Mark Reuss More Or Less Confirms Elmirajish Flagship: "You Make A Statement With A Coupe"

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

Last July GM CEO Dan Akerson confirmed that the automaker’s Cadillac brand was working on a flagship sedan larger than the XTS, to play in the big leagues with the BMW 7 Series, the Mercedes-Benz S Class and the Lexus LS, on sale by 2015. While at the recent Los Angeles auto show media preview, Mark Reuss, president of General Motors North American operations, strongly hinted that the big rear wheel drive platform may first appear as a coupe, not a four door sedan. “That’s the car Cadillac needs,” Reuss told USA Today. “You make a statement with a coupe. You don’t make a statement with a sedan.”

Obviously, the bigger money maker would be a sedan with greater production numbers but Reuss echoes the comments of a lot our readers vis a vis the Cadillac brand: bring back something big and brash, unapologetic about being a Caddy coupe, maybe even name it Eldorado after the most expensive Cadillac coupes of yore. Cadillac says that the Elmiraj is named after a dry lake bed in California famous for land speed attempts, but the alliterative connection to the name Eldorado can’t be a coincidence.

The design team responsible for the Elmiraj seems to understand what made the Cadillac brand “the standard of the world” in its heyday. “It is back to the American optimism of the ’60s,” says Gael Buzyn, who designed the interior. Niki Smart, who headed the exterior design team seems to understand that Cadillac was the brand for people who had arrived, who had made something of themselves. “This is for people who’ve done all their fighting, have earned their stripes.”

A coupe based on the same bones as a top shelf sedan could act as a halo for both the sibling sedan and for the entire Cadillac lineup.

Cadillac Ciel concept

The Elmiraj is the second act of what Cadillac says is a three act play regarding their new top of the line car. Before the Elmiraj coupe dazzled people at Pebble Beach this summer, the Ciel four door convertible was such a big hit on the show circuit in 2012 that they brought it around again in 2013. The third act is being teased by Cadillac as an “arrival”, without saying whether it’s going to be another concept vehicle or the actual production flagship, be the first one a coupe or a sedan.

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  • Bd2 Bd2 on Nov 29, 2013

    Rather than investing $$ in a low volume full-size coupe, Cadillac would be better served to develop a "4-door coupe" and a CUV (both would sell in higher volumes) off the Omega platform to go along with the proper flagship sedan. The coupe can wait until the 2nd gen of products from the Omega platform.

  • Shaker Shaker on Nov 30, 2013

    I think that Cadillac is pricing themselves out of their own market. In the "good old days" when college was cheap and manufacturing jobs were plentiful (and provided pensions), "empty-nesters" would have enough money to splurge on a Cadillac to enjoy in their "golden years". Now, even the "bargain-priced" ATS is out-of-reach for the dwindling members of the "middle-class", who have to penny-pinch and watch their 401(k) like a hawk to keep out of the "Alpo-Eaters" club. In other words, if Caddy wants to compete with the non-US luxury marques for a share of the 5% who can afford this stuff, then good luck. (The ELR pricing was the last straw for me) :-( Edit: There's always Powerball winners, though :-)

    • 3Deuce27 3Deuce27 on Nov 30, 2013

      I sense disappoint in your comment. Disappoint generated by diminishing expectations. While the middle class shrinks due to globalization and our pathetic passivity, the two percenter's income grows, and the size of that market grows. That has to be factor in Cadillac's marketing strategy. Luckily, that demographic trades often or have short leases, and that will put a lot of unreachable cars in reach for those of us with less treasure to spend. Cars are so reliable and durable these days, that the acquisition of of a gently used up market vehicle that is cared for and kept for the long run, is a reasonably good investment for anyone with a reasonable decent income who manages it well. I have preached the 'Buy a used luxury model' for years, as I think that they are the best vehicle investment out there, especially as we move into the mode of diminishing use of vehicles in the urban areas and back to the early post war use of cars as weekend and special occasion cars. Most urbanites will just rent and not buy, whether retired or Millennial's.

  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
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