ToddFredrich.com The world according to Todd

The Absurdity of the “Cadillac Pick-Up”

Over thirty years ago (I won't tell you how old I am), my dear old grandfather said to me, "Honey boy, if they ever make a Cadillac Pick'em Up, I'm going to buy me one!"  Knowing full well, of course, that "they ain't ever gonna make one, you know?"

Now, my grandpa (may he rest in peace) was a true maverick.  Not in the new, political sense where one pretends to be different than an incumbent.  But someone who holds an opinion and sticks with it come hell or high water, if you know what I mean.  A rebel who smoked like a chimney, swore like a sailor, but loved like a saint.  Yesteryear stories encompassed the gamut between being on board ship in the Big War and participating in dancing contests with his betrothed, picking hops and working construction.  So I ask you, why did he think it was so absurd to conceive of a Cadillac Pick-Up?  We used to chuckle about the concept quite regularly while we harvested wood for the winter stove.

If it's true that the deceased actually roll over in their graves when something outrageous happens, grandpa is doing somersaults presently because of the adjacent picture.  Here's your Cadillac Pick-up, Grampa:

The absurd Cadillac Pick'em-Up

I wish like crazy that GM could be like other businesses, and disappear when they make stupid business decisions!  Cadillac doesn't mean "pick-up truck."  It doesn't mean "luxury."  It means "big, comfortable, roomy, luxurious car."  Duh and good riddance, GM.  I'm ready for an American car company that gets it.  Quality, innovation and target marketing.

Positioning, Branding and the Demise of the American Automobile

As I drove to work this morning, I saw a black Pontiac Solstice on the highway. Nice car! The convertible top was up due to the temperature here in Denver this morning. Then directly in front of it, I saw a Lincoln LT pickup truck, which got me to thinking about the demise of the American automobile manufacturers. First of all, I thought, "Duh!" My grandfather said many times that he was waiting for the day when they'd make a Cadillac pickup. Too bad he wasn't around to see it. But my point is that he only said it because it was completely ridiculous. Caddilac and pickup don't mix. Cadillac means "big, luxury car."

So what's the difference between Cadillac, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Chevrolet, and GMC? What are the differentiating factors in deciding to buy a Lincoln, Mazda, or Jaguar over a Ford? Or for that matter, why would you buy a Passat over an Audi A4 (or visa versa)? And who ever thought Porsche meant "high performance SUV"????! Now we know why Porsche profits have been suffering over the last few years. And if the Cayanne has improved them, it's short lived.

Back to that Solstice... Pontiac's tag line has been in recent years, "We build excitement." Cool. I say go with it! And that Solstice looked pretty exciting. I see that on their website, they've chosen, "Pontiac is car." But they also build SUVs. Hmm... something to think about.

Pretty Exciting Looking... The Pontiac Solstice

The foreign auto makers have done significantly better in branding and positioning, me thinks. While Toyota does build cars, trucks and SUVs (which, IMHO is a mistake to brand them the same), they have somehow managed to hold the position of "dependable," "long lasting" or "quality" vehicles. So, now people are willing to pay a premium price for their foreign-made automobile in hopes of getting more "value" out of it in the long run.

American auto makers wake up! Stop creating the cross-over confusion, utilize our American enginuity and resourcefulness to build a better product, and differentiate your brands! Long live the Solstice!