Video > Cadillac BLS Advertisement
GM Europe (GME) has got it all wrong. The Epsilon platform that supports the (To Europe Only) Cadillac BLS also carries the Opel Vectra as well as the Saab 9-3.
Why Europeans would want to return their Saab to the dealer (often where European Caddys are sold) for the same car with a Caddy badge is dubious business logic. Proof that badge engineering still happens under The (sickly) General is in this advertisement.
December 26, 2006
About the Author: Gunnar Heinrich is publisher of Automobiles De Luxe online and is executive producer of the Automobiles De Luxe Television series on PBS member station CPTV.
Zarba | Dec 26, 2006 | Reply
SO, GM cheapens BOTH the Cadillac and SAAB brands.
Cadillacs should advance a uniquely American ideal, i.e., big, comfortable cars endowed with gobs of V-8 torque. They should have unique, expressive sheetmetal designs that immediately identify them as Caddys.
Let’s see: 1933 V-16, 1940 Fleetwood Sixty Special, 1949 Coupe DeVille, 1957 Eldorado Convertible, 1959 Eldorado Biarritz Convertible, 1958 Eldorado Seville, 1967 Eldorado, 65-68 DeVille Convertibles, 1976 Eldo Biarritz, I could go on, but…all uniquley American. Great cars? Mmmmmm, maybe, depending on how you define the term, but all uniquely Cadillac, and the best of the best at what they are. Expensive, and meant to be so. Only men of substance could drive them.
BLS? A badge-engineered SAAB? Disgusting, and if current sales are any indication, a massive failure.
My late grandfather, once he “made it”, only drove Cadillacs, because they were the best. Period. And everyone knew that if you had the money, only a Cadillac would do. They were special.
Cadillac once led the world in engineering, styling, and features. Now they are merely another nameplate to be slapped on an anonymous anycar, regardless of what they do to the storied marque.
Cadillac should MEAN SOMETHING, other than “I got a screamin’ lease deal”.
For three decades, Packard’s slogan was simple: “Ask the Man Who Owns One.” They backed it up with impressiv engineering and top-quality materials. They weren’t meant to be cheap, and it was understood that they wouldn’t be. Packard also believed enough in the product to tell potential clients to find an owner and ask them. Brave.
Cadillac was once “The Standard of the World.” If the marque is to survive, GM must make it so again. That means Lexus-like levels of quality and customer service, along with style, performance, and most importantly, SOUL, something Lexus doesn’t have.
OK, I feel better now.
Gunnar Heinrich | Dec 26, 2006 | Reply
Keep venting, Zarba. Because everything you just wrote is true. Who ever heard of a inline-4 cylinder diesel Cadillac. Well, the Europeans have.
Tom | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
This vehicle might be the end of all dreams for Cadillac in Europe. Cadillac’s only hope is that people won’t even notice that the BLS ever existed (and so far it looks as if this is quite possible.). This commercial of course doesn’t help.
“Create a car noone ever created”…yeah, so if we take that literally, so far there’s only been the Saab 9-3, the Saturn Aura and the Opel/Vauxhall/Holden/Chevrolet Vectra (brand depending on the country where you buy the car). And then there is something called “the competition.”
I can understand that Cadillac wants back on the European market, but this is definately the wrong way. I mean Cadillac had a great image in Europe. Caddy would have had it so much easier than Lexus (image-wise). But they do everything they can to blow it.
The first question any marketing guy should ask himself is “why would anyone want to buy this car?” In Caddy’s case, the only way to find European customers is with big, luxurious cars that have the quality and a special American look. The CTS was actually quite a good start. The interior wasn’t up to the task, but apart from that it had the potential. The BLS however is the wrong car in the prong place at the wrong moment.
But GM knows how to destroy its image. Before they tried to finally kill Cadillac in Europe, they did the same to Chevrolet. The image Europeans had when they heard the Chevrolet name was actually quite good. Probably because they only knew them from old movies. Anyhow, today GM is selling small Daewoo econoboxes as Chevys. They have nothing American about them but look like your average Asian rice ball.
So what’s next? Maybe GM could sell Holdens, labeled as Daewoos in central Africa…and that would probably be still better than what they are doing right now with Chevy and Caddy in Europe…
Gunnar Heinrich | Dec 27, 2006 | Reply
You’re right, Tom. This is the wrong hill that GM has Cadillac charging. It should be super, glamorous luxury, and nothing less for Detroit’s best in Europe.