akirby Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 So after spending billions and simply just cut the platform and add billions more to the fwd platform to accommodate the additional and compromised vehicles (not to mention what the hell the Camaro will sit on?) and GM is to be alright?. I guess you say that enough it would come true... If larger cars sales are getting smaller still at this point what the benefit of certain cars going fwd if GM already have a rwd platform ready to use or just wait many model years to make a mediocre fwd competitor?. Wow - you really really really don't listen to a thing we say, do you? Nobody here is saying that Caddy has to go FWD. Nobody. Ever. So please stop saying that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 So after spending billions and simply You're making this much more complicated than it needs to be. 1) Observe the business plans of successful competitors 2) Implement those plans, improving where possible 3) Profit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 Now compare that with what Cadillac did with introducing its new ATS and CTS: 1. Ats was introduced alongside discounted Sigma CTS and for almost 12 months its premium pricing was picked apart. 2. After 12 months of run out Sigma CTS with heavy incentives, Alpha CTS arrives with significantly increased pricing. You couldn't have given a bigger middle finger to your buyer audience if you tried. De Nysschen is siting there listening to astute business men telling him, "we can't sell your products at those high prices" De Nysschien nods and basically says,"yes I know things are tough but in 2020 things will be much better, I see it and you don't" This is the idiotic bureaucracy that completely undermines Cadillac's best efforts with products, products that don't hit their marks because they haven't been properly matched to the intended buyer groups because Cadillac hasn't bothered to research who buys their cars, they don't car, they just want to be BMW or MB. And that's what's killing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-S Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 I think you guys ought to contact GM's board and offer to run the company for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 There are dozens, if not hundreds of people at GM that know these things. We are emphatically *not* geniuses with special knowledge here. If GM won't listen to them, they're surely not going to listen to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2b2 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) In recent months, something has changed at Cadillac, sales of SRX, XTS, ATS and CTS have slowed up and their inventories all ballooned. Everything but Escalade has slowed up, I don't know what's behind it but dealers are worried. I know it's winter but can anyone explain why everything seems to have come off the boil so to speak, is Cadillac suffering from competitors using aggressive leasing, not enough incentives, what is it? ...products that don't hit their marks because they haven't been properly matched to the intended buyer groups because Cadillac hasn't bothered to research who buys their cars... I'm learning to hallucinate on command... ...how's this: Cadillac successfully made their vehicles for their target buyers they even marketed/advertized correctly & effectively To Their Target. Said target was just smaller than they thought/assumed & they've ALL got their Cadillacs now. re- Edited January 20, 2015 by 2b2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 So let's be constructive here, what should De Nysschen's plans be going forward? Three good utilities to go with Escalade? in pricing for ATS and CTS? Skip the Sub-compact car challenger? Thoughts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-S Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Drastically reducing prices should be their number one priority. If their cars don't sell at reduced pricing, the problems are much more deeply rooted than first believed. I have heard comments that Cadillac doesn't understand their customer. If that is truly the case, what types of cars do you think should they be building? Their isn't much precedent here since Caddy is the only American Brand that truly has tried to bring new luxury cars to market and all they did was target the cars of other German luxury brands. Should they follow the path of the Japanese luxury brands and reintroduce FWD vehicles? I think Caddy's two current SUVs, namely the Escalade and the SRX are adequate. Buick amd Caddy (and to a lesser extent GMC) should complement one another and not compete with each other. Buick already fills the other open holes with the Enclave and Encore. Finally, cleaning up the dealer network should also be happening at an aggressive pace. And Cadillac dealerships should not sell other GM brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 So let's be constructive here, what should De Nysschen's plans be going forward? Three good utilities to go with Escalade? in pricing for ATS and CTS? Skip the Sub-compact car challenger? Thoughts... Don't think they will want to skip the sub-compact once the lincoln focus debuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 They need at least 1 smaller crossover like the MKC (or downsize the SRX) and one in between that and the Escalade. Stop making coupes and wagons - complete waste of money and resources and dealer stock. Cut CTS prices even more. ATS probably needs a similar cut. New styling. Kill ELR. Make