Does "Cadillac Plan" Still Mean What It Used To?

Posted by Abe Sauer on September 23, 2009 04:12 PM

The label "Cadillac plan" has figured prominently in the healthcare reform debate, referring to top-of-the-line coverage.

But does the term speak to the power of the Cadillac brand as "luxury"? Indeed, is Cadillac a higher luxury than a BMW? Why not call it a "Mercedes plan"? While once synonymous with luxury, Cadillac has gone more proletariat in recent years, introducing an SUV model and the CTS, both of which target younger, more hip consumers.

Or is the term simply a holdover from a time when the Cadillac brand still ruled America's luxury roost? Our less-than-comprehensive research shows the term in use as early as January 1980, when West Virginia's Grant County Press referred to a gold-plated flood protection plan as the "Cadillac plan." A 1984 St. Petersburg Times article spoke of a public official's switch from a "Chevrolet state pension plan to a Cadillac state pension plan" (a usage echoed by a September 21 New York Times headline, “A Tax on Cadillac Health Plans May Also Hit the Chevys”).

Then, in 1990 the Ludington Daily News referred to a "Cadillac plan" for health insurance. The phrase took off during the Clinton health care reform debates of 1993-94.

Today, a Google News search on "Cadillac" turns up a full page of results, of which only several refer to the automobile brand.

And while its luxury legacy seems to remain in our lexicon, one wonders for how long?

More about: Automotive, Health Care, Cadillac, Luxury

Patrick Gauthier says:

Cadillac may have been a brand car name that meant luxury, exuberance and fully equipped, but today Cadillac is just an other gray bulky car offered by GM if you look at their latest ads... (at the same level as Chevrolet, Buick, etc.) Cadillacs no longer look like Cadillacs. We should keep the word in the English language and force GM to stop calling their cars Cadillac until they start recreating Cadillacs.

September 23, 2009 08:11 PM # Reply

Abe S says:

Ha!

September 23, 2009 09:40 PM # Reply

American Muslce Cars says:

totally agree with you Patrick, why GM can't make the new version classic Cadillac, like allready done on Dodge or Camaro

December 23, 2009 10:09 AM # Reply

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February 2, 2010 09:52 PM # Reply

ojerumu ernest says:

in the 80's in nigeria. cadillac cars are luxury and durable car that is being acquired by our corrupt leader in nigeria.The car is no where to be found in nigeria apart from the old model that are still in circulation which are mainly use for taxi on the road of lagos, nigeria.To be very candid, i use to know cadillac cars as strong, durable and reliable cars.I pray producer of cadillac comes up with innovative cars because nigeria as the market.thank you

September 24, 2009 05:29 AM # Reply

Tim Johnson says:

Using that term colloquially began at a time when there really were no real luxury brands, or at least very few, but it has always grated on me. It doesn't really mean what it did then, as there are luxury brands in nearly every category now, and Cadillac is hardly the top of the top anymore. But the question I have always had is why are we professionals discussing this in a brand blog? It was always an inappropriate expression used by folks who were not in the profession, and has always defied any objective definition.

Tim Johnson, President, Coactive Brand Lab (The Cadillac of Brand Design Firms)

September 24, 2009 10:41 AM # Reply

Well, yes, it's not some groundbreaking look at branding. But to some interested in all aspects of branding (like me) it is intriguing. And I think it demonstrates exactly how a brand's power can work... or not work... in our perceptions.

September 24, 2009 11:57 AM # Reply

Tracy Levitz says:

OK, yes. If you think about it, Cadillac may no longer be the Cadillac of cars. But I believe the Cadillac descriptor is one of those rare things that's transcended the brand that spawned it.

Tracy Levitz, Art Director, Adverteria.com

September 24, 2009 03:18 PM # Reply

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December 25, 2009 04:21 AM # Reply

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January 4, 2010 12:38 AM # Reply

Semi truck fianancing says:

Haha, I think Cadillac stopped being high end when they released the CTS. I know they had the Cateras before then but man, it seems like once everyone has something, it's stops being "high-end".

January 28, 2010 01:18 AM # Reply

club penguin cheats says:

The car is no where to be found in nigeria apart from the old model that are still in circulation which are mainly use for taxi on the road of lagos, nigeria.To be very candid, i use to know cadillac cars as strong, durable and reliable cars.I pray producer of cadillac comes up with innovative cars because nigeria as the market.

February 4, 2010 04:21 AM # Reply

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February 4, 2010 07:34 AM # Reply