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Ford figured out much sooner that making the Continental as its own brand just wasn't going to cut it. It took Chrysler 20 years to figure that out with Imperials. By that point most saw Cadillac still reigning supreme, then Lincoln, and then far behind Chrysler. Chrysler then decided to alienate a lot of it's demographic by dropping a rwd after 1989. Chrysler has done well with the 300 and Town and Country, but that just isn't enough to compete with Cadillac.
Cadillac outsold every luxury brand last month except BMW and was only short of BMW by about 600 units. Mercedes was just barely behind Caddy, but every other brand trailed by a large margin. Buick outsold Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, and all the others as well. The CTS was the best-selling entry luxury car, beating the 3-series, the G35, the C-Class, and the ES350. Speaking of ES350, what happened to that car...it used to be a best seller and now it's near the bottom of the segment.
Cadillac outsold every luxury brand last month except BMW and was only short of BMW by about 600 units. Mercedes was just barely behind Caddy, but every other brand trailed by a large margin. Buick outsold Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, and all the others as well. The CTS was the best-selling entry luxury car, beating the 3-series, the G35, the C-Class, and the ES350. Speaking of ES350, what happened to that car...it used to be a best seller and now it's near the bottom of the segment.
Might want to check your information, sparky.
Cadillac - 15,768
YTD - 28,348
M-B - 16,176
YTD - 31,862
BMW - 16,416 (19,919 for BMW Group)
YTD - 32,321 (38,575)
Lexus - 13,814
YTD - 26,674
For comparison, Acura is a little under 19,000 YTD, with Infiniti coming in around 16,500 and Audi (as always) bringing up the rear with 15,565.
Lexus is trailing by a bit, but only because their entire line-up is old. The newest car they have is the LX570, unless you count the IS-C, neither of which is a volume car. Everything else is in dire need of a new model.
Cadillac is riding the wave of a new CTS, the CTS Coupe, and the new SRX. New models always pump up sales figures. Whether they can sustain it or not is a different matter.
Acura suffers the same problem, as well as never being much of a player in the luxury market. Infiniti is fairly niche as well.
As for Buick, I'm not sure why you're mentioning it in the same breath as BMW, Mercedes, Lexus. There is a huge cost difference between Buick and those brands. Buick compared to Toyota or Ford would be more apt.
I have been told that if you remove the Sprinter truck sales from Mercedes' numbers then Cadillac will be ahead of them in luxury car sales for last month.
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Lexus is trailing by a bit, but only because their entire line-up is old.
I do not understand why people want to make excuses for any brand, especially when they chose to be very non-objective in the process. Cadillac only has five nameplate models in their lineup compared to ten for Lexus. The STS and DTS are old and due to be axed soon. The Escalade debuted in 2007, so it is no spring chicken either. Even the CTS (sedan) is reaching its mid life as it came out in 2008. So your comment paints the very incorrect picture that Cadillac's entire lineup is quite new and only selling well because of it.
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As for Buick, I'm not sure why you're mentioning it in the same breath as BMW, Mercedes, Lexus. There is a huge cost difference between Buick and those brands. Buick compared to Toyota or Ford would be more apt.
Buick is not meant to compete with BMW and Mercedes, that is Cadillac's job. However, over half of Lexus sales are the ES and the RX to which the Lacrosse and Enclave (and Cadillac SRX) compare favorably. There is not a huge cost difference between these two and Buicks because they are FWD and based on Toyota platforms - so the comparison is quite valid and another reason why Lexus is trailing behind Cadillac and Buick for the first time in years.
I have been told that if you remove the Sprinter truck sales from Mercedes' numbers then Cadillac will be ahead of them in luxury car sales for last month.
Um, Sprinter is a Dodge product.
It is not included in the figures I quoted.
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Originally Posted by Tourian
I do not understand why people want to make excuses for any brand, especially when they chose to be very non-objective in the process. Cadillac only has five nameplate models in their lineup compared to ten for Lexus. The STS and DTS are old and due to be axed soon. The Escalade debuted in 2007, so it is no spring chicken either. Even the CTS (sedan) is reaching its mid life as it came out in 2008. So your comment paints the very incorrect picture that Cadillac's entire lineup is quite new and only selling well because of it.
Cadillac is going strong based on the CTS and the SRX, with the Escalade thrown in. Hence the reason I point those out. The CTS sales were given a big boost by the CTS Coupe, which is brand new.
I'm not making excuses for Lexus, it's their fault they let their products lag behind.
But Lexus has been the #1 selling luxury brand for years, and to suggest that Cadillac is going to overtake them based on a couple of months of data is laughable, at best.
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Originally Posted by Tourian
Buick is not meant to compete with BMW and Mercedes, that is Cadillac's job. However, over half of Lexus sales are the ES and the RX to which the Lacrosse and Enclave (and Cadillac SRX) compare favorably. There is not a huge cost difference between these two and Buicks because they are FWD and based on Toyota platforms - so the comparison is quite valid and another reason why Lexus is trailing behind Cadillac and Buick for the first time in years.
Buick is not a luxury brand, no matter how much certain people try and style it to be. For that matter, neither is Cadillac, not yet. Lexus is the top-selling luxury brand, so comparisons to Buick are silly.
A huge portion of BMW's sales are from the 3-series. A huge portion of M-B sales are from the C-class and the E-class. Those compare, cost-wise, with Buick. BMW derives a lot of sales from the X3, and M-B the GLK and M-class. Those compare, cost-wise, with the Buick offerings. If you're going to base a brand off the majority of sales, then you can't exclude BMW and M-B.
