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Americans No Longer Aspire to Cadillac and Lincoln, CNW Study Reveals

21 January 2000

Americans No Longer Aspire to Cadillac and Lincoln, CNW Study Reveals

    BANDON, Ore., Jan. 21 -- The following is issued by CNW
Marketing/Research:

    More Americans are aspiring to European and Japanese luxury brands than
ever and are leaving Lincoln and Cadillac in the lurch.
    In 1999 vs 1998, while industry sales were up nearly 8 percent, Cadillac
sales fell 2.2 percent from 183,000 to 179,000 while Lincoln sales dipped
5.7 percent, from 187,000 to 176,000. They were out-sold by Mercedes Benz and
Lexus, dethroning the domestic nameplates from their historic number one and
two sales slots.
    Europeans, on the other hand, saw gains ranging from 11 percent for
Mercedes to a staggering 57 percent for Jaguar. Brands such as Audi and
Land Rover registered impressive gains of 38 percent and 37 percent
respectively. Lexus was up nearly 20 percent, Infiniti climbed 13 percent and
Acura increased about 7 percent.
    So what's happening?
    CNW Marketing/Research's annual "Aspiration Index" study shows that a
growing number of luxury model intenders are desirous of Euro and Japanese
marques rather than domestics.
    In 1990, for example, fully two-thirds of luxury intenders said they
planned to buy a Lincoln or Cadillac model. Only 11 percent said they wanted a
European brand.
    In 1999, however, the two domestic nameplates were on only 38 percent of
luxury intender shopping lists while the Europeans had more than doubled to
23 percent. (In both cases, the Japanese luxury brands of Acura, Lexus and
Infiniti constituted the remainder.)
    The most serious deterioration can be found among younger consumers. In
1999, barely 14 percent of under-30 luxury intenders said they wanted a
domestic nameplate compared to 26 percent in 1990.
    "As the population gets older and the traditional Caddy and Lincoln
customers drop out of the new-car market, the Detroit brands will be hurt even
more," says Art Spinella, vice president of CNW M/R. "Both of these divisions
had frequent opportunities to turn this around a dozen or more years ago and
failed."
    Caddy and Lincoln both pinned their youth-oriented hopes on entry level
small cars, Catera and LS. But in both cases, the cars have been shunned by
important luxury intenders -- silicon valley execs and high-tech
entrepreneurs.
    "There once was a time that even a young kid aspired to a Cadillac," says
Spinella. "Big engines, raw power, distinctive styling and less emphasis on
the PGA Tour with more participation in events like the Pan America races.
Today, both brands have lost their way and are on the verge of becoming
irrelevant in the luxury marketplace and among high-end car and truck
intenders."