At this very moment, imagine if you will, Cadillac without the Escalade.
It’s not a difficult task. Let’s just do the Cadillac maths as if the Escalade no longer exists. It does, and it surely will, but let’s exclude it for the sake of establishing a different perspective.
• Cadillac cars down 7% in January
• Escalade up 136%; ESV up 189%
• Cadillac brand up 2.6% in January
In the U.S. last month, Cadillac’s car division was down 7%. The ATS slid 8%, the ninth consecutive year-over-year monthly decline for the small Cadillac.
The CTS, which is still a recently introduced model, fell 24%, a loss of 534 units. We knew Cadillac was repositioning this car in a smaller, less affordable corner of the luxury market. But CTS declines are nothing new. After sliding 15% in 2012, CTS volume fell 31% in 2013, then suffered a slight 4% drop in 2014. On a monthly basis, CTS volume has fallen on 30 occasions in the last 37 months.
XTS volume increased in January, however, rising 14% (or 234 units) to 1882 U.S. sales. But that year-over-year comparison takes us back to a month in which XTS sales fell 13%. Compared with January 2013, the XTS didn’t quite make it back to that level. In 2014, the XTS’s second full year on sale, U.S. volume plunged 25%.
|
Cadillac
|
January
2015
|
January
2014
|
% Change
|
|
SRX
|
3,485 | 4,446 | -21.6% |
|
XTS
|
1,882 | 1,648 | 14.2% |
|
ATS
|
1,757 | 1,909 | -8.0% |
|
CTS
|
1,698 | 2,232 | -23.9% |
|
Escalade
|
1,664 | 704 | 136% |
|
Escalade ESV
|
1,100 | 381 | 189% |
|
ELR
|
92 | 41 | 124% |
|
Escalade EXT
|
2 | 25 | -92.0% |
|
Total
|
11,680 | 11,386 | 2.6% |
Cadillac also reported a 124% ELR uptick, but at just 92 units sold, the ELR only forms 1.7% of Cadillac’s passenger car volume.
Thus, in a U.S. car market which climbed 8% in January, Cadillac car volume was down by 401 units to 5429.
In other words, the whole Cadillac car line was outsold by individual nameplates such as the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the Lexus RX, and the BMW 3-Series/4-Series.
As for the SRX, an aging crossover which resides at the heart of the premium utility vehicle market, January volume dropped 22%. After witnessing impressive U.S. SRX sales growth in 2010, 2011, 2012, and the first half of 2014, second-half volume last year tumbled 25%.
Fortunately, the Escalade still exists, and the weak performance of other Cadillac allowed the Escalade family to showcase the Cadillac’s real strength in January. Combined, the Escalade and the SRX – which, while slowing, is not yet an unpopular luxury utility vehicle – accounted for 54% of Cadillac’s January sales.
The regular-wheelbase Escalade jumped 136% to 1664 units, nearly as many sales as the CTS managed. The long-wheelbase Escalade ESV was up 189% to 1100 units. (Cadillac also reported two EXT sales.)
Without Escalade, Cadillac was down 13% to 8914 January sales.
With Escalade, Cadillac was up 3% to 11,680 January sales.
True, the overall brand’s slight 294-unit increase involves a year-over-year comparison with January 2014, when auto sales were not at their healthiest. In comparison with January 2013, total Cadillac volume was actually down 11% last month. Moreover, Cadillac’s growth was far outpaced by the industry as a whole, which shot up 14% in January 2015.
The fact remains, no imagination is required to realize that the Escalade is the beacon of hope for Cadillac at this moment.
And yet even the Escalade isn’t selling like it did in the glory days of yore. Take your mind back to January 2007, when the Escalade, ESV, and EXT combined for 3710 total U.S. sales.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
#DareBravely will save the day.
/sarc
Kill the Teddy Roosevelt “The Arena” rambling rants as read by some millennial chick (probably Melody CT-Lee’s shopping BFF).
The best thing GM could do is cut their losses now, sh!tcan Johan de Zohan & Melody Handbag-Lee, put a V8 (or at least a HO V6) under EVERY coming with Long Wheel Base hood, because it’s been a long time since they rock & rolled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpD7f8gWgDg
Look, without Cadillac to bash you’d have no reason to exist, so give Melody Lee a big smooch. She lives therefore you are
Naw, he would drink his hate-o-rade and find a new outlet.
Ah, yes, Lincoln is still out there
C’mon, you know I’m right.
Hell, extending the wheelbase 4″ on the ATS, 4″ on the CTS (with that increase going to rear seat legroom and trunk space), ditching haptic feedback controls (as in, put knobs, dials and regular switchgear back in), making the now premium gauge cluster standard, and stuffing a H.O. V6 as standard, and V8 as (at least) optional in EVERY Cadillac would fix at least 50% of what’s ailing Cadillac.
JOHAN DE ZOHAN IS A CON.
Most people here know how much DW’s rants annoy me but, I have to say, his hit list of actions for Cadillac is right on the money.
Truth!
I got an amen from bunkie.
There are many here who could demonstrably prove Johan as the incompetent he is if given his authority for just one solitary week.
Why fix problems when you can use marketing mindf***s to convince people product failure is a sign of success?
Cadillacs future looks bleak. It is constantly losing market share
Whether you like him or not he is exactly, 100% right on the money.
What I think we’ve all learned from this is that there is no one in this world that loves Cadillac more than DW. Who else would be compelled do deliver such vitriol at their failings than one who badly wants to see them be great?
And yes, DW, I do agree on some things: the 2.5 is an insult in the ATS, the 2.0T an insult in the CTS, the higher-end gauge cluster should be standard in the ATS, Cadillac needs to dedicate about 3x more processing power to CUE, and Johan de Nysschen has proven to be a failure who’s successful at convincing people he’s not a failure. He’s got flailing sales from two brands (Infiniti, now Cadillac) to answer for, and seemingly is a one-trick pony (surprise, name change!!!!).
