European hunting season cancelled: Cadillac CTS-V not crossing Atlantic

[MonaroSS]

Whoever buys GM needs to spend a billion or two just on a super Cadillac if Caddy is ever to be taken seriously. Maybe stretch the new V8 4.5 Diesel to a V12 6.75 Twin Turbo Bio-Diesel to make it Euro-Green...

[Robert Ryan]

Whoever buys GM needs to spend a billion or two just on a super Cadillac if Caddy is ever to be taken seriously. Maybe stretch the new V8 4.5 Diesel to a V12 6.75 Twin Turbo Bio-Diesel to make it Euro-Green

Unfortunately the money is not available to do that. Remember the Cadillac is a niche product. What GM wants are vehicles that can compete with VW , Mercedes, BMW, Renault etc on their own turf and are sold profitably in WESTERN EUROPE as well as Eastern Europe.

[blkwrxsti]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

What's GM's stupid reason this time around?

Give it up Cadillac. You will NEVER be the standard of the world. You will NEVER make an impact in Europe. You will NEVER be more than a 2nd tier luxury brand.

To understand, you need to let go of your long term "brand" thinking and put on a GM "short term profit" filter:

Just as it costs money to federalize a car, it costs money to certify one for sale in the EU.

If Cadillac is selling every one they make in the USA, they've already spent the money to Federalize the car, so if they make 5000 cars and it cost $5 Million to run all the federal tests, each car is carrying ~$1000 of that cost.

If they tried to sell this is Europe and wound up selling ~100 cars there, and it cost them another $5 Million to certify them for sale in the EU, each of those cars carries a $50,000 burden, that eats into GM's profit and forces them to spend an additional $5 Million dollars up front.

If they sell 1000 cars in Europe, they still have to spend $5 Million up front, the burden drops to $5,000, and they take CTS-Vs out of the American market.

1. GM doesn't really have the money to throw around anymore (even if it makes a good long term brand equity investment).

2. European and Japanese marques do this all the time. Has anyone tried to buy an RS-6 or a Crown V-12? Could have thrown the GT-R into that pile until a couple weeks ago...

3. A lot of Americans are selfishly hoping these sell for close to sticker here, so any move that reduces local supply is bad.

STANDARD OF THE WORLD? This company is being run by second year business school dropouts (or the accountants on the board are calling the shots now, which will have the same effect)...

[ByTheLake]

Originally Posted by PrenupTB

Cadillac will never be anything in Europe with GM's inept management. I have to believe this has something to do with the catastrophic failure of the BLS.

I'll go out on a limb here and suggest that you probably don't have all the factors in this decision. So many people want GM to sell everything everywhere, but what would that cost? What are the possible returns?

It probably makes sense to establish Cadillac as a viable high-end brand in Europe before asking the Europeans to pay double for a high-performance model.

[BigAls87Z28]

Sucks when you dont have money. If GM had the cash flow, I think they would do it. But yes, GM would have to cough up some serious money to get the CTS-V certified for EU. And for the few thousand they will sell...
Do you see an RS6 anymore? Just like a lot of cars are shut out of the American market, we are shutting some other people out from our goodies.
We can still take a CTS-V over there and show them how its done.

[member12]

I was curious as to what the hell Jeremy Clarkson would be able to say about the CTS-V

[PAULSTS1]

If at the "bargain" pricepoint GM doesn't offer the CTS-V on the European Market as a limited edition model, why should they even build it? In the USA 556 hp can't be used effectively. Our roads allow speeds of only 75 MPN, which can be handled with only 306 Hp.

We should have offered a turbo diesel intercooled with a 4 cylinder DI configuration at about 360 HP with a 6 Spd manual, then sold it worldwide and stateside.

Also the DTS/STS replacement should be pushed up in development, and the CTS wagon, should be temporarily placed on "hold" until there is a new full sized Cadillac available for sale.

