Cadillac used to be a leader

[billyoung]

Cadillac used to be a leader in styling and technology designing cars that had engines and transmissions that far outlasted their warranty periods. The public was well aware of this. Cadillac also was known for deft details for example the beautifully detailed Cadillac crest proudly displayed on and inside the car that drew the potential customer in either new or used so much so that once a person stepped up to a new Cadillac he could trade for new with not much economic hardship because the used car market for Cadillac was so strong. The so called Cadillac of today is so look alike to cheaper cars that a close friend of mine who does photoshop took a picture at his local Cadillac dealer of two new ones and photoshopped a Kia grill on them and you cannot tell the difference. You cannot photoshop a picture of my 1968 DeVille or 1992 Brougham with anything else. Thy are both rolling works of art and substance. I recently was at the local Cadillac dealer when I had the air conditioning charged on my 1968 and when I was checking out a man walked in and announced his new Celestiq he had just bought was just towed in. I was speechless. Better he than me, I would have demanded they take it back. One Mans Opinion.

[Series75]

I see your point.  But consider that Cadillac placed first row 1 & 2 pole position at the 24 hours of Le Mans.  And finished in the top ten.   My CT6 V is more advanced, with superior build quality, than the combined quality of the 1966 Brougham and 1999 Fleetwood Limited that I liquidated to fund the V purchase.   
Tom CLC # 6866

[Bryan J Moran]

Bill -
You got to see a Celestiq? Wow.  I hope that $350,000 + car was brought in on a flatbed.  Imagine a hook. 

Cadillac is a shell of it's former self but I don't see GM abandoning the brand. they have pretty much abandoned Buick.

[Cadillac Jack 82]

Cadillac just chased the copper pennies of the world instead of ensuring their prestige held.  Copper pennies eventually dull and turn green.  Prestige, if done right, lasts forever.

[Big Fins]

Have GM build the equivalent of a 1976 Fleetwood Brougham in size and comfort. The manufacturer wouldn't be able to keep up the demand. They would need a dedicated factory. Have every car tailor made to the owner. Color, interior, roof or no roof, options that modern vehicles have etc.... The list could be endless.

Fuel mileage and size be damned. If a poll were taken among potential buyers, I'm siding with a mass purchase by even the simple millionaire crowd. The really Elite can order a Series 75. Think of the potential!

[billyoung]

Yes John, imagine if they just built one retro car. It would be so refreshing and unique I bet it would sell like hot cakes especially if you could actually choose colors, options and a couple fabrics as well as leather. Actually order your car rather than just take the white one with the black cloth and bucket seats but actually have a bench seat? But alas, Companies just want you to buy what they want to build not what you want to buy.

[cadillacmike68]

John, Bill,

Don't we wish??? But, I couldn't afford one.

John, How was your trip back to FL? We got rained on on Monday morning, but otherwise it was a good drive back.

I noticed several years ago while driving up to Chattanooga, that the way up was all uphill, and conversely, the way back was all downhill, because the trip computer in the 2011 CTS showed an astounding difference in average MPG and the vehicle range kept increasing not decreasing (up to a point) on the way back. I'd like to find an elevation chart to see the actual elevation changes up and down I-75. And what a crazy road I-24 is!!!
 

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Without getting into the inevitable debates about society, I will tell this little story.
Years ago we lived in an area that was nice but the economy had changed and the area wasn't improving as well as surrounding areas.
Right in the middle was a Cadillac dealer that had been there for years and years.
One day I was driving and I looked at the dealership. Right under the Cadillac sign on the side of the building,  they had a big banner that said "Credit Help Here."

Cadillac lost its prestige when GMAC began financing a 490 credit score for 7 years on a Cadillac.
If almost anyone can get one, then it isn't special anymore.

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

Nothing is forever. Before World War II, the largest retailer in America was Montgomery Ward. After the war, Sears eclipsed them. Appliances and consumer electronics used to be dominated by RCA, GE, and Zenith. There are many more examples. All of them are gone. I would be willing to bet that the men who ran these companies thought that the ride would last forever.

