Ad of the Day: Cadillac, Spike Lee Tell Teddy Bridgewater's Touching Mother's Day Story A pink Escalade for Rose By Roo Ciambriello

May 9, 2014, 9:52 AM EDT

A promise kept by the first-round NFL draft pick

When Teddy Bridgewater was 9 years old, he promised his mother Rose that when he made it to the NFL, he would buy her a pink Cadillac Escalade.

The first part of Bridgewater's dream came true on Thursday night. The Miami native and University of Louisville quarterback was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 32nd and final pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.

Cadillac caught wind of the second part of his dream, about the pink Escalade, and helped make it come true. The gift reveal is included in the seven-minute film below, directed by Spike Lee, about Teddy and his family. The color choice is made doubly meaningful as Rose is a breast cancer survivor.

I haven't been the biggest fan of Cadillac lately, but this is a nice move. And pro athletes are certainly stepping up with beautiful tributes to their moms this week—following Kevin Durant's moving speech, which is now an NBA ad.

Hats off to Teddy, and a very Happy Mother's Day to Rose.

CREDITS
Client: Cadillac
Agencies: Rogue, Boston; Spike DDB, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Chief Creative Officer: Lance Jensen
Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Copy: Dave Banta
Senior Vice President, Group Creative Director, Art: Kevin Daley
Vice President, Associate Creative Director, Art: Khari Streeter
Vice President, Creative Director, Copy: Lawson Clarke
Chief Execjtive Officer, Chief Creative Officer: Spike Lee, Spike DDB
Executive Creative Director: Dabo Che, Spike DDB
Creative Director: Rachel Donovan, Spike DDB
Creative Director, Digital: Matthew Zelley
Account Team: Megan Wiggin, Clifford Stevens, Emily Shahady, Kristen Selasky, Riyhana Bey, Geneika Lewis, Kaitlyn Sherman, Chad McLean
Project Management: Paul Pantzer, Christy Costello
Planner: Anne Feighan
Executive Producer: Andrew Barnett
Content, Social Media: John Dukakis, Jamie Scheu, Lora Stock
Operations Manager, Assistant Producer: Robyn Ross
Director of Operations, Integrated Production: Lizzie Haberman, Spike DDB

Production Company: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks
Executive Producer: Alex Wright
Director: Spike Lee
Director of Photography: Daniel Patterson
Makeup: JoJo Rogriguez
Stylist: Jessica Thornhill

Editing House: Lost Planet
Editors: Jacks Genega, Ben Rodriguez
Producers: Krystn Wagenberg, Kate McCormick
Graphics Supervisor: Reginald William Butler

Music Houses: Amber Music; HiFi
Creative Director: Paul Robb, HiFi
Music Producer: Michelle Curren and Mike Perri, Amber; Jack Bradley, HiFi
Music Composer: Robert DiPietro, HiFi

GM to make limited-edition Cadillac CTS coupe

The 2015 Cadillac CTS-V coupe will consist of 500 limited-edition cars available during the second half of 2014. / General Motors

General Motors plans to produce a limited number of the 2015 Cadillac CTS-V coupe before transitioning to a redesigned lineup of V-series luxury vehicles.

The automaker said today it would sell 500 units of the 2015 CTS-V in the second half of 2014.

The move comes amid widespread speculation that the automaker may phase out the Cadillac CTS coupe, whose sharp edges and aggressive stance made up a polarizing package.

GM introduced a coupe version of the smaller, compact Cadillac ATS at the Detroit auto show in January, adding to the speculation that the CTS coupe would be phased out.

The 2015 CTS-V coupe will contain the same 556-horsepower, eight-cylinder engine and Brembo brakes as the 2010 through 2014 versions. It will feature a customized interior with premium materials.

GM said the next generation of V-series Cadillacs would debut in 2015.

