LexFather

The Public is not fooled.
GM cuts production of sluggish-selling Cadillac XLR halo car

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101909

GM cuts production of sluggish-selling Cadillac XLR halo car
JASON STEIN | Automotive News and ROBERT SHEREFKIN | Automotive News
Posted Date: 3/2/05

Last summer customers waited in line to buy Cadillac's hot XLR. Now dealers are waiting to sell them.

GM has reduced XLR production at its Bowling Green, Ky., plant from 23 vehicles a day to 12, union officials say.

As of Feb. 1, Cadillac had a 200-day supply of the $76,200 vehicle -- about 1,700 units.

Cadillac once hoped to sell 6,000 XLRs annually. But through 18 months, Cadillac has sold just 4,744.

As recently as last August, Cadillac executives wanted to increase production of the XLR -- Cadillac's halo car -- because the division couldn't meet demand. David Leone, chief engineer for the Cadillac Sigma prestige vehicle architecture team, said then that dealer orders were "five times what we can build."

Leone said production would increase before the 2006 model year. But those plans have changed.

Says GM spokesman Stefan Weinmann: "We're very careful to make sure that on a brand like Cadillac, the inventory levels are more closely managed than some other brands in order to maintain its cachet." GM has never offered sales incentives on the XLR and has no plans to do so.

Eldon Renaud, president of UAW Local 2164, says there will be no layoffs at the Bowling Green plant, which employs 1,015 workers. He said GM trimmed production Feb. 8. Output of the Chevrolet Corvette, built at the same plant, will remain unchanged.

The cutback could be painful to some suppliers.

Meridian Automotive Systems Inc. of Dearborn, Mich., will build just half of the molded door panels it expected for the XLR. Idle capacity is expensive, but Meridian cannot use that equipment for other customers because at some point GM may resume higher XLR production.

Production slowdowns also make it tough for suppliers to recoup their costs.

In December 1999, HP Pelzer Automotive Systems Group of Troy, Mich., won the contract to supply acoustic and flooring material for the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac Grand AM -- on the condition that it also take on the much smaller XLR and Corvette programs.

"It's a pain in the neck," says an industry executive familiar with that contract. "The tools you put in place cost more than the parts you sell" for the smaller programs, the executive said.

Adds the CEO of one XLR supplier, "We're all in the doldrums."

Jacques Moore, owner of Moore Cadillac in Richmond, Va., admits XLR demand has slowed, but adds: "It's important to remember it's a seasonal product."

Moore says an oversupply of XLRs is not good.

"The last thing we want to do is have a couple of dealers with three, four or five on the ground and then they need to have a sale," says Moore. "That would be the wrong idea."

LexFather

Why the hell does it cost more than a SC 430? The SC 430 is platform specific and is the best buitl car of all time. The interior blows away the XLR. The XLR is a corvette with Caddy trim. And they didn't upgrade the luxury enough. That to this day just confuses me. Its a fantastic car but Caddy insists on pricing their cars too high, then they rely on rebates to sell them. That is a TERRIBLE strategy.

Its like the SC to me, both cars look great from some angles, from some, they look . The XLR is the better performer but people are always surprised by how the SC handles when pushed, its not bad. Its just "Lexus" gets a bad rap for just buiding cushy cars (hell they do, LS/ES).

The XLR is a great car but IMO, not worth MORE than a SC 430. If Caddy was smart, they'd price it BELOW the SC 430. The SL will ALWAYS sell, its brand is so strong, it can BE more expensive. People will buy it no questions asked (and it looks gorgous to me).

Give the SC another chance, it was the dumb dealer, not the car. Call Lexus customer support and complain.

Captmike

A member over on the XLR forum says that the water from the top into the trunk thing is not as big of a deal as alot of non XLR owners are making it out to be.

Captmike

Well I talked to the manager over at Lexus and I went back over there and test drove the SC for the first time. While they did not want to put a lot of miles on the car, it had 3 miles more than it had when I saw it for the first time last weekend (20). All I really want to see/hear is if had wind noise at highway speed with the top up and and buffeting with it down. All was good in both those regards. I also want to feel the run flats. It was a poor ride with the run flats...I know, I know, a lot of people have changed them out for regular tires. I could feel the rough ride in the seat and stearing wheel. Thats one thing that I have to say is a plus in my E320...the ride. The SL500 was the same smoothness as my E when we test drove that last week.

mlbpbg

I leased an XLR in 2004. Besides the crazy price for for the car, it spent more time in the service dept. than it did on the road. The electronics are too complicated for the servcie techs which are hard to find at the dealership. Finally after a total of 52 days out of service in the first 3 months of ownership, I made GM buy back the car under the lemon law. The SC I replaced it with has never had a problem and although it may not be a "cool looking" I would rather be driving the car rather than just making the payments. BEWARE

Gojirra99

The SC rides a little smoother with regular tires than the SL, I noticed that when I test drove the SL last year.
The current SL also rides a little rougher than the previous generation SL, not that it's necessarily a bad thing.

lkirchner

I owned an SC430 and will not get into the problems that I had with the car. I ultimately traded it on an SL55 AMG with which I have had ZERO problems. The 2 cars are almost equal in the miles put on them; the SC430 had 1,750 miles on the clock and the SL55 has 1,650 miles. I don't think your comment "but I would get an SC so I have a spare for the times I would need the SL to be in the shop)" is valid at all based on my experience.

However I will admit that the 2 cars should not be compared; the AMG is essentially hand built and mine cost more than double the price of an SC. If money is no object the AMG SL wins hands down.

Captmike

[QUOTE=lkirchner]:
However I will admit that the 2 cars should not be compared; the AMG is essentially hand built and mine cost more than double the price of an SC. If money is no object the AMG SL wins hands down.[/QUOTE

I don't think that anyone surggested to compair the SL55 AMG with the SC.

We are talking about the SL500 and the SC.

XZLR8

Still $30K difference there. That certainly helped make my decision.

(If the XLR was priced closer to the SC than the SL, they'd have less of a sales issue about now, I'd think. But that's another issue entirely.)

lkirchner

[QUOTE=Captmike]What I am referring to is the quality issues and your comment about having a spare SC.

Captmike

BTW, the Lexus dealor wants $61,000 for the car.

Captmike

[QUOTE=lkirchner]It was not me that refered to "a spare SC"

lkirchner

[QUOTE=Captmike]Sorry

rominl

iTrader: (4)

where in cali are you in? maybe i can refer you somewhere. 61k for the car before tess and fees, that's not the best price imho

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

For my 2 cents...I like everything about the SL....except the reliability issues that come with benz ownership.
I like the look and roominess of the XLR and 2 rival salesman I spoke to said caddy has tremendously improved the reliability. I can't fathom the price tag on an overgrown Corvette. Just get a Vette.
The SC, of course it's a sweet looking car and reliable but if you're a little over the normal sized guy, it's a little tight in there.

This means I don't advise either one really. Get a Vette.