Cadillac made an interesting move when it decided to advertise a vehicle that isn’t for sale: the Escala concept. However, as Cadillac said it would, the ad is driving buyers into dealerships who are curious to learn more about the car.
Not every person is leaving empty handed after finding out the Escala isn’t actually a production car, though. Automotive News spoke with Cadillac CMO, Uwe Ellinghaus, who said many are actually going home with a Cadillac CT6 instead.
The chief marketing executive went on to say there’s a method to his madness with regards to advertising the Escala concept. Not only does it showcase Cadillac’s future design language, the executive stated he wouldn’t execute such a move without a similar vehicle coming in the future.
“Had it been just another concept vehicle which is glorious, but not with a serious intent to produce something similar in the future, I wouldn’t have done it,” Ellinghaus said.
The key phrase there is “serious intent” to produce a vehicle like the Escala. Cadillac President, Johan de Nysschen, has previously gone on the record to state a flagship vehicle will arrive in the near future. However, it likely won’t be a large sedan. For those keeping score at home, the Escala is technically a liftback.
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The drawback to this is by the time the actual Escala would be introduced, it would already be viewed as an old car.
So you suck people in and then for a few, the con actually works when they buy something.
Merc, BMW and Audi don’t need to do this as their showrooms are actually filled with substantial cars and not vaporware.
Bob you took the words right out of my mouth. I f you are going to avsrtishe have the product available. Kinda like the Car dealer advertising this car at a great price and when you get there its already sold or so they say. Then they try to sale you something else. Except in this case the car don’t even exist which I think is worse.
Yes! Build it. I might even buy a sedan that doesn’t have a long roof. In 55 auto ownership years, I have never owned a 4-door sedan, except a 41 Cadillac_ 62-Series. My first car was a 48′ Cadillac 62-Series convertible and it has been convertibles, coupes, and long roofs/station wagons, ever since, the 41′ sedan being the only exception, though, I was tempted by the M5. Bought a wrecked M5 and put the parts into my 525 Touring.
Hey Cadillac, just build it already.
Stop playing around and put a V-8 in the CT6 already. We German car buyers need a CT8 so we can buy American
when will there big plush Cadillac sedan again.
Hopefully Never
Big and Plush is what made the brand irrelevant to begin with. Cringe worthy to think of going in reverse to the bygone days land yachts.
“Big and Plush is what made the brand irrelevant to begin with.”
Gary, no that’s just not reality. Cadillac was number one (in US luxury car sales) for many decades with “big and plush”. What knocked it off the pedestal were the missteps when they tried to get away from “big and plush”. Was the Cimarron “big and plush”? Was the Catera “big and plush”? Was the supposedly fuel efficient V8-6-4 engine about “big and plush”? No, no, and no. Those are the things that ruined the brand, and every time it was from an attempt to go smaller/leaner/more European.
The brands that replaced Cadillac when they fell from #1 were Lincoln and then Lexus, with their own versions of “big and plush”. It’s only been in the past 5-6 years that MB took the top spot from Lexus, and the flagship of that brand is – you guessed it – the big and plush S-series. Audi does “big and plush” (and FWD) too, in their A8. The idea that “big and plush” is irrelevant or hurt Cadillac as a brand, is a fantasy dreamed up by the “fast n furious” fanboy crowd that represents a tiny fraction of the luxury car market (but drives far too many of the professional auto writers, and in turn too much of luxury production itself, now including Cadillac).
Well his statement sounds positive. I am no marketing genius but it seemed ridiculous and misleading to advertise a concept you have no idea of building just to bring traffic in to see if you can get them in a car. The real flagship will do this when it actually becomes a reality.
Well some folks need to grasp that this car is a show car.
Yes there is a flagship coming but it is not this car as there will be changes. This way it can live in the real world and it will be up to date. Remember this was 1 of 3 planned show cars. Yes it is the closest to production but yet it is not a production car.
The planned car will be a luxury car in the modern sense not a plush floaty boat of yesteryear.
The statement here is that the show car has given us hope the new design language is resonating and it shows with the hints of it in the new CT6.
And yes there is a V8 coming for the CT6. It is a matter of doing the new Cadillac v8 right and not rushing it to where you have more Nstar issues.
Reg; “Well some folks need to grasp that this car is a show car.” Yes, ‘some’ folks do, but I think most on this site understand that. For the ‘some’ They have been schooled. For the rest and the ‘some’, we just want Cadillac to build a car of the design caliber and mien of the Escala. Hell, build it as a coupe/convertible and a sedan. When was the last time Cadillac built a 4-5 passenger convertible. Audi – BMW – Merc – Rolls Royce, and Bentley build them. We sure as hell don’t need another SUV.
Just read the post some have a clue and some just want what they want to believe.
If Cadillac had cars that the market want to buy there would be no need to advertise a car that never will b e produced. Stupid, misleading. New Cadillac’s business ethics. On the upside this one probably does function as designed.
It seems that the experiment has worked for a few sales . The salesman that had to tell those customers that they couldn’t buy an Escala but a CT6 instead deserve a raise in pay for pulling it off .
Cadillac now has to produce an Escala type vehicle because if they don’t it will backfire on them . Minus SUV’s i believe we will see hints of that car when it’s time for a refresh of the CT6 , look at the rear of the upcoming XTS refresh for ’18 as an example .
There may be some design elements on the 7-8 passenger SUV coming , but true Cadillac fans as well as dealerships want that halo car as soon as is possible .
do you think the upcoming non-sedan flagship will be the 2nd generation CT6 and a treditional sedan will slot above it.???
Still think the sedan render looks better than the liftback design, personally.
Cadillac flagship will not have four door’s, that has been said many time’s now. These escala is Cadillac’s next design interior and exterior for these new model’s coming up, these escala is not a production car. Again Cadillac flagship will not have four door’s and it won’t be these escala lift-back with five door’s.
what’s it going to be….a 2 door coupe ???
Where I come from, they call this marketing approach “bait and switch”.
In Cadillac’s defense at least this new marketing of a non-existant car gives a potential buyer a look at new Cadillac’s business ethics before the customer spends money.
Wish they were advertising pretend cars when I bought mine.
These next Generation CT6 is coming up, and Cadillac flagship might be a two door coupe /convertible, but it’s flagship wouldn’t have four or five door’s.
All the growth and design at Cadillac is for China and not the US. Chinese don’t buy 2 door cars, so it won’t happen.
Cadillac when are you going to add more SUV’s to your lineup. You force people like me who drive foreign cause you don’t have much to offer. I saw a concept Escala SUV. If you would quit teasing and build you just might sell some automobiles ?. The Escalade and the XT5 isn’t much to offer. If I go to a Cadillac dealer to test drive a SUV that’s what I’m looking forward to buying not a CT6.
2018-2019, Five models lines, new crossovers are a large part of it. New escalade is coming up too, replacement for these ATS, CTS and a smaller sedan is coming as well.
JDN said that Cadillac’s flagship will not have four door’s, or five door’s. It wouldn’t be a sedan above these CT6, and will be made for Chinese market. There will be a Next Gen CT6 sedan coming with a new TT V8 engine.
These CT6 will also have a all-electric drivetrain coming as well.
Will it be made in China like the hybrid?