Japan Report: Cadillac CTS Coming in 2008
Cadillac’s new shape CTS had a big coming out party in Japan in the run up to the Tokyo Show.
Japan will actually have to wait a while to get the sharp looking new CTS. The first cars don’t arrive until January 2008, in two forms: with 2.8-liter V-6 and 3.6-liter V-6 and with local stickers spanning ¥4.95-¥6.2 million (some $43,440-$54,400).
Japan is traditionally a good market for Cadillac. The brand resonates well but 2007 to date has been tough, with nine-month sales down 19.3 percent at 581 cars.
Hopefully the arrival of the new CTS will do lots of positive things for America’s top luxury brand in the land of the Rising Sun.
Comments
Clint
I know the new CTS has been getting rave reviews from the press. I know the car was Nurburgring-tuned. I know Cadillac has been building its brand-image to highlight performance through motorsports in order to eliminate it's past association with floppy luxo-barges-cum-herses for the all-important "Affluent retiree living in sunny South Florida" market segment. I know the CTS is on or almost on par with the best the Germans have to offer. However, I think Art and Science has run its course.
Either it appealed to you or it didn't. A better CTS that looks just like the old CTS (which looked like it was designed by someone who only had a ruler) isn't going to do much to attract new buyers. Art and Science was new, edgy, and distinguished the Cadillac brand - in 2003, and even this was a typically glacial GM response to Ford New Edge circa 1996.
Cadillac used to be the benchmark for cutting edge styling and performance (hence "Art and Science"). Now that they're making good cars again, they could at least make them look the part.
Note to GM: The look of the F-117 Nighthawk was designed purely for function in 1977, and had angular lines on a triangular airframe. Whoever thought these lines would look good stretched over the rolling-brick shape of a typical Caddy in 2003 was clearly still using the hallucinogens and club drugs popular in 1977.
Mena
Actually, you are the person that I've heard that doesn't like the new car. I'm actually reading and hearing from people that think the new CTS is much better than the old one and that's from the so-called young, hip crowd.
I think the old car was too heavy and didn't offer enough power. The new one is still too heavy but its competition weighs the same now so that's a moot point. And the power has been addressed with a more modern 300hp DI V6. Still not my first choice for a sedan since BMW offers twin-turbo's in theirs (I'm a sucker for turbo cars) and the new Infiniti G35 is cheaper and looks better (and has the same hp but from a non-DI motor).
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Ducati Minor
I'm about 70% against Clint on this one. The art & science design is clear and distinct. What is competing with it? BMWs have been bashed for becoming "Banglized." Audis are mocked for the wide grill treatment. Lexus is slammed left & right for lacking character. I don't agree with the negative criticism for the aforementioned, but I do think Infiniti's latest designs leave a lot to be desired. I don't think anyone has taken hope of Jaguar's future after the ruined XF shots came out. Acura and Lincoln aren't even considered design players.
I would say Cadillac has managed well.
I heard the rave reviews for this car--I couldn't believe how nice it was when I examined one about a couple of weeks ago. The hand-stitched interior, wooden accents, and finely set display just stunned me. The 2008 edition, from a distance, isn't very different from the character of the 2003--but it is perfected as a product. GM has done an amazing job of making this car a world-class touring sedan. I had checked out a preview G37; the G37 is sleeker in my opinion, but measured well behind the Caddy in overall presentation. I haven't been so impressed by a luxury sedan since the Lexus LS460.
Clint
I agree that Art and Science is distinctive. It makes a Caddy look like a Caddy and nothing else. My personal opinion is that the styling looks pretty unappealing, but obviously other people like it, and the look is better than the old Caddy styling - which was the generic boxy American sedan look.
I suppose my main point, which may have been lost in my post, is that the new CTS, while a huge step ahead of the old CTS in driving dynamics, build quality, and interior design, looks very similar to the old CTS. If Cadillac is trying to attract new customers, it needs to avoid the Jaguar XJ8 mistake of wrapping a revolutionary car in too familiar packaging. Of course, the counter point is that Cadillac can patiently build brand identity by sticking to similar styling and designing progressively better cars, but Art and Science is a heck of a polarizing look to stick to.
dante
It's only the second generation. The XJ8 went back to the '60's in style. The 911 has been an ever-melting bar of soap version of it's original self as well, also '60's, and people love it. The Infiniti G looks like the old one, and though I don't like it as much, I'm sure it will do very well. BMW's have had a similar look since the early '90's (that an evolution of several decades), just with a little incongruous pointless lines drawn on the flanks and a bloated look now. Jaguar's problem was appealing to a dying (literally) demographic, the same one Cadillac is shaking off.
Many people want continuity in something they like - familiarity makes them feel safe and they feel confident they will like the new product for the same reasons they liked the old one (even if, in some cases, it's just as much imagined as real).
There aren't too many lookeds in this category (or most categories) right now, and I think it looks at least as good as any of its competitors.
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