Not sure how I feel about this. On one hand, I like the Escala, but on the other hand I do see his points about Audi (and the same thoughts from the majority of GMI). Is the Escala in totality an Audi rip off, or did they just borrow the C pillar?

Is Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" advertising bad? Or is it because they are using the same advertising on product that has been around and the new tagline really won't make much of a difference. I like the advertising, it catches my attention, but I'm a GM fan so perhaps that plays into my liking the ads.

And pricing, didn't Cadillac add a bunch of equipment? So the price didn't go down, but the value quotient went up. But is Cadillac communicating this well? Which if they aren't then it brings me back to their advertising. Does Cadillac need two types of ads? Dare Greatly to build the brand, but some nuts and bolts advertising to declare that there is more equipment for your $$.

I just don't know if Cadillac is doing poorly simply because they don't have CUV's to draw people into the showroom and just needs time until they do? Is there anything that can be done to move the ATS and CTS other than giving them away? And if they decide to give them away as Delorenzo is saying, is that really a good idea? It did work for Lexus but that was 15+ years ago and times have changed. Also look at the CTS, they had the lower price and lots of customers, but as soon as they tried to move the price up the customers fled. So are these customers attracted to the lower price the right customers for Cadillac's long term?

I'm full of questions and no answers. And I'm not sure if Delorenzo's answers are the right one. At face value they seem good, but if I think about them I start questioning.

 

Is Cadillac's "Dare Greatly" advertising bad? Or is it because they are using the same advertising on product that has been around and the new tagline really won't make much of a difference. I like the advertising, it catches my attention, but I'm a GM fan so perhaps that plays into my liking the ads.

I haven't seen a Cadillac ad in a solid six months, and I watch a fair amount of Television and a wide array of channels. Where are they running them, MSNBC and BET? Those are about the only two channels I don't watch.

Even on GMI, the banner ads I'm currently looking at are a Toyota Annual Clearance Event ad touting 0.0% APR on a 2016 Rav4 and an ad along the side bar (under the news ticker) for Universal Technical Institute.

I don't care for the 'Dare Greatly' ads myself, but if they'd air them they'd be better than nothing.

Obviously the poor Cadillac sales are caused by much more than a lack of advertising.

Yes and yes on your second point. The lack of CUV's are absolutely hurting Cadillac's sales, and they have nobody to blame but their own stupid selves. Is there anything besides lowering prices that can move ATS' and CTS'? I'm sure there is, but like you, I have no idea what that something might be. That's way above my pay grade.

 

Few are buying luxury cars because of tangible product advantages, short of Tesla (and even that is arguable). It's an emotional decision based a lot of brand perception and the brand's 'story'. Dare Greatly and the dealer efforts were a good start, but there is a lot more to it. Product -- particularly design -- is part of it. The engineering story is too. Cadillac is doing ok on both, but the fact that GM's most sophisticated technology (Volt, Bolt) doesn't originate from Cadillac IS a problem.

Does the new concept fix the design issues? Not to me. It's not bold enough. It's lovely but derivative. It's not 'dare greatly' and frankly it should be.

But, bolting smallblock into big cars and selling on value/price isn't the answer either, IMO. Cadillac needs to extend its legacy forward not look back.

I've said this before, but the Tesla brand/story is way closer to daring greatly than anything coming out of Cadillac. Hint: bolting Z06 motors into CTSs to chase M5s isn't daring or even suprising anymore. Surprise us, Cadillac, with something truly audacious, and then the brand will have some authenticity.

 

There may be a plan to globalize Cadillac's passenger cars while keeping its US/mideast trucks fully American.

Basically, we could continue to see two different Cadillacs within one brand for another 20 years.

 

I'm losing faith in Mary Barra.

Perhaps it's time for her to join Ed Welburn in retirement....

 

TY Stéphane!

what I've been waiting for

...not PdL specifically but the headline&content

note: in Latin class I was told the thumb thing has been reversed since 'the good ol days'

 

I posted a day or two, somewhere around here, with essentially the same message.

Clear the decks, the merry millennial "marketeers" (who need little Mickey Mouse ear-hats) (""because their "marketing" savvy is nonexistent) and their Brain Trust Masters should be shoved overboard.

Still one SUV. Don't worry, something is coming sometime in the '20s.

Oh yeah, and th' 'sclade. The one model that allows Caddy Division to survive is held in contempt by the pointy-heads in charge.
Still a raft of sedans.

Not to change the subject, but we just got a letter from the state AG's office, Collections Enforcement Section, dunning us for income taxes we did not pay because we did not live in the state that particular year. Like the Caddy Brainless Trust, AG have been given evidence time and again (by our accountant and by us personally), yet they continue driving merrily down Lemming Highway.

There is a disorder called Terminal Stupidity. I named it myself. It is not related to IQ. I IS related to being profoundly, impossibly, unbelievably stupid. It is incurable, and the victim/perpetrator is utterly unaware of how stupid they are.

PDL's crack about the SoHo Cadillac Hause:laugh::think: pretty well covers all the turf needed.

