Cadillac's Future Product Plans Show Lack of Planning
Well, I hope this isn't an omen: Cadillac's "new GM" product strategy is bubbling up through the blogosphere, and the keystone is a decision by Caddy to "really" target the BMW 3 Series with a new, smaller-than-the-CTS sedan. Then, according to Car & Driver, "Cadillac aims to grow the CTS slightly for its third iteration, placing it even more firmly in BMW 5 Series territory."
And really, that's about all you have to know to start worrying about Cadillac. First off, the whole idea of designing a new car by benchmarking a competitor's current one is a tactic proven to fail in the auto industry '” especially for a company like the new GM, which has so much riding on its future products. See, if Cadillac "only" aims at besting the current 3 Series, it's already going to be in the hole, because BMW has already moved on to improving that car itself. Or, as we just discovered, expanding the number of variants it offers. Frankly, Cadillac thinking it can suddenly launch a new sedan to compete with BMW's well-established core-product lineup, just as that lineup is expanding further, doesn't seem like such a hot plan.
On the other hand, it makes more sense than growing the CTS to be a better competitor for the BMW 5-Series. Because the problem here is that the CTS is '” unsurprisingly '” already more than 300 lbs. heavier than the 5 Series. Looking at the other exterior dimensions, the Cadillac also is fractions of an inch longer and taller than the BMW, albeit also fractions of an inch behind the Bimmer in terms of wheelbase and width. Grow the CTS? I would have thought that by now that the folks at GM would realize being the biggest entry in a segment isn't the same as being the best.
Another reason for concern: C&D also reports that replacing the current Cadillac STS and DTS will be one vehicle, "a mid-size Lexus ES competitor to be called the XTS." For those keeping score at home, this means subtracting two full-size vehicles from the Caddy lineup and replacing them with one mid-sizer, which would then be right on top of the CTS, which is also a mid-size vehicle. Unless Caddy does, in fact, grow the CTS to full-size specs, but that would mean it would be in a different EPA segment from the 5 Series, its purported competition.
On the truck-ish side of things, Cadillac only recently debuted its new, downsized SRX, which looks suspiciously like the Saturn VUE, despite the fact that Cadillac swears the former only shares a powertrain with the latter. Naturally, there will also be a new Escalade, although this, too, will get downsized to match its current relevance to the marketplace, ending up on the same platform beneath the Chevrolet Traverse. And GMC Acadia. And Buick Enclave. The downsizing then continues with the rumor of a possible Cadillac city car (Aston Martin Cygnet anyone?) and the possibility of a production version of the Converj, a two-seat Caddy take on the Chevrolet Volt.
So, by 2011 or so, the Cadillac lineup could include a city car, an extended-range electric vehicle, the compact 3 Series competitor (that will need multiple body styles to truly compete with BMW), a mid- or full-size CTS (with a CTS Coupe and CTS Sportswagon), and both a small and a larger crossover.
It's not exactly the lean, mean competing machine I was expecting from Cadillac, or any of the GM core divisions, and I'm particularly disheartened about the way Caddy seems to be developing vehicles to match up with the competition instead of going its own way. Remember, it was only seven or so years ago that the General's luxury division was essentially dead on its wheels. It took the introduction of the CTS, which looked unlike anything else on the road when it debuted, to start changing people's perceptions of the division. (Okay, that and some serious cash.)
I just hope GM management isn't forgetting what it took to get people to forget the CTS' predecessor.