I’m going to single out Cadillac in today’s Morning Dump because I like the brand and, generally, think it does a good job. The GM luxury unit makes Blackwings, and any organization that creates Blackwings can be forgiven many sins. What was Cadillac’s sin? Optimism.
A lot of my own framing over the EV head fake has been that companies saw a mix of government regulations and Tesla-like profit margins and mistakenly thought it couldn’t be that hard to go full EV. Another way to look at it is that maybe some people at these car companies believed it would be a healthier and better world if everyone just drove EVs, and thought society could move in lockstep to transition.
I’ll take the softer view of Cadillac, which is now contending with the fact that it canceled a bunch of ICE platforms and now has Escalade-sized holes in its lineup. The same is happening at Volvo, and Volvo’s solution is a light refresh of an old car. The initial China Shock benefited Germany; the second one might doom it. Germany’s problem? Hubris.
Was it overconfidence that led the Sec. of Transportation to take a swipe at Ford? Maybe. The company was surprised and the White House seems to be walking it back as fast the critiques as fast as it can.
Cadillac Is Backtracking On its All-EV Strategy And It’s Going To Suck For A Bit
GM, in general, has been the traditional American OEM that’s gone hardest into EVs and probably has the most to show for it. At the same time, the company believed its own hype about electrification, and in doing so canceled a bunch of vehicles due to the faulty assumption that it wouldn’t need both a gas and an electric vehicle in the most popular categories.
This is how the brand finds itself with no non-EV subcompact luxury crossover after canceling the XT4, no non-EV three-row luxury SUV after getting rid of the XT6, and no entry-level luxury sedan of any kind after it stops making the CT4. Instead, there’s the EV Lyriq, Optiq, and Vistiq to try and plug those holes. Cadillac, at least, was able to find a way to keep making the XT5 and CT5, so there’s that, but that’s not enough.
As Automotive News points out in this article on the company’s lineup, it’s not happy fun times if you’re a Cadillac dealer or a customer who doesn’t want an EV:
Dealers are in an “awkward interim period without the right vehicle for a significant portion of luxury buyers,” said Paul Waatti, director of industry analysis at AutoPacific.
“Those aren’t insignificant holes, either,” he said. “Compact, midsize and three-row crossovers are at the heart of the luxury market.”
The compact XT4 and three-row XT6 used to generate a combined 40,000 sales annually in the U.S. But until dealers get direct replacements, and with the EV market a fraction of what GM had expected by now, customers shopping those types of vehicles are likely to look at other brands, Waatti said.
You can just hear the folks at Genesis rubbing their hands together as they try to snake Cadillac customers.
Sales have been down this year and, with the drop in EV sales in Q3, those numbers are probably going to get worse. I like the new Cadillac EVs I’ve driven, so it’s not like there aren’t customers for those vehicles, but it sure would be nice to have a hybrid.
Volvo Will Keep Making The XC40 As It Waits For The EX50
Volvo finds itself in the same position as Cadillac, having gotten over its skis in pursuit of an EV-only lineup back when that seemed like the cool thing to do. The Swedish brand has dropped a bunch of great vehicles, including sedans and wagons, and either didn’t replace them or gave us EVs instead.
The XC40 was a vehicle probably on the way out, though the market had other ideas. The EX40 (formerly the XC40 Recharge) EV will be discontinued in the United States, whereas the XC40 will live on with the light refresh you can see in the photo above. If you’re thinking this sounds a lot like what Volvo did with the XC60, you’re correct.
Technically, the XC40 is a mild hybrid, but what’s important to consumers and dealers is that it’s something that costs under $45,000 that can be sold to people who used to own S60s and other vehicles, and don’t want to stretch their budgets to buy an XC60 or XC90.
There Was ‘A Great Deal Of Arrogance’ In Germany
It’s basically conventional wisdom at this point that Germany was a double winner in the initial China Shock, as it was able to sell the machines and processes to China that the country’s manufacturers used to flood America with cheap products and then sell cars to China’s growing middle class.
Economist Brad Setser is calling what’s currently happening to German industry, and especially the car industry, China Shock 2.0. He did an interview with Manager Magazin that has a lot of juicy quotes, including this:
SPIEGEL: Beijing issued its “Made in China 2025” strategy more than ten years ago. How is it that the West – especially Germany – failed to recognize what was coming?
Setser: There was a great deal of arrogance, especially in German industry. Market leaders often tend to be like that. We may be seeing something similar in the US right now, which, due to its strong position in semiconductors and AI technology, is prone to a certain complacency. Added to this was the now largely vanished notion that China’s approach was too heavily state-controlled. It was thought that it couldn’t succeed outside of a distorted Chinese domestic market.
Fun times.
What Was Duffy Thinking?
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy went on a tirade against Ford yesterday for its ties to China, which is a thing basically every automaker has at this point. Why did Duffy do it? According to reporting from the Detroit Free Press, no one but Duffy seems to know:
“We were very surprised and this is not in keeping with the very positive rapport we have with the White House and the rest of the administration around the White House,” Steve Croley, Ford’s chief policy officer and general counsel told the Detroit Free Press on Sept. 9.
Ford has reason to be confused considering the mixed messages Ford is receiving from the Trump administration.
Before Tuesday, the administration had sung Ford’s praises. In fact, in December 2025, Farley stood next to Duffy in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump proposed drastically scaling back mile-per-gallon standards for new cars and light-duty trucks put in place by former President Joe Biden and rewriting how those standards are developed.
Curiously, the official press office X/Twitter account just posted that “Ford is a GREAT American company” that’s done a “tremendous job.”
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
My daughter is learning to play “Beat It” by Michael Jackson on the bass, which means I’ve heard that iconic riff roughly 9,000 times. You can hear it, too.
The Big Question
What car canceled in the last ten years or so would you most like back? I know what I want.
Top photo: Cadillac
Blaming the auto companies for Trump seems a little excessive.
The guy has some sort of thing against electricity, unless it’s generated by coal.
Part of the problem for traditional automakers is that they have huge sunk costs that they would have to abandon in a switch to EVs on the other hand none of them want to become the next Kodak.
The other problem in the USA is that nobody other than Tesla wanted to put anything into the infrastructure of charging. The auto industry is so used to government subsidies for roads and somebody else keeping petroleum distribution cheap that they don’t want to spend on anything that benefits their competitors.
Also, why does an automaker need to cover every market segment?
Car discontinued in the last ten years?
I can’t think of anything more recent than the Volvo C30 that was sold here. I’m sure there are all sorts of 10 years out of production French cars and Japanese cars that I would consider.
Just too many cars we have lost over a decade. I can’t just name one, honestly.
Kia Stinger
VW Golf
Focus and Fiesta ST
Fusion Hybrid
Honda Fit
Chevy SS
Mazda 6
I want to go back to affordable cars for the masses with some performance options, not overpriced computers on wheels.
I cannot emphasize how much I fucking despise the electric bullshit that has been crammed down our throat since Shitler first got elected, and the loss of any affordable transportation for the working class while the greedy hobgoblins chase their precious ‘profit margins’ ad infinitum.
We’re now hitting the point where they are running out of schlubs that can overextend themselves for a 50-70k pickup truck or a 35-50k sedan as a reasonable means of transportation, and they’re starting to panic as sales skid because they have NOTHING to sell to people who make less than $60k a year, which is… oh, HALF THE FUCKING COUNTRY.
They did this to themselves because they only listen to what some shit ass rich c*nts who know NOTHING about vehicles tell them to do so they can have infinitely increasing wealth. And now China is threatening to bridge that gap and they’re trying to get Shitler to play the ‘Murica Only!’ cars game which is going to result in the Big Three only hawking their wares on our shores if they keep this malarky up much longer.
Sidebar: BRING BACK FUCKING NON PERFORMANCE WAGONS!!!
Cool, I’m glad that we’re getting *some* wagons again *looking at the RS6 Avant and new M5 Estate) but not at a price point that working people can afford until they are 10 years old and severely thrashed.
Give us the fucking Seat Cupra hatch/wagon as the new Jetta, VW. Kill off the mediocre current Jetta Sedan, retool the damn factory and give us the Cupra. You’d literally have the under 35k performance market ALL TO YOURSELF and would print money with it. My 2012 JSW 5 speed is going to wear out at some point…
Kia has a wagon version of the K4. It literally is just 5″ longer than the sharp looking K4 hatch, which has majorly wagon vibes to it. Stick the N powertrain in it, price it in the mid 30’s, and watch every young driving enthusiast with a family or dogs go rabid.
Ford has the Focus Active in other markets, including South America, which is a decent size wagon with only modest crossover cladding on it. Bring it here.
