General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac division has been bested year after year in sales, compared to its larger Germany rivals, with its new models receiving modest regard from most auto experts. Cadillac management wants to reverse that with an updated line of ultra-performance cars. Most will come out this year and next. If their sales do not take hold, Cadillac’s best chance for a turnaround will be battered.

Cadillac’s most recent effort is its ATS-V, which will be available in a 2016 model. The public relations around its release get ratcheted up because of its introduction at the L.A. Auto Show. The model follows the CTS-V super-car, which received rave reviews three years ago but was too powerful for most drivers to handle, and that throttled sales. In an attempt to boost sales, Cadillac released a more cautiously designed car, the CTS Vsport. It is not really a high-performance car at all. It is, however, a slightly more powerful version of standard Cadillac models, which likely leaves potential buyers confused.

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The ATS-V may suffer the same fate as its CTS-V stable mate — too fast and too hard to drive. However, ultra-performance cars are often released at car shows to burnish a brand. With sales off 4.4% in the first 10 months to 141,452, Cadillac needs the burnishing.

One challenge Cadillac may never be able to overcome is that BMW, Audi and Mercedes are adroit at releasing super-cars of their own at car shows. Based on information from the L.A. Auto Show, Mercedes, BMW and Audi will all offer new models or concept cars this year.

The Germans have more forms of leverage when they release new models. First among these are their total sales, followed by the growth of those. Mercedes sales were up 7.5% in the first 10 months of the year to 281,728. BMW’s were up 11.3% to 267,193 for the same period. Audi’s were higher by 14.7% to 146,133.

Cadillac has a hot new car to release at L.A. Trouble is, it does not have enough new cars to introduce, compared to its rivals, and its competition continue to outpace it by miles in terms of sales.

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