NAMING RIGHTS.

By Peter M. DeLorenzo

Detroit. There is much hand-wringing going on in this business at this very moment – yeah, I know, how is this different than any other day? – and this twisting consternation concerns the fact that Cadillac is going with all-new vehicle names for its electric future. Cadillac is setting sail in a completely new naming direction, and the public will get the first glimpse of the new strategy on August 6th, when GM’s luxury division unveils its first fully electric production vehicle, a crossover called the Lyriq. And that is just the beginning – a hand-build ultra-luxury sedan called the Celestiq is coming down the road.

Vehicle names ending in “iq” will define the new generation of all-electric vehicles from Cadillac. This shift from internal-combustion engines (ICE) to full battery electric vehicles (BEV) will mark a complete transformation for the Cadillac brand by 2028. 

What does it all mean? Vehicle names have been a signature part of this business from Day One. Some brand names revolved around the names of the founders – Bentley, Bugatti, Buick, Chevrolet, Daimler, Ford, Ferrari, Honda, Oldsmobile and Porsche, to name just a few – while other names happened organically and were powered by word of mouth, like Ford’s Model T or the Duesenberg Model J and its variants. There have also been names that earned their spurs over time, like Aston Martin, Audi (which sprang from Auto Union), Honda and Jaguar. 

And, of course, other names became famous individual models of existing brands. Like the Chevrolet Corvette, Corvette Sting Ray and Silverado; BMW 2002; Datsun 240Z; Ferrari Testa Rossa and GTO; Ford GT, Mustang and F-150, Mercedes-Benz 300SL; Jaguar XK120, D-Type, XKSS and E-Type; Jeep Wrangler; Pontiac Bonneville, GTO and Firebird; Porsche 911 and Speedster. And the list goes on and on. 

(At one point, Oldsmobile, which was in the throes of one of this industry’s most historic sales runs with its Cutlass model, started adding the Cutlass name to almost everything. There was the Cutlass S, Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Salon, Cutlass 4-4-2, Cutlass Vista Cruiser station wagon, Cutlass Calais, Cutlass Ciera, etc. Don’t laugh, Oldsmobile sold over a million Cutlass-named vehicles a year at its peak.)

The German manufacturers – Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz – went all-in for the alphanumeric names, which were loosely based on the vehicle architecture and engine size. And that was fine until the American manufactures started copying it – and screwing it up – but the Germans still do it for the most part, although Audi has gone completely off the rails of late in trying to distinguish the various engine sizes on its vehicles. What a mess.

Alfa Romeo has refreshingly stuck with names for its Giulia sport sedan and Stelvio crossover. It fits perfectly with its “march-to-a-different-drummer” product vision too. And Dodge has homed in on its high-performance muscle niche with its Charger and Challenger, to great effect. And last but not least, the Ram truck has bulled its way into pickup truck contention.

And case you’re wondering, the naming merry-go-round continues unabated to this day. Ford is dusting off its “Mach” moniker and attaching it to its new BEV crossover, which will be named the Mustang Mach-E, and that in and of itself is shocking (especially when you see how mundane the Mach-E is in the flesh). And shades of Cutlass, Ford is going to develop a herd of vehicles with the name Mustang attached, just in case you missed the point of Ford hammering the Mustang name hard into the market beyond its iconic pony car. And unless you’ve been submerged for a while and hadn’t heard, Ford has resurrected one of the iconic names in this business – Bronco – and plans on going after Jeep with a corral full of Bronco-based SUVs beginning late next spring.

Ironically enough, when Porsche decided it had to change with the times and play for keeps in the SUV and sedan segments – which was a remarkable departure for the sports car maker – it didn’t rely on old names for its new products at all. Instead, it went with Panamera for its four-door luxury-performance sedan, Cayenne for its larger SUV, and Macan for its more compact SUV. And now, Porsche has charged into the burgeoning luxury BEV segment with its fully-electric Taycan sedan. New names all, and Porsche hasn’t suffered in the least, while still selling its 718 and 911 sports cars.

So, with the aforementioned in mind then, I think Cadillac is making the right move with this dramatic departure from its traditional names for its new BEVs, and I applaud it. 

As much as I love the classic Cadillac monikers – Eldorado, DeVille, and Fleetwood to name a few, and even the more recent Cadillac Concept names such as Cien, Ciel, Elmiraj and Escala – it really doesn’t matter. The sad truth is those names might resonate with a fading generation, but the Cadillac five years from now will be a completely different automobile company. 

Cadillac wants to be - as it has been at times in the past - the purveyor of ultra-luxurious, technically advanced, dramatically styled and distinctly American SUVs, crossovers and sedans, but its products will be aimed at a new generation of environmentally savvy and demanding buyers, and its historical names will be placed gently on the shelf and retired, and rightfully so.

Time keeps ticking, ticking away on this generation, and change is inevitable. But I am excited for the compelling products that are lining up for the next generation. I hope they enjoy them as much as I think they will. 

And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.

(Cadillac)
The Cadillac Lyriq in concept form.