Cadillac Distances Itself From GM to Escape Bankruptcy Stigma

[Bruce Nunnally]

March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Cadillac, the luxury brand General Motors Co. acquired in 1909, is distancing itself from the Detroit-based automaker to avoid the stigma of the parent company’s $50 billion U.S.-backed bankruptcy last year.

Cadillac is erasing the GM name from its marketing and dealerships, changing e-mail addresses to @cadillac.com from @gm.com and exiting companywide promotions such as the Red Tag Event, said Nick Twork, a spokesman. The separation strategy was “absolutely” driven by GM’s restructuring, he said.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-09/cadillac-distances-itself-from-gm-to-escape-bankruptcy-stigma.html

GM plans to boost Cadillac’s U.S. sales by 28 percent to 140,000 units this year, Butler said. Annual Cadillac deliveries last rose in 2005, climbing 0.3 percent to 235,002, according to researcher Autodata Corp of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.