Tag: General Motors

New Cadillac XT4 revealed at KCK’s Fairfax plant

It took just over two years for the Cadillac XT4’s Core Launch Team of approximately two dozen veteran subject matter experts (SMEs) from Fairfax to translate the engineering designs into a process to actually build the vehicle at Fairfax, from stamping sheet metal to assembly on the production line. The silks were slipped from the new Cadillac by the Core Launch Team to loud applause from the assembled visitors and employees. (Staff photo)

Tuesday evening several hundred invited guests and GM employees gathered at General Motor’s Fairfax Assembly and Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas, to welcome a new Cadillac to the neighborhood.

The Cadillac XT4, the brand’s first-ever entrant into the premium compact SUV segment, was revealed in a 5 p.m. ceremony and simultaneously in New York City at Cadillac House, ahead of the 2018 International Auto Show.

A live video link connected the two celebrating locations. Plant Manager Bill Kulhanek welcomed guests to the Tuesday evening ceremony and explained that the new Cadillac will ensure job stability for current workers at the plant.

General Motors announced on Feb 19, 2018, that it would invest $265 million into the Fairfax facility. The investment will retain about 500 jobs at the Fairfax facility. The Fairfax plant employs nearly 2,235 people.

Workers have been assembling some of the new Cadillacs at the plant since last November, but the production has been top secret until today’s reveal.

GM and UAW officials said Cadillac chose GM’s Fairfax Assembly Plant because workers have a reputation for quality and safety.

Gov. Jeff Colyer echoed an earlier statement about the selection of Fairfax to build the new car. “GM’s commitment to producing vehicles in Kansas for more than 30 years continues to grow our economy and shows that we’re one of the best states to do business,” he said.

The XT4 gives Cadillac a second crossover in a U.S. market that is shifting away from its traditional sedans in the GM brand’s current lineup. The XT4 is the first of five major vehicle introductions that Cadillac has planned through the end of 2020.

Four area Cadillac dealers were introduced at the reveal. Price for the 2019 XT4 will start at $35,790. Orders are being accepted now for delivery of vehicles in fall 2018.

The XT4 was originally introduced during GM’s sponsorship of the 90th Academy Awards with a teaser 30-second TV spot: https://www.cadillac.com/future-concept-vehicles/xt4-crossover

When asked how the proposed tariffs on imported steel would affect supply and price of its vehicles, GM representatives explained that the company purchases over 90 percent of its steel for U.S. production from U.S. suppliers.

“We need to better understand the details around the announcement today, but the bottom line is we support trade policies that enable U.S. manufacturers to win and grow jobs in the U.S, and at the same time succeed in global markets,” a spokesman said.

Cadillac will reportedly also manufacture the Cadillac XT4 in China in the future to meet the expected increasing market demand for the brand there.

Three of the several dozen members of the XT4’s Core Launch Team enjoyed chatting about the years of hard work that made actual production possible. From left, Edward Peaslee, Liz Berger and Garrett Johnson represent over 100 combined years of working at the Fairfax Assembly Plant. (Staff photo)
Members of the XT4’s core launch team watched the festivities unfold in New York at Cadillac House, the auto maker’s display room in the SoHo District of the city. (Staff photo)
Fairfax plant manager William “Bill” Kulhanek and Daniel Kandlbinder, president of UAW Local 31, examined the XT4’s new efficient engine. Rated at 30 m.p.g. on the highway, the gas engine stops when the car comes to a stop, switches to electric battery power, then resumes combustion when the vehicle moves again. (Staff photo)
The Fairfax reveal of Cadillac’s new XT4 SUV was made simultaneously live from New York by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen. “Our new smaller SUV is designed from the ground up,” de Nysschen explained. “We assembled the youngest design team in GM’s history and told them to build a car they would like to own and drive.” (Staff photo). (Staff photo)
Several hundred Fairfax employees and local dignitaries and Kansas state officials joined media representatives covering the XT4’s reveal. Two of the vehicles waited patiently under shrouds for the official reveal from New York, where the 2018 International Auto Show opens later this week on March 27. (Staff photo)
Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer and his wife Ruth were present for the Cadillac reveal. In brief remarks he praised the auto workers of Kansas as “classy, fast,” and with a “great drive to build the best cars in America.” He jokingly said that he and his wife would be glad to drive one of the new XT4s back to the governor’s mansion. Following the official ceremonies, the governor was inundated by representatives of the media. (Staff photo)
The subject matter experts of the Core Launch Team pose in front of the new Cadillac for which they drove the work flows that actually make production possible. From start to finished vehicle the process can take 24 to 36 hours, with the assembly line able to deliver a finished XT4 at a rate of about one per minute. The XT4 is actually assembled on the same production line as the Chevy Malibu, which is also produced at Fairfax.
Hourly-staffed experts on the Core Launch Team (and their years of service) are Liz Berger (23), Garrett Johnson (44) , Janet Philips (18), Edward Peaslee (25), Darren Walker (34), Jennifer Gilane (21), Tom Reburn (34), Jimmy Hart (8), Eric Sorenson (17) and Michelle Dammen (22). (Staff photo)