The Rise and Fall of Cadillac
凯迪拉克的崛起与衰落
Owning a Cadillac in America was once the ultimate status symbol, synonymous with success and achievement. The company dominated the market, outselling all luxury automakers in the US for decades. Just 40 years ago, nearly one-third of all luxury cars sold in the US were Cadillacs. Now, less than 7% of luxury cars purchased by Americans are Cadillacs, and the company is struggling to keep up with competitors it once outsold. So, what happened?
在美国拥有一辆凯迪拉克曾是终极社会地位的象征，是成功和成就的代名词。凯迪拉克公司占领美国市场数十年，其销售量一直超过所有美国豪华汽车制造商。就在40年前，在美国销售的所有豪华车中，近三分之一是凯迪拉克，而如今，美国人购买的豪华车中只有不到7％是凯迪拉克，凯迪拉克公司正在努力追上曾经超过的竞争对手。所以究竟发生了什么？
图：凯迪拉克在美国豪华车市场所占份额
Cadillac got its start in 1902. It was actually formed from what was left of the Henry Ford Company after the departure of Henry Ford following disputes with his investors. Engineer Henry M. Leland was brought on to appraise the company’s factory in order to sell it but instead saw potential. Leland chose to reorganize the company as Cadillac Automobile Company, naming it after French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, which was America’s automotive hub as well as the home of the company.
凯迪拉克公司的历史可以追溯到1902年，它是在亨利·福特与其投资者发生纠纷离开亨利·福特公司后组建起来的。工程师亨利·利兰（Henry M. Leland）受邀对公司的工厂进行评估，以便出售该工厂，但利兰看到了该公司的潜力。利兰选择将公司改组为凯迪拉克汽车公司，以底特律的创始人法国探险家安东尼·门斯·凯迪拉克（Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac）为公司命名。底特律是美国的汽车枢纽，也是该公司的所在地。
图：第一辆凯迪拉克汽车
At face value, Cadillac’s cars seemed almost identical to those the company produced under Ford. But they quickly distinguished themselves and gained a reputation for being better made and more reliable.
从表面上看，凯迪拉克的汽车与福特生产的汽车几乎相同，但是他们很快就脱颖而出，并因做得更好、更可靠而赢得了声誉。
In 1909, the company was purchased by up-and-coming conglomerate General Motors and officially named its most prestigious division.
1909年，新兴的综合企业通用汽车公司收购了凯迪拉克，并正式成为其最负盛名的品牌。
图：1909年通用汽车公司旗下品牌
Over the next few decades, Cadillac set huge milestones in the auto industry, including the first passenger car with a fully enclosed cabin. Perhaps most impressive was the development of the first electronic self-starter. Up to that point, starting a car required the awkward and strenuous task of cranking up the engine. With some help from inventor Charles Kettering, Cadillac simplified it to just the push of a button. Breakthroughs like this inspired the company to adopt its iconic slogan: “Cadillac: Standard of the World.”
在接下来的几十年中，凯迪拉克在汽车工业中取得了一座座里程碑，包括第一款封闭式车身汽车，也许最令人印象深刻的是开发了第一个电子点火系统。在那时，启动汽车引擎既笨拙又费力，在发明家查尔斯·凯特灵（Charles Kettering）的帮助下，凯迪拉克将其简化为仅需按一下按钮。这些突破启发凯迪拉克提出了其标志性口号：“凯迪拉克：追求世界标准”。
图：凯特灵与其发明的电子点火系统
Fast-forward to 1927. Cadillac established the concept of a luxury car with its LaSalle convertible coupe. Before the LaSalle, cars were strictly created based on their engineering needs. With this new car, it was the first time a company called in a designer rather than an engineer for the job. Designed by car stylist Harley Earl to be lavish and eye-catching, the LaSalle became a trendsetting automobile that once again highlighted Cadillac’s high standards for car-making.
