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Already 3800 untils have been built in the first 3 weeks of June.
30,000 in less than 6 months this year vs. 19,000 in 2002.
Looks like the have the capacity to build 60,000
CTS a year. More than double what they thought they were going to do.
If they sell an extra 30,000 CTSs and they have a average invoice of $32,500 that would boost Cadillac's sales by $975,000,000!!!!
If they made $7,000 on each one then that would be a profit of $210,000,000!!!
Talk about a home run for cadillac.
CTS is more popular than they ever dreamed.
Production of saleable SRX and XLR units starts on Monday.
SRX built along side CTS.
XLR at Corvette plant.
http://www.autonews.com/files/prod.pdf
bezel leak . where does it go ? mine doesn't leak enough to go anywhere I think . It just condensates on the plastic . someday I will get a chance to bring it in for a revised bezel .
Price what is this $$32K price ceiling for half of CTS owners why 32K ?
Maybe CTS pricing will be affected by 1. much higher production numbers - maybe that will help keep price down
Popularity - this will raise the pricing
I think 03 prices were introductory
Clock issue My clock was right until daylight savings time . that calibration knocked it off 2-3 minutes since then it is now in sync go figure .
I have 10330 miles on my garnet red CTS LuxSport 5 spd manual all options except the auto trans . This car has been unbelievable .It is great to drive and there is SO much to learn with the Nav and other electronics ....the learning curve continues
saving my pennies for a CTS-V Hope CTS trade in is decent
Options packages are a classic "upsell" mechanism, which any good business wants to push their customers toward. The profit margins are higher, plain and simple. It also lowers the overall cost of manufacturing (installing entire groups usually lowers total manufacturing time) and inventory (fewer permutations for both Cadillac and the dealer network).
Customer generally prefer a la carte ordering, but this kind of flexibiity is pretty much gone these days. Porsche still does this, but their volumes and small and their profit margins are very high. Finding a medium between profit and flexibility is what the markerting and manufacturing folks generally try to achieve.
Again, my point is that GM is free to do whatever marketing programs they see fit at whatever given time. And so is Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan etc. Just because you did a specific marketing program at one point does not mean that customers are entitled to it in perpetuity. That's completely ridiculous. We're talking about the marketplace, not Social Security or Medicare.
And just like you, I've owned a few GM cars. This CTS is my third Cadillac, and I'm still not 40 years old yet. I don't need to be lectured on customer loyalty.
Finally, I thought my comment about you writing a letter to GM's executives was being constructive. If you can't recognize that, then I'm not sure that anything I say is going to matter to you.
Moving on to the next topic...
Mine comes up at $36845 with 1sb, rear seat folding and XM satellite.
http://www.markchristopher.com/
It comes up as Chevrolet but if you find your way , you can choose Cadillac.
Dont think they have recieved the 2004 yet. I submitted an application to see just what price they are offering now.
They are about $400 over invoice for a 2003 using CarsDirect
berrycherry
Fascinating.
Can Cadillac really make any money selling a car with the CTS' content level at $32K?
That's competing with the Acura TL and the Maxima, only much smaller BMWs and Audis at that point.
In the longer run, if Cadillac is successful in reinvigorating the brand, it may be necessary to push those buyers down to Pontiac.
Buick doesn't really fit in between, if GM even attempts to get them out of the motorized-walker market space it'll take ten-plus years to do it.
The difference between what the dealer pays the factory for the car and what he sell it for is not profit. The dealer has a few expenses, like salaries for the salesperson, the receptionist, the people who clean and prepare the car, the cashier, and others. The dealer has to pay rent or mortgage payments for the showroom and sales offices. He/she has to pay the bank interest on the loans to pay for the cars while they sit on the lot waiting for a buyer. He/she may also pay for advertising to get you into the showroom to begin with. He/she also has to pay state and city taxes for the privilege of being in business. And if he/she is lucky, goes home with a little compensation at the end of the day.
And by the way, if the dealer is not conscientious and caring, and providing good customer support may have his/her franchise yanked by the factory. I personally have seen two dealers replaced by the factory for poor customer support, one Ford and one Cadillac.
So when you go to buy your next car bargain with the dealer, but remember that he is out to make a reasonable profit, not a killing. He knows what his product is worth. Go with knowledge of what the car cost the dealer, but don't expect the dealer to give it away without covering his costs and a little profit.
Have you forgot about Dealer Holdback. It appears to be 3% on a Cadillac so on what I want to buy at $36845 would give them $1105. And remember they have advertising built into the invoice.
