Indeed. But Cadillac is going to be "reborn" and like a phoenix, it will rise anew...

Aug 29, 2022,22:05 PM
 

The Lyriq has brought about an entirely new client base for Cadillac. The Lyriq is bringing in a significant young population to the brand, and first-time Cadillac buyers. In the meantime, Lexus has floundered. BMW has gone soft and has lost their sporting edge. And Mercedes is a little weak in design on some of their core models. Audi is strong in design and many millennials like the idea of an Audi, since they consider "Mercedes and BMWs are cars for the parents and in-laws." I'm really impressed with the Cadillac. Now, if only it came with good brakes, I'd be more satisfied!


More posts: AudiBMWCadillacLexus

  login to reply

Comments: view entire thread

 

Happy 120th Birthday To Cadillac Motors!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 29th, 2022-19:11
Cadillac - The Standard of the World... Photo of a statue in Detroit, Michigan, USA of Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of the city. Photo from Wikipedia. Cadillac. Named after the founder of the City of Detroit (Detroit, Michigan, USA), Antoine ...  

I've Always Loved Cadillacs

 
 By: Tim_M : August 29th, 2022-20:36
Maybe it was because of the brand's American underdog status by the time I was a kid in the 1990s. Those old Seville STSs and Allantes were so cool when I was young. But I also loved the old ones, and they were mostly regarded as junk when I was young. No...  

I love watching leno garage.

 
 By: TeutonicCarFan : August 29th, 2022-20:48
He recently featured a v16 caddy. What a beast

Yes he did! Good memory!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 29th, 2022-22:00

Exquisite examples of fine Cadillacs.

 
 By: patrick_y : August 29th, 2022-22:00
At Monterey, they had three Cadillac V16s for sale at various auction houses. Gooding had two of them. Each one of them were gorgeous machines. Makes me wished I had bid on one of them. I do like pre-war cars. Although I doubt I'd be able to drive them.

I guess the Cadillac was a microcosm of US auto industry.

 
 By: Blansky : August 29th, 2022-20:57
Too much hubris, too much corporate bloat, and tunnel vision. Then came the gas crunches of the 70s and the Japanese et all started eating their lunch and never looked back. Some of the early Caddies were gorgeous but the 50-70s were a block long and pret... 

Indeed. But Cadillac is going to be "reborn" and like a phoenix, it will rise anew...

 
 By: patrick_y : August 29th, 2022-22:05
The Lyriq has brought about an entirely new client base for Cadillac. The Lyriq is bringing in a significant young population to the brand, and first-time Cadillac buyers. In the meantime, Lexus has floundered. BMW has gone soft and has lost their sportin... 

I have a feeling that Tesla will still be a player...

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-17:38
But it will be harder and harder for Tesla to differentiate itself. It does have the first mover advantage, the charging station infrastructure advantage, and more. But the other players are closing the gap. Tesla may open its charging infrastructure to n... 

The rewards program on this card was so confusing...

 
 By: patrick_y : August 29th, 2022-23:00
I was befuddled.

I would say it carries, at least comparatively speaking, a rather weak rewards program for a US card...unless of course you purchase certain GM product (in which case you can arrive at 7% cash back), which definitely makes sense.

 
 By: FabR : August 30th, 2022-00:26
Another useful perk of this card though is if you spend $1,500 in fuel per year, in which case you'll get an extra $100 back (or 6.66%), nod bad these days! ;-) But this is pretty much it in my view, though the card runs on the MC circuit so it's good vir... 

But what's the points redemption schedule.

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-00:48
The website doesn't show the details on redemption. It shows you how you can earn points and how much points you earn per category, but it doesn't show what those points are worth. A really bad website. Those marketing people ought to redo the website. An... 

It is certainly complicated, but I think it boils down to how you elect to redeem points. Basically, the way I studied it, you'll receive 4 points per $ spent, hence your 20,000 did (mostly, as I'm simplifying) come from a (non-GE) $5k in purchases.

