tex2670

They did not "nail it". Nailing it is having a sales hit. Not building a car that beats the 3-Series solely in driving dynamics; while the 3-Series is expanding its customer base by moving away from best-in-class driving dynamics. Caddy hit a bulls-eye on the one thing most people don't really care about; and then missed the mark on most things that buyers do care about: practicality (extremely cramped interior), interior design (an instrument panel that would be embarrassing for Chevy, and mediocre interior trim), and controls (CUE and haptic controls? what a joke). I looked at the ATS and bought a 328. Then I went to the Philly Auto Show after I bought my car, and said "Thank g-d I did not get the Caddy." The superior driving dynamics really wouldn't have done me much good in my traffic-choked suburb anyway.

mmarshall

......and not to mention the fact that, with the ATS, those razor-sharp driving characteristics come at the cost of a stiff ride....even more so in the V version. That wouldn't mix in very well with the Philly area's rough roads.....a common problem throughout much of the Northeast.

tex2670

And that's what I find fascinating. Because I see so many elderly drivers in tooling around in the ATS. I'm guessing many are just Caddy loyalists who automatically just buy the entry level Caddy--but I can't imagine those customers are happy with the way the car drives, as you describe.

mmarshall

Maybe a little off-topic, but something you might want. Here's the information for the Philadelphia Auto Show. It runs almost exactly the same dates as the D.C. show.....January 27-February 4. It's a smaller show, though, than either D.C. or Detroit, and, though it's possible, Cadillac is not likely to have a lot in the way of future products there.

https://www.phillyautoshow.com

https://www.phillyautoshow.com/show-info/floor-plan/

tex2670

Thx. I've had my Philly Auto Show tix since November.

Johnhav430

I worked in a Caddy Olds dealership first year of college...I had the distinct impression that Caddy may have been at their historical low by now, but I sure liked being able to use the lifts whenever I wanted to! (they were single post back then, and I raised my classmate's Porsche as high as it would go, and it would not come down [I did not know about the safety catches]) I have this sick feeling Caddy is headed in the same direction, kinda aimlessly trying to see what will sell....seriously, this is 2018, with tons of technology/social media etc. GM needs to ask themselves why their Caddy event with the CTS-V came across as the amateur hour. My buddy said his wife almost crashed and the person wasn't saying anything.

Johnhav430

I live here and I've always thought it was not a very good show. At least at the Big E, you can sit in the Corvettes and they give you free t shirts on the spot! When I was a kid the auto show was in the NY Coliseum...nothing was more exciting than being 12 yo and having my pic taken with a model, couldn't wait for my parents to get the film developed. Today, I don't even remember seeing any models and all the cars seem to be locked, that's not a show to me lol

tex2670

Ha--I totally agree about the NY show at the Coliseum--but I still remember higher end cars like Porsche and MB being locked. I went to the Javits Center about 3-4 years ago on Easter Sunday, and it was wall to wall people. I got to attend the Javits Center on Dealer Day one year--the BEST. No cars were locked; MB had bagels and a schmear, and there was hardly anyone there. Philly definitely pales in comparison; but I don't really care so much about getting my pic taken with a model. The same makes are locked at Philly as they were in NY.

Johnhav430

About cars being unlocked....I went to the 991 launch a few years ago on the Main Line, and there was so much wow of course around the new 911 (why wouldn't there be). Top notch alcohol and hors d'oeuvres, leading to the unveiling. We got to walk about freely in the shop, etc. But my buddy and I discovered this neglected and brand new 997 Turbo S so we thoroughly checked it out, from head to toe, sat in it, we were tempted to start it lol....my only downer with that car was it was an auto and I understand the S didn't get a stick. But the sticker price was $161k, while these new 991's already listed for $140k, one would think the older car for $20k more would be worth it....we found it interesting how nobody was even interested in looking at it. There must be experience/data where if cars are left unlocked, at a general show, they are damaged...

mmarshall

Do they discount the tickets selling them that far in advance?

Here in D.C., the dealers' association (WANADA) actually sponsors the show...so they give out a limited number of free passes.

tex2670

There are coupons you can get from dealers and McDonald's, but they run a CyberMonday 1/2 price deal every year. I also learned by accident that if you go to the Simeone Foundation Museum during or right before the show, they will give you free tix to the Philly show, because a few cars from their collection are absent because they send them over to the show every year.

tex2670

Turns out, Cadillac doesn't have ANY products at Philly or DC:

https://www.phillyautoshow.com/show-info/floor-plan/

https://www.washingtonautoshow.com/s...bitor-listing/

I'm not sure why Caddy would think this is a wise move. I was actually looking forward to seeing the CT6.

mmarshall

Yes, That's interesting. Caddy did have a display at Detroit. But, on the other hand, according to the floor plan, Porsche will have a display here in D.C., but not at the larger Detroit show....go figure. And Mitsubishi will not have a display at any of the shows.

Did you mean the CT5? You can look at (and test-drive) the CT6 at any Cadillac dealership...It's been out for well over a year.

SLegacy99

That's stupid. ...not that I am in the market, but I am pretty interested in Cadillac's current lineup. The 3 series hasn't changed much in the past decade and IS isn't all that exciting. The CT5 could be a real contender.

LexBob2

The Chicago Auto Show will have 3 Mitsubishi models on display (I wouldn't expect much traffic). Porsche and Cadillac will both be there. It would seem really odd with no Caddy's on display.

I've seen a couple of videos of new Porsche models at the '18 Detroit show.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...28&FORM=VDQVAP