“What I think we’ve all learned from this is that there is no one in this world that loves Cadillac more than DW.”
Yes, the want is strong with this one
Agreed. Given Cadillac’s pedigree, they should have the most rear seat and trunk space in EVERY SEGMENT. It could be a major marketing point.
Ditch the 4-Cylinders too. Who cares if BMW’s doing it? Cadillac’s tank engines kicked BMW’s sorry butt in WWII, no reason their big engines can’t keep doing it. V6 base, twin-turbo V6 and V8 optional.
Of course BMW would counter with film showing shells fired from American tanks bouncing off of the German armor.
I agree that Cadillac doesn’t need to meet BMW tit for tat. The GM hierarchy of brands is structured vastly different than BMW or Mercedes, so they shouldn’t need to.
Yeah.
I don’t like GM, but I do like competition, and I like cars.
I’d love a revitalized, competitive Cadillac.
I’m not sure DW is entirely right, but I think he’s at least more right than wrong.
You’re not giving the guy enough credit. He has two tricks. You forgot moving the headquarters!
Infiniti to Hong Kong, Caddy to NYC.
You should google when Infiniti announced the move to Hong Kong then google when Johan started at Infiniti.
You might learn something.
If Ms. Lee is canned, how then will she help Cadillac “[B]e seen as the arbiter of fashion and things culturally cool and relevant.” (per M. Lee herself)
And we would miss out on inspired tweets like this one about Escalades accessorizing with handbags! https://twitter.com/melly126
(quote source – http://www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2014/02/18/How-General-Motors-Is-Using-Sponsorship-To-Reposit.aspx)
Escalade, up, XTS, up. Everything else, down. Gee, maybe people like big Cadillacs, go figure
Must be a lot of funeral directors updating their rolling stock. I’ve never seen a more hearse-like vehicle than the new Escalade.
Wow, I didn’t even know Cadillac still made a hearse. Based on the XTS, no less…
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7355/12077966813_a48ef59f52_b.jpg
It’s actually kind of cool
The XTS hearse has been discussed here before, and it’s gross!
I saw a dark emerald green DTS hearse the other day. That was pretty nice looking.
My bad, I don’t usually pay much attention to hearses in the news
“My bad, I don’t usually pay much attention to hearses in the news”
Best line I’ve read all day. :)
You should have sir, it was here!
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/09/cadillacs-xts-based-livery-fleet-fleet-announced-sedan-limo-hearse-livery-sedan-to-have-more-luxury-than-standard-xts-models/
“You should have sir, it was here!”
I was out sick that day
I knew I recalled that as a day of sadness. :,(
Did Cadillac ever actually *make* hearses, themselves?
I’d always thought that those were all coachwork, aftermarket.
I don’t think they did, as Cadillac never officially had a wagon. I believe through time many of the hearse and ambulance versions were made by Superior.
The new Escalade is *everywhere* here in mid-town Manhattan. I swear that all the high-end black car services must have dumped every previous-gen version for the 2015s.
I go all over the country and when the new Cadillac came out it was doing well, and then the new Navigator came out and I swear I see 10 of them for every new Escalade, it is crazy the number I have seen on the road since they were just released. God help Cadillac when they truly update the Navigator completely and if they keep the price the same, the Escalade will be slaughtered.
Rarely has the truth been spoken in less words. Brands trying to be something else than they are – Cadillac going after the BMW-theme – is a massive job. I don’t think it can work well. Like Volvo deciding they are not a wagon/family brand anymore…they are! That’s what sells. So should Cadillac focus on its Americanness. Don’t try to sell the brand in Europe…lost battle.
Even more fundamentally, there are many people – even younger ones with $$$ – who want something closer to a bada$$ Cadillac or Lincoln with a rumbling V8 and long, sexy legs, cushy leather, and aluminum cockpit switches & gauges, than anything BMW offers.
The best – of AMERICA – or NOTHING.
It does appear that people expect Cadillac to sell big luxobarges that are 20 feet long and get 5 mpg.
Why else would the Escalade pimp&corpsemobile sell better than the rest of the lineup?
I know right? They can’t win. Maybe they should take a lesson from older actors: own your stereotype. At least that’s authentic.
I am a Cadillac fanboi, and the ATS leaves me lukewarm. If I wanted a BMW I’d buy a damn BMW. Caddies should all have usable back seats. Every one of them should have a premium backseat experience for their class. My 1980 Eldorado had an ashtray and lighter for BOTH back seats, as well as room to spare.
The only thing keeping me from a CTS wagon is that damn horrible stereo.
Amen to that. It’s awful, In a perfect world Bose would not have so debased the term “hi-fi”.
Worse, the things is so freaking proprietary that simply substituting better components isn’t an option.
One guy on Cadillac Forums handmade a fiberglass bezel for a dual-DIN unit. The final install looks pretty good.
The electronics are still to be sorted out (I think the door chimes were lost or something).
I’ve volunteered to have the bezel 3D scanned and printed, because I think the world needs a dual-DIN aftermarket option for that car. It’s a fantastic used bargain.
Actually resale on the CTS wagon is surprisingly high, kind of like for the Flex. Low new sales + small but loyal fan base equals high residuals. I was really surprised how much mine is worth after four years of ownership.
I haven’t seen any XTS that weren’t livery – it seems the XTS and Avalon are the new car service cars, replacing the old town car.
Same goes for the Lincolns. And the Suburban/Denali/Escalade, of course.
Actually, XTS livery sales aren’t as big as one might think.
In 2013 – only 14% of XTS sales comprised of commercial/rental fleet sales (1,300 commercial/3,100 rental).
Cadillac really does need to get it’s crap together in terms of gauges.
