zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
Cadillac's Shuttered Subscription Service Is Coming Back
Cadillac's Shuttered Subscription Service Is Coming Back-April 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:50

Does this type of “customer” even exist? Photo: Cadillac

by , the car subscription program shuttered by the automaker a year ago, is planning a surprise comeback next year as General Motors continues to try to figure out how to get people to like Cadillacs.

Book was initially shut down last year due to issues with the cost of the program and trouble with the back-end technology that disrupted customer service, according to a report from the at the time.

Deborah Wahl, GM’s chief marketing officer, revealed that the program will return in February, according to :

“We do still see a lot of interest from consumers in finding different ownership models, but the right price, value, how we do that, how we bundle those services is what we’re working on,” Wahl told Automotive News in an interview earlier this year. She did not discuss pricing on Tuesday.

[...]

Wahl said the learnings from that program were significant. Roughly 70 percent of users, she said, were conquest customers new to Cadillac.

“There’s really no one-size-fits-all solution for personal transportation,” she said.

While that 70-percent conquest figure sounds great on paper, there’s little context in the way of how many actual paying customers that factored out to during the two years of the initial program—though it certainly was not a lot.

A real reason for Book’s return may have to do with. A subscription program that covers registration, taxes, maintenance, insurance and detailing with zero long-term commitment could be attractive for someone who wants to take an EV for a few months and see if it’s something feasible for their lifestyle.

Cadillac had two big pieces of news at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show: The new money-printing XT6…

The ability to switch models essentially at any time means it’d be very easy to cozy up to an Escalade if the electric car didn’t work out.

That could also help the dealerships backing Book by Cadillac from having to worry about determining demand for an EV and stocking an inventory of risky cars that ultimately may not sell all too hot. If they’re managing what’s essentially a fleet car, there’s potential for more money on the table for the dealer, rather than a heavy car sitting dead on a lot until big incentives come to move it.

It’s unclear how much a Book subscription could cost when it returns. The original price wasn’t too bad for what you were actually getting—even if maintenance coverage on a brand-new car doesn’t translate to a lot of savings in most cases—but the initial shock of the cost being more than similar programs from companies like Volvo may have been a bit of a setback. Then again, other similar programs have also cost twice as much.

And there’s the question of who this is for. For New Yorkers, where the original program was launched, it was a hard bargain if you just wanted a car every other weekend. The cost of parking and gas in the area would be significant on top of the monthly fee if you weren’t driving all of the time.

But in more rural areas, where gas is cheaper and you can park in your driveway, being able to cycle through new Cadillacs every six months pretty much hassle-free .

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Trump Reaches Out Directly To Us Gearheads And May Be Advocating One Car Per Family But It's Hard To Tell
Trump Reaches Out Directly To Us Gearheads And May Be Advocating One Car Per Family But It's Hard To Tell
I’ll be the first to admit that my particular demographic (short, weird-haired, taillight-obsessed dipshit/father) isn’t usually the most targeted one by political candidates, so when the President of the United States himself issues an Official Tweetmissive that directly addresses my specific interests as someone who “like(s) automobiles,” I pay...
Apr 26, 2026
Gemballa Has Gone Too Far This Time
Gemballa Has Gone Too Far This Time
German Porsche tuner Gemballa has finally gone off the deep end. Its new Avalanche 4X4 concept takes the “Safari 911" trend to its ultimate end by jacking up one of its 991 Turbo S-based Avalanche supercars. Safari cars started out as cool because they were unique and hadn’t really...
Apr 26, 2026
Watching A Modern Ferrari Race Shot With 50-Year-Old Cameras Would Make Enzo Emotional
Watching A Modern Ferrari Race Shot With 50-Year-Old Cameras Would Make Enzo Emotional
You could look at videos of new s racing right now and become upset that you could be racing Ferraris but instead are in your underwear in bed or at your job. Or you could look at videos of new Ferraris racing, but shot with 50-year old cameras and film,...
Apr 26, 2026
How To Drive A Supercar Without Ending Up In An Embarrassing YouTube Video
How To Drive A Supercar Without Ending Up In An Embarrassing YouTube Video
I gave as many rides as I could in the short time I babysat a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. “I’d love to rent something like this one day,” one passenger confided. “But I’d be afraid to crash it.” A valid concern I’m happy to try and allay for non-pros who...
Apr 26, 2026
Tesla Wants To Build A New Factory In Nashville: Report
Tesla Wants To Build A New Factory In Nashville: Report
just recently got its China factory operational, it’s already broken ground on a factory in Germany, and now it’s looking to build yet another factory—one Elon Musk is calling Gigafactory—in the U.S. The new factory will support construction of the highly touted and highly hideous Cybertruck, as well as...
Apr 26, 2026
Local News Camera Captures Hit-And-Run Collision At Canadian Traffic Circle Just Re-Opened After Earlier Wreck
Local News Camera Captures Hit-And-Run Collision At Canadian Traffic Circle Just Re-Opened After Earlier Wreck
I get that traffic circles can be tricky if you’re not used to them, but it’s not like they’re Rubik’s Cubes with Mayan hieroglyphics on them—they’re understandable. That may just not be the case for some drivers in Edmonton, Canada, where a traffic circle that was closed in the...
Apr 26, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved