I had a strong sense of déjà vu at the Geneva motor show, talking Cadillac with incumbent European boss Thomas Sedran. General Motors has signed off a 10-year plan – injecting a sizeable sum of cash in the process – into making a real fist of success for its luxury arm in Europe.
It was a little over two years ago when I heard something very similar at the unveiling of the Cadillac ATS, a BMW 3-series rival, at the 2012 Detroit motor show.
A string of executives told me how serious the firm were about taking the model to Europe, with right-hand drive and diesel engines to come.
Well, in 2014, the same statements are being made again. Diesel is coming, but still with no final confirmation of engines and dates. Right-hand drive is possible, but still not confirmed.
The project has the faint whiff of Infiniti’s European launch at the end of the last decade about it, selling cars to a European audience with US-friendly looks and big, powerful petrol engines only.
Infiniti, which launched in Europe at the end of the last decade with similar US-friendly looking models and big, thirsty petrol engines only as with Cadillac, doesn’t expect to break even in Europe until the end of this decade.
I draw the comparison as that break-even point will come only after Infiniti has launched a thoroughly European model with the European designed, engineered and built Q30 hatchback in 2015. There are no such plans at Cadillac, or at least none which Sedran commented on.
A comparison with Lexus could also be drawn, the firm still struggling to make an impact after more than two decades and specific Euro-focused models like the CT.
Sedran admitted that smaller models and more crossovers were possible for Cadillac but were up to five years away, and even then they wouldn’t share platforms with Opels, which would in part seem logical if they could make the products sufficiently different. There’s also no chance of purely European models for the brand, meaning Cadillac’s love-it or hate-it styling will continue
You wonder whether GM has the patience to see through Sedran’s plan for Cadillac, after it recently pulled the plug on Chevrolet in Europe after only a few years trying, and repeated reorganisations and plans for what to do with Opel.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Madness
Cadillac are no longer trying to sell the crap they used to make, they now have some genuinely good cars in the ATS and CTS. However without the steering wheel being available on either side and market specific engines it will fail. AGAIN. See Corvette.
If you treat your customers with contempt you not only find they go away and buy your rivals cars they also remember.
World cars work, see BMW, Merc, Audi. Guess what, steering wheel available either side and engines specific to the market they operate in. Success!
Madness
Cadillac are no longer trying to sell the crap they used to make, they now have some genuinely good cars in the ATS and CTS. However without the steering wheel being available on either side and market specific engines it will fail. AGAIN. See Corvette.
If you treat your customers with contempt you not only find they go away and buy your rivals cars they also remember.
World cars work, see BMW, Merc, Audi. Guess what, steering wheel available either side and engines specific to the market they operate in. Success!
Cadillac's real problem?
Cadillac should be America's attempt at the Best Car In The World. The US collectively has enough intelligence and resources to do the job properly, but they seem to lack the confidence or long-term commitment. They need an American equivalent of Ferdinand Piech to take charge and strong-arm a coherent vision through the GM bureaucracy.
Or at least build some production cars that look as good as all their concept cars. If the Ciel and Elmiraj were production models, they would have people queuing up to place orders.