Johan Topic Hub

2016 Cadillac ATS and CTS Score Much-Needed BLACK PACKS!

So, so thrilled to see this easy and effective design change for the Cadillac CTS and ATS. We have griped tirelessly about their tacky chrome, ugly wheels and “boring, old-man style.” And it looks like Cadillac was listening! (See CT6 Black Pack and ATS Coupe Black Pack renders…) The new Black Chrome Packages for the ATS and CTS are fairly comprehensive, too. Wheels, trims, grille finishes, window surrounds…. all take a bath in this stylish new dark pewter finish. The third reason we love the Black Pack announcement? ACTUAL PHOTOS! Shock! Cadillac has succumbed to major GM think in …

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Mar 15, 2016 Read more

OP_ED Part 2 – Cadillac #DAREGREATLY Campaign Previews 2016 CT6 Limo + de Nysschen Progress Report

It is so irritating when writers quote themselves. Drives me nuts. But this one is very, very relevant. On July 3rd, 2014 – we jotted out the below Editor’s Opinion article attempting to diagnose what was making Cadillac feel so ill. We scathed… This really is not an old-man brand anymore. But sadly, it is definitely run by losers. Not losers in life, mind you. They must be smart and successful – but they are definitely, definitely not cool people. They live in Michigan and are sheltered C- and D-county (aka, rural) people who have never even stood on …

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Feb 25, 2015 Read more

2016 Cadillac CT6 A No-Show in Detroit, but CTS-V Heals All Wounds

How excited were we to see the new Cadillac CT6 flagship at the Detroit auto show press conference? *Very* We have been refreshing the Cadillac media website throughout the CTS-V introduction, hoping the new flagship photos would be live momentarily. After all, Cadillac announced months ago that the CT6 would make a Detroit reveal. But all that might have been before new Caddy President Johan de Nysschen (far right in below photo) took the reins of the brand. Our hunch is that he had some last-minute tweaks to the CT6 that are still being implemented. We hope one of them …

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Jan 13, 2015 Read more

Concept Flashback – 2002 Cadillac Cien XV12 – Halo Hypercar Back in Product Plans?

Cadillac in 2002 was just, just starting to reclaim its place in the luxury car ranks. Long blighted by horribly-engineered boats that failed every objective and subjective comparison with any true luxury brand, Cadillac was finally committing to rear-drive and actual merits as a corporate philoshophy. The new Art & Science tagline for the brand’s style — coined by Leo Burnett Chicago — needed an exemplar. People were thrilled by the Catera-replacing CTS but the brand needed a real shove upmarket. And fast. Enter stage left: the 2002 Cadillac Ciel concept running a mid-engine XV12 Northstar of 7.5-liters. It was …

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Dec 06, 2014 Read more

Update1 – Exec Shuffle Analysis – Infiniti QQX Rebadge Architech Johan de Nysschen Joins Cadillac

Updated with Infiniti USA sales figures below. Uh oh! All signs indicate that Carlos Ghosn is furious today. Another key executive is gone just 10 months after the wacky Carlos Tavares was booted from Renault. Former Audi and Infiniti executive Johan De Nysschen has just been announced as the new Cadillac global leader. This is an unusually sudden departure from Renault-Nissan – and an odd hire for Cadillac as well. It is not yet clear if De Nysschen was terminated or recruited away from Infiniti, but his efforts there have been a nightmare overall. Cadillac’s global ambitions are well-known, and …

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Jul 11, 2014 Read more

Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Gunning for BMW M5 — High-Res Glory + Geneva Video Teases GT-R-like Engine Howl

The prospect of the Eau Rouge Infiniti Q50 just became much, much more tantalizing. @TheRealAutoblog has discovered a brilliant tidbit of information: this car sounds turbocharged. This is news because no Q50 sedans are currently turbocharged. In fact, I do not think Infiniti has ever implemented turbo engines (so far). Aside from the Q45 and its well-known 278-horsepower V8, the first 1990-92 M30’s were V6-powered, as was 1993-1998 J30… and so on. The Q50 Eau Rouge does not just sound turbocharged. It sounds GT-R turbocharged. The GT-R has a particularly gruff but high-strung appeal to its engine and exhaust harmonies. …

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Feb 21, 2014 Read more