Home, James.
That's home as in not only where the heart is but also where you want Cadillac to bring your new DeVille, Seville, Eldorado or Catera.And you can even tell the automaker when you want them to deliver, for example, and have a dealer deliver a car to you anytime, anywhere, for a free two-day test drive.
If, after testing the car, you choose to buy or lease it, more ego-salving features kick in.
With anytime/anywhere, you call the dealer and make an appointment for the salesperson to come to your home, office, club or box seat at the ballgame and ink the sales or lease agreement. If there is a trade-in, the salesperson makes an offer.
That done, the salesperson will then arrange to deliver the new car and pick up the trade-in.
Cadillac is test-marketing anytime/anywhere after surveying would-be luxury-car buyers and finding this is the type of treatment they want, said Peter Gerosa, Cadillac's general sales and service manager.
Starting Friday, Atlanta and Cincinnati will be the test markets for the next five months to determine whether Cadillac should take the program nationwide starting with the 1999 model year Oct. 1, and what anywhere/anytime features customers want most.
Anywhere/anytime is similar to the way cars are sold in Japan. The salesman brings brochures and cars to the homes of prospective customers. When they buy a car, the salesman delivers it.
Gerosa, however, insists anywhere/anytime isn't modeled after the Japanese. "It's to provide convenience to anyone who buys or leases one of our cars," he said.
"These are customers who define their service expectations not only from our industry but from their experience with companies such as Federal Express, Disney, Nordstrom and L.L. Bean," said Cadillac General Manager John Smith.
"That means we must be Fed Ex-fast, Disney-friendly, Nordstrom-attentive and L.L. Bean-convenient," Smith added.
Anywhere/anytime features will differ between Atlanta and Cincinnati. Both will offer the two-day test drive and vehicle purchase and delivery at the customer's designated location as well as overnight delivery of any information or catalogs.
Cincinnati dealers also will offer free loaner cars for all mechanical and maintenance work, as well as free routine maintenance.
In Atlanta, those who buy or lease will get free pickup and return of the car at the customer's designated location whenever service is performed but will have to pay for service. And rather than a free loaner, anyone who buys or leases will get a "personal delegate" at the dealership who will arrange for product test drives and service appointments.