Cumulative Cadillac CTS sales decreased in the United States and in Canada during March 2017.
Cadillac CTS Sales – March 2017 – United States
Cadillac CTS deliveries in the United States totaled 882 units in March 2017, a decrease of 41.2 percent compared to 1,499 units sold in March 2016. In the first three months of 2017, sales of the CTS have decreased 37.4 percent to 2,486 units.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac CTS - March 2017 - United States
| MODEL | MAR 17 / MAR 16 | MARCH 17 | MARCH 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTS | -41.16% | 882 | 1,499 | -37.43% | 2,486 | 3,973 |
Cadillac CTS Sales – March 2017 – Canada
In Canada, the CTS recorded 57 deliveries in March 2017, down 10.9 percent compared to 64 units sold in March 2016. In the first three months of the year, CTS sales totaled 118 units in Canada, a decrease of 40 percent compared to the first three months of 2016.
Sales Numbers - Cadillac CTS - March 2017 - Canada
| MODEL | MAR 17 / MAR 16 | MARCH 17 | MARCH 16 | YTD 17 / YTD 16 | YTD 17 | YTD 16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CTS | -10.94% | 57 | 64 | -40.10% | 118 | 197 |
The GM Authority Take
At first, our knee-jerk reaction would be to attribute the March sales decline of the CTS to shifting consumer behavior dynamics that favor crossovers at the expense of sedans. However, taking a closer look reveals that the midsize luxury sedan segment only fell 2 percent during the month, meaning that CTS sales fell far quicker than the rest of the segment. As such, we attribute decrease to the strength of the segment stalwarts — the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series. Both models are all-new for the 2017 model year, and appear to be responsible for the decrease in CTS (and Lexus GS) sales volumes during the month.
What’s more, the Audi A6 recorded a small yet steady sales climb of 8 percent, while Infiniti’s Q70 managed an 86 percent sales spike to over 1,000 units.
| Vehicle | March 2017 | March 2016 | Mar 2017 / Mar 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes-Benz E-Class* | 4,690 | 4,095 | +15% |
| BMW 5 Series | 3,161 | 3,157 | 0% |
| Audi A6 | 1,576 | 1,453 | +8% |
| Infiniti Q70 | 1,072 | 577 | +86% |
| Cadillac CTS | 882 | 1,499 | -41% |
| Lexus GS | 737 | 1,524 | -52% |
| Segment Total | 12,118 | 12,305 | -2% |
* includes Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
Related News & Info
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Related Sales Reporting
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- March 2017 GM sales results
- U.S. GM March 2017 sales results
- U.S. March 2017 Chevrolet sales results
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- GM Canada March 2017 sales results
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- Global March 2017 Cadillac sales results
- U.S. GM March 2017 sales results
Reporting by Francisco (Frankie) Cruz. GM Authority Take analysis by Alex Luft.
Comments
I bought a new 2004 and 2008 CTS when they came out. Did not buy this edition. Styling was toned down and length was increased to 195 plus inches from previous models 191 inches or so. This edition a little too bulky to maneuver around the many traffic circles and narrow packed streets where I live. Hoping next edition is shrunk a little or ATS is made a little bigger.
The growth in size from the second to the third-gen is appropriate for the segment, since the second-gen model was a tweener car straggling the compact and midsize segments.
What I expect will happen is the next-gen ATS/ATS replacement will grow (just like the the rest of the compact segment has) and the next-gen CTS (CTS replacement) keep the dimensions of the currently model.
That will position each model appropriately in the space, while creating space for a model to slot in below the ATS/its replacement.
Yeah.. This. I am convinced that the proper strategy of fixing sales of this GREAT and MAGNIFICENT car lies in defining the vehicle with actual marketing, a return to variants (Coupe, maybe a Convertible) and for those who complain about it.. giving it more room in the rear WITHOUT changing the actual size of the car. I have owned the 2nd Gen CTS-V sedan, 2nd Gen CTS-V Coupe, and currently own the ’16 CTS-V Sedan. Before all of those I had an ’05 STS. Let me say that this gen of CTS is for all intents the successor of the STS.
