Cadillac to launch at Australian International Motor Show
September 22, 2008 by Alborz Fallah
Next month’s Australian motor show in Sydney will see the introduction of yet another two brands into the already competitive Australian motor vehicle market. Cadillac and Isuzu will use the show as a launch pad for the CTS and D-Max respectively.
The brand which has got us all excited is Cadillac, General Motors’ global flagship brand. Although GM has been quite about the brand’s future plans, the only confirmed model to date is the new generation CTS sedan.
“Cadillac is built on a strong history of innovation and has undergone a renaissance driven by a new generation of vehicles with dramatic design, a focus on driving performance and technical innovation,” said the Director of GM Premium Brands, Parveen Batish.
For those of you unfamiliar with the CTS, you can find more information here. The car will provide an alternative to European luxury cars with its unique modern American styling. Driven via the rear-wheels, the CTS sedan is powered by a 3.6-litre VVT direct injection V6 engine generating 227kW of power and 370Nm of torque.
“The CTS triggered strong demand in the US from luxury consumers following its launch last year, with sales rising 60 per cent, and its introduction to the important Australian market will continue to move the brand forward.”
CarAdvice will bring you first steers of both the Cadillac CTS and Isuzu D-MAX in the coming month.
The Australian International Motor Show will will also include at leats 40 concepts and all-new or updated vehicle models when it opens to the public on the 9th of October.
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I don’t understand their reasoning. I still think the CTS is questionable use of the Cadillac brand by GM. The Cadillac name is one of America’s oldest surviving brands. It used to compete with Packard, Pierce Arrow, Oldsmobile, Dusenberg, Rolls Royce etc continuing on in the 60s & 70s as preferred pimp transport. It should be put aside in reserve for GM to continue to compete albeit now with the new top end luxury makes/models like MB’s new Maybach (yes, I know maybach is old but that’s my point), BMW, Audi, Rolls Royce. The CTS appears to be pitched against the mid range models/brands like 3/5 series BM, C class, Fords, Chryslers, Lexus etc. Cadillac is not known as a performance brand, so I would have thought GM to focus efforts on something like the Chev branding using the well known camaro & corvette performance creds or similar. If they’re targeting IT profession, CEOs etc with this and not sheiks & magnates, then in further desperation, who will they pitch the revived Pontiac or Buick at?
I think GM is short sighted and ignoring its heritage.
Mate I have no idea what you are talking about. On one hand your saying it should be pitched against BMW, but then your disappointed that its pitched against the 3/5 series? Then you say it should be pitched against things like Maybach’s and Audi’s? Now those two brands aren’t even close to similar? So what the heck are you talking about? Then you say that Cadillac is not known for performance cars, but what does that have to do with it being pitched against, say, Lexus which you said its currently pitched against, now your not going to suggest Lexus is known for its performance cars are you? So again, what on earth are you on about?
Cadillac has had a mid-sized luxury sedan (ala CTS) in their line-up for over 30 years, its hardly something new. The CTS is a luxury sedan, which is what Cadillac has ALWAYS made, and Pontiac and Buick has never been brands aimed at the premium/luxury end of the market, so again, what are you on about?
You’re ignoring what I said. A long time back the cadillac brand was in competition with the world’s best limo makers but over the years GM have diluted it. I guess when I think of think Cadillac I think the most luxurious large type of car that GM make and not a brand that is trying to be everything to everyone. No, lexus don’t make performance cars, so why would you see Cadillac as one?? I’ve never percieved it as a brand with a performance car capable of 415Kw circling the ring in under 8 sec…………
If Cadillac is GM’s global flagship then I’m saying pitch it against others top end luxury models.
I’m not disappointed at all, I just think GM will be.
btw the maybach is only a glorified S class which could arguably compete with the W12 A8 on paper only without the spirit decanters…………
So you want GM, a company that lost close to $40 billion last year, to change a brand that caters for a larger target audience, to instead just cater for a niche (like Maybach, which is close to being defunct due to poor sales), because thats how Cadillac used to be??
Brands are forever changing, because the market place changes, General Motors knows that well.
I would buy an Audi, BMW or Lexus over that ugly thing anyday
Might be more appealing as a hybrid, anyway they looked good in the Matrix movie, you can shoot at them a lot and the tyres wont go flat. That will come in handy when the Agents are chasing you.
