Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
I don't necessarily agree that they matter MORE ... because what is a beautiful car in an otherwise failing company? Fisker, anyone? But I think his point that they are near the top of the importance scale, and should be compensated accordingly, is a pretty good one.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
As far as I'm concerned, Lutz has zero credibility, even if what he says may be correct.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Now, a buyer with a 3-series budget goes into the Cadillac showroom, thinking he/she might drive out with a CTS and gets a bit of a shock upon seeing the MSRP of the CTS. I imagine the buyer isn't interested in an ATS after his plans to drive off in an American 5-series for a 3-series price have been dashed.
I would also imagine the unintended consequences of the CTS being priced at 5-series levels would be the buyer just goes ahead and gets a 3-series or perhaps finds a "Summer of Audi" lease deal that is too good to pass up.
I think the CTS, at the same price as a 5-series, is, today, too much wishful thinking on the part of De Nysschen and his marketing team.
The market isn't ready, yet, to accept a CTS priced like a 5-series.
Pity.
And, whoever wrote about my purchasing proclivities is dead-on: While I would not pay nearly $10,000 more for an A7 when I could have an identically equipped A6 for less, I would gladly pony up the $10,000 for optional extras like leather, electronics, wheels/tires and other factory-exclusive customization. Of course, I'd probably wrap it in a pure white colored car, since I also have an issue paying $1,075 for some off-beat blue color option, but would pay for B&O speakers in a heartbeat.
I remain: Often wrong, never uncertain.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Were I in charge, I think I would -- for a while -- go for the "land-grab" approach to market share. I am certain that is exactly what Lexus did when they came out with a car that lured Mercedes shoppers into the showroom and had these shoppers test drive a Lexus that essentially did everything a Mercedes did but for some 20% less money. Today, I believe the big Merc and the big Lexus cars sell for similar sums and it is accepted.
My friend always bought 7-series, for a long long long time; eventually he bought an LS400 (or whatever the 7-series sized car from Lexus was/is), bought another one after that, too. I ran into him taking delivery of an Audi A8L recently. My how times have changed.
I assume he might, someday, consider a Cadillac -- but for the kind of money that this list of cars has cost him over the years, I have to assume he wouldn't consider any Cadillac worth some number beginning with an 8.
Bad as things are for Cadillac, imagine the uphill battle Lincoln faces.
Yikes!
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-posts-best-july-u-131500694.html;_ylt=A0LEVvzIBsFVkSsAoiYnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByMjB0aG5zBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I don't know what he possibly could have done in the short time he was with Infiniti, and I guess he did want to live in New York, but he better work some magic on Cadillac -- soon.
Perhaps the phrase is, "if anyone can, he can."
Time will tell.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I'm sure he really believes in what he's doing, misguided though it may be. And he'll be rich enough that he'll never need to work another day in his life—even as he drives Cadillac into the ditch.
I think in 1-3 years GM might well get rid of him with a golden parachute. But by that time the damage will have been done....
For instance, you might only pay $37K for a Focus RS in the near future, but would reliability woes end up costing you more than you'd pay for a $50K German car in the long run? My math says it is possible; if you value your time.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Mercedes: 208K
BMW: 195K
Lexus: 188K
Buick: 127K
Audi: 111K
Acura: 102K
Caddy: 95K
Infiniti: 74K
Lincoln: 56K
Land Rover: 37K
Volvo: 35K
Porsche: 29K
Jag: 9K
Maserati: 6K
Bentley: 1500
Alfa Romeo: 368
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Caddy seems safe at # 6 for now.
But for a brand that for 70+ years was the undisputed king of luxury sales in America, it's been a dramatic fall over the last 20 years.
"SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Motors Co's Cadillac aims to increase its global annual sales to over 500,000 cars by 2020, a senior executive said on Friday.
Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen made the comments at an event in Shanghai.
De Nysschen has set Cadillac on an aggressive new path to challenge BMW and Mercedes in the world of high-end luxury automobiles.
To that end, he has moved marketing and sales operations to New York from Detroit and switched advertising agencies.
GM has also announced that Cadillac will begin to report financials separately from its parent holding company in an effort to bolster its independent luxury identity...."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-gms-cadillac-aims-to-increase-global-annual-sales-to-over-500000-by-2020-senior-executive-2014-12#ixzz3hx0GqdoQ
For those of me who care about these kind of things -- headline:
"Audi sets 55th straight monthly U.S. record with 20.8% gain in July 2015!"
If we start going back those 55 months, I believe we would come to a period where De Nysschen was at the healm -- the fact that things kept humming along after his departure is, I think, NOT an indication that the top guy doesn't matter, but rather an indication of how the products are perceived by the market.
As I dust off my graduate school marketing textbook (which is probably, by now woefully out of date), all evidence suggests EITHER to raise prices or increase market share by some method that leaves the perception of "big bucks" undamaged.
My leasing guru says: sub-vent the leases like there's no tomorrow, get the current product out and seen by the market; meanwhile work behind the scenes on getting products to the market that people WANT (translation Audi Q3, Q5 and Q7 rivals and BMW X1, X3, X4, X5 and X6 rivals).
If you ax me, the money spent bringing the all electric Caddy to market was a nice idea, but I don't see it as helpful to what ought to be the bread and butter ATS.
Isn't it true that for Audi THE meat and potatoes car is the A4 as the 3 series is for BMW? Shouldn't Cadillac at least consider doing whatever it takes to get "a lot more" ATS's in the hands of customers by almost any method (sub-vented leases being a good tool, typically)?
Or is it that the cars themselves just aren't "gettin' it done?" So no matter what you do within reason, some people will still say "The Emperor Has no Clothes."
