balthazar

Tesla seems to be firming up their image nicely so far. Right now tho, the station count is nearly non-existant (30). I've seen Teslas in my area but the nearest SC station is 95 miles from here. We'll see how quickly they get their network up vs. their projections. If it's like most other projects, they will not hit that time table.

If this coupe stays a real dynamic, quality upmarket offering (like where the Elmiraj is going), it should be unique, larger than the CTS and priced around $75K. Not that anyone shops with a tape measure, but 200" sounds right about perfect to me. They're not going to sell many, but mass sales volume is mercedees' bag, not Cadillac's, and no one sells a lot at that range. Offering another 'CTS coupe' but jumping the price $10K over the sedan is not a smart move; it must be -in perception & reality- unique... then you christen it Eldorado.

smk :: You think that anyone would consider the ELR, CTS-V, Corvette & an Elmiraj as cross-shoppable?? Tough to get 4 more dissimilar demographics together without including trucks. How come mercedees wasn't worried when they priced the E63 @ $90K and the CLS63 @ $95K? Don't they have a real need to "distance" those two from each other? More worrisome is the overlap of the CLA @ $30K and the C @ $35K. These are interchangeable sedans, unlike an ELR and a Corvette (which aren't even the same brand/in the same showrooms).

IMO, it,s a good next step forward. Cadillac can do better tho. The '14 CTS has even better dynamicism out front than the Elmiraj.

I'm puzzled by those who feel the heritage names are "20th Century", but somehow "Cadillac", the oldest name in the pot, is '21st century'. Why not rename the Division, too, if one really wants to make a break with the past. Personally, 'Miraj' means no more to me than 'CTS'.

Benz actually did follow Cadillac and ran fins on their early '60s cars (when it was already on the decline here... but mercedes has traditionally had trouble maintaining pace with the styling line of scrimmage, at least until the 1980s. Of course, I only know this because I apparently "live in the past".) Fact is, you can't fully appreciate the present unless you also know the past. Cadillac has had many times over the original stylistic idea vs. mercedes, and as a fan of the marque, that's a large part of what attracts me to it. The Elmiraj is not an "original" idea in that it doesn't propose anything new (in general), but it is a very well done piece all the same. I prefer the Ciel immensely, tho- has tremendous presence. I look forward to the '3rd shoe' in this series, esp if it is some degree of a melding of the two.

I love how when you have no argument you take things so out of context. I just gave an observation on the Cadillac grill in this car, did I say anything about BMW or Benz.....No! I merely responded to this, your words : No one echoes the shape of their grilles to their emblem, so if it was a point, it has zero context in the auto industry. BMW & Daimler were examples of (the lack of) that.

passed a driveway on the fly with 2 AMC Eagle AWDs, a sedan & a wagon, both looked like runners.

^ It is borderline. On one hand, from some angles it gives the car attitude. However, from other angles the car has a lot of 'underbelly tumblehome', and from this angle it makes the rear tire protrude too far out of the wheelwell, AKA a off-road truck. I think the bulk of the issue is that the tail is a tad too tapered in plan view. Design could use a bit of detail refinement here & there, IMO.

Dodge did toy around with cross-hair grilles in the '50s & '60s, but not consistently; mostly it was used on their trucks. Chrysler's came out for '60, ran thru '67.

Audi : Don't forget ferrari.

Riiiggghhht- that's why mercedees & BMW and every other car maker shapes it's grille emblems to match the grille outline. I LOVE all those mercedes/BMWs with the perfectly circular grilles, gets all my ducks in a row. You so crazy.

Reg, did you read the post above yours?

I prefer to do it on my schedule, for free. Not having AAA for as long as I've owned my truck will pay for the exhaust/tuner. Now, if I could give my 20"ers to AAA and have them demount them, that would be worthy of consideration. The last one I did took me probably 1.5 hrs. They don't work on my tire machine.

Thinking aloud here......... if a handful of people loudly voice that the Wreath evokes a "dreadful" Cad from the '80s, how oh how will General Motors handle renaming the brand to something that is new with no baggage? After all, those same '80s cars with the Wreath & Crest also always had numerous "Cadillac" badges. Because, you know, these things aren't important to anyone. Hm-mmm......

Noticed this morning my Silverado has a flat. Even worse, I am certain I ran over something on my own property, so that makes it my fault. So's I get to R&R my tire, AND plug the puncture.

The one Viagra ad where the guy hitches his horse to his stuck truck always strikes me; the ad states 'this is the age of knowing how to get things done', yet the opposite is true in these scenarios. The vast majority of people simple dial AAA when stuck- they don't do anything by themselves. The last bastion of 'knowing how to get things done' is probably truck guys, tho, or at least a higher concentration there than any other demo. Yea Moltar; that was a calf, not a sheep. The Silverado ad is not bad, just a bit on the 'smooshy' side.

^ google-imaging is showing a lot of retro-fitting. The two '74 brochures (what's pictured above) fail to show a car with both a stand-up and a hood ornament together, and my google imaging seemed to show a slight majority with only 1. The car above, with both a Wreath and a V is a bit too schizoid for Cadillac to have approved. The circa '71 'vertical wing' emblem appeared on the taillights, I don't know that it was used anywhere else on the cars.

Interesting point, tho CUVs don't sell by what wheels drive the vehicle. It might look that way, but I'd like to see the evidence that was a prime factor. Sales should never be the 'prime directive' for a luxury marque; profit should.

^ It was the evolution to the current one; no crown points, no merlettes ("duckies"??), streamlined Wreath. Emblem may have seen intermittent implementation, that's been the practice before. Note that the above is not all-inclusive nor without examples of selectivity. For example, I fail to recall where specifically the '82 emblem was used- not on the hood/decks of cars nor in print advertising for the most part. Cadillac has always varied it's usage & placement of emblems per various constrictions/ design intent.

^ The rear is definitely noticeable, but the front is less generic than most of the other luxury sedans out there IMO. Don't mistake me; I'm no sudden Lincoln fan, but they finally moved the needle off 'zero' for the first time in decades for my eye. Lincoln is still seriously messed up, of course.

Not an old emblem, but something more in line with a modernized version of what is the marque's lifelong ID. The unadorned crest is not that- it appeared in post-war times only on the senior '70-71 cars (and even here it sometimes had vertical wings depending on placement) before it was dumped. It unfortunately looked cheap then and looks cheap now. I understand you think it looks "cleaner", but you are one person. Have been reading forums all across the web on the Cadillac emblem discussion, and you would be surprised how many recognize the heritage on the table here and have advocated it stay as is, or very close to it. Many of those who have stated they want something totally different come from the POV that everything Cadillac-based needs to be scrapped- many (or most) here are not offering a serious critique, but are taking an opportunity to 'pile on'. Other than the '99 alteration, we haven't seen any change in the Cadillac emblem in 45+ years. That covers a LOT more good than bad, and the market recognition is irreplaceable. On a very rare occasion, 'less is more', but for most consumers by far; more is more. The stripped Elmiraj emblem is just a market test at this point- we'll see if anything alters in production. The '07 Pontiac emblem offering never came to pass.

I do like the widened Crest- lower/wider is generally more unique & fresh than '2x2'. Still looks naked, and it's NOT going to sell one more car than if it has the Wreath... that's just fidgety folk who marketing has convinced anything different is 'better'.

You think the equus is acceptably styled but the MKZ is ugly/awful? I would not agree there. Fusion looks good but it's not a 'luxury' look.