After Cadillac confirmed its rumored move to Manhattan, many Detroit natives and other supporters of the brand took to the internet to voice their disdain for the decision. That included Crain Communications chairman and Automotive News editor-in-chief Keith Crain, who wrote a piece highlighting the different problems with Cadillac’s big move.
While we’d like to see every job that’s currently in Detroit stay there, we see why Cadillac made the decision to move to Manhattan. Additionally, we believe de Nysschen when he says that the move had nothing to do with where any Cadillac employee wants to live. There were several factors which contributed to the decision, which he outlined in a recent response to Crain’s criticisms.
One important statistic de Nysschen drops in his response is that the relocation of about 100 Cadillac executives from Detroit to New York will result in a net-loss of only 50 jobs from the city. This is because any job which covers two General Motors brands will have to be re-filled in Detroit, so really it’s creating work within the company.
The New York move is about “structurally entrenching a challenge to the status quo by reinforcing the psychological and physical separation in business philosophy between the mainstream brands and GM’s luxury brand.” In other words, it’s about creating a certain amount of psychological and physical space between Cadillac and GM as the luxury brand attempts to make itself more of a standalone entity.
In his editorial piece, Crain mentioned that putting the marketing executives so far away from the brand’s engineering department could result in both being ignored in each other’s decisions. de Nysschen says those disadvantages ” have been anticipated and will be overcome by making changes to current corporate processes.” He also added that Cadillac leadership “will decide on all matters Cadillac, at every touch point.”
Crain also criticized de Nysschen’s choice to change Cadillac’s naming convention to a seemingly German-inspired alphanumeric system. He replied acknowledging the historic significance of Eldorado, Fleetwood and other such names, but said those badges resonate more with baby boomers and are U.S.-centric, while Cadillac is trying to break further into Europe and China. Additionally, he says the historic names may not appeal to millennials or younger buyers, a statement we agree with.
In conclusion, de Nysschen said he has “the utmost respect for Crain’s view,” but that they’ll have to agree to disagree on the matter. You can read Crain’s editorial here and de Nysschen’s response here. Also, feel free to post your sentiments on Cadillac’s New York move below.
Comments
“The obvious emotional appeal of historical subbrand names such as Eldorado, Fleetwood, etc. should be balanced against the fact that those names resonate more with baby boomers and are U.S.-centric. Cadillac must go global. Those romantic names have little relevance to a millennial premium shopper in China, for instance, where the reality is that alphanumeric nomenclature is a deeply entrenched industrywide practice.”
I will have this tattooed onto the foreheads of everyone who thinks that names are a make or break matter when it comes to luxury products, ESPECIALLY when marketing luxury cars.
All due regards to Mr. Crain but his critic shows why he is a publisher and not a car builder.
Mr Crain has done what so many others have done on the web and not considered that there is much more to this than just the single Detroit point of view.
Mr de Nysschen has a proven record and some how has gotten GM to agree to things that they would never have agree to in the past. From what I have seen he has taken Cadillac from just being in the race in just competing to possibly being the next leader in the market segment.
The names of the past mean little to nothing to people under 50 years old. It matters little what you call the car but it does matter what the content of the car is and just how well it performs. Hell BMW has proven nearly proven you could name a car a 666 and get away with it as long as it performs in all aspects and has an image that enhances the owners image.
If De Ny has time to read comments made about him in the press , he’s definitely not focusing on his job . When you are at the top , big guy , this comes with the territory . Get over it and define the best management team that Cadillac has seen and make the right choice for you and your team’s first effort . I don’t think a failure here will be well received , as the knives , whips and chains will probably be out of the closet and close to the door . Welcome to New York !
I think you do not understand what he is doing here. He is not defending himself but he is defending what Cadillac is to become.
A good leader has time for this or he would not be a good leader. Hell Lutz even had time to answer his own Email personally.
A good leader has a good management team and knows how to make decisions and how to delegate. If he is too busy to the work he should be delegating and overseeing then you have a poor leader.
