Cadillac BRX

GM is working on two all-new additions to the Cadillac range: a big, powerful luxury $120,000 sedan and a compact crossover--neither will be built on the Sigma platform that's been reserved for GM's premium division.

The unnamed small crossover--we'll call it BRX--will be key to Cadillac's attack on Europe. Expect a major upgrade in componentry from the Theta-based Chevy Equinox/Pontiac Torrent on which it's based. The CTS's 2.8-liter V-6 should be the BRX's standard engine, with the 3.6-liter V-6 fitted to top-of-the-range versions. There'll be no third-row seating; Cadillac doesn't think it's needed in this segment.

The so-called Cadillac Ultra Luxury Sedan (ULS) looks like it's being built on a "premiumized" version of the new Zeta platform that'll underpin the 2007 Buick Velite, Pontiac G8, and GTO. The thinking inside GM is that the Sigma platform has already been stretched about as far as it can go for the STS. The newer Zeta can be made bigger and fitted with forged-aluminum suspension components and high-end bearings and bushings to ensure the ULS meets ride, handling, and refinement targets.

It seems likely the ULS will be powered by a new V-10 that's basically an LS7 with two extra cylinders. Sources in Detroit say the engine should be good for about 600 horsepower.

Look for the ULS and BRX to appear as concepts at the 2006 Detroit show and to hit showrooms in 2008.