Archive for the ‘Pricing’ Category
  • SRX Forces CTS Wagon Price Cut, Ostensibly
    by Conor Cameron
    Posted January 25th, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    2010 Cadillac CTS Sport WagonCadillac recently lowered the price of the new-for-2010 CTS Sport Wagon. Prior to this change, the price of the base CTS Sport Wagon with the 3 liter V6 and rear-wheel drive was $40,485. Note all prices referenced here include destination. John Howell, vice president of Cadillac products worldwide explained the move, citing concerns that prospective Sport Wagon buyers would walk into Cadillac showrooms, “see the price of the SRX and lose interest in the wagon.” General Motors knocked just more than $1,300 off the cost of admission to the CTS D-pillar club, bringing the price down to $39,150. The price of the base SRX with front-wheel drive is $34,155. The hope is that reducing the price premium of the Sport Wagon over the SRX from $6,330 to $4,995 will keep just enough potential Sport Wagon buyers interested. By contrast, the base price of the CTS Sedan is $35,990.

    Thus far, most commentators have been skeptical. And for good reason: as of late, Americans have avoided wagons at all cost. Indeed, the SUV rose to prominence in part because of America’s anti-wagon prejudice. Mainstream buyers prefer SUVs over similarly capable and similarly priced wagons. Looking at the offerings from Cadillac, they will see that compared to the CTS Sport Wagon, the SRX is just as powerful, has more ground clearance and a more commanding view of the road, greater towing capacity, and more room (61 v 58 cubes, maximum cargo capacity). Moreover, the SRX comes with nearly a five thousand dollar discount compared to its stablemate. For most buyers, there is no contest.

    But such comparative thinking misses the 3,500 pound boat the CTS cannot tow. The Sport Wagon’s raison d’être is to lend Cadillac credibility in the European market where the serious luxury automakers, Mercedes Benz, Audi, and BMW, all market performance wagons, with quite some success. Cadillac does not expect the car to be a volume seller on this side of the pond. Back in August, Motor Trend wrote:

    (more…)

  • GM Exec: Chevy Volt May Cost Less Than Expected 40K
    by Alex Luft
    Posted January 7th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
    We know almost every single detail about the Chevy Volt, but are still missing one major piece of the puzzle: the price! Luckily, Jon Lauckner – GM’s chief of Global Program Development – was able to shed some light on the matter.
    Speaking at a ceremony marking the commencement of Volt battery production, Lauckner said that the price of the Volt could be significantly lower than the estimated $40,000, adding “We have until this summer to figure that out.”
    On top of that, rumors are rampant that GM’s board is thinking about pushing up the release date of the Volt, which is currently set to launch sometime at the end of 2010 in select US markets. This means that EV could be available at the end of the summer or in early fall of 2010. Such an early launch, however, would most likely mean that it would be available only to fleets or on a lease-only basis. 
    It seems that GM is looking at the competition (such as the Nissan Leaf EV) and doing its best to launch the Volt at an earlier time and at a lower price range. Nevertheless, we expect high dealer markups for the bow-tie EV whenever it’s available.  
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