Posted on 01/09/2012 6:34:06 AM PST by Libloather
GM challenges German brands with small Cadillac
By Deepa Seetharaman and Ben Klayman
DETROIT | Mon Jan 9, 2012 7:55am EST
(Reuters) - General Motors Co proved with the Chevrolet Cruze it can build a top-selling compact car, cracking a market long dominated by Japanese brands.
Now the No.1 U.S. automaker is targeting the entrenched German luxury brands with a more nimble compact Cadillac.
The 2013 ATS is central to GM chief executive Dan Akerson's mission to refashion Cadillac into a global luxury brand by winning over younger buyers with a sportier image.
From the start, GM took aim at BMW's 3-Series, the dominant car in this segment along with the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Luxury compacts make up two-thirds of the luxury car market in the United States, according to Autodata.
GM has failed in this segment before, however. In the early 1980s, GM launched the Cadillac Cimarron, which Time magazine in 2007 called one of the 50-worst cars ever built.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I am in full agreement with your first point.
On the second, the CTS-V is a seriously badass car, not to be discounted in comparisons with Euro performance sedans. And I’m generally a German car fan.
Somewhere between “can’t possibly be any good at this price” and “Honey, maybe we can each get along on one kidney and sell the other one”. The boomers are getting old. “THE ULTIMATE DRIVING MACHINE” is becoming less important. They want THE EASY TO GET IN AND OUT OF AND DOESN’T MEAN I HAVE TO EAT RAMEN NOODLES FOREVER AND LETS ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT BEING SEEN IN IT INSTEAD OF DRIVING TO THE GROCERY STORE AT 7 IN THE MORNING MACHINE.
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