 

"While this has been going on, of course, Cadillac has only two, count ‘em, products that are actually selling. The majestic Escalade, for some the one vehicle that represents the quintessential stupidity of the SUV craze in this country and for others, the one vehicle that projects exactly the kind of street image and impact that Cadillac should be all about; and the new XT5, which replaced the previous SRX in the portfolio. As for the ATS and CTS, they’re dead in the water, while the leftover XTS appeals to buyers that Cadillac marketers simply don’t care about anymore." And therein lies the heart of the problem IMO

 

If the Midwestern automotive establishment is getting their panties in an uproar, it's a good thing. They're the ones who screwed up Cadillac in the first place, whereas JdN has a more successful track record than any of those Detroit bozos.

 

whereas JdN has a more successful track record than any of those Detroit bozos.

I can't tell if you're being serious.

 

This is Cadillac's #1 problem.

While de Nysschen was giving the dealers the bad news – Translation? Everything they knew to be true and did before was dead wrong, and Johan would show them the New Way into The Light – Ellinghaus hired a Millennial Posse of four, specifically devoid of auto experience to refocus Cadillac marketing on Millennials, who by 2020 will be the dominant consumers by far.

Millennials will not be the dominant Luxury Car buyers in 2020, mid 50's to 60's Boomers and Gen X'rs will be since they will be in the age groups with the most disposable income.

Said it a dozen times, want to fix the CTS?

Put a Small Block in it, starting with the base trim, same for the CT6, a TT V8 is not the answer since it will only be available on $70K+ models.

Boomers and Gen X'rs know that Cadillacs are supposed to be big, beautiful Automobiles with tons of style with V8 power, and that is what they will buy.

GM intentionally alienated them and until they reach out to them they will slowly slide into oblivion.

Sad thing is, there was no need to.

Cadillac could have offered a NA V8 in a base 1st gen CTS and attracted these buyers and must do it on the CT6 if they want to attract enough buyers to worry BMW and MB.

Doing this will have ZERO affect on ATS sales since the young ATS buyers Cadillac want to attract do not care what the bigger Cadillacs are powered by or how they ride/handle since they are not buying one.

Cadillac needs to return to some "Old School" products that will sell today and over the next 30 to 40 years to those same Boomers/Gen X'rs and leave plenty of room for Cadillac's European Performance Sedans.

This is the "secret" to the Escalade's success, yet Cadillac is too stubborn to see/admit it.

The XT5 sells because it offers a reasonable value (as the SRX did) and has good styling, in the right "segment".

Yes, Cadillac must add SUV's but GM has to understand that the Luxury market may not be a lucrative as they think over the next 5 years, and maybe they need to consider investing in other GM brands that will sell in much higher volumes at similar ATP/Margins.

 

This is Cadillac's #1 problem.

While de Nysschen was giving the dealers the bad news – Translation? Everything they knew to be true and did before was dead wrong, and Johan would show them the New Way into The Light – Ellinghaus hired a Millennial Posse of four, specifically devoid of auto experience to refocus Cadillac marketing on Millennials, who by 2020 will be the dominant consumers by far.

Millennials will not be the dominant Luxury Car buyers in 2020, mid 50's to 60's Boomers and Gen X'rs will be since they will be in the age groups with the most disposable income.

Arguable. But trends show a shift the past few years already. And that's due to the "race to the bottom" started by Audi and accelerated by Mercedes.
Consumers are getting premium, luxury branded cars in the low $30K range. That's more than attainable by Millennials.

But, like I've said for years, that will also result in brand dilution. So it must be countered by more attainable and more worth mid and high range cars.

Cadillac is and will be squeezed on both sides simply because they don't have the brand, nor do they have the needed funds to compete with Audi or Mercedes. Cadillac has no entrant in the "race to the bottom." (I've argued they don't need it.) But their entrants in the mid range aren't really all that. And they have no high end or aspirational vehicles.

Cadillac's best option is to not play the game. Do what it does best. And hope to God it's enough. But still, they haven't been efficient in platform utilization.
They should do what Jaguar has been doing. DOn't play the game and redefine itself based on it own terms.

Cadillac will be fine. They just need to product. We all knew this was the down period, imposed by JdN in order to get the proper product in place in 1-1.5 years. So, just hang on. THey're gonna hit the reset button soon enough.
Problem is, Genesis, Jaguar, the Germans, and Tesla are coming, if not already solidly on the way.

 

Maybe we need to figure out what Tv shows the uber trendy millennials are watching to check out the Cadillac advertising S...that is if millennials are even watching Tv. Isn't watching shows on Hulu or Netflix and chilling what they are doing?

 

Isn't watching shows on Hulu or Netflix and chilling what they are doing?

Hulu is garbage.

 

I just read that the oft-maligned Cascada is outselling the A3 & A5 convertibles... combined.
The secret to this? A5 size, A3 price.

Sound familiar?
The CTS sold like crazy when they used this very same tactic.
But this is GM... they refuse to do what they need to do even when the evidence is right in front of them.
They don't need bold moves, just do the obvious!

They kind of went there with the CT6, but unfortunately the car is styled to appeal to the Chinese.

 

GM tried to make two cars out of decent one, Old CTS > ATS+CTS, probably they have the same sales volume combined.

Plus no global platform to offset R&D and manufacturing cost.

Baby boomers have such money to buy luxury cars but after years of running this brand through "affordable, low quality and old school luxury" they gave their money to BMW/MB/Lexus and to less extent Acura/Infiniti.

No need for MBA to figure that out...