Caddy courts California import owners with test drive parties
By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
IRVINE, Calif. — It was an invitation-only foreign invasion of a defunct U.S. Marine base.
Motorists — in cars and SUVs hailing from Germany, Japan, Italy and Great Britain — drove up to a giant tent with a Hollywood-style faux brick facade festooned with a giant Cadillac logo. Rock music blared, and inside a buffet offered miniburritos, pastries and other finger foods.
But the General Motors Corp. luxury division didn’t invite these mostly import owners here for a picnic. Cadillac is trying to crack one of the toughest markets in the country with a series of “Drive Summits.”
Cadillac’s multibillion-dollar overhaul has translated into higher sales in California in recent years, but the brand still trails Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus by a wide margin in the nation’s largest new car and truck market.
“We knew we had to do something different in California,” said Kim McGill, GM marketing director for North American products. “We didn’t have a lot of people getting in our cars.”
“We had to get behind enemy lines,” added Michael Navari, Cadillac national sales promotion manager.
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By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
IRVINE, Calif. — It was an invitation-only foreign invasion of a defunct U.S. Marine base.
Motorists — in cars and SUVs hailing from Germany, Japan, Italy and Great Britain — drove up to a giant tent with a Hollywood-style faux brick facade festooned with a giant Cadillac logo. Rock music blared, and inside a buffet offered miniburritos, pastries and other finger foods.
But the General Motors Corp. luxury division didn’t invite these mostly import owners here for a picnic. Cadillac is trying to crack one of the toughest markets in the country with a series of “Drive Summits.”
Cadillac’s multibillion-dollar overhaul has translated into higher sales in California in recent years, but the brand still trails Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus by a wide margin in the nation’s largest new car and truck market.

“We knew we had to do something different in California,” said Kim McGill, GM marketing director for North American products. “We didn’t have a lot of people getting in our cars.”
“We had to get behind enemy lines,” added Michael Navari, Cadillac national sales promotion manager.
more...