Cadillac Luxury: Concierge and Designer Access for Buyers
General Motors is starting a specialized design center referred to as Cadillac House at Vanderbilt in their Global Technical Center located in Warren, Michigan. This novel facility has been created for purchasers of the exclusive Cadillac Celestiq electric vehicle where they can modify it to meet their desires. These buyers will be served by their own personal concierge and even get to speak with a real Cadillac designer for guidance when picking features.
For those who need a refresher, the Celestiq is an extraordinary electric vehicle (EV) coming to market from Cadillac that will be priced from $300,000 – far more than any vehicle the company has ever sold. The Celestiq’s competition will be cars – EV and otherwise – from luxury brands like Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Joe Singer, a Cadillac spokesman, has noted, “Anyone can pre-order, but not everyone will get the vehicle.” It has been confirmed that musician Lenny Kravitz is on the short list of potential buyers. Only 500 Celestiqs will be built each year, and each one will be customised to its owner… which is why Cadillac has created this new design facility.
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Cadillac has already made all available production of the Celestiq for the next 18 months, expecting an impressive collection of specs, if not revolutionizing the EV sector. The 111-kWh battery will grant a range of 300 miles – though this might be fewer than other luxury electric vehicles, such as the Lucid Air. Despite this gap in numbers, Cadillac is still relying on the combination of eye-catching design, complex technology and complete personalisation to bring in the well-to-do consumers.
The renowned Cadillac House at Vanderbilt is denominated after automobile fashioner Suzanne Vanderbilt. She joined GM Design in 1955, during a period when few women were engaged in designing cars. Through her career, she expended some time working in the Cadillac studio until retiring in 1977.
A building housing the Global Tech Center was recently renamed after her, its original form having been a restaurant known as the Central Restaurant. Boasting 30,000 square-feet of space, it was to be designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen in the modernist style. The most iconic element is a sheet of glass that takes up the whole view of the campus; behind it is a whimsical screen made with gold, crafted by Harry Bertoia, an Italian artist based in Detroit. A sight to behold indeed, at 36 feet long and 10 feet tall – a sight not unlike what the working reality of the Cadillac Celestiq could potentially be like.
Those familiar with wreaths and crests will remember that this isn’t the first time Cadillac has opened a Cadillac House. Back in 2016, the brand opened the Cadillac House – New York on the ground floor of its world headquarters. The space was described as a “multipurpose brand experience center… for consumers across art, fashion, and culinary,” but unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Cadillac decided to return to Detroit and close the doors of the Cadillac House – New York in April 2019.
Source: Detroit Free Press