I will add that having the XTS sitting there competing with the CTS in a larger package, same amenities, yet cheaper price is not gonna help sales either. Remember that the XTS was a replacement not only for the DTS, but the STS as well. The DTS replacement is now here in the CT6, but both cars suffer from a lower priced Cadillac (same size characteristics as the CT6 and same price characteristics as CTS) XTS. Its a folly that GM doesn’t want to cut due to nice profits on the Epsilon based Caddy as a result of its age, the Impala, the Lacrosse, and various other smaller Epsilons that contributed to the amortization of the platform. Of course it still amazes me that the Omega platform isn’t under other vehicles yet considering it needs to be utilized to realize profitability.
I really believe that Cadillac would do well to simply use the Omega platform for CTS and up.. while utilizing the Alpha platform for ATS and below. The Wheelbase is the key to their segments. The CTS currently is an awesome handler.. great performer, but as far as being an STS.. it seems a bit tight in rear legroom. Not that I care.. but some apparently do. The ATS suffers the same criticism.. and it seems to have been rectified over in China with the ATS-L which adds 3 inches to the WB. Point blank.. GM needs to authorize variants on these vehicles.. both of them. As the Sedan market simply is no longer enough, thus variants may be able to offer just enough variety or entry to niche.. that some sales are recovered.
One can buy a 3/4- 5/6 Series in Sedan, Wagon, Convertible, Coupe, 4-door Coupe, Diesel, M-Series and Hybrid.
One can buy a CTS as a Sedan and a V… An ATS as a Sedan, Coupe, and V. Where is the real mystery especially when CUVs are taking sales away from Sedan.. no so much NICHE coupes and convertibles.. for no other reason than that CUVs are NOT a direct alternative to a Sedan.
It’s a shame that such a good car is being passed up. Same goes for the ATS. I think CT6 plays a role in this, as it could be cannibalizing some sales from CTS. The sedan line up needs a readjustment. CT6 should become the midsize car competitor. It already competes in this segment on price compared to the Germans. Leave it a bit bigger than all them, but the same pricing. Moving down, merge ATS and CTS to form a CT4. This vehicle can again me a tweener like the original CTS, and offer more space and luxury, but priced like the ATS. This leaves room above and below for sub-compacts and a flagship.
Cadillac just faces too much in establishing sedans, particularly from market trends toward SUVs. If it wants to sustain the lineup, it needs to adapt this tweener model to offer a value proposition over similarly priced and equipped, but smaller sedans from competitors.
Poor CTS facing pressure from both CT6 & XTS (great fit bargain hunters as well as the old school Cadillac shoppers).
Given that sedan sales are already weak I wish that Cadillac would gamble by eliminating XTS and reducing the price of CTS.
Cadillac doesn’t need to follow German pricing and this is especially true as the brand is reinventing itself.
As for livery, XTS should either be refreshed for sale by Buick NA as a Continental buster or sold as fleet only.
Buick is FWD/AWD luxury, not Cadillac, and this means that XTS needs to go!
So – in your mind, a lot of people aren’t buying the CTS, ATS, and CT6, because the XTS is FWD? They are saying “I refuse to buy any Cadillac until ALL the sedans are RWD”?
Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen is very pleased with these numbers as he has expressed his concern that Cadillac’s CTS does not become like Chevrolet’s Cruze which sold over 18,000 units in March 2017 because the last thing de Nysschen wants to see is driving on the streets of Detroit or New York and seeing a virtual fleet of Cadillac CTS on the street; makes you wonder why General Motors CEO Mary Barra keeps anyone who thinks like this.
Omegathon – exactly. GM should love to sell a ton of cars of every brand, that’s why they are in business – to make big profits. You can’t have much of a profit when your unit sales per model are low. JDN seems to care more about making Cadillac “exclusive” than profitable.
By the way, I saw a CNBC feature today on Cadillac sales in China. The guy representing Cadillac there was talking about how Cadillac offered an American car, vs. the German ones. And the Cadillac guy’s name was Andreas Schaaf, with an obviously European accent (Dutch or possibly German). Bio check shows he is 46 years old and a former BMW guy.
