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Can GM make Cadillac the standard of the world Again?

6098 messages,  Last post on Aug 14, 2009 at 4:43 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac XLR, Cadillac STS, Automotive News


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#5882 of 6098
Re: [dieselone] by lemko
Feb 16, 2009 (6:03 pm)
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Replying to: dieselone (Feb 16, 2009 5:08 pm)

3-Series just says one thing to me:
 
I LEASED my car!
 
To be a real serious Bimmer-phile, I need to see you in at least a 5-Series.
#5883 of 6098
Re: [dieselone] by circlew
Feb 16, 2009 (6:06 pm)
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Replying to: dieselone (Feb 16, 2009 5:08 pm)

Yes, cars only. I left out trucks because until the Escalade, Caddy did not have an SUV so it was about lux cars. You see the comp has completely destroyed their reign in the U.S.A.
 
I just came of lease on a 330xi..it was the best car I've driven to date, damned the snob appeal. I could care less about that. The damn thing becomes part of your brain! Simply fantastic! No Caddy until the CTS in '08 could come close.
 
Regards,
OW
#5884 of 6098
Re: [circlew] by lemko
Feb 16, 2009 (6:09 pm)
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Replying to: circlew (Feb 16, 2009 6:06 pm)

If a teeny tiny 3-Series is the kind of car you want. I'd spend the same money on a very nice Buick and get my money's worth.
#5885 of 6098
Re: [lemko] by jimbres
Feb 16, 2009 (6:26 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 16, 2009 6:03 pm)

Come back & talk to us about 3-series Bimmers when you've driven one that's properly equipped - with RWD, the sport package &, of course, a stick.
 
You do know how to drive a stick, I assume.
 
Don't forget to get back to me with an answer to the question that I asked a few posts back: how did Caddy lose the magic?
#5886 of 6098
Re: [gagrice] by jimbres
Feb 16, 2009 (6:39 pm)
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Replying to: gagrice (Feb 16, 2009 4:15 pm)

Nothing else saved Cadillac but the BIG SUV.
 
Unfortunately for the domestic manufacturers, you can't build a strong luxury franchise around trucks, no matter how good they are. The core of any luxury brand has always been & will always be fast, sexy sedans & coupes.
 
Next to an early 1960s Lincoln Continental - one of the most beautiful post-WWII American cars - a new Navigator looks like a over-chromed shoe box on wheels. Which one would you rather drive to your next high school reunion?
#5887 of 6098
Re: [jimbres] by lemko
Feb 16, 2009 (6:49 pm)
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Replying to: jimbres (Feb 16, 2009 6:26 pm)

I can't all you how Cadillac lost the magic because it still has a spell on me!
 
All I can say is that maybe Boomers' parents were right all along about their kids sitting too close to the TV. They've all lost much of their sight thinking any other car is more attractive than a Caddy. How else can a Bangled-up Bimmer look good unless you were going blind? Fortunately, I didn't waste my childhood sitting in front of the idiot box.
 
A little 3-Series with a stick and a sport package? Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to get one of those old Datsun 510s to duplicate the experience? All that banging around in a tiny metal box is kind of the antithesis of luxury in my book.
#5888 of 6098
Re: [jimbres] by nvbanker
Feb 16, 2009 (7:07 pm)
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Replying to: jimbres (Feb 16, 2009 6:26 pm)

how did Caddy lose the magic?
 
Easy. They quit being the best in about 1980, and started putting real crap on the road. My 1983 Fleetwood Brougham was my first Cadillac, and it was lovely, except it had a 4.1L Aluminum V-8 that was slow, and self destructed in 20,000 miles, and constantly leaked. So I traded it on the downsized 1985 Fleetwood. Same engine though, FWD, and no, they didn't fix the engine. Same thing happened. Traded it on a 1987 Sixty Special. Oops, same damn engine, same damn thing happened, but I put some serious change into that car, so I kept it until 1990, and bought another Fleetwood. This one had a revised 4.5L engine in it, and wasn't so bad, but the rest of the car was just mediocre at best, and unreliable generally. That's when I switched to Lincoln, in 1992, and never went back. In 2002 I left Lincoln for Lexus, and feel no urges to go back to Cadillac, despite the good little CTS. And I do mean little....
 
Cadillac will never be the same, nor will the world. That's what went wrong with their magic, they got complacent, and the competition got smart.
#5889 of 6098
Re: [jimbres] by lemko
Feb 16, 2009 (6:56 pm)
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It's pretty hard for any car, past or present, to be as beautiful as a 1961-65 Continental! The Navigator's got as much beauty as my mother's circa 1970 Hotpoint stove with instruments that remind me very much of it.
 
Of course I would be extremely proud to drive either my 1989 Cadillac Brougham or 2007 Cadillac DTS Performance to my high school reunion.
#5890 of 6098
Re: [lemko] by wvgasguy
Feb 16, 2009 (7:03 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 16, 2009 6:56 pm)

Maybe the DTS, but seriously the 89 Brougham? Although you could haul yourself and 10 or 12 of your friends in it with you.
#5891 of 6098
Re: [lemko] by jimbres
Feb 16, 2009 (7:53 pm)
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Replying to: lemko (Feb 16, 2009 6:49 pm)

Ah, it's just as I thought: you can't drive a stick & your domineering girl friend won't let you learn. Too bad.
 
Still, you're partly right about the 3. It's not a luxury car & BMW shouldn't try to market it as one. Those of us who really like BMW aren't thrilled with the latest iteration of the 3-series. It's put on too much weight & it's losing its edge.
 
(And, BTW, the Datsun 510 was a genuinely cool car - cheap, durable & fun to drive.)
 
As for Cadillac, it won't be a serious contender in the luxury segment until it figures out how to attract status-conscious buyers from the Germans. A luxury brand can't stay alive by selling only to bargain hunters like you. It desperately needs people who crave the badge. Cadillac used to own these buyers. It has to get them back.

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