时间快进到1927年，凯迪拉克通过其LaSalle敞篷小轿车确立了豪华车的概念。在LaSalle诞生之前，公司严格根据汽车的工程需求来制造汽车。而这款新车，是公司第一次聘请设计师而不是工程师来设计完成的。 LaSalle由轿车款式设计师Harley Earl设计，既豪华又引人注目，它成为引领潮流的汽车，再次彰显了凯迪拉克在汽车制造方面的高标准。
图：凯迪拉克1927年推出的LaSalle车型
Cadillac’s success and technical progress continued through the 1930s. But then World War II hit, and the entire car industry slowed production in order to produce tanks and aircraft engines. But that didn’t stop the car brand. Cadillac introduced designs that came to both define the car industry and embody the prosperity of the “fabulous ‘50s” and 1960s. While the company received recognition for its continued engineering developments, it was Cadillac’s iconic tail fins that became a staple feature of all luxury automobiles. Not to mention its cars’ enormous dimensions and Dagmar bumpers, nicknamed after the voluptuous TV star. At the height of its popularity, Cadillac was selling over five times that of rival Lincoln, and in 1968, managed to sell over 200,000 vehicles for the year.
凯迪拉克的成功和技术进步一直持续到上世纪30年代，但随后第二次世界大战爆发，许多公司转向生产坦克和航空发动机，整个汽车行业的产量缩减。 但这并没有阻止凯迪拉克品牌的发展。凯迪拉克推出的设计不仅定义了汽车行业，还体现了“神话般的'50年代”和60年代的繁荣。公司因其不断的工程开发而获得认可，其标志性尾鳍成为所有豪华汽车中的主要特色，还有大尺寸车身和以性感的电视明星妲歌玛·拉桑德（Dagmar Lassander）而得名的弹头式保险杠（Dagmar bumpers）。
在其鼎盛时期，凯迪拉克的销量是其竞争对手林肯的五倍多，并且在1968年成功售出了20万辆汽车。
图：1959款凯迪拉克Eldorado
But Cadillac was more than just America’s most stylish and
top-selling premium car brand. Through General Motors’ aggressive marketing, driving a Cadillac became a status symbol in America to everyone from celebrities and professional athletes to presidents.凯迪拉克不仅仅是美国最时尚、最畅销的高档汽车品牌，通过通用汽车的积极营销，在美国驾驶凯迪拉克成为地位的象征，从名人、职业运动员到总统，无一例外。
At the start of the 1970s, Cadillac remained the dominating force in the luxury car market, as the idea that “bigger is better” still rang true with buyers. However, as the economy declined and a widespread oil crisis spread, owning giant, gas-guzzling sedans became far less convenient and far more expensive. But more than anything, the rise of imported cars gave Cadillac some serious competition, and the brand started to lose ground as the standard of excellence in America.
上世纪70年代初，由于“越大越好”的想法在购车者中仍然存在，凯迪拉克依旧是豪华车市场上的主导力量。但是，随着经济下滑和石油危机广泛蔓延，车身庞大、耗油量大的轿车变得越来越不方便实惠。最重要的是，进口汽车的兴起给凯迪拉克带来了激烈的竞争，凯迪拉克开始失去其作为美国卓越标准的地位。
Although the 1980s started well enough for Cadillac, with sales continuing to increase, the company responded poorly to this rise of imports. To compete with all the new compact foreign automobiles, the company began downsizing its entire lineup to create a team of smaller, fuel-efficient cars. But its cars quickly became indistinguishable, not only from each other, but from General Motors’ other brands as well.
虽然80年代初，持续增长的销售量对于凯迪拉克来说差强人意，但是面对进口汽车的增长，该公司的应对却不尽人意。
为了与所有外国的新型紧凑型汽车竞争，凯迪拉克开始削减汽车阵容，打造一个由小型、省油的汽车组成的阵容。但是它的汽车很快变得难以区分，不仅是其几款车型之间，而且与通用汽车的其他品牌也是如此。
图：雪佛兰与凯迪拉克
And as the company hastily pushed out these smaller cars to try and match the influx of luxury imports, Cadillac encountered a number of failures, the prime example being the Cimarron, the smallest car Cadillac had ever produced to that point. It sold so poorly that it was axed from their lineup by 1988, just six years after its launch.
由于凯迪拉克赶忙推出几款小型汽车，试图与大量进口的豪华车竞争，结果遭受了许多失败。最鲜明的例子是西马龙牌汽车，这是凯迪拉克迄今为止生产过的最小的汽车。其销量太过糟糕，以至于在推出后仅六年就于1988年被裁退。
图：西马龙在美国的年销量
Consumers recognized the decline in quality of Cadillac’s cars, and it reflected in the company’s sales. Cadillac’s share of the US luxury car market dropped from 31% in 1980 to just 22% in 1990. As Cadillac fell, its competitor Lincoln reaped the benefits. Lincoln’s share doubled during the course of the decade to 20%. And in 1998, for the first time in 59 years, Lincoln outsold Cadillac.
