Cadillac Sales Plunge Over 28% In December - Is the Brand Still Viable?

Cadillac can not and will not beat Mercedes Benz at being Mercedes Benz nor BMW at being BMW.

Cadillac must find their own approach which is going back to their roots, creating cars with tremendous road presence and not worried so much about driving dynamics as they are luxury, design, and innovation that excites consumers and ignites the brand's original appeal.

Many automobile magazines and journalist threw a lot of Manufacturers off their A game when they felt everyone had to be and drive like BMW in the Early 2000's until maybe 2010.

As soon as Mercedes Benz wised up and returned to their brand values, bucking what auto journalists wanted and listened to their own fans/owners, Mercedes returned to the top of the luxury throne, and left performance/driving dynamics to the guys/gals at ///AMG.

Car4life1: "Many automobile magazines and journalist threw a lot of Manufacturers off their A game when they felt everyone had to be and drive like BMW in the Early 2000's until maybe 2010."

Couldn't agree more. That's part of the reason why we now have Jaguars that don't look the part.

I think it's always going to be an uphill battle for Cadillac (and Lincoln). You are absolutely correct that Cadillac can't out-Mercedes Mercedes or out-BMW BMW. But where do they go from here? They did try the "classic Cadillac" approach with the XTS, similar to how Lexus kept with the ES, and the XTS just wasn't lighting the sales charts on fire.

The only valid approach at this point is to undercut their direct competition on price, which they should have done from day one anyway.

Right on Car4Life1...you nailed it! Corporate types who have no clue have ruined more brands and then move on leaving a mess for someone else to clean up in their tracks are abundant. With a slight (addition) but with full credit to Helen Keller..."The only thing worse than being blind (to the market) is to have sight but no vision!"

Cadillac needs the following corrective actions.

1. Fire De Nysschen. Audi didn't want him. Infiniti didn't want him. Why? He's incompetent.

2. Kill the ATS and drops the CTS into that price slot.

3. Drop the CT6 into the CTS's price slot.

4. Kill the art and science look. Cadillacs must look like Cadillacs. They must be an event on wheels. Cadillac should NOT try to compete with the Germans, but should be a distinctly American alternative that prioritizes luxury, smoothness, and presence.

5. Pull a "Continental" and convert the XTS into a new Seville that recaptures the sublime elegance of the 1976 Seville. And when the car is ready, kill the Buick Lacrose.

6. USE NAMES

7. Build the Escala and have it replace the CTS and CT6

8. Triple down on crossovers

9. Provide a warranty and customer experience that coddles customers

10. Be prepared to lose money for as long as it takes to fund the renaissance.

Not Seville. That name has acquired a certain douchy association. Let's dig a bit deeper into Caddy history: Calais!

@garysandiego You're an idiot. Calais? As in Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais with the horrific Quad 4? THAT is the Calais that people will remember. Calais is a horrible name. Of course, you're unaware that the first Seville is showing signs of becoming collectible. Clean "survivors" are bringing very respectable money to the point that buying a flipping not-so-nice ones makes sense. Yeah, you don't know anything about vintage cars and their prices.

Loved the Seville especially this one: http://www.fleetofcads.com/1402cad.htm

Answer would be no - they are not viable.

In an SUV-fueled market Cadillac sells one mediocre, mid-sized crossover (XT5) and one body on frame, guzzied-up, dinosaur of an SUV, Escalade. The rest of the lineup is by and large oddly styled and sized 4-door sedans.

Cadillac is a disaster. I think Lincoln is in much better shape although it is not out of the woods either.

Even though Cadillac says the XT5 isn't an Equinox, we all know better.

Lincoln is in better shape because the "return to American values" has greatly increased interest in the brand. Now if Lincoln can get that interest converted into butts behind steering wheels, then things will be good.

The real question is why the XT5 outsells the MKX. The MKX is simply better, but sales don't reflect that. The Nautilus needs to hit big and they need to be aggressive in marketing it.

Cadillac builds good cars. They need to build better cars. While Caddie's chassis are lauded, everything else is a letdown. Mundane non-V engines. Cramped rear seats. Stodgy interior materials along with pretty mundane interior design. Horrible CUE system. Uninspired exterior designs. Priced too closely to rivals. It's almost a no-brainer that they wouldn't be competitive.

Just commenting on your comments:

-Mundane non-V engines: They are actually not that bad
-Cramped rear seats: Yes, and this is a major offense in a Cadillac
-Stodgy interior materials: Yes. From dashboard to roof interior to sun visors everything is subpar
-Pretty mundane interior design: This is subjective and I don't think they are that bad.
-Horrible CUE system: A thousand times yes. Last time I was using one I almost got into an accident.
-Uninspired exterior designs: Subjective again. There are certain traits that I like.
-Priced too closely to rivals: Agreed. Stop chasing Merc and BMW for a minute and price yourself closer to Genesis, Infiniti and Volvo. Then, Audi and Lexus and so on...

