Cadillac's Greatest Missed Opportunity 

"JR1" (type35bugatti) 05/03/2017 at 08:27 • Filed to: None

9

39

So beautiful I cry every time I think about what could have been.

pip bip - choose Corrour > JR1 05/03/2017 at 08:31

0

oh well close enough

Shoop > JR1 05/03/2017 at 08:41

0

This car is my dream car.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > JR1 05/03/2017 at 08:42

4

On a related note, I think GM does stuff too fast to be good for them.

The V8-6-4? 30 years down the line it’s commonplace tech, but they brought it in too soon and got bad press over it.

The Cimarron was introduced before it was technically “finished”. Later versions were OK, but never got over the stigma of the early ones. Even the concept was sound, but not at that point in time. And look at where we are today, with “Budget/compact luxury” from Audi... which are basically rebadged and “enhanced” VW Golfs.

The Fiero... *copy/paste* was introduced before it was technically “finished”. Later versions were OK, but never got over the stigma of the early ones.

The Olds 350 Diesel. Diesel? In a car? Woah. And yet, today, diesels are available in almost any type of vehicle. But because GM tried to jump into a whole new powertrain concept (for North America) on the heels of the Merc 300SD as quickly as possible... yup. You got it.

Etc.

Tapas > JR1 05/03/2017 at 08:48

1

Agreed.

LongbowMkII > pip bip - choose Corrour 05/03/2017 at 08:54

2

Would DD, test drive at least.

shop-teacher > JR1 05/03/2017 at 08:57

0

Whatever year this was making the rounds on the auto show circuit (2014?), I damn near skipped that year’s show. I decided to go solely so I could see the El Miraj in person. It was totally worth it.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:02

2

As good as their normal products are, the Ciel and Elmiraj are truly Standard of the World.

xyzabc > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 05/03/2017 at 09:09

4

Published in 1915 (102 years ago).

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > xyzabc 05/03/2017 at 09:12

0

About right.

xyzabc > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:13

1

The best designs will always win.

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:14

0

the escala or whatever its called looks really good but i doubt it will see production

Sweet Trav > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:14

1

So the problem with this car, even if you park it next to a Bentley Continental is that this thing is MASSIVE. The styling will live on in other Cadillac products, but my sources told me when they market tested it with “Ultra-premium” buyers... they all said it was too big and were worried about parking it. My guess is none of them had a ‘70 Fleetwood.

Ash78, voting early and often > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 05/03/2017 at 09:17

2

Well said. This affects more than just GM. I remember in the early 2000s trying to sell the Pacifica and Freestyle. People were downright confused (and even angry) about why someone would want a vehicle that wasn’t really a car, but wasn’t really an SUV. It was like some sort of “crossover” or something...

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Ash78, voting early and often 05/03/2017 at 09:32

1

I’m with those people.

WilliamsSW > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:33

0

This is so so true. It’s gorgeous, and could be a great aspirational car. But more importantly for Cadillac, I think that they need a ‘halo’ car that’s missing from their lineup. It would give the brand more credibility - the Lexus LFA and Ford GT are good examples of cars that elevated the brand, I think. If Cadillac wants to play with Mercedes, BMW, etc., they need that. They’re already doing a lot of things right, but are still struggling to convince buyers of that, it seems.

Ash78, voting early and often > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 05/03/2017 at 09:43

1

Crossovers are just the melting pot of vehicles. What are you, racist or something? /s

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Ash78, voting early and often 05/03/2017 at 09:44

1

Carcist

Milky > JR1 05/03/2017 at 09:46

2

With this car and every cool car:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

404 - User No Longer Available > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 05/03/2017 at 10:01

1

Actually I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. It almost sound like there’s a corporate order to build liftbacks instead of sedans, with Buick Regal taking lead. Escala almost looked like a styling preview for the next ATS (or whatever Shitty-4 name they came up with).

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > JR1 05/03/2017 at 10:03

0

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > JR1 05/03/2017 at 10:33

1

Cadillacs failure to produce their concept vehicles in any form is exactly why they will never really compete with the luxury market. Lexus produced theirs and look at all the attention and respect they’ve gotten.

kanadanmajava1 > JR1 05/03/2017 at 10:46

1

Cadillac has made several interesting concept cars.

I’m not saying the Cadillac Sixteen’s design was flawless, but it still had something that competitors weren’t offering. This kind of a car wouldn’t of course be selling much, but it could be a flagship for the brand.

Voyage from late 80's was ready face future’s 200mph super highways. Instead we got potholes and Escalades.

For some weird reason, Voyage is still one of my favorite futuristic concept cars. To the young me it looked exactly the way that the future was going to look.

JR1 > pip bip - choose Corrour 05/03/2017 at 12:04

0

What a flop that was

JR1 > Shoop 05/03/2017 at 12:04

0

You are me both

JR1 > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 05/03/2017 at 12:05

1

That advertisement below could not have summed up what you said any better

JR1 > shop-teacher 05/03/2017 at 12:06

1

Pretty sure I was at the Cadillac booth for a sold 45min or an hour taking in this car. I ate my lunch on a bench nearby just to watch it.

JR1 > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero 05/03/2017 at 12:09

0

I think it won’t either. The end of the sedan in ney according to all automotive publications 

JR1 > Sweet Trav 05/03/2017 at 12:10

0

That is such a stupid argument/worry anymore. All the parking sensors, self parking, back up cameras, etc. make parking stupid easy.

JR1 > WilliamsSW 05/03/2017 at 12:11

1

I think the mid engine test mule is a Cadillac  

WilliamsSW > JR1 05/03/2017 at 12:14

0

Presume you mean the mid-engine ‘Corvette’ that everyone is worked up about? That would be a great idea, IMHO—and tell the bean counters in Detroit to STFU about not letting a GM car outperform the Corvette.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > JR1 05/03/2017 at 12:14

0

Weird, isn’t it.

JR1 > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 05/03/2017 at 12:14

0

That is a great point.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > JR1 05/03/2017 at 12:15

2

I’m full of them I swear. No one ever listens

JR1 > kanadanmajava1 05/03/2017 at 12:18

0

I think you made a good point with the Sixteen. That is a car people would have talked about forever. Something for Cadillac to rest their laurels on.

Not so sure about the second one though. 

shop-teacher > JR1 05/03/2017 at 12:31

1

Yeah, it’s the most beautiful car made in the last decade to my eyes. Too bad they only made the one :/

Sweet Trav > JR1 05/03/2017 at 13:59

0

Are you in the market for a 200K + car? No? Then your opinion is invalid to GM.

JR1 > WilliamsSW 05/03/2017 at 14:28

1

I think that idea is gone. Look at the ZL1 and CTS-V those outperform some of the Vettes 

JR1 > Sweet Trav 05/03/2017 at 14:29

0

Ain’t that the sad truth

WilliamsSW > JR1 05/03/2017 at 15:12

1

Thankfully, that seems to be true. And hopefully they’ve figured out that if a car outperforms the Vette, the response should be to make the Vette quicker, not dumb down the other car.