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I'm sure I'm not the first person to note that 22" "blinged" out chrome wheels appeal to white suburbanites who belong to country clubs. I'n my part of the country white people drive Escaldes as well. Maybe that's not universal however. Sounds like you see an awful lot of drug dealers piloting luxury SUVs in your area.
For the record, Range Rovers and S550s appeal to the same people who like the Escalade.
the purpose of the Escalade is to attract younger, wealthy customers and to make Cadillac's styling themes stand out in a world of dull looking luxury SUvs. Misson has been accomplished. Your inference that Cadillac has undesirable customers for this vehicle are a little condescending if you ask me. The people who buy the Escalade are probably mostly under 50 and have six figure incomes. That is the type of demographic cadillac wants these days.
BTW, the CTS coupe concept will be shown today in Detroit.
Balderdash.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I wanted the 20 inch wheels for my SRX because they come with tires that are the same size on the front and back wheels where the standard wheels on the SRX has smaller tires on the front and they can't be rotated properly.
Sorry, you have the famous dubs on your vehicle. How do you make your money? Perhaps you live in LA? Shame on you. Please do not call my daughter.
-Rocky
That said, I have to say that for the money, the CTS is probably a better choice if money is a concern.
The M5 has be displaced by the AMG Mercedes E63 I think (from what I read).
I try to avoid LA - I have seen much more exotic wheels on GMC's than what I have.
An admirable trait - and frankly, one I try to subscribe to. I didn't mean to suggest that every person who buys an Escalades with 22" chrome wheels is an actual or latent pimp or drug dealer. Again, I was being critical of GM/Cadillac's chrome over substance approach to product design, engineering and marketing which has caused them problems in the past among more sophisticated buyers.
As much as I would all like to try to claim open mindedness, I have to confess as a father, if I opened the door to find my daughter's first date wearing his pants around his knees, his body covered with tatoos and piercings, and the most used word in his vocablulary was "whatever", I would probably punt that openmindedness (and something else), no matter what he was driving. Fortunately, I don't think my daughter would ever present me with that dilemma. But are you suggesting you wouldn't care who came to your front door and what elevation relative to their waist their belt buckle was?
If GM/Cadillac planning/marketing discovers a high margin customer want or need and offers it, that is simply smart business. Notice that Porsche has had very high margin options that don't add any measure of performance, but there are apparently customers that want these things and have the money to pay.
Would be interesting if some very high-fashion European non-car designer (clothing?) came up with fancy but tasteful padded tops for BMWs and Porsches as aftermarket. Then, get sports superstars and actors/actresses to buy/drive these and would be on TV and in magazines. This would then be very "in" and fashionable and BMW and Porsche would quickly add these to a high-margin options list. Just imagine, an office manager coming to work and proclaiming to his friends, "I just picked up my Versocki BMW 3 last night". You want to see it at lunch time.
For someone who drives Cadillac's he sure hates them vocally at least !!! :confuse:
-Rocky
-Rocky
-Rocky
since you are a businessman I'm sure you would agree that the success or failure of Cadillac could be judged by the sales of the Escalade. You are critical of how cadillac developed the Escalade but you have not mentioned sales. The Escalade is still best in class from a sales perspective so I'm not sure how you can say that their strategy was flawed. I dont think removing all the chrome from the escalade and putting 16" wheelcovers on it would have worked out, but that's just my opinion. You also keep mentioning the Escalade has "no substance" but you dont specify why you are saying that. As its been noted here, the truck has style, plenty of power and a great set of features. Its not all looks.
the purpose of the Escalade is to attract younger, wealthy customers and to make Cadillac's styling themes stand out in a world of dull looking luxury SUvs. Misson has been accomplished. Your inference that Cadillac has undesirable customers for this vehicle are a little condescending if you ask me. The people who buy the Escalade are probably mostly under 50 and have six figure incomes. That is the type of demographic cadillac wants these days.
I think the Escalade is going for a younger buyer and it has the "bling factor." I see nothing wrong with that if the product is profitable for the company. There isn't an SUV out there that goes directly to this segment of the market. All the other luury SUV's Range Rover, ML, X5 aren't as flasy and don't appear to specifically target this group IMO.
Here's an interesting article on the 07 model:
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/Cadillac/Escalade/2007
an excerpt:
Climbing into the new 2007 Cadillac Escalade, I get the feeling that I am seriously underdressed. No gold chains, no diamond stud in my ear. And my raggy jeans definitely would not pass muster on MTV.
