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Cadillac’s de Nysschen Blasts Back At Critics In A Scathing Letter: “Don’t Mess With Me.”


Cadillac’s de Nysschen Blasts Back At Critics In A Scathing Letter: “Don’t Mess With Me.”

Johan de Nysschen isn’t the least bit amused with the vitriol coming out lately regarding the two largest decisions he’s made recently as the two-month-old CEO of Cadillac: the naming of the upcoming Cadillac large sedan and the move of Cadillac HQ from Detroit to New York. And recently he took to Facebook to vent his opinions on the matter.

As printed by The Daily Kanban, de Nysschen wastes no time ripping into both arguments:

“This past week we announced a new flagship car to be built in Detroit. No reaction. Announced a product offensive which will give Cadillac coverage of 95% of premium market segment . Slight twitch of the left eyebrow of the industry media. Announce new nomenclature system, to denote hierarchy and accommodate expanded future portfolio. Every armchair marketing expert has ten opinions to share. Fortunately, I do not determine strategy based on the unfiltered observations of people who do not have a 360 degree understanding of the problem. Announce that Cadillac is to be established as separate unit of General Motors, to be more autonomous and focus on the premium business. Emails from GM retires suggesting that is the dumbest idea since the Cimmaron. I quietly wonder if any of them had a hand in creating that masterful monument to product substance.”

I’m not so sure about the “no reaction” to the upcoming CT6. The big Caddy is set to debut the next generation of Cadillac design, which most journalists are praying resembles anything that the knockout Elmiraj concept car showcased. It’s a power play that Cadillac has needed to make for years now, since for the last several years they have been relying on the all-American middle finger that was the CTS-V to carry the brand. While the Caddy That Roars did a fine job of getting the momentum moving, performance is only part of the equation and de Nysschen has a history on expanding on the other sides of the problem to come up with the solution. Though the naming thing is still annoying (sorry, but going straight to alphanumerics is still the cheap way out) at least he’s hell-bent on making the car the best he can. I can ignore the name for the focus.

Now, about that move to SoHo…

“To all the indignant souls out there- this has nothing to do with Detroit. And certainly has nothing to do with where I choose to live. It has everything to do with creating an awesome car company. We must develop corporate processes, policies, mindsets, behaviors, attitudes, which are right sized for Cadillac and which are immersed in focusing on and responding to what it takes to win in the premium segment. No distractions. No side shows. No cross- brand corporate considerations. No homogenized lowest common denominator approach. Just pure, unadulterated, CLASS. To create this change in approach, Cadillac must put distance between itself and the parent. Not because there is anything wrong at GM- the company is getting its act together like you won’t believe – but because Cadillac needs to FOCUS. And if we don’t move, nothing will change. Physical relocation forces a change to processes. Now, it’s true, we could achieve that, by moving just about anywhere. But if you have to choose a place to set up an iconic global luxury brand, you could indeed do worse than New York. So, Detroit fans, I love your city, the success of Cadillac will be your success, the majority of our jobs remain in Detroit, and as we grow, these will increase too. But other than that – don’t mess with me.”

I think “no cross-brand corporate considerations” just brought a tear of happiness to my eye. If I could pick out the biggest strike against GM ever, current recalls included, THIS is the biggest sticking point. If you are going to have a world-class car company, you do not share the goodies with a entry-level car! Take note of the Cimarron reference: that corporate f*ck-up still rings loudly in the automotive world, and it’s not the only mistake that Cadillac has made that has cost them. The Fleetwood line for a long time was a slightly tweaked and overstuffed Caprice for years in a move that is essentially what is sinking Lincoln right now. I can make cracks for moving the HQ to SoHo, but if that’s what it takes to get away from the groupthink that has plagued GM for decades, so be it.

Cadillac has spent the last decade or so getting their priorities together and focusing on what needs to be fixed, and for the most part, that has been successful. Strong leadership is required, and while two months is too early to tell if de Nysschen’s leadership at Cadillac qualifies, it appears that he has a vision and direction and is absolutely unapologetic about reaching both. That alone should be a breath of fresh air for a company trying to climb up to the top.

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20 thoughts on “Cadillac’s de Nysschen Blasts Back At Critics In A Scathing Letter: “Don’t Mess With Me.”

