Cadillac's Biggest Challenge May Be With It's Loyalists

So, they find some old retired guy who likely misses white walls and vinyl roofs to say he looked at an ATS and it did not look sturdy?!? Cadillac needs to attract a younger, higher income demographic to compete in the global luxury market. This article is nonsense.

But these are the most vocal critics that generate the constant residual Cadillac hate. The old customers that want a heavy-azz, battle-ship length, iron-clad Cadillac to navigate todays rugged roads. And then these same critics want high-mileage fuel ratings, lighter car platforms, & designs that keep up with cross-town & foreign competition.

You cant cater to every whim, but you have to decide whom to cater to.

My grandfather would definitely buy a new Coupe DeVille, but he died in 2001, and they stopped making that fine sedan in 2005.

Cadillac needs to figure out what a Cadillac is and build that. The XT4/5 are pretty terrible.

What is so terrible about the XT5? It is selling very well and has the best interior Cadillac has done to date. The XT4 is note released yet, so no one has driven or reviewed it yet. Your basing your opinion on photographs??

XT5
1. It's selling due to HEAVY incentivizing.
2. It's a bit cramped.
3. The styling is drab.
4. Profit is weak.

The above is based on direct experience with the customer reactions and spreadsheets.

XT4
1. More cramped
2. Styling is OK but dull
3. It too is likely to be highly incentivized.

Neither have the "it" factor. Both are generic, premium-ish crossovers. Both are based on lesser Chevys and that's apparent on the XT5.

I disagree somewhat on the styling (I happen to think they look good for what they are, though not class-leading).

I can't disagree that they're generic "upscale" Chevy-based crossovers that touch the edge of true luxury, but can't get in the club.

They smack of "oh shit, we don't have enough SUVs, and those are the only things that make money! Quick, get a platform in here! I don't care which one, just do it! Put some vertical lights on it! Hurry Hurry!"

Unfortunately, it sounds like that's the direction Cadillac wanted Johann to go, and when he resisted, they kicked him out.

Everyone has to bow to market realities to some extent, but I think Johann was at least pushing for a higher standard over expediency. Even though the XT4 wasn't fully developed under his watch, he mentioned in interviews he still had to fight to get funding for a more elaborate light signature.

With a mindset like that, is there any wonder a "good enough" product such as this is rolling around out there?

"Doesn't feel like a Cadillac" means it's not a FWD grandpamobile. Sorry, but Cadillac doesn't want people with that kind of taste; and news flash, neither does any other manufacturer.

Too high priced for lower quality though? Maybe. With the ATS, you're definitely getting what you pay for in terms of driving dynamics and fun. But as an all around package vs. its competitors, it's lagging. Especially since many of them are new, or about to be new, and have kept up with the rapidly increasing standards for quality. The ATS is pretty old now, and build quality (especially on the interior) wasn't exactly its value proposition even when new.

Actually - that was the problem with DeNysschen - we don't want the OLD buyers.

THe problem is - Cadillac customers are older buyers - period - and telling them to go away is not going to make sales. ANd it is we older buyers who can actually afford to buy the cars too.

What Cadillac really needs to do is approach BOTH Buyers - they can do that with Separate Luxury and Performance Versions as Mercedes has successfully done. I could see the ATS - a Front WHeel Drive large car - being targeted at the Luxury Older buyer - and the rest of them having two versions. AND - they could use REAL NAMES on the Luxury versions - and Alphanumerics on the "V" versions.

That's a strategy that might work, if they can pull it off, and I question their ability to do so.

Porsche somehow does it. 911s are often driven by old men. Not because they're "old man" cars, but because it's usually old men who have the money and inclination to buy one. Somehow, Porsche isn't an "old man" car company.

The problem is old people are going to die, and if Cadillac doesn't recruit new customers to buy their product, no one will be left once their current clientele expires.

And, if your product is seen as being for old people (rightly or wrongly), young people won't buy it, and you end up with a vicious cycle of a ticking time bomb of a customer base, and that same customer base making it difficult to attract a new set of customers.

