Cadillac Sales Volume Plunged in July 2017, or Did It?

Keep talking about the CUVs and other better-positioned products Cadillac will be getting, as you have for years on TTAC, now. By the time they actually get a proper lineup of potentially competitive CUVs, the market will be even more saturated with CUVs, from ma manufacturers directly in the line of sight Cadillac aspires to compete head on with. CUV saturation is going to be a real issue in as soon as 2 years, and will affect the segment Cadillac wants to compete in a more concentrated way (leading to dilution of sales) than any other - it's one thing to see Toyota, Nissan, Chevrolet, Honda, Ford, etc have 5 to 8 CUVs each, but wait and watch and see what happens when Lexus, Acura, Audi, Mercedes, BMW etc have a similar number of CUVs each. Every prediction I've made about Cadillac has come to actual fruition in the real world. I can't remember a single prediction you've made, based on your years of babbling regarding how great Johan, Uwe and Melody are going to make Cadillac, any day now (while their sales decline to the lowest point since 2011 in red-hot market for the last 6 years).

@DeadWeight GM people have been talking this way since the late 70s. The next "game changer" is just around the corner. Did the Volt change any game? I already forgot the name of the Caddy version. How many did they sell? Saturn anyone? Bankruptcy. Bail out. The list of failures is almost endless. During this same time, Toyota was establishing one of the most enduring quality reputations of any brand in world history. GM has made some fantastic vehicles over the last 40 years, but as a company, they have squandered every opportunity to be great. They are like a great young athlete who decides he'd rather just smoke weed and play video games. It makes you want to puke.

@thelaine "...AUTOMOTION BLOG 5 Car Quality Myths, Busted BY ETHAN WEST, OCTOBER 16, 2015 In today’s world, perception seems to become reality. What people believe orperceive to be true is, quite often, accepted as truth or reality, whether or not the facts (or, in this case, research data) support that belief or perception. One area where the perception vs. reality issue is most prevalent is in the automotive industry. Thankfully, we’re here to set the record straight. Following are five car quality myths that are just that: myths. 1. Korean Cars Have Poor Quality Hyundai and Kia have been selling cars in the United States for over 20 years now. Both brands entered the U.S. marketplace positioning their cars with a strong value proposition but offering little in the way of quality and reliability. Over the years, however, both brands’ vehicles have matured in every way, offering more exciting styling, attractive interiors, more features, and making large leaps in quality. It wasn’t until about five years ago that both Hyundai and Kia took another substantial step and started making cars that gave consumers no excuses. No longer were their offerings “almost as good as” Japanese and American offerings. They were right there playing on the same court. Despite significant product quality gains, Hyundai and Kia find themselves in the unenviable position where consumer perception takes much longer to change than it does to evolve their product lines. According to the J.D. Power 2015 Avoider Study,SM 14% of new car shoppers avoid Hyundai and Kia vehicles due to a perception of poor quality. The Avoider Study surveys buyers of new vehicles and asks them why they chose to avoid, reject, or purchase particular models. While 14% of new car shoppers avoid these Korean brands due to perceived quality issues, Kia ranks second and Hyundai fourth among 33 nameplates in the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Initial Quality StudySM (IQS), which measures new-vehicle quality after 90 days of ownership. It’s this gap between perception and actual quality where the myth lays that Korean cars have poor quality. As the products themselves have improved, avoidance of the Hyundai and Kia brands has been easing over time, falling from 20% avoidance for poor quality in 2010 to its current figure of 14%. This drop in avoidance aligns with Hyundai and Kia’s last three years of IQS results, where both brands have scored higher than industry average. As the two brands continue to improve their products, the outdated perception that Korean cars have poor quality is just that: outdated. 2. Japanese Cars Have the Best Quality Japanese brands built themselves a bulletproof reputation back in the 1980s and 1990s by building cars that were much more reliable than their competition at the time. During that time, the Korean car companies were still finding their footing in the American market, European brands were too rooted in their ways to change the way they built their cars, and American automakers were raking in profits and had little motivation to change their approach to building cars. Toyota and Honda were the clear leaders in terms of quality and reliability, but eventually this positive association trickled down to any Japanese carmaker. Fast forward to 2015 and the Korean car companies—Hyundai and Kia—have most definitely found their footing, European brands finally woke up and realized they have to do better, and American manufacturers received a significant wakeup call a few years ago when the economic crisis hit, and have finally sobered up because of it. So where does this leave the Japanese manufacturers? To lump all Japanese cars into the stereotype that they have the best quality would be incorrect. In the 2015 IQS, the highest-ranked Japanese auto brand, Infiniti, ranks fifth overall. Additionally, only four in 10 Japanese nameplates rank above the industry average for quality after 90 days of ownership. In the same study, eight in 27 segment award recipients hail from Japanese nameplates. Certainly not bad in any way, but not exactly the full takeover one may expect compared to common perception. Make no mistake, Japanese manufacturers are producing competitive products, but the fact of the matter is that so are allmanufacturers these days, regardless of their origin. As for the common belief that Japanese cars have the best quality, it’s time to cue the Frozen soundtrack and let it go..." J.D. Power

@NormSV650 "Quality reputation"

@DW Yeah, I've been talking about it for the past few years now - and exactly what has CHANGED? The additions to Cadillac's crossover lineup have still yet to arrive (will start next year) - so of course, Cadillac sales have been stagnant or seen a downturn. As for "CUV saturation" - sure, there may be some of that, but having CUVs in most, if not all the major, segments is much, much better than not having them. Forget conquest sales, but concentrate on Cadillac (sedan) owners looking to move to a compact or full-size (3-row) CUV. Right now, they are moving to other brands (including some to Buick) as Cadillac doesn't yet offer anything in those segments. The upcoming X7, 3-rwo RX, etc. will be "late to the party"; you think BMW and Lexus would be better without having them? The Buick Envision was relatively late to the party in the premium compact CUV segment - but is selling well (even for a Chinese import). Speaking of Buick, the brand has gone from a yearly sales low of 102k in 2009 to 230k last year. That's more than Acura or Infiniti. Despite the Verano having been discontinued, LaCrosse sales and Regal sales being down (the new liftback Regal should lift sales back to around where it was), Buick should remain in pretty good shape with the Encore, Envision and esp. when the new Enclave arrives. Wanna bet whether Cadillac sales sees an upturn in the US once they get the new crossovers (as well as a properly sized ATS replacement)?