I’m all for bringing in the best people from wherever, but why are all the top jobs at Cadillac filled by foreigners or 30-something children of immigrants? And how can they tout Cadillac as a uniquely “American” brand with a strong history, when they are essentially BMW-loving foreigners with no clue as to what Cadillac meant in its glorious first 100 years? No wonder Cadillac keeps trying to copy BMW and failing at sales (while acting like it’s great that the weak sales mean “exclusivity”). When will Cadillac be Cadillac, and when will they have an American who appreciates Cadillac’s history in a meaningful position at the brand?
Drew, JDN’s exclusivity mantra may be a smoke screen for poor sales. I doubt any executive wants low numbers.
thare could be something between a CUV and a Wagon that will be a direct alturnitve to sedans in the future…CUVs are too tall and stubby to be a alturnitve to sedans but they could build a Utily vehicle that a bit lower, sleeker and more car like than a CUV.
Rye, that’s already been done. It’s called a station wagon.
And Cadillac did make a CTS wagon until 2014, though it was mainly for the European market – very few are in the USA. Too bad because it was a nice looking car, especially for a station wagon. Probably was exactly what you are looking for. Search for “2014 CTS wagon”.
Also there was the polarizing Honda Crosstour, which is more of a true SUV/car hybrid than most CUVs. I’ve driven one and it’s very smooth, much smoother than any SUV I have been in, probably smoother than most sedans. Felt underpowered even with 6 cylinders, and the interior/dash looked really dated. No HIV headlight option either. Very good stereo though, I think it had some sort of noise cancelling feature.
They went overly weird on the design, which does not look as bad in person as in pictures, but it’s still pretty jarring/polarizing. Also the styling led to bad visibility and greatly reduced cargo handling vs. an SUV. But with some tweaks, the Crosstour might have been a winner along the lines of what Rye is saying, instead of the relative flop that it was (these are still popular with some people however).
the Crosstore didn’t look like a real Utily vehicle…it looked like a fat, stubby and raised up Accord with a chopped off trunk.
Rye, I wasn’t talking so much about looks as utility. Probably a better example would be the Toyota Venza though, as to what you’d probably like. I haven’t driven a Venza but it appears to be a cross between an SUV and a station wagon, higher than a car, driving (apparently) much like a car, but with much (not quite all) of the utility of an SUV. Oddly enough the Venza and Crossfire were last made in 2015. But I can understand the desire for a “best of both” sedan/SUV hybrid, and if Cadillac were still a leader rather than a follower, they might actually make one AND try to sell it to the public (i.e. advertise it) .
I find this article funny because just last night I decided to look at the CTS Wikipedia page to check out the past sales numbers and in doing that I found out something interesting. The 3rd (current) generation CTS was sold, starting in 2013 as a 2014 model, it was around this time (2012 to 2013) that sales dropped like a rock (46,979 to 32,343). Maybe the 2013 model did not sell well because of how old it was at that time (7 years), and 2014 sales were not much lower because the wagon and coupe models were still around. But from 2014 to 2015 sales took a serious dive (31,115 to 19,485), this was even lower than 2002 (37,976) when the car was being sold as a 2003 model, (the car sold well before its first model year).
The current CTS is the most German CTS yet, and I think, this is the main reason for the sales drop. The CTS was always meant to be German, but the previous generations were “Americanized German”, meaning they didn’t have: sporty/uncomfortable seats, bad visibility, and those GD run-flat tires. As soon as the CTS became full-on German, it stopped selling, BECAUSE PEOPLE LOOKING AT A CADILLAC DO NOT WANT A GERMAN CAR!!!!!!! It is gonna take a bankruptcy for these hard-headed, out-of-touch, foreigners to realize what a Cadillac customer actually wants! Even the interior sucks, the 2 gen. CTS interior was very elegant; liberal use of wood and “chrome”, wood steering wheel insert, large windows…
At this point, its really starting to piss me (and many others) off that the non American (lack of) leadership at Cadillac right now are throwing away decades of history and pushing away loyal customers, just so they can chase after a bunch of non-brand loyal, German car driving millennials.
Henry, you are 100% spot on with those comments. It’s so sad and aggravating that these foreigners are insisting on “staying the course” as they cluelessly destroy Cadillac.
They see that it hasn’t worked to imitate the Germans, so they figure “We need to make it EVEN MORE GERMAN, then it will succeed”. NOT WORKING!
