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Almost half of US Cadillac dealers say no to ELR plug-in hybrid

If you've got $75,995 (or so) burning a hole in your pocket and a hankering for the new Cadillac ELR, you'd better call your local dealer before you burn up shoe leather and gasoline to head down there. According to a report on Edmunds, only about 56 percent of the brand's 940 dealers have signed up to carry the premium plug-in hybrid. As much as we'd like to see the more affluent among us driving on electricity, we can certainly understand the dealers' apparent lack of enthusiasm. The article cites costs of up to $15,000 for tools and training to sell the ELR. Show floor real estate is another consideration for dealers who aren't enthusiastic about sacrificing space for a for a vehicle with initial sales – just 46 units nationwide in the first two months, but that volume is expected to increase – that are as mediocre as our first drive impressions. Still, for those locations that co-habitate with Chevrolet dealers who already participate in the Volt program, the extra expenditure shouldn't be too onerous. The two vehicles share the same basic electro-mechanical drivetrain, so those dealerships should have most of the needed infrastructure already in place. The bulk of ELR sales, according to Cadillac's global marketing director Jim Vurpillat, are expected to be in along the coasts, in places like California, Miami and New York. Featured Gallery 2015 Cadillac ELR: First Drive View 25 Photos News Source: Edmunds Green Cadillac Electric cadillac elr

Mark Reuss: GM can't afford product 'misses,' has 'thought about' CT6 V-Series

Mark Reuss is a busy man. He oversees General Motors' global product portfolio, an all-encompassing task for a company that sold more than 9.9 million cars and trucks last year. When GM launches a well-received product, like the road-going rocket ship that is the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – he gets credit. When the company stumbles with the slow-selling Chevy Malibu or grapples with fallout from the decade-old Saturn Ion and its flawed ignition switch, he gets blamed. GM owners, the press and sometimes the federal government, demand answers. Bob Lutz famously held the job before Reuss. So did Mary Barra, who's now GM's chief executive. There's a New GM, but the lineage is connected to a long history. When he's not thinking product, Reuss, an executive vice president, also runs the purchasing and supply chain for the company, which is still one of the largest industrial empires in the world. We caught up with Reuss on the floor of the New York Auto Show, where GM had just rolled out two crucial new products: the 2016 Cadillac CT6 and the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Speaking with a small group of reporters, Reuss delved into a variety of subjects, including the new Malibu, Cadillac's future (he thinks the ATS-V is going to "flame the M3 and M4"), and other topics. On fixing the Malibu: "We can't miss. We can't have those kinds of misses [like the previous generation] on our cars and crossovers and trucks. We can't do that. If we do that, we give a reason for someone to go buy something else. It's that simple. "On a car like the Malibu we have a chance to really fix all of that, which we have, and then lead. Then you've got a real opportunity there. So that's what we've really been focused on here – to fix those things." He later added: "We need that car here to transform Chevrolet desperately because it's the heart of the market. And when you think of Chevrolet, people will come back and think about what we did with the [new] Malibu and the Cruze... It's hugely important to us." On Cadillac: "If we go out and try and out-German the Germans, it's probably not going to work. We've got an opportunity here generationally where there's a lot of people younger than me that have parents that drove BMWs and Mercedes, and I think there's an opportunity there for those people to drive something different than what their parents did, and I think that's always been an opportunity in the auto industry if you look at the history of it.

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.