The 2007-2014 Escalade had the most BEAUTIFUL gauge cluster I’ve ever seen (in person) in a car.
The one on the lower-end ATS is disgusting and needs to die with the 1998 Grand-Am it came out of.
I’ve never thought these “single-month” comparisons made much sense. There are too many factors that can affect the numbers (unusually cold weather last year vs. this year, etc.). If you glance back at the calendar for 2014, you’ll notice that January had only four Saturdays, where January 2015 had five (the fifth weekend in January 2014 began on February 1st). Thus, the selling period and dynamics simply aren’t the same.
I’m hardly an apologist for Cadillac – I don’t really care for any of their products. But I think sales should be compared over a longer period in order draw meaningful conclusions.
If they’d just put the 5.3 liter engine in the Escalade and fix the rear floor (where the 3rd row seats reside), I’d take a hard look.
Why would you want a smaller engine? Try the 5.3 in the suburban, you’ll quickly understand why it isn’t an option in the escalade. And the new 8 speed did a 2/3? fuel economy increase on the 6.2 but only a 1/1 for the 5.3. For the rear load floor, you have all the idiots that complained about the seats not folding flat to thank.
Do you think the larger engine size plays much into used pricing? My cousin was shopping and only wanted the big engine, and he seemed to think not much difference.
From what I read the 6.2 has bigger resale in the trucks where it’s an option rather than standard. Whether that plays out at the end of the day I don’t know.
The 14′ + 6.2 at least with the 6 speed should hit 60 in less than 6 seconds.
Not that the fuel mileage in my 5.3 liter Tahoe is spectacular, but a neighbor tells me his 6.2 is awful. I’d just like to have the choice – particularly in the short version of the Escalade.
What year, the 6.2 didn’t get AFM until 2014.
The 6.2 should actually stay in 4 cylinder mode more than the 5.3, now that it can.
By the way, to add insult to Cadillac’s rapidly crumbling Johan-Lee business model, the LWB ATS…errr I mean CTS, which saw a huge % price increase for 2015 MY, had its sales PLUNGE 23%.
But I’m sure I and many others are wrong about Cadillac’s Johan “we will charge zeee Mercedes Benz & BMW money & customers will flock to us eventually” strategy.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/05/how-gm-could-save-the-cadillac-ats-from-its-otherwise-inevitable-fate-of-complete-marketplace-failure/
“If one believes Cadillac should be unabashedly American, bold, bad a$$, powerful AND elegant (i.e. long, sexy legs), as I do, with the aforementioned V8, a well sorted, stiff chassis, compliant ride, good build quality & reliability, something CLOSE to this would sell the way Cadillac can only now dream of:”
Arguably, this was Cadillac for only a brief 15 year period (stretching it) of time from about ’50 to ’65. It was all downhill from there. It’s funny how mid-century we all are when referencing American greatness.
I would argue that there are true (by this definition) Cadillacs going into the 70s. It may have been a short span of time, but it’s also one of the most recognizable brands of the time. And that’s what counts, being counter culture is more powerful in retrospect than it is in the moment. The world doesn’t care about history when it isn’t lively.
The powerful brand image cadillac produced mid century is (up to this point) the brands peak and is what the brand came to represent. Emissions regulations killed it, but technology has made it feasible again, yet instead we get the ATS.
The problem with all Cadillac marketing has been an undeserved arrogance. Except for the ‘Slade, no one cares about Cadillac. And certainly not “the brand.” I saw the ads. Yawn. It might win awards though.
I wonder if Uwe and Melody can grasp the concept that Cadillacs aren’t luxury goods right now. They need to hit consumers with “what’s in it for me?” Sorry I spilled the pinot noir, gang, but that’s just how it goes.
No, Jack’s ATS/V-8 idea won’t happen. Still, the sales problems of Cadillac’s alphanumeric lineup might be cured with the following:
1) A real 30% off ATS, CTS and ELR, plus 25% off XTS and SRX for rest of 2015 model year, with lease rates adjusted accordingly.
2) No special deals. Tag ’em and move ’em. Will it cut into Chevy & Buick? Yes. So what.
3) An actual product marketing campaign — not some Teddy/Bully conceptual stuff — spread across PR, email, that says:
– We’ve done wrong by you in the past
– We’re building our best stuff ever
– It’s a better value than any other classy, top-performing ride out there
– Give us a chance
– To prove we mean it, take advantage of these deals
Am I sounding like Buickman? I guess so. But c’mon, Americans root for the underdog. We appreciate a sincere mea culpa. “Branding exercises” for brands whose best days were 45 years ago aren’t worth a damn if the product AND the deal aren’t really there.
The huge price increase was for the 2014 sales year which only saw a 4% drop.
And the now mid-sized/mid-priced CTS was the THIRD best selling midsize lux sedan, outselling the A6, GS and Q70.
And that was even with the XTS in the same price-range.
So what does that say about Audi, Lexus and Infiniti when they sell HALF (or less) of what Cadillac does in luxury sedans in the mid-price segment?
Not only did the CTS sedan outsell the Lexus GS in 2014, so did the XTS.
Lexus sold 22k of the GS; Cadillac sold around 50k of the CTS and XTS.
So maybe the ? should be why can’t Lexus even sell HALF of what Cadillac sells in the mid-price lux sedan segment?
Recent newspaper ad: 2014 ATS up to $5000 off, 2014 CTS up to $10K off.
The 150-250 days’ supply predates the new regime, lots of luck to them:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20140808/OEM01/140809798/gm-idling-michigan-plant-3-weeks-to-trim-cadillac-ats-cts-supplies
Between GM Corporate & Dealer incentives, current discounts are $9,000 off ATS and $13,000 off CTS.
Employees are getting as much as $24k off $58k CTS PEP cars.
They can’t give them away even after idling plants and slashing production.
