The simplified (yet dry) alpha-numeric naming schemes, the-move-to-New-York-City-announcement, the pricing increases, the new Crest logo, dealer restructuring and so forth… there’s been a lot of big news revolving around the Cadillac brand this year, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. A new chapter is beginning for Cadillac, one that is both alienating and necessary. It has sparked heated debate through multiple outlets, even calling in direct response from both seasoned automotive journalists and Cadillac executives themselves. A lot of the blame, and credit, has been pointed toward Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen, who left Infiniti to join GM’s ranks earlier this year.
de Nysschen’s resumé has made him out to be an industry maverick of sorts, but the successes of his techniques speak for themselves. His time quarterbacking Audi North America helped buoy the brand up to where Cadillac currently wishes it was. While in charge of Infiniti, he was named responsible for the new “Q” naming structure, and uprooting Infiniti’s headquarters from Yokohama, Japan to plant it in central Hong Kong. The verdict is still out to see if that plan will work, yet de Nysschen is no longer with Infiniti to see it out.
With de Nysschen at Cadillac, it seems to be a repeat of Infiniti in terms of methodology (change the names, headquarters, etc.), while hoping that the brand’s equity will also take off to match Germany’s from its launchpad of big changes. But sometimes rockets explode and crash in flames right after takeoff. For 112 year-old Cadillac, nobody aside from the comically cynical hopes that to be true. Yet ultimately, de Nysschen didn’t blueprint this shuttle. He’s acting more like Houston.
Guiding the launch.
Back when General Motors first trademarked the CT6 and CT5 names, de Nysschen was officially hired 10 days before the filing. This was too soon for him to tear up Cadillac’s naming book, brainstorm new ones, and order them in. And while the September New York City headquarters announcement came in months after his July 2014 hiring, Cadillac communications officials mentioned to us in autumn that de Nysschen didn’t invent that idea, either. And he wasn’t even hired yet when previous generation Cadillac CTS owners voiced complaints that the new one is too expensive when the MSRP was announced.
Rather, the big moves done by Cadillac go beyond the brand’s new President, and were most likely in developmental stages for months, if not years, before his recruitment. And if GM’s play callers want Cadillac to adopt a new naming structure, relocate cities, elevate its pricing, and switch marketing tactics all in an effort to reinvent itself and beat the segment-leading Germans at their own game, there is nobody better than Johan de Nysschen to see it through. Whether it’s all the right course of action, however, remains to be seen.
The sweepstakes closes on December 22nd and the drawing will take place on December 28th.
At a time of year when luxury car ATP usually rises.
Sales decreased 5.6 percent to 16,670 units during the first ten months of 2024.
Specifically critical minerals supply chain development.
Scheduled for a Spring 2025 launch.
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No a lot of these things were no Johann Ideas but he was brought in know what was on the table and to manage them. If he did not support them he would not have signed on.
I suspect Mark Reuss was behind much of this as if he did not come up with these ideas he had to support them to get them approved. I feel with his fighting over the issues on the CT6 he may have been the one who wanted to insolate Cadillac more from the GM insiders who still want to play the game the old way.
I have already brought up the fight Mark had with the people who are the problem at GM. They wanted a cheaper door handle whole Mark wanted the best they could do. What is the firs thing you touch getting into a car?
These are also the same people who want to strip down the Cruze and keep the price up because it is selling so well. Where is the sense in that? As Lutz pointed out that is alike a Restaurant that has such good food that reservations are filled for two weeks. Because of so many reservations they then cut back on food quality? A very self defeating way of thinking.
The truth is many of these people are now gone but some still remain. Moving Cadillac's decision makers should help them in their cause and get them left alone to do what they need to do with less interference. I think this point is left out when people consider the move.
Also with the way that the world is connected I could run Cadillac from my Bedroom today if I wanted. Communication now has many business run by people who are scattered around the world and often they all have never been in the same room.
Mental Floss Magazine is run by about a dozen people and never once have they all met at the same time. The Camaro program went 24/7 on two contents and seldom were all the engineers all in one place if ever.
When Pontiac pushed through the Fiero program after being canceled several times, how did they do it? They moved the engineering to Entech and did it outside GM and hid the program. They were able to complete the car with no insiders sticking their nose in tough the lack of support hurt their development money.
