This year General Motors Co. CEO Ed Whitacre authorized the brand to create a big, rear-wheel-drive flagship. The project still lacks a firm target date, sources say.

Here's what to expect in Cadillac's 2011-13 model years.

ATS: Cadillac probably will launch its compact car in the 2013 or 2014 model year. The line, based on the new rwd Alpha platform, will have a two-door coupe and four-door sedan at launch, and a convertible is possible nine months later.

The ATS will launch with a 3.0-liter V6 and will have an available 3.6-liter V6. All-wheel drive will be an option. A four-cylinder is probable.

CTS: Dealers got the coupe in July. A redesign will be for the 2014 model year at the earliest, when the CTS will move to the rwd Alpha platform from the current Sigma. The next-generation CTS will be shorter.

DTS: This sedan dies after the 2011 model year.

STS: Production ends next year.

XTS: The sedan, larger and more luxurious than the CTS, will debut in the 2012 model year on the front-wheel-drive platform shared with the Buick LaCrosse.

The XTS will launch with a 3.0-liter V6, but GM may choose to debut its twin-turbocharged V6 as an option.

Rear-drive flagship: This sedan, aimed at the Mercedes-Benz S class, Audi A8 and BMW 7 series, probably would have available awd. If built, the car could use some parts from the Sigma platform. The earliest the new flagship would debut would be the 2014 model year, one source says.

SRX: The crossover gets freshened for the 2013 model year, with an updated grille and the 3.6-liter, direct-injection V6 engine currently used by the Chevrolet Camaro.

Large crossover: Cadillac may get a Lambda-based crossover the size of the Chevrolet Traverse or GMC Acadia for the 2013 model year.

Escalade: Cadillac's SUV is due for a redesign in 2013. The next generation will be a 2014 model.

Rick Kranz contributed to this report