Poll: BMW Is Heading To SEMA, Should Cadillac Be Present?
22
Sponsored Links
One of Cadillac’s core rivals is heading to the 2016 SEMA Show, which opens in just a few short days on November 1, 2016. BMW will take to Las Vegas to unveil a few new M performance parts, according to Car Scoops.
BMW will likely show an even sportier M3 model with plenty carbon fiber pieces, including the spoiler, rear diffuser and interior touches.
SEMA is always a good place to debut some of the latest performance pieces for a brand, so we ask, should Cadillac be present? Or, is it not the right place for Cadillac’s current image building?
The brand has the 2017 Cadillac ATS-V and 2017 Cadillac CTS-V to represent its performance stable and could easily follow in BMW’s shoes. However, the brand has often stated it does not plan to be a German carbon copy.
But, SEMA may not be the best place for a brand like Cadillac at the time being. As the luxury division works to retain its former glory, a hall full of outlandish and bizarre aftermarket creations may not be good associations.
On the flip side, it could be great exposure for a younger crowd to start building some of those aspirational feelings Cadillac has spoken about often.
This poll is more of a branding perspective than the thought of seeing new performance parts, but we think it’s a valid question. SEMA is a big deal, and it’s a great place to grab the spotlight.
- Sweepstakes Of The Month: Win a Corvette Z06 and 2024 Silverado. Details here.
Sponsored Links
Cadillac needs to be more competitive with Mercedes in terms of classy stuff and get away from body styles that look like a glorified Chevy… One HUGE sales booster and i see several cadillacs moving the other way…. REGULAR FUEL. Where I live Premium is 40 – 50 cents more and I am not paying that when the mileage isn’t great… Get great mileage or build engines for cadillac that use regular…. I won’t buy a mercedes for that reason ALONE>
Well not sure what you are talking about because the Cadillacs look to be more distinct than they ever have from their Chevy counterparts. And if you can afford a performance luxury vehicle then you should not be able to complain about buying premium fuel.
Yeah, if someone is dropping 60k on a car…premium fuel isn’t a major impediment
Plus…look at the competition, BMW, Audi, etc. What do they recommend?
There’s also the fact that a lot of Caddys are just premium recommended, not required. You can drive many of them with 87 octane.
If paying 40-50 cents a gallon more for gas (around $10 more a tank) on a $60000-$80000 car is your deciding factor to buying a Cadillac compared to a Chevy then you are not a Cadillac customer yet.
Premium gas (91 octane and higher) has benefits compared to regular gas (87 octane). Cars that require it need it and they are usually on the premium end of the scale.
I am on the fence about this one. On one hand I think Cadillac should be focusing on building on their luxury persona but on the other hand Cadillac has clearly shown that they are going for performance luxury. Even the recent CT6 is skewed to performance more than comfort (for the better or worse).
I am not sure SEMA is the place to spread the performance message for Cadillac.
Well being a member of SEMA and having done work for the show over the last 30 years I think it is a little premature for Cadillac to worry about SEMA yet.
They have a well established V Series and V Sport line and right now they just need to worry about getting the basic issues of the regular models spot on and the performance end will take care of itself.
The same things wrong with the V series is the same things wrong on the standard model. Better materials inside, better dashes and more user friendly systems and they all will benefit.
Cadillac need to focus on the core market that is what is in need.
As for Premium fuel that is not an issue at Cadillac. If you can afford the gas you really should not be a Cadillac customer in the first place. You are the reason the image is tarnished.
Leave the Chevys and Buick to the Regular or Premium recommended. Cadillac should be all Premium Required and receive the extra tune to take advantage of it over the other lines they share the engine with. Engines like the 2.0 Turbo if tuned for Premium only can do well over 300 HP.
Cadillac should excuse itself from the show this year . There just isn’t enough coming from them this year to buy floor space . In fact it might even be bad press they get .
Although there is that new rear view mirror , no…………. stay home and keep working on getting their vehicles to the ready so they can stop following the rest of the industry .
Cadillac is now a BMW wannabe (unfortunately), so if BMW does something, Cadillac has to do it too. Next move, changing the brand name to “CMW” and copying the “moustache” grille.
