Cadillac News: Cadillac To Avoid The German Automakers Drive For Volume

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 14, 2013

While Cadillac is attacking the German automakers with the compact ATS and upcoming CTS, one place you will not see the crest and shield do battle is in the volume race.

"We're not going to be in every single segment that they're in," said General Motors CFO Dan Ammann to Automotive News.

"In some ways, I think that not having the pressure to sell the last incremental car at whatever cost … is actually not a bad place to be right now."

Now, Cadillac has a different set of circumstances than the German automakers. For one, Cadillac has a much smaller lineup and sales when compared to the Germans. Now GM has announced that Cadillac will be expanding into other markets in the coming years and to fill out the lineup with new and redesigned models by 2015.

But what Ammann said about Cadillac not being apart of every segment is a bit reassuring. With the German automakers going after every segment, it could cause damage in the long run with their premium position.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[riviera74]

Wise decision on Cadillac's part. BMW and Daimler do not have the same options Caddy does in terms of leaving certain segments to other marques within the same corporation.

[Robert Hall]

Focus on a small set of niches and focus on quality product for those niches. Good strategy.

[regfootball]

stick to the basic segments. Sedans, in a few sizes. Crossovers, in 2 or so sizes. ALmost have to keep the Escalade, it is just a Suburban trim package.

Coupes? 1 for sure, 2, not so sure. ATS best coupe.

Caddy does need an indulgence car like a convertible. Whether it is an XLR or a 4 seat, don't know. It should be unique.

ELR is a given. A good way to sell Volts and justify the price.

Cien would be awesome, but doubt they could swing the production budget.

Audi, Merc, and BMW, their model proliferation will come back to bite them someday. Too many models, the well will run dry.

We may be at a point where a sub SRX crossover is needed, and yes even a FWD based subcompact car..........

Edited May 14, 2013 by regfootball

[dwightlooi]

There is usually not a particularly bad place to be when you have a good product. The ATS is a fine opening shot and the CTS looks like a good follow up on it. They are not perfect though... the ATS is near perfect with chassis tuning, but it's transmission can't keep up drag both performance, driving experience and economy down. CUE is also a rather tacky dud. GM needs to incrementally improve the ATS without waiting for the next model cycle. Try what Jaguar did. They launched the XF in 2009, in 2010 they replaced the 4.2 V8s with a pair of 5.0 DI V8s, 2011 they added a supercharged V6 and a turbo I4, 2012 they facelifted the car with a new front fascia and a revised interior and new interactive infotatinment system, 2013 they swapped out the 6-speed autos for 8-speed autos. Almost every year, there's a significant upgrade in one area or another.

GM only needs to do two things to turn the ATS from good to great -- apply the Aisin TL80SN tranny in 2014 on all the ATS models except perhaps the base car (to keep the entry price low), go on a crash development of CUE version 2.0 and make it a complimentary upgrade for existing cars. The ATS-V will be a nice addition too, but in the larger scheme of things it's not as important as upgrading the tranny and CUE.

[hyperv6]

This is nothing new as GM stated a while back they intended to lower Cadillac volume while increasing the price and profit.

Porsche did the same thing. Back in the 80's Porsche relied on high volume 924-924 and cheaper 911 models and tried to go the high volume route. They learned it hurt their image and made it where just about anyone could afford a Porsche.

They cut back and increased the price and added quality models to the 911. They then did offer a lower priced Boxster but while lower priced than the more expensive 911 it is still not a car just anyone could buy.

The time is now to enhance Cadillac's image to the point where if you own one it is because you have the money. The days of just anyone owning a Cadillac will go by the way side.

Now with Cadillac moving up it will give future Buicks to better address the lower end BMW and Audi models. Cadillac does not have to have a model for every niche like they do and GM can leverage the Buick up to better address these lines. This will also give Chevy more room to move in the $30K -40K range.

[riviera74]

Could not agree more on the placement of Cadillac going upmarket to make more room for Buick (and a little more for Chevy).

As for the Aisin TL80SN transmission, what are the advantages of that one over a GM transmission, such as a 6T70(?) tranny?

[dwightlooi]

Could not agree more on the placement of Cadillac going upmarket to make more room for Buick (and a little more for Chevy).

As for the Aisin TL80SN transmission, what are the advantages of that one over a GM transmission, such as a 6T70(?) tranny?

8-speeds vs 6

6.71 ratio spread vs 6.05

Most importantly, better shift quality and speed.

[vonVeezelsnider]

To me this is code for "S-Class competitor? Don't count on it."

[Lamar]

To me this is code for "S-Class competitor? Don't count on it."

I heard "No, we're not going to make 4-door coupes, S-M-L-XL-XXL CUVs/SUVs, X6 fighters, or 5 Series GT fighters." But that could be my optimism flaring up again.

[David]

Interesting = EXCITEMENT!

Best news I have heard yet for Caddy. Focus on quality high profit auto's that drive people to want to own a Caddy.

[aldw]

To me this is code for "S-Class competitor? Don't count on it."

I heard "No, we're not going to make 4-door coupes, S-M-L-XL-XXL CUVs/SUVs, X6 fighters, or 5 Series GT fighters." But that could be my optimism flaring up again.

That's closer to the truth than "no S-class fighter."

[justusforus]

In hindsight, I think the strategy is working based on the reception the line up has had. Always want to see the American brands compete..and in this case succeed.

[Guest Aboahmed]

I've had mine for 1250 miles 2 weeks now .And I love it ! Short trips long cruises they all are a pursalee in this carMine is equipped. As was the test car , and yes the CUE doesTake some time to get used to , but its really COOL