What's Wrong With This Picture: Cadillac Dealerships Get A New Look Edition

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: June 11th, 2011

what s wrong with this picture cadillac dealerships get a new look edition

Cadillac dealers were disproportionately targeted by GM’s bailout-era dealer cull, with some 900 cut before GM reinstated many of them after enduring a downturn in Cadillac sales. The problem, as we noted in a meditation on “Detroit’s Small Town Luxury Lament,” is one of identity:

Is Cadillac a European-grade maker of world-class, dynamically-focused and fashion-forward driving machines, or the small-town America symbol symbol of petty-bourgeois success, with an emphasis on the old-school American values of wide seats, big power, and a cosseting ride? The brand’s product line displays this identity crisis (compare CTS and DTS) as much as the dealer network does.

The answer: yes. GM is keeping a lot of small-time Cadillac dealers on the roster, and is asking them to upgrade their facilities to a new design created by San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler. GM talks up the new look’s “contemporary architecture and premium materials” in its presser, but it too seems to try to bridge the yawning gap between a fashion-forward, Euro-inspired look and a more traditional, conservative look aimed at a more “traditional” customer (see image above?). But does it work? Does the new look communicate “Cadillac values” to you, or does it strike you (as it does me) as a bit of a compromise?

#3WTP #Branding #DealerNews

Edward Niedermeyer

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2 of 48 comments

Ubermensch on Jun 12, 2011

I happen to like the new design, but I am biased. I am typing this while sitting in a Herman Miller aluminum chair similar to the ones pictured. :)

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Cdnsfan27 on Jun 13, 2011

After I retired from the Army I sold Fords in Kingston ON while waiting for my green card to join my wife in DC. I loved the experience and the hours...and I found that I was very good at sales. When we moved to Tampa I thought I would go back to sales...until I saw the store hours..8-8 M-F, 8-7 Sat and 11-6 on Sunday. In Kingston our hours were 9-8 M-T, 9-6 F, 9-4 Sat in winter, closed Sat-Sun in summer. Closed all major holidays. I hear dealers bemoaning the lack of professionals wanting sales jobs but with those hours how can you balance work and family?

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