Cadillac introduced a refreshed and more advanced 2025 CT5 at the Detroit Auto Show, calling it "a bolder vision of the luxury sport sedan," according to Cadillac PR minions. The 2025 CT5 features a revised front fascia, and offers more standard comfort, safety and technology features, while also incorporating the brand’s 33-inch-diagonal LED color touchscreen display. The 2025 CT5 is distinguished by a new, bolder front-end design, which complements its dramatic fastback profile. The updates include a lower and wider front grille with redesigned Cadillac signature vertical lighting and stacked LED headlamps. Additionally, the CT5 Sport trim features a performance black mesh grille and black surrounds. The 2025 Cadillac CT5 will be produced at GM’s Lansing Grand River Assembly facility in Michigan, with production to begin in spring 2024. Additional details and pricing will be announced in the future.

The Goddess has returned on CELESTIQ, paying homage to Cadillac’s illustrious design history and symbolizing the personalized, handcrafted artistry built into each and every bespoke vehicle. “Reimagining the Goddess was a beautiful experience because it required me to study the past and understand the evolution of what Cadillac is today,” said Cadillac Creative Sculptor Richard Wiquist, who came to the GM Design studios with a background in figurative art. “This rendition introduces a new, soaring form that reflects the brand’s heritage while also driving it into the future.” The Goddess was introduced in 1930, at the height of popularity for automotive mascots. In an era that lasted more than 25 years, several iterations were created, as the impressionistic form evolved with the brand’s design language and shifting cultural aspirations. Early examples reflected more classical influences, while later versions such as those of the 1950s took on a more abstract aesthetic that reflected popular Jet Age design trends. “The Goddess always represented the aesthetical zeitgeist,” said Wiquist, who found his inspiration in the 1933 Goddess that distinguished Cadillac’s legendary V-16 models of the era. “The 1933 figure had a great sense of motion conveyed through drapery that appeared to flow from the figure." In addition to the production Goddess figures that served as inspiration, the GM Design Center’s library provided additional perspective for Wiquist, with art history references of drapery incorporated in sculpture over hundreds of years. “Every detail in a sculpture holds meaning or is intended to evoke an emotional response,” said Wiquist. “For the new Goddess, it had to have context and imbue the personal connection the figure represents between Cadillac and its clients through vehicles such as CELESTIQ.” With no constraints on his design, Wiquist spent months handcrafting the new form in clay, refining the delicate impressionistic style until its gesture captured the essence of motion with a soaring stance — and a lithe, ethereal quality conveyed with meticulous sculpting craftsmanship. There wasn’t a mandate on how the new Goddess would be incorporated on CELESTIQ. The goal was simply to reinterpret the form for a new age, while other Cadillac artists would incorporate the imagery into the all-new CELESTIQ. The Goddess found its way on a pre-production prototype parked in the hallway of the Cadillac design studio. They included front-fender plaques on the exterior and, on the interior, the multi-function controller on the center console. Watch the video here.

(Jeep)

Editor's Note: On the heels of last week's global ad push for the Jeep Wrangler, Stellantis has launched a new commercial for the Grand Cherokee. "Dents" follows the story of a family through the years, as its older model Grand Cherokee gets various scrapes and blemishes, which only serve to make the dad reminisce about all of the family's experiences. "There are no dents or scratches. Only memories." No question, "Dents" is the kind of emotional storytelling that has become marketing chief Olivier Francois' trademark. But Jeep parent Stellantis is also confronting Jeep dealership inventory that is growing by the day, and Jeep is desperate to avoid a fifth consecutive year of declining sales in the U.S. Jeep sales fell 12 percent in the first half of 2023, which is the largest decrease among the top 33 brands and comes at a time when the industry overall gained 13 percent. -WG  Editor-in-Chief's Note: There's a lot of hand-wringing currently going on out in Auburn Hills about declining Jeep sales over the last four years. They're blaming various things - including our favorite, sunspots! - but the fact of the matter is Stellantis got greedy and jacked-up Jeep pricing to the point that it is turning off consumers in droves. Plus, consumers finally have a legitimate alternative in the Ford Bronco. Stellantis needs a serious reality check with the Jeep. If they want to arrest the sales slide, they need to cut Jeep prices by at least 15 percent, and Right Now. Will they do it? Oh, of course not. Greed is insidious in this business, and Stellantis operatives are consumed by it. -PMD





The AE Song of the Week:

Something different this week as we present Heart performing "Stairway to Heaven" live at the Kennedy Center Honors in tribute to Led Zeppelin, with the band members - Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones - looking on, and Jason Bonham - original drummer John Bonham's son - on drums. It is simply fantastic. Watch it here.

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