You guys are a really tough crowd! I'd be the first to agree that
Cadillac lost its way in the last 20 years, with the absolute low point
being the Cimarron. Total POS, without doubt. A big part of the
problem was the beancounter mentality of the Roger Smith era that led to
so much inter-divisional standardization. Brand identity blurred to the
point you couldn't tell one GM from another. And like Jeff Zedic, I
drove only imports and swore that I'd never buy an American car.
That was then, however. In fairness to Cadillac, I think they've done
an amazing job at re-establishing their differentiation from other GM
nameplates while making inroads with much younger buyers. In 2004, I
looked very long and hard at midsize luxury SUVs. I considered the
Lexus RX, Infiniti FX, VW Touareg, BMW X5, Acura MDX, MB ML, etc. but
ended up buying a Cadillac SRX V8. I tried very hard NOT to like the
Caddy, trust me! But I've never regretted the decision: It's very fast
(0-60 in about 6.1), smooth (the Northstar V8 is awesome), and roomy (3
rows of seats), yet handles like a sports sedan. Some of the others
were better in one category or another, but none were nearly as good
overall. And I still like the styling - at least you don't see one on
every street corner like the RX330.
Just FYI, the SRX didn't have a single flaw at delivery and has been
rock-solid dependable for 20k miles. Fit and finish are far better than
GM cars of the past, although maybe not *quite* up to top-line European
standards yet. We took another couple out to dinner the other night -
he's the retired CEO of GE Appliance working directly for Jack Welch,
and his primary ride is a BMW 740iL. He was absolutely shocked to learn
that he was riding in a Cadillac... in fact, he wouldn't believe me
until I showed him the logo on the steering wheel!
And it's not just the SRX - take a look at the CTS (especially the
V-series!), STS, or the XLR and you'll see these "ain't your father's
Cadillacs". As Mike says, the Escalade is the exception - it's clearly
a rebadged Suburban. But even the Escalade successfully opened up new
upscale markets that the Suburban wasn't touching (ever see a basketball
player driving a Suburban with chrome spinner wheels?), and started the
change in Cadillac's "old fart" image.
So I think Cadillac, at least, HAS learned. If anything, Caddy's
reputation is now dragged down by the rest of GM's empire. They're
building very good cars that can compete with the best, but it takes a
long time to rebuild a tarnished brand image.
Rob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Canfield" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
They still do the same thing now and get away with it......Remember
when a
GMC was a TRUCK and a Caddy was, well, a Caddy not a "Pimped out
Suburban".
When will they ever learn???????