First off Cadillac is not a BMW wannabe. You have to grasp that the luxury segment is what BMW, Benz and others are now.
Cadillac can go back to the old ways and end up like they did or how Lincoln did as they did not adapt to the changed the segment went to.
Back in the 70’s-80’s the people chose to move to these Euro style cars and leave what Detroit offed behind. That left us with cars that lead to Lincoln almost dying and Cadillac that is still trying to make the transition.
You may not like it but to remain relevant they need to offer models with their own flavor but appeal to the buyers in this segment as this is where they are at.
Sorry but the Fleetwood and Town Car almost killed both brands as they were no longer relevant in the segment anymore.
Even in the segment Cadillac has been the Anti BMW with doing things their own way. They are not copying anyone’s styling. You can tell a Cadillac 100 yards away while Lexus and Hyundai have copied German styling.
The engines are high tech old style two valve non turbo engines. Not really by choice but for sure true American Power Plants that copy no one.
As for interior Who offers a bench seat anymore? It is even tough to find in a truck anymore. Customers have different demands and Cadillac needs to offer what they want.
The thinking at GM for two long was that they were the leader but they failed to understand the market segment had changed and they got left behind. In this class it takes not just luxury, but also better ride, handling, advanced technology, better brakes and more.
People expect more in this segment and that is what they need to give. That is not following BMW that is just getting to where the market is today. BMW is at the center of it as they are giving the people what they want noting more nothing less.
Now get this. The Segment is what it is and Cadillac is not going to changer it till the people want it changed. But they can become the car of choice in the segment to the point that people will say BMW is just trying to be Cadillac.
The key is Cadillac needs to set the standards in the segment then they can own it. It has to be earned and it can be done. It takes time and investment but it too can cover come the segment leader. No one owns this segment and it can be taken away.
Wannabe? Here’s a little excerpt from BMW Blog fromCar and Driver:
Without having driven the CTS-V, we can’t say with confidence whether or not it’s better than the BMW M5. But we can say that it’s most definitely faster, will probably lap tracks faster, can absolutely handle extremely well and seems to be fun to drive. Will it be a better overall package than the aging M5? We don’t know but it’s most definitely up to the challenge. It seems to be the King of the Hill at the moment, but BMW and Mercedes are both prepping new cars for the segment, so who knows how long the CTS-V will remain King, if it has indeed stolen the crown.
Gee for a wannabe it sure kickin your Beamer in the ass that you have to play catchup.
Rick, Cadillac has become a BMW-wannabe because they are pursuing the same values that the Germans pursue. I don’t care if Cadillac comes up with a 1000HP, 1000 Ft-lb torque car that can make a 150 degree turn in 1 second. I have zero interest in “performance luxury”. That’s not Cadillac being Cadillac. It’s Cadillac trying to be BMW. Cadillac has abandoned the nice plush ride, the roominess, and they are in process of abandoning the American design as well. To me, having a NASCAR-like Cadillac is not appealing. And given the very weak sales of the ATS, clearly the public does not care about Cadillac trying to be (or beat) BMW, even if you think they have out-BMW’d BMW. What you need to understand is that while “performance” cars are very popular on auto blogs, the vast majority of the public does not want them. Cadillac historically did not try to be “performance”, they left that to their Corvette (and Camaro, Firebird, etc.) models. It’s not how the public sees Cadillac, and not what Cadillac buyers want it to be. There are more than enough “performance” models to meet the demand, already.
So what your saying is Cadillac needs to design and build El Doradoes and Sevilles if the past….large behemoth couches with zero power, chrome to blind other drivers and 5mpg…..yea NO ONE wants that. They are trying to find a niche and I’m sorry if you feel like BMW should have sole ownership of that spot they have….there is plenty of room for everyone and as far as the NASCAR ATS V I happen to own it and like it…Next one will be the CTS V….BTW I get more people stopping me and asking what kind of car I have and when I explain to them what it is and what it does they are very impressed….I think the market out there just has not seen enough of these yet to know that cars like this are out there and they are made in the USA.
