1997 Cadillac Eldorado Etc Coupe 2-door 4.6l on 2040-cars

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Cadillac to augment dealers with 700 'boutique' stores

Johan de Nysschen is on a mission to revitalize Cadillac. Since taking over as chief executive of the American luxury brand, the former Audi and Infiniti exec has set about moving the brand's headquarters to New York, switched advertising firms, launched a completely new naming scheme for its model line, and has a whole raft of new products planned. And now he's working on changing how its dealer network operates. Speaking at both the Washington Auto Show and the NADA dealers' convention in San Francisco this week, de Nysschen has outlined a new plan for its US dealers. The network presently consists of over 900 stores – some 200 of which are stand-alone Cadillac dealers, with the remaining 700 attached to other GM brand showrooms. Contrary to earlier fears, de Nysschen notes that the dealer network is larger and covers more territory than those of import brands, and has no intention of cutting that number down. But he is asking those 700 mixed-brand dealers to create a new showroom experience for Cadillac customers. In this latest announcement, Cadillac refers to a new model of "boutique" showrooms that will encompass new technologies, higher-trained staff and luxury amenities to give those attached Cadillac showrooms a more unique feel. The plan includes installing "virtual showroom" systems that will allow potential customers to configure a new car using interactive displays and "potentially even holograms." The plan also calls for "new standards for compensation... with more precise alignment of local sales and potential for each dealer" in order to make sure that the requisite investment in the infrastructure and staff training are worthwhile for the dealers. Just what form these new systems will take, we don't know at this point. Nor are we sure why Cadillac isn't including its 200 stand-alone "flagship" dealers in the initiative. But we're sure we'll be finding out more about de Nysschen's plans on the dealer front in due course. Cadillac Discusses U.S. Dealer Network Development 2015-01-22 WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of Cadillac's overall mission to expand and elevate within the premium automotive sector, the brand today outlined its strategy to upgrade its U.S. dealer network. Speaking at both the Washington, D.C. Auto Show today, and this weekend's annual National Auto Dealers Association convention in San Francisco, Cadillac President Johan de Nysschen will outline how the brand will target enhancements in the customer experience.

Cadillac recalls 17,500 SRX CUVs in Canada

When reporting on recalls, Autoblog generally tries to focus on the US market. However, a recent campaign in Canada seems important enough to be worth mentioning because it could eventually affect American drivers. General Motors is repairing 17,481 Canadian examples of the Cadillac SRX from the 2010-2015 model years because of the possibility of a loose nut in the rear suspension. For the moment, the automaker hasn't yet announced whether the CUV in the US would require a similar campaign.
The notice was dated September 18, 2014, on the website for Transport Canada, similar to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the US. It says, "the rear suspension toe link jam nuts" might not have been sufficiency tightened, which could allow a rear wheel to turn "inboard or outboard" while driving. If this happens, it could cause a sudden change in handling. Canadian Cadillac dealers are inspecting the parts and replacing the toe link if necessary.
This campaign isn't listed on the GM's running recall tally from September, which includes exported models, but it does list four other campaigns for the SRX this year - three in this range of years and one for the 2004-2006 model. Autoblog reached out to the company to ask about the possibility of this recall expanding to the US and were told "We have not publicly announced US recalls" for the issues affecting the SRX. The New York Times was given a similar quote. Scroll down to read the notice from Transport Canada.

Jeff Gordon will come out of retirement to race new Cadillac endurance racecar

Jeff Gordon is not a man who takes well to retirement, apparently. That's not a surprise at all, given that we've been talking about his return to racing since almost the minute he retired in the first place. This year, he's taken the wheel for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is recovering from a concussion, several times already. So we shouldn't be too surprised to find out he's officially coming out of retirement – the twist is that it won't be in a stock car. Gordon has signed onto Wayne Taylor Racing, Motorsport.com reports, and he'll join Ricky and Jordan Taylor as well as Max Angelelli. Their ride will be the newly-revealed Cadillac DPi-V.R racer, a Dallara-chassis car powered by a 6.2-liter pushrod V8 loosely related, Cadillac claims, to the engine in the current CTS-V. You can read all about the DPi-V.R right over here. Remember, Gordon has a total of 93 NASCAR wins to his name, as well as four titles. He knows his way around Daytona pretty well, too, having won the 500 three times. He's also dabbled in endurance racing once before, in the 2007 24 Hours of Daytona with Taylor, Angelelli and Jan Magnussen in a WTR Riley-Pontiac car. They ended up on the podium, so you can say Gordon's inaugural and only outing in endurance racing so far was a success. It's been a decade, so we'll see if he's rusty, although knowing about how competitive champions are, we think he'll blow out the cobwebs and get right down to work. You can read Gordon's statement over at his personal site. Related Video: