A Cadillac on just two wheels?
Brand name, logo licensed to high-end bicycle manufacturer in an effort to attract younger buyers.
July 26, 2005: 9:52 AM EDT
**NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - You can now buy a new Cadillac for as little as $500. The catch? It has only two wheels, one seat and you have to provide the power. **
The Detroit News reports that General Motors Corp. (Research) has started licensing its luxury car brand and logo to Kent International Inc., which has created a Cadillac Bicycles unit and is producing a line of mid- to high-end bikes. The bikes will cost $500 to $1,900, according to the report.
At least one Toronto-area Cadillac dealer is giving away a Cadillac bike worth $615 to those who buy any traditional four-wheel Cadillac, the News reports.
Officials with Cadillac said the licensing agreement is part of a strategy to attract younger buyers to its luxury cars.
“The more unexpected brand contacts we can have, the more surprising it is for the consumer and the more chances we have to break through preconceptions of what they think they know about Cadillac now,” Doug Schumacker, Cadillac’s accessories manager, told the newspaper.
Kent, a New Jersey-based family-owned bicycle company, has created a Cadillac Bicycles unit to handle the new product line.
“Our target customer is someone not necessarily bicycle-brand conscious, but brand conscious,” Ron Lippner, Cadillac Bicycles general manager, told the newspaper.