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What makes the Cadillac CTS-V so special?

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With the upcoming CTS-V Challenge Event, this may be a good time for a summary of why the current Cadillac CTS-V is such a special car.

Powerplant:  the CTS-V comes with a supercharged and intercooled 6.2L V8 engine making 556 Hp and 551 ft-lbs of torque called the LSA engine.  It is similar to the LS9 engine in the Corvette ZR1.  While the Corvette engines are made by hand, the CTS-V engine is a normal production item.  The Corvette has more forged components, and a 2.3L Supercharger where the CTS-V has a 1.9L Supercharger.

From the product catalog for the powerplant:

The 556-hp 6.2L Supercharged Gen IV V-8 (RPO LSA) is installed longitudinally in the CTS-V, and available with GM’s Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic or the twin-disc Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission. This engine is assembled in Silao, Mexico.

With 556 horsepower at 6100 rpm and 551 pound-feet or torque at 3800 rpm, certified by the Society of Automotive Engineers, the supercharged LSA V-8 is the most powerful production engine in Cadillac’s 106-year history. It makes the CTS-V one of the fastest four-door automobiles in the world, with at least 23 percent more horsepower and 24 percent more torque than benchmark competitors such as the Audi RS4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, according to published figures.

As significantly, the LSA delivers an excellent balance of low-rev torque and high-rev horsepower, with the smooth, refined operation expected in a luxury brand. The new 6.2L Supercharged LSA takes Cadillac’s tradition of outstanding power, performance and impressive refinement to new levels.

Suspension: The CTS-V uses Magnetic Ride Control with electro-magnetically controlled shocks.  The chassis itself is shared with the non-V CTS, and is called the Sigma II chassis.  As with the original CTS, the chassis was tuned for performance on the road and on the track.

Rubber: P255/40R19 front and P285/35R19 rear, Y-rated  Wheels: 19″ x 9″ (48.3 cm x 22.9 cm) front, 19″ x 9.5″ (48.3 cm x 24.1 cm) rear

Brakes:  Brembo 6-piston front calipers with Vented Disks; 4-piston rear calipers.

Transmission:  The CTS-V is available with a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.  The CTS-V that set the record at the Nurburgring Performance Sedan record was an automatic.  Both come with a limited slip differential.

Weight: 4,200 lbs for the Manual transmission CTS-V; 4,300 lbs for the Automatic transmission CTS-V

Reviews: Road & Track, Car & Driver, Super Sedan Comparison – Motor Trend


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Roadtrip: Cadillac CTS-V vs The World

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If you’re not keeping up, that’s a video of GM VP Bob Lutz “getting ready” to race a beautiful CTS-V at Monticello Motor Club.

And one of the best parts?  I am planning to Roadtrip and attend the event!  Actually, this is not technically a roadtrip, as Monticello is a 24 hour drive from here in Texas.   So more of a fly to Philadelphia then have lunch then fly again to Newburgh NY then get a car and drive to Monticello trip.

Cadillac has a fun day planned and it should be a blast.  I am pleased to be included; BodybyFisher (on the Caddyinfo.com Forum) and I will attend from Caddyinfo.com.

So, 5 laps for the Cadillac CTS-V and 5 Super-sedan competitors around the same course at Monticello Motor Club, and a fun time for all.

Just meeting the Cadillac Team, and visiting the Monticello Motor Club would be fun.  The whole CTS-V racing the world makes it a must-attend event.

The day will include lunch with Bob, viewing of the V-Series Challenge competition and a post-challenge V-Series driving seminar led by V-Series chief engineer and racing champion John Heinricy.

We should be able to post and tweet from the event, and certainly we’ll have pics to upload after.

Selling the Steaks, not the Sizzle

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Elmer Wheeler, an early marketing & branding guru, and public speaker.  “Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak” was one of his trademark expressions, and the chapter title for one of the chapters in his book, “Tested Sentences that Sell”.

The expression “Sell the Sizzle, not the Steak” means that people don’t really care about the features of your product, they care about the benefits to themselves as buyers.  Quote:

“WHAT WE MEAN by the “sizzle” is the BIGGEST selling point in your proposition – the MAIN reasons why your prospects will want to buy. The sizzling of the steak starts the sale more than the cow ever did, though the cow is, of course, very necessary!

Hidden in everything you sell, whether a tangible or an intangible, are “sizzles.” Find them and use them to start the sale. Then, after desire has been established in the prospect’s thinking, you can bring in the necessary technical points.

The good waiter realizes he must sell the bubbles – not the champagne. The grocery clerk sells the pucker – not the pickles, the whiff – not the coffee. It is the tang in the cheese that sells it!

The insurance man sells PROTECTION, not cost per week. Only the butcher sells the cow and not the sizzle, yet even he knows that the promise of the sizzle brings him more sales of his better cuts.”

Recently GM VP Bob Lutz said he didn’t want to see another marketing campaign that sells the sizzle and not the steak.

In a September interview with Automotive News, Bob Lutz, GM’s head of marketing and Nesbitt’s boss, said Modernista and Cadillac have done enough visually edgy ads with attention-getting music.
Now Cadillac will run more ads that explain the value of the brand’s products compared to the imports.
“I won’t sit here and permit ads that keep simply emphasizing the sizzle and never talk about the steak,” Lutz said. “We’re going to start selling the steak.”

I think by that he means that he doesn’t want to see commercials that are purely about lifestyle or impressions without actually focusing on the product itself, or on comparisons of GM products with competitors.  So, how can the next set of Cadillac marketing follow the philosophy proven successful by Elmer Wheeler and still ace the intent that Bob Lutz wants to see?

Actually, the two are not as different as you might think.  What Elmer Wheeler advocated was to bring in customers based on the tangible and intangible benefits to the customer, then to highlight the technical details that validate their interest in your product.  That does NOT have to be in contrast to Mr. Lutz’ point about the advertisements.

Let’s take the new 2010 Cadillac SRX:

Benefits — Technical details

Elegant — Leather interior, Luxury accessories, state of the art entertainment

Efficient — nimble, fuel efficient, family-friendly, easy to park, great visibility, versatility in load carrying

Sporty — good power, great handling, nimble, responsive

And at an even deeper level of detail are specifications:

Specifications: custom Theta/Epsilon Cadillac SUV suspension, 3L VVT DI V6 or 2.8L VVT Turbo V6, Bose stereo, available Navigation, ONSTAR, wood trim, leather

So which of these are the steak and which are the sizzle?  One is inclined to say that the Benefits are the sizzle, and the technical details are the steak, right?  The Cadillac websites do a good job of bringing out these benefits, and the technical detail behind them.

Unfortunately, a lot of the current advertising does not get into the ‘benefits’ as described above — current commercials may only show Cadillac vehicles, with a voice over that never mentions these benefits at all.

Example 2010 SRX Commercial on YouTube

Conclusions?

  • Cadillac is NOT a commodity product, but is a premium product that can sell itself if the ads will focus on the product
  • Cadillac needs to start directly addressing the benefits of Cadillac products in their marketing, and bringing in the technical details to close the deal.
  • If Cadillac can level the playing field, so that comparisons with competitors are done based on facts, Cadillac wins.