How Cadillac got where they are today

[Rusty_OToole]

Saw this on another web site and thought I should pass it on.

"Cadillac's director of brand and reputation strategy: We don't want to be an automotive brand"

Keep on the way you are going and you soon won't be.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2014/11/cadillacs-director-brand-reputation-strategy-dont-want-automotive-brand/

Sounds like they are trying to do for Cadillac what they did for Oldsmobile and Pontiac.

Edited January 13, 2015 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[John348]

Keep on the way you are going and you soon won't be.

I read the article, and to be honest I did not interpret what you did. I don't see what was said is going to put them out of business. They don't want to just be a brand is a good goal to have. I have been buying a new car every 3 years for the past 36 years, and I just bought a new Cadillac CTS, I have had other Cadillacs and I only had this one about 6 months but it is far exceeding every expectation of what I had

[earl e rizer]

I've read that and a few other articles. Cadillac is in trouble and heading for more if they don't get rid of these hipster yuppies who are obsessed with their iPhone. Remember the last time GM had management that bragged about not knowing anything about cars? It took over 20 years for the collapse, this time will be faster.

[cahartley]

If I was on the Board of Directors at GM I'd be dancing on the board room table if the public viewed Cadillac as a "brand".

However with the utterly horrible new conformist "styling" there is nothing left of the exteriors to differentiate them from Volkswagens any more.

[sfair]

I don’t buy products, I buy brands.

Melody: Brand loyalty went out the window when the first Toyotas and Hondas landed in North America.

[8E45E]

It was all too easy!! Move the product downmarket, and not listen to the public and the press!

I NEVER foresaw the time I would see a VW outclass and sell for more than a Cadillac, where they did with the Pheaton.

Craig

[Matt Harwood]

...With the VW Phaeton being a shining example of how not to do it. It was as bad a failure as the Edsel, despite being reborn as the Bentley Flying Spur.

I seem to keep ending up with Cadillacs, and I don't know why. I'm on my ninth or tenth one and some of my favorite hobby cars are Cadillacs. So I have a love/hate relationship with the brand. My '29 is a great car. My '41 60 Special was so good that I'm trying to replace it ASAP. But my 2012 CTS4 wagon is a bit of a disappointment. I don't disagree with Cadillac's philosophy and mission, and if you're thinking that the Cadillac of today is the same sad brand they were, say, 20 years ago, you're badly mistaken. The hardware is pretty danged good, albeit still a little rough around the edges. I'm none too fond of the latest anonymous styling on the new cars (the look is the main reason I bought the last-generation CTS wagon--it's GORGEOUS), but holy crap, the V-series cars are more than a match for anything BMW is putting out. In fact, have a look at BMW's vaunted M-division to see just how badly some other great companies have lost their way.

Cadillac is doing a lot of things right, and I don't think this article says anything negative or incorrect. Sure, for the guys who grew up in the good old bad old days where Cadillac could do no wrong, it will always seem like a big step backwards to build cars that today's public wants, but guess what--nobody's buying chrome-laden luxury barges with button-tufted velour upholstery anymore. Dynamically, my CTS is a blast to drive and it's only in the more subjective categories like feel that it falls down. It's still not as polished as the Europeans, but Cadillac is getting better every step of the way.

I don't understand the Cadillac hate when it can be demonstrably proven that the division is doing a lot of things right. You wanted rear-wheel-drive, well, Cadillacs are rear-wheel-drive. You wanted V8 power, Cadillacs have V8 power. You wanted luxury features, Cadillacs are full of them. You wanted distinctive styling, the Cadillacs (formerly) looked like nothing else on the road.

Instead, all I hear is the same-old crapola from guys who have no interest in buying a new Cadillac because they aren't building 1960 Fleetwoods anymore.

I'm not in love with my new Cadillac. I probably won't buy another one. But that doesn't mean I'm not proud of the steps the brand has taken to pull themselves out of the dungeon and rightly stand proud next to the top names in the world today. The future isn't the past. The key to success isn't trying to be what you used to be. This is just more of the tired "things were better before now" nonsense that we all spout when we see something that doesn't appeal to us yet puzzlingly appeals to younger people. It's not wrong, but you have to remember that your opinion probably doesn't reflect what a majority or even a significant minority wants today.

I say Kudos to Cadillac for not being a joke anymore. If you're looking for a punchline to this story, go have a look at the wreckage that is Lincoln today. I'm sure they have an MKwhatever that's a nice little Ford with leather seats for you...

[Rusty_OToole]

They sure made some lemons between 1980 and 2010. Glad to hear they decided to make good cars again. But if they choose people like Melody Lee to speak for them I don't think they stand much of a chance.

I could post the above article next to "The Penalty of Leadership" 1915 Cadillac ad but it would be too cruel.

Or maybe someone should forward both to Cadillac's CEO and say "these 2 statements are by official Cadillac spokespersons, 100 years apart. Read, reflect, then kill yourself".

http://www.wcroberts.org/Paige_History/Images/1915-01-02%20Cadillac.html

Edited January 15, 2015 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

If anyone still doesn't get it, there was a time Apple would have been proud to be known as "the Cadillac of cell phones". Now Cadillac's official "branding" spokesperson is dreaming of making the world think of Cadillac as the Apple of cars.

That is some comedown.

[CarNucopia]

I worked in marketing for quite a while and while I've never met her, Ms Lee reminds me of a personality type not uncommon to the profession. People like her seem to think the goal is to build a strong brand and that the product should support that goal. This rational makes the marketer the most person in the room and, in my experience, feeds the ego of some very self-important people.

To say that Apple is a success because it's a "Cool" brand shows how ubsurd this woman is. I would argue the innovation of the iPhone rivals the Model T in terms of transformational accomplishments. Yet she sees it as a marketing victory? Sorry if this is a bit of a rant, but I have had to defend my role in marketing against the impressions made by people like Ms. Lee. She doesn't represent the majority of people in the field. Let's hope she also doesn't represent the majority at Cadillac.

The good news is Caddy is making some great product. I will likely buy an ATS this year because it's a no-excuses fantastic car. While I wish the styling was a little more bold, I'm totally sold on the car because the driving dynamics are world-class.

[Guest]

“We want to be a global luxury brand that happens to sell cars. We don’t want to be an automotive brand.”

Ever think she has plans to do the things Porsche has been doing for quite a few years now???

Look at the Porsche design shop;

[h=2]Home - Driver's Selection by Porsche Design[/h]<cite>shop.porsche.com/usa</cite>

[RPrice]

Remember the Olds campaign? "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." With that slogan, they alienated a whole group of former Oldsmobile owners. Some people just don't get it. GM product managers managed to do what the competition couldn't do.l

Rog

[CarNucopia]

Between 1985 and 1988 (the year the campaign launched) Oldsmobile sales were down over 50%. The Olds tailspin/buyer exodus was already well under way. You're right that the ads didn't help, but they weren't the cause.

Remember the Olds campaign? "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." With that slogan, they alienated a whole group of former Oldsmobile owners. Some people just don't get it. GM product managers managed to do what the competition couldn't do.l

Rog

Edited January 17, 2015 by Buick64C (see edit history)

[Guest my3buicks]

Remember the Olds campaign? "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." With that slogan, they alienated a whole group of former Oldsmobile owners. Some people just don't get it. GM product managers managed to do what the competition couldn't do.l

Rog

Today's car manufacturers need to keep their past in mind, but in any situation in life, it is never good to dwell on the past but work to the future. The future is not chrome laden land barges that get 10 mpg, wallow over a set of railroad tracks, etc - today cars need to be drivers cars, they need to have the latest technology. Todays cars are part of the person, we spend way more hours in our cars than in years past. Our vehicles have become not only our status, but our offices, entertainment centers and our transportation. Cadillac is without question on the right track and there is no sustainable argument that they are not. Now Lincoln has yet to get it, we will see about them.

[Guest]

Remember the Olds campaign? "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." With that slogan, they alienated a whole group of former Oldsmobile owners. Some people just don't get it. GM product managers managed to do what the competition couldn't do.l

Rog

If I had a lot of money I would have loved to do a spoof commercial on "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." Here is how it goes, the announcer says pointing to the new Olds and says "It's not your father's Oldsmobile.", Then camera turns 180 degrees to the fathers Oldsmobile which is a nice 455 Hurst 442, which proceeds to light up the tires for a city block. The announcer says "that was your fathers Oldsmobile" !!!

[Marty Roth]

If I had a lot of money I would have loved to do a spoof commercial on "It's not your father's Oldsmobile." Here is how it goes, the announcer says pointing to the new Olds and says "It's not your father's Oldsmobile.", Then camera turns 180 degrees to the fathers Oldsmobile which is a nice 455 Hurst 442, which proceeds to light up the tires for a city block. The announcer says "that was your fathers Oldsmobile" !!!

Love it !!

.... or do the same thing, but with a J-2 Package & Posi-Traction-equipped 1957 Olds Super 88 convertible, top-down - Cruiser fender skirts & continental kit -- then leave that twin patch a block long...

...or would that be your grandfather's Oldsmobile?

It certainly was one of my dream cars when I was a High School Sophomore (along with the '57-'58 Hemi-engined Imperial convertible)

[60FlatTop]

In the 1990's I was driving a 1956 Holiday 88 with a 4 barrel as a daily driver. AND I was a father. I told people that when I first got into the hobby drivers would cut you off to get a look at the old car radiator badge to see what it was. If you didn't get a good look at my Olds hood ornament in your rear view mirror when I came up behind your '80's or '90's whatever there was no chance you were going the see it again. That was around the time the Intrigue came out. I remember walking around one for the first time and thinking it had all the appeal of a girlfriend my Mother would pick out for me.

Here is the Cadillac I should have kept, and it was a 4100!

Bernie