Simply because Buick charges in the same realm as the lower-end offerings from the luxury makers doesn't mean Buick is a luxury maker. And trying to single out Lexus because it has lower-priced cars is specious without also pointing out that BMW and M-B do as well.
Lexus is trailing because they let their product stagnate, and because they refuse to offer significant incentives like other makers do.
Not any more. Now that the companies have split it is back under the Mercedes umbrella.
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Cadillac is going strong based on the CTS and the SRX, with the Escalade thrown in. Hence the reason I point those out. The CTS sales were given a big boost by the CTS Coupe, which is brand new.
The coupe is a boost but the sedan is by far the lionshare of cts vehicles.
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I'm not making excuses for Lexus, it's their fault they let their products lag behind.
But Lexus has been the #1 selling luxury brand for years, and to suggest that Cadillac is going to overtake them based on a couple of months of data is laughable, at best.
It is the first time it has happened in years. Lexus execs are worried for sure. Not only has competition gotten better but they are still suffering from the on going recall scandal. They are not laughing about these results. They are certainly not laughing about Buick's results either whether you consider them luxury or not.I am not just using sales. The demographics, market, and price plus GM's own mission statement pit the Lacrosse squarely at the Lexus ES. To say that it can't is the same arrogance that said the Lexus could not compete with M-B and BMW so many years ago. That Hyundai can't do it with the Genesis and the Equus. But the facts are, Lexus sales are falling and Buick's and Cadillac's are rising.
Just to confirm, the quoted Mercedes sales include Sprinter vans, but only for February, the YTD number is correct. Sprinters account for 712 of the February sales.
Overall sales: 16,176 for February and 33,449 YTD.
Sales minus Sprinters: 15,464 for February and 31,862 YTD.
So, Cadillac did outsell everyone but BMW in February and is number three behind BMW and Mercedes YTD 2011. FWIW I wouldn't put too much stock in a month or two of sales data, let's see where they end up at the end of Q2.
Cadillac IS a luxury brand that has only recently started to put the wheels in motion to recover the lost prestige it once had. I would arguably say Cadillac put the ball in motion in 2003 with the introduction of the 1st generation CTS and has made considerable strides in the past few years. The 2nd generation CTS is a homerun which addressed all the flaws of the 1st generation (mainly interior quality and craftsmanship) and has become a true competitor to the 3 Series and C-Class. The Escalade is becoming a bit dated and needs a refresh but I believe one is in the works for next year. The new Cadillac SRX is becoming a threat to the Lexus RX, the SRX is another example of a home-run for Cadillac. Once the new flagship XTS sedan comes out, Cadillac will have a fairly well-developed lineup of vehicles. To say that Cadillac is NOT a luxury automaker is ignorant, they just haven't been on top of their game for a number of years and are starting to regain their prestige and competitiveness.
MAINSTREAM Luxury auto manufacturers
Mercedes Benz
BMW
Cadillac
Lexus
Audi
Jaguar
Lincoln (somewhat questionable)
Near-Luxury Manufacturers
Buick
Acura
Infiniti
In car sales, it's all about marketing and knowing your target audience. Cadillac once focused solely on AARP cardholders as their market share making big sedans with comfy seats and V8 engines...this is what their target market wanted in a "luxury vehicle". Fast forward to 2011 and Cadillac is revamping their lineup to focus on marketing to middle-aged clients with disposable income. This middle-aged demographic wants comfort and refinement that can step up to foreign counterparts...thus the CTS and SRX. I don't believe Cadillac is isolating the retirees, the new XTS sedan will to cater to an older demographic.
I think one of the problems for Lexus right now is the redundancy of their lineup...they simply have too many vehicles. The IS/ES cater to the entry-level luxury buyer crowd, the GS is in a confusing spot, and the LS is the flagship. The RX is the bread-and-butter of the Lexus lineup but the GX is also in a confusing position and the LX is overpriced and doesn't have a clear demographic either. Then the whole deal about having 5 hybrid vehicles of which the CT hybrid and the HS hybrid are very close in price and add another wrench to the formula. Lexus simply needs to become more focused and has less overlap. An almost ideal picture would be:
Entry Level Sedan $35K+
Mid Level Sedan $50K+
Flagship Sedan $70K+
Crossover SUV $40K+
Luxury Full Size SUV $65K+
Luxury Convertible $50K+
Lexus can offer a hybrid variant of each category but DON'T make a new model simply for one hybrid vehicle. An automaker must appeal to a wide variety of customers but having too many options can be confusing and overwhelming trying to differentiate the little aspects of each model. Right now I think Cadillac is on the road to having the best formula to have a successful set up like what I mentioned above. I guess we'll wait and see...
My mistake on the Sprinter vans - however, Mercedes still outsold Cadillac. You can't pick and choose models to include or not include because it fits your point.
And Cadillac is NOT a luxury brand, not yet. It's in the "near luxury" category. When they get a real flagship that can compete with the S / 7 / LS, then they make the leap to real luxury. I agree they are on their way back, but they have a lot of ground to make up.
My mistake on the Sprinter vans - however, Mercedes still outsold Cadillac. You can't pick and choose models to include or not include because it fits your point.
It doesn't fit MY point, it fits the point of industry analysts and journalists all across the industry. But thanks though.
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And Cadillac is NOT a luxury brand, not yet. It's in the "near luxury" category. When they get a real flagship that can compete with the S / 7 / LS, then they make the leap to real luxury. I agree they are on their way back, but they have a lot of ground to make up.
Another opinion of yours that no one in this business agrees with. It is interesting you choose to talk about Cadillac being excluded from luxury brand status by it not having a certain model to compete with the S/7/LS, but you will willingly include a freight truck as proof of Mercedes dominance.
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