Can Cadillac ever succeed in Europe?

[Bruce Nunnally]

Article: http://www.detnews.com/article/20101026/OPINION03/10260373/1148/AUTO01/Can-Cadillac-ever-succeed-in-Europe

This all sounds reasonable until you consider that the exact same makes/models compete quite well in other markets. I suspect Cadillac's sales in Europe have had the largest issues due to the sales network and pricing. A CTS in British pounds tends to be priced at the same number as the dollar price in the USA. Sell the CTS for the same *value* in Pounds or Euros as the US price and they would move a lot more of them. The Japanese manage to ship cars to the US and sell them for LESS than the Japanese market price, so don't cry to me about the high cost of shipping; work it out.

If a good reliable sales network can't be established via a third party then use the European market to experiment with direct factory stores and electronic online customization and sales. Setup the showrooms as only computer order centers with one demo model where one can place an order for a custom car to be built to specification and delivered promptly. Low capital per store, high tech.

[MAC]

When there are BMWs and Mercedes, etc., and a history of poorly built American cars, it's not going to be easy to tackle the European market. How many American cars do you see on the road in the U.S. compared to BMW's, etc. So Cadillac must be willing to compete all around including interior build quality if it has any chance of succeeding in Europe. Both my sister and brother-in-law own a Saab and they really like them. In fact, I like them too but my taste is Cadillac for the foreseeable future.