ok so in your opinion wat is a flagship model. basically if you were running a car company, what would you consider your flagship model

would it be your most expensive, most advanced, most feature packed model. or would it be your fastest car, or your most economic, or would it be a mid model that had the best of all categories, good performance, ok interior, ok size, ok features, but more affordable to a wider range of customers?

The one with the highest MSRP! :p

The flagship model in a car company is the car that should set the standard for the rest of the companies models to follow.

In the true definition of flagship, it would be the fastest, biggest boat with the most guns, & also the most important. So I'd have to say that when related to a fleet of cars it would be the high end luxury car. However, it needs to be popular, not a car that does very low, low volume.

I remember certain companies referring to their most popular vehicle as their flagship.

well, to answer my own question and offer my input:

id consider the flagship to be a showmans vehicle. somethin that the company could refer to when sayin "look what i (we) can do". the flagship would have the most advanced features, the most powerful engine, the most lavish interior, the smoothest ride etc.

Generally speaking it will end up the most expensive one.

Generally the most powerful or most well equipped.


For example, in the UK the top Ford model in any particular range is normally badged the "Ghia".
So a Focus Ghia would be the flagship.
However the high performance model, the RS, cost more and therefore is the flagship, unless you consider this a specialist, niche version in whcih case the Ghia would still be the top model.

For different brands, a flagship is different. For example, Hummer's flagship isn't even a car - it's the H1... the biggest, baddest SUV on the road - and off - today.

For Lamborghini it's the Murcialago (sp?) - their fastest, most powerful sports car.

For Chrysler, it'd be the 300C SRT-8; it's more prestigious car.

If Cadillac brought out the Sixteen - that would it its flagship, the most prestigious car on the market, let alone Cadillac.

for me it would be exactly what offthehorseCEO typed.

so with this question in mind, what do you people think Cadillacs flagship is?

I'd make it the best car, not neccesarily the biggest, but the most advanced, exclusive enough to make it desirable, but mainstream enough to make it known.

In THEORY, Cadillac's flagship car used to be the DeVille, because it is the biggest one, but, the Seville was, in the 1990s at least, the flagship car, being the most advanced.

I'd say the current STS is Cadillac's flagship.

Unquestionably, the XLR is Cadillac's flagship at the moment.

A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. The term originates from the custom of the commanding officer (usually, but not always, an admiral) to fly a distinguishing flag.

Used in this way, "flagship" is fundamentally a temporary designation; the flagship is wherever the admiral is flying his flag. However, admirals have always needed additional facilities; a meeting room large enough to hold all the captains of the fleet, and a place for the admiral's staff to make plans and draw up orders.

In the age of sailing ships, the flagship was typically a first-rate; the aft of one of the three decks would become the admiral's quarters and staff offices. This can be seen today on HMS Victory, the flagship of Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, now at Portsmouth, England.

In the 20th century, ships became large enough that most types could accommodate commander and staff, and during World War II admirals would often prefer a faster ship over the largest one. Increasing communications and computing requirements have resulted in the design of specialized command and control ships to serve as flagship.

The XLR takes center stage in any company advert it appears in. In the showroom of most Cadillac dealers, you will find an XLR.

The old Cadillac may have used STS's or DTS's as flagships as it's focus was on luxury. But in the modern Cadillac (like the classic Cadillac of the 50's with it's Eldorados), the emphasis is on performance. The XLR is the production manifestation of the Evoq, the car that turned it all around. It's a figurehead for what Cadillac has become/is trying to achieve.

Oooohh thats a tough one! What IS Cadillac's flagship???

Based off MSRP:
before 1976 it was the Fleetwood/ Fleetwood Brougham, except for '57-60 when it was the Eldorado Brougham
after 1976, it was the Seville/ Seville Elegante/ STS
From '87-93, it was the Allante
From '94-03, it was the STS again
From '04- now, its the XLR...

