WELCOME CADILLAC TO THE OL’ BOYS CLUB

By Javier Palenque

Earlier this month the USTA announced that Mercedes Benz has decided to no longer sponsor the US Open, that is sad as I have good memories of driving a Benz. As a replacement, the USTA found in GM’s luxury line a new sponsor “Cadillac”. While I am no fan of American cars other than the air conditioning system, I decided to enlighten people with my take on the Cadillac brand. You then decide if it makes sense or not to be a sponsor for the US Open, I will end my article with my opinion.

For Cadillac, the issue is more relevant than anything else. The brand has redesigned several models to make them more appealing to younger audiences, including the CTS, but the primary buyer continues to be older men. These customers also tend to still have lower income levels than the older men who prefer German luxury brands. This means Cadillac is reaching a critical state: their customers are loyal, but they are aging. Pretty soon they’ll need to find new demographics because their primary customer base will no longer be around. This is the first link to the US Open demographics; their customers are old and soon they may no longer be around. It is aligned but with the wrong demographic.

Cadillac’s share of the U.S. luxury car market dropped from 31% in 1980 to just 22% in 1990. By the 1990s, Cadillac lost any appeal it had…