doge

Time's are changing, the ram now uses a irs and its been praised for its car like ride.

doge

Cadillac is trying really hard to rebrand its self, this is their transition period. They made their intentions clear with the first gen CTS. There cars are good, and they do a lot of things if not better than its competition. I'd be more worried about Cadillac if the product was poor in addition to the re-branding.

You can't have it both ways... I want Cadillac to compete well against the the Germans & Lexus, if that means they have to raise their prices to make a better car so be it..

mmarshall

This may sound like heresy to some, but it's not. The new Ram, at least in the lighter-duty versions, out-rides some so-called "luxury" sedans in the comfort/refinement department. (so did the last top-level Kia Sorento I test-drove). This was unheard of in a pickup as recently as just several years ago.

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

In regards to the OP, is this due to GM ramping up production, slower sales, or a combination of both?

Caddy's image is definitely still lagging behind it's self perceived main competitors (MB, BMW, Lexus) but it has improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years. I personally would consider Caddy ahead of other brands such as Acura, Infinity, Volvo, in segments where they compete directly. I do agree that their pricing scale was a bit too ambitious. They still need to undercut MB, BMW, and Lexus instead of matching them. And to keep brand perception up, they'll likely not advertise incentives much.

Lexus did it correctly in this regard. For many many years, Lexus released competitive vehicles and undercut the competition repeatedly. Only after the name was fully recognized as a true alternative to the German stalwarts did prices continually creep up, but now people don't bat an eye at paying comparable prices. Caddy moved too quickly. One generation of respectable vehicles is not enough, no matter how good they are, especially in the luxury car segment.

I'm rooting for them, though. I love the direction Caddy is going and i hope they are successful enough to continue the trend.

doge

I don't see how you can put Acura, Volvo and Infiniti ahead of Cadi. Acura & Volvo have no real luxury cars, no bespoke features, boring platform shared power trains and no performance variants. Neither Acura nor Volvo offer a V8 (anymore) nor do they have a true rwd entry.

Based off of current and future products

1.Mercedes
2. Lexus BMW Audi
5. Jaguar
6. Cadi
7. Infiniti
8.Volvo
9. Lincoln & Acura

pbm317

He's not, he said he would consider Cadillac ahead of those three brands.

mmarshall

I'd tend to agree on Volvo, and with most past Acuras. But the new RLX, while admittedly not as solid and tank-like in construction as the 2Gen RL, impresses quite well with its smoothness, quietness and refinement. If that is what you consider luxury-car attributes (you may or may not), then the new RLX does deliver.

doge

Ha good catch, at times I think I have mild dyslexia.

mmarshall

Just don't Diss Lexus.

tex2670

You most certainly can have it both ways. You can target different models, or different packages, to different demographics. The Lexus ES and GS are 2 totally different cars with different target customers.

oldcajun

When you raise prices so high that you can't sell the cars and you have to idle the factories, that is a bit extreme. All the cars sitting on dealer's lots will likely be sold at huge discounts which kills resale values. This does not seem to be a very good business plan for a company just coming out of bankruptcy.
Steve

Trexus

It appears Cadillac has rebranded itself many times in the past since the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's - 00's. Cadillac has been around since 1902 and you'd think they'd have luxury down. Lexus has been around since 1990.

I'll fast forward to the 80's in which Cadillac's models were:

Cimarron
Catera
Seville
Deville, Fleetwood, Sixty Special, Brougham
Eldorado
Allante

In the 2000's Cadillac models are:

ATS
ELR
CTS
STS
DTS, XTS
XLR
SRX
Escalade

In my opinion Cadillac needs to be more consistent, build tier 1 luxury vehicles(I place Cadillac as tier 2), price their vehicle's lower than their competitors until they prove themselves, etc. and whole lot more...

Tantrix

I'll tell you exactly what cadillac's problem is.

their problem is actually THEMSELVES.

they keep clinging onto their vintage styling cues, trying to visually mimic their past fender fins, their past boxy american look of the 70's and 80's. they keep trying to design their new cars based on historic design cues. This although original, is not what the young high income earning segment wants.

Cadillac would be selling a lot more cars if they just did what hyundai and kia did, and just slap on the cadillac crest. The crest is still powerful, their designs are not so much.

the person who desires a bmw 3 series will not opt for the cadillac ATS. It's just too far from what they desire in terms of style.

yowps3

Actually Cadillac' have "character"

The 3 series just looks awful, especially the current gen model.

Only reason people buy 3 series is due to badge, not merit

T0ked

iTrader: (2)

Well, that's what they did with the catera. Didn't work so well. I actually think their designs are very nice. All makers harken back to their roots and Caddy is no different, it makes them unique and distinguishable. Their current lineup is handsome enough. I think it has all to do with pricing. I've seen the new CTS on the road and it looks beautiful, like wise with the ATS and new escalade. Even the xts. But they don't have the desirability yet to charge same or more as an equivalent German car.