Unquestionably, the XLR is Cadillac's flagship at the moment.

I forgot about the XLR totally, I agree.

Interesting thread!

Infiniti and Cadillac have lately focused their efforts on smaller cars, letting their flagships (Q45, DTS) remain technologically and mechanically unchanged.

Its funny, the M45 has more passenger and cargo space than the physically longer and taller Q45.

A flagship should be a car you aspire to have. As you move up in the world, you trade in your CTS for an STS, then the STS for a DTS, then the DTS for a Sixteen. In theory, thats how I think it should be.

As you move up in the world, you trade in your CTS for an STS, then the STS for a DTS, then the DTS for a Sixteen. In theory, thats how I think it should be.

Perhaps if you're interested in luxury. Personally, I would never own a DTS, 7-series, or S-class.
Many people prefer driver's cars to land yachts. Progression for them may be closer to CTS->CTS-V->XLR-V

For example, many consider BMW's M5 to be the pinnacle of BMW engineering, not the 7.

Many people prefer driver's cars to land yachts.

I disagree: Lexus.

Here's my list of companies 2006 flagships.

Acura-RL
Audi-S8 or A8 W12
Bentley- Arnage
BMW- 760Li
Aston Martin- V12 Vanquish
Buick- Lucerne V8
Cadillac- XLR-V
Chevrolet- Corvette Z06
Chrysler- 300C SRT-8
Dodge- Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Ferrari- 612 Scagletti
Ford- GT
GMC- Yukon XL Denali
Honda- Accord Hybrid
Hummer- H1
Hyundai- Azera
Infiniti- Q45
Jaguar- Super V8
Jeep- Grand Cherokee SRT-8
Kia- Amanti
Lamborghini- Murcielago
Land Rover- Range Rover Supercharged
Lexus- LS430
Lincoln....Navigator?
Lotus- Exige
Maserati- Coupe Cambiocorsa
Maybach- 62
Mazda- RX-8 or Mazdaspeed 6
Mercedes Benz- CL65 AMG or SL65 AMG
Mercury...... Grand Marquis?
Mini- Mini Cooper S
Mitsubishi- Evolution IX
Nissan- 350Z Grand Touring or Maxima SL
Pontiac- Grand Prix GXP or GTO...
Porsche- 911 Turbo or GT3 (I can't remember if its GT2 or GT3)
Rolls Royce- Phantom
Saab- 95
Saturn-Sky
Scion- Tc (is there such thing as a Scion flagship?!)
Subaru- Legacy GT or WRX STi
Toyota- Avalon or Land Cruiser
Volkswagen- Passat 3.6
Volvo- S80

Perhaps if you're interested in luxury. Personally, I would never own a DTS, 7-series, or S-class.
Many people prefer driver's cars to land yachts. Progression for them may be closer to CTS->CTS-V->XLR-V

For example, many consider BMW's M5 to be the pinnacle of BMW engineering, not the 7.


I'd tend to agree, and often a company will have a "luxury flagship", the 760iL etc, and then they will have a "performance flagship" such as the M5 or M6.

THere will often be a split further downt he range and that signifies which way the buyer would generally tend to go.

So then, is it the highest achievement of the company's design and engineering resources?

So then, is it the highest achievement of the company's design and engineering resources?

I would say so.

I'd say the STS-V would be Cadillac's flagship. The XLR/XLR-V is too small to even be a ship.

To: I luv Caddies8792....
EXCELLENT !! !!

3 Errors:-
(Better than I could do)

Saab: 9.5 AERO
Lincoln: Town Car 25th Anniversary Edition
Maserati: Quatraporte GT Executive.
Dodge I think I'd say Charger Daytona R/T SRT-8
over the Viper, as so so so few Vipers are now being sold,
and dealers for the most part no longer stock them, they
are "built sold" ~ That one is debatable.....

Thanks Sandy! That's pretty much what I do when I'm really bored, organize and make lists of my favorite cars and stuff.