I’ve heard multiple younger Gen Z’s bitching that there’s no ‘cool’ affordable cars anymore and they actively hate crossovers because they are ‘mom cars’ (so we’re reaching the full circle of the Boomers killing off wagons to jump to SUVs/minivans because wagons were ‘Mom cars’ in the 70’s and 80’s, so hopefully now that they are aging into car ownership and the ability to attend focus groups, and the Boomer bastards are FINALLY starting to die off… they can start pushing to get the manufacturers to actually offer reasonable priced cars again.
Oh, and if we’re killing regulations left and right, can we petition some of our car enthusiast House and Senate members to kill the CAFE Footprint rule AND the 25 Year Import Ban and replace it with something more like Australia’s import laws so those of us who want what they won’t sell in this shitty market, can go to Europe or South America/Mexico and, ya know, MAKE A FREE MARKET CHOICE TO BUY WHAT WE WANT AND BE ABLE TO REGISTER/INSURE IT HERE?
Getting rid of those two anachronistic dinosaur legislation would literally transform the US car market overnight.
I feel like a lot of this could have been avoided if any car company asked one single person outside of the industry if going all in on EV so quickly was a good idea.
I know I’m late on this and that someone got comment of the day already for their take, but Prince > Michael Jackson and it’s not close. I will die on this hill.
Sure, there are some vehicles canceled in the last 10 years that it would be nice to come back. But 20 years was the real loss, the 2008-2009 took so many good cars away.
so true. 2008-2010 took entire brands away. Something tells me the turn of this decade has taken away as many if not more vehicles, but it’s also been over a longer period. I mean almost all non-luxury sedans were gone in all segments, that alone made for a huge loss. And now automakers are also getting rid of some CUVs that were allegedly intended to replace the sedans that were gone 4-5 years earlier. Edge, Escape, Corsair, Hornet, Soul, Ecosport, XT4, XT6, Venza, Rogue Sport and Renegade come to mind. But I’m sure there are more
TBQ: The Supra. It hasn’t been gone for long but we will miss it. And the BMW powertrain made that car infinitely more desirable than it otherwise would have been, especially after they finally caved and released a manual.
By corollary, the Z4 is a bit of a hidden gem and will also be missed.
Cadillac is in a weird place, they keep trying to reinvent themselves with varying levels of success.
I actually think electrifying most of the lineup was (and probably still is) the right move for them. Apart from high performance models like the Blackwing, gasoline Cadillacs were always pretty mid.
The good ones weren’t good because of the powertrain, and there’s no loss whatsoever in electrifying them. Nobody bought an XT6 for the performance.
If anything, electrification fits the ethos of vintage Cadillac luxury way more than parts bin GM powertrains.
I agree. Just looking at the XT4 photo reminds me of a warmed over Trax or something. Not luxury. Creating a unique identity seems to be working, although that also coincides with electrification. I think the big picture for automakers, is that they dropped lower margin vehicles which means entry level models (see Ford). It may have been to divert funds to develop electrification, but in the end, they half baked a bunch product.
Fully agree. Electrification makes perfect sense for luxury cars; good ride, silent propulsion, the target demographic is very likely to have a place to charge the car and can afford the additional cost of the powertrain. Keeping their high performance sports sedan as their ICE option was the completely rational thing to do, as well.
I’d further argue that Cadillac having a ‘hole in their lineup’ due to the death of the XT4 is a Good Thing – they were just an expensive Equinox, nothing about the driving experience felt luxurious or special in any way. This is a chance for Cadillac to move upmarket and improve their brand cachet, which is the real value the brand brings to GM – if they are depending on Cadillac to drive sales volume, they’re doing something very wrong. Cadillac should focus on selling one more Celestiq rather than 10 more XT4’s. Those customers should be told to walk across the parking lot and buy a Buick Envision.
Would probably get roasted most places, but maybe a few fine members (or writers) here would agree… The Ford Flex. Shame they killed it off in 2019 because i would have bought a 3rd or perhaps a 4th by now. Was the perfect not minivan, and it didnt blend in with all the other SUVs. Plus the twin turbo hauled ass.
It was honestly not a bad wagon.
Agree, but for some reason it seemed the verdict was it looked too wagon-y. What I don’t understand is how folks generally disliked it for that reason yet the latest generation of the hot-selling Telluride is so much uglier yet just as wagon-y. I know H/K nailed the interior, but that exterior will not age well. It’s glaringly worse on the lower trims with smaller wheels.
they should’ve brought a 2nd gen with less polarizing looks, an updated engine with external water pump and the same utility it was known for. They let it linger for way too long
I don’t really miss any cancelled cars except the regular Golf. It’s hard to believe a person can’t get a regular Golf or Golf Estate (sportwagen) in the USA. I mean, VW was throwing Arteons and CCs at us and they cancel the Golf? That company is inexplicable.