“The V-Series continues to elevate Cadillac, providing an exclusive family of high-performance luxury models that attract a new audience of elite and passionate buyers,” said Uwe Ellinghaus, chief marketing officer of global Cadillac, in a statement.

http://www.freep.com/article/20140512/BUSINESS0101/305120113/Cadillac-CTS-V-coupe

Charge Forward with the First Ever Cadillac ELR

Cadillac produces new ad for ELR highlightiing highlight the powertrain and other features on the ELR

Rivals Aim to Break German Hold on China Luxury-Car Market

U.S., British and Swedish Car Makers Spending Billions of Dollars to Crack Growing Demand

• Permalink
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Expand/Collapse

In China, luxury cars are nearly all German brands. Now, U.S., British and Swedish car makers aim to break that tie with plans to spend billions of dollars on Chinese factories and marketing drives.

By Colum Murphy

GUANGZHOU, China—For Chinese car buyers, luxury means German. Audi AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz combined hold more than 70% of the country’s about $40 billion annual market for high-end vehicles.

Now, a club of smaller scale luxury brands have China in their cross hairs. In the past year General Motors Co.’s Cadillac, Tata Motors Ltd.’s Jaguar Land Rover, and Chinese-owned Swedish brand Volvo have detailed plans to spend billions of dollars on factories in China that would bring at least half a million additional luxury cars to the market beginning 2015.

They are looking to people like Andrew Zhang. The 31-year-old electronics-parts salesman in Shanghai has been driving a BMW X1 for two years and is contemplating a change. German cars such as the Mercedes-Benz GLK 300 appeal to him, but he has also got his eye on a Range Rover from Jaguar Land Rover.

“I like the interior space; it is huge,” said Mr. Zhang. Sometimes a friend lets him borrow his, he said, and “when I drive it I feel very good.”

The competition will heat up again at an auto show that begins in this southern Chinese boomtown on Thursday, where new luxury-car launches include JLR’s Range Rover LWB and its 2014 Range Rover Evoque; Volvo Car Corp.’s new longwheel base sedan the S60L; Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus will hold the world premiere of its 2014 CT 200h full hybrid hatchback compact luxury sedan; GM’s China debut of its Cadillac ATS small sedan; and Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti unveils its Q50 2.0T engine model.

Analysts forecast China’s luxury car market will total 1.4 million vehicles in 2013. Using a broad definition of luxury cars, they estimate Chinese consumers’ luxury-car purchases could reach three million vehicles by 2020—putting it ahead of the U.S. with its estimated 2.3 million luxury vehicles.

While Chinese desire for German luxury brands is strong, industry experts say loyalty to a single brand is relatively low, providing an opening for newcomers. Chinese consumers penchant for upgrading also means buyers are frequently considering their next purchase. Some also are buying second or third cars for their households.

Making inroads won’t be easy. China has become a critical market for Germany’s three top luxury-car brands. BMW, Volkswagen AG’s Audi and Mercedes-Benz each get at least 15% of their annual sales in China. All three have aggressive capacity expansion plans and are looking for ways to increase their market share here. Audi, for example, has been quick to enter the market for smaller luxury cars with its locally produced Q3 compact SUV and it coming compact A3 sedan.

Klaus Paur, global head of automotive at research firm Ipsos, said German auto makers now “clearly convince” consumers here to buy their cars by offering cutting-edge technology, comfort and design. To be credible sellers in this market, new entrants would need to bring products that have equally strong appeal to Chinese luxury-car buyers and must work to strengthen their brand image, he said.

The challenge for upstarts is drawing car buyers who are “very traditional,” said Marco Gerrits, partner and managing director of the Boston Consulting Group. “If they upgrade they chose as default the top three German brands and hardly ever chose any of the smaller brands,” he said.

Those willing to consider smaller brands are the “more experienced” luxury drivers, he said. But since the luxury car market here is so young, those types of consumers are fewer. Brand loyalty is low, said the BCG consultant.

Tim Lee, chairman of GM China, said the U.S. auto maker has a “laserlike focus” on the top German luxury brands and hopes to dazzle Chinese consumers with a suite of new Cadillac models. GM started producing its Cadillac XTS, a full-size sedan, in Shanghai this year.