“It’s so sad and aggravating that these foreigners are insisting on “staying the course” as they cluelessly destroy Cadillac.”
Spoken like a true xenophobe.
Spoken like the typical troublemaker Grawdaddy. As I’ve said, I have nothing against getting SOME foreign input. But replacing Americans in ALL the top jobs at an American icon does not make sense. When you didn’t grow up with Cadillac as the standard of American luxury, it’s not surprising that you have no idea what it means.
AND, remaking Cadillac as a foreign company has clearly been NOT WORKING for over 35 years, so how would it work now? BTW, I wouldn’t expect a 100% American management team to understand how to run the best of French culture either, or the best of Japanese culture, etc.
Exactly. Its always foreigners are the ones to blame for Cadillac’s woes with Drew.
Just ignore him …
IceDree and Grawdaddy deny that today’s Cadillac is run by foreigners. Let’s see:
Cadillac CEO: Johan DeNysschen, South African, age 57, formerly of Audi and Infiniti.
Cadillac chief marketing officer: Uwe Ellinghaus, German, age 47 formerly of BMW.
Chief designer: Andrew Smith, age 37, Australian (no Cadillacs are currently sold in Australia).
Chief brand manager: Melody Lee, age 35, parents Taiwanese immigrants. Grew up in Texas, lives in New York City. Only degrees are BS and MS in “International Affairs” (whatever that is).
Head of Cadillac China (most important market outside USA): Andreas Schaaf, Dutch (?), age 46, formerly of BMW.
SO WHO at Cadillac has an American background, and is old enough to appreciate Cadillac’s history and values? Nobody. Instead you’ve got a bunch of people who are only aware of foreign brands. They have no idea what Cadillac means to Americans. They have no idea of why Cadillac was the top luxury brand in the USA for many decades, and why it is featured in so many songs.
Yet Grawdaddy (who is a Canadian living in Canada) and IceDree (whoever that is) would have you believe I’m a delusional xenophobe thinking “it’s those durn furriners” who are ruining Cadillac. No, I’m just observant of who is actually in charge. See the above listing of the top jobs at Cadillac.
And the results are as expected, when you put people in charge who have no idea of why Cadillac was so successful in the USA. They just want to throw away 100 years of Cadillac success and pretend this is a new German brand. And it’s FAILING IN THE MARKETPLACE.
Not surprising. This is the USA, not Germany, not Japan, not Holland, not Taiwan, not Australia, etc. These cars are made in Michigan, not Texas, not New York. These people have no historic connection to Cadillac. In other words, it’s not their fault. They are just the wrong people for the jobs.
BTW, I wouldn’t expect to understand what sells in Japan either. I don’t have a history there, nor does my family. But I don’t think any Japanese brand which sells mainly in the Japan market would be stupid enough to put non-Japanese in all the top jobs. So why would anyone defend a similar move at Cadillac? It’s just common sense.
First of all, it might come as a shock to you, but we ALL know Cadillac’s leadership is made up of foreign people … Yes, including Grawdaddy & Me. No one have a problem with it but you …
Second, “These cars are made in Michigan, not Texas, not New York” you sure about that, snowflake? The Escalade is built in Texas, The XT5 is built in Tennessee & your precious XTS is not even built in the US (Canada) … That’s half of Cadillac’s entire line up.
Third, Johan was CEO of Audi USA & he helped transom Audi to what they are today. So clearly he knows what he is doing … Otherwise GM wouldn’t have hired him to fix Bob’s mess … You know the one you blame him for.
Fourth, it doesn’t matter what’s the nationality of the person in charge as long he is doing his job right … Take Rolls Royce & Bentley for example. Both are British icons with over 100 years in history just like Cadillac. Both are owned & run by Germans (Bentley’s lead designer is Chinese by the way) yet they keep doing record sales & never been more successful. So your theory is clearly flawed.
Fifth, What’s it to you where we are from …
IceD, it’s a matter of culture. You have to live it to appreciate it. And it’s obvious from what the foreigners in charge of Cadillac are doing, that they DO NOT APPRECIATE Cadillac history or American culture.