Nnow receiving 9k off MSRP, between manufacturer and dealer incentives, and the Cadillac CTS, which is receiving 13k off MSRP, between manufacturer and dealer incentives, in just the latest attempt to desperately try to sell some – any – of those failed vehicles (you’d pay full MSRP).
“The failure of the ATS and CTS to hit their targets is costing GM. To kindle demand, Cadillac has offered subsidized leases, discounted financing and rebates. Consumers are being given $4,000 on the 2014 ATS and $6,000 on the 2014 CTS. But some dealers are getting additional subsidies from Cadillac — up to $5,000 more on the 2014 ATS and up to $7,000 more on the 2014 CTS — to help clear out unsold cars.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/10/us-gm-cadillac-exclusive-idUSKBN0LE0D220150210
AND WAIT, THERE’S MORE:
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f15/cts-escalade-help-boost-cadillac-u-s-sales-195266/
Get your $53,100 MSRP CTS Sedan 2.0L Luxury Collection for….wait for it…
…$28,710 !!!
Building brand value, great product & efficiently pricing their vehicles; the Cadillac way.
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f15/cts-escalade-help-boost-cadillac-u-s-sales-195266/#post4715346
I think you should realize your dream and get one. For 28k it can’t be that bad. And if you don’t really like it, you can sell it off after a month with no lost money.
Plus we’d get to see you review your own personal Caddy for TTAC. Now that would be fun!
Sell it off to who, Marcelo? The demand is weak for these things here, hence the steep discount to insiders.
If it stickers for 52 and you buy it for 28, I’m sure somebody will pay close to that 28k even after a year. Don’t you think? Anyone looking at a Cruze or an Impala? Wouldn’t they be tempted?
“I think you should realize your dream and get one”
I know, right? DW wants a Caddy so bad he can almost taste it. The scarey thing is that with all the discounts he can actually afford one. Now what will he do? The inner conflict is killing him
Marcelo, I respect other car cultures, but as a red blooded American, it’s against my faith to ever buy any Cadillac, at any price, with anything less than a V8, as god intended.
If one believes Cadillac should be unabashedly American, bold, bad a$$, powerful AND elegant (i.e. long, sexy legs), as I do, with the aforementioned V8, a well sorted, stiff chassis, compliant ride, good build quality & reliability, something CLOSE to this would sell the way Cadillac can only now dream of:
http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1409-cadillac-ct6-is-brands-all-new-flagship/photo_10.html
@Lie2me, you are bad! LOL!
@DeadWeight, I respect your opinion very much (and was just having a little fun with you) and we do seem to value some of the same things in cars. We’ve had this discussion before, so no need to go an extra round, but I do believe Cadillac is moving in the right direction as the car you describe will only exist (if that) for the top of model of any maker. Adapt or die. That is the rule, sort of like gravity, it is inescapable.
Unless a dealer would be willing to take it on trade for roughly that 28K, I’m not sure who would buy it. Only a very small subset of the population can come up with 30K cash to buy a car, and private party financing might be doable but I still don’t see much interest at that price.
@28. You know your market better than me, so I can’t argue that with you. But if I saw a Cadillac for that price, and thinking of what you can get for the same price, I’d jump on the opportunity.
There was only one MY15 Catera 2.0L I4 which did 33,4 with less than 500 miles. So in reality, this is about a $35K car brand new no matter what fiction is put on the sticker. Curiously we see the extra clean MY14s trading for a similar amount +/- $3K. This is in line with what I saw Catera doing in the past, it seems to take a steep dump to low 30s the minute you drive off with it and then typically holds in the mid to low 20s by year 3 (whereas the Lincoln Zepyhr is already trading high teens/low twentys in the same timeframe). So if you walk off with one for 28K+dest (800) + tax (1960) for $30,760 that is about what it is worth and if you trade or sell it quick (<12 mo) you could get free miles. But once you get to a certain price level, you lose potential customers. Many folks can come up with 5K, and some 10K cash. Most finance after this, and financiers have certain preferences as to what they finance. Would someone finance a private party sales Cadillac for what it was worth at that time? Sure, but first you'd have to find a buyer who can qualifies for a $455/payment over 60 mo (3%) and who wants a four cylinder Cadillac. I'm not sure how difficult this would be but I suppose it could be done. I have seen two of the Alpha Catera's in the wild in the past twelve months, they don't seem to be flying off the shelves.
MY15
12/02/14 ORLANDO Regular $33,400 390 Avg SILVER 4GT A No
MY14
01/23/15 PA Lease $29,000 3,822 Below GREY 4GT P Yes
01/27/15 ORLANDO Regular $31,500 4,347 Avg BLACK 4GT A Yes
01/07/15 DALLAS Regular $30,800 9,419 Avg BLACK 4GT A Yes
01/27/15 ORLANDO Regular $29,200 10,232 Below GRAY 4GT A Yes
02/06/15 DALLAS Regular $31,100 11,722 Avg GRAY 4GT A Yes
01/28/15 PHOENIX Regular $33,000 18,353 Above Gold 4CY A Yes
Hell, *I’d* look hard at that for 28K, if I wanted a sedan at the moment.
And I *hate* GM.
(Well, ok. “Hate” is a bit strong.
But I don’t look at ’em when shopping.)
This perfectly illustrates why the phrase “They will sell every single one they make!” is meaningless in the absence of context.
I take the context to be that “if they made more of them, they would sell them but blow their CAFE averages all to sh!t.”
And that, my fellow enthusiasts, would evoke wrath from the EPA, DOT and current administration because it would totally ruin their green wet-dreams.
The 5 Series and E Class have similar deals and Lexus has ramped up incentives on the GS as well.
2014 CTSs in my town have $15,000 to $16,000 off sticker.
I bought my mother a 2010 Cadillac STS fully loaded.