One last random thought, the Audi dealer I shop is owned by a group that also owns a Cadillac dealership a couple blocks away -- so naturally, we do tend to browse that dealership since they know my wife and me as long time loyal "dealer group" customers. I have priced cars at the dealership and they are as stubborn as can be about the price they will use to run the numbers, whereas the Audi group seems willing to put the best deal on the table first. The experience at the Audi dealership is what I call horizontal sales, due to the fact that the sales staff is so laid back you have to wake them to get them to sell you the car; the Cadillac dealership still seems to employ a technique from yesteryear, with salesreps dressed in clothes one size too small and largely lacking in product knowledge beyond what they can glean just by looking at the sticker.
The approach at the Cadillac dealership is, well, disappointing, even as the cars are getting somewhat more interesting and competitive.
Just an observation -- a data point that may or may not be an outlier.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
OK, so I read several posts that essentially dismiss Bob Lutz's opinions, essentially just stating that we shouldn't put much stock in Mr. Lutz's perspective.
I would be the first to agree that critical thinking is appropriate, and that we shouldn't all turn into Crazy Miranda's or even just accept so and so at their word, "because."
But what is it about Lutz's column that sparked the vitriol? Generally speaking, his remarks while certainly at least somewhat debate worthy, didn't seem to be "crazy."
He did retire some 5 years ago but as recently as a late 2014 Washington Post article/interview, he certainly appears to command more than a patronizing amount of respect.
Was/is "your" dismissal of his comments based on merit or based on some belief that Lutz doesn't know what he's talking about?
I would certainly agree with him that KIA is doing one helluva job at design -- but, of course, that much is totally subjective and for every compliment one could dig up, there would undoubtedly be a barb decrying KIA's designs as totally uninspired and derivative.
Just wondering why the animosity toward Lutz?
I used the eco-mode for about 10 miles!
Lutz was part of the upper management team that run GM to the ground and he never admitted to anything. He keeps talking from a position of the industry expert, but on any inquiries about his role in the GM's demise he has gazillion excuses, or acts like nothing really happened.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I give a little ride comfort for the extra cornering anyday. We just wear mouth guards on the side roads!
My wife has a CX-9 and it's absolutely wonderful when the road bends with the 20" shoes (given it's weight). The ride suffers but she loves it! She let's me drive it sometimes!
And he laughed off the Prius and hybrids in general, even though a few years later GM was scrambling with THREE different types of hybrids that were all going to save the world
- the "mild" hybrid (I think all of those are discontinued now),
- the "two-mode hybrid" (I think all of those are also discontinued now),
- the Volt (not discontinued, but selling nowhere near original projections.
...and also wasn't he the designing force between those great successes the Solstice and Sky?
Seems that he is more hot air than any real merit.
I do like his column, but it seems he perhaps should be taken with a grain.
Yeah Bob...okaaaay......
I did like his quote about the government trying to achieve better fuel economy by forcing industry to build smaller cars, which he likened to trying to make Americans less fat by issuing them smaller sized clothing. That was pretty clever.
He's an ego maniac, without a doubt. And, sometimes I scratch my head at some of what he says. But, I think he's 83 now. And, as such, most people I know that are entering or are in that age range pretty much don't care what others think. So, they say whatever pops in their head.
I'll forgive some of that based on giving due respect. Overall, he's a pretty bright guy.
He sort of painted his time at GM as him against the big car establishment. Not sure how much is true and how much is bluster. But, he got the company to take chances (i.e. "new" GTO, Solstice and Sky....too bad they were products of failed divisions). He derided the Aztec. He tried to move GM. Wasn't entirely successful, but is willing to admit he wasn't, too.
Colleague bought a new IS 350 F Sport. I've always liked those. I test drove one a year or so ago. If anything, I like them more after seeing his (darkish grey with red leather interior). Hard to fault the build of it....probably the best I've seen. Still, a little cramped. Maybe that's because I've been used to driving cars a bit bigger than the IS. Seats are wonderful. Just a very, very nice car that goes well, drives well, and is built extremely well. His MSRP sticker said $49K....quite loaded up. He said they discounted his by about $2,500. Pretty good value for $46.5K. Hard to say that about a Lexus.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150807/RETAIL/150809864/cadillac-works-to-revise-dealer-incentives
Mike Colias RSS feed
Automotive News
August 7, 2015 - 1:54 pm ET
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Two main elements of Johan de Nysschen’s plan to rehabilitate Cadillac’s image are to tighten dealers’ inventories and quash their sell-at-any-cost mentality.
There’s a big problem though: Cadillac’s dealer-incentive programs today are designed to do just the opposite. One makes cash payouts for growing sales; the other attaches up to $700 in dealer bonus money to every vehicle they order from the factory.
De Nysschen, Cadillac’s president, says those programs must change for dealers to adopt a true luxury mindset, one based on an engaging customer experience, rather than sales volume.
“The business model has been structured more for the bigger brands inside General Motors, rather than the small Cadillac brand,” de Nysschen said here at a test drive event for the media. “The luxury business is different.”
He said Cadillac is in talks with its national dealer council “to develop the next generation of what these programs should look like for Cadillac.”
It’s an example of the obstacles de Nysschen faces in reshaping Cadillac’s retail network into something that more closely resembles those of German luxury brands such as BMW or Audi. Most of Cadillac’s more than 900 dealerships are hard-wired to carry far more inventory than other luxury stores, often moving the metal through deep discounts.
A Midwest Cadillac dealer, who didn’t want to be identified discussing factory business, believes it would be difficult for many dealers to fathom an incentive program that’s not tied to sales performance.
“There’s only one thing that matters, and it’s selling more cars,” said the dealer, who said he sells a couple dozen Cadillacs a month. “I did not come in here today to buy more digital stuff for the showroom.”
(more at the link)
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2018 430i Gran Coupe