I am reading Killing Patton right now and I see a lot of Patton in de Nysschen. He is not afraid to speak what he believes and is not afraid to take a calculated risk that many are afraid to do.
I think as like Patton kicked Montgomery’s butt as well as the Germans while saving Ikes a$$ de Nysschen will make many of the same moves for Cadillac. Maybe when he gets Cadillac to #1 he may pull over his CT9 and piss in the Rhine.
Some men are afraid of Knives, whips and chains but other beat them into plow shears.
Think they would rename the Escalade?
Do you think they will rename the Escalade? Real question I worded it poorly last time. It would seem odd to have these CT123s then Escalade. It’s sad seeing Cadillac leave Detroit tho. I live across the river and hate to see them loose another good thing. Cain’t really blame them tho. But the better they do, the better GM will do. And hopefully the money will go back into Detroit.
This sensitivity to criticism reminds me of an old pumpkin farmer who sent his wagon load of plump pumpkins with his new young horse , Dobbin , and new farm hand . As calls came in from the marketplace that the wagon hasn’t arrived , the farmer drives out and finds the horse on the road ,hardly moving , in stress from honking horns , dogs barking , rodents scurrying around and the driver yelling at the dogs and shaking his fists at the horn honkers . The old farmer took some cotton batten out of the glove box and stuck it in the horse’s ears and then put on a set of blinders on the horse , the blinders , of course , limited vision to straight ahead and up but not sideways or down , With that the horse and driver resumed their journey at a sprightly pace to the marketplace . The old farmer went back to the farm but prudently went in the barn and checked in on his hard working mare , Hortense , gave her a grooming , an extra carrot with her oats and called in his old reliable farm hand , a plump pumpkin product panhandler . Made sure he was ready to step in if needed , then went to bed . As he drifted off to sleep , he knew he had taken care of all the little things and that doing so it took care of the big things that might arise . He slept like a babe….that night . Meanwhile , at the marketplace, the crowd waiting for the plump pumpkins to arrive had grown larger , after all , Halloween was coming !!
Oh the Drama!
Now that story time is over You really need to learn how a division and a good manager functions.
Give this guy credit he got Cadillac their own engines when no one else has for how many years.
I would like to see who is actually moving. The “marketing” team is a small group and I do not believe Cadillac even has 100 workers who would move. They have maybe 10 vehicles (includes near term future products being developed) and on each vehicle team there may be 5 people so that is 50, plus the Leadership make maybe 10. Then a few Communications people and a future vehicles planning group. Maybe it could get close to 70.
BUT, on each vehicle team there is a Product Manager that does all the day to day interaction with the Engineering and Planning organizations. They go to planning meetings, top decision meetings and guide the vehicle to what Marketing needs these vehicles to be. These guys/gals will have to stay behind in the Detroit area. The Marketing folks in NY market. I do not see many negatives for them being away from the fray.
Change is good. Moving marketing is okay to a major marketing center. Picking a new leader for Cadillac from running the worst performing major foreign luxury brand NOT GOOD. Think about it. Also pricing. I changed, temporarily from BMWs to Cadillacs when the first CTS came out as a 5 equivalent with a 3 price. Now that the Cadillacs are priced as BMWs my family is moving back to BMW, we still have an ATS for another year until it is 3 years old, along with 2 750s, 328 and a Mini. I was going to wait on LTS, CT6, or whatever it will be called, but at the same price as an equivalent BMW it was a no brainier, I got another 750iL.
Cadillac needs to establish itself before it can be price equivalent with BMW, AUDI, MB, etc. while the interior designs are nice, some ergonomics and color combinations need to be vastly improved. Example, Having black trim with a brown inside, okay for a Sentra, but not a Cadillac. The touch screen in the ATS is okay for a passenger to use, but awkward for a driver (could be positioned better). The center console cover in the ATS has unnecessary curved wings that impede access. One could go on, but the point is they need designers who use the cars, or get some from the better luxury brands, not a losing one.
Gerald, its no-brainer and not brainier. Its may be true that both Cadillac and BMW are competitively priced against one another but its the Cadillac owners who appreciate value (total cost of ownership) because they are better students.