SRX leads Cadillac Oct 11 Sales

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Overall Cadillac sales were down 12% in Oct 2011 as compared to Oct 2010.  The disappearance of the Cadillac DTS from the showroom made the primary difference in sales from last year; add in those 1.3K sales and this year would be flat to last year.  To keep some perspective, Oct 2010 was a strong month, up 15% from 2009.

The Cadillac SRX sales were the highlight, at 4.9K units for the month, up 12.7% overall or 17% per sales day.  CTS sales were strong although down somewhat from 2010 at 3.9K units for the month vs 4.2K last year.

Table


 October
(Calendar Year-to-Date)

January – October

2011 2010 % Chg Volume %Chg per S/D
2011 2010 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D) 26 27





CTS 3,918 4,242 -7.6 -4.1
45,818 36,758 24.6
DTS 404 1,731 -76.7 -75.8
11,159 15,718 -29.0
Escalade 1,424 1,432 -0.6 3.3
11,915 12,485 -4.6
Escalade ESV 722 951 -24.1 -21.2
6,492 6,649 -2.4
Escalade EXT 163 243 -32.9 -30.3
1,578 1,619 -2.5
SRX 4,984 4,423 12.7 17.0
44,845 41,153 9.0
STS 180 364 -50.5 -48.6
3,166 3,837 -17.5
XLR 0 7 ***.* ***.*
12 187 -93.6
Cadillac Total 11,795 13,393 -11.9 -8.5
124,985 118,406 5.6

Summary:  Arrival of the Cadillac XTS and ATS in the summer and Autumn of 2012 should rapidly improve Cadillac sales.

If I didn’t drive a Cadillac…

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I enjoy a 2008 Cadillac STS-V as a daily driver.  It is a terrific vehicle with amazing power and agility.   Sport suspension, supercharged V8, Brembo brakes, extra cooling on every system; what’s not to love?  Well, it is not economical; but it is a lot of fun.

What if I needed to buy a car today and it could not be a Cadillac — what would my top choices be?

  1. Chevrolet Volt — this is a truly revolutionary car.  With 40 miles a day I could always do my daily commutes on electricity.  Thanks to an agreement with the power company, all the power at our house comes from wind farms, so even my recharges would be relatively green.  Also I feel it is important for people who understand that this car is a game changer to actually buy one to help encourage further development.
  2. Chevrolet Corvette (used) — The best sports car bargain on the planet.  Plentiful power, and relatively economical to operate.  I would be hard pressed not to consider a C5 model vs the current C6 edition just because of the terrific value.  However, the best Corvette available is invariably the latest one.
  3. BMW 335i (used) — the twin-turbo engine and seemingly every auto magazine writer’s favorite chassis make this a nice combo.  The 335i brings a large part of the goodness of the M3 at a lower price point.

Honorable mention:  Camaro SS, used Saturn Sky Redline (I still love these even though they are ‘orphaned’ now).

What would your favorite non-Cadillac be — what car would you actually be willing to pay for?

Cadillac ATS the Journey – The Transcript

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Cadillac has begun a series of video previews for the upcoming Cadillac ATS smaller-than-a-CTS model on youtube.

Interestingly, Cadillac had previously said that the ATS name was not final, but certainly they are using it here to refer to this model (along with everyone else), so perhaps it is becoming more final now.

Here is a transcript from the audio:

Dave Mikels, Energy & Powertrain Integration Engineer:

This is like the Mecca for auto enthusiasts.  It was labelled by Jackie Stewart as ‘The Green Hell’.  Its an experience like no other.

Chris Berube, Lead Development Engineer:

These trips to Germany and the Nurburgring are extremely special to me.  I like the culture’s focus on everything being right and precise.

Mark Reuss, President, GM North America:

If you want to compete with everybody who’s the best in the world, this is where they do it.

Dave Mikels, Energy & Powertrain Integration Engineer:

Making a car that is great on the ‘Ring, you will disappoint no one.  And that is the whole reason we come here.

Chris Berube, Lead Development Engineer:

The Nurburgring itself is special in a number of ways,  It’s not the fact that its famous — in some cases it is infamous — once you enter the track and you start driving it, it requires and demands your full attention.

Our test period here is a 2 week period.  We work through the weekend; we basically maximize our time here. There is certainly a lot of pressure on this program.  We are targeting some competitors who are known to be leaders, and have been for quite some time.  If I had to describe the ATS to someone, I’d really focus on the low mass, agile, fun to drive — yet at the same time, it is a Cadillac, and it will have luxury appointments in it.

We want to come out of here having pushed the boundaries, increased the strength of  the car, and be able to demonstrate that when we get home.

Dave Mikels, Energy & Powertrain Integration Engineer:

Being successful here is what makes our cars successful.

Next on ATS:  Rear toe?