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Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65
I'd argue a flagship sedan along the lines of whatever a proposed CT8 would be does more for the brand's image than anything else. It's not going to light the sales charts on fire but it will draw more attention to Cadillac and help reestablish its position in the luxury market.
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Sure, but at what cost? Does that "attention drawn" to the brand yield guaranteed sales like a XT3 and XT7 on the showroom floor? I agree it would be nice to have if there weren't huge gaping holes in the hot segments of their product lineup.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65
Now CTS ATPs are at record levels, but sales have suffered as a result (in addition to the downturn in the luxury sedan market).
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Sales (volume) isn't the goal, profit is. If CTS profit decreased 5% last year in a market that contracted 20% then I'm not concerned. No one in this discussion knows how much profit is being made on the third gen CTS vs previous Sigma II car. Cadillac wanted to move the car up market and they did. Now it's dangerously close to the CT6 price point so maybe it will come down a touch.
I hate to see a sub-compact Cadillac. The Germans went there to target lower income but these cars are garbage with nice badges. This is what Cadillac needs to avoid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shaffe
Alpha based CTS went on sale in October of 13 as 2014. So we have 2 years of Alpha CTS and sales have declined each year of Alpha CTS. Yes like you said, part of it is lux sedans as a whole are down, but Cadillac seems to be getting hit a bit harder...but its not because the cars are crappy so what is it?
BTW you need to come around more, this place can get boring with out you to debate lol
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You are correct (pains me to say) the CTS was in its second full year last year. Perception lags reality. As Fenwick pointed out, Cadillac positioned itself with the CTS as the cheaper alternative to the Germans and for 10 years perpetuated that image. Then Johan decides to push for more premium products and prices. I'm probably one of the few that agree with his strategy. We are slogging through the growing pains right now. The products are better than they've ever been and ATPs reflect the move up-market. But there lingers the perception that Cadillac isn't on par with the Germans, and in many ways they're not. But they are moving in the right direction, just takes time.