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Why Can't Cadillac's SoHo Whiz Kids Deliver This Kind of Passion?

11K views 127 replies 38 participants last post by  1958carnut 
#1 ·
Turn it up!




 
#7 ·
I feel like the ATS has the goods to be a passionate car. The Alfa commercial only makes you want one until you go & see if it's a practical daily driver. To a small percentage of people, it is, just as the ATS is. However, the ATS & CTS styling is now so derivative that they sort of blend into the landscape & don't command anyone's attention.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Type in " Alfa Romeo " on you tubie and you get this one, the better / best Superbowl effort ( hands down ) .... the one far better any way you want to slice it except possibly for a certain type of Female target market. Including about a..... eh... type....... or aspect of a type of Passion.

Has more views than the next four " Alfa Romeo " combined....

 
#4 ·
We all know that they made a decision to water down their styling for the Chinese market, a gamble that has thus far paid off in China however was questionable here in the states. Combined with market preference shifting from luxury sedans to luxury CUVs. I think the "passionate" days at Cadillac are long gone, think Audi..... look at all of their passion....
 
#6 ·
I thought the commercial you posted is very similar to Cadillac's initial ATS campaign where they had the series with the ATS on winding roads. I think they were in Monaco.

And I also thought everyone on GMI said GM screwed up because no one wants performance cars, the ATS needs to be bigger and softer. Chasing performance is copying the Europeans.

Will advertising like this attract the general female population? I'm thinking not, so 50% of the population is already out. This ad is targeting a very small slice of the buying public, performance oriented people. And even a smaller slice of that marketing due to the style (as with any car), I myself don't like the styling, particularly the grill. And even a smaller segment will consider buying because of the perceived quality of Italian cars that it will need to overcome. This ad to me almost screams "we wont be able to sway people who are buying German luxury, so we need to go after a small niche.".

And sadly, the new GM isn't about passion anymore, it is about where they can make the most profits and targeting an entire lineup at a small segment probably wont cut it in the new GM.

However, Cadillac can have a different kind of passion, which I agree it lacks.
 
#10 ·
I thought the commercial you posted is very similar to Cadillac's initial ATS campaign where they had the series with the ATS on winding roads. I think they were in Monaco.

And I also thought everyone on GMI said GM screwed up because no one wants performance cars, the ATS needs to be bigger and softer. Chasing performance is copying the Europeans.

Will advertising like this attract the general female population? I'm thinking not, so 50% of the population is already out. This ad is targeting a very small slice of the buying public, performance oriented people. And even a smaller slice of that marketing due to the style (as with any car), I myself don't like the styling, particularly the grill. And even a smaller segment will consider buying because of the perceived quality of Italian cars that it will need to overcome. This ad to me almost screams "we wont be able to sway people who are buying German luxury, so we need to go after a small niche.".

And sadly, the new GM isn't about passion anymore, it is about where they can make the most profits and targeting an entire lineup at a small segment probably wont cut it in the new GM.


I remember that ATS commercial, it showed a brief sign of life for Cadillac. However, it wasn't as artfully done as this one.

The grill is PURE Alfa , my friend. It'd be like saying that you don't like round tail lights on the Corvette......oh, wait.
 
#62 ·
Sorry, but my opinion is the opposite. I fell in love with Art & Science in 2004 on the CTS-V. Yesterday I saw a red ATS-V and with the spring sun hitting it at noon, it looked very exciting, passionate, and powerful.

There might be one in my driveway, except, at that price I just can't torture my kids in that back seat. And although a sports sedan's priority should not lie in its trunk space, 10.4 cu ft is pathetic. Embarrassing actually.

A Mustang has 13.5 cu ft. BMW 3 series has 13.0 cu ft. A Cruze sedan has 14.8 cu ft.
 
#14 ·
The Cadillac ATS ads used to remind me of this until their watered down MCE. It lost its spark. Not only that, (GM/) Chevy put so much into the Camaro that they let their alpha outshine its distant cousin and the ATS (especially coupe) became irrelevant and withered away and died. It's stale in a market that's constantly evolving. Performance and cosmetic enhancements should have been made EVERY YEAR (inside and out) since the ATS came out but they didn't.

The guys at Chevy (Camaro and Corvette team) deserve the office with a view (Soho) before ANYONE (yes I said it ANYONE!) at Cadillac.

#SadTruth
 
#17 ·
I agree though Cadillac's ads suck.
I thought I was alone with this! Lol I cringe when I see those NYC themed backdrop ads running. Does absolutely NOTHING for their 'Dare Greatly' campaign.

Sidenote: The herds of unbadged Dodge Journeys and Ford Edge crossovers in that Escalade commercial was a horrible spot too. Wtf Cadillac. Ugh... -_-
 
#16 ·
Sorry, neither of those two ads floats my boat. But then I'm a bit jaded, I've heard all this stuff 1000 times.

