GM's Cadillac to unveil roadster at Detroit show
DETROIT, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Cadillac, General Motors
Corp.'s luxury car division, will introduce early next year
what it called the company's first true concept car in more
than 10 years -- a roadster called the Evoq.
Pronounced "evoke," the car is seen as "a flagship model that
defines the soul of Cadillac," the U.S. No. 1 automaker said in a
press release. It will be shown at the North American
International Auto Show in Detroit next January.
An illustration released by Cadillac -- whose sales jumped in
1997 after years of decline -- showed a futuristic two-door with
sharp, creased edges, vertical headlights and tail lights, and a
grill featuring the traditional Cadillac crest.
"In a pure design sense, this concept evokes Cadillac's
significant heritage of design leadership without at all being
'retro,'" Cadillac General Manager John Smith said.
The rear-wheel drive car has a three-piece retractable
hardtop roof and will be powered by the next generation of the
Northstar V8 engine.
Jim Hall, vice president of industry analysis at
AutoPacific Inc, an industry consultant, said the Evoq has not
yet been approved as a product program. By showing it as a true
concept, he said GM was returning to its old, often successful,
methods of gauging public reaction to a new product.
"It really is to test the market, to get some sort of
response," he said.
Cadillac, once famous for its fins and classy design, does
not now offer a roadster. Its products range from the large
DeVille traditional luxury car to the Catera, a much smaller
entry-level luxury four-door. Cadillac also plans to introduce a
hybrid car-truck sport utility vehicle after 2000.
Cadillac sales had been dropping for years, but in 1997
they rose 7.5 percent 182,624. Through July of this year,
Cadillac sales were 101,429, a decline of 1.1 percent,
reflecting two labor strikes against GM. |