While the shape and the bright crystal red color get her plenty of compliments I hate the car because of the interior space being substandard for what I think a “Cadillac” should be.
BIG interior, with a BIG ENGINE, that moves really fast and is shiny…
That’s exactly what the Escalade is and that’s the reason why the Escalade is the true “Cadillac” of their portfolio.
By chasing German handling and German ideals Cadillac has ended up creating a better driving car did many BMWs. Meanwhile BMW has adapted too much to be American market and more and more owners are falling out of favor with the fuel economy, cost, reliability, interior space, etc.
Cadillac is building better interiors than ever before and their cars are more spacious than ever before. I am absolutely astonished that I can comfortably drive a Cadillac CTS V coupe or an ATS.
But their cars are too expensive especially when you compare them to Mercedes-Benz and even Hyundai.
CLA has more name equity then the ATS regardless how it handles.
A well-equipped C-class 4-matic is only $52,000 while the CTS is much more.
The GLA has more name equity then the SRX.
What bothers me most about Cadillac is how they cheap out on the interior.
I expect Cadillacs to have heated cooled massage seats with all power options for head rests and thigh support cushions.
“A well-equipped C-class 4-matic is only $52,000 while the CTS is much more”
I think Caddy would argue with you that the CTS is the next size up, and competes with the MUCH more costly E-Class. Not saying they’re right, but I think that’s what they would claim.
Once you step in the backseat of the CTS, you know for sure it is not competing with the E-Class, no matter what they think.
The rear space of the CTS is about the same as for the Lexus GS.
“I bought my mother a 2010 Cadillac STS fully loaded. I hate the car because of the interior space being substandard for what I think a “Cadillac” should be.”
How much space does your mama need? That’s a fairly good size car
http://images.nysportscars.com/pictures/41978098.jpg
I picture her as a large lady, who enjoys wearing big hats to church on Sunday and Wednesday.
Lol, stop, before this becomes a Tyler Perry movie
You’d be right. She’s about 6 feet tall. Doesn’t wear the huge hats yet.
The new CTS is bigger than the STS. But why wasn’t the STS that size int he first place?
RWD platform made the rear space terrible. Thing is, they could have built a bigger RWD car…the LX platform should have given them the ideas needed to do so.
I see the transformation into a Haus of Lifestyle brand is working! What we need are more boutique dealers.
See these rigs quite often, even here in the downscale midwest. The latest version really has a clean, classy, “smaller” look without actually being smaller. Plus no need for an LS swap FTW, it’s already there! God and the frackers brought us $2 gas, lets roll in a ‘Sclade.
Funny how the Only Cadillac with a real name is the one selling.
Bring back the names, your clients don’t know what they are buying with the 3 letter naming.
true that.
I dunno, other companies manage fine with a few numbers or letters.
(“RX? What’s an RX?” … oh, the second best selling luxury vehicle in the country.
The best being “The 3/4 series”, which is not exactly a “real name”.)
(I mean, there’s a Cadillac naming problem – the names don’t make any *sense*, and change too much, maybe.
But it’s not “they’re not words”.)
The ELR is up 128%.
Wow, they sold 4?
I’m surprised the Escalade is selling that well to be honest. The only place I see these in any number is livery cars at O’Hare. Most people in this category where I live are buying BMW X, Mercedes, Range Rover, and Porsche SUVs.
You’ll see more on the south side and in the south suburbs. But I wouldn’t be surprised if most of that volume was livery.
In the Great Southwest where I live the Suburban-style vehicle is aptly named the “Texas Cadillac”, even when in Suburban, Yukon XL or Escalade XL trim.
The 2013 RWD Suburban LTZ 5.3 that we inherited as a company business vehicle when my wife’s mom and dad moved to Germany is underpowered, more thirsty than the 5.7L engines in our Tundra and Sequoia, and a dog by any other name, slow to accelerate, a beast to handle and delivering a ride with the finesse of a WWII Deuce-and-a-half.
Still, it remains the vehicle of choice with a very large segment of the population. It’s been said that once you own a Suburban, you’ll always own a Suburban, because anything less just doesn’t measure up.
The livery market is big and growing. Not much to replace the big Lincoln’s with. So, Caddy gets a share.
Which makes me wonder why they don’t go after this market more aggressively.
” why they don’t go after this market more aggressively.”
Individual sales is where the money is at. Livery market is just another variety of rental fleets.
Who knew an intelligence test would sell this well, for this long?
Apparently the American public really are stupid enough to pay – what, $70+k? – for a full size Chevy pickup/Suburban with leather seats, lots of vacuum-metallized plastic fake chrome, unlistenable super-boom sound system, and a big emblem on the grille.
I don’t get it. I have never gotten it.
I don’t understand the need to insult people and denigrate someone’s choice especially when you have no idea why they made that choice.
It’s not your type of vehicle. That’s fine. We all have those things we’d spend our money on and those we wouldn’t. Why are people who prefer something you don’t particularly like stupid?
Have you asked any owners why they purchased? It might, at the very least provide a bit of illumination into their decision making process and what they’re getting out of the vehicle.
It’s not stupid to buy a Suburban (or whatever they are calling the medium-wheelbase version), if your needs dictate it. It’s stupid to pay $20-40k more for the same darn thing because it says Cadillac on it.
I bet all the shared bits (like, maybe the entire drivetrain and chassis?) get bought at the Caddy dealer at 2X the parts cost instead of the Chevy dealer, too.
Funny that now, no one gets their panties in a twist if you point out the stupidity of the Cimarron, which was exactly the same thing.
The thing is, all makers do what cadillac does, hell even the new Rolls is based off of BMW bodies. Audis to VW, etc.
But unlike say VW or BMW, at least Cadillacs products start off on a reliable platform.
