Cadillac Expands Its Subscription Service to New Markets

Since its launch in the Big Apple earlier this year, the BOOK by Cadillac car-subscription service has allowed customers in New York City to get behind the wheel of a Cadillac without signing the note on one of The General’s top-flight vehicles.

The project has proven to be enough of a success that Cadillac is now launching the product in two additional markets: Dallas and L.A.

Total driving mileage is limited to 2,000 miles per month, per account. This scuppers any plans members may have of relying on the service for long-distance journeys. Members will have access to 2017 and 2018 model-year Cadillacs equipped in fancy-pants Platinum and Premium trims.

Two SUVs are available, the XT5 and Escalade, along with a brace of CT6 sedans in the form of a gas-powered and plug-in hybrid unit. Speed freaks can opt for the ATS-V or CTS-V. Placing the CT6 in the fleet ensures more cars equipped with Super Cruise will soon be plying our roads. To the deep dismay of our Associate Editor, the XTS is not mentioned.

A flat monthly fee of $1,800 — in addition to a one-time initiation fee of $500 — entitles members to the experience. I’m not sure why Cadillac has chosen to use the term initiation, which immediately calls to mind frat houses and freemasons. Perhaps they could call it an admission or enrolment fee, which would imply a more exclusive club.

Semantics aside, the oddly capitalized BOOK by Cadillac has also been launched as a pilot project in Munich, with potential plans to debut in other global markets. Similar to customers stateside, members in Munich have access to the latest top-trim level Caddys, plus V-Series versions of the ATS and CTS. Given the German competition targeted by Cadillac, this is probably a smart move.

Registration, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs are included in the monthly fee and unlike the lease on that pricey loft, membership is month-to-month with no long-term commitment required. Naturally, a smartphone app controls the whole deal. Subscribers can swap out of vehicles 18 times a year.

It is a logical alternative to owning a car for some folks who don’t want to deal with the hassle of maintaining and insuring a car. The monthly payment on a Dark Adriatic Blue Escalade Platinum 4×4 with Tuscan Brown seats is currently around $1700/mo, assuming a 24 month lease allowing 15,000 miles per year. With BOOK, one pays about the same per month, is allowed 24,000 miles per year, and doesn’t have to suffer the indignity of driving the same Cadillac for two whole years.

In New York City, this makes a good deal of sense, which is likely why GM chose that market in which to launch the service. Offering it in Munich is smart insomuch as it puts Cadillac’s best machines in the hands of Germans who have likely only ever considered an Audi, BMW, or Merc.

Likewise, the car culture of L.A. certainly rewards the act of always having new wheels in the driveway. The wide-open spaces of Dallas might be a different challenge, however. BOOK by Cadillac became available in these two new markets yesterday morning.

[Image: General Motors]