"I have already brought up the fight Mark had with the people who are the problem at GM. They wanted a cheaper door handle whole Mark wanted the best they could do. What is the firs thing you touch getting into a car?"
I've heard of the "door handle debacle" some years ago on GMI. I didn't follow it through, but I know the gist of it had the forum community split between those who were obsessing over the design and engineering of a door handle, and those who thought that at $1 a part, that $4 was all that needed to be spent on door handles.
I remember that there were some posts with impassioned pleading that GM, having only just got out of bankruptcy, would "do the right thing" and "not throw away money". They read like the oft-hated "bean counters", with weak suggestion of where the time, energy, and money invested on Cadillac's door handles could be better spent (typically, the Pontiac GTO/G8/ST/Solstice/TA resurrection fund).
Conversely, with the advantage of being a tactile surface AND being only one part of the much larger machine, perhaps the most carefully engineered car GM has ever built, that the more expensive door handles would impress upon the owner the level of quality and care that the car would have of itself.
I'm unsure of which side "won" on the forum or inside the RenCenter, but if de Nysschen is the real deal, then I would expect the CT6 (and perhaps the CT8) to have the worlds best door handles attached to the worlds best cars.
Great comment man! Here's hoping that the next generation of Caddy buyers are given a proper tactile introduction!
GM in its ever present wisdom considered Cadillac equal to the long built reputations of the Mercedes Benz, Audi, Porsche, BMW ...which took decades to build and establishing world recognition to a world vehicle. Cadillac hasn't and with the new Cadillac CTS dropped a bomb in the huge price increase from the year before. A vehicle base that didn't even have heated seats. Give me a break. Our beloved 2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo fully optioned has more luxury options then a CTS base at $15k more and our warranty is the best in the industry. We had one recall that was actually fixed the week we received our new car and since then its been quality first. In the first 27k miles the only cost has been oil/filter changes. Tires will be replaced in the next few months along with the wiper blades and the air filter. It has been apparent that the owners of BMW, Audi, Mercedes etc do not consider Cadillac relevant. In addition the owners of the latter wouldn't even consider one. Who is Cadillac anyway? Who are their marketed customers? Is a Cadillac entry level CTS base worth more than a Genesis from Hyundai at $5k less and the best warranty in the industry? Why is Mercedes along with Audi touting their entry level cars at a $30k base? Cadillac is $15k more for a base CTS without heated seats. My next vehicle may just be a entry level Lincoln MKZ hybrid k that includes heated seats and returns a whopping 36mpg combined. Now for Lincoln to up the warranty period and they just may have one more sale.
The $30K Mercedes is a subcompact, of which Cadillac doesn't have a comprible car on offer. Not only that, but the CTS isn't even in the same segment (mid-size), so it's meaningless to compare a CTS with a CLA. And no, the smaller ATS is a compact, not a subcompact.
For your knowledge, it goes like so:
City.
Sub-compact.
Compact.
Mid-size.
Large.
Full-size.
These detail physical widths and lengths. Heights are variable, but impact less upon the segments. Body styles, like coupes, wagons, and convertible, don't demand their own categorization by virtue of the body shell. Automotive classifications, CO's, SUV's Sedan, are also bound by the same organization.
You're value-pricing your way out of luxury market, which probably explains why you're looking at a MKZ and pride yourself on owning a Kia. Have fun with your Kia and whatever hype Genesis the squeeze out; the owners of BMW, Audi, Mercedes will look down further upon the value-conscious Genesis and K900 owner sooner than they would that of the CTS.
Price doesn't dictate matters in the luxury market, product does. Hyundai knows this all too well with their XG and Kia Amati failures; proving that they couldn't shake down the established luxury market with a price-leading approach. There's no luxury in those cars when they could be found parked outside a low-income apartment complex covered in dents and scratches, and Monster energy drink stickers.
The Optima and K900 will have to overcome THAT kind of public perception. It would better off if Hyundai simply built their own dedicated luxury brand unassociated with Hyundai and Kia; the distancing would prove to me that they could command CTS prices, and prices not unlike the Germans.
