Johan de Nysschen death watch continues- August sales number not just a flesh wound

"highmodulus" (highmodulus) 09/01/2015 at 16:10 • Filed to: None

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Cadillac retail sales slipped 9.4%, following a 7.1% decrease in July. For the year to date, total Cadillac sales are down 2.8% and retail sales are down 5%.

How much longer before Barra pulls the plug?

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Brian, The Life of > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:13

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But ... moving to NYC was supposed to change everything!

Ash78, voting early and often > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:13

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“But a 9.4% decrease is now just a QT6% increase. And 7.1% decrease is QX3% increase. It’s all about perspective, Mary!”

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:13

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On Cadillac?

It’ll take more than a 5% drop to kill Cadillac.

TheOnelectronic > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:15

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Cadillac builds good cars; America disapproves.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian, The Life of 09/01/2015 at 16:17

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I thought ditching names for alphanumerics was supposed to change everything?

Brian, The Life of > HammerheadFistpunch 09/01/2015 at 16:19

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That too!

lone_liberal > Brian, The Life of 09/01/2015 at 16:22

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And don’t forget raising prices! That’s a sure-fire way to guarantee sales success.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TheOnelectronic 09/01/2015 at 16:24

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If Cadillac built cars like they used to (1950s-70s), I think they would sell better. Nobody fills the well built couch cruiser void anymore. When people think of Cadillac, they think of comfort, not lap times.

TheOnelectronic > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 09/01/2015 at 16:27

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No one fills that gap because all those cars died out due to poor sales. There’s a reason the Town Car, Caprice, and Crown Vic aren’t being made anymore, even with the sales to taxis and law enforcement agencies.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > TheOnelectronic 09/01/2015 at 16:29

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I meant when they built actual luxury cars, world beaters, not craptastic cars with spongy seats.

highmodulus > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 09/01/2015 at 16:31

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No, on the current brand president who is proving the Infiniti experience was an accurate prediction of his Cadillac performance.

spanfucker retire bitch > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:31

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I really wish I had the money for an ATS-V and a CTS-V. I’d be all over that shit.

RallyWrench > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:32

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Breaking: JDN FTL, 86’d for CT BS.

PatBateman > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:35

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He’s been president of the company for 13 months. We’re still in the first damned inning; don't pull the pitcher yet.

nermal > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 16:44

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So they’re moving more to fleets and rental agencies. Awesome for the brand.

What they need more than anything is younger buyers in the lower level sedans and CUVs. But they’re not getting it.

The A3 / 320 / CLA are all pulling in younger buyers and mopping up in the $30k lease-mobile range, which will be good for the brand as those buyers move up.

The new Escalades and -V cars sure are nice, but expensive though.

TheOnelectronic > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 09/01/2015 at 16:44

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Their cars were world-beaters back then because the world wasn’t playing. Japan had barely gotten their car industry off their own soil, and German car imports were rare. We’re not in an era anymore where luxury just means a really soft suspension and soft seats. To compete in the luxury car market today a car needs a certain amount of performance, for bragging rights if nothing else.

Because, honestly, even sports cars today are incredibly comfortable. We’ve learned how to design seats, we’ve learned how to engineer suspensions that are sporty yet compliant, and we’ve come up with synthetic materials that are damn good replacements for natural versions at far lower cost. There’s really no way to raise the bar in luxury without doing absurd things like upholstering the entire car in kangaroo leather.

And the thing is, I can only think of two cars that are evaluated solely based on their luxury level; The Rolls Royce Phantom (maybe ghost?) and the Maybach. Both are extremely expensive cars that aren’t intended for the purchaser to actually drive.

Even the flagship Mercedes have performance chops to back up their opulence.

To a lesser extent, you can’t quantify luxury. In a world of magazines and website reviews, most people are going to form an opinion of a car based on the numbers it puts up and a few qualitative points that are familiar. Things like “It’s really comfortable” aren’t going to make enough of a point to convince someone to overlook the decades of absolutely shit-tastic Cadillacs. Cars like the CTS-V, that can put down insane lap times and have reviewers describing it like the second coming, THAT’s what’s put Cadillac back on the map. Ignore sales for a second and think about reputation; They’ve gone from being one of the larger jokes of the American auto industry a la Oldsmobile to being one of the premier players in terms of American performance cars. I think, and this is just my uneducated opinion, that the sales slump is due to their older market dying off or becoming uninterested, and the younger market that they’re starting to appeal to not being in the place to buy yet. I think the effect of their improving reputation is something that is going to take time to manifest. Look how long after their “glory days” Toyota really became a dominant player.

And my last point, I think you’re also neglecting that the world of luxury has moved on. It’s all SUVs now. I think the Escalade is going more down the path you’re talking about. It may have a way to go yet to beat the top dogs from Land Rover, Porsche, etc..., but they might just pull it off. If they can get over the typical GM interior materials shitshow.

/sleep deprivation and red bull fueled rant

Leadbull > Brian, The Life of 09/01/2015 at 17:15

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No, he just didn't want to live in Detroit.

Textured Soy Protein > HammerheadFistpunch 09/01/2015 at 17:22

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Don’t forget ditching alphanumerics for other alphanumerics . That was going to be a game changer.

highmodulus > PatBateman 09/01/2015 at 20:04

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but he’s beaned the first two batters already!

PatBateman > highmodulus 09/01/2015 at 20:39

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Nah. He’s struck out two batters (V Bros) but someone hit a homer off him and there’s a runner on second. He needs to pitch himself out of the side.