Times Really Are A-Changin' at Cadillac

[patrickbec]

Times really are a-changin' at Cadillac
The brand is expanding the CTS range and will introduce an entry-level crossover and a baby Caddy as well
JEREMY CATO

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

E-mail
May 29, 2008 at 12:00 AM EDT

DETROIT — With Cadillac, as with so much of General Motors Corp., the good times are just around the corner. That's when those new models arrive, when the hot new technologies hit the showroom, and the marketplace recognizes how good the new Cadillacs really are.

What makes all this so different now, 10 years into Cadillac's revival, is that the future may actually be here.

GM's luxury brand, for the first time, has its own global styling director. There are confirmed plans to launch new models below the current CTS, which until now has been Cadillac's entry model.

As well, a hot-shoe version of the CTS called the CTS-V has been blistering Germany's Nurburgring, posting the fastest lap times by a production sedan and breaking the eight-minute barrier. The CTS-V goes on sale in a few months, followed by a stunning coupe version of the CTS shortly thereafter.

Continue reading:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...ecialGlobeAuto

[patrickbec]

I love this quote:

We need to get the merger of the STS and DTS done and re-emerge as a solid prestige competitor."

Also on the list is a car sized and priced under the CTS — a baby Cadillac. In a visit to Cadillac's design studio in suburban Michigan we saw hints of it under stretchy black car covers.

"As the CTS moves up to be $30,000 to $40,000 (U.S.), you are creating space for a smaller Cadillac in the $25,000 (U.S.) range. Can we use a vehicle at $28,000 to $32,000 that would address a whole other customer group that would be under the CTS? Absolutely."

Oh, the baby Caddy is more than viable; it's in the works. Cadillac design director Clay Dean, 46, wouldn't show it to us, though he all but confirmed it is coming, and sooner than you might think.

[dindak]

Caddy rocks!

[Exploder]

We kinda know all this already...

But I guess this is my favourite part:

"We cannot compete effectively if Cadillac is one more iteration of the smooth, slab-sided sort of BMW, Mercedes, Acura, Lexus appearance," Lutz said. "We have to be distinctive and boldly American, but in a very good way."

[BigAls87Z28]

I look foward to the small Caddy. My only concern is will other cars be sacraficed in order for the "BTS" to have success?
Will the new LaX or Malibu be decontented so it does not fight with the BTS for sales? Or will they just leave it to the fact that people will buy a BTS because its a Caddy, and not look at a Malibu or LaX.

[Exploder]

I think for the most part I have nothing to object about regarding Cadillac's direction. The only issue I have is that they're taking very long. Let's just hope that when their new car comes out in 2010, for example, it will be competitive with everything else released in 2010. Because I realize that is why we are impatient: we are afraid it will be irrelevant and outdated by then.

[member12]

Uh...it's just one car really. The CTS is a great product, but Cadillac needs the coupe and maybe even a crossover variant yesterday.

When they are done with that, they can put the same great effort into a new full sized sports sedan to compete against the LS450..and after that they can go with a fancy convertible to slot under the XLR.

[skylark68]

Hopefully the baby Caddy will be RWD. If not, then it WILL compete with uplevel Malibu's and Buick LaCrosses. I see Buick especially having a tough time if it's mid-level entry competes toe to toe with Caddy's entry-level.

It's sad that Lexus outsells Cadillac, but I suppose that has to do mainly with ES and RX sales.

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by patrickbec

I love this quote:

We need to get the merger of the STS and DTS done and re-emerge as a solid prestige competitor."

Also on the list is a car sized and priced under the CTS — a baby Cadillac. In a visit to Cadillac's design studio in suburban Michigan we saw hints of it under stretchy black car covers.

"As the CTS moves up to be $30,000 to $40,000 (U.S.), you are creating space for a smaller Cadillac in the $25,000 (U.S.) range. Can we use a vehicle at $28,000 to $32,000 that would address a whole other customer group that would be under the CTS? Absolutely."

Oh, the baby Caddy is more than viable; it's in the works. Cadillac design director Clay Dean, 46, wouldn't show it to us, though he all but confirmed it is coming, and sooner than you might think.

I wonder what the time table will be? I've read that Alpha is being pushed back for a bit of reworking - let's hope they get it on line soon so we can get a BLS/BTS here and now.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by patrickbec

"As the CTS moves up to be $30,000 to $40,000 (U.S.), you are creating space for a smaller Cadillac in the $25,000 (U.S.) range. Can we use a vehicle at $28,000 to $32,000 that would address a whole other customer group that would be under the CTS? Absolutely."

Funny. I think I said that back in 2003. Better late than never GM... tick tock...

Though, I must say, $25,000 is a lot lower than I would have expected for the base Cadillac. I would have expected something about $29,995 or something.

But the issue remains, how will Cadillac position the BT3 in the marketplace? And how will the BT3 be marketed? Hopefully performance is on par with G35/37 and the 3-series.

[zete]

I guess there are some Cadillac reveals coming up at the auto show circuit late this year and early next. Hopefully we'll see the baby-Caddy and the DTS-STS replacement. I do hope it's something akin to the Sixteen, though at 7/8ths size. That would truly differentiate it from the CTS and have a car people want to strive for.

I do like a reasonable price for the entry level Cadillac. Bring them in on price, and only increase it once the reputation is solidly back.

[mbukukanyau]

Originally Posted by zete

I guess there are some Cadillac reveals coming up at the auto show circuit late this year and early next. Hopefully we'll see the baby-Caddy and the DTS-STS replacement. I do hope it's something akin to the Sixteen, though at 7/8ths size. That would truly differentiate it from the CTS and have a car people want to strive for.

I do like a reasonable price for the entry level Cadillac. Bring them in on price, and only increase it once the reputation is solidly back.

Next year for products due in 2011? that would be bad. If its due 2011, we should not see it until 9 months before launch. Do it next year and the LS mid life upgrade will incorporate Cadillacs designs


Cadillac also needs to see mid cycle refleshes of Escalade, a new X5 competitor and a new XLR,

[Sal Collaziano]

I hope this baby Cadillac isn't stubby and tall.. I can really picture it to be this way...

[emh]

Originally Posted by patrickbec

"As the CTS moves up to be $30,000 to $40,000 (U.S.), you are creating space for a smaller Cadillac in the $25,000 (U.S.) range. Can we use a vehicle at $28,000 to $32,000 that would address a whole other customer group that would be under the CTS? Absolutely."

I'm thoroughly confused by this quote. Why does the CTS need to "move up" to be $30k-$40k US... it's already $34k-$45k or so, isn't it? The Alpha at $25k seems like bargain pricing for the segment, which almost always implies cut corners... A base of $28k to $29k with no compromises would be far better, IMO.

""We have our SRX to cover the top end [of crossovers], but we don't have the lower end covered."

Great, so you cover the lower end and give up on the top end... what use is "filling holes" like that . Imagine if BMW killed off the X5 when the X3 came out...

Fleet sales should boost that number by 10 to 20 per cent, so for 2008 Cadillac should move about 210,000-220,000 cars and trucks this year — a good 100,000 below Lexus and a projected fourth or fifth overall among luxury brands in North America.

Lexus, BMW, Mercedes... who would be fourth if Cadillac were to be fifth? Didn't think Acura, Infiniti, Audi, Lincoln etc. were anywhere close to 200k/yr in sales.

[FenwickHockey65]

Damn...should've snuck pictures of the smaller Caddy...