Cadillac’s Problem of the Cars It Can’t Sell
 

Cadillac dealers have a problem. The cars they take from the manufacturer sit on their lots for a longer time than almost any other car company’s models. It is likely a sign that the luxury car brand of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), in a battle with the industry leaders BMW, Mercedes and Toyota’s (NYSE: TM) Lexus, is failing.

According to a new study by 24/7 Wall St., Cars Americans Don’t Want, Cadillac has three models on the list: ELR, ATS and CTS. Cadillac has released a new large sedan, the CT6, which it hopes can reverse a difficult trend.


A look at the three models that have been at the core of Cadillac’s difficulties:

ELR
> Make: Cadillac
> Avg. days to turn: 208.6
> 2014-2015 sales change: -21.8%
> Starting MSRP: $57,500

The ELR is one of three Cadillacs to make the list of the cars that spent the most time on dealer lots before being sold in 2015. It is also one of only two to take more than 200 days on average to sell. Cadillac skipped the 2015 model year, which may have contributed to the high days on lot for the ELR.

ATS
> Make: Cadillac
> Avg. days to turn: 153.3
> 2014-2015 sales change: -10.1%
> Starting MSRP: $33,215

Cadillac’s ATS is a relatively recent addition to its lineup, having been introduced for the 2013 model year. Sales of the ATS, a smaller and cheaper version of the CTS, declined by 10.1% from 2014 to 2015. While this was less of a decline than the CTS’s sales decline of 37.4%, the ATS spent nearly two weeks longer on the lot before being sold than its counterparts

CTS
> Make: Cadillac
> Avg. days to turn: 141.3
> 2014-2015 sales change: -37.4%
> Starting MSRP: $45,560

The third generation of the Cadillac CTS made its debut in 2014. Despite receiving generally positive reviews, sales of the luxury sedan declined by 37.4% from 2014 to 2015. Cadillac CTS models sit on the lot for an average of 141 days before selling, far longer than is typical.


Methodology:
To determine America’s slowest-selling cars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed days to turn figures provided by Kelley Blue Book, vehicle research and valuation site. This figure measures the average number of days a particular model spent on dealers’ lots following its arrival until it was sold in 2015. Additionally, Kelley Blue Book provided figures on U.S. sales by model for 2013, 2014, and 2015. We also reviewed monthly sales releases published by auto manufacturers. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) figures, come from the manufacturers’ websites.

By Douglas A. McIntyre


http://247wallst.com/autos/2016/04/2...-it-cant-sell/

The sad part is, I almost bought an 2014 ELR. It was a demo model driven by the dealer's GM (new car warranty, extended to 100K included.) 2K miles for $32,000

My HOA declined my application to get a 240V installed in our assigned parking however, so that didn't happen..

not sure why this new article is using such old data (2014vs2015) but cadillac is still definitely a work in progress regarding sales, but basing an analysis simply on how long product sits on the lot doesn't tell the whole story. wouldn't surprise me if cadillac dealers are heavily pressured to take on too much inventory. contrast this with lexus dealers that never seem to have enough :D so if a dealer has more inventory than they want and there is demand for then of course it's going to sit there a long time.

the ats is a great vehicle, but the cue system criticism and brand 'image' have definitely made it challenging to sell. the cts is a decent vehicle too, and the cts-v is world class, but it's still definitely a difficult sell against the german 3 and lexus. cadillac will need to do something bolder, not lowering prices, but something on the product or service side or even sales process.

the ct6 is world class and the new xt5 seems excellent also, so these and other improvements will hopefully elevate the brand some in the next few years.

This is an overall crappy article. Cadillac has long ago acknowledged the issues with their product lineup and are making moves to fix it. It's going to take time though.

Cadillac needs to revamp their product. Right now, and for some time, whenever a cadillac drives by, I seem to think it is a pyramid on wheels :D


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I've been pointing this out for ages. The biased American media always overhype Cadillacs and say they are world-beaters, then when sales are slow they finally start discussing how CUE is poor, how there is inadequate room in the back, how the fit-and-finish of the interior is subpar, how the powertrain needs work, etc. I knew very well that the ATS and CTS were overhyped and would flop in the market. You can't out-BMW BMW. Acura is successful because they know their niche and cater to them, whereas GM thinks their Cadillac brand which has made junk since the late '60s can convince people to get out of their BMWs which have been solid cars for generations.

I just sat in 3 XT5s at an auto show and all had flimsy cuphold covers that shook when you opened and closed them. The CTS has uneven panel alignments below the CUE system in every copy I have been inside. Plus it looks like a grandpas car. The CT6 has plenty of black plastic components throughout the cabin, and the Escalade is a straight up badge-engineered Tahoe. Add all these shortcomings to their horrible resale values and sub-par reliability and I am still amazed as to why anybody would purchase a Cadillac.

As usual, General Motors is a step behind the competition.

People have been saying that "Cadillac is making moves" for decades now. It's been 14 years since the original CTS launched yet Cadillac is still a struggling brand that's only being kept alive by the Escalade, a very mediocre vehicle that only sells because Americans love their big GMT platform SUVs.

It's all about pricing. Their product is priced too aggressively for their position in the market.

I didn't say they found the correct move to make yet. But I am seeing some positive signs. They're finally focusing their attention on the SUV market and they have plans to expand the Escalade family. It was incredibly stupid of them to focus their attention on all of these sedans which clearly haven't lighting the market on fire instead of SUV's.

Again, Johan and others have acknowledged what's going to bring them money in the future and I'm eager to see it. Cadillac needs to be come it's own brand instead of chasing the others and I sincerely hope they get there within the next 5 years. Otherwise it'll be yet another round of making moves.

That's definitely a factor. I'm glad to see it'll be easy for people to slide into a CT6 at a relatively affordable price. Yes the top trims are pricey but those were never meant to the volume trims anyways.

They "aggressively price" the CT6 with a 2.0T engine. The same engine that is the primary engine they use for a sedan 2 classes below the CT6 in Caddy's own lineup. Equip a CT6 on par with competitive vehicles, and I would be surprised that there is any price advantage at all.

Same for the new XT5--great starting price. Unless you want AWD (in an SUV? crazy...), which is not less than $9,000 more, because AWD isn't available in the base model. Suddenly, the car is no cheaper than competitors.

Cadillac can't get out of its own way, and it's a shame.

The 3.6L V6 starts at $56k, $2k more than the 4-cyl engine. The big jump occurs when you spec the TT V6 engine. As far as the engine comment goes, when you look at other similarly priced sedans they're also using 2.0t I4's used a couple classes below. Big deal. Also, what do you count the CT6's prime competitors as? It's a bit of a straddler here in terms of size vs. price. Cadillac's product vision isn't yet clear with the CT6 essentially sitting on top of the CTS in pricing. Clearly we haven't seen the course correction in full yet.

I don't understand the strategy with the XT5 either. All I can think of is that Cadillac is trying to drive up transaction prices, but good luck with that.

As long as Cadillac can get the same reaction from the CT6 as they do the Escalade, it will be fine. We will find out soon. I still think the CT6 will do well

Not gonna happen. The Escalade has a cult following and a symbolism, that sort of thing doesn't just get created overnight. The Escalade is a part of American culture...

Very, very true.

The ATS's main problem is that it doesn't appeal to the vast majority of Cadillac buyers because of its stiff ride, and, of course, the CUE system doesn't help. Even with the ATS's world-class handling that comes with that stiff ride (handling that trumps the latest BMW 3-series models), the 3-series is such an icon in the marketplace that its buyers (some of whom are basically living in the past) continue to scoop it up, even though it is no longer the same car it was.