Why Do YOU Think de Nysschen Is Out At Cadillac?

De Nysschen did three things that - as an owner of General Motors - I would not have agreed with.

1 - He not only completely abandoned the existing large car base of Cadillac - but he also TOLD them they were not welcome.

2 - He tried to turn Cadillac into a German premium auto maker - producing cars that would not even sell there. The ATS packaging is a joke - and both the ATS and CTS have no real rear seat room.

But essentially what he did that was the most WRONG was that he failed to give the customer what they wanted - instead he OPENLY said that he would decide what they wanted and they would eventually come around - they didn't.

So - Cadillac wasted several years that could have been used producing cars and trucks that people would have bought in the USA - and instead produced cars apparently only De Nysschen wanted.


Now - what Cadillac needs to do is
1 - Take the Alpha ATS platform and use the current ATS to compete with the Mercedes CLA - where it will be a superior car.

2 - IT would them replace the current ATS/CTS with a Car larger than the 3 series but maybe a little smaller than a 5 series - a tweener - pricing it at the 3 Series level.

3 - Then they should take the current remodeled CT6 and price it to compete with the 5 series (IT already probably sells that way at a dealer anyway) - which it is far better than.

BUT - they then need a group of Crossovers based on the Alpha and Omega Platforms to compete with true luxury offerings of other Manufacturers.

Frankly - if it were me - separate the Performance Luxury cars from the Luxury cars - continue to make a car to compete with the Lexus ES (THe current XTS does that) - and produce ONE large Luxury sedan - American Sized and Visually HUGE - to sell to AMericans.

I respectfully disagree with portions of that assessment (or at least the wisdom of his decisions).

It is true he told people who wanted a 2019 Deville to go pound sand and/or walk over to their friendly Buick dealership. However, I think this was a good move, not a bad one, if we're talking about the same thing.

When I think "existing large car base of Cadillac" I think the DTS, not an S-Class or 7-Series competitor. If you mean he wrote off a future DTS-type model, then I'm 100% for that. Nothing sinks a brand's reputation faster than cars for old men being driven by old men (or women, I guess).

If you mean he canned an S-Class/7-Series/Bentley(???) competitor, I see where you're coming from. But, he did say a flagship was coming, and while not technically a sedan, it would have fulfilled a similar purpose.

I also don't think he was trying to compete with the Germans using inferior products. If anything, he was handed a portfolio full of entries in the slow-selling sedan segments, engineered with small back seats prior to his hiring. He was on track to consolidate that portfolio and greatly expand the crossover selection. I think that was the smart move, at least for the bottom line.

That strikes me as giving customers exactly what they want. Keep and continue to expand upon the Vs for enthusiasts, build a world-beating flagship for rich people, and make more crossovers for everyone else, with a sedan here and there too.

I think a lot of the (rightful) criticism of Cadillac's product portfolio was in place before he was able to start making changes. It takes about 5 years (or more) to design, build, and release a car start to finish, so we haven't even seen a complete example of his work yet.

He KNEW quality was important, not just a "great bargain". He KNEW interiors needed massive work, and acknowledged in a recent interview it couldn't happen overnight. He KNEW brand snobbery was a huge factor in this market space, and devoted resources to improving it. I know Melody Lee is a big joke on these corners of the internet (and I totally get it), but young stylish people driving expensive cars in New York is MUCH better for the future of a brand than old people in Michigan driving something they picked up on the cheap, period.

The fact that he declined the Corvette V8 because it wasn't refined enough, and then built his own for Cadillac, speaks volumes to me as to how well he understood this market space and its buyers. Without being too broad, I think there's often a disconnect between "internet car people" and people who are actually in the market for a car like this at this price.

I fear now they've hired an inside man who will bend the knee to the bean counters at GM, and give us gussied-up Chevys with parts-bin interiors, sold on the cheap for the sake of volume, without a damn given for what it does for the brand or how quickly its customer base is dying off.

I should also note, in this day and age, with someone this high-profile leaving so abruptly, we can't rule out HR misconduct either.

Otherwise, I think the GM corporate machine beat him down or chased him out, and I'm just sorry Mary Barra let that happen.

Kill the ATS and give it to Buick as a Skylark

Rename the CTS the Seville and price it like a Kia Stinger to Mercedes C Class

Rename the CT6 the Elmiraj and price it like a Continental to E class

Produce the Escala.

Rename the XT4/4 immediately.

Get a Cadillac Model S in production yesterday.

Sorry NEWQ - but I completely disagree with your assessment - Especially the line that he gave people exactly what they wanted - which you have closed eyes to say it - the fact is people did not BUY the Cadillacs - especially in Europe. It was because Cadillac no longer produced the cars they wanted. I know - I am one of them - and have a CT6 - the first Cadillac in years that is a real Cadillac - with enough room inside for my Tall Frame. Fact is - I cannot even get into an ATS - the CTS is not much better and both rear seats simply do no exist for me.

