Just this week we told you about the watering down of the Corvette into a subbrand. Well, guess what? GM plans to do the same to the Camaro and Escalade, too. Both the Chevrolet and Cadillac brands don’t exactly stir the soul when consumers think of exciting cars. So rather than beat these somewhat dead horses, it instead is looking at its less tainted brands for some redemption. 

What will become of the Camaro brand?

So if we can believe Car and Driver’s source, here’s what is the plan. The Camaro brand will be all-electric, and consist of a 2+2 coupe and convertible, just like it has been forever. But sporty two- and four-door crossovers are also part of the expansion, as is a sports car. This would use some or many components of the C9 Corvette, but won’t carry any of its design cues. 

At this early stage, it is unknown if this Camaro sports car would share the Corvette’s platform or the 2+2’s. We don’t even know if there will be much of a difference since they’ll be electric. As GM was once mired in badge branding to generate more models, it is hoped this slice of GM history has not been forgotten at the silver silos. 

What will become of the Escalade brand?

As for the Escalade, it will be spun off into a medium-sized EV three-row crossover. Also on the table is what C/D describes as a more car-like all-terrain modern-luxury model. One final exploration is a high-end minivan that sounds mostly like a China-directed effort. Luxury minivans are quite popular there.

So that’s what is being explored in the hallowed halls of GM. But it becomes more confusing when you consider that in 2010 it shed quite a number of divisions that had been successful until they weren’t. GM had spread itself thin with similar vehicles under many brands, like Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn, Saab, et al. 

It chose only to keep Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. The argument was that all of the brands were stepping on each other’s toes, diluting their uniqueness. That, and the cost to support the advertising and marketing of all of them cost GM more than it does Toyota or Honda, which only support two brands each. 

Hasn’t GM been here before?

But it looks like it is headed in that same direction. And the elephant in the room under this brand-splintering scenario is Buick. Buick’s sales numbers are falling off a cliff. And Cadillacs haven’t exactly been lustrous. Buick’s is standing at 150,000 a year, from a high in 2010 of around 280,000. And this is with a slew of SUVs, the hot-selling segment. 

Cadillac has seen whipsaw swings in sales over the last 15 years or so. It is currently rebounding from a low of 50,000 vehicles in 2021 to 125,000 so far in 2022. After all of these gyrations, with some years selling only 25,000, it is finding the same amount of buyers as it did in 2005. That may not sound like progress, but Cadillac will take it nonetheless. 

Obviously, GM won’t confirm these rumors. As always, MotorBiscuit will fill in the blanks as more information becomes available.