OHV 16V Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 And this is really happening....... http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2014/11/19/cadillac-separate-global-unit/19288005/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 If they've been operating this way already, why wait until 2017 to publish numbers? You know what they say - the first step is to admit you have a problem......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 If they've been operating this way already, why wait until 2017 to publish numbers? You know what they say - the first step is to admit you have a problem......... I'm thinking maybe it'll take till then for GM to try and payoff/pay down their red ink from Caddy's recent business decisions? So that they can appear to have a good-looking balance sheet at first? :shrug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Exactly what I was thinking. I bet they don't charge them a dime for Alpha - they'll make Chevy pay for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I just don't even..................... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Possibilities: If things don't go well, Cadillac could be spun off with all its platforms. (maybe the Ford family can buy it and rename it the "Henry Ford Co."... oh, wait... If GM gets sued and fined for the lawsuits, would Caddy be harmed too if they are no longer "GM"? If so, GM could "invest" funds into Cadillac until the legal stuff is settled and Caddy could "invest" back into GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) Random thoughts, on the way through the article: "lumped in with Chevrolet, Buick and GMC brands and fighting for resources" Make Cadillac its own P&L and you don't magically get more resources. You might as well be talking about how much more pizza you'll have if you cut it into 8 slices instead of 6. "free to make its own decisions" Yeah. This is going to end well. "the brand must earn the right to invest in its projects" What is all this "right" nonsense? If your product pays its way, you shouldn't have to "fight" for resources, if it doesn't pay its way, then you should figure out whether it can, and if you've got a new project to propose, there shouldn't be any inherent "right" that authorizes it over a better project from another division. "the Cadillac organization should be able to move faster" There is almost no first-mover advantage in this industry. This sounds like a cover for a guy who wants to do a bunch of crazy stuff without having to submit any of it to a thorough and competent business review. "global profits" What global profits? If all of Cadillac's profits are rolled into GMNA's operating results, then one should ask why Ford's YTD margins for NA are 8.7% (in a down year), while GM's YTD margins for NA are 5.8%? If Cadillac is so profitable around the globe, then why are GMNA's numbers so bad? "an over-the-top" Couldn't have picked a better adjective myself. "They rank them by volume and financial impact," de Nysschen said. "if you put Cadillac into that kind of judgment it will always be compromised because it is about 4% of total business but it is 100% of Cadillac." You have GOT to be kidding me Johan. "Audi, where he worked previously, and Mercedes don't have that problem" You're not working for Audi, or Mercedes, Johan. "That's why financial accountability is so important." Johan, you and I have very different ideas about what "accountability" means. I think accountability means "accountability" you seem to think it means a license to do whatever you want. "force the staff to eat, breathe and dream luxury goods." My brain has, by this point in time, turned into a soft jelly-like material that is slowly oozing out my ears. "Moving to a separate building in Detroit would not change the business, culture and processes, he said. Engineering, research and development will stay in Detroit." Because ENGINEERING, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT have NOTHING to do with BUSINESS, CULTURE AND PROCESSES. My brain. It hurts. The stupid is too much for me.... .... must.......... .......................make it....................... to............................ article........................ on...........bandwidth theorem...... ......before.................too late.............. Edited November 21, 2014 by RichardJensen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Possibilities: If things don't go well, Cadillac could be spun off with all its platforms. (maybe the Ford family can buy it and rename it the "Henry Ford Co."... oh, wait... If GM gets sued and fined for the lawsuits, would Caddy be harmed too if they are no longer "GM"? If so, GM could "invest" funds into Cadillac until the legal stuff is settled and Caddy could "invest" back into GM. Not really. They're just treating it the way Ford treats their European ops. Reported separately, with a separate balance sheet and quarterly P&L reports to the CEO & board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'm starting to think this is GM giving Johan more rope with which to hang himself. Maybe he pestered his bosses with his grandiose schemes that they finally had enough and told him to put up or shut up and prove he can make money doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 There is almost no first-mover advantage in this industry. This sounds like a cover for a guy who wants to do a bunch of crazy stuff without having to submit any of it to a thorough and competent business review. cough cough....Lutz....cough cough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I'm starting to think this is GM giving Johan more rope with which to hang himself. Maybe he pestered his bosses with his grandiose schemes that they finally had enough and told him to put up or shut up and prove he can make money doing it. That's a horrible way to run a ............... ... you may be on to something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) Johann seems to have a plan for making Cadillac profitable; "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- Cadillac's new boss believes General Motors' premium brand could eventually sell ultra-luxury cars that retail for a quarter-million dollars by 2029." Sell a hundred thousand a year at that price and all is... Well, maybe not. Edited November 21, 2014 by AlRozzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 That's a horrible way to run a ............... ... you may be on to something. bingo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) "They rank them by volume and financial impact," de Nysschen said. "if you put Cadillac into that kind of judgment it will always be compromised because it is about 4% of total business but it is 100% of Cadillac." Audi, where he worked previously, and Mercedes don't have that problem. "That's why financial accountability is so important." Is he essentially saying that Cadillac needs to operate without any accountability to the parent corporation regarding costs and return on investment? If so, how long is that state of affairs going to last, particularly given the historic inability of GM management to take a long-term view? Every luxury brand depends heavily on a parent corporation that sells