“When you have the product right, it makes the conquest sale less difficult,” said Mr. Lee, using industry terminology for luring customers from another brand.

Nissan’s Infiniti, which has been in the Chinese market around six years, sees this as a “big chance” to establish the brand in China, said Daniel Kirchert, managing director of Infiniti China.

In contrast to more mature markets, Chinese consumers’ perceptions around luxury car brands isn’t yet “fixed,” he said.

Brand building would be the “most important goal” in China for Infiniti in the next three to five years, he said. Infinti sponsors Formula One racing, although its popularity is limited in China. The company also is “partnering” with local celebrities, such as actor Wu Xiubo, and television shows to get its brand better known here.

Volvo Car, owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is banking on a new kind of Chinese luxury car buyer to spur its sales of upscale models such as its Volvo XC60 T5 Elegance, which sells for around 469,000 yuan (about $76,550).

“We are already in the spot that customers are heading for,” a Volvo spokesman said. Company Chairman Li Shufu said at a recent industry conference that some car owners have shifted from “materialistic to spiritual pursuits” and want luxury that is less flashy.

China’s recently installed government under President Xi Jinping has been cracking down on conspicuous consumption, especially of foreign luxury cars, by government officials. This has had a knock-on effect for people like Beijing publishing entrepreneur Frank Zhang, who needs to interact with officials on a regular basis.

“When you deal with state-run companies, you should keep a low profile,” said Mr. Zhang, who is no relation to car shopper Andrew Zhang. “Few publishing entrepreneurs drive BMW or Mercedes cars because that would be seen as flaunting one’s wealth.”

General Motors’ New Roads Are Paved with Incentives

COLLEEN CASEY | MORE ARTICLES

OCTOBER 20, 2013

General Motors Company (NYSE: GM) wants customers to “open the possibilities” their new credit card offers while flashing brand loyalty every time they use their plastic purchasing power. The card, advertised on their website, offers 5 percent earnings on the first $5,000 of purchases, and 2 percent thereafter.

There is no cap on earnings, and no limit on what portion of the earnings can be applied to a new GM vehicle, and they do no expire. No annual fee is associated with the card. GM is offering the card throughCapital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF).

The previous Capital One card and points scheme was described by Automotive News. Four million people use the older card, their points expire, and earnings cannot surpass $500. That card is now closed, and only current customers can continue under its rewards program. Alternatively, they can apply for the new version.

In a press release by GM and Capital One, Bill Cilluffo, Executive Vice President, Card Partnerships at Capital One explained the impetus behind the new card. “Consumers told us they wanted a straightforward way to earn greater benefits than their current auto rewards card. Together, in partnership with General Motors, we have set a new standard in this category, and are providing a better solution for consumers to plan for and save toward their next new Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, or Cadillac vehicle.”

The card follows last week’s announcement by GM that the company had improved upon its Military Discount Program, by increasing price reductions available and adding incentives. Edmunds.com reports that the company also recently expanded its employee pricing program, which now includes extended family members.

What the card, and other incentives represent, is a push to move new GM models. Also in the press release was this statement by GM’s General Manager for Retail Sales and Marketing Support, Chuck Thompson: “We are introducing 27 new or refreshed cars, trucks and SUVs in 2013 and 2014 — an average of one per month – and the new GM Card is the key for customers to put one in their driveways.”

Cadillac CTS must rival BMW in brand's latest checkpoint

Originally published: September 20, 2013 2:58 PM
Updated: September 21, 2013 2:34 PM
By BLOOMBERG NEWS

Photo credit: General Motors | The redesigned Cadillac CTS is a lower, longer, sleeker sedan that’s supposed to move the model upmarket to better compete with the BMW 5-Series.

Early in his tenure as the head of General Motors Co.’s Cadillac division, Bob Ferguson faced one of those issues that was neither black nor white.