a slightly nicer Volt with Caddy styling and features. The old CTS was selling relatively well. Buyers want a mid-sized luxury vehicle that isn't super expensive. If current CTS was selling better they could keep it and bring out a slightly smaller and cheaper XTS, but it's not. They've painted themselves into a corner replacing a decent vehicle with one that is too small and one that is too big and too expensive all on a shared platform that would be difficult to change now or to add a new one in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnV Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Kill ELR. Make a slightly nicer Volt with Caddy styling and features. Speaking of the Volt, remember this comment he made about it when he was at Audi? http://www.businessinsider.com/audi-president-calls-the-volt-a-car-for-idiots-2009-9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 So he wasn't wrong about EVERYTHING.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 That comment at Audi pretty much sums him up for what he is: A mouth for hire. --- Fix Caddy? - Fire Johan, move HQ back to Detroit - STOP TALKING ABOUT HOW AWESOME YOU'RE GOING TO BE IN FIVE YEARS. PEOPLE DO NOT CARE AT ALL. - Do NOT launch new CUVs on Alpha. Alpha should be the Camaro and a couple Cadillac sedans, that's all. If it won't pay its way on that volume, either learn how to make it pay or stop building the Camaro and RWD Caddys. - Get new CUVs to market sooner than 20-flippin'-17 - Begin incentivizing (through subsidized financing if necessary) major dealer overhauls. Be prepared to buy out underperforming dealers. - Stop trying to be BMW and adjust platform plans and budgeting accordingly (as said before, no more coupes, no more wagons, no super car, nothing above the XT6) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Or to sum it up in one sentence: stop trying to be bmw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LincolnV Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 That comment at Audi pretty much sums him up for what he is: A mouth for hire. If a corporation has one of it's Presidents ranting on Facebook, wouldn't it make sense to tell him to stop? He's even making comments about Infiniti while at Cadillac. http://www.autospies.com/news/Was-Johan-de-Nysschen-Right-To-Chastise-Infiniti-Brass-For-Lack-Of-Commitment-On-Q50-Eau-Rouge-83911/ All this talk about brand image, yet IMO this isn't good for the image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Calling out a colleague at your former employer, now a direct competitor, for killing his pet project? Boy... this makes Farley look quite polished by comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Finally, cleaning up the dealer network should also be happening at an aggressive pace. And Cadillac dealerships should not sell other GM brands. What if the price increases were some convuluted plan to weed out low-performing dealers? You know - the ones that they should've dumped in bankruptcy... Edited January 20, 2015 by rmc523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Huge difference between GM and Ford when it comes to managing divisions/brands. That would never happen under Mulally/Fields. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 What if the price increases were some convuluted plan to weed out low-performing dealers? You know - the ones that they should've dumped in bankruptcy... Interesting theory. I know that Ford did this with Lincoln, but I'm not sure GM is smart enough to do that on purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Interesting theory. I know that Ford did this with Lincoln, but I'm not sure GM is smart enough to do that on purpose. Well, that was my next comment haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Ford didn't weed out dealers by ratcheting up prices and cramming allocation down their throats. They starved them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Ford didn't weed out dealers by ratcheting up prices and cramming allocation down their throats. They starved them out. No but they did raise prices pretty high which limited sales, so that part is similar. There is a pretty significant price jump from an Escape Titanium to a MKC - I think it was around $6K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 No but they did raise prices pretty high which limited sales, so that part is similar. There is a pretty significant price jump from an Escape Titanium to a MKC - I think it was around $6K. Significant, yes. But considering you are moving um from a high end ford to the "luxury" brand, I would say it's fair. The window of fair IMO is between 5-7k. Anything more is just stupid, anything lower is wasting an opportunity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave-S Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 The verdict is out with Lincoln (at least with cars) at this point especially if their next totally new design doesn't roll out until the 2019 model year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Significant, yes. But considering you are moving um from a high end ford to the "luxury" brand, I would say it's fair. The window of fair IMO is between 5-7k. Anything more is just stupid, anything lower is wasting an opportunity And on the MKC it's more easily justified with features and materials. On the current MKZ compared to a Fusion titanium - not so much. But again, that's by design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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