[Rtech]

Indian's have a soft spot for a few automotive brands. They are - Mercedes Benz, Rolls Royce, Honda and Toyota. While Honda and toyota are in a seperate league, the only other brand that is known and respected in India that can compete in a way with MB *(and Rolls albeit on a lesser scale) is Cadillac.

Ask your parents or grandparents. They will remember the huge Cadillacs that used to roam the streets in their time. The name itself is associated with Maharaja's and the elite. Just saying the name "Cadillac" has a charm of its own. Maybe not to you an me (read, the enhusiasts), but surely to the public, Cadillac signifies wealth and prestige.

With GM in India, this could be the car that would bring some much needed glamour to their showrooms. A cadillac is cheaper and larger than any MB product in a similar range and price bracket. The design of Cadillac's is exactly what the rich Indian businessman likes...a lot of show, a lot of chrome and a lot of car!

Take the Cadillac Seville. Its a huge car that commands respect when seen on the road. Its got all the room you need inside, and the best part is, if it was sold here, it could sell for as little as 25 lakhs-30 lakhs! 25 lakhs would get you a huge car, all the luxury you need and that all important badge with snob value. A Skoda may not sell well at 25 lakhs, but a Cadillac sure will.

The current line-up in the Cadillac fleet includes the SL rival, the retractable hardtop sports GT - the XLR, which could steal sales from the SL, as it would sell for less than half the price of the MB.


Then you have the CTS which would appeal to the younger person with is striking looks and great performance. All this for a little more than a Toyota Camry. Yup, this would be another seller for sure.


For the Hotel and older executive sector, there is the Seville whih I mentioned above as well as the Deville. Both are almost as long as limo's!!


Hell, they even have the humungous Escalade for the Bollywood crowd!!


I seriously feel that GM would be foolish not to launch the Cadillac marque in India. They are sitting on a goldmine.

What do you think?

Rtech

[v12]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]The name itself is associated with Maharaja's and the elite.

And wedding cars too.

Cadillacs will definitely be a hit in the Indian market. But i guess it will be very difficult for GM to price it in MB category. They will definitely be more expensive than the Merc.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (v12 @ Aug. 09 2004,15:33)]Cadillacs will definitely be a hit in the Indian market. But i guess it will be very difficult for GM to price it in MB category. They will definitely be more expensive than the Merc.

v12, I think you're right. These car have to come here as CKD till such time GM is ready to start production. Which I doubt GM will do at this stage.

[GTO]

Good analysis Rtech. Caddy may enjoy good brand equity in India, as does Chevrolet. GM sure cashed it on it wisely didnt it, with the launch of the Optra and now the Tavera.

What will make it easier for GM to get Caddy here is the fact that they have just launched the brand in China.

GTO

[lamborghini]

well i hope caddy comes to town ......
man their cars look hot ......
not sure bout prices - cheaper / expensive as compared to mb
me dad cant stop raving bout his caddy and his mercs.....

[_Crazi4Speed_]

The new caddi design are fab..@ a gr8 price, I doubt they can match the price of an MB, they would be atleast that or more since they dont have many engine choices like MB do. MB brings almost the lowest end and look how expensive they are..anyhow I would love to see them on the road but they would only be able to sell as add ons to other GM marks..just a high end version with very few sales figures..

Escalade is one that I would grab including the new up coming STS or the CTS V(only 3250 being made V8 killer).

Hey Rudra you mention production, which high end car is being produced in india today? I am just curious, I dontknow, I thought all the plants in india were assembling few parts here and there for high end cars, most of it comes built up? So if thats the case all you would need is small time machinery to assemble the caddis, what is GM doing with the optra, how is that being produced? curious..

Thanks

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (_Crazi4Speed_ @ Aug. 11 2004,04:16)]Hey Rudra you mention production, which high end car is being produced in india today? I am just curious, I dontknow, I thought all the plants in india were assembling few parts here and there for high end cars, most of it comes built up? So if thats the case all you would need is small time machinery to assemble the caddis, what is GM doing with the optra, how is that being produced? curious..

Thanks

C4S, you're right. Most of it comes as a built up they need a fairly large floor area to finish the job. They also need computer control machines to check body panels alignment and such. So it's not really a small time job in that respect. DCIL has a 500 meter long floor for this job only and they share Telco's paint shop.
Chevrolet, I suppose does the same thing. Most of my car parts including interior's are imported.

[satish_appasani]

I am going to buy Cadillac in India if

1. My Dad, or my grand father knows about Cadillac and it's their lifetime objective to own a cadilac (I am sure my father will be proud to say "my son bought me a MB or BMW.&quot

2. I belive that American cars are much better than European cars.


3. Shipping cost from America is cheaper to India compared from europe.

4. I have a cousin in Middle east who owns a couple of oil wells.

[_Crazi4Speed_]

you are kidding right?? America cars being better than european..

I have had chance to drive and be driven in many good american and awesome european cars...

there is no way you can compare...american cars to european..american cars are just so old and boring and crappy from the soul as well as the appearence...I live in the US so I can tell you many americans do think the same..ofcourse america has to support their own products so you see soo many american cars on the road..but still you can see a steady increase of japanese/european cars in the US, japanese more so than european, lets just say european cars are a little expensive in comparison..

anyhow..If I had to pick cars I would definetly pick european, Japanese, (is there any other country/contient manufacturing cars), then america...ofcourse there are some exceptions no doubt..but they remain more of an exception than rule..

Cadi has just come up with few nice cars..but still they are too boring from the inside...

Cheers

[aadix]

wasnt the cts used in the matrix??
and the review abt the esclade on top gear was just great, espcially the fact the people who own it never tank it up! and there is not more than 5 dollars worth of petrol in it, and moreso it's size, found it pretty huge

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]wasnt the cts used in the matrix??

yup, it sure was. Part 3 that is.

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]and moreso it's size, found it pretty huge

well, thats the whole idea behind the darn thing! In the expensive SUV segment, the bigger you are, the more ppl want to buy it!! Its got the bling goin for it

[lamborghini]

het satish
me dad dream is to get a mb - if we are lucky we will e shoppin 4 1 by year end
or a jag
not asked him bout caddy but i don min giftin him a jag when i start earnin

[satish_appasani]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]you are kidding right?? America cars being better than european..

Hey C4S, There was a mistake in my message earlier. I typed that after a party.... Check that now. I am always with European cars

[Rtech]

To bring a dead horse back, GM is now planning to introduce various Cadillac's in the Indian market in 2006.

So that brings back the old question...will you buy one over a similarly priced Audi or BMW? Can "Cadillac" compete with the other big names?

[islero]

Caddies, even the previous STS, have always been largely underrated cars which had bad reviews because of their shoddy build quality and slightly dull looks.
The looks have been addresed in a rather dramatic way, but the build quality ( as Topgear observed) hasnt. Guess it will be slightly tough going for caddy in India.