You do relize WVB that Cadillac make other models such as the STS-V and XLR-V.
Anyway the CTS is the vehicle that is selling in the US. So I guess that they think that the US consumer loves it and maybe other countries will love it too. All GM products are now going global so there will probably be more to come. Its about getting the name out into the market and maybe they (GM) will be dissapointed with their sales or maybe not.
With Holden dropping the Rodeo line, where are they sourcing the Colorado from?
Azza85 what the Hell does this thread have to do with the Rodeo/Colorado? But since you asked, the Colorado is the same vehicle, from the same source, as the Rodeo. It’s just that they had to give it a name change because they lost the rights to use the name Rodeo.
i still cant get over the ugly rodeo style front end.
if you ask me, they are aiming this at the niche market that gobbles up the chrysler 300C’s.
they are bringing in large car with bulky american styling in a 6cyl or V8 that will only appeal to people who want something miles outside the typical mould.
its a 300C competitor only.
no way would i buy this over GM’s current styling in a SS or HSV or Calais. yep, even with the ugly VE rear end, this still looks worse
have a look at the last picture captain
I dunno Andrew M, some people may just get brainwashed by watching all those hollywood movies with these cars in it. Perhaps typical buyers would be expat Yanks. But then again there are always the ‘dare to be different’ people giving something as you say outside the mould a go…
I give this both the cadillac sedan wagon and coupe a year….two at the most before it becomes a dismal failure and goes the same way as the Hummer not to mention the [equally as] Ugly Chrysler 300C.
Why would anyone consider buying this hideous thing over an HSV let alone a BMW?
Quote [Frenchie]: Anyway the CTS is the vehicle that is selling in the US. So I guess that they think that the US consumer loves it and maybe other countries will love it too.
Its that kind of thinking that got both Ford GM and Chrysler in the s–t that they are in
GM President Rick Wagonner said that I love driving my big SUV therefore the rest of America would too.. and Mr Ford Jr Snr Jr said a similar thing
Then theres the fact that Americans – Like Mr Waggoner can’t run their Local Operations yet they think that Americans are able to run their Overseas subsidiaries.. Yet
No-one knows Australia better than an Australian
Hey myke.….GM, only 40Bn loss you say. So they’re turning around then. They’re on the mend.
Not a big fan of the looks of it but I do like to see GM trying. At least this thing goes AND handles. I just want that engine in the Commodore. Hopefully GM won’t have issues with Holden using the same engine in their $35k cars as Caddie are using in their $60k+? cars.
The people saying “i would rather buy a lexus/bmw/merc/audi” instead of this. That is precisely what i think is the reason this would sell. I would buy this for that exact reason that everyone else would buy those bland looking (in comparison) quite common euro’s. Depending on where you live, those 3 euro vehicles are everywhere. Your bound to see atleast 2 cars from those 4 brands in a car park in the ocean of Corrolas (where they belong as friggin anchor). I think this cadilac would be a hit for that exact reason. And to be honest its not that bad looking. I’m sure in the flesh once your standing next to it looking down on it, it wont look that bad.
if only 1 could get this motor in a commodore(after all its the same as the local one,only direct injected) with a 6 speed auto that really works!!!!is anyone from holden out there…PLEASE!!!
Totally agree with you Wheelnut but when GM has 15 of its 22 plants producing trucks and SUV’s that nobody wants I suppose they have to do something.
It is obvious that they have too many eggs in ones basket!
Personally I think the Cadillac is going to be too expensive and ……. I think its ugly.
I have driven these cars in the US and they are certainly among the best of the local offerings; but they don’t compare well to the high end Europeans / Japanese cars, particularly on build quality. Australian buyers have a long exposure to those cars and tend to use them as the reference standard. For this reason alone I cannot see many buyers choosing the Cadillac. I think Cadillac will be a short term anomaly in the Australian market; particularly if they only sell the CTS.
I think Cadillac will do well, they are offering something different from the usual, without being utterly horrible like other American cars. Cadillac have made a solid attempt with the CTS and will continue to do so with their future vehicles.
If they sold the CTS-V rather than the poverty pack 3.6 they might stand a better chance.