Product placement, they say, is the new marketing mojo, so what could be hotter (or cooler) than getting the most talked about man of the year into one of your cars?
There must have been a moment’s pause for celebration at beleaguered General Motors’ Detroit headquarters when Barack Obama, with a little help from his aides, chose a specially modified Cadillac for his presidential limousine. US presidents have been riding around in either Cadillacs (made by General Motors) or Lincolns (made by Ford) ever since Woodrow Wilson chose a Caddy for his transport during the First World War victory celebrations. President Obama has chosen a custom-made behemoth, complete with five-inch, bullet-proof glass, blast-proof armour and mobile phone jamming electronics.
There must also have been a brief celebration in Luton, site of GM’s unassuming UK HQ. GM in the UK can use all the help it can get right now, especially when it comes to selling Cadillacs. Combine GM’s perilous financial position with collapsing premium car sales and high petrol prices, and you hardly have the perfect backdrop to launch a crucial new Cadillac model into Europe.
Cadillac appears undeterred. The new CTS is crucial to its plans to get Cadillac accepted as a bona fide premium car brand in Europe. While BMW, Audi and Mercedes have prospered on the world stage, Cadillac has remained singularly US in its appeal. In the old days, this was because no other country had roads big enough to accommodate Cadillacs nor fuel cheap enough to slake their thirsts.
Vast bling Cadillacs remain favourites with US rappers and movie stars of the in-yer-face variety, yet there is also a smaller breed of Caddy, as epitomised by the Saab-based BLS saloon and estate and, now, the new CTS. These are both Cadillacs aimed at export markets as well as the domestic one.
The CTS is a BMW 5-series-sized car, angular in style and bold in deportment. As Cadillac’s UK boss Jonathan Nash puts it, “We don’t make cars for shrinking violets. Cadillacs are bold cars for self-confident people.”
Ambitions are modest: Cadillac expects to sell only 300 cars this year compared with BMW’s likely 120,000. After that, modest growth is expected, helped by the availability of a V6 diesel engine late this year.
Many write off Cadillac’s chances. Why buy a flash American car when the Germans still offer better quality and a sharper driving experience (though Cadillac has closed the gap massively with its new CTS)? Instead, GM hopes that those who genuinely want ‘change’ in their premium cars — those who may be bored with the ubiquity of BMW, find Mercedes-Benzes too dull, or who fancy a break from their Audi — will be tempted.
Gavin Green is a motoring journalist and consultant
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