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/incentives/holdback/index.html
Many dealer like the quick profit that a new sale, via the intetrnet, even if close to dealer cost. That is if the car is new, so no flooring costs result. And we pay the shipping.
My comments.
berrycherry
rsteph also hit the nail on the head about being happy (or at least satisfied) with the deal that "we" make.
Anyone who is smart enough to access this web site should also be smart enough to do the preparation to make a deal that they can live with or to determine that they can't do that. There are plenty of sources that help you build your own; determine what you want and what you don't want; locate in-stock vehicles that satisfy your desires; determine the prices; determine the value of your trade-in; determine financing options and payments; and then determine what your acceptable deal will be and do all that long before you talk to anyone at a dealership.
If you don't find exactly what you want at exactly the price you want, or if you find that you can't afford what you want... welcome to the real world. It would be nice if we could always get it, but no one owes us exactly what we want in life.
Ref Attitudes: Many Cadillac dealers/salesmen do not have arrogant attitudes. Nor do they have a monopoly on bad attitudes. I've encountered that kind of arrogance (really ignorance) at Honda, Chevrolet, Acura, Ford, and other dealers, as well as at Home Depot, Best-Buy, etc. Unpleasant attitudes usually are attached to ignorant people and are not related to the value of a product. There are plenty of places to buy cars and TVs. Just find someone who appreciates your business and buy what you want from them.
Final observation: As I've noted before, it is interesting and speaks volumes that there is very little whining on this site from people who own a CTS. I'm gonna go outside, lovingly wash mine, and bask in the satisfaction with the car and the deal that I got. While ctsjerry and his SoCal CTS buddies are having their gathering, I'm gonna have a one car show in my driveway. Cheers and a good weekend to all!
I figure I can squeeze a '04 base with 3.6L and Sport package in at about 32K.
SC sales tax caps at $300.
Unfortunately they make up the difference with property tax on vehicles. Will be about $1000 the first year.
Unless they whack some unsuspecting soul for their trade in and a high interest rate.
They make far more per unit on used cars.
Lets not forget about the service department which can be the cash cow of the business.
5 years ago a mechnic friend of mine told me that
the service department at the local RicK Hendrick Chevrolet made a 2.1 million dollar profit the year before.
I imagine it is 2.5 million now.
I would guess the whole store is probably making a
5 million dollar profit now.
Pretty breathtaking.
b4z, that 2.5 million profit is relative. Is it before or after taxes (taxes are a business expense.) Is it 'net' or 'gross' profit (there is a difference.) How does your friend the mechanic know about this 'profit'? Owners do not normally advertise profit numbers.
What is the investment that the 2.5m is based on? If the owners investment in the business two and one half percent profit is no big deal. If the investment is 25 million ten percent is good. If his investment is 10 million it is a great profit.
There is something in economics called opportunity cost, or what that invested money could have produced if it where invested elsewhere. If you could have made more after taxes and everything else with the money invested in a bank, then a business is a poor investment. But until you know all the facts you don't know nothing.
Either the manufacturer is shipping product that cannot attract buyers, or the dealer is incapable of selling the product they're getting, or both.
I guess ideally Rick Hendrick would like to show a fairly low profit so as not to pay a lot of corporate taxes.
Although i suspect the profit was rolled into the purchase of another dealership.
This is the same Rick Hendrick that owns Jeff Gordon's race team.
I think he is the second or third largest car dealer in America.
Plus he bought the dealership for a song in the late eighties. He owns the Volvo, Saab, BMW, Mini, Jeep and Honda dealerships adjacent to it(all seperate entities, not shared).
He has over 1500' of frontage on a major highway.
So it is basically a license to print money.
Good for him.
Although I am glad they didn't buy the Cadillac dealership when it was up for sale because they can be difficult to deal with.
Three weeks later the dealer suggested I make a change to my order, by deleting the XM radio option, because of the indefinite hold on that option. So the dealer substituted the Bose Radio Pkg in it place. I still had the 1SB and Sport Pkg, Xenon and folding rear seats.
Today I was asked to make another change, if I wanted to receive my New CTS in the next three weeks. I upgraded to the 1SC Pkg, which include everything I wanted plus the Express Sun Roof which I wasn't planning on. Today's changes only cost me extra $500. Do the math and you want believe it.
