Cadillac, the auto brand once so well known for luxury and excellence that it became “the world’s best synonym for quality,” is moving its headquarters to New York City from its financially troubled birthplace in Detroit. New York is, after all, “the Cadillac of cities.” General Motors will relocate the Cadillac sales, marketing and product planning divisions to New York, according to NBC News. The design and engineering squadrons will remain in Motown–for now.
The new Cadillac global brand chief, Johan de Nysschen, wants to “put a little distance between Cadillac, as a premium brand, and the rest of the brands in the General Motors stable.” de Nysschen spoke to The Detroit Bureau about his grand plans for the faded brand–and those plans include competing head-to-head with BMW and Mercedes–and Tesla. Cadillac hopes to become again what it once was (territory BMW has since claimed): the ultimate driving machine. It’s going to be expensive for Cadillac, but the proud brand hopes to emerge as more than a synonym in the 21st century conversation.