Ever since the first 'Slade hit the streets, back in 1999, this massive SUV has proven the product of choice among rappers and rock stars. And if the looks we got tooling around San Diego during Caddy's recent preview were any indication, the new '07 model is likely to maintain its image as the king of all bling.
Personally, I think pricing the car lower is a great idea. If the car is priced 20k higher sales would suffer. I don't think they are ready to charge a premium for the car. Anyway, it worked for Lexus so why can't it work for Cadillac. Not to mention everyone can't afford a 5 series. if the CTS is priced lower, they will be able to sell more units, and at the end of the day that's the goal.
1. Cadillac doesnt use celebrities to advertise the Escalade
2. We have no idea how little or how much advice was taken from celebrities in the design of the Escalde
3. Based on the vehicle's sales a reasonable person would have to say Cadillac made the right decisions
4. Porsches sell based on reputation and performance, not syling or luxury features. For a vehicle like the Escalde styling is very important and thus those who influence trends and style should be consulted. Porshe recycles the same styling over and over again and thus trends are of no concern.
2. We have no idea how little or how much advice was taken from celebrities in the design of the Escalde
I seem to recall Tiki Barber or someone riding around in an Escalade commercial last year, and there are stories about Cadillac soliciting "celebrity input" when the current Escalade was designed.
don't try to back out now you said what you said....
I find those comments from JDP to be silly and a little offensive. I shouldnt be surprised since many auto critics seem compelled to make attempts at "ghetto humor" when reviewing the Escalade or any similar vehicle. Its interesting that loud compacts with huge spoilers like the EVO and STI are loved by the automotive press but the Escalade is considered some kind of joke since it supposedly only appeals to young, flashy, "urban" types who wear big jewelry and make money by rapping or playing sports.
But it's not just JDP who says it. People right here on this board have said it. All vehicles (and the people who drive them) have some sort of identity.
For example: What types of vehicles come to mind when you think of a soccer mom? A 65 year old business executive making 6 figures? The cocky 20 something who just got a HUGE raise at the law firm? A NBA star who just sighned a 10 million dollar contract extension?
What the soccer mom drives (or we think she may drive) might be different from the teenager who likes to modify Japanese imports...
It appears as thought that's the Escalade's image and based on reports of the chrome being a highlight in their paphlet maybe they are embracing that image?
But at the same time, if the vehicle is popular and selling well isn't that the main goal? I haven't heard any reports from Caddy being offended by the "bling" comments. I wonder how they feel about it.
They love it. Cadillac is about show and performance. Always has. Look at the 59 Caddy with the chrome and wings. Lutz specifically calls out the 5 layers if chrome on the new Slade.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Also so Jean Jamison (right name?) of Automotive magazine being interviewed on TV and she was praising the CTS as the great car of the year at the NAIAS. I believe the clip was called Total Access and don't remember where I saw it last night...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
They love it. Cadillac is about show and performance. Always has. Look at the 59 Caddy with the chrome and wings. Lutz specifically calls out the 5 layers if chrome on the new Slade.
I didn't know that. Thanks for the info. So why are some people upset about the image when Caddy themselves are promoting it?? I don't get it. Caddy has found a market who likes a certain style of SUV and IMO no one else is trying to reach that market. I think that's pretty clever on their part.
They are selling trucks. Isn't that the bottom line?
They are selling trucks. Isn't that the bottom line"
Let me clarify what I am saying. I don't doubt that Cadillac likes chrome and brightwork on their vehicles. I don't doubt that Cadillac would rather have under 50 people buying their SUV as opposed to over 60 people. What I am saying is that writers and people on this board keep pretending that the Escalade was designed by and ONLY appeals to athletes and rappers. That is BS plain and simple. Just because some people here look down on the vehicle and worship German vehicles they think it's OK to deride the Escalade and the type of people who like the vehicle. That is what I have a problem with. There are only a few hundred professional athletes out there and a few dozen rappers. Who is buying the rest of these Escalades?
Two versions of the popular CTS swept the car awards in the annual EyesOn Design contest, judged by more than 20 designers from BMW, Honda, Harley-Davidson, Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors and Chrysler LLC.
The judges named the 2009 CTS-V – a 550-horsepower sedan that goes on sale later this year – as the best designed production car, and the CTS Coupe was named best-designed concept car.
BMW beat out the new Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 pickups as best designed production truck, for the BMW X6, which looks more like a crossover than a truck.
