November interview.
looked like "a Chinese box kite."
The conventional wisdom in in- "We haven't built those cars in gendustry circles is that Cadillac has erations. But you almost have to
toned down the art-and-science overachieve in the messaging."
Don't expect any big diversion.
theme to appeal more to the tastes
of consumers in China, where the De Nysschen describes the changes
brand is counting on huge growth in the future crop of models as "an
to hit 500,000 global vehicle sales by evolution, not a revolution."
"There will be a softening of some
2020. The softer, more rounded
edges on the grille of the forthcom- of the hard edges. And perhaps the
ing XT5, for example, are in stark cars will become a little bit more
contrast to the boxy grille outline sensual and athletic," he said. "But
we're not going to try to emulate
on the outgoing SRX.
Smith, the Australian who was the European view of the world.
put in charge of Cadillac design in We're proud of who we are." c

http://WWW.FANUCAMERICA.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - January 4, 2016 - Supplement

Nouveau riche collides with old money at Cobo
Cadillac's edgy exterior styling evolves
Design boss Wagener maps out M-B's turnaround
Chevrolet, Toyota raise game in green battle
FCA designer Gilles: People should order their cars
A new minivan and a few sedans
Challenging tasks ahead
Ain't no mountain high enough
Big car launches pose test
Betting on NSX glory
Crossovers are crucial
Flying fashionably under the radar
Bigger, more luxurious
Heating up in '16
Hitch revival on a crossover
Fresh sheet metal ends product drought
New variants coming
Trucking along amid redesigns, cheap fuel
Striving for the luxury crown, again
The good times just keep rolling
Treading water with a stylish life jacket
Onward to luxury cars
Performance overtakes lost volume
Banking on a first: An ultraluxury crossover
Bargain brand no more
Turbos, high-end luxury in the mix
A few big launches in '16, then a lull
Rebooting with an SUV
Waiting for more trucks
Charging up the cheaper EV
Content, volume, profit focus
Major launches on deck
A major truck launch holds the key
Keep the momentum going and win back share
New global boss for growing automaker
Building on Continental buzz
Crucial launches are on the horizon
Ready to fly solo
Crossovers keep sales surge rolling
Finally, some fresh products
Riding the light-truck wave
A new Dawn, crossover
Banking on new models
Key launch year ahead
Selling style and story, but not cars
Waiting for an SUV
Former Detroit stars (and where they are now)

Automotive News - January 4, 2016 - Supplement