DETROIT – The final North American International Auto Show to take place in January kicked off with Saturday's The Gallery event and Sunday's early look from Cadillac at the company's plans at the Garden Theater.
It's a longstanding auto show tradition to have a splashy presentation and reception for the thousands of tourists and media members who came to Detroit.
This year, it was Cadillac's turn, as it returns to Motown from New York and is expected to take a new leadership position.
Cadillac's new XT6 comes with sport and luxury versions -- a vehicle that fits between its top selling XT5 and the Escalade.
Cadillac President Steve Carlisle knows it's an ultracompetitive market.
"The idea of having a mid-size, three-row, well-styled, efficiently packaged luxury crossover is what brought us here," Carlisle said.
AutoTrader analyst Michelle Krebs told Local 4 the XT6 fills a hole that Cadillac needed to fill.
"The XT6 is exactly what Cadillac needs," Krebs said. "It's always had a big blank spot there."
Navigant auto analyst Sam Abuelsamid feels Cadillac is behind on a lot of trends in the industry because of its foray to New York, and he believes the XT6 is underwhelming.
"Cadillac isn't offering any electrification on this for the foreseeable future," Abuelsamid said. "No hybrid, no plug-in hybrid."
The lack of electric options stands out after GM showed an unnamed electric SUV that, the company said, will begin Cadillac's intended leadership with electric vehicles. Cadillac said its new all-electric vehicles will arrive after 2021.
The full Cadillac reveal can be watched in its entirety here.
Find the latest Detroit auto show news and reveal coverage here.
Here's the full 2019 Detroit auto show reveal schedule for Jan. 14 (click links to view specific streams):
- NACTOY, Atrium Stage 8:05 am – 8:30 am
- Ford 8:40 am – 9:05 am
- RAM 9:10 am – 9:35 am
- Toyota 9:40 am – 10:05 am
- Volkswagen 10:10 am – 10:35 am
- Nissan 10:40 am – 11:05 am
- Kia 11:10 am – 11:35 am
- Infiniti 11:40 am – 12:05 pm
- Hyundai 12:10 pm – 12:35 pm
- Subaru Tecnica International 12:40 pm – 1:05 pm
- Lexus 1:10 pm – 1:35 pm
- GAC 1:40 pm – 2:05 pm
- Michelin 2:10 pm – 2:35 pm
- Magna International, Atrium Stage 2:45 pm – 3:10 pm
- Roadshow by CNET Shift Awards, Atrium Stage 3:20 pm – 3:45 pm
- Roadshow by CNET Keynote Speaker, Atrium Stage 3:45 pm – 4:35 pm
- NAIAS 2020, Atrium Stage 4:45 pm – 4:55 pm
- Automotive Hall of Fame, Atrium Stage 4:55 pm – 5:05 pm