The XTS is platform is also used on the impala
The CTS I can’t remember if it’s the same as the ATS or the Camaro
The ATS platform is about to be used in the camaro, a Chevy V8 for $30k, or a cadillac ATS 4 cyclinder for 45k?
The SRX is similar to the equinox.
So I ask how is the escalade a special scenario?
It’s the best selling Fullsize luxury SUV, so it’s certainly what the people want.
No the parts will cost the same, another advantage of using GM platforms, get the part numbers that are used across the platform and no one will know what is came off of. Even if you say it’s for a 100k escalade they’re not going to charge a different price then what they would for a 85k Denali, or anything half the price.
The manufacturers are just doing what sells. Good for them. I just remain astonished that members of the public, even many of the people posting here, act like (and spend money like) the Escalade is anything other than a tarted-up pickup truck. And they’ve been selling the thing for what, 20 years now? And it has essentially looked almost identical to its parent vehicle (except for grille and bling) that whole time? And still people are yanking them off the lots and paying that $20-40k over a Suburban to do so.
I understand what your saying, and to be completey honest I don’t fully understand the prices charged either. However you can’t have a double standard here, Audi, Lincoln, Infiniti, Lexus all do the same, with large profits per unit, the only difference is, cadillac has done a better job at it.
Granted you also can’t ignore the Escalade is really the only fullsize lux competitor that’s actually up to date, all the Euro competitors are offering crossovers that should be sold as Midsizers they’re so small.
The new Escalade is now much more differentiated from the Suburban or Yukon XL Denali (especially in the interior) and much more so than the Lexus LX and GX are with the Toyota Land Cruiser and Prado, the Infiniti QX80 with the Nissan Patrol (or the Armada for the previous gen) and the Lincoln Navigator with the Ford Expedition.
You can easily option a Suburban LTZ 4×4 up to $70,000 while an Escalade hits the market with a price tag of $73,000 for a 4×2. The extended ESV (Suburban size) 4×4 is $96,000.
(FWIW the Denali Yukon XL is roughly the same price as a Suburban LTZ but can be optioned close to $80,000 without too much effort.)
You could go back to 70’s and say the same thing about the Caprice and Fleetwood. Caddy’s flagship sharing it’s platform with durable cop cars is part of its pedigree.
Yes. Here’s one way to look at the continued success of the BOF GM trucks — GM’s full-size cars made in the Seventies before downsizing are still present and accounted for.
To me, the standard Tahoe is the Impala/Caprice, the Suburban is the Olds 98 Regency, regular Yukon is Pontiac Bonneville/Gran Ville, long-wheelbase Denali is Buick Electra 225, and Escalade is everything from Seville to Eldo to Fleetwood.
At the same time, what are now considered “full-sized cars” — Impala, Avalon, Taurus, 300 — vie for an ever-shrinking piece of the sales pie.
Yep $70K for a fancy suburban but somehow a little more for a Tesla S is outrageous. ;)
As others have said, the Euro sales dream will never happen. EVER. Europeans will not be caught dead in a Cadillac. They could make a better 3 series in every way, and Europeans will keep on buying the BMW. Cadillac should’ve permanently learned their lesson after the BLS disaster and left. Leave Europe for Lexus to try to keep cracking.
In my opinion, Cadillac’s prime target in the US should not be BMW, but Infinti (ironic, I know). BMW is much too strong, while Infiniti is floundering. The Q50 sucks so bad that people STILL want to buy the ancient G37 instead, which is now a de-contented blue light special. The Q70 is old and uncompetitive, and Infintis SUVs are all varying degrees of terrible.
Cadillac’s playbook should be to beat Infiniti at their own game. Offer a product that’s bigger than the German competition at a lower price, with better reliability to capture customers who are scared of German service departments. Match BMW on free scheduled maintenance.
Finally, dump the touch controls and CUE system TODAY. Even Ford got the memo, everybody hates touch controls. Lock your interior designers and engineers inside an Audi A8 until they understand what controls should look and feel like.
” Europeans will not be caught dead in a Cadillac”
Haven’t you heard Cadillac makes a fine line of hearses, so Europeans just might be caught dead in one
So the two failed brands should duke it out for the bottom rung?
Agree about Europe. Cadillac should be focused on the U.S. and China. As for Infinity, I disagree. Cadillac has traditionally been more like Mercedes than BWM and it’s kinda surprising that during their re-birth they decided to go the route they have.
I think some of that was an attempt to put as much separation as possible between what they were and what they are now. In my mind, Cadillac should be a cross between Jaguar and Mercedes Benz. Stylish, spacious, powerful cars with reliability better than the Germans at more affordable prices.
I just checked Tim Cain’s site and the fall off from the G to the Q is shocking. Someone royally screwed the pooch concerning what customers wanted in the new car.
“Someone royally screwed the pooch concerning what customers wanted in the new car.”
Wasn’t a certain Cadillac employee also involved with Infiniti when the Q was being introduced?
A8 for how buttons should feel?
I disagree.
After having some extended seat time in an A8L, those buttons in the center that are painted silver feel awful….and give off this loud “click” when you press them.
good product, horrible marketing. nothing’s changed.
While Cadillac does have its strongest product lineup in recent memory they still have a couple of glaring holes, particularly a couple of SUV/CUV models to bracket the SRX, which itself could use a refresh. Also, the decision to deliberately raise prices to Germanic levels on the ATS and CTS have clearly been rejected by consumers.
I don’t know how much the Hyundai Genesis and Kia K900 will succeed in the market, but I think that they do put some price pressure on the true luxury brands. Cadillac’s sedans might be better served by pricing them just slightly less than BMW/M-B products. Not so much that they have the stigma of competing on price, like the Koreans, but enough to demonstrate better value to the consumer.
Nobody’s paying me to run Cadillac but if I had the job, besides filling in the gaps in the CUV lineup, first on the list would be upgrading the interiors on the sedans, trying to leapfrog, not just compete with the Germans.
