- Cadillac will stop showing torque in Newton-meters on its rear badges.
- The 2027 Vistiq will be the first model to drop the numeric badge entirely.
- Its torque figures have been rounded to the nearest 50 Nm in past labeling.
More than five years after Cadillac began affixing numeric badges to its new cars denoting how much torque they produce, in a similar fashion to how German automakers once used numbers to indicate engine displacement, the American carmaker has finally decided to abandon the idea and will remove these silly logos from its vehicles.
Cadillac’s current strategy equips each model with a tailgate badge that loosely reflects its torque output. Take the Cadillac Optiq, for example. It wears a ‘500E4’ badge meant to signal its electric all-wheel-drive system and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque. Except it doesn’t quite deliver that figure.
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You see, in addition to Cadillac representing torque figures in Newton-meters, which aren’t used in the US, it also rounds the figures to the nearest 50 Nm (37 lb-ft). In the case of the Optiq, it actually has 480 Nm (354 lb-ft_ of torque. It’s a naming scheme that’s never really made much sense, so Cadillac has confirmed it’s dropping the nomenclature for 2027.
Speaking to CarBuzz, a Cadillac spokesperson said, “Starting in model year 2027, all Cadillac vehicles will remove Nm badging, beginning with VISTIQ. This change is being made to help streamline the appearance on the rear of our vehicles.”
Badge Decluttering
The first model to drop the badge will be the 2027 Vistiq. For its part, Cadillac told MotorTrend that the change was not driven by confusion around the badges, but is instead “being made to help streamline the appearance on the rear of our vehicles.”
Up until this point, the Vistiq has sported a ‘900’ badge, representing the 881 Nm (650 lb-ft) of torque delivered by its electric powertrain. It will now be switched to a new ‘E4’ badge, referring to the electric all-wheel-drive configuration. Moving forward, turbocharged Cadillac models will include a ‘T’ badge.
Other models set to lose their numeric badges include the CT5, which will drop the 350T and 550T designations, the Escalade, which will shed its 600 badge, and the XT5, which will move on from the 350T and 400T badges. The Optiq, Escalade IQ, Lyriq, and the rest of Cadillac’s lineup will follow suit.