Rick, I’m not saying zero power cars – the Cadillacs of the past always had plenty of power. That’s a hallmark of American luxury, massive power, lots of room. Cadillac only fell from the peak when they stopped exclusively making large, fully powered cars and started copying the Germans – resulting in things like the Cimarron (an attempt to enter the market of “small luxury” like the BMW 3 series), the V8-6-4 engine (an attempt to get better gas milage) and the Catera (a complete German import, rebadged as a Cadillac). Bring on the full power, but this -V stuff of 640 HP, 630 ft-lb of torque is overkill for luxury, that’s something for Corvette, not Cadillac. Especially when Cadillac feels the need to destroy the ride quality across the entire line, simply to cater to “my HP is bigger than yours” personal insecurity.
Why does Cadillac have to trade off a plush ride (aka “the Cadillac ride”) for hard-riding, “feel the road” NASCAR-like driving dynamics? That’s a German thing, not American. Cadillac could get ahead of the market, by actually explaining to the public the benefit of a nice ride, rather than being embarrassed if their cars don’t fly around the Nürburgring like BMW. Americans are not Germans, American roads are not the Autobahn, Cadillac has a rich history that appeals to Americans, why does Cadillac currently only feature foreign-born men in the prominent roles (CEO, CMO, head of design) who want to make Cadillac more German?
By the way, if you have plenty of room for everyone in your ATS V, you must have a family of munchkins. Because the 33.5″ rear seat legroom is a complete joke for anyone but small children. The ATS is cramped and hard-riding, just the way the Germans and auto bloggers on the test track like it. But Americans love their plush luxury highway cruisers, and Cadillac once ruled that space, now abandoning it to pursue the BMW space they’ll never get anyway.
Sorry but you are obviously too fixated on what you like and not what the market likes. Sure there will always be a market for “toys for boys” but most of the public just wants a car that will carry them from Point A to Point B reliably in comfort and style. The luxury NASCAR-wannabe market is small and shrinking; BMW has already peaked. Baby boomers are aging and don’t want those hard rides anymore.
No Cadillac does not need to go back to past models, it needs to keep moving forward. But it needs to reconnect with it’s original mission of making large luxury cars with American style, rather than trying to out-BMW BMW.
Drew,
I don’t think BMW has peaked. I think they’ll be around and successful for a very long time but I do agree with you that Cadillac’s attempt to mimic BMW has been a complete failure. It began in 1982 with the horrific Cimarron and continues to this day. They just keep doubling down on it and trying harder and harder thinking if they can just finally match BMW, success will be theirs but it never happens. It doesn’t happen because BMW is very good at what they do and always stays a step ahead. It doesn’t happen because Cadillac is always under funded and trying to make-due with off-the-shelf parts, and it doesn’t happen because Cadillac just isn’t known for performance. Meanwhile they run away from what they are known for.
It’s been interesting to me how much the Escalade succeeds. It’s basically a Tahoe in a tux; a spiffed up Chevrolet and yet it’s the most profitable and strongest selling model in the line. Why? I think because it has attitude, swagger, bravado, what ever one chooses to call it; it makes a statement. It’s also big, comfortable, smooth. It personifies Cadillac and yet it is very much a compromised vehicle built from humble Chevy truck parts. Still, there’s enough old fashioned Cadillac-ness in there too to compensate for its humble roots.
I often wonder if the rest of Cadillac’s line had more of Escalade’s quintessentially Cadillac personality, if they might not sell better. The thing is even BMW knows there’s more than one way to build a luxury car. While they are quite successful with their sports sedan formula for the namesake brand, they also find all the buyers they can accommodate for their Rolls Royce brand which is the polar opposite from a canyon carving Bimmer. A Rolls is supremely comfortable, elegant, and ostentatious to a fault. Rolls Royce exemplifies Cadillac’s hallmark virtues far better than its little brother from Bavaria.
Cadillac needs a complete total re-think of who they are and what they will be known for. There are many approaches to the luxury market. BMW has honed in on a niche that works for them but clearly it doesn’t work for Cadillac. GM’s premier brand needs to dare a lot more, dare to be different and dare to be true to themselves.