Some have suggested giving the sedans more legroom, but adding 4″ to a wheelbase adds a lot of weight in addition to cost, and there’s CAFE to consider. On the other hand, long wheelbase cars are popular in China so maybe they could amortize things enough to offer ATS-L and CTS-L variants in North America.
Also, while I like it, maybe it’s time for an evolution of the Art & Science styling theme into something a bit rounder if that’s what the market wants.
Hampered by their traditional BOF packaging, the Escalade/Tahoe/Suburban will never be as spacious as a unibody crossover of the same exterior dimensions. The Escalade is only roomy on the inside because it is absolutely ENORMOUS on the outside.
Caddy really missed the boat on the large CUV, and I still think they could have stuck a V8 in an AWD Lambda with all-new sheetmetal and interior and that would easily match those 3000+ combined sales that represented Peak Escalade.
***I’m surprised the Escalade is selling that well to be honest. The only place I see these in any number is livery cars at O’Hare.***
my suspicion [sadly no proof] is that yes, lots of Escalade sales are due to the livery guys in the big cities….which is plausible as the total bump up is only a few hundred units.
lately, i’ve been hearing a lot of second-hand stories about so-and-so supposedly netting 6-figures driving Escalade liveries [though i think a lot of people aren’t accounting for depreciation properly]. and a gold rush of people moonlighting as livery drivers, using their credit/home equity to get a Escalade or fully spec’d Tahoe.
but can’t prove it one way or another unless a Caddy dealer sales rep chimes in.
A $25 000 vehicle is keeping Caddy afloat.
The Caddy Silverado station wagon is a very nice pickup truck.
But why buy the Caddy when you can get a pickup just a good for far less?
Maybe Toyota can have a $80 000 Tacoma station wagon and sell it as a Lexus!
I’m 43. I grew up with Cadillacs. Dad first was a ’76 Eldo,other than a pair of Audis in the late 90s they’ve driven Caddies the entire time and my parents both have Caddies now. A ’12 CTS and the new Escalade.
Cadillac is excess. The Escalade drips with it. The rest of the model line up not so much. The XTS would be fine if it had a V-8 and looked a bit less squished. The new CTS too with 8 cylinders under the hood would do the trick too. The ATS would work if its sister cars in the line up carried that load, but the ATS by itself does not work.
As noted above get rid of CUE. It might have been a good idea at the time, but it is terrible in practice. Cadillac has got to stop chasing BMW and the Euro dream. Cadillacs are the opposite of Euro-cool. They are American brash. Go with it.
The current ATS/CTS with a different skin, interior trim and current engines would make marvolous Buicks.
Again, the same lazy “analysis” found all too often in Cadillac sales articles.
First off, the small 4% sales drop for 2014 is pretty impressive considering that it was in comparison to sales of the previous CTS which was priced a whole segment lower (compact as opposed to mid-size where the current CTS resides).
And for 2014, Cadillac sold around 25k sedans in the mid-price bracket with the CTS and XTS (totally understandable that XTS sales dropped with the addition of the current CTS which competes in the same price bracket).
That is WAY more than what Audi, Lexus and Infiniti managed to do in the mid-price range.
Furthermore, the CTS in 2014 outsold the A6, GS and Q70 – who what does that make them? (Yes, Cadillac should have done a better job of aligning capacity with sales – should not have expected E Class level sales).
The CTS also had an ATP that was close to the E Class and 5 Series and that was even without the CTS-V peformance line.
As for the figures from Jan. this year, the CTS dropped but the XTS gained, so it’s basically a wash (plus, one month is not nearly enough to get an accurate gauge of how things are).
It’s no surprise that sales of the Escalade are booming and that the aged (and basically not really competitive) SRX still manages to sell fairly well as luxury SUVs/CUVs are selling like hotcakes.
The fact that Cadillac has nothing else to offer (where competitors like MB has something like 5-6 with more on the way) is the main reason Cadillac has been struggling and will continue to do so until they start adding to their CUV lineup (this is where Buick is in better shape).
As for the ATS, was stupid to give it the tighest interior room in the compact segment to eek out performance gains and really nothing Cadillac can do about it until the next gen model which is getting increased interior space.
“The fact that Cadillac has nothing else to offer”
A lazy analysis for a lazy manufacturer. Why does Buick have twice the offerings as Cadillac? No one is picking on Buick because they know who they are and who their customer base is and build cars accordingly. If Cadillac would take their heads out of their butts for five minutes perhaps they’d figure it out and do the same
Well, hardly fair to categorize Cadillac as being “lazy” – at least within the past 3-4 years.
Cadillac, unlike say, ahem, Lincoln or Acura, has developed 2 new RWD platforms (4 if you count the extended Alpha and the extended Omega as being separate).
Cadillac is also in the process of developing a whole new line of engines and transmissions.
Compare that to Infiniti which has increasingly relied on Daimler for major components and Lexus which really hasn’t upgraded their engines in about a decade (IS250, GS350, LS460) and extended the life of the LS460 way beyond its normal due date.
And in the past 3-4 years, Cadillac has launched 5 totally new or next gen models – XTS, ATS, ELR, CTS and Escalade.
Now, it’s totally fair to criticize the powers-that-be at Cadillac in not putting their resources into the areas with greatest ROI, basically luxury crossovers.
While the Omega flagship (CT6) and its even larger LWB brethren (CT8) are nice and all, it would have behooved Cadillac to have offered a compact CUV a year/yeat and a half after the ATS was launched, and then to follow up the CTS with a proper RWD-based midsize CUV.
But as we can see, that hasn’t been the case and this may more have to do with the misguided zeal to beat BMW in the performance/driving dynamics game, as there are indications that the Alpha platform and the extended version of it which underpins the CTS are not suitable for crossover duty.
