Genesis Says It Is Easier To Launch A New Luxury Brand Than Rebuild The Reputations Of Lincoln Or Cadillac

I tend to agree. In fact, I think Cadillac should spin off the SUV sector into an Escalade brand. 3 or 4 different sized SUV/crossovers all under Escalade would make a statement about letting this new brand forge its own destiny within GM, and allow Cadillac to concentrate on making sedans cool again using Tesla as a model.

Agreed. In CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software circles, these are well known facts:
- The least expensive investment is to keep an existing customer happy
- It's more expensive to get a new customer
- The most expensive option is to win back a displeased customer

Cadillac has been working for decades to regain its former glory. Ditto with Lincoln.

"unlike us who maybe don’t have a preconceived notion of what our brand is", ummm, he knows Genesis will forever be linked to Hyundai and KIA right? I guess he's paid to trash talk. I bet Cadillac sells more Escalades than Hyundai sells Genesis (even with them adding in the cheap coupe to make it seem like they sell all sedans).

@HughJass (can't believe I typed that),I agree. He's forgetting that "Genesis" does, in fact, have a preconceived notion, as a non-premium, economy brand, with not-great previous reliability, and no performance credentials. In many ways, that might be even tougher to overcome than what Lincoln and Cadillac have to deal with. How will the fact that the G80 is essentially the same exact car that wore the Hyundai badge affect sales and image?

There are always a group of people who are looking for their "premium" vehicle at a lower price - something that Genesis will likely provide. However - even in my area - it still takes BIG discounts to sell Hyundais and Kias. And the bigger cars just languish on the lots with few takers. I expect that there will be an initial rush - like Infiniti had - then - not much.

For THESTEVE - Yes - the customer is king. ANd that points out the fallacy at Cadillac. Customers have - by not buying - told Cadillac that the cars they are selling are NOT what they want. And DeNysschen continues to ignore the customer - saying that eventually they will come to his thinking. THEY WONT. ANd until Mary Bara stops this nonsense - and puts the customer first - Cadillac is lost. Mercedes actually did research and found that its customers wanted MORE luxury - they supplied it - and Mercedes in on a roll.

The problem is that too many manufacturers listen to the jaded reviews of the wannabe racers who review cars - and have given cars that are just not for public roads. When Mercedes finally decided NOT to - they won. Cadillac customers are still there - they are holding onto their DTS and STS sedans until Cadillac produces something to replace them - and they don't have a lot of time. THe new CT6 - with the 6 cylinder - is a really really nice car - but it simply does not OOZE CADILLAC. THe Escalade does - and they cannot make enough of them.

Of course it's easier to "launch" Genesis as a luxury brand when you take a
half-ass approach by unwillingly committing the necessary resources to build a separate, dedicated dealer network & the only two models in your lineup are essentially Korean based imports. LOL

Where's MDarriner? This topic is right up his alley. But then, is there any subject that he doesn't consider to be his expertise?

HughJass thinks Genesis is forever tied to Hyundai and Kia, but ignores Cadillac being tied of the same GM that has spewed out decades worth of cheap, inferior Chevys, Pontiacs and (and this is my favorite part) Oldsmobiles and Lincolns link to the Pinto.

The question posed was simple and the answer is simple too. It would be easier to launch Brand X luxury cars than to convince the target market (guys like me, actually) that Cadillacs and Lincolns are desirable brands.

@TomM: "The problem is that too many manufacturers listen to the jaded reviews of the wannabe racers who review cars - and have given cars that are just not for public roads." So right you are. it takes some effort to scan through a review in one of the car magazines to find useful information. Like 99.9% of American drivers, I have never been on a track. I find loud exhaust and engine noises tiresome after five minutes. My need for "handling" is simply not to slow down when I use a freeway connector ramp (which I know can be accomplished without jiggling my kidneys on the straights on our washboard California freeways based on my experience with my '06 Jaguar XJ Super V8 and my '11 Mercedes S600). The reviewers simply do not concern themselves with real world experiences.

Maybe so but what can they say when they have no luxury heritage. Lexus did pretty well but Infiniti has struggled with teething pain for years.

Six of one and half a dozen of another.

Genesis has no place to go but up and their business strategy is shrewd and prudent.

Cadillac can be rescued by product and names. Lincoln already understands that. Lincoln and Cadillac spend decades turning out sub-par garbage.

Cadillac's death spiral began with the second Seville, which threw the iconic look out the window, then the next Seville was virtually the size of a Cavalier, and the Seville after that was a massive dull mobile. Then cam alphabet soup and stagnant styling on cars that--had they been given names and gorgeous styling--would habe easily restored Cadillac by now.

Ford had planned to kill Lincoln because the strategy was to have Volvo at near-premium and Jaguar at premium. With Jaguar sold, that left Volvo (needing reinvention), Lincoln (without product development), and Mercury (with rechromed Fords in the pipeline). Factor in Ford's money crisis and the Hail Mary move was to sell Volvo, kill Mercury, and pretend Lincoln was premium. The Continental is the right car at the right time to do the right job, but now Lincoln has to move quickly with other gotta have cars with names.

Might work as Lincoln and Cadillac are the competitors for this brand and most of there sales will come from people cross shopping from those 2 brands.

Fair comment. However, Genesis needs to first get out of Hyundai's backseat and get their own dedicated dealer network before making such statements.
Their connection to Hyundai/Kia may prove to be a hinderance for them being viewed as "luxury on the cheap."

Time will tell I guess...