Next, Cadillac plans to offer a version of the Chevy Volt’s plug-in hybrid system in many of its cars, Ellinghaus said. The brand already has the ELR, which uses the Volt’s drive system, but there’s much more to come, he said.

With the right product, Cadillac can come back, said Eric Noble, president of The CarLab, a consulting firm in Orange, California. Boomers may have moved on, but younger buyers pay attention and the name still shows up in everything from Bruce Springsteen songs to hip-hop tunes, he said.

“Cadillac is surprisingly relevant,” he said. “It enjoys a cultural connection that few other brands have.”

Ellinghaus has been tearing up the advertising to try to carve out some space for Cadillac as the antidote to every boring rich guy’s BMW or Mercedes. That means no more images of Wall Street guys stepping out of a high rise and into their Cadillac or cars cruising the Pacific Coast Highway.

German Ubiquity

The “Dare Greatly” campaign features people who try to be different, like Steve Wozniak, the Apple Inc. co-founder who dropped out of college to build the first personal computer, and fashion designer Jason Wu, the high-fashion designer who dressed dolls as a young boy. The message: Don’t be a cliché, buy a Cadillac instead of a BMW, Audi or Mercedes.

“Cadillac will benefit from German ubiquity,” Ellinghaus said.

When he and de Nysschen arrived, Cadillac didn’t even have a tag line to compete with BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” or Audi’s “Uncompromising.” The ads used to tout accolades for the cars and just close with Cadillac’s crest and script.

That’s a first step on what de Nysschen says will be a very long journey. As the German automakers try to be the largest in the world, they will take fewer risks and become more bland, he said. That gives Cadillac an opportunity to be individualistic and appeal to younger luxury buyers.

And what about styling? The edgy look, which GM dubbed Art & Science about 15 years ago, won’t go away completely. But there will be more curves in the cars.