If that is true, would explain why we are likely not going to see a compact CUV from Cadillac until after the next gen ATS (which will be underpinned by a revised platform).
“If that is true, would explain why we are likely not going to see a compact CUV from Cadillac until after the next gen ATS”
So, Cadillac won’t have a pony in the biggest growing segment race in town? Who’s going to wait for them? No one, that’s lazy
Buicks got that covered. Why overlap?
As I was driving around downtown Irvine CA last week and waiting for the light at the intersection of Campus and MacArthur, I noticed I was surounded by 2 black C-Classes and 1 black E-Class. On the opposite side of the intersection were 1 GL-Class, at least 1 RX350, and 1 older LS430. After merging onto the 405, the same story – excepet with BMWs this time..
Not ONE Cadillac for miles
As I was walking on the beach I saw a lot of ti….. wait, what?
Yep, once you get out of the Midwest and Texas, Cadillacs are few and far between to be seen. South Florida for example probably has 50 BMWs and Mercedes for every Cadillac, if not more.
I realize that this would be a PITA to assemble, but I would prefer to see a 12-month running total, in addition to the month-on-month and YTD figures. (Nobody else is doing this, so you’d be unique, and at least two or three of us would appreciate it.)
I take your point about the Escalade, but the numbers don’t tell the story very succinctly. The good thing about it is that the margins on those things must be ridiculously high; the ability to amortize costs over a gazillion trucks and large SUVs must produce more profits than every other Cadillac combined.
I haven’t waded through all 109 comments (in part because I just don’t have time eat popcorn and read the anti-Cadillac rants from a particular person).
Can’t this same argument, this exact same argument, be leveled at Lexus or Acura.
Lexus sold 23,131 units in January 2015.
For cars, CT down 22%, IS up 10%, bread and butter ES up 3.1%, GS up 29.2% (total difference 379 units), LS up 5%.
For SUVs RX up 17%, GX up 24.9% (less than 400 units) and the LX down 17.7%.
Lexus “trucks” were up a whopping 55% – Lexus cars up 13%.
Overall better number than Cadillac no denial – but if we play the “what if” game most of the unit volume growth comes from the new NX and RX growth (total units). Take the RX away, and Lexus isn’t all that attractive.
39% of all Acura sales came from the MDX in 2014. Take away the MDX and Acura – well it starts looking ugly. Take away the RDX and suddenly Acura is a near dead brand walking.
I get the point of this story – Cadillac has big problems – but I feel it’s a bit odd way to slice the data.
Take away the F-150 from Ford’s sales chart and whoa – problems.
“Take away the F-150 from Ford’s sales chart and whoa – problems.”
@Lou_BC made the same comment. Ford is essentially a one trick pony All US Manufacturers are equally susceptible
The problem with Cadillac is that it isn’t a Euro prestige vehicle and never has been and never will be one.
It attempts to compete in their market segments and is assessed against them.
Why would anyone buy a Cadillac when you have such good Euro cars on offer.
As the auto industry rationalises globally, Caddy has only one way to go. That’s down.
I do read some comments alluding to; “it’s apple pie” in effect, big fncking deal. How many customers really give a sh!t. This is illustrated in Caddy’s sales performance against it’s peers.
If Caddy wanted to be realistic it would produce a genuine globally attractive vehicle and not a vehicle that is appealing to less and less people as time goes by in the US.
Maybe what GM should do with it’s Andy Warhol/Kinks/Soho management team is look at the latest Mustang. What a refreshing American vehicle. It will sell well globally. The Camaro would sell globally as well, but we all know it’s based on an Aussie design.
Maybe GM should also ask it’s “trendy” Soho managers to look at FCA. Why is it that Jeep is acceptable globally.
The current Cadillac team needs to be replaced or sell Cadillac to the Chinese.
You do remember what PCH101 said concerning the Aussie Dumb Truck League (ADTL for short).
Are you bucking for MVP, ’cause that’s the direction you’re headed?
@hubcap,
The reality is Caddy is nothing outside of the US and possibly a little in China.
The evidence and data suggests the manufacturers of imported prestige vehicles are fairing much better in the US than Caddy.
The only vehicle that Caddy has that improved is the Escalade which is heavily based on a Silverado.
Now if a sh!tty chassis is improving in numbers for Caddy and Caddy’s so called Euro competitive vehicles are failing, what do you consider the problem to be?
Caddy doesn’t have a competitive vehicle lineup and a “pickup” truck in it’s lineup is fairing better than the other vehicles Caddy has (almost tautology).
Maybe some of our American friends might be the retards and not myself. I think I have hit the nail on the head in regards to Caddy.
Watch the Mustang sell in a global market. The Mustang will sell because Ford has produced a fine vehicle. If Caddy wants to sell it must produce a vehicle that would be globally competitive.
The Caddy Silverado Escalade would not sell in the global markets. It would have trouble competing against a Prado, let alone a Patrol or 200 Series, Range/Land Rover, etc.
It “ain’t”. Caddy will collapse eventually if it continues down it’s current path.
And, to our American deniers, you can sprout this is “America” and Caddy is American, but so was Packard, AMC, and many others.
Look at De Soto, the name still exists, the Turks bought it!
“You do remember what PCH101 said concerning the Aussie Dumb Truck League (ADTL for short).”
That’s Aussie BIG Dumb Truck League
… and guess who the quarterback is?
Nothing worse than two UAW Trolls making comments, collectively they make less sense than one
So these mooroons at GM got the massage .. ?!?
They should built .. big, elegant, luxurious , opulent , excentric, oryginal .. cars, and not thy to ‘copy and chase’ Germans .. ?!?
Cadillac needs people like Bob Lutz .. :
Make a good car and people will follow ..
—
‘Cadillac should focus on its Americanness… and yes, they would sell them(‘unique cars’) in Europe ..`’