Cadillac Subscriptions Return In 2020

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

If you read our coverage of Book by Cadillac, you’ll recall it was a minor financial disaster that had to be shut down in 2018. Cadillac was trying to develop a subscription model, following the lead of other premium manufacturers attempting to usher in a new age of consumerism, sans ownership. But the public didn’t take the bait.

We’ve had niggles about subscription-based sales models for years, whether it be for something hidden in your digital dashboard or affixed to an entire automobile. While they make sense for some services, we couldn’t make the numbers work for cars. It’s almost always the most expensive way to get into any given automobile. However, you do get a few nice perks as a consolation — things like insurance, registration, and maintenance — since you’re effectively renting the car. In the case of Cadillac, Book also allowed you to swap vehicles via a concierge service that would deliver the swapped vehicle pretty much anywhere you wanted — offering bottle water, umbrellas, and a positive attitude upon arrival.

Those extravagances may have been justifiable for those with money to burn, but the general populace wasn’t there to help General Motors shoulder the burden. The pilot program ended roughly a year ago. Yet GM’s chief marketing officer, Deborah Wahl, said Book would return in 2020, bigger and better than ever.

Speaking Tuesday at the J.D. Power/NADA AutoConference amid the Los Angeles Auto Show, Wahl said Book will return in February, providing more flexibility and value to consumers. Her stated goal was staying ahead of consumer preferences, echoing the automaker’s broader aspirations. Subscriptions services and data-based business models have been at the forefront of the corporate minds at GM for years. Like many automakers, it’s also investing heavily in mobility projects.

“We do still see a lot of interest from consumers in finding different ownership models, but the right price, value, how we do that, how we bundle those services is what we’re working on,” Wahl said in an interview with Automotive News from earlier this year. “There’s really no one-size-fits-all solution for personal transportation.”

But this also smacks of GM shoving something it wants down our collective throat. Cadillac revised its subscription service numerous times, despite facing criticisms and presumed lack of customer interest. There was even a period, immediately after it was placed on hiatus, where Wahl suggested Book would return in 2019.

“Book 2.0 really works even more closely with our dealer network because we think there’s a lot of opportunity as you go forward,” she said last January. “We’re going to base it off the dealer network.”

Closer ties to dealerships are part of the new plan, as well, but pricing is unknown. Book initially charged customers a $1,800 monthly fee before making rolling changes. Too steep for many, but the service did encourage some people to finally check out a Cadillac. Wahl said about 70 percent of Book customers were new to the brand — which may give us a hint as to why it hasn’t completely abandoned it.

[Image: fotomak/Shutterstock]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • DeadWeight DeadWeight on Nov 21, 2019

    Genesis (Hyundai's Lexus) has vehicles that are waaay better in terms of assembly, quality of components/parts, quality of materials, engineering, durability, reliability, etc., than ANY vehicle Cadillac (now Chevillac, as almost all current production Cadillacs are really Chevrolets, ala Roger Smith v2.0, but only worse now). Cadillac is 2nd tier at best, under the most generous view possible. I strongly argue that it's 3rd tier relative to its price point.

  • Jeff S Jeff S on Nov 21, 2019

    Genesis appears to be a better choice. I bet you can get a deal on a pre owned Genesis. Lexus is good but the pre owned prices are not a lot lower than buying new. My pick would be the Genesis much better value for the money.

  • Lorenzo Heh. The major powers, military or economic, set up these regulators for the smaller countries - the big guys do what they want, and always have. Are the Chinese that unaware?
  • Lorenzo The original 4-Runner, by its very name, promised something different in the future. What happened?
  • Lorenzo At my age, excitement is dangerous. one thing to note: the older models being displayed are more stylish than their current versions, and the old Subaru Forester looks more utilitarian than the current version. I thought the annual model change was dead.
  • Lorenzo Well, it was never an off-roader, much less a military vehicle, so let the people with too much money play make believe.
  • EBFlex The best gift would have been a huge bonfire of all the fak mustangs in inventory and shutting down the factory that makes them.Heck, nobody would even have to risk life and limb starting the fire, just park em close together and wait for the super environmentally friendly EV fire to commence.
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