Ferguson, the former head lobbyist who had joined GM in 2010 after a career in the telecom industry, sat in a briefing by Cadillac designers who wanted him to help persuade Chinese colleagues to pick a specific interior color scheme for the redesigned mid-size CTS sedan. The staff didn’t know Ferguson is colorblind.

After they finished their presentation and left, Ferguson overturned the swatches to write numbers on the back so he’d know which one to point to later in China, he recalled during an interview this month about his first year on the job and the sedan GM needs to win customers from German competitors.

---

TOOLS: Find a Cadillac on LI | Shop for a car | Sell your car
MORE: Data: LI's most popular cars | Latest car reviews

---

As he approaches that anniversary in October, Ferguson has had to rely on his wits and his team of experienced auto executives to elevate Cadillac to be competitive against Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG’s Audi.

Ferguson, 54, has been riding the sales increase following the introduction of a new compact sedan that reached showrooms the month before he took over. His own first big test as boss arrives in U.S. dealerships next month as the company introduces the redesigned CTS, a lower, longer, sleeker sedan that’s supposed to move the model upmarket to better compete with the BMW 5 Series.

‘Fabulous’ Car

“It is clear that the product is fabulous — all of the reviews say so; now the launch will be critical and how they market it,” Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst with Edmunds.com, a website that tracks auto sales, said yesterday in a telephone interview. Ferguson’s challenge, she said, is “to really start doing some serious conquesting,” or Detroit-speak for taking sales away from competitors.

Ferguson has reorganized with outside hires, broken ground on a factory in China, replaced the brand’s ad agency and revealed a concept of what a new Cadillac logo might look like.

The first CTS, in 2002, with its sharp angles that took design cues from the Stealth fighter jet, marked a change in styling for Cadillac. It also bolstered the idea that GM could revive the brand. The new CTS needs to help take Cadillac to the next level, and Ferguson said his team’s hard work has him feeling confident.

“We’re going to have one of the most successful launches not only for Cadillac, but for General Motors,” Ferguson said.

Cadillac, BMW

With the new lineup, GM matches up more comparably with BMW. The previous CTS had been too big to go head-to-head with the compact 3 Series and too small to oppose the 5 Series. Only 2.7 percent of BMW 5 Series shoppers also looked at the CTS, according to Edmunds.

Now Cadillac has a true compact with the ATS while the CTS moves up to mid-size. GM also offers a larger sedan, the XTS.

The 2014 CTS, starting at $45,100 excluding destination charges, will be about 15 percent more expensive than the 2013 model while still about 10 percent less than the 5 Series.

“The CTS will, of course, decline from previous peak volume when it straddled the market segments,” Alan Baum, an industry consultant at Baum & Associates in West Bloomfield, Mich., said in an e-mail. “The XTS is somewhat different as it is the product designed to appeal to ‘traditional’ Cadillac buyers, while the ATS and CTS are designed to attract new buyers.”

He estimates that sales of the CTS will decline to 40,000 in the U.S. during the first full year of production, down from a peak of about 60,000 in 2005. Last year, GM sold 46,979 CTS models, according to researcher Autodata Corp.

Positive Reviews

Early evaluations of the new model are positive.

“The CTS is a rock-solid, focused sports sedan that’s stylish, enjoyable, and laden with the latest techno-gadgets,” Consumer Reports wrote Sept. 16 after its first drive. “But the real story is that historically stodgy Cadillac is now the more fun-to-drive and the less conservative alternative to Lexus and the German brands in this bourgeois segment.”

That kind of praise echoes comments heaped on the compact ATS after it was introduced last year. It went on to win North American Car of the Year at the Detroit auto show in January.

The BMW 3 Series fighter has helped boost Cadillac brand sales 32 percent this year through August, making it the fastest-growing brand in the industry, and excited a dealer network that hasn’t had a new compact sedan in a quarter of a century.

The aim is to entice younger customers and convert them into lifelong Cadillac buyers who graduate to more expensive versions over time.

That effort is off to a good start, said Dan Frost, a Cadillac dealer in suburban Detroit. About 30 percent of his buyers for the ATS are between the ages of 28 and 35, he said. They’re attracted to the sporty styling and performance.

