I wanted to know how well you thought cadillac (namely seville and deville) stacks up against the competition, that is, other luxuary cars. Here is a brief list of cars that i thought of off the top of my head, and all these are assumed to be latest model unless otherwise stated. There is going to be many cars with higher price, because i think that cadillac can compare with these
Lexus LS400/430
MB S class
Lincoln Town car
Audi A8
Jaguar XJ series
BMW 5/7 series
Infiniti Q45
Lexus LS 400/430
These are just a few that i have thought of, please include more if you think there are.
Overall, i think a cadillac is very comprable in the area of performance, although there are some where it is faster and some where it is slower. As far as comfort, I think that there is almost nothing better than a cadillac. Sure, there will be other "conveniences" (like power headrests and pointless stuff like that) in other cars, but overall comfort is second to none. The only thing i see them lacking in is build quality, although i have to say that they have improved over the past 5 years or so. I think that is what seperates them. Back in the 80s when cadillac made their "turn for the worst", I think that took a lot off their name. If you want to be known by what you drive and you have money, they see that in a lexus or BMW moreso than in a cadillac.
Hmm.. I don't really think Lexus is looked at as higher class than Cadillac.. BMW and Mercedes - certainly..
Lexus GS300/430 - Comparable to the STS
Lexus wins in performance - Cadillac wins in appearance - Lexus wins in reliability (Lexus beats EVERYONE in reliability) - Lexus may win slightly in comfort
MB S class - I don't know enough about this car
Lincoln Town car - Comparable to the DTS
Cadillac wins all
Audi A8 - I don't know enough about this car
Jaguar XJ series - I don't know enough about this car
BMW 5/7 series - Comparable to the STS/DTS
I still don't know how the new Caddy's feel, but I'll assume the BMWs handle much better. Comfort goes to Cadillac - Reliability probably goes to BWM - Appearance goes to Cadillac
Infiniti Q45 - Comparable to the DTS - I don't know enough about this car
Lexus LS 400/430 - Comparable to the DTS - I think handling goes to Cadillac - Appearance goes to Cadillac - Reliability goes to Lexus (always does) - Comfort may go to Lexus
I'm afraid that I disagree with some of the vehicles you list as being competition for Cadillac.
On price alone, you're way out on several cars. And price is one BIG point that is VERY important to luxury car owners. Many don't want to be seen as FROOGLE. And don't forget that when you have a few extra grand to play with on a car, you can start doing some of the things that add significantly to the cars' luxury "feel" and appearance. Example: replacing plastic wood with REAL wood, replacing leather "seating areas" with leather seats, deeper pile carpet, more sound-proofing, higher output engines, etc, etc.
Bearing that in mind, I think that out of your list, only a couple actually should be seen as TRUE competitors for the Cadillac.
1. Lincoln Town Car
a. Cadillac wins on performance.
b. Styling is a toss-up.
c. Lincoln wins on RWD
d. Lincoln wins on interior room
e. Build quality is also a toss-up
f. Lincoln wins on price.
g. Cadillac wins on technology.
2. Infiniti Q45
a. Infiniti wins on performance
b. Cadillac wins on price
c. Cadillac wins on MPG
d. Cadillac wins on interior room
e. Build quality is a toss-up
f. Infiniti wins on RWD
3. BMW "5" series (7-series is way out of Cadillac class)
a. BMW wins on virtually anything except interior room,
end of story
IMO, all the other cars listed are well out of reach for Cadillac Deville as far as competition. Yeah, there are SOME points and features that COULD be compared but in all fairness to Cadillac, they are either far beyond Deville on price-point, or in overall quality. Cadillac has established a niche with it's cars either due to content, or pricing (or both) and has narrowed it's "direct" competition by doing so.
Bottom line; I'm not saying that Cadillac CAN'T compete with these cars, I'm saying that they have CHOSEN not to. I think it's kind of a "chicken-shit" way of doing business. If you want to be taken seriously by the competition, stand toe-to-toe with them and prepare to be judged.
I have ridden in a BMW 7 series, and in fact my next door neighbor has one. I dont think that it is much more comfortable than the STS. I think the seats are kind of hard in the BMW, and the ride is kind of rough, even for a car that handles like it does. I think cadillac has some competition for them, and if they dont now if they get their act together they will
I've got to agree with Wes on one point here..The BMW's are about as comfortable to ride in as a park bench! They ride far to rough to me to really qualify as a luxury car. And the seats are so hard they might as well be made of wood. My other observation about them is they have an oddly sterile feel to them...They kind of lack warmth/personality. There's something missing that's hard to put you're finger on!
I agree with both of you. BMW's are absolutely uncomfortable.. But, the people who own them swear by them. They like the hard "indestructable" feel. It's totally and completely not me...
I agree, in a BMW you just cant get to get in the "groove". I mean what it really feels like is there is a little layer of foam that is really squishy and once you get past that its hard.
As far as the other cars, i think that if cadillac WANTED to be a highline luxuary car, they could. They have it all, styling, performance, and luxuary. Now if they could set their build standards higher, they would be world class. I think they get just enough to get by.
About some of those other cars, they were just a list that i came up with off the top of my head. I did no research whatsoever. I dont know anything about the Lexus GS430, so i cant make an opinion.
1. Lincoln Town Car
a. Cadillac wins on performance.
b. Styling is a toss-up.
c. Lincoln wins on RWD
d. Lincoln wins on interior room
e. Build quality is also a toss-up
f. Lincoln wins on price.
g. Cadillac wins on technology.
2. Infiniti Q45
a. Infiniti wins on performance
b. Cadillac wins on price
c. Cadillac wins on MPG
d. Cadillac wins on interior room
e. Build quality is a toss-up
f. Infiniti wins on RWD
3. BMW "5" series (7-series is way out of Cadillac class)
a. BMW wins on virtually anything except interior room,
end of story
Full size luxury
Lincoln town car
DTS wins in every category except interior room measurements
Infinity Q45
DTS wins price, comfort, mpg, ride quality, cust service, and reliability
Tied in technology
Q45 wins in performance
S class
DTS wins price, mpg, technology
Almost everything is close to each other
S class wins performance due to its v12 6l engine
7 series
DTS wins price, mpg, ride quality, comfort
Tied in technology and reliability
7 series wins performance, handling
mid size
5 series
STS wins price, mpg, ride quality, comfort, interior room.
5 series wins in performance (thanks to its 395hp v8 in m5 trim), handling
Lexus LS400/430--NO but it's not supposed to win this one.
MB S class--NO, but it's not supposed to win this one either.
Lincoln Town car--YES! not even close!
Audi A8--YES! but Audi is making great strides. Check again in 2007.
Jaguar XJ series--overall, YES! but those Jags are damn fine looking! But Ford will screw that up.
BMW 5/7 series--over the 5 year ownership experience, YES! the Bimmer ride SUCKS, but it's a beautiful thing at 130mph.
Infiniti Q45--NO, but it's not supposed to win this one either.
Acura 3.5 RL--YES! The RL is bland--a Japanese Buick LeSabre.
Here's the problem--depreciation. Perception has become reality. It's going to take Cadillac another 10 years like the past 10 years to erase the damage done by the 8-6-4 and HT4100, the Cimarron, and those nasty FWD DeVilles they put out from '85 to '91.
