General Motors Company (GM), Ford Motor Company (F): Is This the 2016 Cadillac Eldorado?

First, they’re clearly stylistic siblings. The grill shape has evolved, but the Elmiraj’s overall lines and many of the details are very similar to the Ciel’s. That suggests that this is, in fact, the direction the brand is headed in – a direction that might first see production with the upcoming big “flagship” Cadillac sedan, set to arrive in 2015.

That flagship is expected to be built on an all-new rear-wheel-drive platform called “Omega”, a name that nicely bookends the “Alpha” platform that underpins the current Cadillac ATS and upcoming new CTS.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) has dropped some heavy hints that the Elmiraj is built on a prototype version of that new platform, so it’s not impossible that something like it could be built in a few years. In fact, Cadillac global chief Bob Ferguson told  Automotive News that something close to the Elmiraj could be put into production, and that Cadillac dealers really want a car like it.

So will they build something like it?
GM is in the midst of a massive project to turn Cadillac into a top-shelf global luxury-car brand. It’s a crucial project that is being done for hard-headed business reasons: Successful global luxury brands like BMW and Volkswagen AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:VLKAY)‘s  Audi generate massive profits, and Akerson wants GM in on that action. (This is also why Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is in the process of pumping up its Lincoln brand.)

It’s not hard to see why Cadillac dealers would be excited about a car like this. The old Eldorados – big, luxurious two-door Cadillacs – were steady sellers for a long time, and the Elmiraj is a beautifully updated take on that same idea. GM doesn’t really offer a car like that now.

But the Elmiraj – and I don’t think the name’s similarity to the word “Eldorado” is a coincidence – suggests that they might be offering one soon.

The latest Cadillacs have been designed with more than just the U.S. in mind: General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is determined to make Cadillac a player in China’s booming market for luxury cars.

The article Is This the 2016 Cadillac Eldorado? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Rosevear.

Fool contributor John Rosevear owns shares of Ford and General Motors. Follow him on Twitter at @jrosevear. The Motley Fool recommends Ford and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of Ford.

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