I have some new brochures of "bling-bling" stuff for new Caddies. Wheels, exaust tips, jackets, etc. Caddy authorized and aval. at dealers also. The brochure is at my other house at the moment so not sure of the web address. If the one above is not correct I will repost it...geo
This a .pdf and will take about 2 minutes to load.
It is also very smalll and hard to read.
http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/accessories/images/cadillac/cts/2003/- cts.pdf?&sid=2177755154097963
I'd as a matter of policy produce no more than 50,000 CTS's per year, and only gradually increase production over time.
The lowest I have seen in recent months was 1100. The highest I have ever seen was a little over 1500 in a week.
This past week's 1350 was about average.
If they make 1200 a week for 50 weeks that is 60,000.
YTD 30,000 have been produced in 5 months and 3 weeks.
Last year I posted that if they continue at this rate we would see massive incentives by this time. Hasn't happened yet.
As long as they don't have a bunch of program cars that flood the market in 12 months we should be fine.
My dealer does have th largest inventory he has had. 7 cars. it might be time for some end of the model year incentives. LOL.
It's a good thing. Will it last? Time will tell.
There's an old line that what we learn from history is that we don't learn from history, but GM seems to have some fairly bright people on board these days, hopefully they can manage to re-establish GM as a portfolio of brands covering at least the middle 2/3 of the car market.
Additionally, I don't know if it has ever happened to you, but I've had drivers making a left turn so slowly at an intersection to take a look, that they make others miss the left turn signal.
I also went back to read the reviews that were written (when the CTS was first introduced) by various car mags/reviewers, and they seem to have been altered just a bit. Seeing how the CTS has done much better than many perceived it would, a fair amount the harsh criticisms have been removed from their reviews. Go figure. I love my CTS, it rocks.
Because of their contempt prior to a full investigation, a great deal of them will have to eat crow, and I beleive it's now safe to say,(as my buds say when the underdog wins the football game) "crow is now being served on the promenade deck".
automole: I had a dual exhaust system installed at a local vogue dealer, they used chrome tips, and may sale just the chrome tips. They are of solid quality and look pretty sharp. It may be worth a shot asking them, if you have a local vogue.
thebug...
M
I do think however, that in the near future more auto manufacturers are going to jump on the art&science bandwagon and style their cars with more dramatic edges and a sharper more agressive look.
Take a look at this Ford for instance:
http://www.ford.com/en/vehicles/autoShows/detroit2003/ford/427/de- - - - fault.htm
Or this Lincoln:
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/2002- - - - - - /laautoshow/lincoln.continental.f34.500.jpg
Or BMW?:
http://www.conceptcarz.com/folder/photo.asp?car_id=5489&picID- - - - =27142&printAllPictures=&whichPage=&pagesize=&aut- - - - oshowID=&vehicleTypeID=1
Yes, they don't look exactly like the CTS but they share certain design traits that the CTS 'pioneered'. I think you'll be seeing more sharp edges, shiny grilles, and vertical headlamps soon....just my opinion.
http://www.autosite.com/editoria/asmr/svsedan.asp
CTS sales are up 34% from May 2002!
M
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/03images/det_ford427_1.jpg
If you look at the following page the article states that " Ford indicated that it may a possible design direction for a future lineup of Ford cars" and that "The center console runs the entire length of the interior creating the sensation that its four-passenger bucket seats form individual roomy fighter jet cockpits"
http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/030106-5.htm
As I said in my previous posts -"JUST MY OPINION", yours may differ.
It would seem that at least A FEW others share my opinion that it shares a likeness to the Cadillac design as seen by the comments at the bottom of this page...I found them amusing:
http://www.corral.net/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=239&papas- - s=&sort=1&thecat=536
It looks the way it does only because the tools and techniques available in the late '70s (it's quite an old product) for low-observability design didn't allow them to do something aerodynamically efficient or aesthetically attractive.
See the F-22 by comparison - the product of two-generation-newer design processes - a far smoother and more attractive shape (not that the Pentagon goes out of its way to make its planes pretty.)
As for the Ford noted above - it looks a lot like an Infiniti M45, and that's *not* something one should run around patting oneself on the back for. There was another Ford showcar of some months back that looked a little like a '61 Continental, it was a much more attractive shape.
My salesman tells me that they won't have the brochure until late July or August.
And if anybody has a dig cam pic and can post it or email it to me I would appreciate it.
Automole you are absolutely right
They were biased simply by the name on the hood. Never mind the whole new plant and other new engineering that went into the car. I'd like to see them eat crow, too.