Cadillac: The Art of Irrelevancy

[mgescuro]

Cadillac: The Art of Irrelevancy
... another commentary by mgescuro ...



Just 10 years ago, we as a car loving community saw a glimpse of the possibilities of an American brand finally competing with what was considered the de facto standard of the world for luxury -- the Germans. In 1999, we saw a glimpse of a new defining style that was to spread throughout Cadillac. It was groundbreaking, aggressive, brash yet sophisticated. It was technologically advanced yet retained a proud luxury.
Art & Science was to be the new gold standard for luxury and image. This appeared pre-Bangle BMWs and L-Finesse Lexus. Cadillac's Art and Science was the new bar.



It took 3 years for Cadillac to launch a car with the Art & Science design language. It took far too long for produc to reach the hands of consumers. And the first product, CTS, didn't quite have the pizazz and brashness of the Evoq. Expecially, since after Evoq, Cadillac premiered Imaj and Vizon.





This trio of Cadillac concepts were truly superb! They showed the possiblity. Groundbreaking technology. Leather wrapped interiors. Real metal accents. Sheer unabashed beauty and sophistication. A true Cadillac for the 21st century luxury buyer. They made no apologies as to what to was to come. Cadillac was back. The Germans knew it. Reports from Stuttgart had Mercedes redoubling its efforts on the new E and S classes because of "renewed strength" from Cadillac. Cadillac was a rising power again, intent on reclaiming its crown as "Standard of the World."

The Beginning of the End

3 years later, Cadillac launched the CTS. A replacement for the unloved Catera -- a car that zagged instead of zigged and was plagued with poor build quality and strange quirks like cupholders and power receptacles that didn't fit American electrical products. Yup. Typical GM. CTS was to be the start of something new.



What happened? CTS had some awkward angles. The LED taillights that had become a staple of Cadillacs since the 4th gen Seville were suddenly missing. The interior had lost a decidedly large amount of what made Cadillac a Cadillac. And it wasn't quite reflecting what we had seen in 3 years of stunning concepts. Where was the modern design? Where was the style? It looked like a poorly cobbled piece of bad art. The exterior fared better. It was definitely daring. But it lacked a refinement that was also present in the concepts. Sales were decent but weren't lighting up the charts.

XLR came next. The high tech roadster that debuted as Evoq 5 years prior in 1999. While it had some interesting technology options, and a stunning stealth plane look, it somehow didn't look like it was worth the $75,000 asking price. But it did win a few awards for Best Interior among others. Interior quality wasn't befitting a car of this price class either. And it sold 1/5th-1/4th of annual expectations, despite its initial buzz and record sales through the Neiman-Marcus catalog.
Next came SRX. Initially priced so far above market expectations that they just didn't sell. It looked nothing more than a taller CTS with a poor interior but exceptional performance and handling. Enough to be rated a 10Best a few years in a row.
Then came STS. A car that was to be the flagship. Lutz's first product in which he had any influence. The design was more refined It was cleaner. It was more luxurious. More options were offered. A more fitting car for Cadillac. The design was purposely less "aggressive" because it was believed that buyers that buy this class of car wanted something less brash.

The Problem?

Hindsight is always 20/20.
But as I laid out here, Cadillac established the design bar with Art & Science in 1999. And the bar was set high. Expectations were that Cadillac would make good on its promise of higher technology and groundbreaking style and sophistication. The Germans were redoubling their efforts as they saw Cadillac as a credible threat to their market position.

But when the CTS launched, while impressive to most Americans, the glaring and typical GM deficiencies were present. It began a series of "not good enough" efforts from Cadillac. And while some of the essence of Art & Science made its way through to product, the stunning designs, technology, and overall presence of these designs failed to come through. Every product had cut corners. And for a luxury car, that was unacceptable.

The partnership with Bvlgari was shut down as quickly as it began, with only 2 Cadillacs ever getting Bvlgari enhancements. The reason given was that the partnership didn't prove beneficial to either side. Yet Cadillac failed to really push Bvlgari design into their cars. And its production cars certainly didn't look sophisticated enough to warrant the inclusion of a brash, sophisticated, edgy Italian jeweler. The other argument was that Cadillac's customers didn't know what Bvlgari was. Granted, part of the partnership with Bvlgari was to bring greater prominence to Bvlgari in the US. But those "in the know" or who are part of certain luxury circles already knew Bvlgari.

So that begs the question, "What market demographic was Cadillac targeting with its cars?"

