Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
While I was disappointed to see the new Cadillac CEO decide to up-scale the prices to stay at levels near the German manufacturers, and decide to move Cadillac's headquarters to New York, where it think the cars will lose their focus on providing a better driving experience, and lose engineering synergy with corporate GM. I think Cadillac needed one more generation of cars priced at 85% of their German counterparts while offering better driving dynamics to gain market share though convincing buyers Cadillac offers better value. One more generation of offering excellent driving cars with a better reliability record and I think Cadillac could have succeeded.
But your comments show exactly what Cadillac is fighting, unsubstantiated bias toward their products and badge snobbery. So you thought the CTS was a good car and almost bought one, but there was a Chevy Spark in the showroom? That comment has nothing to do about how well the CTS is made, nor how well (and better) it drives than a BMW, but only has to do with badge snobbery. If that is your concern for purchasing any car, then Cadillac has missed its mark with you. You really don't care how a car drives, but rather what badge is on the hood. And that's really the issue, BMWs have gotten so shitty because most people want a shit-driving rolling computer that reads their e-mail, and shifts for them while they drive, but with a perceived premium badge on the hood. Cadillac's impetus to attack the Germans (really just BMW) at their game of offering driving dynamics is about 15 years too late.
The BMW 3 and 5 series have become the Cadillacs of yore, but because of Roundel whores only care about the badge on the hood, they pay whatever price for a car that drives no better than a Buick (probably wore now - LOL). And these buyers would know a good-driving car if it fell on their face. And the whole German luxury thing is really BMW and Audi riding the coat tails of Mercedes Benz. Mercedes has always been the luxury manufacturer of Germany, not BMW nor Audi. 15 years ago Audi upped it's game with restyling a front-drive Volkswagen and putting in a real nice interior. BMW has been chasing Lexus ever since the early 90's and has shit all over itself in the process. Reliability (but for rare instances) has not been an attribute of BMW nor Audi, and is still not today. If you are an old turd like me you know these things. In the 1970s and up to the mid-'80s Audi used to build complete pieces of shit. And BMWs offered very little in terms of luxury (but they drove head and shoulders above everything else) until Lexus showed up - with its Toyota reliability reputation right from the get-go.
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Truth be told, I'd probably feel the same way. When you're paying BMW money you expect more than just "badge snobbery". If I'm buying a car from the same showroom as where a Chevy Spark is sitting, I'd question the type of customer service I'd get post purchase too.
I think Cadillac is doing the right things, if you want people to view your brand in the same light as BMW, Audi, etc., you need to provide a similar experience, not just with how the car drives, but in how you purchase one too.
You'd expect to pay top dollar for a steak at Delmonico's in NYC wouldn't you? If McDonalds sold that exact same steak, would you be willing to walk into one and pay the same price knowing it was exactly the same steak?