Cadillac President Promises New Halo Model Will "Stun The World"

We've been here before.

Cadillac has been promising a new halo car for years now after the XLR and ELR failed to captivate consumers. It’s a topic that was once again addressed at the 2018 Automotive Forum in New York by Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen. According to Wards Auto, Nysschen reiterated his desire to bring out a new Cadillac range-topper. "We are going to produce a halo vehicle for Cadillac. When it comes, it will stun the world," he teased. “I do not think the world needs yet another large, three box conventional sedan.” We’ve been here before, though.

Talks about a Cadillac halo car have been going on for years. Concepts such as the Ciel, Elmiraj and Escala have previewed potential range-topping models, but none have entered production. Why the long delay? While the company president recently blamed millennials and poor infrastructure for declining sedan sales, Nysschen says that European cars are preventing a Cadillac halo car from entering production. Cadillac was once the top luxury car brand in the US, but Nysschen believes the company’s decline is due to a “sustained attack” by European and Asian luxury brands since the luxury sedan market is dominated by the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and Mercedes S-Class.

He added that Cadillac’s “lack of access to global markets prevented us from generating enough revenue to invest in new product.” Cadillac wants to become a bigger player in Europe, but this isn’t likely to happen until after 2025. Right now, the company is focusing on its operations in the US and China. If we want to go to Europe, we better make sure we have the financial wherewithal and the products," he told Automotive News, though its strategy will include electric vehicles but no diesels. "It's going to be a tough battle and we better be ready to fight it." Looking ahead, Nysschen teased that “things are about to get very interesting at Cadillac.”

The recently-unveiled CT6 V-Sport marks the start of a new chapter in Cadillac’s performance car history, so let’s hope it paves the way for a production version of the elegant Escala.

Cadillac Launching New Branding Campaign And Promises To Fix Quality Issues

This campaign will get underway in early 2019.

Most auto industry watchers were surprised when Cadillac announced a few years ago its decision to move its headquarters from Detroit to New York City. Detroit had been GM’s luxury brand’s home since its very beginning in 1902. Why was the move made? Because, at the time, Cadillac believed it required more autonomy from GM on a day-to-day basis.

Although it may have sounded good in theory, in practice it was anything but. When Cadillac’s newly appointed CEO, Steve Carlisle, decided to move HQ back to the Motor City, a process that’s currently underway, there was more than a symbolic reason for doing so.

According to an interview he recently granted to The Detroit Free Press, there were two main reasons behind his decision: fix quality control problems and improve human collaboration. For example, Cadillac came in next to last in Consumer Report’s annual quality survey of automakers. Only Volvo was behind it. Cadillac also ranked 27th out of 31 brands in J.D. Power’s 2018 US Vehicle Dependability Study. Carlisle claims measures have already been taken to fix that.

“Sitting here today, the quality of what’s coming out of our factories is much improved,” said Carlisle. “And we’re taking great pains to get that information out there.” Some of the problems Cadillacs were experiencing, according to dealerships, involved transmissions and technology issues. “As we encounter consumers with issues, we can be active to help them as soon as possible,” Carlisle said. “There’s been a lot of work put into Cadillac. We’re working with dealers too.”

So it sounds like Carlisle and his team are actively working to correct those quality issues, what’s going on regarding branding? Well, Carlisle calls Cadillac a “master brand” and confirmed he’ll reveal more early next year, but he did offer a brief hint of what’s in store: “Cadillac has its own values — boldness, optimism, innovation, sophistication — that will reflect in the master brand,” he said.

The big challenge, however, is “how to bring those to life.” We expect to learn more from Carlisle this January at Detroit.

Cadillac Launching New Branding Campaign And Promises To Fix Quality Issues

This campaign will get underway in early 2019.

Most auto industry watchers were surprised when Cadillac announced a few years ago its decision to move its headquarters from Detroit to New York City. Detroit had been GM’s luxury brand’s home since its very beginning in 1902. Why was the move made? Because, at the time, Cadillac believed it required more autonomy from GM on a day-to-day basis.

Although it may have sounded good in theory, in practice it was anything but. When Cadillac’s newly appointed CEO, Steve Carlisle, decided to move HQ back to the Motor City, a process that’s currently underway, there was more than a symbolic reason for doing so.

According to an interview he recently granted to The Detroit Free Press, there were two main reasons behind his decision: fix quality control problems and improve human collaboration. For example, Cadillac came in next to last in Consumer Report’s annual quality survey of automakers. Only Volvo was behind it. Cadillac also ranked 27th out of 31 brands in J.D. Power’s 2018 US Vehicle Dependability Study. Carlisle claims measures have already been taken to fix that.

“Sitting here today, the quality of what’s coming out of our factories is much improved,” said Carlisle. “And we’re taking great pains to get that information out there.” Some of the problems Cadillacs were experiencing, according to dealerships, involved transmissions and technology issues. “As we encounter consumers with issues, we can be active to help them as soon as possible,” Carlisle said. “There’s been a lot of work put into Cadillac. We’re working with dealers too.”

So it sounds like Carlisle and his team are actively working to correct those quality issues, what’s going on regarding branding? Well, Carlisle calls Cadillac a “master brand” and confirmed he’ll reveal more early next year, but he did offer a brief hint of what’s in store: “Cadillac has its own values — boldness, optimism, innovation, sophistication — that will reflect in the master brand,” he said.

The big challenge, however, is “how to bring those to life.” We expect to learn more from Carlisle this January at Detroit.

Cadillac Launching New Branding Campaign And Promises To Fix Quality Issues

This campaign will get underway in early 2019.

Most auto industry watchers were surprised when Cadillac announced a few years ago its decision to move its headquarters from Detroit to New York City. Detroit had been GM’s luxury brand’s home since its very beginning in 1902. Why was the move made? Because, at the time, Cadillac believed it required more autonomy from GM on a day-to-day basis.

Although it may have sounded good in theory, in practice it was anything but. When Cadillac’s newly appointed CEO, Steve Carlisle, decided to move HQ back to the Motor City, a process that’s currently underway, there was more than a symbolic reason for doing so.

According to an interview he recently granted to The Detroit Free Press, there were two main reasons behind his decision: fix quality control problems and improve human collaboration. For example, Cadillac came in next to last in Consumer Report’s annual quality survey of automakers. Only Volvo was behind it. Cadillac also ranked 27th out of 31 brands in J.D. Power’s 2018 US Vehicle Dependability Study. Carlisle claims measures have already been taken to fix that.

“Sitting here today, the quality of what’s coming out of our factories is much improved,” said Carlisle. “And we’re taking great pains to get that information out there.” Some of the problems Cadillacs were experiencing, according to dealerships, involved transmissions and technology issues. “As we encounter consumers with issues, we can be active to help them as soon as possible,” Carlisle said. “There’s been a lot of work put into Cadillac. We’re working with dealers too.”

So it sounds like Carlisle and his team are actively working to correct those quality issues, what’s going on regarding branding? Well, Carlisle calls Cadillac a “master brand” and confirmed he’ll reveal more early next year, but he did offer a brief hint of what’s in store: “Cadillac has its own values — boldness, optimism, innovation, sophistication — that will reflect in the master brand,” he said.

The big challenge, however, is “how to bring those to life.” We expect to learn more from Carlisle this January at Detroit.