But, if you've resolved and reduced yourself to value shopping your way into a entry level MKZ (along with many thousands of other non-luxury, value-pricing, MKZ owner), then I can't help you; it's how you want to live your life.
BTW, put your stripper model mid-size MKZ up against the CTS. Luxury is about getting what you want, not what you expect. If you expect heated seats, then get your MKZ, because Ford knows they can't ask more of the MKZ without the heated seats because nobody would buy them. The CTS, despite it sales being off by 3.5%, still offers the consumer what they want of the seats, heated or otherwise. The ATP is much, much higher than the MKZ, so Ford can sell as many thousands of MKZ at discount and will never enjoy the premium that the CTS can command.
No offense, but you are a total complete joke. No one on this forum care about your Kia, so stop repeating posts about your car. Although Kia makes decent cars nowadays, comparing them to Cadillac is not worth mentioning.
You are an average Joe who could not afford a Cadillac and we are O.K. with that. However, you are not educated enough to know the difference between luxury and bread-n-butter products and you need to go educate yourself.
I have driven Kias and anyone in their right mind trying to compare them to Cadillac would be scolded upon. Kias are cheaply made cars totally unrefined and looks like they want to fall apart any day now. So get over yourself, Auto Motive.
Cadillac sales will rise. They are down now for reasons obvious to a two year old, and price isn't 100% it.
The CTS is the only vehicle that is raised higher in price, and the simple fact of the matter is that in November 2013 the CTS was not only cheaper.. but running clearance prices in anticipation for the current one. On top of that, Cadillac had a Coupe and a real run of CTS-Vs, both coupe and sedan to sell. They simply DON'T have that with the new model yet.
The XTS is down because the CTS exists in its exact price point. Get used to that sales number because I anticipate the CT6 to fall right around those numbers, or slightly less despite it's probable $72K+ price start. XTS will either be gone or sent mostly to fleet.
The SRX?? That is your real culprit in sales fall. It is the absolute oldest car they have, now going on 6 years and the only CUV in the line-up while every other luxo maker has at least 3.
CTS MSRP is perfectly fine. It is selling in numbers that are indicative of the variants, or lack of.. since the previous model sold 30% in coupes (yes.. 30% of all the CTS sales for Gen2 were for Coupes which are no being sold currently for GEn3).
2011 Coupe 27%
2011 Sedan 70%
2011 Wagon 3%
2012 Coupe 27%
2012 Sedan 70%
2012 Wagon 4%
2013 Coupe 29%
2013 Sedan 68%
2013 Wagon 3%
2014 Coupe 29%
2014 Sedan 69%
2014 Wagon 2%
If CTS sales for Gen 2 were going 30% minimum to coupes/wagons.. and neither exist now.. is it a possibility that 30% of those sales are not buying the sedan? Does it automatically have to be that people don't want the CTS? Could it possibly be that the CTS-hasn't debuted in the variant they want yet?
at 2446 sales last month.. on this theory, I'll add an additional 30% which would put the CTS up to 3180, or an additional 734 sales for the month. That would have put it above the 5series... or only 750 behind the 5 and 6series.
Let's also throw in that the Eclass comes in Coupe, Wagon, Sedan, AMG, Diesel, Hybrid, and Convertible. It Damn sure better outsell every other vehicle in the class.
For all intents the CTS is taking over the position of the STS.
As it stands last month the CTS outsold the A6, clobbered the GS and was within striking distance of the 5series. No props???
ATS is taking over where the CTS was and there is no reasonable person who should think that a new to the fold car should be selling the same amount as the market leading 3series. BTW. NO one wants to bring up that the C-Class is selling off previous models with $10 K on the hood.
I think they are taking a page from Audi, but that's not good enough for the astute commentators here. Take this for what its worth (GOLD). If Cadillac were selling 12 cars like Audi, they too would be up 20%, (like Cadillac was last year). Altho if Caddy was up 20% on their current sales that means that they would be selling YTD above Audi. Why is no one dogging Audi for selling only 162K cars YTD with 12 vehicles, but beating Caddy to the ground for selling 154K on 6 cars? Double Standard much?
