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Automotive News & Views Can GM make Cadillac the standard of the world Again?
6098 messages, Last post on Aug 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM
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Replying to: xrunner2 (Feb 27, 2008 3:54 am) Great point!!! Is it possible, with the advent of the Japanese luxury marks over the last 20 yrs, trying to emulate BOTH Cadillac AND the Germans, only with cust. svc. and Quality in mind, that what has happened is that Caddy has tried to remain true to it's recent history as being that luxury car (the "sofa"on wheels) that Americans aspired to own as they chased the American dream. Yet quality issues, not styling have nagged them. The Germans on the other hand, have that import "prestige" on their side and have masked their quality issues by building a "supercar" image with gadgets and V-10's and V-12's and such. Even early on, the Japanese made thinly veiled "gussied up" versions of their more popular sedans into Luxury Marques, but the quality and reliability is what allowed them to gain a foothold. couple this with the fact that people come out of college EXPECTING the American Dream to be there waiting for it, there is nothing left for them to "aspire" to. Caddy's Northstar V-8 has been around now for almost 15 years. It is one of the better V-8's on the market still. But, no V-12 bling, sticks that are few and far in between, and quality and reliability on par with the Germans, but (questionable now) historically behind the Japs. They are criticized for not being as sporty as the Germans (not meant to be), but not as reliable as the Japs (point well taken, but now in SOME question), so that kind of puts them in no man's land in the luxury arena. What they SHOULD do w/ the CTS is pound it into the public's head that it is BIGGER and LESS EXPENSIVE than the 5 or E!!! Screw the magazines that compare it to the 3 and C!!! They may not get people looking for a 5 or E to buy into that, though they may, but they WILL get it into their heads that it is MORE CAR for the SAME PRICE as the 3,C,IS,A-4, etc. Caddy may NEVER have been as good as it was looked at in the '50's or '60's, but it sure as hell was never as bad as people said in the '70's or '80's.
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Replying to: bumpy (Feb 27, 2008 9:00 am)
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Replying to: cooterbfd (Feb 27, 2008 9:23 am)
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 27, 2008 4:52 am) |
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 27, 2008 9:47 am) The CTS-V has basically the Corvette ZR-1 engine, detuned to "only" 550 hp ! 
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 27, 2008 4:52 am) According to the industry examiners at CNW Research, Cadillac’s fortunes appear to be slipping away at the margins. In the firm’s July installment of their Retail Automotive Summary, their Aspirational Index (which judges a brand’s attractiveness to consumers) reveals that Cadillac’s rising star is beginning to falter. In the mid-Nineties, the marque rated only a 4 on a 10 point scale. With the brand’s dramatic rebound beginning in 1999, its score climbed for five straight years, flattening out in 2005 and 2006. It has now slipped under 8.0, the brand’s lowest mark since 2003. The ‘aspiration age’ for Cadillac buyers has also swelled from 30.3 just three years ago to 35.9. Interestingly, Cadillac trucks (read: the Escalade brand) went from 25.7 to 32.7—a 27 percent increase. This suggests that Cadillac’s appeal among buyers in that most coveted of demographics (18-35 years old) is slipping. Editor’s Note: Cadillac’s disappointing trending seems like a fairly predictable result of its aging bread-and-butter product line (think: CTS, SRX, XLR, and STS). Older consumers seem to be less concerned with purchasing new models than they are with other factors (witness the devoted elderly audiences of such long-running cars as Cadillac’s own DeVille, or Ford’s Crown Victoria). We anticipate an uptick in Cadillac’s scores once the 2008 CTS filters into dealerships. Regards, OW |
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 27, 2008 9:47 am)
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Replying to: bumpy (Feb 27, 2008 11:48 am) I'm not sure about Europe, but here in the US, the CTS has two 3.6L engines - the base one makes about 255hp, the direct injection one makes 300hp. There is definitely plenty of room between the 300hp CTS and the 550hp CTS-V for a V8 option.... But in this new era of $3.50 gas, 35mpg CAFE, etc.. I don't know.... They will definitely have a turbo-diesel for the CTS soon - I think it's already on sale in Europe. |
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 27, 2008 4:52 am) Easy there, big fella. While the new CTS is clearly the best Cadillac in 40 years (please don't pretend that any of the 80s Caddies were anything more than pathetic), it leaves something to be desired for us stick aficionados. Every review of the MT version of the CTS that I've read pans the stick. I don't doubt that the automatic can hold its own against the foreign competition, but as long as my knees hold out, I have no interest in a car with fewer than 3 pedals. I'm at least 2 years away from replacing my 330i. If Cadillac can work the kinks out of the manual tranny by the time I'm ready to buy, then the CTS will be a serious contender. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect the same level of gear-shifting satisfaction from the 2010 CTS that I'm used to from my 2001 330i.
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Replying to: bumpy (Feb 26, 2008 7:45 pm) Weren't you the poster who agreed with Consumer Reports when Consumer Reports remarked how elegant and real the fake wood in the 2007 Toyota Avalon looked? What, then, makes the fake wood in the early 80's Cadillacs any different (late 80's Caddys and beyond went with real wood trim)? Could it be that the Cadillac is a domestic car and the Toyota is an import? And if that's the case, what difference does origin of manufacture matter when fake or real wood trim is discussed?
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