PRESS RELEASE

Cadillac Announces 'Xpress Delivery' Program

5 February 1997

    WARREN, Mich., Feb. 5 -- Cadillac is implementing nationally
Custom Xpress Delivery (CXD), a process that enables Cadillac dealers to
deliver customers their exact vehicle choice quicker than any other luxury car
maker in the industry.
    The CXD process enhances customer satisfaction with the process of buying
a new car by making it easier to find the vehicle that meets their
requirements and by reducing the length of time to take delivery.
    "Customer expectations are on the rise in the marketplace, and their
frustration with the traditional car buying process is showing," said G.
Richard Wagoner, Jr., president of General Motors North American Operations,
who was the keynote speaker at a Midwest Automotive Media Association luncheon
on Feb. 5 to kick off the Chicago Auto Show's media preview days.  "With CXD,
we can virtually eliminate the hassle of finding the right vehicle and waiting
for it to be delivered."
    Cadillac General Manager John F. Smith said the new delivery process is an
example of the division's commitment to improve ownership experiences for
Cadillac products and services.  "Cadillac is the first in the world to offer
a process like Custom Xpress Delivery," Smith said.  "We want to earn the
trust and confidence of our customers, and this delivery process is one way of
showing that we understand how valuable their time is."
    Cadillac began testing the delivery program in Florida in 1994.  The test
was later expanded to include eight additional states and the District of
Columbia.
    The process makes use of regional distribution centers serving key markets
throughout the country, either overnight or within an approved transit time.
The centers are stocked with popularly configured models, as determined by
recent sales history on both the national and regional level.
    Under CXD, a Cadillac dealer stocks an improved inventory of vehicles to
give consumers a wider selection of models, colors and options.  In the event
the exact vehicle the consumer wants is not in the dealer's inventory, a
majority of the time it can be delivered from the regional distribution center
by the next day, or within an improved transit time for dealers outside
next-day service.
    It's expected that most of the Cadillac vehicles sold will be popularly
configured units that can be supplied by the distribution centers.  For the
specialized custom orders, a dealer sends the order directly to the plant.
Custom orders can generally be delivered to the customer in under three weeks,
compared to an average of seven to 1O weeks that was formerly required.
    For both popularly configured and custom ordered vehicles, the dealer and
consumer receive a reliable delivery date at the time the order is placed.
Before CXD, the delivery date was a "best guess" based on long production lead
times and excessive transit time.
    "From a sales professionalism and customer satisfaction standpoint, this
is a major enhancement to Cadillac's credibility to be able to look a customer
in the eye and say, 'I don't have the white diamond STS here now, but I will
have it for you by tomorrow,'" Smith said.
    "In the past if the dealer did not have that white diamond STS, the
customer may have had to compromise their color choice or wait seven to 1O
weeks to get it."
    CXD streamlines the distribution processes, helping ensure that the right
vehicles are positioned where market demand requires.  According to research
(source: Allison Fisher Recontact Study, 1994), 35 percent of customers who
take a vehicle from stock settle for a vehicle that is not exactly what they
want.  Another 21 percent of customers switch dealers when they fail to find
what they want in stock, and 11 percent of buyers switch to another make when
they cannot find the vehicle they want at a dealership.
    "The challenge is to get the right car to the right place at the right
time," said Smith.  "With CXD, Cadillac is setting a new standard in customer
responsiveness."
    "CXD is a whole new retailing concept for the entire industry," Wagoner
said.  "It's delivering vehicles on a pull process -- based on actual customer
demand -- rather than a push process based on forecasts made at the beginning
of the model year."
    Dealers benefit because they are able to reduce overall inventory while
increasing the variety of vehicles they keep in stock.  In addition, dealer
costs are lowered through reductions in inventories and associated maintenance
costs, as well as reductions in dealer trades to obtain the exact vehicle that
a customer wants.
    "CXD is good for Cadillac customers and good for Cadillac dealers, giving
them a competitive advantage by increasing overall customer satisfaction with
an improved sales and delivery process," Smith said.

SOURCE  Cadillac