Hey I couldn’t expect to go to France and be an expert on French culture, or to China and fully understand Chinese culture. Yet somehow if I point out that there’s no way all these foreigners at ALL the top jobs of Cadillac can appreciate what Cadillac means to Americans, I’m suddenly a xenophobe. Sorry but some things have to be lived to be appreciated.
Bring in a few foreigners, sure, they can bring in a different point of view. But don’t exclude Americans from all top jobs, in an American market. That’s just foolish. Frankly they are bringing in the wrong foreigners anyway. They should bring in Japanese experts on reliability, since Toyota/Lexus historically leads in that area. Yet they have none. I’m not the one making the mistakes here. GM/Cadillac is the one making the mistakes, and the results are obvious. They are throwing away a historically loved brand, making a BMW-wannabe, when they could be dominating future luxury US sales. If you can’t see the very obvious cause of this, you are looking in the wrong direction.
IceDree, Cadillacs have historically been made in Michigan, regardless of where they may be made now. That’s their cultural identity, as well as an American car. The New York City thing could only have been dreamed up by people who don’t appreciate Cadillac history.
Today there are Cadillacs made in China, but it’s only recently a popular Chinese brand. Frankly I’d rather have an executive from China though, which is a big market for Chinese cars, than South Africa where they don’t even sell Cadillacs.
Also, as I’ve said – it’s ok to have a few foreigners in top jobs, but it’s insanity to exclude Americans from the top jobs at an American brand with 100 years of success, where the top market is still the USA.
Unless of course you want to totally throw that brand away, and start from scratch as a “brand new” German-imitating brand. Although even that is foolish, because if you want a brand new brand, you should use a new brand name, not an old one that already has established brand values in the minds of the public (not that the foreigners would know about that). So THAT’S what it is to me, where someone is from.
We get it, Drew. You don’t want a majority of non-whites in positions of power at GM; only protestants from confirmed anglo-bloodlines can call the shots because it’s only these morally upstanding, non-hypocritical WASPs who have consistently dragged Cadillac through the mud for the last 35 years can be trusted to emulate a faded memory of Cadillac that only you (and only you) can remember…. a memory that will never resonate with anyone younger than 35.
Oh, and I’m sure that the velvety smooth ride of the S-class is still incorrectly considered hard-riding in your eyes, because your anecdotes are so very valuable and insightful in this day and age.
Grawdaddy, I hope you meant the above as some sort of lame parody. If not, you clearly have issues that go beyond your lack of reading comprehension.
What I wrote was that Cadillac should have SOME Americans in the top jobs who understand and appreciate Cadillac’s appeal as something they grew up with, not just something they’ve arrived at now because they are being paid for it. You can’t carry a brand unless people are passionate about it, regardless of their ethnicity or religious background, which I actually never mentioned as factors in hiring.
In fact I mentioned it would be preferable to have a top executive from Japan/Toyota who could help Cadillac with reliability, and/or one from China who could help Cadillac understand their second biggest market, than those from South Africa and Germany with BMW/Audi backgrounds. I’d say that’s at odds with your thesis.
But you choose to ignore all of this in order to create your own straw-man fantasy. Looking further into your antagonistic use of “WASP” (which isn’t my background anyway), suggests that you have some serious issues yourself with people’s ethnic/religious identity. By the way, prior GM management this decade includes Bob Lutz at the helm, he’s from Switzerland. And as expected, Lutz always cared more about the “performance” side of things, than the “American luxury” side.
As to the MB S-Class, sure if you have over $100k to spend on a car you can have a nice plush ride. That’s not indicative of German auto values as a whole, and you know it. Any more than the Corvette Stingray represented the typical American car in the second half of the 20th century.
By the way – the title here is “CTS sales down 41.2%”. The move to make Cadillac a German-wannabe brand is clearly not working. Unfortunately Cadillac doesn’t know what they are missing when they throw away their own history. When trying to imitate the Germans doesn’t work for 35 years, do you do more of it? Apparently the answer is yes, and I do blame Cadillac management for that. Let the Germans be Germans, it’s working for them. Let Cadillac be Cadillac. There’s room in the market for both.