消费者意识到了凯迪拉克汽车质量的下降，这反映在该公司的销量中：凯迪拉克在美国豪华车市场的份额从1980年的31％下降到1990年的22％。随着凯迪拉克的衰落，其竞争对手林肯从中受益。在这十年间，林肯的市场份额翻了一番，达到20％。 1998年，林肯59年来首次超过凯迪拉克。
By the 1990s, Cadillac lost any appeal it had with the younger market. The running joke became that all Cadillac owners were somewhere between 60 and death. America’s luxury car market was now heavily dominated by Mercedes, with Toyota’s newly introduced Lexus brand close behind, followed by BMW, whose sales were quickly rising.
到90年代，凯迪拉克失去了对年轻市场的吸引力，人们戏称凯迪拉克的车主都是“老古董”了。梅赛德斯目前在美国的豪华车市场占据主导地位，丰田推出的雷克萨斯品牌紧随其后，其次是销量迅速增长的宝马。
图：日本丰田公司雷克萨斯车型
But in 1999, the introduction of what would become one of Cadillac’s most iconic vehicles would prevent a total collapse and help revamp the brand. The 1999 Escalade was Cadillac’s answer to the full-size SUV boom and its response to the success of Lincoln’s Navigator. The Escalade not only performed well sales-wise; it became a pop-culture icon in itself, making its way into movies and music videos, as well as becoming a popular choice among celebrity car buyers.
但是在1999年，凯迪拉克推出了其最具标志性的汽车之一，拯救了本将崩溃的公司，并帮助公司重塑品牌。 1999年推出的凯雷德（Escalade）是凯迪拉克对全尺寸SUV热潮的回应，也是对林肯领航员（Navigator）成功的回应。凯雷德不仅在销售方面表现良好；它自身也成为一种流行文化，打入电影和音乐视频市场，并成为名人购车者的热门选择。
图：凯迪拉克凯雷德
Things were starting to look up. Cadillac saw a bump in sales, a rise in popularity with the youth market thanks to the Escalade, and somehow survived General Motors’ 2009 bankruptcy that saw multiple brands dissolve.
情况开始好转。由于凯雷德的成功，凯迪拉克的销量有所增长，在年轻市场中的知名度也有所提高，并且在通用汽车于2009年破产导致多个品牌解散时得以幸免。
Unfortunately, the 21st century has not been completely kind to the once glorious name of Cadillac. While Cadillac’s array of modern sport sedans and performance models has been well received by reviewers and the media, the numbers say otherwise. In 2018, the brand saw its US luxury car market share dip to a lowly 7%, selling only 154,702 cars that year, which put it behind even Acura. And its sales among American buyers only continue to plummet.
不幸的是，对“凯迪拉克”这个曾经无限荣耀的名字，21世纪并不那么友善。凯迪拉克的一系列现代运动型轿车和车型性都能受到评论家和媒体的好评，但销售数字却与情况相反。2018年，该品牌在美国豪华车市场的份额下降至7％，当年仅售出154,702辆汽车，甚至落后于日本本田公司的讴歌，而且销售量在美国买家中还在继续暴跌。
But why? How does a company that continues to churn out high-quality cars with top-level technology, like its self-driving Super Cruise system, continue to dip in sales? Well, Cadillac took a long time to join the crossover SUV craze, something that now makes up 60% of luxury car sales in the US.
这是为什么？为什么一家不断采用顶级技术生产高品质汽车的公司（如其辅助驾驶的超级巡航系统）销量持续走低？好吧，也许是因为凯迪拉克花了很长时间加入跨界SUV的热潮，而如今，SUV占据美国豪华车销量的60％。
But despite its problems in the US, the company may have found its answers in the global market, particularly in China.
但是，尽管在美国遇到困境，该公司仍可能在全球市场上发现转机，尤其是在中国。
Between 2016 and 2017, Cadillac sales in China exploded by over 50%, leading Cadillac to record its second-highest global sales mark in the company’s 115-year history. The company already has plans to expand its network of dealers to 500 in China by 2025.
2016到2017年间，凯迪拉克在中国的销售额激增了50％以上，使凯迪拉克在其115年的历史上创下了全球第二高的销售记录。该公司已经计划到2025年将其在中国的经销商扩展到500家。
图：2019年10月凯迪拉克CT5北京凯迪拉克中心呈现
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