Future Cadillac Coupe, Wagon Confirmed
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Despite former reports on the contrary, Cadillac VP of marketing Don Butler hinted to Car & Driver that a Cadillac wagon is indeed in the plans for the future, as is a coupe (which we already expect). However, he did note that the brand may not “necessarily continue forward in the way we’re doing it today.”
So, what does this mean? It could just mean that the new wagon may not necessarily be an all-new CTS Wagon, per se. Could it be an ATS Wagon, despite reports on the contrary? Considering Cadillac’s German rivals offer wagons in both the compact and midsized segments, we’d recommend offering a pair of all-new Alpha-based 5-doors. Even if there is a small rear-wheel-drive crossover coming. But that may be too much for the American market to handle. However, it’s easy to see both an ATS and CTS wagon selling at a decent clip in Europe.
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Nice!
Cadillac needs to find it’s models and stick with them generation after generation. once a model is out, there will be fans and offering one model one generation and not the next, will confuse fans and gives bad image to the brand.
“Cadillac execs know it’s critical to offer a number of body styles in the luxury segment; in addition to bringing in more sales, they signal to shoppers that the brand and its products are strong.”
So, this line of thinking doesn’t apply to Buick, GMC, and Chevrolet? What is it about a coupe or wagon that makes it inappropriate for people without money to burn?
Because the low margin cars of Buick , GMC , and Chevy arent able to swallow up the cost of variants as well as a high margin car such as Cadillac.
BTW, I dont agree with them, just saying GM’s thinking.
But, why would the execs say it’s “critical.” Doesn’t seem to fit if the issue is losing the minority who would prefer the variants. If it’s because a more narrow set of offerings would weaken the brand then the same could be said for the mainstream brands. Mazda doesn’t seem to have any trouble, and they’re manufacturing state-of-the-art in the rather high-cost country of Japan.
Well its “critical” for Cadillac not for other brands.
The thing is that you and I want a compact hatch, but in reality most Americans dont, look at the matrix, which is a corolla hatch, and its sales are declining, and its the same story with the Camry and Accord wagons. For some reason, American love sedans, why? No one knows.
On Mazda, did you know that Mazda is almost as close to PSA as going bankrupt, and would have gone bankrupt in the 2000s hadnt it been for Ford. So there having a problem doing something, but thats another topic.
I don’t think it’s a love of sedans. I think it’s a love of big SUVs and trucks. These are the people that would otherwise buy hatch/wagons out of a need for utility. Makes people feel more secure when they ride a bigger vehicle that is also higher.
It would be different if fuel wasn’t so cheap. I’ve had numerous people tell me they like being able to see down the road better, and they worry about being hit by a bigger vehicle. So it’s a spiraling thing. The more big and tall vehicles we have, the more we’re going to get. We would be much better off as a nation (and globe) if we had balanced our federal budget with gasoline taxes rather than tax productivity (wages) to the extent that we do, but that’s another issue…. So I think it’s actually cheap fuel that invariably inhibits our choice. I’m not saying I would prefer Europe’s politics, but I definitely would prefer their vehicle choices.