Alpha on hold, Cadillac to get Epsilon sedan instead.

[Andy]

http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2009/112_0904_cadillac_epsilon_sedan_will_slot_below_ct s/index.htmlhttp://image.motortrend.com/f/features/auto_news/2009/15905096+pheader/112_0904_01l+cadillac_BLS+front.jpgGeneral Motors CEO and President Fritz Henderson admitted in his reorganization press conference Monday morning that his company doesn't have the money to make Cadillac a competitive luxury brand in Europe. The 4.5L turbodiesel V-8, the 2.9L VM Motori turbodiesel V-6 and the Alpha 3 Series-fighter platform all are on hold, and are unlikely to be revived while GM tries to avoid bankruptcy. The Standard of the World will have to get by with the North American markets and parts of Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, for now.Cadillac needs sedans beyond the CTS, though, and Motor Trend has learned that GM will supply it with an Epsilon front-drive and AWD sedan, codenamed GM 166, slotting between the 2010 Buick LaCrosse and the rear-drive CTS.Since the DT7 -- the planned RWD combo of the STS and DTS -- also is on-hold and likely to be killed, the implications are that the next-generation CTS would grow in size and fill both CTS and DT7 slots. GM 166 will be the largest car on the Epsilon II platform, which includes the LaCrosse and Opel Insignia. Gen I Epsilons include everything from the Chevy Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura to the Saab 9-3 and Cadillac BLS. (NOTE: The European-market BLS is pictured at top)The Caddy 166 is being scheduled for calendar year '11 as a 2012 model, and will continue evolution of the brand's design language, jumpstarted with the 2008 CTS. Early designs have been described as "spectacular," with particular attention to interior detail and exterior jewelry.

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