Cadillac aims to play in Europe: GM finally gets serious about being a contender in the global luxury market

Automotive Industries, Nov, 2001 by Angus MacKenzie

The CTS certainly suggests GM is serious. This is the first proper Cadillac in 50 years offered with a manual transmission (ignoring the cynical and appalling Cimarron), and the first developed on the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany alongside Benzes and BMWs (see sidebar). The CTS, SRX and STS will all be engineered for right hand drive and will all be available with high performance diesel engines. And GM has unveiled a plan to offer Cadillacs through its worldwide Saab dealer network.

"We want to try and make inroads in Europe and Asia-Pacific," says LaNeve. "We think the move to leverage the Saab organization is a good step to give us a very viable retail distribution network, but it will be tough. We're not under any misconceptions that people are just going to let us come in."

That perhaps explains Cadillac's modest volume forecasts: "Five years from now, I'd like to see us with 10 to 15 percent of our sales outside North America," says LaNeve. "We'd like to get 8,000 to 10,000 units a year in Europe, and the same for the rest of the world." Rudy Zeller, the man responsible for the integration of Saab and Cadillac retail operations in Europe, is more bullish in his outlook: "The volume can vary between 12,000 and 30,000 units a year depending on when we get the diesel engines."

LaNeve is confident Cadillac can make it in Europe, but concedes it's unlikely to be a volume leader in the premium market. "We would have to get into other product segments that are even beyond what we're planning," he says. "We'd have to get smaller than the CTS, and while that may make sense for BMW, I'm not sure it makes sense for Cadillac, because there are other brands in the GM portfolio like Saab to consider."

Meanwhile, the success of European premium brands in the U.S. has created an opportunity for "global" Cadillacs, says LaNeve. "Mercedes and BMW have come so far downmarket in pricing and lease prices in the U.S. they are becoming somewhat pervasive," he says. "We are getting people in focus groups saying they don't want a BMW because everyone else has one. So they're trying Audi and Volvo. And hopefully, they're going to try Cadillac."

If Cadillac is going to become a global brand, what should its core brand values be? "We're going to be competitive on quality, performance and price, but we're going to be bold and breakthrough on design and technology" says LaNeve. First impressions of the CTS among Europeans are that Cadillac has delivered in terms of performance and handling, but quality, particularly in terms of the interior fit and finish, still needs a lot of work if it's to match VW, let alone Audi. The CTS is also poorly packaged, particularly in terms of rear seat room in relation to the overall vehicle size.

The CTS' brutalist "Art and Science" design language is certainly bold, but it's also highly polarizing. "If we had taken the clinic results literally, we probably wouldn't have done the car," admits Cadillac vehicle line executive Jim Taylor. "It was very strong in the 'not sure' category."