My statement about competing in Europe came from HIM - not from anyone else. And the fact is - the cars he produced were just that - car meant to compete with European sized models - but they simply had no packaging that allowed them to do that - so they did not sell there.

Meanwhile - telling paying customers to go away is NOT the way to grow a company. Noting that his customers would be older because of the cost of the cars - they should have at least tried to EXPAND their base - instead of lopping it off.

But it was HIS statement that he was producing cars the way HE wanted them to be produced =- and the customers would have to like it - was the final nail - Sorry - customers still buy what they wanted - and given that others produced those things meant all he did was lose his base. Think of politics - you cannot afford to lose your base of voters - to try to get a FEW more.

Of course - while everyone wants the Escala to be produced as a Cadillac Halo Car - I do not agree. The fatal flaw in the Escala is the Hatchback - which won't sell in large numbers again in the USA and China - where Cadillac at least does sell a few cars. IT COULD sell in Europe - but I doubt GM is going to market it there much.

This guy just plain sucks. Will be surprised if any reputable car brand hires him.

Well he was arrogant, opinionated, pedantic, lowered Cadillac sales and screw up their model names, But I think he out because he is a douche bag.

While he did not accomplish much, de Nysschen was trying to make the right moves by trying to differentiate Cadillac further from the mainstream GM brands. He was handed a bad hand in terms of a sedan heavy lineup. I would hope that the appointment of a GM insider to the helm at Cadillac doesn't mean a return to the short sighted strategy of neglecting most of the lineup while raking in profits with Escalade.
They need to resist the GM bean counters trying to force them to base all their upcoming crossovers off of GM FWD/Transverse engine platforms. Something tells me that de Nysschen was fighting this, and the bean counters won as they always do at GM.

That seems accurate. If he was making the right decisions and moving in a better direction, only for the accountants to force him to trim some quality here, use a Chevy part there, to save a few cents...

...well then, maybe Cadillac deserves to fail.

De Nysschen is an incompetent. Cadillac produces the Escala and everyone goes into a happy dance, but he says they won't build it.

ATS/CTS/XTS was confusing so we got the CT6 without immediately renaming the CTS and ATS. Using XT for crossovers was asinine given the XTS sedan. At a distance CTS and CT6 badging looks the same as does XTS and XT5.

The first red flag was moving to New York. Translation: I don't want anyone to see my fcuk ups immediately.

Why was he booted from Infiniti? He didn't just leave.

Why was he booted from Audi? Why in hell would anyone leave the motherlode of Audi for the crap that is Infiniti.

Thus, he had to have been pretty horrible for Infiniti to can him.

Alcoholism? HR nightmares?

Give Cadillac to people who do Corvettes. That team knows precisely what they are doing.

What took so long? He was the wrong hire from the start. He was fired because he wasn't able to put a winning strategy together, he couldn't stimulate sales, his move to Manhattan distanced himself from senior management and his underlings couldn't stand his guts. What could go wrong? GM needs to play the long game with Cadillac and reestablish it as the standard of the industry (quality, style, not built to a budget excellence, superior marketing). Otherwise it will muddle along and die. The brand has so much heritage that GM has not leveraged due to penny pinching accountants. So many missed opportunities and failed re-stagings. Too bad Bob Lutz isn't younger.

I am tremendously excited for the future of Cadillac now that this moron is gone.

De Nysschen got kicked from Audi and Infiniti and now thank goodness from Cadillac.

Maybe Tesla should hire him.

Can we have names for Cadillacs PLEASE?

Fixing Cadillac is not that hard - canning DeNysschen is an easy/obvious first start - then (a) names; (b) SUV's; (c) price-cuts (to reflect real selling prices); and (d) re-pursue the 'codger' market.

Its that simple.

Time will tell...hopefully this is a positive move from Cadillac. Other reports say he was sacked due to disagreements with higher ups...this is bad news because all the higher ups are GM insiders who still believe in cost engineering and design by committee which has been a huge failure. I understand the need for cost containment, but at most automakers the designers/engineers do their work first and then they come up with cost savings. At GM the bean counters are intimately involved from day one overseeing the project.

Whoever hired him in the first place should also be gone, if they are not already. There was literally nothing that he did at Infiniti that would have made any sense to hire him for Cadillac. And his four years at Cadillac were rather fruitless.

I am sorry he sucks
he screwed infiniti really good now Cadillac too

Because of him the Cadillac Esclade over priced and a shitty product too

Did he try to change the name like Audi and Infiniti

Johan de Nysschen: right guy, wrong brand, wrong timing.

He's capable. Clearly has a vision. Needed to be with a brand that was ready to expand SUV/CUV's 1st - while continuing to keep existing sedans relevant. CT6/CTS/ATS/XTS were never going to do well during this period - too many consumers want CUVs. Cadillac's biggest mistake was not to make both a midsize & large CUV together. They're missing the boat.

There's just so much Cadillac can be doing....but it can do everything all at once & within a couple years time.