[orconn]

Cadillac seems to be thrashing around the marketplace, trying to find a place where it can make a profit. In the process the marque has gone from a moderately priced so called "luxury" car in the eighties and nineties. In the new millennium Cadillac tried to be an entry level German sport sedan with some moderate success, but people didn't really buy that the CTS was competition for the e class Mercedes or 5 series BMW. Cadillac's next move was to try and compete further down market with entry level "executive" class cars like the C class Merc and the 3 and 2 series BMW. All to no avail, there was no big invasion of the Euro/ Nippon higher priced model marketplace.

So now we hear that Cadillac is going to once again attempt bring a true "luxury" class vehicle to the marketplace. I would suggest that if this car is just a pumped version of their current offerings that they will have a failure on their hands. Unless Cadillac comes up with a truly superior, not just a half assed attempt, at a true luxury car they will still be a cheaper alternative for American buyers looking for cut rate luxury. This will do nothing for brand's status among wealthy of the world. If this happens there will be no reason for Cadillac to exist and it might as well go the way of the once proud Packard Motor Company.

 

[Ranger]

Seems to me that they are trying to be all things to all people. Luxury car, sports car, grocery getter. All we need is a Cadillac Minivan and an economy version.

 

[Stingroo]

I am curious more as to why you seem so anti-Cadillac. Every few months you'll start a thread like this, and it's quite confusing. Sales are UP year over year. What would make you think they're even remotely closed to doomed other than some warped perception that everything Cadillac has done since your SLS has been half-assed?

 

[vfaninva]

From the little I know of Packard history the company struggled after WW2 to rebuild it's reputation of producing quality luxury cars and eventually gave in to making taxi cabs and forgettable economy family cars.
Hiring family members and others with no knowledge of the automotive industry, building cars that weren't competitive, and no clear vision of where the brand was going were all parts of what brought Packard down.
While there may be similarities with Packard, Cadillac is producing better cars, by far, than it has in over 50 years. Problem is GM executives and de Nysschen believe the buying public should be paying MB and BMW money for them now.
Unfortunately sales figures show the public doesn't yet agree.
I believe that is mostly due to the common misperception of Cadillac's as big floaty, boring, old folks cars.
Cadillac should stay the course of producing excellent quality vehicles that rival the Germans.
The public's perception will eventually catch up.

 

[Stingroo]

Cadillac US Sales Figures:

January 2015:
11,680
January 2014:
11,386
Percentage change:
+2.6%

 

[Guest]

Cadillac US Sales Figures:

January 2015:
11,680
January 2014:
11,386
Percentage change:
+2.6%

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/02/escalade-rescue-cadillacs-numbers-awful-without-big-suv/

 

[Stingroo]

Fair point.

 

[77CDV]

Here's an anecdote that sums things up well. Tonight during the Oscars there was a commercial featuring what appeared to be an Asian athlete competing to an Edith Piaf soundtrack. My mom figured it was an AMEX commercial, only to be confused when it turned out to be a Cadillac commercial.

My point is, the commercial was as confused and confusing as the Cadillac brand itself is at the moment. It knows not what it is nor what it wants to be, thus the buying public is confused, as well. Until that changes, Cadillac will have trouble moving the needle on it's cars (as opposed to the Escalade, which at least people know and recognize) and it's image in the marketplace.

 

[thebigjimsho]

Very often an ad campaign starts off slowly and obscurely. Once it picks up steam, it becomes unmistakable.

 

[77CDV]

Very often an ad campaign starts off slowly and obscurely. Once it picks up steam, it becomes unmistakable.

Or it can be like Infiniti's initial rocks and trees fiasco, the punchline of endless jokes and, mercifully, quickly abandoned.

 

[Stingroo]

Also of note: the Escalade shouldn't be discounted in sales numbers. It is the cash cow that allows for further development on other platforms. Most marques would give their CEO's left nut to have something like that in their stable.

 

[orconn]

Very often an ad campaign starts off slowly and obscurely. Once it picks up steam, it becomes unmistakable.

Only time will tell, but meanwhile my bet will stay in my pocket.

 

[talismandave]

I am curious more as to why you seem so anti-Cadillac. Every few months you'll start a thread like this, and it's quite confusing. Sales are UP year over year. What would make you think they're even remotely closed to doomed other than some warped perception that everything Cadillac has done since your SLS has been half-assed?

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/02/escalade-rescue-cadillacs-numbers-awful-without-big-suv/

Thanks for the link, here is the meat of story...



free image uploading

So Cadillac has perfected selling Chevy trucks!:highfive: Cars....not so much....

Very often an ad campaign starts off slowly and obscurely. Once it picks up steam, it becomes unmistakable.

Yeah, unsinkable, like the Titanic! There's a get metaphor...:thumbsup:

 

[Stingroo]

I think the bigger picture there is this:

The CTS is a problem. Can't deny that one. It's too expensive.
The ATS has been getting rave reviews, and the V-series is definitely going to bolster those numbers in the coming months. Thank you, Escalade.
The SRX has been on sale since 2009. It's due for a replacement soon.
The XTS, often considered by the "experts" to be a failure, is on the rise. That couldn't possibly be because people want to own them. Hogwash. I'm sure the several-per-day I see on the road are just a figment of my imagination.
The Escalade, refreshed in the past year from here, is a rousing success.

 

[Guest]

So now we hear that Cadillac is going to once again attempt bring a true "luxury" class vehicle to the marketplace. I would suggest that if this car is just a pumped version of their current offerings that they will have a failure on their hands.

Looks like it is just a bigger CTS

 

[orconn]

OMG! .... has America suddenly developed a taste for French torch singers? Mais non!

Has the youth of America suddenly become Francophiles? Je ne pense pas!

Just to whom is this ad supposed to appeal? Maybe they have some sub set of New York trend setters in mind.

 

[thebigjimsho]

It's an ad. Go to bed, old man...

 

[ben.gators]

Looks like it is just a bigger CTS

Yeap, nothing more than a bloated CTS.

 

[thebigjimsho]

And an S class is nothing more than a bloated C class. An A8 nothing more than a bloated A4.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Old boats were different.

 

[77CDV]

You must admit, Edith Piaf had some pipes!