As a result of the Germans redoubling of its efforts to prepare for Cadillac's resurgence, they too ended up with stunningly beautiful cars which deviated from their traditional staid designs. Bangles designs started to resonate some dissonant notes throughout the industry. BMW designs were starting to turn heads. Mercedes was coming out with more daring (for Mercedes) designs. A new design language was evolving. Jaguar had modernized its classic designs to some significantly positive response.

Suddenly Art & Science had competition.

The key problem is that Cadillac failed to deliver on the promise of Art & Science. So not only were its cars not meeting expectations, the competition had become even tougher because they were expecting a far stronger Cadillac. The competition didn't materialize to the level that was expected.

The Decline

A chance came to redeem themselves once the mid-cycle enhancements dawned. First was SRX. It debuted with a stunningly more sophisticated interior. It looked better. It was much cleaner and more elegant and more sophisticated. But nothing else changed -- especially to the exterior.

Another chance came to correct the wrongs of STS. The year prior, Cadillac debuted the STUNNING SLS in China. The look of the interior was American. And it was worth of competing with the best in the world. Businessweek debuted a shot of the new STS interior, with slight modifications from the SLS: different window controls, slight variations to the center console and a different 4-spoke steeringwheel. Ultimately what we got was a poor rehash of the old STS, with a cleaner look, but still the same overall unrefined look. Furthermore, Cadillac decided that all new cars would have a side vent -- no matter how ugly or misplaced it might be. XLR got it. Escalade got it. STS got it. And the only one that actually pulled it off was the CTS. Why? Because it was integral to the design and not some poor after thought.

Instead of putting money in to making Cadillac a success, GM deemed it necessary to cut its losses.
It made sense to GM's spreadsheets.
But this decision ultimately will cause Cadillac to fail in a very hot and very cutthroat market. Cadillac has managed to put out substandard products into a market where customers are far more discerning and far more demanding.

In short, Cadillacs products were unacceptable in the luxury market. And their sales echo that point.

Losing Itself

No money. 1 decent product. 5 failed products. And 1 truck rebadge. That is what Cadillac is today. The reason Cadillac spent nearly $6B to kick off the Renaissance was to re-establish the brand as relevant in today's market. What $6B managed to do is damage the brand further... perhaps irreparably.

In the 1990's at least Cadillac had its traditional market to fall back on. With their push to the more sporty European cars, they've managed to alienate them. Now that market barely exists. And they're older.

In its push to be "younger" and be a "Cadillac for the 21st Century," Cadillac managed to lose the essence of what they were. Cadillac lost its history. Cadillac lost its own image. Today's 21st century Cadillac is defined by the Escalade. A Tahoe/Yukon rebadge that isn't differentially more luxurious than a GMC Denali. Ask anyone on the street. And they more than likely say "Escalade" is the car they think of when you hear Cadillac.

What happened to classics like the Seville and the Eldorado? Well, STS is dead. Eldorado is now "CTS Coupe." And Cadillac has a horrible product positioning mess on its hands, as it kills the last of its Renaissance cars. CTS is going to take the place of the STS? Good luck trying to convince people of that Cadillac. For 5+ years, Cadillac has managed to sell the CTS as "entry level." Now CTS is going to take on the flagship role after STS is killed? Now Cadillac expects people to jump on the bandwagon for an Epsilon II Cadillac?

Irrelevant

General Motors needs to ask the hard questions here:
-- What exactly is Cadillac?
-- What made Cadillac a symbol of luxury for 50-60 years?
-- What is different today that no longer allows Cadillac to compete at the highest echelons of the market?

No one knows what exactly Cadillac is. It is a lost brand. GM seems content to throw nonsensical products at the problem, hoping sales will hide the fact that Cadillac isn't catering to true luxury customers anymore. Image is everything. Cadillac doesn't have that positive and attractive luxury image anymore. Nor does it have a product lineup conducive to rebuilding that image.

Cadillac is back where it started in the 1990's. Lost. Only now, Cadillac has no image, no focus, no product, an alienated customer base, and twice the competition

It is ironic that the program that was destined to pull Cadillac out of irrelevancy managed to do everything except pull Cadillac out of irrelevancy. Art & Science forced the competition to rethink its designs and its luxury strategy. Art & Science indirectly strengthened Cadillac's own competition. And when Cadillac's own A&S cars made it to market, they weren't up to the market expectations Cadillac themselves set. It was a double whammy.

Can Cadillac come back? I have to say no. And that's truly unfortunate. GM is in no position to allow Cadillac the ability to spread its wings. They had one chance, and they blew it completely. So Cadillac must resort to product repackaging to get product out the door in attempt to spur sales.

Sales Cadillac might get but image and respect and recognition is something that will not come. Such is the existence of Cadillac and the art of irrelevancy.