‘Most Spectacular’

“The ATS is one of the most spectacular revolutions in a car company that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “Cadillac needs two new models,” if not more, he said.

GM has said it’s considering a sedan larger than the XTS and an SUV smaller than the SRX.

“Think about what we don’t have versus our competition,” Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said during an interview yesterday at Bloomberg headquarters in New York. “We’re looking at all of those holes in the portfolio for Cadillac.”

While Reuss and Ferguson declined to comment on specific future products, the Cadillac chief said he knows there’s interest in more models. GM in 2012 promised 10 new or revamped Cadillac vehicles to increase U.S. sales to about 300,000 within two years from less than half that in 2012. Those new vehicles include the Escalade that will be revealed in October.

“I spend a part of every week of the road with dealers and the health of the brand is noticeably stronger,” Ferguson said. Dealers “want a broader array of vehicles for their showroom, and we do, too.”

Can the New Cadillac Catch Up to BMW?

Published in WSJ on March 26, 2013.

For General Motors Co.'s Cadillac luxury brand, it's back to square one.

A decade ago, Cadillac launched a midsize sedan called the CTS that used sharp-creased looks inspired by stealth bombers to attract younger buyers who were shifting toward foreign luxury cars.

The car had some success in rejuvenating Cadillac's image but didn't revive slumping sales—and failed to attract enough younger buyers. Once the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S., Cadillac finished 2012 in fifth place, behind BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and even Honda Motor Co.'s  Acura.

On Wednesday, the brand is expected to unveil the latest incarnation of its CTS at the New York International Auto Show. Cadillac is again promising to use the $40,000 and up car to challenge rivals such as BMW's 5 series and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz E-class for buyers.

The 2014 CTS will offer an eight-speed transmission—a first for GM's brands. The car will go from the heaviest to the lightest among its European rivals, giving it better fuel economy. Cadillac executives say the vehicle uses aluminum in front doors and bumpers to slim down to 3,616 pounds, about 250 pounds less than the last design.

 

 

Getty Images

The first 2013 Cadillac ATS available for retail sale is prepared to roll off the assembly line at the GM in July.

"The CTS was the vehicle that began the Cadillac renaissance," said Robert Ferguson, Cadillac's global brand chief. The new model "is a cornerstone vehicle for us and will keep the momentum going."

But in some respects it is the same old Cadillac facing the same dilemma. The average age of a Cadillac owner is 65 years old, compared with 49 years for BMW and 48 years for Audi, according to researcher StrategicVision. The new-to-GM eight-speed transmission has been available in rival vehicles for more than a year.

After a lot of ups and downs over the years, the brand is focusing on a three-sedan portfolio—the ATS, CTS and XTS. That compares with the four different body styles in the BMW 5 series alone. GM says it plans to introduce six new or refreshed Cadillacs over the next four years and insist the coming CTS won't lag the size, length and electronic bling of its German rivals.

A strong debut for the new model is critical for GM. The company is pinning its future on the global sales of two brands: Cadillac and Chevrolet. GM needs Cadillac to crack the luxury barrier and boost its presence in markets such as China, Russia and perhaps Brazil if it hopes to generate the profit it needs for the brand's long-term survival.

That the new CTS a decade later faces the same, unaccomplished mission of regaining market and mind share from German luxury brands shows how much its rivals have gained. Audi, BMW and Mercedes are introducing a variety of new models in the U.S. and China this year to broaden their appeal to new and younger buyers.

Despite repeated revival promises, Cadillac's U.S. market share has remained relatively unchanged over the past 10 years, bouncing between a high of 1.35% in 2005 to 1.05% at the end of 2012.

Since the launch of the first generation CTS in 2002, Cadillac has sought to hammer a message that its cars are no longer the soft-riding, oversize boulevardiers that wealthy members of the World War II generation piloted to summer hotels in the Catskills or cabins in Northern Michigan.