Plenty of young people (let's say, in their 30s, maybe even late 20s) have money. At least enough to buy in to Cadillac's lineup at the entry level.

So you're saying that buyers with money don't want to pay a premium for a gussied up Chevrolet? Wow, that's shocking.

On this one, you're 100% correct and the bespoke Cadillac platform was not used to its advantage.

Cadillac should forget their loyalists and let Buck serve that market. Cadillac should focus on EVs and autonomous driving After this generation of vehicles. This will establish a solid niche for them rather than trying
To emulate the Germans which has failed big time.

They need make good use of the huge profits from Escalade while the getting is good in that market.

The better move would be to consign Buick to China and have Cadillac pick up Buick's slack.

People don't mind paying more for quality, but they want genuine with it to. The market is SUV/Utility for the primary car in the household. But a re-badge car with different color wood/leather doesn't cut it for the premium charge. 2nd car is ok with having a sedan, but again, not a re-badge for extra premium charge.

Cadillac is still having the same problem, the old heritage customers are dying off, and the new buyer's are buying Cadillac's current story.

And this is why Johann is out. He correctly believed that premium brands earn their reputation on sedans and this is why he focused on this route. Fair enough, but as the market moved quickly to SUVs, the new SUVs from Cadillac we eagerly awaited. The XT4 is nothing special. it is very nice and they needed something for this segment, but after a long wait was came out was one they could have cobbled together 3 years ago and captured more of the segment.

Same problem with the CT6 whicg by most measures is a competitive car. However, the V-8 should have been offered first. What a statement for the brand and a tie-in to the past. Instead they try to sell the advantages of the 4 which did not sell. Now finally they will offer the V-8, but the momentum has been lost.

Bingo. Jockitch De Niaspan believed that a brand has to earn its reputation, but a brand also has to sell cars to build that reputation.

Had he named the CT6 "Seville" and given it a V8 for an attractive price, it would have been a success.

I don't think we have to resort to name calling to emphasize our reasonable differences of opinion. That one was a bit of a stretch anyway.

I still don't think "Seville" carries weight with the kinds of customers Cadillac is trying to attract. Many may disagree with me, but in my experience (and being roughly in that market segment), "Seville" conjures images of vinyl roofs and wire wheels. We're too young to remember the last time it was placed on a truly world-class car, or at least on a car we would be interested in buying.

I agree on the V8, though the rest of the car still needs to be brought up to snuff to truly compete in that segment.

The XT4 strikes me as having been compromised by GM's bean counters, and not fully developed (though still largely developed) under Johann's watch. I also think it's roughly competitive in its segment. Not a home run to crush all adversaries or anything, but it's generally in the mix. It may not be impressive like a flagship, but nothing in that segment is particularly impressive either.

The XT4 was a let-down because we keep waiting to see a world-beating flagship, and what we got was a pay-the-bills market-segment-filling obligatory crossover. It's a fine car, and it will sell, which is what Cadillac needs; but the moonshot halo we're still hoping for that would finally return Cadillac to the glory and status it deserves? This is not that car.

...or at least a V6. A 2.0 liter I4 in Cadillac's flagship is a disgrace.

Cadillac simply has to be "more" for the price.

It should have more wheelbase and more cylinders than the competition.

The 2.0T fixation in premium cars is asinine. A 2.0T is fine in a mainstream car, but I've yet to drive one in a premium that wasn't unrefined feeling.

First of all Cadillac need to get its numerous problems with its technology solved before it even considers coming out with another model vehicle I owned a Cadillac Ats 2013 and the amount of electrical problems and cue system problem was unacceptable for a luxury car or for any car

The best Cadillac I had was a 2 door 2012 Cadillac cts. The car had no problems that was a beautiful car I think in my view it was the best design Cadillac ever came up with they need to bring that model back into production

I really hope Cadillac don't make any self drive car because I would not put my life on the line in one until they can at least fix simple things like the touch screen with there cue system if they make a self drive car the company will plague with lawsuits