Becoming the 'Cadillac' of cars, again; Defining the right formula is key to the future for GM's luxury marque.(Brief Article)

Looking across the pantheon of Cadillac products, present and future, plans for General Motors' luxury division begin to make some sense for the first time in a long, long time.

Gone is the ``power of &'' and the mishmash of mixed messages and products that went with it, replaced by a clearer picture of Cadillac's global and North American product plans-all backed by an edgy Led Zeppelin soundtrack.

For starters, Cadillac has wisely discovered that just saying you're ``global'' doesn't mean you're a global player; competing on the world stage requires world-class products. Unlike past global strategies that saw Cadillac trying to compete on a worldwide basis straight out of the gate, the division is initially targeting its global cars at North American market share usurped by Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and other high-end marques.

``For GM to lead globally, Cadillac has to be recognized as a winner. And we have to start by winning first in North America,'' says Mark LaNeve, who became Cadillac's general manager less than a year ago after a stint as president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. ``It's clear to me that Cadillac must be able to compete and win here in our home market first. Without that foundation, we will never be credible in anyone else's home market.''

Cadillac's new German-tuned CTS sedan is the first piece of that plan. Next is the SRX luxury sport wagon, built on the same rear-wheel-drive/all-wheel-drive Sigma platform and due in mid-2003 as a 2004 model. Those two vehicles, along with the Z06 Corvette-based XLR high-end sports coupe (with retractable hardtop) due early next year, fit into Cadillac's portfolio as direct competitors to the world's luxury performance marques.

SRX, in particular, shows that Cadillac is setting its sights higher, on the BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class sport/utilities, rather than worrying about whether the SRX matches up with what they consider lesser products, like Chrysler's Pacifica luxury sports tourer. At a ...