    1. ColoradoKid

      The mess .. known as Cadillac already exists in spades . Bleeding money like a stuck pig in a slaughter house w.\/cars that nobody in his/her right mind wants to purchase . The only question being … how much worse will the Pillsbury Dumb Boy known as de Nysschen make it … and will Cadillac survive once he has .

  1. mooseface

    Mr. de Nysschen uses far too many commas; it’s hard to take his statements seriously when they’re chopped up into little bits. Was he channeling Christopher Walken when he wrote it?

  2. Milkovich

    Can we have Pontiac back now? We need high performance sedans that cost less than the yearly US personal income. There is nothing in that “category” except for Charger and only McTaggart would drive a 4000lb Fiat.

  3. Gary Smrtic

    So its helpful to have all of the companies’ corperte offices and decision makers a 1,000 miles away from where the action is…? I’m afraid I don’t qute get that…

    1. ColoradoKid

      Nick – I’m barely able to stay in my chair I’m laughing so hard !

      Two HUGE freaking thumbs up .. and probably the best line I’ll see all week .

      Brilliant

  4. Scott

    He say’s “armchair marketing expert”.

    Other people (smarted people) call those “customers”.

  5. ColoradoKid

    Tell you what Mr de Nysschen !

    Not only will I mess with you . But given half a chance I’ll kick your over bloated pathetic excuse of a CEO’s ___ from one end to the other … be it in a Debate – On a track with one of your Cattlecrap POS – or man to man in the contest of your choosing !

    Like to take me up on it ? More than a few in the industry know exactly who I am and how to get in touch .

    So lets Rock & Roll Pillsbury Dumb Boy . That is … assuming you’re a man willing to back up his big mouth with genuine actions that is

  6. ANGRYJOE

    He sounds like a prick….lets see him sink with Caddy like the ship captains of yesteryear…..

  7. John

    Remember when the GM divisions all had their own engines that shared no common parts? How long did it take for them to figure out that wasn’t such a great idea?

    Alpha-numeric naming convention stupidity aside, I can sort of understand moving the marketing and or design folks out of the mid-west to mingle with the trend setters on either coast (at least Soho keeps them in the same time zone as the mother ship) in hopes of learning more about their prospective high income customers and what they might want out of an overpriced luxury car.

    However, I bet they move is reversed in 5 years or less.

    This guys sounds a bit like Jacques Nasser
    – that should make GM VERY AFRAID.

  8. kwikirk

    looks to me as a CHEAPER copy of a BMW M6 Grand Coupe, notice the 6 desigination….. can’t designers come up with something different than European copys?

  9. 200kss

    So the Escalade (which I thought was carrying the brand sales wise) will no longer be an overpriced Tahoe?

  10. Terri Miller

    I’ve owned a wide range of luxury cars over the last 20 years, both European and domestic, and the platinum Escalade is definitely a great vehicle by any standard. Cadillac has a future but not in Detroit. They are right to leave. Maybe someday if union corruption and entitlement can be overcome, Motor City might rise again but meanwhile what motivation has Cadillac to stay in Detroit? The secret to longterm success for Cadillac is to spin off from GM and reinvent themselves as a separate brand dedicated to both luxury and performance.

  11. Burner303

    This guy can defend himself all he wants, doesn’t change the fact that CT6 is a boring and lame name. EVERYONE knows what an Escalade is. Say CT6, People will ask you if it is an Infiniti or BMW.

    You want a car, ESPECIALLY the flagship car, to have a name that is recognizable and memorable. Ask non-car people what a CT6, Q70, JX35, 330I, CLA is. Now compare that response to if you ask a non-car person what a Mustang, Camaro, Escalade, Hummer is.

    They need a badass car with a name that is recognizable to the brand. What was wrong with Eldorado?

  12. Anthony

    Uhh when each of GM’s divisions had its own engines and brand identity it flourished, thats not the problem. The over stuffed Caprices also sold like crazy and were everywhere in the 70s and 80s. What sunk Caddy was FWD Devilles in the mid 80’s and the HT4100 and Diesels. I still hear guys say they would never buy another even though today they build really nice cars.

  13. Anthony

    One more thing that dude sounds like a real D&$k. Hes going to screw up stuff more than the guy that made the Cimmaron and HT4100 decisions.

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