[jkr2106]

Well said. I'm not sure I agree that GM will never return Cadillac to its rightful position, but I fully agree with your assessment of Cadillac's failures. I think it just takes consistently better cars to turn around a brand...maybe 2 full generations. When GM regains profitability, I think they will build a stronger Cadillac. If anything, the A&S concepts have shown that Cadillac knows what makes a Cadillac. There just happens to be a disconnect between GM and Cadillac's designers and that incongruence is most likely caused by limited finances.

[artrix]

I agree, but nothing is impossible, if GM tries hard enough maybe Cadillac will be able to compete with such competitors as Mercedes and it's Maybach division... we all know it won't happen any time soon, but it's possible, it's just a matter of time...maybe people in 20, 30 or 40 years will be looking at Cadillacs from a different point of view...

But if they'll keep improving cars in the same pace as they did for the last few years i think they have a chance...

[eurohazard]

I can't comment on your statements like: "Cadillac has managed to put out substandard products into a market where customers are far more discerning and far more demanding." The reason being; I have never owned a fancy NEW Cadillac, or any of its competitors like BMW, MB, Lexus, Audi etc.

But regarding the styling of those concepts, I got to say, those interiors are ugly. Heck I barely like the exterior of those concepts. GM did good by not building those things IMHO. Also, I am not at all a fan of the 1st gen CTS interior....looks Saturn SL'ish to me. And that is not a good thing to have to expect conquest sales from Lexus/BMW drivers.

But having said that, there's a lot I agree with....particularly odd placement of the CTS.

[Myke]

It's a shame, the current CTS is a very good car and RWD, definitely Mercedes/BMW territory. However if the rest of the lineup is FWD or based on FWD platforms, Cadillac will not be taken seriously by traditional luxury car companies.
It Cadillac continues at its current state, I don't see a whole lot of difference between it and Buick.

[Bravada]

The problem with Cadillac, apart from the all the ones you've mentioned above, and it's so painful to realize you're so right and it really took that long to list all the wrongs out, was starting with the CTS. Cadillac's core market and defining models were the very large sedans, and if you ask people not that familiar with the modern Cadillac offerings what they think Cadillac stands for, they would conjure an image of a large, perhaps fin-tailed, cruiser, both comfortable, luxurious and, first of all, impressive.

The CTS was both a daring and cowardly product - and now I realize I'd need an editorial of my own to discuss it (referring to how much I have to say).

Anyhow - great epitaph, yet so sad...

[stormwatcher]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

Can Cadillac come back? I have to say no. And that's truly unfortunate. GM is in no position to allow Cadillac the ability to spread its wings. They had one chance, and they blew it completely.

I don't think Cadillac blew it. They gave it a good go and then ran out of money. Matching the Germans would have taken several generations of new vehicles, constant improvement and LOTS of money invested.

There has been an attitude at GM for many years that one launch of a new product will suddenly slay the competition (Volt hype being a perfect example)
when it is ongoing, steady, and consistent innovation that leads the way.

[1.21 giggawatts]

GM has the somewhat of the perfect opportunity to close down a large portion of dealers carrying the Cadillac brand.

They should jump on that opportunity and push Cadillac way up market. Super luxury. I'm sure they could build cars to rival Bentley, Rolls Royce and such. They can revamp Buick to slot under Cadillac and Chevy to cover everything else.

I think the things that drive most car lovers nuts about the brand is that they flex their muscles with concept cars and the likes, and then dont deliver. which is pretty much what was stated above. I'd rather have 2 models from cadillac that held no reservations and set the standard for luxury, than have it continue to put out products that come up just short of the competition.

[EldoFan]

Your opinions regarding the Cadillac brand have become somewhat legendary around here mgescuro....indeed, I've read several multi-page threads filled with great opinions/wish lists etc.

You're beating a dead horse though I'm afraid. Though there are small glimmers of promise here and there, GM's reaction time is horribly slow (still 'too little, too late') and when you couple that with incompetent brand marketing and poor product planning....Cadillac is a brand that's hopelessly stuck in the mud.

An EPII Buick may be all well and good......but a EPII DT7?? It might do well vs. the Lincoln MKS, but won't be taken seriously next to the S-Class and 7-series (what most consider the new 'Standards of the World')

If Cadillac would get away from their CTS-centric strategy and give the same amount of time/effort/energy to the development of a proper flagship.....(the DT7 will be little more than a 21st century land yacht....).....a proper roadster and other key vehicle archetypes, we might at least be content to sit back and hold our breath but again, it all goes back to 'too little, too late'. GM squandered valuable time, money and resources allotted to Cadillac and now we're witnessing the results....

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by artrix

I agree, but nothing is impossible, if GM tries hard enough maybe Cadillac will be able to compete with such competitors as Mercedes and it's Maybach division... we all know it won't happen any time soon, but it's possible, it's just a matter of time...maybe people in 20, 30 or 40 years will be looking at Cadillacs from a different point of view...

But if they'll keep improving cars in the same pace as they did for the last few years i think they have a chance...

We should realize that in the coming years, there will be even more competition in the luxury marketplace. Hyundai is making a statement for itself. Jaguar is resurgent. Alfa will be returning to the US market. The Japanese are strengthening. And the Germans won't let their market leadership go unchallenged. The 21st century luxury market is highly competitive. Simply throwing product out there without any clear thought or direction or focus is unacceptable.

Cadillac a Maybach competitor? Even if the Renaissance went according to plan, it would still be a good 20= years before Cadillac reached that level!!

Converj might be interesting. But it cannot merely be a Volt rehash. Just because it's an advanced hybrid doesn't mean it can't be luxurious and full of high tech equipment. And Cadillac's latest trend of not even offering its Tuscany leather in CTS or SRX is quite disconcerting.

Cadillac is moving backwards. Not forwards. And unlike in the 1990's, where Cadillac had a decent name brand, Cadillac no longer has that, as it has managed to alienate much of its customer base, and will most likley fail to hold onto its new ones. CTS customers will balk at a higher price CTS due to it filling in for STS. STS customers will balk at stepping down to a CTS. DTS buyers are so old, they'll just die off.

It's more than difficult for Cadillac to succeed -- even in 10-20 years. it will take 10 just to realign its product line correctly. Another 10 to build an image. Another 10 just to establish respect and credibility. How do you do this at a bankrupt company and a product team that doesn't know what a luxury car is if it ran over their foot?

Originally Posted by EldoFan

You're beating a dead horse though I'm afraid. Though there are small glimmers of promise here and there, GM's reaction time is horribly slow (still 'too little, too late') and when you couple that with incompetent brand marketing and poor product planning....Cadillac is a brand that's hopelessly stuck in the mud.

It's not a matter of beating a dead horse, actually. It's about showing what Cadillac believed it was capable of doing. It's about showing what the competition did in response to Cadillac's concepts. And it's about showing Cadillac not even reaching the lofty bar it set.

BEsides, I started this commentary 3 weeks ago, and I just wasn't able to finish it.

10 years ago, it was "Art and Science will save Cadillac."
Today, no one gives a damn about Cadillac because it really is irrelevant. None of its cars really, truly make an impact.

Originally Posted by EldoFan

GM squandered valuable time, money and resources allotted to Cadillac and now we're witnessing the results....

Yes.

[Bravada]

The Japanese are strengthening.

Let's not go overboard proving an argument - see sales results...

[hunchman]

Originally Posted by eurohazard

I can't comment on your statements like: "Cadillac has managed to put out substandard products into a market where customers are far more discerning and far more demanding." The reason being; I have never owned a fancy NEW Cadillac, or any of its competitors like BMW, MB, Lexus, Audi etc.

But regarding the styling of those concepts, I got to say, those interiors are ugly. Heck I barely like the exterior of those concepts. GM did good by not building those things IMHO. Also, I am not at all a fan of the 1st gen CTS interior....looks Saturn SL'ish to me. And that is not a good thing to have to expect conquest sales from Lexus/BMW drivers. .

Omg I don't believe this but I'll have to agree with you. Those pics above are terrible. They look like something a treky would come up with.

There is nothing sub standard about the CTS. MG try owning one before you try to become an expert on them.

[gagt02]

Buick is more relevant than Cadillac...

[Robert Ryan]

Can Cadillac come back? I have to say no. And that's truly unfortunate. GM is in no position to allow Cadillac the ability to spread its wings. They had one chance, and they blew it completely. So Cadillac must resort to product repackaging to get product out the door in attempt to spur sales

It is a case of missing the finer points and a very hamfisted approach. The "launch" of the Cadillac at the Sydney Motor Show last year ,was embarrassing in so many ways. You could have been forgiven that a backyard outfit was launching its top range model, truly cringeworthy.
The car looked ok in silver, but the interior was awful. The US fellow providing information was clueless. The display looked an afterthought on the Holden stand(That is right ,the "Unique" Cadillac was grouped amongs the Holdens. Even Saab had its own seperate stand)

[Brenie]

It is so hard to believe that a company with the facilities and experience of GM can't produce a serious upmarket vehicle, it's like there is a committee running Cadillac and they get changed every year, there is no mission, no continuity.