less expensive vehicles, or sells plenty of those less expensive vehicles itself. Audi still shares platforms with VWs, and Mercedes is not relying solely on the S-Class to stay in business. Visit Europe and you will see plenty of Mercedes C-Classes and E-Classes vehicles being used as police cars and taxi cabs. Daimler-Benz also sells lots of trucks throughout the world. Mercedes, in particular, has GLOBAL reach. Plenty of rich Asians, Arabs and South Americans want to drive a Mercedes S-Class or E-Class. It's easy to talk about "global profits," but Cadillac is simply not a global brand at this point. Given that Americans aren't exactly lining up at the dealership to buy ersatz BMWs with Cadillac badges, does he believe that this will be any different in other countries where both BMW and Mercedes are already entrenched? Lexus has been having a tough time expanding beyond the United States. Even Packard relied on less expensive models - the Single Six in the 1920s, and the 120 in the late 1930s - to pay the bills. It would have gone under by 1934 if it had relied solely on super-luxury vehicles, as most of its competitors who relied solely on the luxury market and who weren't part of a larger corporation did. I just can't see Cadillac generating sufficient profits with vehicles that don't share much with lesser GM vehicles to justify continued investment in the brand. Unless we're going to soon see ATS police cars and CTS taxi cabs plying the streets. Edited November 21, 2014 by grbeck 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 He's saying that Cadillac will never be a priority when lumped in with the rest of GM because it's so much smaller and that splitting it off will allow Cadillac to determine what's best for Cadillac with the end result being the only thing GM should be concerned about. It means he gets a bucket of money from GM and he decides where to spend it instead of having to justify each project to upper mgt. Which sounds great provided you understand how to manage it and you actually have a solid business plan. Johan doesn't appear to have either. Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 When the inmates run the asylum, all hell will break loose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 (edited) It means he gets a bucket of money from GM But. The bucket can't be bigger for Cadillac without making it smaller for Chevrolet/GMC, Buick, Opel/Vauxhall, etc. That's the dumbest, stupidest, most idiotic part of this.* He is talking, and the reporter is acting like somehow Cadillac will get more resources as an independent unit, without stripping funds from other divisions. *Well, that part about breathing luxury in New York, and changing the culture without changing the location where the actual work is done was also breathtakingly stupid, on a scale that challenges conceptions of space and time, as it does not seem possible for that much stupid to be crammed into a single sentence according to known laws of physics, at least. Edited November 21, 2014 by RichardJensen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 ...*Well, that part about breathing luxury in New York, and changing the culture without changing the location where the actual work is done was also breathtakingly stupid, on a scale that challenges conceptions of space and time, as it does not seem possible for that much stupid to be crammed into a single sentence according to known laws of physics, at least. Not to mention, he's taking the brand (stupidly) upmarket in the pricing spectrum. That area of New York, while it certainly does have some wealthy individuals, is mostly on the younger side last time I checked. Younger professionals aren't going to be able to afford the vehicles in the price categories he's making Cadillac strive to be at anyways. And that's on top of putting your auto division's....sorry, individual car company's headquarters in a city where young people use mass transit like no other to begin with, and could care less about cars for the most part. If you're going for "true" luxury, and you for some godforsaken reason feel you absolutely need to be in New York, then put your HQ in the damn Hamptons or something, where there's Range Rovers, Bentleys, etc. Those folks have the needed disposable income to afford your price points and they buy cars because they refuse to use the mass transit system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I strongly suspect that relocation of Johan & his direct reports to New York was a condition of his hire, and I believe that condition was made because Johan detests Detroit. I might digress here into the folly of hiring someone that hates the communities where your employees live and work......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted November 21, 2014 Author Share Posted November 21, 2014 And here's an interview with the other half of the...uh...."Cadillac revival," Uwe Ellinghaus. http://blog.caranddriver.com/cadillacs-marketing-boss-calls-germans-sterile-doesnt-care-how-much-you-hate-alphanumeric-badges/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Johan de Nysschen file photo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 OMG. This guy is a goldmine. If by 'gold' you mean, 'mindless management speak' http://www.autoblog.com/2014/10/15/johan-responds-critics-cadillac-ny-move/ "It is about structurally entrenching a challenge to the status quo by reinforcing the psychological and physical separation in business philosophy between the mainstream brands and GM's luxury brand." Translation: "I hate Detroit and don't want to live there." "Regardless of where its executives are located, Cadillac is and always will be from Detroit. It is our hometown, and as we venture forth to challenge the world with our unique set of American values, we would like to think our hometown is rooting for us." Translation: "I think people in Detroit are so stupid that they will accept this transparently patronizing and insincere sentence at face value." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 The hits keep coming! Now a possible Porsche 911-fighter in a decade..... http://blog.caranddriver.com/johan-de-nysschen-cadillac-diesels-in-2019-possible-911-fighter-in-a-decade/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 22, 2014 Share Posted November 22, 2014 Asserting, “This car is like the spice in your meal; it’s not the whole meal,” the division chief suggests that the new ATS-V is designed to sell in very modest volume. It needs to be done in very low numbers to remain special and relatively unobtainable. “We will definitely not build this car in high volume. Ideally, it would be build-to-order. The volume has to be where the volume is. We sell a thousand of these? Then it’s good. I don’t mind.” Translation: We don't need no stinkin profits! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OHV 16V Posted November 22, 2014 Author Share Posted November 22, 2014 (edited) Translation: We don't need no stinkin profits! I'm thinking your theory on Chevy picking up the tab for Alpha is going to turn out to be the case. Edited November 22, 2014 by OHV 16V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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