Twin roadblocks hinder GM’s Barra in rebuilding Cadillac brand

[Bruce Nunnally]

“The problem is, Cadillac is not BMW,” said Larry Dominique, president of ALG in Santa Monica, California, which sets and tracks auto leasing values. “The ATS is the product that Cadillac could have used to build brand equity, but it was overpriced and overproduced.” - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/twin-roadblocks-hinder-gms-barra-in-rebuilding-cadillac-brand#sthash.Ug4QyT8g.dpuf

[Cadillac Jim]

The article and our last Cadyinfo Chat (http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=44350#entry225181) overlap a whole lot here. According to the article, the ATS was expected to sell to BMW 3-series people and the CTS to BMW 5-series people. In the chat, I offered my viewpoint that Cadillac should focus on Cadillac customers, not BMW customers, in part because many BMW people just won't consider domestic cars. Most of the article goes along the points Bruce made in the Chat; not surprising to me because Bruce follows Cadillac in depth, which I don't.

But the ATS is the right car for a lot of people right now. The dealers are offering deep discounts, but only the dealers are advertising this; I hadn't heard of it. The main things I am aware of about ATS concern the V-series versions: The ATS V-Series offers performance nearly comparable to my 2011 CTS-V, and the ATS-V is up for homologation as a GT3 car, meaning it will likely be raced next season in the Pirelli World Championship. The CTS-V has gained 84 advertised horsepower and lost a couple of hundred pounds, but is probably still to heavy for the GT3 class. Etc.

But my personal interest is in the performance leaders, and I don't pay much attention to the great bulk of sales of any given make or model. That's just me. Right now Cadillac is offering world-class performance in several classes at price points far below the competition.

Last Wednesday on the way home from work, a fellow in a Cooper S waved to me and when he caught my eye, he gave me a thumbs-up and a grin. I signified that I liked his Cooper S, too, which I do, very much; I'm considering one for my wife so that I can drive it occasionally.

[Bruce Nunnally]

I agree that we should in turn focus on why the ATS is such a nice sports sedan, to help people understand that Cadillac has this superlight, quick sedan that nobody knows how great it is.

[Cadillac Jim]

An interesting idea occurred to me a few weeks ago. Notice how the clear headlight covers of many makes becomes cloudy or even yellowed with time? GM could offer renovating such covers at cost, and route owners of cars in each price range to the appropriate GM dealer in the same price range. At that point, if the repair is an overnight one, the dealer can offer a courtesy car or rental. If not, ask them to take a test drive, or let them drive themselves home or to work to wait for the car. And, don't do the dealer courtesy car trick of using the car that the *dealer* wants them to buy, use the car that the *customer* wants to drive. Escalades to SUV people, ATS to sport model people, etc.

The headlight covers of many makes, including most imports, takes two to four years to go cloudy, about the term of the typical lease or payment/trade cycle.

I know of a few disgruntled BMW owners/drivers. They don't have the trouble-free high performance tires that you and I do; air loss and flats are a constant problem in suburbs with old pavement and such. If someone in a four-year-old BMW gets his headlights cleared up and drives an ATS, this could be an inroad to improving market share among such people. A walk down the used-car lot line-up can show that this doesn't happen with GM cars (unless someone drives in sandstorms, in which case the headlight cover is the least of their abrasions).

The downside is that GM would have to have a source of headlight covers for a lot of makes, because sometimes they are cracked or damaged, or they can't be polished up because of deep discoloration.