 
 By: FabR : August 30th, 2022-01:00
Now, if you redeem these 20,000 points towards GE expenses, these are really worth 20,000 cents (or $200), so you practically got rewarded with 4% for your original purchases --- which is pretty solid. However, if you "cash" them, e.g. with a gift card, e... 

4% cash back towards GE Expenses is pretty good!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-01:06
I wouldn't mind getting 4% cashback on my purchase of a GM product. Hmm. Corvette or Cadillac Lyriq... Or Hummer? Hard decisions... Now, another question... How does one get the 7% cash back? Is that based on retail price of Onstar services? So, let's say... 

That is correct --- points are (essentially) rewarded at a $.01 rate towards purchasing (or leasing) a GM vehicle. The 7% cash back (again if redeemed this way, else it's 1.75%) comes from any GM purchase --- including service, parts and accessories.

 
 By: FabR : August 30th, 2022-01:23
So that is right, your $10k watch will give you $400 if you buy or lease your next GM car with your points (or only $100 if you choose a gift card....in which case you should have bought the watch with a different credit card! ) Instead, if you, say, pay ... 

Thanks again!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-02:23
And while I'm not a student in your class, I'm sure you deserve a teaching award. I still don't see the 7% return though. I see 7 points per dollar spent on GM products (like OnStar subscriptions), which should equal 3.5% cash equivalent if redeemed towar... 

Hi Patrick, I'm pretty sure it's the way I said it. Again the condition is to use the card for a GM product, including services, and then the points towards buying/leasing a GM vehicle....but this really gives you 7% back, not 3.5%.

 
 By: FabR : August 30th, 2022-02:52
We probably shouldn't add the sign up link to the credit card, but they have a "calculator" on the same page (they just implement a simple linear function in 2 variables) where you can do the math for any combination of reward points from GM and non-GM pu...  

They ought to pay you a commission!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-03:12
Let me know when the credit card company agrees to pay you a commission. Then I'll sign up! They ought to give you a 20,000 point commission if not more!

I was thinking the other way...

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-06:03
I was thinking if I spent $200,000 on purchases over the year, I could get around $8K off my car. But I like your idea more! When are they going to make a Patek Philippe credit card? And for every dollar we spend on Macallan, we get 10% cash back on a Pat... 

That'd be LOVELY! ;-)) I probably don't see it happen in Switzerland or Europe anytime soon (it's not worth it for customers, the way credit cards function there), but if Patek asks me I'll be happy to look into this specifically for the US market :-)

 
 By: FabR : August 30th, 2022-14:45
Credit cards might be a very different world for Patek to (unnecessarily) get involved with at the peak of its popularity, and my own academic expertise is known to be in unrelated areas, but I'm sure exploring this route would be interesting if I can do ... 

Definitely...

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-18:59
The literal deployment of a Patek Philippe credit card would require a lot of difficult considerations. Furthermore, considering it's not a key strength for Patek Philippe. Arguably it is a key strength for GM since at one point GM made more money from it... 

Thanks for the very interesting post Patrick.

 
 By: GWIS : August 30th, 2022-12:46
As a Brit I have rarely come across Cadillac, other than in films and TV shows. The history of the company, and particularly their role in advancing mass production, is something I knew nothing about, so thanks for the education! All the best, Jon

You're most welcome!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 30th, 2022-17:35
The Cadillacs were winners of the Dewey Award (an automotive award from Great Britain) about a hundred years ago! At the time, Cadillacs were being imported into the UK. Cadillac doesn't really have a real presence in Europe currently. Although this may c... 

A storied brand with an electric future

 
 By: MichaelC : August 31st, 2022-12:26
I'm a fan as you know Thanks for a great post, Patrick!

You're most welcome!

 
 By: patrick_y : August 31st, 2022-16:47
I did a lot of research into those Blackwings and needless to say I was impressed!