It’s shocking that some do not see this. I point them to the Escalade which is very American and sells like hotcakes despite being grossly overpriced. I point them to Oldsmobile that tried being foreign and failed until they pulled the plug. And I point them to the new Lincoln Continental which is both being received quite well and selling better than the CT6 or CTS. Not matter how it is spun, Today’s Cadillac’s are chasing a company that it shouldn’t and the pricing is over ambitious at best.
JDN is the wrong guy to be leading Cadillac and has done little other than kill sedan sales and rearrange the letter names of upcoming products.
Drew has the best comment. I didn’t realize how excessive and out of touch Cadillac leadership could get. I think you’re absolutely right in asserting someone’s take on the brand is not going to be as strong as someone who grew admiring classic American luxury brands. It may not be politically correct, but it’s absolutely true.
I think all of us who grew up in the USA at one point have stories where we aspired to Cadillac, Buick, Chrysler etc as kids or early adults. You end up with a respect and passion for these brands.
My parents worked hard to purchase a brand new 1992 midnight blue Buick Riviera with sunroof. Its something my dad always wanted having grown up inheriting a used Riviera in the early 70s, when he was finally able to purchase one brand new, he did, and they were expensive – $32k in 1992 dollars. Anyhow, that made an impression on me as a kid just like those cars did so for him.
Cruising in a opened sunroof, brand new Riviera in 1992, down the California coast with Genesis – Hold on My Heart in the CD player, turned up, was amazing.
Experiences like this, Andrew Smith and Melody Lee I can guarantee didn’t have. GM needs to wakeup.
Also, Grawdaddy being Canadian explains a lot. Thanks for that info.
Melody Lee grew up in Texas, she just as exposed to the American culture as you & Drew.
You two don’t like her because she comes from an immigrant family, which explains a lot, thanks for that info.
IceDree, Melody Lee has stated herself that she never considered buying a Cadillac until she started working for the brand. Which means that NONE of the top jobs are held by Americans who grew up holding Cadillac in high esteem. Melody by her own account obviously did not connect with classic American car culture for whatever reason. One reason could be that her own foreign-born parents weren’t fully exposed to that culture, especially at the time when Cadillacs were the aspirational brand of the USA. I am not against having anyone at Cadillac due to their background, but it is crazy to have zero Americans in the top jobs who appreciate what Cadillac means to Americans, especially when the USA is by far Cadillac’s number one market.
Melody Lee not only lacks appreciation for classic American luxury cars, but she’s simply unqualified for the job of brand manager. She’s too young, she doesn’t have any prior experience with any auto brand, she doesn’t have any sort of worthwhile academic background that would suggest she’s ready for this role. What she is full of is self-confidence, but it’s misguided. She’s done a great job of branding herself to GM, not a great job of branding Cadillacs to Americans. She thinks that if you drive a bunch of “potential customers” to a Michelin-star restaurant, feed them at Cadillac’s expense, and drive them home in Cadillacs, they will now be Cadillac customers. Silly idea from someone unqualified for the job.
Melody has sold herself to GM as an expert on millennials because she is a mlllennial, as if all are the same, and you just have to be one to know how to sell to them. Which is ironic since she grew up not appreciating Cadillacs, and now she’s a self-styled expert on selling Cadillacs. And she knows that despite her failures thus far, she wants to protect her job as long as possible – she says that Cadillac might not start to see results for another 10 years, but they need to stay with her programs anyway. For a good chuckle regarding Melody Lee, see the online article titled “At odds with itself, insipidness reigns at Cadillac” by Peter De Lorenzo.
Thanks for the comments Yoshiaki. And as you’ve commented in the past, although you are fairly young (under 40), you appreciate the roomy, nice riding Cadillacs. That’s something that should be popular with all generations, not just older people. But I do think it makes a difference as to what you and your parents grow up with, and parents of friends, etc. It’s too bad none of the top people at Cadillac grew up admiring and aspiring to their classic American luxury cars.
Yoshiaki K.
I still have a vivid memory of my first time in a Cadillac. Parents were at the dealership dong title work. A big person opened the left rear door for me. I put my little hands on the side of the rear bench to boost myself onto the rocker and tumble into the car.
I explored and found the armrest. I thought it was a seat for me. Centered, elevated, perfect. I became a Cadillac customer at that moment. Twenty years later I bought my first Cadillac. I’m still in a Cadillac. There is a 2016 CTS in my garage that shook my faith. Cad has to do better than that.
I will not rule out Cadillac for future purchase. I’ve never shopped anything but Cadillac before. Next time I will consider the options. Never thought I would say this.
I too remember my first “Cadillac experience”, My parents leased a 2004 SRX, when I was about 8 years old, for the life of me, I cant remember riding in it for the first time, but I remember being so sad when they had to return it in ’08. The car was great, Cashmere exterior with light neutral leather seats, Northstar V8, Large moon roof. Back then I didn’t understand the whole concept of leasing, I always thought the car was mine, that when I started driving, I would get to drive it…nope.
My mother has a similar situation. After the recession, she bought a 2012 CTS, but when Cadillac over-produced the new CTS in 2014 and gave customers $3,800 to lease a new CTS, she jumped at the chance. In the 2.5 years she had owned the 2012 CTS, she was only at the dealership for regular maintenance, but after leasing the (2014) car for 37 months, she has been to the dealership for; 4 new run-flat tires (3 separate occasions, sidewalls were blown out by potholes), new piston rings, leaking rear seal and a new plastic keyhole cover for the drivers door. In 2014 she was so excited to upgrade and didn’t think twice of buying another Cadillac, but now that her lease is almost up, she has looked at MB, Lincoln, and Volvo in addition to the XT5.
Its really sad that Cadillac is pushing away customers who have been loyal (for the most part) through the V8-6-4 fiasco in the 80’s, the re-branded Chevy era in the late 90s, and the great recession in ’08, in order to appeal to a much younger, non-brand loyal crowd. I am part of the millienial generation that Cadillac is going after, and I hate it, there are still lots of people who like a comfortable ride in a large car.
Henry,
I’m sorry you never had the chance to drive the family SRX. Sounds like a great car. Caddy made a lot of excellent vehicles. I hope there are more great Cadillacs to come.
You have to take into consideration the CTS’ price hike. In the transition from 2nd Gen to 3ed Gen The CTS grew not only in size, but in price as well. It went up by 40% for the base model. That’s a huge increase.
The current CTS wouldn’t have problem selling (relatively speaking) if it was named STS or CT or anything but CTS, because people associate the CTS nameplate with the mid-30s price range the 2nd gen occupied even though its miles better in every way.
Did JDN hike the price? I agree the sticker is much too big for the car.
We can’t have Cadillac’s price rubbing shoulders with Kia and Nissans in a price-parity war. Cadillac’s days of taking the low-road with pricing are long gone.
No, It was the CEO before him. I think it was Bob Ferguson.
Than you, IceDree. I just did a search. Automotive News had an interesting article with lively comments. Seems car buyers on other sites have strong preferences for their cars as well.
CTS is a great looking car IMHO. The RFT are the biggest annoyance for me. I didn’t realize there was no well in the chassis to allow the owner to place a spare. I asked the salesman about the spare tire pre-purchase and seems KellyAnn did not invent alternative facts 🙂
It’s 2017.Please show a 2017 CTS with the appropriate modern logo for Cadillac in your stock pictures. It makes you look like you’re not thorough and I know you guys are. Thank you.
Drow….the toyota Vansa dimensions are a good example of what a future alturnitve to sedans could be.
While I did not buy this edition of the CTS after buying the 2004 and 2008 models–I test drove a 2015 V-Sport edition and found it to be a great driving car with impressive power delivery.
2014 and 15 was a great year for the CTS-V. It actually looked like a sports car inside and out. And i think 2015 was the last year for the 2 door coupe.
I have a 2014 CTS-V coupe. Yep, had some problems but the dealership came through. Speaking about the new CTS , the interior is just horrible. It looks like a techno wedding cake gone bad. My CTS V has a very plain interior, no chrome dodads and kind of sexy actually. Even my CUE screen is that god awful blue and is one of the most messed up audio systems Cad has put into a car but still doesn’t dance and sing like the new ones when you turn it on. I really have been looking at the new models and even was thinking of trading in my car for a newer Cad but I just can’t get past the interiors and the four doors.
I have to agree, the 2nd gen CTS had the best interior.