We all have regrets, some bigger than others. In retrospect, there are things we would have done differently, choices that might have put us on a better path. But since none of us are clairvoyant, we have to live with the decisions we made. General Motors also has its regrets, especially when it comes to discontinuing certain models that it now wishes had remained in the lineup.
In a candid interview with our colleagues from Indoor EVsGM President Mark Reuss admitted that the Cadillac CT6 should never have been discontinued. However, it was one of the ‘tough decisions’ the company had to make at the time. As a reminder, the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant was converted into Factory Zero to produce electric trucks and SUVs. That shift hasn’t gone exactly as GM planned, as approximately 280 employees are currently laid off through the end of the year due to weak demand for the GMC Hummer EV and Cadillac Escalade IQ.
The CT6 was retired in North America in 2020, but still lives on in China, where a second generation was launched in 2023. Despite dropping the CT6 in the US, Cadillac still has a flagship model in the all-electric Celestiq, although it’s a much more extravagant offering, starting at over $300,000. That doesn’t mean the brand is giving up on more accessible sedans. While the CT4 is being phased out, a next-generation CT5 with an internal combustion engine is officially in development.
In addition to the CT6, Reuss also shared that he wished Chevrolet had not ended production of the original Bolt. The nameplate will return for 2027, but not as a direct successor to the hatchback. Instead, it will replace the crossover-style Bolt EUV, which offers faster charging and slightly longer range, all for $29,990, making it America’s most affordable EV.
Looking back further, Reuss added that he believes the EV1 should never have been canceled, although he made it clear that he was not working at GM at the time:
‘I wasn’t there at EV1. I wasn’t in the company. That would have been an example of something the company shouldn’t have done, namely canceling it. That was really quite a car.’
It is rare for a senior executive to so openly acknowledge that some past decisions could have led to better results if they had been handled differently. Reuss acknowledged that electric vehicle adoption has not progressed as quickly as GM once predicted, but noted that “it’s still happening.” Still, the decision to greenlight a new gas-powered CT5 effectively signals Cadillac is reversing its previous goal of being all-electric by the end of the decade.
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