Cadillac XLR is DOA

General Motors giveth, and General Motors taketh away. Yesterday we rejoiced over news the the Cadillac CTS coupe would make it into production, and today we morn the death of the Cadillac XLR.

"A specialty sports car like this has a limited life cycle," Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell told Inside Line. "It is not unusual for them to have a less permanent life cycle. This will be the final year (for XLR)."

We’ll miss this Caddy, but we’re not surprised. It was a tough road for the XLR. While it stood as a flagship for the brand and had a nifty folding hardtop; it was a low-volume, high-dollar car that first started production at about the same time the whole Cadillac brand was just beginning a renaissance. Sales have never met full expectations, and the current economic conditions make the XLR an obvious martyr. Our only hope is that when the economy is resurrected, so is the Caddy roadster.