Mr Johnson

While agreeing with mmarshall and 1SICKLEX the fundamental problem is that real people aren't buying the big cushy riding cars in the volumes that the automakers want.

The Lincoln Town Car is going to be fleet only soon. They sold only 40K of them in 2006 mostly to fleets and sales were still down almost 17%. The DTS sold 58K and that was in the first full new year. I'm not sure what it's fleet sales were but I'm sure they were quite high too. Heck the Lucerne was the closest to traditional luxury selling almost 100K in '06 but it's not RWD or as comfy/floaty as we are used to.

People are speaking with their wallets and though we may like those types of cars the boomers seem very happy in their S550s, and LS460s, BMWs, Avalons etc...

I don't mind the shift in general as long as there are a couple of choices for me when I'm a bit older (Heck the Marauder I'm driving now is just a gussied up old mans car in some ways).

mmarshall

The largest single generation in history is right on the doorstep of retirement age.

Friend, those new Grandpas and Grandmas are COMING.......and those De Villes and Town Cars had BETTER be ready for them.

Och

iTrader: (3)

Yep. When I'm finally able to afford LS460L, the first and probably the only mod I will do is slap a set of 16's on it.

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

This is why I am really feeling Cadillac... Keep it going Caddy and don't stop.. Screw the critics

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KBbAzxBs-nc

LexFather

The funny thing is then these people complain:
I can feel more rattles
My car is loud
It turns to sharp

And other attributes they are not used to b/c they have driven cars with 60 series tires their whole lives.

Not sure WHY it became such a bad thing to want a nice comfy ride. Lexus has proven with the LS and ES people still want those cars, not every car has to handle and drive like a 911.

mmarshall

So THEN Lexus turns around, stiffens the new ES suspension, and dumps the 60-series tires for 55's. Yes, that sure made a lot of sense.

mmarshall

I couldn't download the video, DASH. What are you saying here by "Keep it going"? Continue to try and make BMW's out of Cadillacs?

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

It is a Top gear vid of the old CTS-V.. Caddy needs to keep the performance line going.. GM has Buick for the sofas on wheels.

mmarshall

True, but unfortunately, even the Buick sofas are getting a little firmer padding these days. For soft-ride lovers, you just can't get away from it.

And Cadillac, like I said earlier, can keep the V-line performance cars going without forgetting Grandpa and Grandma like they have done.

Faymester

i agree, for now ... a good % of the people that buy sofas on wheels are in the older generation; a good portion of them HAVE a coushy car and are probably not going to be buying another one. My grandfather has a coushy cadillac and he wouldn't be buying another car unless his blew up or something

GMs other issues asside, it needs to evolve with the times ... by catering to the decreasing % of people that want sofas on wheels, they will just dig a deeper hole

mmarshall

Have you driven or ridden in his car? What do you think of it? Hard-riding, noisy, sport-sedans have their place....and I certainly wouldn't suggest otherwise, but sometimes it is nice, especially when you are tired at the end of a long day, to just sit back and enjoy an easy, quiet ride without being beaten up over bumps, potholes, and frost heaves. If guys in their BMW's are flying past you...so what?


Evolving with the times? The LARGEST generation in history (the 50-60-year old Baby Boomers) is JUST getting ready to retire now.....and just guess what more than a few of themare going to want?

Yep.............your grandfather's Caddy. History often repeats itself.

Faymester

Yups, I certainly have done both. It's like riding in a smaller limo. Super nice ride, fast as hell in a straight line but death if you think you want to do any type of cornering or require handling otherwise. My favorite is the back seat though, his caddie is from the mid 90s when back seats were still very roomie. I definately prefer being a passenger to being a driver though.

Other Caddies in the family: 1999 STS. I love that car, V8-Northstar . Beats most things out there AND handles rather well; while it's not as throwable as my IS300, I can still do some good driving in it. I love to race BMWs in it. I don't know if it's just this city or not, but there seems to be a deep rivalry of: BMW v. Cadillac. The best part is when you fly off and at the next stop light you see bimmer driver over there like ... hahahaha.

Ok, I digress, but for the record: I like Cadillac, and I almost had a CTS instead of my IS. Reason I have the IS, it was basically handed to me.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

You must be quite young.

There's an INCREASING number of people that will want sofas on wheels.

However, I don't think the traditional sedan (large or small) is going to cut it.

I expect more and more retirees to get CUVs and newer SUVs that will ride very comfortably. Why? Well for one thing a lot of older buyers are still active and want to easily tote several golf bags or other stuff around. But more importantly I think, the CUV/SUV's ride height makes it MUCH MUCH easier to get in and out of. And a lot of older buyers also have an even older parent they need to shlep around too, and it's easier for them to step into something with the seat at hip height, and not have to 'fall down' into a seat.

BigVIPness

I hope they don't kill the STS. I really love those caddy's.

Also... how about they bring back the ETC??

Faymester

ETC like this one?




i guess so, i'll 22 in June, is that quite young?

but i wasn't saying cut the sofas on wheels now ... i was just saying that it will need to happen eventually. soft rides are nice, but i just think people are going to want handling AND nice ride, body-roll will become more and more unacceptable