It strove to recast the car as a high-performance machine, showing images of the CTS roaring around Germany's Nürburgring race circuit—a testing ground the German brands use to fine-tune the handling of their vehicles.

To launch last year's new sedan, the 2013 ATS, Cadillac commissioned a series of television spots showing a pair of young driving enthusiasts flogging the car along twisty roads in exotic locations from China to the tip of South America.

Today, GM again is considering changing Cadillac's advertising agency. If it does, it would be the fifth such switch since 2007.

 

Cadillac

2014 CTS, above, would chase BMW's 5 series and Mercedes E-class.

"We owe it to ourselves to take a step back," Cadillac U.S. marketing chief Don Butler said. "We are looking at everything go on in the brand and asking ourselves should it be structured differently.

In part, that is because the about $38,000 and up ATS has gotten off to a slow start. U.S. dealers had a hefty 106 days' supply of the cars as of the end of February. By contrast, BMW's overall stock of unsold cars in the U.S. amounted to just 39 days' supply.

R.L. Polk  & Co. automotive analyst Tom Libby said the new Cadillacs represent "a huge step forward for them." But at the same time, he said, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are escalating their assaults on the U.S. market with new models—including lower-priced vehicles aimed at picking off younger, affluent buyers before they ever consider Cadillac.

"They are also expanding their product portfolio downward which only increases the pressure," Mr. Libby said.

Mercedes-Benz, for example, will use the New York show to debut its CLA 45 AMG—a high performance version of the compact four-door it highlighted during the 2013 Super Bowl. The CLA will start under $30,000. Mercedes says the AMG version can reach 60 miles an hour time from a standing start in under 5 seconds at a price of about $50,000.

"Over the next seven years we are launching 30 new or refreshed cars, which averages out to about one new car per quarter," Mercedes-Benz spokesman Christian Bokich said. "We continue to invest in our product portfolio to meet what we see as the future demands of luxury customers."

Those new vehicles and others could make it tough for Cadillac to hang on to its rank in the U.S. Hot on Cadillac's heels is Volkswagen AG's  Audi brand, which has been steadily increasing market share since 2004 when it had 0.44% of the U.S. market. Audi had a share of 0.96% at the end of 2012, and the brand is launching more models—including a compact A3 sedan that will be shown at the New York auto show.

To lead the latest relaunch of Cadillac, GM CEO Dan Akerson reached outside the company's automotive marketing ranks and named Mr. Ferguson, GM's Washington lobbyist and a former AT&T Inc. executive as Cadillac's global brand head.

Mr. Ferguson said he is confident Cadillac new lineup can take on the Germans by more directly positioning its cars in the same size and price categories of the German brands. GM says the ATS pricing is akin to BMW's 3 series and Audi's A4.

With the new sedan, "We are going to ride the CTS to get Cadillac to sales numbers it has never posted," Mr. Ferguson said. Cadillacs including the ATS and compact SRX sport utility also will help Cadillac in growth markets such as Brazil, Russia and China, he said.

Early sales of the ATS in the U.S. isn't a fair indicator of the brand's potential, Mr. Ferguson said, because they reflect a failure to supply enough all-wheel-drive models in a segment where roughly half the cars sell with the feature.

Now, Mr. Ferguson said, 70% of those customers buying a new ATS sedan have never previously owned a Cadillac.

Data from Edmunds.com, the car shopping website, suggests that the ATS is getting some looks from people shopping German brands. In February, about 4.9% of shoppers who looked at a BMW 3 series also looked at the ATS, up from 3.3% in December 2012.

But there was more cross-shopping traffic between the ATS and the Cadillac CTS. Of those who looked at a CTS, 26% also looked at the ATS. Of course, some things never change: Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell said the top state for ATS purchases is Michigan, GM's home state.

General Motors Company (GM): This Automaker Will Win During China’s Luxury Boom

Published in Motley Fool on March 10, 2013

 

Money, money, money! That's what every investor wants! And it's what every automaker wants more of, too. Money is exactly why we've seen an explosion of brands in the luxury segment.

