2001 Cadillac Deville 4.6l V8 on 2040-cars

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Confident new Cadillac marketing boss ready to take on Tesla, BMW

When there's a former BMW executive heading Cadillac's efforts to boost sales of its only plug-in, it's a pretty safe guess that the marketing emphasis won't be on environmental friendliness and tree-hugging tendencies. The General Motors luxury brand has appointed ex-Bimmer executive Uwe Ellinghaus to be its marketing chief late last year, and the German-born Ellinghaus is now saying that he's targeting potential customers of Tesla Motors, in addition to BMW, for potential growth in sales of the Cadillac ELR extended-range plug-in. Appointed to Cadillac's head of marketing last November, Ellinghaus recently told Advertising Age that GM needs to highlight the Cadillac's looks and performance. He complimented Tesla for putting more emphasis on those attributes in the Model S than on its lack of emissions or lack of refueling costs (but Tesla hasn't shied away from highlighting the EV's savings). Ellinghaus says that trying to gear advertising "for people who are tree-huggers and green-wash an entire brand" won't be successful. You don't say. So far, the ELR hasn't made much of a dent in US car sales. Through May, Cadillac, which spent about $280 million on all of its US marketing last year, sold 293 units, whereas Tesla had been approaching the 11,000-unit figure for the Model S. With that in mind, Cadillac may be working on a sportier version of the ELR, as spy shots of a test vehicle from May revealed larger brakes and wheels. You can read our First Drive impressions of the ELR here.

2014 Cadillac XTS Vsport

Not long after bombing around the Milford Road Course in the new CTS Vsport, Cadillac invited me to try out its other new-for-2014 Vsport model: the XTS. And despite using the same twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6 from the CTS, the Vsport package takes on a whole new meaning here in Cadillac's softer flagship.
In the CTS, this trim perfectly bridges the gap between the standard models and the hardcore CTS-V, and is focused on being the best-driving version of the range without a standalone V badge. The XTS, however, has no proper V model, so the Vsport becomes the new range-topper for that line by default. But unlike the CTS Vsport, which uses rear-wheel-drive architecture and is focused on driving dynamics above all, the XTS is geared toward a much different customer.
The entire XTS experience is far more concerned with plush comfort than handling prowess, and while this Vsport model certainly ups the ante with more power and some mild suspension and steering tweaks, it's not exactly what we'd call a particularly engaging experience. But that doesn't mean it isn't good.

New Cadillac ELR ad more educational, less controversial than 'Poolside'

Cadillac's first TV commercial for its ELR plug-in hybrid, Poolside, was a smash hit, in that a lot of people saw and talked about it. The 60-second spot didn't say the car was a plug-in, took potshots at the work ethic of all non-Americans and has raked in over a million views on YouTube (you can add one more here). Caddy's new ELR video will get a lot less media attention, but that's exactly the point. Cadillac claims it was happy with the way actor Neil McDonough strutted his way into the controversial ELR discussion. This time around, though, the coupe gets promoted in a more traditional way: with information about the car and what it can do - you know, drive on electricity, capture braking energy into the battery, go further on gas power when needed, those kinds of things – courtesy of GM's executive chief engineer for electrified vehicles, Pam Fletcher. The tone of the video has not been changed because of the Poolside controversy. David Caldwell, manager of Cadillac communications, tells AutoblogGreen that the new video is not destined for TV and is completely different because it's meant for a different audience. "It doesn't have any direct relation to Poolside," he says. "TV advertising is not necessarily the heart of marketing something like the ELR. Notwithstanding the fact that we had a very thought-provoking ad [laughs]." "We definitely have a need to communicate what the ELR is" - Cadillac's David Caldwell The way you reach out to people via the web is different than the mass-media techniques used in spots like Poolside during big TV events (it aired during the Winter Olympics). The two video spots are different because you need to offer different information in different ways, for example having an ELR website as well as an iPad filled with ELR information at the dealership. For Cadillac, TV is "not going to be the predominant methodology," used to sell the ELR, Caldwell said, "the web is closer to what you need to do to reach people. We definitely have a need to communicate what the ELR is. It's not television advertising at all." Caldwell said a handful of other short videos similar to the new one will go live in the near future, showcasing design and powertrain aspects of the car. Keep an eye out for them – just don't look for them on TV. You can watch the new video below.