Will a girl buy an Alfa? HELL YES!

This is all about image. IMAGE. IMAGE. IMAGE.

I recall going into a Bimmah dealer in NLR maybe 20 years ago. I speaketh to the sales fool something like, "Dood! Too bad Bimmah drivahz aren't all Drivers like they were in the 60s and 70s."

"Oh, but they ARE!" the foo replied.

Yes. I can see that, I can see that sitting at a light, following one, passing one. Meeting the people who own one.

So if women like the image--red hot sports car from Italy--they will buy it. Or lease it. For their new lease on life, and relationships. If an ad like this plants the seed as it's intended, then sales will follow.

Cars are emotional purchases, they are THE image we present to the world.
 
#22 ·
What's so great about that? It's no better or interesting than these:








And while we're on the subject, where are the ads from the Germans?
The first one was okay, the second one, meh.. That commercial is 5 years old, BTW.
 
#30 · (Edited)
So basically this is Julia. With some G thrown in?




To answer the thread question, though:
The SoHoes consider themselves analytical intellectuals. Tweed jackets with leather elbow patches, thoughtfully smoking pipes (tobacco, let us assume...), and people who think in terms of "brand" and not "red blooded!" will by definition not have passion. At work, anyway.
 
#38 ·
Let's see what Caddy comes out with. Obviously Johan dislikes the current fleet of cars offered. He wouldn't even let them change the names of the cars to the new naming scheme. I have a feeling that Johan and his team will blow our minds away in a good way or a horrendous way. In my opinion though, If the Escala is anything to go by, Cadillac will be back and in a huge way. The interior of the Escala is exactly what I would've expected from Cadillac going forward if they stayed true to their ultra luxury beginnings. Let's all give Johan and his team time to show us what they got.
On a side note, you cannot be taking seriously as a luxury maker without any convertibles on the range. The Germans are at a breakneck speed to chop off the roofs on almost all of their models.
 
#43 ·
If the base ATS looked like the ATS-V (minus the hood scoop and spoiler) and they resurrected the Breakthrough commercial using The Doors Break on Through to the other side that would show some passion.
As is, Cadillac is neutered by boring design and tepid advertising
 
#46 ·
GM has found profits, unfortunately these profits lean towards Toyota's playbook, cars for the masses without niche performance vehicles. I think we will see a lot more excitement out of Cadillac over the next couple of years, but right now we are crying over spilt milk.
 
#47 · (Edited)
They are so busy placating every possible demographic that could ever buy a Cadillac, that they don't want to offend anyone.

Can't show spirited driving without alienating the traditional old fogey demo, can't show the old fogey couple without alienating the edgy hip degreed millennials that made it big while young, can't show the V's wringing out 640hp on the track so they don't alienat the conservative old money demo, so all they can do is come up with a taunting motto of Dare Greatly.

They need to figure out just who they are targeting and actually target them with specific strategy to appeal to them.

It's as though they've built the cars, built the mystique, built the marketing, and the target demo is an ill-defined whispy phantom they can't speak directly to.

It's a weird paradox.
 
#67 · (Edited)
I'm really late to the conversation, and someone may have mentioned this, but a big part of this is about the perception of the brand and their history.

Alfa was always a sporting brand before it ever was a "luxury" brand. Their cars went racing, their marketing highlighted their efforts there, and they made a big deal over the fact that their cars were all about the visceral-ness of driving (the sights, sounds, feeling you get when you drive it). In taking on the Mille Miglia, clocking times through the Stelvio Pass, or just getting celebs to drive their cars, Alfa increased that aura. And thanks to the Press from the 1950s through the 1970s, this aura and mystique is what people think about when they think "Alfa Romeo".

Now, to be fair, until very recently (and with few exceptions like the 1980s GTV and TZ, 1990s 75, and a few other models), Alfa has not lived up to that perception. In that way, it is/was kind of like what we though of Pontiac. In some ways, Pontiac was like Alfa. It had a storied history that everyone waxed on romantically about, but their contemporary products (with few exceptions) didn't live up to the hype. It wasn't all that long ago that Pontiac was selling Firebirds, GTOs, and G8s alongside SV6 Montanas, Grand Ams, Sunbirds/Sunfires, G5s. This kind of product output and mismanagement is what also has plagued Alfa for some time.

Taking all of that into account, Cadillac has a very different heritage and mystique. Cadillac's mystique is all about big luxury, coddling occupants, success, and celebrities. And even on the famous celebrities front, Alfa was more of the "Paul Newman", "Steve McQueen", and "La Dolce Vita" type-set than Cadillac's "Elvis Presley", "Marilyn Monroe", and "Park Avenue/Rodeo Drive" image. While it's all laudable, desirable, and extravagant, it is much less "pulse inducing" mindset than anything that Alfa (or Maserati, Jaguar, BMW, etc) have in their DNA. People "long to own" a Caddy back in the day because they would have "arrived" and "made it". It was a status symbol. It meant you were at the top of your game and someone who deserved respect. Comparatively, people "desired to drive" an Alfa Romeo. It was all about the experience, the senses you had while driving it, and how it made your blood boil.