 

There are plenty of reasons companies are flocking to high-end vehicles. They're an easy way for automakers to differentiate themselves from their entry-level vehicles and increase market share. Sales of luxury vehicles are more consistent during the up and down swings of the economy, since wealthier consumers can consistently afford to make larger purchases. And, of course, there are the higher transaction prices and juicy margins.

 

In anticipation of a recovery in the U.S. economy, the luxury segment has exploded with new competitors. There are 27 luxury-segment models priced between $25,000 and $35,000, according to Edmunds. And as the U.S. market continues to mature, automakers will be looking to emerging markets for further growth. Believe it or not, China's luxury market is about to surpass the U.S. for the largest in the world, giving a catalyst to the companies best prepared to meet the demand.

 

Let's look at how lucrative this market can be and why I think General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is best prepared to profit from China's luxury boom.

 

By the numbers 

By 2016, China is expected to overtake the United States for the world's largest luxury-vehicle market. It's estimated to be selling more than 2.3 million high-end vehicles by that time. Its luxury market has increased by 36% annually over the past decade, according to China Daily. That's impressive growth, compared with the 26% annual growth for the overall market.

 

Look at it this way. In 2002, the Chinese luxury market sold 57,000 vehicles, making it the world's 14th largest market. Ten years later it accounted for 1.24 million vehicles sold, bringing it up to the No. 2 spot. If you compare the U.S. market over the same period, we've grown from 1.67 million to 1.7 million. It's clear that while there's not tremendous growth at home, the number of luxury consumers in China is increasing rapidly and isn't projected to slow down anytime soon.

 

Lincoln can't cut it 

Before I get to why General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is capable of cashing in on China's luxury market, I'll explain why Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and other rivals won't get it done. Lincoln hasn't been relevant since the mid-'90s, when the Navigator was the top seller. In fact, last year the Mustang was responsible for more sales than the entire Lincoln brand. The redesigned Escape more than doubled it.

 

Ford has mostly left its luxury line alone because the recession highlighted more glaring issues to address first. Now that Ford has paid down its debt and is producing a higher-quality vehicle, it can focus on reviving up its luxury brands. But if it can manage to bring Lincoln back to relevance, it will have to happen here in the U.S. first, and we're a long way from seeing that happen. We're even further from seeing that happen in China, where Ford still has a lot of ground to catch up.

 

Lexus sinks itself 

Japanese automakers saw their sales plummet after a September territorial dispute with China. The dust-up initially fueled anti-Japanese protests and dropped Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:TM) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (ADR) vehicle sales almost in half. Seven months later, the automakers have yet to fully recover. They probably will by the end of 2013, but Toyota's struggles in China will remain.

 

Toyota's Lexus brand is popular in the U.S. but has had difficulty gaining traction in China. In the global picture, Toyota outsold all companies worldwide last year -- yet it trailed General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Volkswagen, Nissan and even Hyundai in China. Toyota, much like Ford, has a lot of ground to make up before it can take full advantage of China's luxury boom.

 

GM for the win 

With Ford and Toyota out of China's luxury picture, the door is wide open for General Motors to take a huge chunk of the profits. Its one true rival will be Volkswagen, whose Audi brand has been a hit with the Chinese. But it helps that GM is already the top-selling automaker in China and recently announced that its sales there for January and February climbed 7.9%. It already has joint ventures if it wishes to try that route into the expanding luxury market. If not, it already sells the Cadillac brand in China.

 

Another thing that bodes well for General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)'s future success is its new marketing campaign. The "Find New Roads" push will replace its predecessor, which didn't translate well internationally. The new campaign showcases a higher-quality vehicle, and its first commercial has been well received.

 

Bottom line 

Early in the year, GM watched its Cadillac sales decline in China, I fully expect this trend to reverse. I think GM will continue its success in China and expand through its premium brand. Within a couple of years, we should see the effects of China's luxury boom on GM's bottom line. As an automotive investor, I'll be watching GM very closely.