Recent patent filings show that Cadillac plans on sticking with their current naming scheme. The current nomenclature was introduced by since-departed CEO Johan de Nysschen.

de Nysschen was the same brain-genius behind Infiniti’s Q and QX nameplates, a methodology he brought to Manhatten’s (nee Michigan) premier auto manufacturer, in the guise of the CT and XT signifiers, representing sedans and crossovers respectively (run on sentence, what.)

The US Patent and Trademark Office has filed patents on the names CT2, CT3, CT4, CT5, CT7, CT8, XT2, XT3, XT6, and XT7. The CT5 has already been known to be the CTS replacement come 2020, but the other filings suggest what else Caddy may have in development.

It’s clear that a micro car, or CT1, isn’t being considered, least of all because it would be incredibly off-brand, but the CT2 suggests that there may be plans for a small car, perhaps something along the lines of an MX-5 or Z4.

There’s also a possibility that Cadillac is looking to emulate their Bavarian peers at BMW, using the numbers to Denote the number of doors; using the 3 to denote a (four-door) sedan and a 4 to denote a two-door coupe, as is an eminently sensical way to name your vehicles.

There were questions that with the departure of de Nysschen that perhaps the Wreath & Crest would look to their past and revert back to actual names, like the DeVille, El Dorado, and Snoop DeVille,  but it seems that, in this fast-paced world, sticking with a brief alpha-numeric scheme is far more appropriate.