With rising gas prices and increases in CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards set to take effect in the coming decade, the future of Cadillac’s products is in doubt.

Rumors are swirling that the STS/DTS replacement (both cars were to be replaced with a single uber-model to compete against BMW’s 7-series and Mercedes S-Class), expected to be built on a premium version of GM’s new Zeta rear-drive chassis, has been canceled. The next Escalade is up in the air. Smaller products are being considered that might never have been before.

This casts doubt onto the direction Cadillac might take in the future. Will they continue on their quest to go toe-to-toe with the luxury industry heavyweights model for model (and with the new regulatory climate, what does that mean)? Will they dial back their ambition and compete with the second tier of the luxury market? Will they find their own, distinctive, path?

Let’s take a look at what will and might happen at Cadillac in the near future:

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Categories: News, Commentary, BLS, CTS, STS / SLS, SRX, DTS, XLR, Escalade, V-Series, Rumored Models
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In November 2007, we drove the 2008 CTS (in 3.6l DI, All-wheel drive form) and wrote our impressions in a 4-part series.

We’re in touch with Cadillac now to see what other review vehicles might be available.

What would you, the Caddy Edge faithful, like to see reviewed next? We’d like to know just so we can make sure that, if offered a choice, that we pick the vehicles you are most interested in.

...and, just so you know, we are in line to get access to the new CTS-V and Escalade Hybrid as soon as possible.

Your thoughts?

Categories: Models, News, Commentary, STS / SLS, SRX, DTS, XLR, Escalade, Reviews, V-Series
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You may have heard mention of this already…

CNW Research has recently put out a report that Cadillac’s appeal to 18-35 year olds is slipping. The score of the brand in the ‘Aspirational Index’ has slipped to its lowest value since 2003. The brand’s score started to climb in 1999 and flattened out in 2005-06 with it dropping below 8 (on a 10 point scale).

They note that the ‘aspiration age’ of buyers…I suppose this means the average age of people who would own a Cadillac, rather than those who could afford to buy one…has gone from 30.3 to 35.9 in the last 3 years. Of course, this looks less like a problem if you figure that the same theoretical 30.3-year old would be 33.3 at the end of the same period. Not a terribly odd thing given that the youngest buyers tend to be drifting toward boxy cars when they care about cars at all.

I expect the age of the current Cadillac product also has a bit to do with it given that most of the cars in the stable were close to brand new 3 years ago. Expect the numbers to reverse with the debuts of the new CTS, CTS coupe, CTS-V, BRX, etc.

Winding Road: Study Suggests Cadillac’s Appeal Is Slipping

Categories: News, Commentary, CTS
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As much as I loathe posting about any Forbes list (they seem to put out multiple lists every day, just for the publicity)...this one has at least a slight Cadillac angle…

They are running a story about the wide range of ‘affordable’ luxury models available.

One interesting angle is how the CTS is one of a select few on the list that don’t share a platform with a lesser model from another brand. This makes the CTS one of the few ‘true luxury’ models on the list.

As you know, the CTS is based on a unique platform (Sigma) that Cadillac and Cadillac alone uses for models as diverse as the CTS, STS, and SRX.

The only other models on the list that share this distinction (not sharing their innards with more mass-market cars) are:

BMW 3-series
Infiniti G37
Lexus IS
Mercedes C-class

A nice group to be part of, I think.

The ones that do share their roots with ‘lesser’ cars on the Forbes list are:

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Categories: News, Commentary, CTS, STS / SLS, SRX
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The Gloucester Times, in Massachusetts, is running an article profiling one of their home-town boys, Eric Clough.

Mr. Clough just happens to be the man responsible for the interiors of the latest Cadillacs.

An interesting read.

The Gloucester Times: Inside Man: North Andover native ‘revolutionizes’ Cadillac interiors

Categories: News, Commentary
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