Well first of all my ATS V was not for a family car and if people confuse that then they are seriously crazy….I agree small backseat area but perfect for my 4yr old in a car seat…now if I have to take the rest of the family i take my wife’s Escalade.
Im not fixated on my is bigger than yours I happen to really enjoy my ATS it does exactly what I want it to do….so here you go show me another American made car that will do what my ATS do in the same size platform….mustang camaro don’t think so not really my style….like the four doors the the ample luxury trim and the HP….again fits a niche for me….sure Porsche BMW Audi etc all can fit that niche except for the one thing American made….sure parts are from all over the place but it’s still made here. I’m quite happy with the ATS V cuz again it fits what I want and need just as my new CTS V after 15 more payments On my ATS…….no niche need for the CTS V just want it.
I like where these cars are placed and no I like the concept cars they have coming but there not at my dealers so I guess I’ll enjoy these for now.
ya that’s the problem….Caddys just look like glorified Chevys on the outside and the onside they are cheap uninspired BMW wanabees…..Cadillacs are so tarnished…..they need to bring the Elmeraj and Ceil concept designs to life and have soft plush rides with V8 power….they are just keeping the same A&S design theme and making BMWs out of them….total loss.
Of course Cadillac should be there. The V’s have been big with both enthusiasts and the aftermarket since 2004.
It would be tough to put a positive spin a “no show.”
What? Of course Caddy needs to be there, especially with the Cadillac ATS.V.R after the PWC season they had. They also need to stimulate the market their in with some exciting concepts/mods customers can be excited about. I don’t know where the problem is, marketing maybe, but someone needs to get the good stuff in peoples faces. If GM can build a ZL1, then they NEED to build something special for Caddy, obviously on the Alpha platform and what about the mid engined C8/Caddy platform?? Seriously, Caddy needs to be involved and STIMULATED at SEMA, no excuses GM, IMHO….
Cadillac must have a strong accessories program first, otherwise what’s the point of having a SEMA booth. BMW & Porsche have a wide selection of wheels, body kits, interior pieces… Etc. Cadillac’s current offering is decent (ATS), but not something that in the magnitude of what the Germans have.
There’s a lot of money in OEM accessories, Jeep says over 90% of jeep owners bought at least 1 Mopar accessory. The program will also help Cadillac attract younger buyers.
First off you do realize SEMA is Aftermarket suppliers for performance parts. This would only be parts generally focused for the V series and sport cars.
You do realize that there have been parts featured at the show by many suppliers and tuners for Cadillac for many years for the V series by these suppliers. A Cadillac has been anything but a rare sight at the event over the years and GM never had to pay for any of it. So let get it straight the brand has a decent presents there already and it is not like they hare not seen there or have parts supplied for them already.
Also as for dealer performance parts there is not a great need as many suppliers already offer parts. Since they use a Chevy engine you can get about anything you want for an LS or LT engine. As for suspensions many suppliers have already addressed this. Finally Exhaust you have a number of models with parts out there already.
To be honest considering the low volume of the V models there is a massive amount of aftermarket parts available.
There are also a decent amount for the standard cars too.
But you have to keep in mind to that this is not a a Camaro so many of these cars are not modified till they are much older and often used.
I work in the performance aftermarket and we deal with all brands and in large volumes. The Cadillac is a blip on the market. But we still have a ton of parts for them and a small number of loyal customers with them.
I even have a co worker with one that is seeing numbers almost to 800 HP on the dyno.
The down side of the V series car is it does not have a Cadillac engine in it. The positive side is it has a Chevy engine in it and that opens the door to many more parts than you will ever see for a BMW.
The bottom line is till Cadillac gets their house in order and gets the details right then they can worry about the limited markets and customers. Get the details right and then you can play.
Cadillac needs to wow them at Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Detroit, NYC and LA before they worry about Vegas.
Also do any of you realize how large SEMA is? Companies often spend tons of money there and seldom get seen. Much gets lost.
Too often What happens at SEMA stays at SEMA. The money would be better spent in Detroit< NYC and LA for now.
Watch and you will see little will come from the money BMW spends there.
SEMA is an event every car person needs to see as it is much more than you really can tell from the media coverage. It is like Hot August nights where it is not just an event at one hall it really takes over the city.