Book by Cadillac: Like a streaming service for cars

[Tragic Bronson]

http://www.autoblog.com/2017/01/05/book-by-cadillac-subscription-service/

Cadillac is launching a subscription-based service that gives users access to most of its models for a flat fee of $1,500 a month. Called Book by Cadillac, the program starts in February in New York City and its surrounding areas. Cadillac's goal: attract users who want flexibility without the costs and commitment of ownership.

The monthly fee is steep, but Cadillac argues it's competitive with the cost of leasing a well-equipped luxury car. It also includes maintenance, taxes, and insurance fees. The Book service can also be stopped at any time, which frees users from any payments. There's no restrictions on mileage, though users pay for gas either by filling up the car when they're done with it or through a Caddy concierge who bills their account.

Cadillac will deliver and pick up the vehicles from the user's choice of location via a white-gloved driver. Users can change vehicles up to 18 times per year, and they can be reserved with a mobile app. The theoretical goal is a Book user could head to the airport in New York in a Cadillac and reserve another one for their use in Los Angeles.

Cadillac ran a test program last year and decided to move forward with Book after receiving a positive response on the price and features. "The overwhelming result is this is something competitive," spokesman Eneuri Acosta said.

The program features the Escalade, Escalade ESV, CT6, CTS-V, ATS-V, and XT5 decked-out in Platinum trim. Other vehicles, like the non-V-series ATS or CTS could be added if there's demand. Book by Cadillac starts in New York, but will expand to other unspecified markets.

https://www.bookbycadillac.com/

Would there be more interest in the concept if other luxury makes offer something like it?

 

[mmcartalk]

Would there be more interest in the concept if other luxury makes offer something like it?

Lincoln does have the Black Label program for its vehicles, although that may not be a direct comparison with Cadillac's Platinum-level stream-service, since the Black Label program involves special color/trim patterns and added customer perks on vehicles that are actually one-time bought or leased, not rented by the week or month.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

https://www.autoblog.com/2018/11/02/cadillac-book-subscription-service-cancelled/

Cadillac cancels its car subscription program after just two years

Cadillac is cancelling its Book by Cadillac subscription service, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal and confirmed to Autoblog by a Cadillac spokesperson. The $1,800 a month service has been in operation since early last year.

The Cadillac spokesperson told us this: "Following nearly two years of service, Cadillac will temporarily pause the Book by Cadillac program effective December 1, 2018." This moves comes not too long after the decision to leave its New York City headquarters and return to Michigan.

While Cadillac claims the disruption of service will be temporary, there's no defined plan to start the program back up again. The reason for the cancellation? The service ended up being more costly than Cadillac expected it to be. Owners will have 30 days from the time they're notified to turn their vehicles in. If this subscription service was your only transportation, then you better start looking for something else.

The service was available in New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles. Subscribers could choose between five different Cadillacs: ATS-V, CTS-V, CT6, XT5 and Escalade. You'd be allowed up to 2,000 miles per month and 18 vehicle swaps per year through the concierge service. Cadillac would bring the car of your choice to you and take the old car away at your whimsy. The price included registration, taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. No long term commitment was necessary to sign up.

This makes Cadillac one of the first manufacturers to end a nascent subscription service. If it starts back up again, expect it to look a bit different from the current program. Cadillac says it's using this experience to make strategy adjustments in the future. Whether that means a much more costly program for users, or no subscription program at all, we don't know.

Plenty of other manufacturers still offer limited subscription programs in select cities. We highlighted some of the biggest ones in our vehicle subscription service guide here. It'll just be a waiting game to figure out if these modes of ownership take off going forward.

 

[mmcartalk]

The service ended up being more costly than Cadillac expected it to be.

If that's the case, why not just keep the program and raise the price a little? $1800 a month (that's a little over $20,000 a year) doesn't seem like too much to pay for the privilege of driving a new top-of-the-line Cadillac every few months...or whenever you wanted to try another one, though it could, in some cases, mean a lot of continual paperwork with DMV keeping license-plates and state inspections up to date. In my state, there is also additional paperwork (and bills) for yearly county-registration fees. Cadillac may foot the bill for that, but the owner may still have to do a lot of paperwork.

When you look at the cost of a conventional lease on expensive luxury vehicle, depending on projected depreciation/residual value, you could end up paying 20K a year or more. This way, though, that 20K gives you even more or a choice.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Reading between the lines, it sounds like dealers were pushing back about the amount of extra customer service they had to provide, as well.