IF Cadillac Builds Its FIRST Real Flagship In A LONG Time, Could It Have A ROSY Future?

It depends not on whether Caddy believes it's their Flagship, but whether consumers receive it well. And that depends on a number of things, such as perceived value, price point, styling, reliability, apparent luxury, etc. The consumer determines what's important to them, possibly unconsciously. They just know if they like it and want it. Few will make a purchase/lease decision on "this is Caddy's best offering."

The problem is Cadillac and GM take soooooooooo long to actually execute "concepts" like this by the time they are actually launched, the public is over it or the competition is on another level

The Ciel and Elmiraj both received "gotta build it" responses and I believe a bid Cadillac needs to happen. I'd give the sedan the "Ciel" name and the coupe the "Elmiraj" name. Even if Cadillac does not make money on it, they need to direct competitors for Mercedes and BMW's trio of sedans.

A return to names would set Cadillac apart. Additionally, the CTS and ATS both desperately need to be updated with LWB versions because their back seats are too tight. They also need a competitor to the CLS and 6GC.

The idiot from Infiniti will see this does not happen.

There are few times in this business where a concept becomes an instant icon. The Elmiraj was definitely one.

It's so Cadillac -- and I say that in the best possible way -- of what Cadillac could be and should be. Very modern with just the right amount of retro touches (without the silly Detroit thinking you usually see).

The only question remaining is if Cadillac have the guts to do it and not eff-up this great concept.

Unfortunately, history is not on the side of Cadillac. Allante failed. XLR failed. No previously, proven true flagship sedan.

And if sales of the ATS and CTS are any indication, much higher priced models may not do well. I haven't seen a sedan in decades get the kind of accolades the CTS received, yet it's not even coming close to the sales numbers of the E or 5. The ATS came out of the gate running, too, and it's not selling half of the to-be-replaced C- Class, and not even 1/5 of the 3 Series numbers. Heck, it can't even match the A4 sales. In many ways, the sales performance of the ATS and CTS says alot about what consumers think about the brand vs the cars.

Even if the Elmiraj was built, I doubt it could make a dent in the upcoming S coupe or Bentley GT (if it's priced that high). And based on the camouflaged photos of the sedan, it's too vintage Cadillac, which is big, boxy, and bulky. Not something for today's design trends but, we'll have to wait for the true design to come to light.

To your point about history — the Allante and XLR were half-assed garbage.

If the company were to do a proper Cadillac, maybe there would be SOME level of success.

The Allante was a BORING to look at vehicle and the XLR needed 4 seats and a sane price.

Cadillac should (1) return to names, (2) do LWB versions of ATS/CTS and rename them, (3) build a Ciel/Elmiraj, (4) price them advantageously even if they don't break even, (5) coddle customers as if they owned Bentleys, and (6) buy into the market.

Cadillac has to field a premium line and earn its way back. For Cadillac that's not hard because the CTS has really put Cadillac back on the map even if sales momentum is not fever pitch.

By contrast, Lincoln is in the crapper.

Absolutely agree. But what is a "proper Cadillac". Is it a 4-door sedan that can handle like a sports car but has deficits in many other areas (ATS, CTS)? Is it a larger, FWD-based luxury car (XTS)? All three of these newest offerings aren't doing well sales-wise. YTD, the ATS and XTS are both down 20%+ and the CTS despite being brand new this year and winning countless awards is just breaking even with last year. So, whichever formula they have chosen, it hasn't proven effective. I can't imagine that they'd be able to miraculously figure it out with any type of flagship(s). But, I guess we shall see.

Cadillacs(until mid 60s)were famous and admired for being larger then everything else,,
more powerful then anything else,more advanced and more luxurious then anything the rest of the World (including Rolls/Bentley) could throw at them.
Until they start doing it again they are doomed to failure (again).

THE ANSWER IS NO NO NO

If they cant get the smaller and cheaper models move out of the dealer lots the way BMW and BENZ have been doing, what strategy do they have to move a car that carries a long-tarnished name? who do they position this car against? S-class ??? big fucking mistake, BMW 7 and Lexus LS, the big Jaguar and anything else that's out there pretending to be s-class competition? if this car comes out, it will join the losers' club, you know the ones that pretend to be competition to S-class

i feel cadillac has a flagship and it is and will always be the ESCALADE ! its very competitive out there in the world of large sedans, and i feel S class is king. the only thing caddy could do is try but i doubt they can beat the S, 7, A8, XJ, AND LS460 in sales.
the car i believe would have to top out at 75k and 85k for a V version.

I agree in part with many of the comments. One person in mind put a very good point on what it really takes. They have to be willing to underprice the car for a while and buy market share rather than over pricing and then deeply discounting as their history dictates that hasn't really played out well for them (or anyone for that matter). Where I disagree is with the ATS and CTS arguments, some of them that is. Those cars are amazing especially being Cadillac's. No disrespect intended but they haven't built a worthy sedan in ages and the 2007 CTS was the first to earn my respect and move the brand in the right direction. The lower CTS sales is in great part to them pricing the car for what it's really worth rather than for earning market share. It's worth every penny they're asking but none of that matters if the consumer doesn't see it that way. At the end of the day that's who moves the metal. Now with a few minor refinements I truly believe the ATS and CTS are tops in their respective categories. Again my opinion. I've owned, Mercedes E55, Audi A8 L, Audi Q7, Audi A4, Lincoln Navigator and Jaguar XF to name the most recent few. I now own a 2014 CTS and I'm still impressed with the drive even 5 months in. I do speak from experience here not just off the cuff trash talk some peeps do on here. The El in my mind would be a great step in the right direction again, with very modest pricing, I agree with the $75k to $85K but think a V would have to close in on the 90k mark since the out going CTS V Coupe and Wagon were in the $70k range.