[SRR]

I never understood Cadillac becoming the performance vehicle? Good grief.

[59safaricat]

Originally Posted by SRR

I never understood Cadillac becoming the performance vehicle? Good grief.

Who would have thought that an SUV (Escalade) would save a dying company targeted at the older population and that (c)rappers were the main audience that contributed to its success?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 59safaricat

Who would have thought that an SUV (Escalade) would save a dying company targeted at the older population and that (c)rappers were the main audience that contributed to its success?

Not the people that designed it.

I know, because I was one.

I worked in program engineering for the Escalade, the Denali, and the H2.

The whole rapper and celebrity thing took us all totally by surprise.

K

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Not the people that designed it.

I know, because I was one.

I worked in program engineering for the Escalade, the Denali, and the H2.

The whole rapper and celebrity thing took us all totally by surprise.

K

Thanks for that insight, I always love hearing from people "who were there" when things were being done. If you don't mind me asking, what was the "target market" for the 2002 Escalade? From the design team perspective?

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

Thanks for that insight, I always love hearing from people "who were there" when things were being done. If you don't mind me asking, what was the "target market" for the 2002 Escalade? From the design team perspective?

Normal rich people (like small business owners).

They usually have a story board posted in the Studio which shows the colors available, content, and demographics of the expected customers: how much they make, what kind of clothes they wear, what kind of watch they have, other vehicles they own, if they smoke cigars vs pipes, etc.

I've shared this before in terms of the marketing magic applied to color names (you know, "Hugger orange" on a Chevy is the same as "Carousel Red" on a Pontiac).

I was talking to somebody about that in the context of GM trucks and made up the following example:

"Black" = Chevy
"Tuxedo Black" = GMC
"Black Diamond" = Cadillac

Of course I was being totally facetious.

Nonetheless, some time after that I was over in the Cadillac studio. They were doing some new sedan and had a storyboard up with the usual information.

Sure enough - one of the signature colors they had created was named "Black Diamond".