SW17LS

I remember some discussion of Cadillac's pricing when the price of the new ELR's pricing was reviewed and everybody was surprised by how high it was.

I just saw that the CTS is up on Cadillac.com and I went over there to look at it and build one out of curiosity. I was VERY surprised to find that in order to option one up similarly to my $59,900 Luxury model GS350 the pricing came out to $67,000! Thats a 3.6L (not the Twin Turbo) AWD, Performance model (not Premium), with the only option being he full leather seat/display option at $1,650 and floormats.

That strike anybody else as being high?

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

The question then is the build quality, material quality, drive, performance and competitive nature worth the tag. Time and reviews will tell.

At one time in Cadillac's long history they built some great machines that rivaled or surpassed older Mercedes, Rolls and the like.

I believe it's possible under this aggressive resurgence. A flagship and GT coupes could further the quest

SW17LS

Thats E Class and 5 Series money...ballsy...

I look forward to seeing one in person and driving one.

SW17LS

Thats really not the topic of this discussion...

LexFather

Funny the front page of the Auto News is about Caddy and how some dealers are worried their new pricing is way to high. Caddy has only gone up 1% in transaction prices since 2008 to $49,584.

The CTS is up 6-16k in price. Its hard to understand when you see the CTS badge and see that pricing but clearly they positioned the car upmarket. Will consumers be confused or will they buy it?

Going to be interesting.

SW17LS

I can absolutely believe dealers are worried. I'd definitely buy a Cadillac, I like the style, I like the brand image, I like the American style and the heritage. However...I don't think I would pay what a BMW or Mercedes cost, I haven't been willing to do that over a Lexus so why would I for a Cadillac?

And what about resale?

For instance I like the XTS for the most part, but I won't pay $60,000 for one.

Infra

iTrader: (1)

I don't think they can fetch the price.

Of course, Cadillac has typically given quite large discounts off MSRP (more so than other dealers), so who knows what people are actually paying?

bagwell

well pretty sure Caddy resale values still can't/won't match something like a Lexus.

SW17LS

They've actually done pretty well with resale, the current CTS won an ALG award for residual value I think. But, with higher initial prices who knows.

As for discounting, everybody discounts pretty big, but that's a pretty big gap to close with discounts. Considering I paid 54k for my $60k GS, what could they discount a $67k CTS to that would close that gap?

pbm317

I think the CTS also offers a lot of features packed in there. So it's not all for naught. But yes, they're not being shy about pushing it upmarket. We'll see how they do. Initial reports I've read seem to be fairly positive on the car.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

It's all about value of the brand based on perception. If they can match Mercedes image then absolutely they can charge the same.

Aron9000

I agree the pricing is very ambitious. A loaded "new" 2014 CTS "V-Sport Premium" with the twin turbo 3.6 V6 is 69-70k. You can buy an "old" 2014 CTS-V for 70k.

From an enthusiast standpoint, why in the hell would you buy the new car? 556hp supercharged v8 vs a twin turbo V6 with 420hp in a heavier car.

From a styling standpoint, I don't care for the new CTS. Granted its a good looking car, but the creases have been turned down a couple of notches, the slab sides and rear are rather plain. And I hate those headlight "streaks that go halfway back the fenders. All that plastic is going to fade/crack/cloud within 2-3 years of being exposed to the sun and look like utter crap IMO.

Buy the CTS-V if you want a real performance car, buy the new CTS with the naturally aspirated v6 if you want a better riding car and don't care about speed. The twin turbo CTS "V-sport" is way too ambitious with its pricing IMO.

Fizzboy7

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the majority of the buying public still associates the CTS as a car competing against the 3-series, C-Class, G, and IS. When these people go out looking at the new CTS, it's going to be a huge turn-off.
Trouble.... GM likes to do things the hard way.

Outrage

The CTS is better equipped than a GS. I believe we both have a GS 350 AWD with the Luxury Package. The closest feature for feature build of the CTS AWD would be the Performance Package, which is $63,025. That is around $3,000 to $4,000 more than a GS 350 AWD equipped with the Luxury Package. It is possible to price a GS 350 AWD up to the mid-$60,000 range. The Lexus website, due to its horrible nature, won't let you configure individual options like every other website, however.

RXSF

The ELR is the one with the Volt powertrain right? overpriced for sure, but at least it qualifies for the fed/state tax credit. In California, that means 10K