I wish Caddy a bit more of what Alfa has in their history and DNA. It doesn't. However, that's not to say that Caddy could try to chase some of that by going racing and competing. Some luxury brands, like Audi and BMW (and, perhaps, even Lagonda or Jaguar) have done this on varying levels of success. Cadillac can do the same, if only GM had the will to see it through.

I hope they do.
 
#68 ·
I'm really late to the conversation, and someone may have mentioned this, but a big part of this is about the perception of the brand and their history.

Alfa was always a sporting brand before it ever was a "luxury" brand. Their cars went racing, their marketing highlighted their efforts there, and they made a big deal over the fact that their cars were all about the visceral-ness of driving (the sights, sounds, feeling you get when you drive it). In taking on the Mille Miglia, clocking times through the Stelvio Pass, or just getting celebs to drive their cars, Alfa increased that aura. And thanks to the Press from the 1950s through the 1970s, this aura and mystique is what people think about when they think "Alfa Romeo".

Now, to be fair, until very recently (and with few exceptions like the 1980s GTV and TZ, 1990s 75, and a few other models), Alfa has not lived up to that perception. In that way, it is/was kind of like what we though of Pontiac. In some ways, Pontiac was like Alfa. It had a storied history that everyone waxed on romantically about, but their contemporary products (with few exceptions) didn't live up to the hype. It wasn't all that long ago that Pontiac was selling Firebirds, GTOs, and G8s alongside SV6 Montanas, Grand Ams, Sunbirds/Sunfires, G5s. This kind of product output and mismanagement is what also has plagued Alfa for some time.

Taking all of that into account, Cadillac has a very different heritage and mystique. Cadillac's mystique is all about big luxury, coddling occupants, success, and celebrities. And even on the famous celebrities front, it was more of the "Paul Newman", "Steve McQueen", and "La Dolce Vita" type-set than "Elvis Presley", "Marilyn Monroe", and "Park Avenue/Rodeo Drive". While it's all laudable, desirable, and extravagant, it is much less "pulse inducing" mindset than anything that Alfa (or Maserati, Jaguar, BMW, etc) have in their DNA. People "long to own" a Caddy back in the day because they would have "arrived" and "made it". It was a status symbol. It meant you were at the top of your game and someone who deserved respect. Comparatively, people "desired to drive" an Alfa Romeo. It was all about the experience, the senses you had while driving it, and how it made your blood boil.

I wish Caddy a bit more of what Alfa has in their history and DNA. It doesn't. However, that's not to say that Caddy could try to chase some of that by going racing and competing. Some luxury brands, like Audi and BMW (and, perhaps, even Lagonda or Jaguar) have done this on varying levels of success. Cadillac can do the same, if only GM had the will to see it through.

I hope they do.
Excellent!
 
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#70 ·
Alfa has consistent styling going back to the 1920s and cars that now go for 7 and 8 figures at auctions.

If there's a Cadillac that can fetch over a million I've yet to see one.

There is a stigma that goes with Cadillac that does not go with Alfa. A/R has always made small, lightweight, very nimble, very fun, and very performance oriented cars. Alfa has a very rich, much adored history in racing. Cadillac had the V16 when the Alfa 8C was winning touring races.

If Cadillac was going to try to take Alfa head on in the performance market, they'd have to go back to the drawing board and literally start from scratch. Back in 1912.
 
#72 · (Edited)
There is a stigma that goes with Cadillac that does not go with Alfa.
Alfa has two stigmas that Cadillac doesn't have.
1. Italians make unreliable crap. Fix It Again Tony has done nothing to change that opinion.
2. Alfa turned tail and ran back to Europe in the '90's when they couldn't compete. There's no reason to think history won't repeat itself.

Jeep is the only FCA brand you can count on. The whole lot of the rest of 'em could go poof at any time.
 
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#93 ·
Where's my midsize Cadillac coupe?

You said it was a CT5. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you were "right," but "wrong."

A chance to redeem yourself: is this Cadillac coupe also likely to underpin Chevrolet and Holden coupes alongside a new RWD spiritual successor to the Commodore (Chevelle/Monaro)?
 
#77 · (Edited)
Tis a good question.

I went up to the Toronto Auto Show on Saturday. The Escala was there. So was (obviously) the rest of the line up. Guess what. The Escala made EVERY SINGLE CADILLAC on the show floor look like C.R.A.P. Whether any of the younglings at Cadillac had a hand in it or not, whoever was on the team did an outstanding job on the car. Escala needs to be A) MADE, and B) Influence the crap out of the dead rolling product they have now.

The lights are on somewhere within Cadillac...just not in all the rooms yet.
 
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