Earlier this year, General Motors celebrated the opening of a dedicated Cadillac pavilion in Beijing, erected to attract Chinese luxury car buyers from the leading brands — which just happen to be German. On display was a 1927 Webster’s dictionary opened to the entry for Cadillac; the definition: “Something that is the most outstanding or prestigious of its kind.”
The Wreath and Crest brand may have had its ups and downs in the U.S, but it’s an entirely different story in China, where the brand and its 110-year heritage is associated with power, success, and — remarkably — Presidents of the United States.
“Chinese may or may not like America, but they definitely like the power that’s associated with America,” said Michael Dunne, an industry analyst and author out of Jakarta. “They admire, respect and like power and America is the world’s leading superpower, so owning an American car offers an opportunity to be part of that.
Indeed, the pavilion also showed off a scale model of Cadillac’s U.S. Presidential limousine — a feat not remotely shared by Audi, the leading luxury brand in China that sells almost ten times as many units as Cadillac. That is mostly due to a number of unfortunate circumstances and poor planning by the Old GM, but something that New GM is addressing head on. Over the next several years, General Motors will move Chinese-market Cadillac production to the country — a move that will allow it to shed hefty import fees carried by most of its product portfolio. In addition, Cadillac will introduce one new model a year to the market starting with the Cadillac XTS and followed by the ATS.
“We are held in essentially the same regard as BMW and Audi and Mercedes-Benz, and part of it does go back to this really fond association with America” and its profile of power and success, said Vice President of Cadillac marketing Don Butler. “It’s the car of presidents.”
Most intriguing is Mr. Butler’s assertion that half of the world’s luxury goods will be purchased in China by 2020. And if that statistic is accurate, Cadillac better start selling more than 10,000 units a month in the Land of the Red Dragon — or else its scale, and subsequent ability, to develop The World Class will be drastically curtailed. For its part, the Cadillac pavilion will be an area in which GM will showcase the brand’s uniqueness by inviting influentials to enjoy art, including pieces by pop icon Andy Warhol and modern Chinese artist Yue Minjun. Expect Cadillacs to adorn, if not complement, their works.
Comments
I am all for GM’s growth and success in China, but as an American, I just want to be given the same purchasing opportunities that GM is giving the Chinese, especially since I paid for GM to survive with my tax dollars.
Some people within GM have been wonderful. I have been conversing with a certain mid-level person who has listened to my concerns with the utmost respect. Because of that, this will be the last post for FixEncoreArmrest. But I am not done. Henceforth I shall be know as VeranoHatchForUS …
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2010/10/pictured-more-images-of-the-buick-excelle-xt-hatch/
This is the car I really want, but with the Encore’s folding front seat and roof rack, and that 2.0 Turbo.
“I just want to be given the same purchasing opportunities that GM is giving the Chinese”
I worry that in doing so, GM would make Cadillac too accessable to the global public and thereby undoing everything that Art and Science have done so far.
Not everyone should be able to afford a Cadillac. An air of distinction and a physical distance between those that hover around outside the showroom versus those that can sign on the dotted line must be maintained.
If the public wants acessable/affordable luxury, then they can visit a Buick dealer.
OK, agreed. Cadillac is for those with more money. Bring me the Buick.
Yes, a wonderful new Buick…..or a end-of-year Cadillac…the new Buicks are just as nice as Cadillacs in many ways…..:)
“Not everyone should be able to afford a Cadillac.”
Thank you for your rational opinion. I was in an argument with someone over the pricing of the ATS, and I eventually ended it with, “Look, Cadillac makes cars for rich people. I’m sorry you can’t afford one.”
If you want Cadillac to build the best cars in the world, be prepared to pay as much for one as you would for a BMW. Nobody complains that 20 year olds can’t afford a 335i.
Well, I think most Americans cant afford a brand new car at all , let alone 20 year olds, that said, Cadillac will never become the standard of the world if it is “affordable” .
Exactly. It’s my great hope that in 5 years the default response to “I’m looking to spend 20 grand on a car” is, “Buy a used ATS.”
Because right now, I’d say, “Buy a used BMW.” or “Buy a new Cruze.”
Easy choice.
No, don’t by the used BMW unless you could have afforded a new one. Any repair will bankrupt you.
Let me rephrase that.
“But a Certified used BMW.”
Disagree Paul. A certified used BMW just means the car is in good shape per inspection and you can continue to have it warranted. When the warranty runs out, which would be rather quickly unless you bought it practically new, you’re either stuck with the purchase of an expensive extended warranty or the risk of repairs that truly will hit hard — at least to the kind of person who might buy a Cruze.
Maybe you were lucky. I was not. I got hit with thousands of dollars in repair bills shortly after the new purchase warranty ran out. I will never buy a German car again. I thought I was doing well by avoiding VW, whose record at the time was worse. I’ll take the European chassis, designs, and styles but I’d rather leave the powertrains and manufacturing to the work of the Asians. I’d like to see the American companies learn from both. But until they do, the safest bet for the man on a budget, especially if one wants something other than a sedan or SUV, is to buy Japanese.
Absolutely, I actually think buying certified used a waste of money, better to pay a trusted experienced mechanic $100 and have them come inspect the car before you buy it. After that maintain it to the dot and hope for the best. If a car was built to have costly repairs down the line, then its going to have costly repairs down the line, certified or not.
I have a friend who had a 5 series, which was reliable to a point, but not that bad what you had to deal with. A family member has three mercedes which has been mostly been reliable, a clk, ml and cls. but I have had friends or people i know had good luck and bad luck with their bmw’s. I do wish all of the german brands built their engines and trannies like the japanese. Really only a gm cars I like, ie, buick verano and chevy cruze, and the holden commadors. and I sort of like the new ats from caddy.
Definitely , but what about your Mini?
@Babersher. I never said I wanted another BMW MINI. I want a GM American made MINI, for obvious reasons — good for me and good for Americans.
But per our deal, I’ll settle for a high-end Cruze hatch, though there is money for something a little better. GM doesn’t seem to want my money though.
Youre being very defensive and I was in no way alluding to our past conversation, I was simply asking, that since you seem to think BMWs are unreliable, a notion I completely agree with, you dont seem to have the same problem with your Mini, so is your Mini unreliable or not? And what has been your experience with your Mini regarding repair costs, I have had a 325, but never a Mini, so its something im not familiar with.
Was trying to avoid talking about the MINI and instead BMW, but yes, my personal experience is with the cost of repairing a BMW MINI. I had friends who got burned by BMW before I bought it but I thought the MINI would be different, being of British origin, only purchased by BMW. But down the road we learned what BMW is really like, and the original dealership where I bought it we found out to be worse.
Check the owner complaints (something I failed to do) and you will see two major problems that BMW knew all about with older MINIs: A CVT transmission and power steering pumps that would barely make it past the warranty period, among other problems. I was lucky to own a manual.
That said, cars come out with problems all the time, and I still love how the MINI drives. It is the company’s response to those problems that leaves it with a loyal customer, or a customer looking for someone else to make its products.
The CTS is the only wagon that we can get from GM in the U.S. Now I’ve heard everyone under the sun defend the idea that Chevrolet should not sell the U.S. a hatch, much less a wagon, because it is “niche,” i.e., the market just isn’t there. So someone answer me this: How is it then that it’s OK to produce and sell the CTS?
Now I’m fully aware that the profit margin on a CTS Sport Wagon is quite a bit more than GM could get on a Cruze wagon, but the Cruze would win by volume hands down, so it’s got to be no worse than a wash. The only way you can justify this is to say that rich people prefer wagons more so than average people, but I would say the reverse is more likely to be true. The average person needs more utility than a rich person. The rich person can afford to have a car for every purpose. The average person needs the Sport Wagon for their sports car, their commuter car, and their car to carry the groceries.
So GM, get with the program and give us foreign car buyers a reason to buy from GM. Cut the excuses, and quit trying to force us into buying cars that don’t quite fit. Enough already.
Station wagons will return. But they will not be called wagons they will be a CUV with a chopped top.
@MW. EXCELLENT, but when, and what size? My sense is that the first ones will be mid-size or larger, not the best if the need is commuting.
Per the BMW discussion I neglected to put in some specific dollars. This should give folks a feel: The power steering pump cost about $1600, and then they ruined the steering column on top of that by refusing to replace the pump when I told them it was failing. Incredibly, I had to negotiate with them to cover part of the steering column cost, which still brought the total to about $2000. (The best independent repair shop in the area would not touch the issue.) A failed sensor in the dash cost $1000 to replace. The thermostat (about $400 a pop) isn’t designed for hot climates, etc…
Costs like these might be reasonable for a Cadillac buyer, but new MINI’s when I bought started under 20 K$, so that kind of buyer will be in shock from these sorts of bills. It made me realize that BMW makes money from failure. On the MINI BMW also makes al lot of money from customization and the la carte options, which I’m more than content with and wish GM would do the same.
I would like to see Buick put an end to BMW’s scamming in America. Cadillac isn’t going to start a car under 20 K$, however small, and they shouldn’t. The Buick manager I talked with would not treat customers like this. I was thrilled to see Buick thinking the size of the Encore, but we need more.
Cadillac the world standard