GM Starts Aluminum Repair Network for Caddy CT6

General Motors Co. is launching a new repair service and training program for the aluminum-bodied Cadillac CT6 sedan it will introduce in the first quarter of 2016.

Dealers and independent body shops who join the Cadillac Aluminum Repair Network will receive online training from GM and I-CAR (a non-profit repair association) on how to fix the CT6 after a collision. GM hopes 100 to 200 facilities sign up for the program within the next few months.

It will cost members $4,500 a year to belong to the network and as much as $50,000 to buy special equipment needed to make aluminum repairs. In addition, the aluminum repair area has to be sealed off from processes used to repair steel-bodied vehicles. Members will be audited annually to ensure they are in compliance with the program.

GM will offer free online tutorials for CT6 repair procedures to any facility. But independent body shops that are not members of the aluminum repair network will not be able to buy structural repair parts from GM for the car.

The CT6’s outer body panels are aluminum over a unitized structure made from a combination of ultra-high-strength steel, cast aluminum parts and extrusions. The body panels are attached by a special aluminum welding process, self-piercing rivets, screws and adhesives.

GM says the lightweight construction, which includes aluminum and 10 other materials, saves about 200 lbs.