The US car industry got arrogant to the point that they thought that they could shove anything out the door and that the dummies would buy it. They learned that there was a limit to what they could get away with. Cadillac used to have the highest brand loyalty in the industry. They lost that when they started to peddle an inferior product. My father had a 1985 Sedan DeVille that was incredible troublesome from new. Another family member had a 1976 DeVille that rusted away before our eyes. I had a 1987 Allante that I would not wish on my worst enemy. We all know about the HT4100's and the Northstars. You can only screw people so many times and get away with it. Once trust in quality has been broken, a product stops being perceived as intrinsically desirable. The customers who used to buy a new Cadillac every couple of years have either aged out of the market or gone elsewhere. Younger customers are not impressed by Cadillac's traditional halo. At best, they may remember the brand as what their grandfather drove. The world moves on.

[Cadillac Jack 82]

Nothing is forever. Before World War II, the largest retailer in America was Montgomery Ward. After the war, Sears eclipsed them. Appliances and consumer electronics used to be dominated by RCA, GE, and Zenith. There are many more examples. All of them are gone. I would be willing to bet that the men who ran these companies thought that the ride would last forever.

The US car industry got arrogant to the point that they thought that they could shove anything out the door and that the dummies would buy it. They learned that there was a limit to what they could get away with. Cadillac used to have the highest brand loyalty in the industry. They lost that when they started to peddle an inferior product. My father had a 1985 Sedan DeVille that was incredible troublesome from new. Another family member had a 1976 DeVille that rusted away before our eyes. I had a 1987 Allante that I would not wish on my worst enemy. We all know about the HT4100's and the Northstars. You can only screw people so many times and get away with it. Once trust in quality has been broken, a product stops being perceived as intrinsically desirable. The customers who used to buy a new Cadillac every couple of years have either aged out of the market or gone elsewhere. Younger customers are not impressed by Cadillac's traditional halo. At best, they may remember the brand as what their grandfather drove. The world moves on.

Very well said

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Not just Cadillac. Mercedes and BMW have been knocked off their lofty perch some time ago. Even the redoubtable Toyota has quality issues that would've been unheard of not long ago. I think at least some of the blame goes to these mindless EPA regulations that car manufacturers must adhere to. You can only squeeze so much out of a drop of fuel before the game isn't worth the candle.

[jwwseville60]

We are all stuck in the past, and for me thats perfect.
Ive turned our laundry room into an homage to 1950s-60s MCM kitchen products and appliances. I miss the simplicity of yore, or the illusion of it.

I'll be the last holdout guy with my wife at the supermarket getting groceries in our old Caddies when Im 100 in 37 years. Even if I have to make the gas myself. Or I'll have it converted to EV.

The Escalade IQ is a picture perfect new age Caddy in that it targets younger, urban hipster buyers of big EV SUVs. (Yuck!) But it cannot go off road very much or you will damage it by hitting the battery undertray hard. It's 9500 lbs. It's ridiculous, so many screens and gimmicks. I do like the styling however.

A future Caddy retro EV sedan would be great in a few years. But I hate screens and software glitches and complexity. I want simplicity. I want chrome and fins.
Alas, its a forlorn hope...

[James Landi]

"You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood ... back home to a young person's dreams of glory and of fame ... back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting, but which are changing all the time – back home to the escapes of Time and Memory." From Thomas Wolfe's " You Can Never Go Home Again."

[jaxops]

  I like the comment about custom tailoring a Cadillac for its buyer.  Custom coaches abounded through the 1970s (Hess & Eisenhardt for instance). 
  Also, if you are buying a new Cadillac, or drive a classic LaSalle, Lincoln, or Cadillac, who cares about gas mileage?     

[David King (kz78hy)]

I like the comment about custom tailoring a Cadillac for its buyer.  Custom coaches abounded through the 1970s (Hess & Eisenhardt for instance). 
  Also, if you are buying a new Cadillac, or drive a classic LaSalle, Lincoln, or Cadillac, who cares about gas mileage?     

Commission a Celestiq.  The car is custom built to your choices.

https://www.cadillac.com/electric/celestiq?srsltid=AfmBOooMifxrUpoSrez8UAf6BXx1un9exkk8fC33Vew8PvZX-0gNwGG5