I don't think GM expects Cadillac to beat Lexus/M-B/Audi in overall sales. The brand don't have enough models/variants to do so...especially vs M-B. Cadillac's lineup is still heavy on sedans albeit a few serious V-series (and some nice V-Sport) models.

Yes, the brand needs a large/large-midsize CUV to bust-up the market. A lot of people still "aspire" to own an Escalade, but many of those aspirations only lead to used-car sales...a bummer for the new car sales reports. The dealers push SUV/CUV sales due to (easier) higher transaction prices which leads to lower sedan sales. It's probably harder to sell a CT6 or CTS unless the consumer has come to buy that specific car.

Forgot a few more points:

Brand perception is all about the customer's knowledge about the brand.

CUVs can only be so big. So yes, the Escalade has to be BoF type of truck. It has a rugged platform. Cadillac has been working on a large CUV since the Traverse/Enclave was introduced.

Maybe 80% of the exterior/interior styling is definitely subjective. The interior is on-par with large SUVs from Audi/M-B/BMW/etc. But still, the public perceives other brands as "more" luxurious irregardless.

Perhaps we can finally bid goodnight to Johan de Nysschen, he has run 2 brands into the ground before getting fired, perhaps Cadillac (GM) will finally realize all his bluster is just that, bluster. Cadillac is going to lose more ground to Ford/Lincoln when the Navigator & Expedition are up to full production. When in history was Cadillac ever a performance brand? it was and should be the American Rolls-Royce, priced for real mortals, but not everyone. Instead your lucky to keep your kidney stones in place when you ride in or drive the JdN version of Cadillac... sad. 3 for 3 fail, how did that move to NYC work out, fail, looking like it.

Lets not forget big flashy Cadillac convertibles of the past. Market for them may be slim but what greater way to garnish attention on a new direction than a six passenger (yes, bench seats) big, wide long bad ass Cadillac. The brand has had some beautiful attention getting concepts in the recent past and then delivers more of the same folded crease art and science designs to the market. Be bold, be confident be different but be a Cadillac. Embrace your past, don't run from it or try to be something you are not. Cadillac can do it if they put the right guy/gal in charge and aren't afraid of failure. Be bold. Don't build to a price...build the best damn car you can then price it accordingly. Create something of value and the money and customers will be there.

First - Cadillac must identify its market. Clearly - the people who want an American BMW(If there are any) are not buying Cadillac - even though its cars do handle very well. AS Mercedes did - I believe that Cadillac should have a separate performance model - and a Luxury model in the American Luxury type. ANd AMerican Luxury means Bigger and Fancier and in your face Luxury. And the Arts and Science Styling has run its course - and needs a complete update. (hint - in the Rolls /Bentley area) And yes - use NAMES.

So - FIrst - I would Take the ATS down to the entry level - to compete with the CLA - where it would favorably be positioned - as long as they admit that is where the sales prices are as well.

I would reposition the CTS to the 3Class level - where it would be a little bigger than the 3 series - but could compete dynamically. And as I said - I would have BOTH a Luxury version and a Performance version separate.

There is another option for the above - replace the two cars with ONE car - and let that car have a Short and LONG version - which could be in both markets.

I have a CT6 - it is a very nice car - I think far better than the Lincoln Continental - but its styling is too old now - and the car is way too conservative for its good. IF it were priced at the E-class level - though - it has a lot of advantages over the E-class - and would be a good comparison there.

Hard to believe I am suggesting this - but they need a new Seville - at the top of the line - even with ROlls Styling - but this time actually competing with Rolls quality too.

Now - think of a FULL SIZE Cadillac Seville based CUV - with a 32 Valve V-8 engine - in Some States (like Texas!) I suspect it would be like the Escalade on steroids for sales.

As far as DeNysschen - we have yet to see a complete car styled up from him at Cadillac. So - it is possible something good might come - but what is clear is that Cadillac has to be what the customers want - not what DeNysschen wants.

Buyers recognize that the Cadillac are nothing but a Chevy rebadged as a Caddy at twice the price. Cadillac is a deal breaker.

I take note that in 2017 - Cadillac had its second HIGHEST sales ever - with over 375,000 cars sold around the world.

Just like Buick - it is possible that we will have to recognize that - like Buick - these cars are being produced for the market where their sales are strong - CHINA - and while we have ways of helping in the US market - it may not be a priority - for example - in CHINA - they produce an ATS LONG - with extra rear seat room - for China only.

LWB versions of the ATS and CTS might have helped. I don't know why Cadillac is so stingy on their rear seat room.