In fact, it's so good, Cadillac should move it from concept to reality. Bid it, tool it, build it; this coupe's a winner.
Chisled in steel, the Cadillac CTS coupe concept exaggerates the look of the redesigned CTS sedan. It adopts the 2+2 look with a low-lying roof and small greenhouse. The tapered roof cuts back to a rear end with a strong centerline crease.
It looks fast, and using Cadillac's 3.6-liter direct injection V-6, it will be fast. And when you're at the auto show, this car looks even better the second time.
At the Detroit auto show this week, Detroit's Big Three are promoting smaller engines and alternative-fuel vehicles, eliminating the V-8 from many models and relegating it to niche status.
Ford Motor, which first popularized the V-8 in the 1930s, will start using a turbocharged 6-cylinder in many vehicles, including the next generation of its Explorer sport utility vehicle. The company has named its new engine technology EcoBoost, a nod to consumers' concern for the environment.
''It's pretty clear that the V-8 is on its way out of the mainstream,'' said Ford's chairman, William Clay Ford Jr.
General Motors recently canceled a $300 million program to develop a new V-8, citing new fuel-economy standards that require a 40 percent improvement in overall gas mileage by 2020. ''That cancellation was a direct result of the 35-mile-per-gallon legislation,'' Robert A. Lutz, GM's vice chairman, said Tuesday.
Even the famed Hemi V-8 from Chrysler will be quieted at stoplights when it is paired this year with hybrid technology in some big SUV's.
Car companies, in a sense, are catching up with shifting consumer tastes: sales of V-8 engines in the United States have dropped 24 percent since 2004, according to the auto research firm R. L. Polk & Company.
The V-8 will still be a staple in pickups and large SUV's, and Detroit continues to flex its muscle-car muscle with some other models. General Motors, for example, unveiled this week a limited-edition 620-horsepower Corvette ZR1 – the fastest and most powerful Chevrolet ever – and a high-performance Cadillac, the CTS-V, offering 550 horsepower.
Ford executives said they had at times wrestled with the decision to give up V-8s in some models, including a new sedan from the Lincoln luxury division, because they worried about customer reaction.
''I worked on the Lincoln Continental program 20 years ago, and people were vehement that it had to have a V-8,'' said Mark Fields, Ford's president for the Americas. ''But now people don't really care if the performance is there.''
Some Asian automakers, notably Honda of Japan, have stayed out of the V-8 market entirely. Toyota offers V-8s in its full-size pickups and SUV's, but it has dominated the midsize car market with less powerful engines.
''The era of indulgence is over,'' said John A. Casesa, managing partner at the Casesa Shapiro Group, an investment firm in New York. ''When oil goes to $100 a barrel, the romance of a V-8 under the hood diminishes pretty quickly.''
Chrysler is bucking the trend somewhat. The company is updating its Hemi engine and achieving better fuel economy by marrying the current edition to a hybrid system in its full-size Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUV's.
But the automaker, which was bought last year by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, is developing a new line of V-6 engines that would be an alternative to the V-8s in popular models like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.
''There's a new group of young customers that may not appreciate or care what the Hemi does,'' said the Chrysler vice chairman, James E. Press.
I agree 100%. Here in my area the people who drive the CTS look VERY similar to the people who drive the Escalade: Middle aged men and women.
Every now and then I'll see a person who fits the rapper and athlete stereotype, but the vast majority of the time they do not. I'm sure the region plays a big part on who drives certain vehicles also.
For the CTS, it is a more even distribution, I see people in their 30s, and some in their 60s or maybe even more.
-Rocky
Apparently my step-sister and her husband. They just took delivery of their new 8 passenger Escalade ESV. Seems she gave birth to quadruplets three months ago and combined with their three year old son, they have a lot of kids to haul around (no fertility drugs for those of you scoring at home!). Although they are an African-american family, her husband supports his ESV payments through a more pedestrian life vocation than a blinged out rapper....he's the junior partner in his father's OB/GYN practice.
The ESV, will work great !!!! :shades:
-Rocky
go to GM's corporate site watch the unveiling of the Escalade Jack Miller I believe who is GM's general manager says and I quote "There is added bling to the new Escalade." Besides there is nothing to be offended about, if you read expert reviews on similar full sized SUV's they say that consumers tend to by Escalade for the commanding pressence set off by the plethora of chrome.
cant be! No record deal? No diamond chains? What normal person with a job would buy an Escalde instead of a Q7?