[ral1960]

And when did Lexus ever out-engineer the Germans?

Reliability. It's important to some buyers, especially those of us who owned American cars from the 70's and 80's and saw too much of our dealers.

I hope GM & Uwe don't forget that people over 50 own most of the wealth in this country. Some of us still like to drive fast, but we don't want our bones rattled too much. We're also often broad of beam (well I'm not).

Those high-dollar rear seats that people posted recently all looked more stylish than comfortable & roomy. Maybe Cadillac can manage all three. Unfortunately, headroom is not a priority for the Chinese.

 

[mgescuro]

In real world™ marketing at major MNCs, you make substantive choices backed by facts and data.

That is not always the case.

Black and silver (and gold in some cultures) are known to be strongly associated with luxury, exclusivity, and upscale goods. There are psychological studies behind this. Can you argue in favor of red or white, especially for an underdog in need of global attention? Sure, but you don't give "umm, car pics are going to be not-black" as an answer to a question about Cadillac's "Americanness."

Uwe/Cadillac is focusing on a specific type of image. Certain colors convert a certain message.
You can absolutely make a case for colors and its portrayal in corporate messaging.

"Cadillac is about American luxury!"
'What is American luxury?'

Reminds me of when Buick's slogan was "The Spirit of American Style" featuring Harley Earl's ghost in TV ads. No one knew what the hell "American style" meant, the message didn't stick, and now Buick's most competent offering is an Opel. I'm all in favor of using nationality to define a brand as Jaguar is distinctly British, Volvo is very Swedish, Lexus is proudly Japanese, and Ferrari is very Italian, but if you can't provide a pithy answer to a basic question about how that nationality is interpreted in the context of your product, you need to find another direction.

The problem here is that there is no such thing as "American Luxury."
I've made this point over and over here for years. American luxury is defined by other more global/European standards. There is no distinct and unique version of luxury. And even if there were, it's not seen or perceived as equivalent or greater than the European standard.

When you say "<Insert country here> luxury," it's going to project certain connotations. There is nothing that says anything about American luxury.

So Uwe's challenge is to determine that that means for Cadillac going forward and then play off that in all marketing and branding aspects.


Like I said months ago. Uwe was in charge of having to sell and marketing $1,000 ballpoint pens. Selling an American luxury car should be a cake walk.

 

[mgescuro]

If Cadillac has a less wealthy clientele that has lower expectations, those results aren't really indicative of a superior experience... are they?

*ding ding ding*
Stats always lie. it's just a matter how the data is sliced.

 

[mchicha]

That is not always the case.



Uwe/Cadillac is focusing on a specific type of image. Certain colors convert a certain message.
You can absolutely make a case for colors and its portrayal in corporate messaging.



The problem here is that there is no such thing as "American Luxury."
I've made this point over and over here for years. American luxury is defined by other more global/European standards. There is no distinct and unique version of luxury. And even if there were, it's not seen or perceived as equivalent or greater than the European standard.

When you say "<Insert country here> luxury," it's going to project certain connotations. There is nothing that says anything about American luxury.

So Uwe's challenge is to determine that that means for Cadillac going forward and then play off that in all marketing and branding aspects.


Like I said months ago. Uwe was in charge of having to sell and marketing $1,000 ballpoint pens. Selling an American luxury car should be a cake walk.

I agree totally with these (highlighted)
The only thing I can think of as Uniquely american is innovation and bold forward looking attitudes.. America is a melting pot of cultures. No one single culture can really define luxury for america.

The only thing Cadillac could do if it wants to recluse into a culture is go french.

 

[mgescuro]

I agree totally with these (highlighted)
The only thing I can think of as Uniquely american is innovation and bold forward looking attitudes.. America is a melting pot of cultures. No one single culture can really define luxury for america.

The only thing Cadillac could do if it wants to recluse into a culture is go french.

I'm not sure about the French. But yes. Uwe needs to determine what Cadillac as a brand is going to stand for.
And I don't mean "performance" or "sport" or "technology."

It's about the image that Cadillac itself projects onto the car buying world. Because once Cadillac has that image, then the performance, sport, technology, luxury comes along for the ride. The buyer will then make that connection in his/her head about what to expect from Cadillac.

 

[mchicha]

I'm not sure about the French. But yes. Uwe needs to determine what Cadillac as a brand is going to stand for.
And I don't mean "performance" or "sport" or "technology."

It's about the image that Cadillac itself projects onto the car buying world. Because once Cadillac has that image, then the performance, sport, technology, luxury comes along for the ride. The buyer will then make that connection in his/her head about what to expect from Cadillac.

Their designs are unique, there is no mistaking a Cadillac for anything else on the road, thats for sure, but, I doubt that is enough.

 

[Jesda]

And when did Lexus ever out-engineer the Germans?

1990-2000

They forced MB in particular to reevaluate the way it designs and engineers cars. MB struggled with execution for nearly a decade around the turn of the century.

W163, W210, and W220 were perfect examples of MB losing its way in the face of new, more efficient competition.

 

[Jesda]

The problem here is that there is no such thing as "American Luxury."

Exactly and thus far, he's demonstrated that he has no idea what that is or what it ought to be. It's a nebulous concept. Will Cadillac be able to define it? Who knows.

 

[mgescuro]

Exactly and thus far, he's demonstrated that he has no idea what that is or what it ought to be. It's a nebulous concept. Will Cadillac be able to define it? Who knows.

That's the point. He has to define it.
He has to build it from scratch.

 

[70eldo]

I think Ellinghaus is on a right track about re-defining the Cadillac nomenclature. I share the concern that Cadillac indeed lost its identity and was trailing competition. And I am even more surprized Cadillac/GM has been allowing this unawareness for years now.

I hope this will also translate to how sales and service will handle their luxury segment customers.