Designing a Cadillac sports car is one hardest tasks in the industry

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 04/04/2015 at 16:27 • Filed to: None

1

7

Why? Because you have to start from scratch, literally.

Johan de Nysschen gave AG an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! at the NY Auto Show, and sports cars were among the topics.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

There are good news and bad news.

Good news: Cadillac will ultimately build a high end sports car/supercar.

Bad news: Cadillac will ultimately build a high end sports car/supercar.

Other notable news:

- de Nysschen will probably step down after the launch of the said sports car( That would be my last product; were his exact words);

- de Nysschen also hopes that the sports car will be e something entirely different , when compared to the Audi R8, and that it will stay true to the Cadillac heritage ;

- the Elmiraj land yacht, will not be built;

I never suspected that Johan de Nysschen lacks ambition, but producing a high end sports car or supercar that's totally different from what the competition is offering, based on Cadillac's heritage seems almost impossible. Why? Because sports cars were never Cadillac's strong point. If you ask people to name a few Cadillac sports cars, they won't be able to do it.

If they opt for an FR configuration, just for the stupid reason of keeping the distance from the R8, they may end up with something like this.

And in that case, Cadillac could be in trouble with the sharks of the segment.

Being more flamboyant than Ferrari or more technological than the GT-R is pretty hard.

But the R8's top attributes, like precision, built quality or sharpness, seem to be easier to match by Cadillac's design and engineering departments.

Sweet Trav > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/04/2015 at 16:29

1

You DO NOT have to start from scratch or is de Nysschen such an idiot he forgot about this gem....

I personally love how he literally says "we will not be successful imitating others" when that is the man's playbook to the letter. Stupid Naming Scheme, not building the elmiraj. making his cars match up perfectly to MB and BMW. Hopefully Barra wakes up and cans this phony soon.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Sweet Trav 04/04/2015 at 16:34

0

He isn't, but did you read the whole article?

That resembles the Audi R8, a little bit too much, for people not to notice.

So the design will probably stay sacked, even if I like it.

Sweet Trav > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/04/2015 at 16:37

2

The Cien is a concept from '02. Long before the R8 existed, it is also the cornerstone of Cadilac's art and design language for the past 12 years.

This man is a fool. Hyundai got the good luxury guy from Audi, GM got the runt. I'd tell him that to his face.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Sweet Trav 04/04/2015 at 17:09

0

Timing is irrelevant, the packaging and idea behind the two cars are too similar, GM just wasn't able to get that concept to market and Audi did. The rest is history.

And stop mashing things together, Hundai(Kia, actually) Peter Schreyer who is a designer, GM got Johan de Nysschen who is a natural leader.

The naming scheme is subjective, but most psychologists will tell you that because the brain works a lot with instinctual and logical patterns, alphanumerical naming schemes, based on the type of the car, its size, place in the lineup, price, internal manufacturer coding etc., are easier to remember once the brain memorizes them. This system also makes it easier to almost instantly identify a car's place in the lineup, once you hear its name, without having to memorize the names of all the cars in the lineup and their respective places(not all car buyers are also car enthusiasts).

And you can tell de Nysschen anything to his face, but that won't change that fact that he was a top executive at multiple companies around the world, and you probably weren't.

Justin T. Westbrook > Sweet Trav 04/04/2015 at 17:51

0

And no one would have any respect for you.

Justin T. Westbrook > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/04/2015 at 17:54

0

Do a three seat supercar! THREE SEATS! MCLAREN F1! DO IT!

Nobody else is.. including McLaren. Fuck it, make it three wheeled - two up front, one in the back. DO IT. It will be.. odd ;) Put whoever Batman is at that time in it. $$$$$$$

Sweet Trav > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 04/04/2015 at 19:28

1

I may not be an exec, but I do work in the industry... Trust me, Cadillac had better start selling some cars and pronto, or people and programs are going to start to get curtailed.

Alpha-numeric naming schemes are lazy. Build a car so good everyone remembers it: Corvette, Mustang, Camry, Camaro. Next you're going to tell me that those are old names with a storied past. There are newer cars with names that resonate well: Fusion, Fit, Hell they can't build enough Buick Encore's right now. Both the Fusion and the Fit have great customer loyalty rates.

Alpha-numeric names are forgettable, boring and focus attention on the brand. So you may have a 1-er BMW, but ya know at least its a BMW and for some that may give you credibility with the car buying public. Cadillac doesn't have the same brand equity as MB, BMW, or even Lexus, and most likely never will again. Everyone talks about the legacy of Cadillac, the only Cadillac that has truly mattered for the past decade IS the Escalade, a car so good, and so well marketed that it's going to keep its name when all others are losing them. Is Cadillac building some good cars... Yes and no. I have been actively shopping for a car to purchase this winter in the 45-50k range. Cadillac offers very little for the "Entry" luxury range. A turbo 4-pot and a low rent interior for 45-50k in either a CTS or ATS. I'm sorry, but the general fit and feel of a BMW in that price range or less, is far better.

de Nysschen may be a natural leader, but he is very out of touch with the company he works for, those who he is leading and what customers want in a Cadillac. His comments about not imitating others made me laugh out loud. Perhaps sadder is that this is the best that GM can come up with to run what should be their most profitable division. Cadillac now wants to be crown jewel at GM. It wants all the best platforms and engines to be Cadillac specific. This simply will not work. It's scale economics. Cadillac has to be profitable to afford the new research and right now their sales are abysmal. Johan is spending money, margin from high profit pickup trucks that investors want to see in dividends and investment overseas. I think the board will give de Nysschen a year and then let Ed Wellburn make Cadillac successful again if Johan cant get the job done. (Spoiler alert: He Can't)

Plus the idea that Cadillac is going to conquer top tier luxury brands is laughable with their current line up and brand equity. The only reason why the first gen CTS sold so well was because it was a 5-series sized car for 3-series money. Cadillac ought to focus on Lexus and Infinity, and once it is king of the second tier, it should look into winning over the German-car buying public.