Bottom line is that Cadillac is down because of lack of product, revolutionary change to a 112 year business, a corporate BK 5 years ago that made management re-prioritize, and American self loathing of.. well anything American. All that, and Cadillac is still as prestigious as at the very least Jaguar and Lexus, with more heritage than either. LOOK AT CADILLAC SALES and then speak. Actually analyze them for the briefest of moments and U will come away with as much confidence as I. As long as Cadillac stays the course, providing vehicles with the DNA that is embedded within the "ATS-CTS Stepping Stone" then everything they put forth will add to overall sales volume without a need to fleet heavily.
5 vehicles versus Benz, BMW, and Audi's 10+ and their sales numbers are indicative of that fact. These other brands are picking up sales in areas where not only Cadillac does not offer vehicles YET, but in market segments that encroach very easily on mainstream market makers. There is no way a buyer should be trying to decide between a Mercedes CLA and a Honda Civic, Ford Fusion, or Chevy Malibu LTZ, yet it is happening
Don't be discouraged Caddy. While the haters look to convince U that U must CHANGE while being the SAME.. from 20 years ago.. moving forward will yield untold reward.
And seriously.. Audi is cool only selling 162K cars YTD with 12 vehicles, and Caddy is doomed selling 154K on 6 cars?
I think you offer some great analysis, and I appreciate anyone who can put data to the discussion and make a great argument.
I agree with 95% of this, but the one area that I firmly disagree however is that "Cadillac is still as prestigious as at the very least Jaguar and Lexus".
While I could sit and spout my own opinion, I like to use data too. If I search for brand perception ranks, I find Cadillac in the middle of the luxury pack across the board. Jaguar appears to be the most polarizing, with many ranking it near 1 or 2, and other half ranking 8-10+! Cadillac falls in tier two with Infiniti, Lexus. I could not find a single individual or source which ranks cadillac in the top 5. I looked at at least 30 rankings, which certainly is not of scientific merit, but gives enough to get a an idea.
Newstyle magazine, worth about 1 cent of 2 cents, ranks Jag and Mercedes among the top 10 (with ultra high end brands above it), but no mention of cadillac.
Futurecast / Millenial Marketing Ranks BMW, Audi, and Mercedes as the 1, 5, and 8 top brands across all products, but no mention of cadillac.
Forbes ranks the top 10 brands in China, With cadillac coming in at number 10, right behind infiniti. Mercedes? 4. Lexus? 3. BMW? 2. and Audi, 1.
In short, I can't find a good argument to really suggest Cadillac is anywhere close to the recognized top.
I do own a cadillac, and I love it. But no question if I was pulling into an important meeting, I'd rather pull in with a BMW....
Yes If I were to make the point I would use a Lexus or other real claimed luxury car vs.a Kia.
If you have worked on a Kia or Hyundai you would understand where and why they are able to offer a cheaper price.
I believe most of these ideas and plans were developed by former CEO Dan Ackerson and the board. I don't belive Barra had any planning in this since she has been busy with the whole recall crises for most of the year. I think this was GM's master plan for a few years now however they just needed the new updated products to satisfy it.
To be honest I think much but not all of this was planted with Mark. It has his thinking all over it
Product planning is approved at the CEO level not planned normally. That is why I think Mary was put in there and Mark was put under her. He plans the fleet and she figures out how to pay for it and how to deal with every day business of GM.
That Mercedes' automobiles are of high quality is definitely a myth. I had four Mercedes, including from from the 1960's, which was the highest quality compared to the low quality of 3 e320's in the 1990's. The e320's, despite being brand new, LIVED in the dealer's shop. Leather dashboards cracked, power windows rolled up and down at will, oxygen sensors constantly needed replacement, rocker arm had to be replaced due to use of defective rocker arm at the factory, rear differential leaked oil, AC turned itself on and off, power telescoping steering wheel had a mind of its own. Constant problems. And I remember meeting other customers at the dealer - one person had had his brand new S-class only two weeks and during the third week discovered that the transmission in that brand new S-class was defective. Do I think that Cadillac offers lower quality than Mercedes? Definitely not. The quality of Mercedes is a myth. My decision never again to drive a Mercedes was when the dealer stated that I should start leasing instead of buying so that my car would always be under warranty. Not a good endorsement. I'm on my 3rd Cadillac, now the 2015 Escalade. Yes, I know it's a Tahoe/Suburban with badge/brand engineering. Yes, it is not perfect. CUE is awful. But what a great engine. Car rides great. Fuel economy for its size is excellent. No more imports for me.