I am thinking this forum of auto enthusiasts is forgetting/discounting that; GM is in great financial difficulty right now and what they offer and when will determine if GM or any of its Brands will survive! I repeat one model CTS, does not a Brand make.

[mike's 01ws6]

I figure that saving 5 million would be a good thing right now.

[baloo]

I don't see why it would be $5 million. They sell the regular CTS in Europe, so stuff like headlights, safety belts etc. is already approved, they just need to pass emissions.

[GM-10]

Originally Posted by PrenupTB

Cadillac will never be anything in Europe with GM's inept management. I have to believe this has something to do with the catastrophic failure of the BLS.

Yeah...I can see that. The BLS has a lot in common with the CTS-V...How???

[powervette]

GM just made me think once again 'General Mistake' is the real name of the company.

[Mikkoo]

Originally Posted by powervette

GM just made me think once again 'General Mistake' is the real name of the company.

Powervette, I understand your feelings. I'm probably going to be one of the few that
sides with GM on this one. They are in a definite cost cutting mode. Rumors are running
rampant on another thread that the supercharged 6.2 L Z28 have been shelved, and
the top dog for the Camaro will be the LS2 400hp SS. Yearning for the good old days
will become the mantra soon if the price of oil doesn't come back from the stratosphere.
Seems that GM wants to portray themselves in a more eco friendlier way.

[mbukukanyau]

Originally Posted by MonaroSS

Whoever buys GM needs to spend a billion or two just on a super Cadillac if Caddy is ever to be taken seriously. Maybe stretch the new V8 4.5 Diesel to a V12 6.75 Twin Turbo Bio-Diesel to make it Euro-Green...

the front is too Chryslersy and those back lights are nothing like a true Cadillac. The overall car looks too Dodgy for my liking (like a Dodge)

[asrapid]

Originally Posted by Mikkoo

Powervette, I understand your feelings. I'm probably going to be one of the few that
sides with GM on this one. They are in a definite cost cutting mode. Rumors are running
rampant on another thread that the supercharged 6.2 L Z28 have been shelved, and
the top dog for the Camaro will be the LS2 400hp SS. Yearning for the good old days
will become the mantra soon if the price of oil doesn't come back from the stratosphere.
Seems that GM wants to portray themselves in a more eco friendlier way.

I don't see how can LS2 be in SS model...LS3 yes but LS2 no.
I'm courios if GM is still developing GEN V small block (CIB engine with DI etc.) or is this also on hold since there is less and less cars with v8 engine coming in future.

[DealerGuyAtl]

Great post. I agree with you completely. It would appear that most of the people ranting on this board have no idea what is involved in getting a vehicle approved for sale in our country or any other. It's not a trivial expense.

Originally Posted by blkwrxsti

To understand, you need to let go of your long term "brand" thinking and put on a GM "short term profit" filter:

Just as it costs money to federalize a car, it costs money to certify one for sale in the EU.

If Cadillac is selling every one they make in the USA, they've already spent the money to Federalize the car, so if they make 5000 cars and it cost $5 Million to run all the federal tests, each car is carrying ~$1000 of that cost.

If they tried to sell this is Europe and wound up selling ~100 cars there, and it cost them another $5 Million to certify them for sale in the EU, each of those cars carries a $50,000 burden, that eats into GM's profit and forces them to spend an additional $5 Million dollars up front.

If they sell 1000 cars in Europe, they still have to spend $5 Million up front, the burden drops to $5,000, and they take CTS-Vs out of the American market.

1. GM doesn't really have the money to throw around anymore (even if it makes a good long term brand equity investment).

2. European and Japanese marques do this all the time. Has anyone tried to buy an RS-6 or a Crown V-12? Could have thrown the GT-R into that pile until a couple weeks ago...

3. A lot of Americans are selfishly hoping these sell for close to sticker here, so any move that reduces local supply is bad.

STANDARD OF THE WORLD? This company is being run by second year business school dropouts (or the accountants on the board are calling the shots now, which will have the same effect)...