I live in San Diego, and MK6 and MK7 Golf Sportwagens are still pretty much everywhere. I do see plenty of newer Tiguans, but I don’t see many Taoses. It sure seems like VW left a big hole in the market for urban dwellers who don’t want a 3-row SUV.
Co-signed. In upstate New York they’re practically just as common as Camrys. VW didn’t seem to realize they were a last refuge for anyone who didn’t want a crossover.
Volkswagen of America has ALWAYS treated the US Market like a red-headed stepchild since about just before the Great Recession. Their decision to not offer the B6 Passat wagon with the TDI engine in ONLY the North American market was the beginning of their slide into irrelevancy.
American VW’s are chintzy and cheap because VW knows American consumers are idiots and won’t put up a fuss like consumers in other markets. We have been denied so many powertrains and models that could have made VW massively successful here (the Amarok and the Caddy/Transporter were particularly large misses) and they give us their most unreliable engines and worst interiors. I feel like they actively despise even being in this market, and if the economics weren’t so significant to the group as a whole, would leave it entirely.
VW’s board of directors bought into the EV bullshit lock stock and barrel, and now they find themselves over the barrel. Whoops.
I’ve read several articles that VW is backtracking and wants to bring the Golf back to the US market in ICE/hybrid form for 2028… better slap that wagon body from the Euro ID3 on it, VW…
Nope on the dead cars. All of mine predate the cutoff decade, but I’m going to chime in anyway. 98 Olds Intrigue. Nice car, solid decent economy and performance. No major issues until the frame rotted through. Merkur Scorpio circa 1998 great car. Would like it, but it might be a problem maintaining it these days. 71 Triumph TR6 fabulously fun sports car. Modded all to hell but you can get parts for it.
Last ten years? Can’ really think of anything. I’d have to go much farther back, to E36 BMWs and the Mercury Capri. Our ’97 Maxima with the manual transmission also qualifies.
Screw 10 years and a single car – I’d love to see Pontiac and Saturn make a comeback.
Oldsmobile unfortunately is too thin a niche between Buick and Cadillac, but a Hurst 442 would be nice, too.
The Ford ST twins. Focus and Fiesta ST. I had money ready for the 2019 Focus ST that EU got but we didn’t. I feel like we’re missing affordable hot hatches even more in this market.
As a guy who daily drives an Avalon, I want to say Avalon.
As a guy who wants to replace his Avalon with an Ioniq 6, I wanna say Ioniq 6.
Wait, was the SC300 cancelled within the last 6 years?
Other than Honda Fit the Toyota Avalon was the other car that popped into my head. What a great car.
Really, the only dead car I’ve personally owned that I’d like back is the Ford Fusion Sport. It didn’t have a manual, but it was an AWD rocket (that yielded predictably awful MPGs the way I drove it) that absolutely refused to get stuck in any amount of snow.
I initially thought to mention my old Audi Coupe Quattro, but it would obviously be just as insanely expensive now as it was in 1991, so fuck that.
tbq: <insert another ${FOO}-with-a-manual-gearbox response here>
Specifically? The manual-transmission version of the non-M BMW 2-series. I had a 2016 228i, and that was an excellent little two-person tourer. It’s small enough to fit anywhere but big enough for a road trip’s worth of luggage, it handles well but isn’t sprung like a Nürburgring track rat, and the N20 coulda used a bit more sound damping around the injectors but it was good for 30+ MPG and had close to enough power [0] for regular use cases. The inside was comfortable and soaked up highway miles.
I miss that car.
I’d consider the 6-cylinder version if it ever came back, but I have no interest in the M2 even though it’s available with the manual.
[0] All cars need 50 more horsepower. Some of them need it more than others. This one didn’t need it as much.
I have a 2020 M240i 6MT, and it pretty much checks every box that you mentioned. Quick, very fun to drive (despite the numb steering), roomy enough for two plus luggage, handles well but the wife doesn’t hate the ride, very comfy. I did a 14 hour trip from Tucson to Sacramento, thinking I’d stop for the night somewhere and just never felt like I had to. The mpg part would be much better in the 228, though. An M2 would be fun but from everything I’ve read, the ride is much more track-focused and my wife probably wouldn’t last more than a mile before demanding that I take her back home.