IMO, the Escalade's design set the foundation for Tahoe/Suburban. The overall design cues are pretty much similar to other Cadillacs for Tahoe and Yukon if you think about it.
^^^ This. But if I have found one thing to be true; most will always associate all vehicles from any brand from GMNA as a derivative of a Chevy. I once had an idiot over at GMI tell me that my CTS-V was nothing more than a rebadged Malibu. Yup.. That happened. On an auto-site.. called GMINSIDENEWS
Anymore GM Insidenews are run by people that are not GM fans and posters are pretty much haters.
I still post on there but don't post much like I use to. Still too many juveniles and immature folks on there. And Mr. Mercedes Benz himself is on there flooded the forums with his posts. It is just too funny at times that he is on the Cadillac forum but yet he is a big fan boy of Mercedes.
Yeah I see U over at Autonews. I post there occasionally and at cheersandgears.
That "Mr. Mercedes Benz" guy is a lot more on the ball with what do with Cadillac than others on GMI. I mean I can't fault him for getting a Mercedes over a Cadillac when Caddy when for so many years Cadillac has offered, marketed, and advertised crap. At least he offers sound advice and isn't dismissive of everything Cadillac does.
Yeah, Mr. Mercedes is pretty astute, and the three-pointed star avi seems more indicative of his interest in the finer things in life rather than a blind devotion to MB.
Lost and confused as to why I got a down vote for speaking the truth. Oh Well... "Mercedes Boy" does have some good points.. its just the way he conveys those points sometimes, ignoring positive factors regarding GM in general that make me pause. The "xLA" Benz models are them moving down market and doing so while touting themselves as the king of luxury in terms of sales. That is BS.. and if Cadillac did it people would refer to it as a return to the days of Cimmarons and such. The CLA is a CIMMARON.. it just has the advantage of the fact that its donor car is a non-exported to NA Mercedes. What makes it worse is that the car that the CLA is based essentially competes more with a Sonic than a Cruze.
We need to stop the pissing match here.
The fact is the luxury segment is making some major changes globally as the regulation world wide are getting more and more difficult to make just large high powered luxury cars only.
The long hold outs Benz and BWM both have taken on FWD and so far are doing a decent job. This is a hard sell for them as this is not their customer base so it will take time but they are far from being a Cimarron. The truth be told they all have made a silk purse from a sows ear over the years many times.
To be honest we will see a major change in the mix of what a real luxury division will be in the coming future.
CUV models will be big as well smaller luxury models in parts of the world. Europe is really pushing the greening of all their cars and making it more and more difficult to make the traditional larger car. Even France now has declared war on Diesel.
GM is suited in all facets of what the coming luxury market encompass. They have a good RWD and AWD at Cadillac already and if they choose to do a small FWD they can do it better than the others as they have much more experience at it. Right now they are leaving this to Buick but they may have to enter again at some point with the smaller car.
There is a lot of their product that we do not see from Europe and many here would be appalled at the feel and look of the cheaper domestic models they offer over there. But they have a larger segment of the market there and they can hide it here. GM can hide theirs at Chevy and to me that is an advantage but the divide between Chevy and Cadillac vanished too much over the years and today they are trying to put more space between them.
I am waiting to see the future plans of Cadillac laid out as this will be more telling of the new GM commitment. We should have a good gauge on just how serious this is. I am very interested to see how they will pull off the engine deal with no other partner. Would they contract with someone like Cosworth , Ilmore or even Lotus engineering [not the car maker]. There is a lot to be discovered yet and much more that needs to be considered that we are not privy to.
Cadillac's sales problem I think has a lot to do with leasing. The residuals dropped this year and leasing is a big part of the luxury market. ALG, the company that estimates residual values, dropped the ATS from 55% in 2013 to 48% in 2014. On a 36 month lease, that's close to $70 per month.
I did see that Cadillac will stop over producing cars and stuffing them on dealers' lots. That's a start.